Keywords by David Yonke

U2 is in the studio, working on a new album with producers Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno. If things keep going as well as they are, the new disc should be out this year, according to U2.com.
* * *
I'm a bit jaded these days about music and don't get excited about too many concerts or new album releases. But every time U2 releases a disc it's a huge moment for me -- and for the band's millions of fans. The last time, when "How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" came out in November, 2004, I went to Meijer's and bought a copy at midnight. I remember the clerk didn't have a clue about it and there were 2 or 3 other people waiting around for the new disc. I put it in the CD player of my Saab and cranked it up and took a drive out in the country, heading west on Sylvania Avenue toward Metamora. Oddly enough, as I was cruising along the country roads my car got hit with an egg. Some kids in the bushes must have thrown it. Strange memory, eh? I bought a regular CD and then later gave that one away and bought the deluxe version with DVD and book.
I loved the songs right from the start, especially "City of Blinding Lights," "Yahweh," and "Love and Peace or Else." I never did like "Miracle Drug," but that's just one song.
Anyway, I am excited to know the Irish lads are back in the studio. I'll probably go get the new disc at midnight but my beloved Saab is no longer with us... The transmission went out and it was not a good investment to get it fixed. I hope to have another Saab soon, however, and maybe I can take it out for another midnight drive to listen to the new disc. And dodge any egg throwing juvenile delinquents.
Toledo, Ohio
April 27, 2008

Rock and roll news from today's New York Post, not very flattering for the old guys:

THE Who's upcoming tour is expected to garner the legendary band a cool $100 million, but getting Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey to travel and perform together is turning into a logistical night- mare.

One insider said, "There is a lot of tension and fighting going on right now. Roger is furious with Pete. Pete has been writing all this new material and wants to perform the new stuff, but Roger wants to stick with 'My Generation,' 'Won't Get Fooled Again,' 'Pinball Wizard' and other classics."

Townshend and Daltrey are said not even to be on speaking terms, and have supposedly presented tour operators with a list of demands, including:

* The two rockers must have separate dressing rooms on opposite ends of the hallway.

* There will be no conversation between the two of them either before or after performances. "They will basically show up, play, and leave," the source said.

* They must have separate travel arrangements, separate hotel accommodations, as well as separate staffing.

"They're at each other's throats right now," our insider said, "But considering how much money is on the line, there's 100 million reasons why they need to do this."

A friend sent me these helpful tips via email... Don't know where it originated but it's been circulating in cyberspace for a long time. Funny stuff.
(By the way, when I interviewed Peter Tork recently, the former Monkee who is now focusing on the blues, we talked about what it takes to sing the blues. I mentioned Martin Mull's great comedy line where he is trying to sing the blues and goes, "I felt so low down and disgusted ... I threw my drink across the lawn." That is a perfect summary of the suburban white man's attempt at the blues. -- David

Keith Richards and David "Honeyboy" Edwards

HOW TO SING THE BLUES

*1. Most Blues begin with: "Woke up this '..."*

*2. "I got a good woman" is a bad way to begin the Blues, unless you
stick something nasty in the next line like, "I got a good woman, with
the meanest face in town."*

*3. The Blues is simple. After you get the first line right, repeat it.
Then find something that rhymes... sort of: "Got a good woman with the
meanest face in town. Yes, I got a good woman with the meanest face in
town. Got teeth like Margaret Thatcher, and she weigh 500 pound."*

*4. The Blues is not about choice. You stuck in a ditch, you stuck in a
ditch - ain't no way out.*

*5. Blues cars: Chevys, Fords, Cadillacs and broken-down trucks. Blues
don't travel in Volvos, BMWs, or Sport Utility Vehicles. Most Blues
transportation is a Greyhound bus or a southbound train. Jet aircraft
and state-sponsored motor pools ain't even in the running. Walkin' plays
a major part in the blues lifestyle. So does fixin' to die.*

*6. Teenagers can't sing the Blues. They ain't fixin' to die yet. Adults
sing the Blues. In Blues, "adulthood" means being old enough to get the
electric chair if you shoot a man in Memphis.*

*7. Blues can take place in New York City but not in Hawaii or any place
in Canada. Hard times in Minneapolis or Seattle is probably just
clinical depression. Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City are still the
best places to have the Blues. You cannot have the blues in any place
that don't get rain.*

*8. A man with male pattern baldness ain't the blues. A woman with male
pattern baldness is. Breaking your leg 'cause you were skiing is not the
blues. Breaking your leg 'cause a alligator be chomping on it, is.*

*9. You can't have no Blues in a office or a shopping mall. The lighting
is wrong. Go outside to the parking lot or sit by the dump bins.*

*10. Good places for the Blues: a. highway; b. jailhouse; c. empty bed;
d. bottom of a whiskey glass.*

