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Kutiman Travel: Tel Aviv Music Master Taps YouTube Talent from Around the World

March 14, 2009 at 3:43 PM | 3 Comments

Man, ever since I discovered Kutiman last Thursday, I can not stop watching his amazing collection of videos. Normally I try to curb my enthusiasm when the latest meme catches afire, but this guy is simply amazing and deserves all the viral fame he's getting. Kutiman is the pen name for Ophir Kutiel, a Tel Aviv-based musician and producer who recently spent three months deconstructing YouTube clips in his bedroom and creating a series of music videos that literally tap the best talent that can be found on the web. The resulting mash-up is nothing short of astounding, and I wouldn't be surprised if some of the featured artists - and Kutiman himself - soon found themselves on the top of the musical game.

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Blues Travel: B.B. King Museum Opens in Indianola, Mississippi

September 14, 2008 at 1:52 PM | 0 Comments

Blues fans from across the country found themselves deep in the Mississippi Delta this weekend to celebrate the opening of the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center. The humble guitar legend was on hand to christen the $15 million facility dedicated to preserving not only King's legacy, but the story of the Delta Blues itself. King turns 83 on Tuesday, and was moved to see his name on the front of the museum. As he told the Clarion-Ledger:

"I didn't go to school long enough to be able to tell you how I feel. But I have heard that heaven is beautiful. If heaven is more beautiful than the way I feel today, I'm ready to go tomorrow."

B.B. King is one of the good ones in our book (listen to this NPR interview and tell me you don't agree), and though 83 is a ripe old age, here's hoping he and Lucille (his guitar) hang around a few years longer. Sure, he's enjoyed tremendous success, but anybody who has picked and chopped as much cotton as this man did as a youth deserves some measure of comfort and joy in his golden years.

[Photo: B.B. King Museum]

Related Stories:
· B.B. King Museum [Official Site]
· Blues' King Likes Castle [Clarion-Ledger]
· Music Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

Eurovision's Over: Couldn't the Pirates Have Won?

May 27, 2008 at 8:50 AM | 3 Comments

We're shattered that Eurovision is over for another year, and it's lucky we had an extra long weekend so we could get over the disappointment of geriatric rapper 75 Cents and his crew not winning.

We did predict, though, that good-looking Russian candidate Dima Bilan had a good chance, and now we wish we'd put some money on it: He and his nation raced away with a more than 40 point victory over Ukraine.

We're also a bit disappointed that the Latvian entry slipped under our radar until grand final night, because we would have liked to show them some support. For reasons surely known only to them, they entered a pirate song! And we loved it. Roll on Eurovision 2009. We'll see ya in Moscow.

Related Stories:
· The Eurovision Grand Finale [Jaunted]
· Turkeys (And Singers) to Watch at Eurovision [Jaunted]

Eurovision 2008: Grand Finale on Saturday

May 23, 2008 at 9:15 AM | 0 Comments

The excitement of Eurovision, coming out of Belgrade this year, is coming to climax tomorrow: The semi-finals are all over and we know that quite a few of our favorites have bitten the dust.

We were keen on the invented-language magic of Belgium, but the band Ishtar got knocked out. We've also made no secret of our crush on Ireland's turkey; he didn't make it either.

Depending on who you listen to, the favorites might now be Sweden's Charlotte Perrelli who's singing a song called "Hero," or it might be a 75-year-old Croatian rapper. The French are probably hoping, though, that their electro-pop singer doesn't win because it's a national scandal that he's singing in English.

We're of course behind the geriatric rapper 75 Cents. (Real name!)

Related Stories:
· Favourites Through to Eurovision Final [AFP]
· We Heart Dustin the Turkey [Jaunted]
· Eurovision 2008: Bringing Belgium Together [Jaunted]

[Photo: Eurovision]

Eurovision 2008: Bringing Belgium Together

May 20, 2008 at 11:01 AM | 0 Comments

The semi-finals for oddly captivating song contest Eurovision happen tonight in Belgrade, and Belgian group Ishtar will be doing their track "O Julissi." Written in a made up language, composer Michel Vangheluwe says it was inspired by the happiness of childhood. But we suspect the song might have more than a little something to do with the constant tension between his homeland's French- and Flemish-speaking halves.

On the eve of his group's performance, Vangheluwe told the BBC:

Language nowadays can be a political issue, but it shouldn't. Music is something that brings people together and whatever language you sing in, you get the message and that's the most important thing.

As it happens, "O Julissi" isn't the first contest song featuring invented language. In 2003, another Belgian act, Urban Trad, took second place with "Sanomi." Check out that video after the jump.

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Turkeys (and Singers) to Watch at Eurovision

May 16, 2008 at 9:15 AM | 0 Comments

The weirdness that is the Eurovision Song Contest is almost upon us. On Tuesday, the first semi-final will run, and the second one follows on Thursday, when the list of the 25 finalist countries will be ready.

The big event itself is on Saturday May 24, and if it's not screening on a TV near you, don't panic because you can watch online. And if you're living or vacationing in Europe, you can take part in the voting, too.

Eurovision--the contest that brought us ABBA--is full of controversy this year. You can't vote for your own country, but many believe some neighboring countries vote for each other regardless of the quality of the song, so this year they've split these neighbors over the two semi-finals to help fix this problem.

There's also the question of whether some nations are taking the contest seriously or not. While Russia is sending its serious singing sweetheart Dima Bilan, pictured, Ireland is sending a turkey. For us viewers, it's simply serious fun, so don't forget to tune in and see the Bosnian singer who takes his chicken on stage.

