April 24th, 2009 by admin

You have bought yourself an instrument whether it be guitar, bass, keyboard or whatever. You are all ready to go onto stadium tours and gross out parties just the little matter of learning to make a noise now. You want that noise to be as loud as possible without fuzz, reverb and feedback so you have to choose an amplifier for your instrument.

What is the best type of musical instrument amplifier to get? Is the fact that the amp comes with great reviews and recommendations or simply the brand name the most important consideration for you? Really you should make your choice based on three main criteria, how you will use it, what power output you want or need and what level are you at.

Firstly, you need to know how you will use your amp. Supposing you have a guitar amp. Do you want some minor jam sessions with friends or are you practicing alone? Do you live in an apartment and don’t want to annoy the neighbours, or even to annoy the neighbours as they do you! Will the sound be lost in the high ceilings of an old chucrch for your rehearsals. More power usually means more watts. A mini speaker with little power may not be enough.

Secondly, is the issue of the output. If your friends’ amps go up to 11, much greater power than yours, you might sound like an echo in the distance compared to them. Could you stand that? Would that “small” feeling bug you?

Thirdly, you should think about how good you are. Really if you are a total beginner there is no point in buying a high end Fender amplifier because the value for money equation comes in. If you plan on practicing all hours of the day for eternity maybe but most people have an initial enthusiasm for a few weeks and then practice time drops off a bit.

Other considerations may not weigh as much but they should be thought of. What accessories would be appropriate for your amplifier? Has your guitar got the potential to do justice to your amp’s capabilities? When you decide to upgrade will there be a second hand market for your old amp?

Buying an amp is not just a case of looking at the first one that comes into your head and getting it. It must be thought of seriously. Because in the end the amplifier you buy should give you years of great use.

April 23rd, 2009 by admin

We believe we live in a relatively rational world. However in reality we experience lives through our emotions first which we then post-rationalise to help us make sense of it, giving us the perception that we are in control; that we are deciding on what we see, hear, think and feel.

Music has a way and an ability to bypass our rational defences. So you’re walking around singing a really irritating song, which you really don’t like, but you just can’t get it out of your head? Another example would be think about how different music makes you feel; it’s not that music ‘can’ effect our mood – it ‘does’ effect our mood. Again this is because it connects with us at an emotional level. This together with the physical nature of music – in that it can quite literally connect with the heartbeat of the listener – makes music a quite different channel of communication. Music is a very personal experience.

It is therefore no surprise to hear that:

“Music is the fastest medium for people to form an association (with)”
David Aakers – Building Strong Brands

How does this information help those who are starting an indie music label, or running an independent music label?

Well, these insights are very important to anyone working with brands and music in the music industry because it highlights the potential potency and power of music to communicate at an ‘unstoppable’ emotional level with your prospective audiences. Music and songs are all the more influential and powerful because it speaks to us in a single voice to all of us and doesn’t need any translation at all.

It is a fact that increasingly our purchasing decisions are based on emotional attributes rather than rational ones and given that the strongest brands have strong emotional bonds with their audiences, it follows that music should be a key ingredient in helping to create and form that bond…and influence those decisions.

From a band’s or an artist’s perspective, it means that your music can grow and develop as a brand. It then follows that you can manage your music as a brand – extrapolating relevant brand theory and practice as and when appropriate to help you add value and sustain yourself over time.

Whilst you might think that the above is common practice in the music business I have come across very few artists, music managers, bands or labels (independent labels or otherwise) who adopt this approach. The music business and industry generally does tend to be more executional than strategic.

Understanding brand theory and practice – such as positioning, target audience, brand values and personality, communication – will help you take a more strategic approach to your music business overall but more importantly it will help you create long term value over time.

April 23rd, 2009 by admin

Your movie reviews will follow this brief discussion on downloading. You can find websites for, movie downloads, game downloads, and software downloads. Trying a keyword phrase like “Movie Rental Software” will provide different results.