*11. Bad places for the Blues: a. Nordstrom's; b. gallery openings; c.
universities; d. golf courses.*

*12. No one will believe it's the Blues if you wear a suit, unless you
happen to be an old ethnic person and you slept in it.*

*13. You have the right to sing the Blues if: a. you older than dirt; b.
you blind; c. you shot a man in Memphis. Not if: a. you have all your
teeth; b. you were once blind but now can see; c. the man in Memphis
lived; d. you have a 401(k) or trust/superannuation fund.*

*14. Blues is not a matter of color. It's a matter of bad luck. Tiger
Woods cannot sing the blues. Sonny Liston could. Ugly white people also
got a leg up on the blues.*

*15. If you ask for water and your darlin' give you gasoline, it's the
Blues. Other acceptable Blues beverages are: a. cheap wine; b. whiskey
or bourbon; c. muddy water; d. nasty black coffee. The following are
NOT Blues beverages: a. Perrier; b. Chardonnay; c. Red Bull; d. Slim Fast.*

*16. If death occurs in a cheap motel or a shotgun shack, it's a Blues
death. Stabbed in the back by a jealous lover is another Blues way to
die. So are the electric chair, substance abuse and dying lonely on a
broken-down cot. You can't have a Blues death if you die during a tennis
match or while getting liposuction.*

*17. Some Blues names for women: a. Sadie; b. Big Mama; c. Bessie; d.
Fat River Dumpling.*

*18. Some Blues names for men: a. Joe; b. Willie; c. Little Willie; d.
Big Willie.*

*19. Persons with names like Amber, Jennifer, Courtney, and Heather
can't sing the Blues no matter how many men they shoot in Memphis.*

*20. Make your own Blues name Starter Kit: a. name of physical infirmity
(Blind, Cripple, Lame, etc.) b. first name (see above) plus name of
fruit (Lemon, Lime, Kiwi, etc.) c. last name of President (Jefferson,
Johnson, Fillmore, etc.) For example: Blind Lime J. Jefferson, Jakeleg
Lemon Johnson or Cripple Kiwi Fillmore, etc. (Well, maybe not "Kiwi.")*

*21. And I don't care how tragic your life might be: If you own a
computer, you can't sing the blues.*

I'm interested in the new release by David Byrne and Brian Eno, "Everything That Happens."
Here is a link to the website where you can learn more about the disc.

Both men are musical mavericks and geniuses. Byrne was the brains behind the Talking Heads and Eno had his own ambient music and has produced albums by U2, Coldplay, David Bowie and Paul Simon, among others.
The two collaborated on "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" in 1981 and have been busy with their own projects, but collaborated on this new disc via email and the internet. Jon Pareles of the New York Times, one of my favorite and most dependable music journalists, wrote a great article about the CD that piqued my interest. Here's a link to that article.
* * *
What I'm listening to now: "Memory Almost Full" by Paul McCartney. Also: "One Kind Favor" by B.B. King and "Dukie Treats" by George Duke.
* * *
Sylvania, Ohio
Sept. 1, 2008

Went to see Sanctus Real perform last night in Toledo. It was the start of a nationwide headlining tour by these Christian rockers from Toledo. The band keeps getting better, focusing on their songwriting and musicianship and ministry.
The group also will be playing in town Sunday for a benefit concert organized by Extreme Makeover, which is building a home in Toledo next week.
Here are a few photos I took at last night's concert.

* * *
Sylvania, Ohio
Sept. 5, 2008

I was speaking with Matt Hammitt recently, the lead singer of Sanctus Real, and he said his band has been touring so much with other artists that it has not had many opportunities to promote its own favorite causes.
You know how it is at Christian rock concerts: Almost every band brings out a spokesman for from a worthy causes, usually Compassion International or World Vision -- both excellent global Christian relief agencies -- and asks people to make donations.
Now, however, Sanctus Real -- Hammitt, Chris Rohman, Mark Graalman (the 3 Toledo members), Pete Prevost and Dan Gartley -- is headlining its own We Need Each Other tour and will get a chance to put the spotlight on two nonprofit groups that are doing great things.
One is The Mocha Club, which asks people to skip two cups of mocha a month and donate the $7 they save by giving to a group that builds wells in Africa. People who sign up pay $7 up front and then pledge $7 a month.
An average well in Africa costs about $3,000, and at Thursday's concert at CedarCreek Church, the first night of Sanctus' 30-city national tour, the audience pledged more than $30,000 (Janet and I signed up, although I must say that the guy Sanctus Real had giving the appeal was so longwinded and disjointed that he almost drove me away.)
You can read more about this great ministry to the needy in Africa here.
The second cause that Sanctus Real is boosting is Toms Shoes, which will donate one pair of shoes to a needy child for every pair that is purchased. Since starting the outreach in 2006, Toms has donate more than 60,000 pairs of shoes to children in Argentina and South Africa. The company hopes to give away 200,000 pairs by the end of this year.
You can read more about Toms Shoes here.