Related Stories:
· Eurovision 2008 [Official Site]
· We Heart Dustin the Turkey [Jaunted]
· Eurovision coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Eurovision]

Eurovision 2008: Belgrade Promises Incredible Surprises

April 28, 2008 at 11:00 AM | 1 Comment

With less than a month to go until the big weekend of the Eurovision Song Contest, we hope you've got your tickets booked to Belgrade for May 24. We've got a real soft spot for Ireland's Dustin the Turkey (who's made it to the semi-finals), but nearly any of the semi-serious, semi-novelty acts could be the champion--depending on how incestuous the votes from neighboring countries turn out to be.

No matter which song wins, Serbia's capital Belgrade will be the big winner, with a heap of people realizing it might be a nice place to visit. They're going all out to impress with a record 70 tons of lighting and sound equipment at Belgrade Arena, and to finish off the evening there'll be an "incredible pyrotechnic surprise." Dustin the Turkey exploding? We'll soon find out!

Related Stories:
· Eurovision Song Contest [Official Site]
· Eurovision 2008: Adoptions, Garbage and Metal [Jaunted]
· We Heart Dustin the Turkey [Jaunted]
· Is Eurovision a Big Neighbors Scam? [Jaunted]

[Photo: Yogurinha Borova]

Nikki Sixx + Kat Von D's Bowery Hotel Tattoos

March 25, 2008 at 10:00 AM | 4 Comments

LA Ink "star" Kat Von D has finalized a divorce, made and dumped a "soul mate," and hooked up with yet another new love all within the past half-year or so. Maneater!

Her latest conquest is Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue. To cement their, like, totally amazing bond (and reportedly, as per the departed Page 6 online, to commemorate a wild night together at Manhattan's Bowery Hotel), Von D and Sixx got matching tattoos of the hotel's bowery boy logo. No word on who inked them, but shops in the hotel's general vicinity include the famous New York Adorned and re-born East Side Ink.

Take it from these two lovebirds...the couple that (hotel) tattoos together, stays together...at least for another six weeks or so!

Related Stories:
· The Bowery Hotel [HotelChatter]

[Photo: Nikki Sixx/MySpace]

Music Photography Gallery to Open at CBGB Site

March 24, 2008 at 2:15 PM | 0 Comments

How refreshing that the skeleton of CBGB's old 313 Gallery performance-and-art space on the Bowery will sprout something other than a Starbucks. The space will hang on to the rock 'n' roll spirit when it is reborn as a second New York outpost of the Morrison Hotel Gallery.

The new space will lend itself well to visiting browsers, as it's over twice the size of Morrison Hotel's smaller SoHo gallery. The opening show, featuring works by Steve Joester, will debut this Thursday, March 27. After that, on April 24, will be Bob Gruen's "Rockers" exhibit.

Related Stories:
· CBGB's Gallery to Reopen as The Morrison Hotel Gallery [Relix]

[Photo: tornatore]

Shopping in Brooklyn: Independent Record Stores

November 14, 2007 at 12:00 PM | 0 Comments

In addition to bars, boutiques, and overall snootiness, hipsters also bring independent record stores to their 'hoods. And since Brooklyn still reigns supreme as the place to live for twentysomethings, the borough is teeming with shops slinging everything from classical music on vinyl to CDs by up-and-coming bands guaranteed to boost your indie cred.

Though Manhattan has its fair share of worthwhile shops, Brooklyn's less chaotic atmosphere makes for a much more pleasant shopping trip. So, hop on the L train and skip Circuit City for your music fix.

THE BEST BROOKLYN RECORD STORES

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Summer Music Festivals: We Heart Bonnaroo

May 23, 2007 at 9:03 AM | 0 Comments

Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn. is tired of SXSW getting all the glory. The event boasts a lineup that is both varied and overwhelmingly good.

This June 14 to 17, hippies, hipsters, and the committed unhip can all find something suitable for their ears. Performers include: The Police (not just Sting, the whole gang), Tool, Widespread Panic, Ben Harper, Wilco, The Flaming Lips, The String Cheese Incident, Bob Weir & Ratdog, Franz Ferdinand, and about 100 other acts.

Some of our personal favorites in the lineup include: The Hold Steady (whose epic storylines remind us of The Who's Tommy); The Decemberists, because they have a song dedicated entirely to apologizing for losing a friend's bicycle; and Regina Spektor, who's unfortunately VH1's "undiscovered" artist du jour.

A four-day weekend pass, which includes camping and parking, cost $214.50. Organizers put together 15 or so activities in addition to the concerts: attendees can take yoga classes, see the interactive art performances, and visit a jazz club curated by Blue Note Records.

"Come Together" at Abbey Road

May 17, 2007 at 10:06 AM | 0 Comments


After our expose on WiFi-friendly Blue Grass Airport, you're probably wondering why on Earth you'd ever fly there--despite the Interwebs access, of course. The Memorial Day weekend Abbey Road on the River in Louisville would be our tip, now that the Kentucky Derby is run and done.


Set up along the Ohio River, the Abbey Road shindig is "the Greatest Beatle Tribute Festival In The World," which means while The Beatles (obviously) won't be playing, a bunch of bands that look and sound like them will. The three biggest days are Friday, Saturday and Sunday, when groups like "Lucy in the Sky," "Eight Days a Week" and "British Export" will be rehashing the golden days of Brit pop. To find out more about the bands--and we're not kidding about this--check out the festival's MySpace page.

[Photo: hddod]

Related Stories:
· Abbey Road on the River [Official Site]