The Priests Wife: Hardly amusing blend of tirade and humor with Loren as disenchanted singer who imagines she could persuade pastor Mastroianni to acquire discharge from his promise of celibacy and wed her. Weightier addressing of topic might be heard on stereo chat shows; film appears laid out barely as car for 2 megastars. Cast includes Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Venantino Venantini, Jacques Stany, Pippo Starnazza, and Augusto Mastrantoni. (106 minutes, 1971)

Ivan the Terrible: Continuance of the legend of King Ivan IV, in which he takes on the boyars in a battle for electricity. Impressive film is just a shade underneath its predecessor, Banned by Stalin due to debatable illustration of Ivan’s secret patrol, and not discharged till 1958. The controller had prepared to shoot Part 3-which, useless to affirm, he by no means did. Buffet-dance pattern was initially in color. Cast includes Nikolai Cherkassov; Serafima Birman, Mikhail Nazvanov, Pavel Kadochnikov, and Andrei Abrikosov. (88 minutes, 1946)

D2: The Mighty Ducks: Hockey player Gordon Bombay is out for the year with a knee injury. Surprisingly he is given the job of head coach of Team USA for The Goodwill Games coming up. Many of the players are former Mighty Ducks players. Can they come together to pull off a big upset and win the world championships?

Bullets or Ballots: Cop Robinson makes believe to leave patrol force to fracture citywide mob ring run by MacLane. Here is a good mobster movie. Cast includes Edward G. Robinson, Joan Blondell, Barton.MacLane, and Humphrey Bogart. (81 minutes, 1936)

Star Wars III; Revenge Of Sith: After years of batting General Grievous and his army of druids, the galaxy is growing tired. Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi are true heroes from these battles. This leads to a duel at the end that Obi-Wan must win.

Gypsy Colt: Delicate film of loyal horse who returns to mistress after parents vend it to speeding steady. Redo of LASSIE Go home. Cast includes Donna Corcoran, Ward Bond, Frances Dee, and Larry Keating. (72 minutes, 1954)

From Russia With Love: Second James Bond film is one of the best; lots of anticipation and action, and one of the lengthiest, most arousing quarrel scenes ever orchestrated. Lenya makes an extremely wicked snoop. Cast includes Sean Connery, Daniela Bianchi, Latte Lenya, Robert Shaw, Bernard Lee, and Lois Maxwell. (118 minutes, 1963)

Slavers: (1978-German) C-I02 Slavers is about the slave trade business that went on in Africa throughout the 19th century. An excellent cast is saddled with second-rate script. Cast includes Trevor Howard, Ron Ely, Britt Ekland, Jurgen Goslar, Ray Milland, Ken Gampu, and Cameron Mitchell. (102 minutes, 1978)

Alexander Nevsky: Fable story of Cherkassov and Russian army repelling German invasion throughout the 13th century, a upsetting analogous to planet circumstance at time of production. Magnificently imagined battle patterns, amazing Prokofiev score. Cast includes Sergei Eisenstein, Nikolai Cherkassov, Nikolai OkWopkov, Alexander Abrikossov, Dmitri Orlov, and Vassily Novikov. (107 minutes, 1938)

Remember, be creative and use phrases like “Purchase Movie”. A change in the phrase will sometimes get a better result. Switch to “Download DVD Movie” and see if you find what you are looking for.

It seriously is a extremely fine track. Ipodmovies There are numerous music advertising tactics, some of which are easy notions that are not being utilised. In my generation, i have gone through a number of them.

April 22nd, 2009 by admin

Have you thought about learning to play the piano? In these current times you don’t even need to buy a real piano. Instead of this you can get your hands on a excellent second-hand digital piano for a very low cost. Once you have bought it, the next plan of action is having lessons. If you have loads of dosh, personal individual lessons are an adequate way to learn. You will need to locate a local tutor and then set up lessons with them once a week. The main problem of this is that it can be very expensive.

The alternative is to learn to play via online piano lessons or piano lesson DVDs. As an example one of the most highly rated DVD based piano courses available is this one http://piano-lessons-reviews.info, which boasts an amazing14 DVDs of interesting course material. There are numerous other courses on the internet that give fantastic teaching and are very reasonably priced. They have numerous advantages over a traditional human tutor. These include: learning at your own speed, lower cost, allowing to play at the same time as a backing score and lower travel time. Imagine not having to repeat the same piece of music over and over again with a tutor. Instead it’s much less embarrassing to learn on your own with the aid of a computer or DVD player. The computer will not judge you or make you feel stupid. It certainly is a brilliant method of learning. The lessons commonly include videos, sound bytes, support forums, ebooks. They are also enhanced by a large variety of piano music and music styles including classical, jazz and modern music.  