They do look like comfy and stylish footwear, don't you think?

... and they have shoes for the politically minded...

* * *
Yesterday was a sad day for me: it is the birthday of my late brother, Roy. He was two years younger than me and died of cancer in 2003. On his birthday, a lot of the fun times we had as children came back to me.
I can't understand why people you love leave this earth at such a young age. And I don't expect to understand such things as long as I'm looking through a glass darkly, as the Bible describes the view of mortals trying to see "the big picture".

* * *
Toledo, Ohio
Sept. 6, 2008

I watched a movie recently, the well-crafted drama Things I Lost in the Fire, with Benicio del Toro and Halle Berry, and there were two scenes where the background music featured Lou Reed singing "Sweet Jane."
That song triggered memories of my college days, sitting on the bed in a blacklighted dorm room with a bunch of other immature Dukies, cranking up the Pioneer tube amp and Marantz speakers and blasting Reed's "Rock and Roll Animal" until we could hear the neighbors pounding on the wall.

That album is one of the greatest live rock albums ever recorded, and that is no overstatement.

I learned something important from that album: that the mood and the attitude of the artists are just as important, actually more important, than their technical prowess on their instruments.
Up until that time, I was really into Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Doors, Led Zeppelin, the Stones and Beatles of course, Yes, Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa, Johnny Winter, Allman Brothers -- remember, we're going waaaay back here.
Then I was introduced to Lou Reed by some New York intellectual punkers who seemed angry at being stuck at Duke instead of NYU, and we listened to this weird looking dude with the pasty face and short black hair and lipstick and eyeshadow, and the music and the lyrics just rocked my little closed-up sophomore mind.

Lou Reed took me on a trip I wasn't expecting. The music has such energy and emotion it sweeps you away. And Reed's band was right on cue and the attitude was perfect for the era, a pioneering punk rock band that shook its fist at the establishment.
After that, I got into Patti Smith and Television and a few other NY punk rock pioneers (not the NY Dolls or Twisted Sister, mind you -- you have to draw the line somewhere) as well as the inimitable David Bowie.
One Thanksgiving break we went to New York and saw Television at CBGB's, and I remember asking the girl checking ID's at the door if Lou Reed was there tonight. She looked at me, checking me out, and said, "We would never let that little faggot in here."

After watching the movie and hearing Lou sing, I dusted off my CD of "Rock and Roll Animal," which had been sitting on a shelf for years. I hadn't even removed the shrink wrap!
I put that little disc into the player and turned up the volume and found myself being taken down that rock and roll road once again.
The music is just as vibrant and relevant today as it did when it was recorded live at the Academy of Music in New York on Dec. 21, 1973.
You can't say that about too many '70s bands.
My values and my life have changed drastically since then but the music remains the same -- to quote Zep. It was a nice trip down memory lane.
* * *
Sylvania, Ohio
Sept. 14, 2008

The singer on this YouTube video is almost too bad to believe, but after a couple of views I have to think this man is serious.
As much as I resist poking fun at people, this rendition of "Omazing Grace" is out there on the net, viewed by hundreds of thousands of people, and it's really too "omazing" to miss.
It starts off bad and gets worse, so make sure you don't leave early.
The singer seems like he's truly trying to praise God with this song. It makes me wonder: How does it sound to the Lord?
Click here for this must-see, must-hear video.
* * *
On a more positive note, here is a hilarious YouTube video of two girls singing "Money" -- the girl on the right makes the video.
Toledo, Ohio
Sept. 30, 2008

Saw the legendary bluesman Riley B. King, aka B.B. King, in concert at Toledo's Stranahan Theater on Thursday night. It was a nice evening but Mr. King did a bit too much talking and joking, I would have preferred to hear more music.
I tried to be respectful but honest, as always, in my concert review, which you can read here.

This may be the last time the 83-year-old blues legend comes to Toledo -- although he may still be touring for years, who knows. I thought it was worth the effort to document this show.

Those pics on the Blade's website that ran with my review were mine, although there's no credit line. I love my Panasonic Lumix FZ camera.

