American Idol

As you may have heard, American Idol is back. This year there are a few things different about America's favorite reality show. First, there is a fourth judge. (I guess Simon's mean comments and Paula's crazy antics weren't enough to get ratings.) Next, they are adding more music to the auditioning process. Yesterday we enjoyed some Journey "Don't Stop Believin'." (If you didn't know, judge Randy Jackson played with Journey in the 80s.) Tonight we have enjoyed some R.E.M and Joshua Radin (who I featured in the artist spotlight last week.)

American Idol is usually a place for pop music and nothing else. It is refreshing to see them featuring new and different sounds. Hopefully, this trend will continue on past the audition process. Maybe we will see some indie music played during the top 12 performances. American Idol was the place that featured "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter as their farewell song. This launched Powter onto the pop music charts. Perhaps American Idol has recognized its power within the music industry and will feature more indie music. Or better yet, maybe America will vote an indie artist as this year's American Idol. 

New Playlist

As I've said before I am the queen of the mix CD. I just created a new mix that I think you might enjoy. Check it out and let me know what you think. (FYI all of these songs can be found on iTunes)

Amy Macdonald- This is the Life

Bryan Greenberg- Someday

KaiserCartel- Seasons Song

Coldplay- Lost!

Snow Patrol- Take back the City

Lenka- The Show

Noah and the Whale- 5 Years Time

Slow Runner- The Stakes were Raised

John Butler Trio- Better Than

Daniel Martin Moore- That'll be the Plan

Jose Gonzalez- Heartbeats

Bic Runga- Sway

Jeremy Fisher- Goodbye Blue Monday

Joshua Radin- One of Those Days

Kate Voegele- Lift Me Up

Bebo Norman- Into the Day

Jason Reeves- Colors

Dashboard Confessional- Stolen

Sugarbomb- Hello

The Format- On Your Porch

Obama Inspired Music

President Barack Obama has inspired many people. These artists are no different. Below is a list of songs inspired by the election of our 44th president.

Dying to Survive (Feat. Barack Obama) - Ghostwridah

Barack Obama My Heroes- Roy Medina

Lookin' For A Leader- Neil Young

Black President- Nas

The People- Common

Barack Obama "Deans Way"- The Don

I Saw a Black Man in the White House- Lester Lewis

For more songs about Obama visit www.music.yahoo.com

Artist Spotlight--Joshua Radin

Joshua Radin's soothing voice and frank lyrics catch your attention and make you fall in love. If you love the mellow melody of the Garden State Soundtrack you will adore Joshua Radin.


This singer/songwriter does not sugarcoat his lyrics. Instead he mesmerizes you with melodies and a haunting voice.

Radin is just beginning to get airplay however, he has been around a while. His songs have been featured on television shows such as Grey's Anatomy, Scrubs (thanks to Zach Braff) and One Tree Hill. He also recently serenaded Ellen DeGeneres as she walked down the aisle.

As a Northeast Ohio native, this Cleveland born singer holds a special place in my heart. He enjoyed singing during his childhood, however, Radin never intended to be a professional musician. During his time at Northwestern University he studied drawing and painting. He held jobs as an art teacher, screenwriter, and art gallery employee after his years in college. It wasn't until he played one of his songs for pal Zach Braff that he began his career as a singer/songwriter. Radin's early work, a song called "Winter," found it's way onto Braff's TV show Scrubs in 2004. When fans started requesting more of his work, Radin decided to pursue songwriting and signed a deal with Columbia Records. In 2006 Radin released his debut album, We Were Here.


Radin then relocated himself to L.A. and began performing with the Hotel Cafe, a unique Hollywood venue specializing in performances by singer/songwriters. He then found himself on a national tour with other Hotel Cafe regulars such as Ingrid Michaelson and Sara Bareilles. He has continued writing and produced a pair of digital EPs which were released through iTunes. In late 2008 Radin released his sophomore album, Simple Times.





To learn more about Joshua Radin visit his webiste http://www.joshuaradin.com/ or www.myspace.com/joshuaradin. You can also find all of his work on iTunes. Enjoy!

And The Nominations Are In...

This morning Hollywood woke up early to announce the nominees for the 81st annual Academy Awards. There are only a few categories I care about (sorry outstanding achievement in sound mixing). The Academy has a history of surprising when it comes to nominations and winners for Achievement in music written for a motion picture, or what us normal folks call Best Original Song. (Remember when Three 6 Mafia won for "It's hard out here for a pimp.") This year is no different. Only three songs were even nominated and two are from the same movie.

Wall-E, "Down to Earth" by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman

Slumdog Millionaire, "Jai Ho" Music by AR Rahman with Lyrics by Gulzar

Slumdog Millionaire, "O Saya" by AR Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam

For a full list of Academy Award nominations visit www.oscar.com

Inauguration Music

As the inauguration of the 44th president comes to an end I would like to know what you thought about the music performed during the historic ceremony. (I'm not going to comment the fact that Obama struggled to recite the oath of office because that's not what this blog is all about.)

Aretha Franklin opened the ceremony with her rendition of "My Country 'Tis of Thee." Every American over the age of six knows the words to this song. Franklin, however, struggled. Maybe it was just me. She hid behind her soul background and belted out the few words she knew and let her background, pre-recorded music, do the work for her. The "Queen of Soul" maybe was not the best choice for this occasion.

Yo-Yo Ma, Hzhak Perlman, Anthony McGill and Gabriela Montero performed "Air and Simple Gifts" composed by John Williams. Did this song sound familiar to anyone else? If you grew up in church, it probably did. "Simple Gifts" is a Shaker song written in 1848 by Elder Joseph Brackett. Below are the lyrics to the one-verse song:

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,

'Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gain'd,

To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd

To turn, turn will be our delight,

Till by turning, turning we come round right.

If those are not the lyrics you remember from Sunday morning singing. That may be because the melody is used in many hymnals for the song "Lord of the Dance."

Let me know what you thought of the music used to celebrate this historic event.

Record Sales

We are now half way through January and, of course, new albums have been released. But, have we heard of any of them. Have you gone out to buy any new albums since Christmas? It is not hard to understand why record sales dropped 14 percent from 2007, according to Nielsen SoundScan data. 

Even though digital sales have increased, it is not enough to make up for the loss in physical sales. "We don't focus anymore on total album sales or the sale of any one particular product as the metric of revenue or success," said Mr. Caraeff, the executive vice president of Universal Music Group's digital division, "We look at the total consolidated revenue from dozens of revenue lines behind a given artist or project, which include digital sales, the physical business, mobile sales and licensing income."

Music industry execs should probably start looking at record sales as an indicator of trouble. Maybe sales have dropped because the public has lost faith in the supposed "artists" they are being asked to support. I know I have. 

These "artists" that are being signed to major labels are the people that the record companies believe have the right look. The "right look" means the artist can be marketed, they have mass appeal or they can be cross-promoted with their acting career. Whatever happened to artists being signed because they have talent? Executives pass over these true artists for someone who looks good on a album cover. The labels are looking for people who will make them money right from the start. Example, Miley Cyrus had a built in fan base for debut album due to her success as Hannah Montana. 

I am still an idealist. Music has changed my life. It has given me faith when I had nothing else to believe in. I believe that music can change the world, if artists and labels still care enough to change it. If the artists and producers put out music they do not believe in, why am I supposed to believe in it? 

I know I am not the only person out there searching for more meaning from the music on the radio. The music industry can return to its glory days, but that's only if the industry executives and the artists they sign care about the work they put out. If the people making the music start to care about the music they put out the public will respond and record sales will increase. But, of course, this is just one person's humble opinion.