Another huge advantage with computer/dvd based piano lessons is that they are very flexible and can adapt to your learning speed. You can take a lesson when you have the time free, you are not fixed on a rigid schedule every week. If you are staying at home for a period of time you can use the additional time having extra lessons! If you are very short of time during the day you can squeeze in a lesson in later on in the evening.
If you are seriously thinking about learning to play the piano and are not sure about the best approach then click on the hyperlink above to go to one of the best online piano lesson review sites. 

April 21st, 2009 by admin

Monday 20th April sees the premiere of the Iron Maiden ‘rockumentary’ ‘flight 666′, as filmed by acclaimed Anthropologist Sam Dunn, director of the well received documentary ‘Metal: a head banger’s journey’.Iron Maiden will be at the premier along with Maiden’s special 7th member, their zombie mascot Eddie.

The 2 hour film is a look behind the scenes of 2008’s mammoth Somewhere back in time tour, which saw Maiden travel abroad via their own plane, dubbed ‘Ed force one’, which was flown by Maiden’s licensed pilot and frontman Bruce Dickinson. The Somewhere back in time tour saw the band play songs from Powerslave up to the Seven son of a seventh son album, featuring the classic 1984 Powerslave set, which has been hailed by one of the greatest tours ever. That tour lasted for a good few years, which nearly sent the band mad, but it was worth it -i think so anyway.

The film has already won an award, the ‘24 beats per second award’ for best musical documentary this year at the famed South by South West festival in Texas. The movie will also be shown in 42 different countries at Odeon cinemas for one night only, giving Maiden fans who couldnt make the premier a chance to see the movie. Anyone unlucky maiden fan who misses this showing will get the chance to buy the Blue Ray and two disc DVD set of the movie on May 25th -only a whole month to wait. Which will seem like a long time for anyone who misses out. Also being released is the soundtrack of the movie -featuring the live tracks from concert footage of the gigs Iron Maiden played during the tour, on cd and picture disc vinyl from the same date.

The film premiers at the Odeon Kensington on Monday 20th April at 7pm. Need a venue for your London events or events? Look no further.

April 20th, 2009 by admin

The film reviews are listed after this short discussion on movie downloads, and other file downloads. Now you can download ipod products, music products, and even movie downloads are available. Keep trying other searches, like “Music Download”.

The Pink Panther: Steve Martin tries to duplicate the magic that Peter Sellers put into the part of Inspector Jacques Clouseau. This bumbling French detective seems to make a mess out of any situation he finds himself in. In spite of this he always ends up putting the criminals behind bars.

Delicatessen: Post apocalyptic comedy in reference to a lesser entity that cuts human beings into cutlets for non-vegetarian occupants. At the extremely minimum, this is the most primordial and amusing comedy in regards to cannibalism made to date. Brown-and-off-white color plans, which could normally look like a shop ‘blunder, share to the film’s trenchant graphic fashion. Co-director plays Fox, one of the Cavern Dwellers. Cast includes Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro, Marie Dougnac, Dominique Pinon, Karin Viard, Jean Claude Dreyfus, Ticky Holgado, and Anne Marie Pisani. Cast includes T (102 minutes, 1991)

Padre Padrone: Dismal. An ignorant Sardinian boy, brutalized by his peasant dad, still grows up to master Greek and Latin and graduate college. Even sadder still, is the un-involving and curiously forgettable Gavino Ledda. Cast includes Omero Antonutti, Saverio Marconi, Marcella Michelangeli, and Fabrizio Specialty. (114 minutes, 1977)

The Lusty Men: Knowledgeable, atmospheric rodeo tirade, with ex-winner Mitchum becoming mentor of novice Kennedy-and finding himself allured to Kennedy’s no nonsense spouse Hayward. Dense going most of the way-till that hokey finale. Cast includes Susan Hayward, Robert Mitchum, Arthur Kennedy, Arthur Hunnicutt, and Blunt Faylen. (113 minutes, 1952)

Soft Fruit: 4 grown kids-3 siblings and a sibling who’s just gotten out of prison-return home to be with their mom, who’s dying of liver cancer. Friendly enough mix of comedy and tirade in reference to an oddball clan doesn’t count up to much. Cast includes Christina Andreef, Jeanie Drynan, Linal Haft, Russell Dykstra, Genevieve Lemon, Sacha Horler, and Alicia Talbot. (101 minutes, 2000)

See You in the Morning: Bridges and Krige follow a rocky street to a second matrimony for both of them, trying to delete poor remembrances and lingering complications and having to triumph over each other’s youngsters. Overall knowledge, warmth, and gentility can’t defeat a particular in controller Pakula’s script. Cast includes Jeff Bridges, Alice Krige, Farrah Fawcett, Linda Lavin, Drew Barrymore, and Robin Bartlett. (119 minutes, 1989)

Follow the Boys: All-inclusive images in all-megastar WW2 smash hit has Raft arranging USO shows, WeIles sawing Dietrich in half, MacDonald harmonizing “Way past the Blue Horizon,” Fields doing classic pool-table regimen, etc. This movie is lots of fun. Cast includes Marlene Dietrich, George Raft, Orson Welles, Vera’ Zorina, Dinab Beach, W. C. Fields, Jeanette MacDonald, Maria Montez, Andrews Siblings, Sophie Tucker, Nigel Bruce, and Gale Sondergaard. (110 minutes, 1944)

Cheyenne Autumn: Spreading, choppy, although amusing John Ford Western, his last in regards to Cheyenne Indian tribe and its eventful voyage back to primordial settlement after being resettled by the government. This is Controller Ford’s first film in Remembrance Valley. Avoid City pattern with Stewart as Wyatt Earp was cut after exclusive involvements. Cast includes John Ford, Richard Widmark, Carroll Baker, Karl Malden, Dolores Del Rio, Sal Mineo, Edward G. Robinson, James Stewart, Ricardo Montalban, Gilbert Roland, Arthur Kennedy, Patrick Wayne, Elizabeth Allen, Champ Jory, John Carradine, Mike Mazurki, and George O’Brien. (145 minutes, 1964)

Armgeddon: A meteorite is on a collision course for Earth. If it continues on course it will obliterate the planet. To avert total destruction there will be an attempt to land a shuttle on the asteroid, and try to blow it apart. Time is short, and the mission near impossible.

See if “Movie DVD Video Rental” gets you to a good download site. Try a different search if the first one does not provide good information. You might find what you are looking for with a search like “Movie Rentals”.

It’s requesting, tough work, often full of growing pangs. Watch Scary Movie To reprieve the planet i had created to make myself producer of the fantasy. It was constant work, at my own hours seven.

April 20th, 2009 by admin

The brainchild of Georg Neumann, the legendary German company’s flagship product was the Neumann CMV 3, the world’s first commercially available condenser microphone. The interchangeable capsules offered different directional patterns, and it was hard to miss at 40 cm tall and 9cm in diameter. Due its large profile it became known as the “Neumann bottle.” The easily recognizable CMV 3 is often seen in historical photographs of public events in Germany, many taken during World War II.

After the Neumann factory in Berlin was damaged by Allied bombing in November 1943, Georg Neumann moved his company to the town of Gefell and resumed production in the early months of 1944. After the close of World War II, Gefer was taken by the Soviets and Neumann became a state owned and operated “people’s corporation.After the reunification of Germany, the Neumann company now located in Gefell became known as Microtech Gefell.

After re-establishing his company in one of the allied sectors of Berlin under the new name “ Georg Neumann GmbH,” a new switchable pattern microphone was developed, the famous U 47, which was based on the M7 capsule of the previous CMV3 microphones. The Neumann U47 was one of the first condenser microphones to be widely used in recording studios around the world. The Beatles vocals were recorded with Neumann condenser microphones which had better upper midrange response, sounded sharper, and contributed to their signature sound.

During the post-war period, Neumann developed the M49 and M50, both using the M7 capsule, and during the 50’s the KM 53, 54, and 56. In 1957 came the SM2, essentially a pair of KM56 microphones in one body, which claimed the title of the world’s first remotely controlled stereo microphone. The rock ‘n roll era was distinguished by recording up close vocals at high volume into the U47 and U48, producing a harsh, overdriven sound. Just as this trend was developing, the VF 14 vacuum tube was discontinued by its manufacturer Telefunken, leaving the U47 and U48 without an essential component, which led to the development of the subsequent U67.

The mid-sixties saw the introduction of the first solid state Neumann microphones, the KTM and the U77, transistorized version of earlier Neumann mics. In 1966 the Neumann U87 capacitor microphone employed the “phantom power” method which had been used for years by telephone systems, allowing Neumann tube, solid state and dynamic microphones to all e connected to the same power supplies.

In the 80’s Neumann introduced the TLM 170 microphone,  which featured balanced outputs and no output transformer. The transformerless microphone design was expanded to include the KM100 which featured seven different changeable active capsules, the TLM 193 which used the capsule of the U89 and TLM 170, the KM 180 series, the TLM 103 large diaphragm condenser, the variable pattern TLM 127 variable pattern condenser and the TLM 49 cardiod vocal microphone.

Neumann introduced the TLM 170 microphone in 1983 which featured balanced outputs and no output transformer. Eventually this “fet 100″ or “transformerless” series was expanded to include the KM 100 modular series of small microphones (with seven different “active capsules” for various directional patterns), the cardioid TLM 193 (using the capsule of the U 89 and TLM 170), the small-diaphragm KM 180 series, the large-diaphragm cardioid TLM 103, the variable-pattern TLM 127 and the TLM 49 cardioid vocal microphone.

The 90’s brought a series of Neumann vacuum tube microphones with transformerless output circuitry.  Still widely sought after today, the Neumann M149 Tube microphone, the cardioid Neumann M147 Tube microphone and the Neumann M 150 Tube microphone, an evolution of the M 50 design that featured a pressure transducer mounted on the surface of the sphere directly inside the capsule head. The iconic Neumann company was bought by Sennheiser in 1991, and production was moved to a brand new level 100 clean factory in Wedermark, but official Neumann headquarters remained in Berlin.

Neumann revolutionized microphone technology again in 2003 with the Solution-D D-01 microphone, featuring built in analog to digital conversion. A few years later the D-01 was followed with a modular, small-diaphragm series of digital microphones, KM D, based on the KM 100/180 series. During this time Neumann also began production of its very first dynamic microphone, the BCM 705 broadcast microphone.

Since the beginning, Neumann microphones have remained synonymous with quality and signature models like the Neumann U87 have become unmistakable icons of the recording studio. For artists, producers and engineers alike, Neumann vocal microphones represent the highest level of sonic perfection and innovation.

April 19th, 2009 by admin

The Japanese saw the karaoke party as not only a stress-relieving activity after work, but also as a bridge between the generation gap. Young and old came to karaoke clubs to sing their hearts out and be stars, if only for one night. When karaoke came to America, the same rang true as older members of the community belted out Elvis, Neil Diamond and Barry Manilow, while the younger members tried their best to sing Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson and Justin Timberlake. It is no surprise then, that Christmas karaoke has become a quintessential addition to the family holiday gathering. Try it once and you’re bound to declare that the karaoke party is just as necessary as the plum pudding, the roast duck and exchanging gifts!

To host a karaoke party at Christmas, you will need a karaoke system to play the songs, videos and scrolling words. Aim for an all-in-one that comes with all necessary cables and microphones. You may want to wrap it up and give it as a gift or you might want to have this item set up as guests arrive and keep it at your house to entertain guests year after year. Set it up after dinner to stave off the food comas and keep the party going. For $100, you could buy the SDAT Professional Karaoke Machine with MP4 Playback and it plays karaoke songs on CD, mp3, DVD and CD G. Or for $117, you can get the Emerson GM955, which includes a 7-inch monitor and speakers, but also connects to separate units as well.

This all-in-one karaoke system also includes a special tone-control microphone and comes with features like echo and auto voice control. The Singing Machine STVG-718 CD+G Karaoke System is a very similar system for $150 that includes a camera too. Lastly, The Song Station, recommended by People and Rolling Stone magazines, is one of the more impressive units to look at, boasting a tall stand which scrolls lyrics and equally tall detached speakers for superior sound quality. Ranging between $200 and $250, this machine comes with a number of special features, as well as 53,000 built-in songs, and is a must for anyone looking to host a karaoke party a few times a year.

Next, you’ll need music for your Christmas karaoke festivities. Amazon and eBay are good places to look for discounted karaoke online, but specialty sites like www.acekaraoke.com are also great resources. A good starter is the Music Maestro 5 CD G Christmas Club pack, which includes the scrolling lyrics and comes with 77 traditional tracks, including renditions of Elvis Presley, Andy Williams, Neil Diamond, the Eagles, Pat Boone, Mariah Carey and Garth Brooks. For the kids, the Singer’s Dream series offers 6 karaoke DVDs or CD+Gs in a bundle with Christmas Holiday Hits, Pop Christmas Party, Christmas Classics, Christmas Memories, Kids Christmas Favorites and Kids Sing Christmas. Sound Choice Karaoke also offers an eight-pack of holiday favorites for everyone from Avril Lavigne and Celine Dion to Perry Como and Nat King Cole. Forever Hits Pro also offers a great one disc Christmas collection that includes Brenda Lee, Johnny Mathis, Dean Martin and Bing Crosby.

Once you have the songs and the system, you are ready for your Christmas karaoke get together. You might want to make your karaoke fun into a game or contest by picking a few judges and awarding prizes. Or you can put names and numbers into a hat to create a karaoke singer line-up, with each person singing the number of the song they have picked. By turning karaoke into a game, you can be sure everyone will get involved in the fun, adding extra encouragement for the reticent members of the family who may insist, “No, no, no, my voice is awful.” Most systems come with more than one microphone input so the extremely shy can sing a duet. There is no better way to get the family into the Christmas spirit than by partaking in the age-old practice of caroling, yet with an updated karaoke twist!

April 19th, 2009 by admin

From the romantic opening notes of Blood Sweat and Tears’ “You’ve  Made Me So Very Happy” to the closing notes of Dave Clark Five’s raucous “I Like It Like That,” Mark Simone served up another memorable show on the April 11th Saturday Night Oldies (SNO) on WABC Radio.  The show sounded much like a great radio show would have sounded in Music Radio’s 1977 heyday. 

A great early highlight of the show was a live clip of Steely Dan’s “Reeling in the Years” from the old live rock show The Midnight Specialin 1973, a show that introduced many of us as kids and teens to a wide ranging list of groups in concert when many of us were too young to attend concerts on our own.  A second early treat from this last Saturday’s show occurred late into the first hour of the show, when Simone, always the talented host and amiable interviewer, interspersed some interesting highlights from the David Lynch Foundation benefit concert held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City the previous Saturday evening.  Among the performers that evening at the semi-private, sold-out event were Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney.  Listeners to SNO were lucky enough to hear a few clips and some interesting banter from McCartney thanks to Mark.  At the end of the first hour, Mark entertained his audience with some great Frank Kingston Smith montages from Smith’s radio days.

At the beginning of the second hour, Simone played a relatively obscure song from the band Chicago.  The first guest of the evening was Bob Barker, who was on the phone with Mark at about 7:20 PM.  Barker seemed as he always appears on television, both friendly and energetic.And on an interesting note, listeners learned that Barker spent much of his childhood growing up on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota (Barker is one-eighth American Indian). 

While Bob is currently plugging an autobiographical book, “Priceless Memories” (and Mark questioned him about the book), Bob noted that any proceeds from the book will be going to Barker’s favorite animal rights charities.  At one point, Mark asked Barker about the nasty character he played in the movie, Happy Gilmore.  Barker revealed that the movie’s star, Adam Sandler, had the part written especially for Barker, because it was, in fact, not in keeping with Barker’s real character, very friendly and good natured.  At about 7:30, after repeated attempts by Mark to say something bad about someone in Hollywood, Barker playfully stated that he would not.  He did thank Mark for another great Mark Simone interview, which ended on a high note.

Mixed throughout the program were the many phone calls from the radio audience and  postings on the Message Boards, which asked for respondents to list “the dumbest character on television,” as well as ”the smartest character on TV.”  Several unusual responses were received throughout the evening.  A series of songs next played ranging from a 1978 tune from Yvonne Elliman, and closing close to the 8:00 pm hour with the Beatles, “Got to Get You into My Life.”  

At about 8:25, after a 1965 favorite from the Lovin’ Spoonful, Simone started a second audio montage and jingles of Frank Kingston Smith from his radio days.  Calling in from Scottsdale, Arizona, Mark noted that a caricature of Smith was on a wall at WABC’s headquarters in NYC, where it is sharing space with photos of Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and other current WABC Radio hosts.  Smith stated that he was honored to have the Jack Davis cartoon/caricature placed there and he seemed to be unaware of its existence before Mark told him about it.  Speaking of how he arrived at WABC, Smith explained that he had received a telephone call one Saturday morning, and caller said he was Rick Sklar, the legendary producer of WABC Music Radio.  Not believing him, Smith originally hung up on Sklar.  Upon calling Smith back, Sklar asked that he call him at his office number and have the operator put him through to Sklar.  And as they say, the rest is WABC history.

Smith told listeners that, while working at a station in Philadelphia, Sklar heard him and was impressed.  He mentioned fondly of filling in for Cousin Bruce Morrow and Ron Lundy. Smith recalled one quirky experience when Morrow played his headphones very loudly.Smith told listeners that after leaving WABC, he went to Boston, but he still has fond memories of this great radio station and New York City.  He said that he keeps busy these days at air shows, and that he and his wife, Linda, have 2 German Shepherds.  Mark mentioned that, when he was younger, he always wanted to imitate Smith’s voice.  Frank Kingston Smith appeared to be genuinely  moved by that comment, and he was very pleased to be on the air once again at 77 WABC.  

Approaching the top of the 9:00 hour, with the Beatles 1964 tune, “I’m Happy Just to Dance with You,”  Mark mentioned that “A Hard Days Night” was televised recently.

Mark started to ask who the smartest character on television was, and mentioned Mr. Wizard as an example.  The banter continued back and forth with callers and message board folks about TV’s smartest and dumbest characters.  He confessed that he has never sat through an episode of “Star Trek.”  A “fake” break included an old commercial from Robert Hall clothiers (the store where my father bought me one of my very first suits) as well as Louis Armstrong doing an old Schaefer beer ad. 

Starting the final hour with the Beach Boys’ “Sloop John B,” Mark joked that the next song, the Rolling Stones’ “Miss You,” released in 1978, may have been Jagger & Company’s answer to disco, which I thought was an insightful suggestion that I hadn’t paid much attention to previously. 

After “I’m A Believer” at about 9:20 PM, Mark began his interview with Micky Dolenz, a former member of the Monkees.Listeners were informed that Micky will be appearing at the Capital One Bank Theatre in Westbury, NY, on May 8.  Micky said that the show also included Peter Noone and Mark Lindsay as the Teen Idol Show, but Dolenz joked that he wanted to call them the Teen Idol ‘rat pack.’  When asked, he said that the trio would do solo numbers and a few numbers together including the song ‘Stepping Stone,’ which he would perform with Mark Lindsay (his only real reference made to the Monkees).

Mark asked Micky if there was ever any friction between the British and the American groups. Micky denied any animosity between the two musical groups.  Micky did make an interesting note that the British ‘pop’ sound even today is sometimes more distinct than its American cousin, simply because the U.K. is relatively small compared to the United States.  Among the other items that Mark mentioned in the interview included Micky’s stint as an inventor. Micky has invented an item called a ‘Hang It All’ to hang pictures, or as he joked ‘to hang all his gold record albums.’ 

When Mark asked Micky about his radio days as a DJ on WCBS FM New York, Micky mentioned that he enjoyed those days, but that they were difficult as they involved getting up at 4:00 AM.He told Mark he now has a lot of respect for radio people like Simone.  Mark Simone was glad to hear this from a musician such as Dolenz.  Mark and Micky talked about the many songs that the Monkees chose not to record.“Is that All There Is” was one of the never-recorded songs, which Peggy Lee ultimately picked up.” Finally, it was mentioned that Dolenz actually had auditioned for the role of Fonzie in the 1970’s TV series, Happy Days, but noted that he had no regrets, and commended Henry Winkler for a ‘great job’ on the series.  The interview concluded shortly thereafter and Micky noted that his website http://www.mickydolenz.com/ contained some additional information on his upcoming solo shows as well.

As the interview ended near 9:30, Mark played the Monkees’ 1967, “Pleasant Valley Sunday.”   While Mark continued some of the TV trivia with callers, “Rockin Robin” and a nice, live version of BJ Thomas’  “I Just Can’t Help Believing” rounded out the songs for the show before ending with Dave Clark’s upbeat “I Like it Like That.As usual, another fun Saturday night thanks to Mark Simone and his Saturday Night Oldies show!

I really enjoy the Saturday Night Oldies radio show, it is a very enjoyable stroll down memory lane.  For more information about the show, and other music reviews, check out the blog, http://nostalgiaguymusic.com/

Listen next Saturday night, April, 18, from 6:00 pm until 10:00 (EDT) and follow it on the message boards at http://musicradio77.com/

April 18th, 2009 by admin

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Legal Music Downloads… what are they?

The entertainment world has been inundated with illegal music downloading schemes during the past 7 years or more. It all started back in the year 2000 with the original version of Napster and it has become so popular that millions and millions of people download songs every single day, illegally, thinking that they’re downloading their music the legal, ethical way. This puts these users at risk of severe legal action, not to mention viruses and spyware.

Give me a few minutes of your time to clear things up for you, with regard to downloading music legally and legitimately.

Let me start with what legal music downloads are not. Music downloads obtained through peer-to-peer file-sharing programs, such as I-Mesh, Bearshare or Limewire are not legal, no matter how much someone tries to convince you that they are.

Music downloads obtained by using Google to search for MP3 files stored on someone’s web server, and then downloading them, is not legal, regardless of how many videos you find on YouTube or other video sites, telling you that it is legal. This is not the fault of YouTube, but can be blamed directly on people sharing their opinions on what they think is legal.

Visiting sites like MP3 Rocket and signing up for a “Lifetime” membership, and then downloading music with their software is not legal, even though you might have paid for this so-called lifetime access. If you have paid for one of these services, you have been blatantly ripped off… plain and simple. I know that sounds harsh, but it’s just the truth. Your money was taken by a scammer… a rip-off artist who has no shame, and apparently, no conscience.

Now that we have covered some of the illegal ways of downloading music that people have been fooled into thinking are legal, exactly what is a way to find legal music downloads?

I’m glad you asked that question. Here are the best ways to get legal music downloads.

First of all, you can go to places like iTunes, Wal-Mart or Amazon and purchase individual songs, and pay for each song individually. This is known as pay-per-song downloading. This is 100% legal music downloading. But it can also get expensive, having to pay for each individual song that you download.

You can also go to sites like Rhapsody’s MP3 Store and download individual songs or even complete albums. Again, you have to pay for each song or each album you download. This, also, is downloading music legally.

When you use one of the sites mentioned above to download your music, you pay for the songs and you own them. It’s that simple. You are free to burn them to CD with no restrictions whatsoever.

But let me show you an even better way. I’m talking about a way to get your music downloads 100% legally, from legitimate, licensed sources, but without having to pay for each and every song individually.

The easiest and least expensive way to get all of the music you can ever possibly listen to, without having to buy individual songs, while still being 100% legal, is through a service called a music subscription.

Music subscriptions have been around for a few years now, with Rhapsody and Napster being the most well-known music subscription services.

Here’s why music subscriptions are better than paying per song.

Music subscriptions give you a way to listen to and download music legally, and yet pay only one flat fee per month. Rhapsody and Napster charge you less than $13 per month for access to incredibly huge music collections. Their libraries are both over 6 million songs! If you want to load your MP3 player with music, sign up for the "to go" plans! This allows you to carry your music with you anywhere you happen to go.

The only limitation with music subscriptions is that you can’t burn the music to CDs unless you buy the individual tracks. But, seriously, who needs CDs when you have several Gigabytes of music loaded onto your MP3 player? You can plug your MP3 player into any stereo system out there and have your entire music library at your fingertips, no matter where you are. Today's new cars are being built with a line-in jack that allows you tp plug in your MP3 player.

Stop paying per song for your music downloads, and stop downloading music illegally. Download your music legally, instead, and save a ton of cash in the process with a music subscription. I took the two-week free trial of Rhapsody in May of 2008 and was immediately hooked. Rhapsody has completely changed the way I listen to music. I’m willing to bet it will change yours too!

Oh, and one more thing… Rhapsody gives you two weeks completely free, to try their service and see how well you’ll like it. This two week free trial gives you unlimited access to the entire Rhapsody music library. This costs you absolutely nothing!

On a final note, how many people do you know who have had their computers infected with viruses, spyware or other awful stuff because they used one of the popular programs to download their music “for free”? This might have even happened to you! I have literally seen tens of thousands of dollars worth of computer damage caused by illegal music download programs. And I have been trying to educate people on the risks of illegal music downloading for several years now. It’s just not worth risking your computer and, possibly, the loss of your identity, for a few songs.

Check out all of your legal music download options at www.legalmusicdownloads.com