Here are a few more photos I took at B.B.'s concert, from about the 12th row:

* * *
Sylvania, Ohio
October 4, 2008

I've been reading Joel Osteen's "Become a Better You" (background for an article I'm writing), and listening to John Tesh's music and his radio show, "Intelligence for Your Life."
All I need now is a Norman Vincent Peale book, a Dr. Phil show, and a Yanni album and I'd probably try to run for president of the world.
Tesh and Osteen know how to motivate people and give people a positive outlook on life.
I'm an optimistic person by nature, although like anyone I have my down moments, but I can see how Tesh's and Osteen's words of encouragement and Tesh's uplifting music can help raise the spirits of people who lean toward gloom and doom.
Sometimes I forget how easy it is to look at the glass as half empty instead of half full, and to start feeling sorry for yourself and sink into depression, insecurity and even despair.
* * *
I did get home in time to watch the World Series from the 7th inning on (I used my phone to check the score during the Tesh concert). The Rays lost but it was a close one, 3-2. Once Brad Lidge gets on the mound for the Phillies these days, there's basically no hope for hitters. The guy's slider has been unhittable this year. The best thing the Rays can do is try to avoid close games so they don't have to face Lidge with the game on the line.
* * *
Getting back to John Tesh's concert in Toledo, I was amazed that he and his band played a number of very Christian songs, including "Yes, Lord!," "Draw Me Close To You," and "I Can Only Imagine."
John also told the Stranahan Theater audience -- a jammed house, probably 1,800 people -- about the need to get out of the house and help others, do some mission work or find a ministry.
My wife Janet and I got to chat with John at intermission, and he said he never has gotten a complaint about being too religious in concert. I've interviewed him a number of times by phone so it was nice to finally meet him in person. He joked that when he sings "Draw Me Close To You" he doesn't look at his female singer, Chelsea Ward, or it might give the wrong impression.
I enjoyed the concert a lot, partly for the music and partly for Tesh's engaging showmanship.
There never was a dull moment with Tesh telling funny stories and offering conversational chats in between songs. He's a decent musician but probably better at composing and organizing and being a team leader. His keyboards and vocals were backed by a superbly talented band, amusing hip-hop dancing by Breeze Lee, and first-rate visuals with strobe and robotic lights, digital screen imagery, smoke machines and the like.

Here are a few photos I took at last night's show at the Stranahan Theater:

* * *
Sylvania, Oho
October 23, 2008

I am already excited about the new U2 album now being recorded. It should be out early in 2009. Few bands have been able to tap into the spiritual and cultural world and create such a brilliant and meaningful combination of commentary and entertainment.
Many of their songs hit me like sermons.
Of course, U2 will always be known for their 1987 breakthrough album "The Joshua Tree" and such classics as "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "With or Without You." But there is much more to this mighty band. Every one of their discs has produced some fantastic songs that are both musically brilliant and lyrically powerful even if they don't make the singles charts or get airplay. "Playboy Mansion" from "Pop" is one such song; "All That You Can't Leave Behind" is another.
I think one of the reasons they are so successful is that they were childhood friends. They grew up together, became rich and famous together, and stuck it out through good times and bad together. That is the kind of bond and interpersonal chemistry you don't find very often in the cutthroat music business.
The last time U2 came out with an album of new material was late 2004, with "How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb." It went on sale on a Tuesday and I went the store to buy it at 12:01 a.m., the first time I'd ever done that for a new album. I guess you could say I was pumped for it.
I put the CD in my car stereo and headed west into the farmlands of Fulton County to crank it up. I thought it would be better than blasting the new disc at home and waking everyone up... and listening on headphones is not my favorite way to hear music. Listening to music in the confines of your own automobile as you're zipping along the highways and byways is one of modern life's true pleasures.
So here I am, around 12:30 in the morning, cruising blithely along the backroads in my classic Saab 900, when somewhere in the middle of the third song, "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own," I heard and felt a loud "Thwap".
Something hit the car. I got out and checked and saw that some moron had thrown an egg. No harm done but it knocked me out of my reverie.
That's my pleasant memories of my first experience listening to "Atomic Bomb." Touching, isn't it?
* * *
So on we go to 2009 and the next album. Here's what Bono had to say on the band's official website, www.u2.com., about the new songs:

'We’ve hit a rich songwriting vein and we don’t want to stop.' Bono has been talking to U2.Com about how the songs are shaping up for the new record and plans for 2009 to be their year.

‘This is our chance for us to defy gravity once again, ‘ explains Bono, calling in from a break in recording sessions in the south of France. ‘ We have what it takes, we have the songs, new rhythms and a guitar player who is not ready to re-enter earth's atmosphere until he's taken a slice of the moon!
'It's been fun, it's been maddening... there have been injuries and recoveries, no babies born that I know of, but this one is nearly ready for the new year of 2009.'

The band have been writing and recording the follow-up to ‘How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb’ since last year, and the feeling is that they’ve hit a creative groove so there are no plans to stop. Everyone, he says, is excited about where the recording is taking them.

‘When we set out on this record it was Larry who came up with the plan not to have a plan. He put up this idea that wouldn’t it be great just to make music for its own sake, not for the purpose of a live show or on album but just to see what we’re capable of…’

It’s an idea that’s paid off. Following sessions in Morocco, in Dublin and through the summer in France, the band have written ‘fifty or sixty’ tracks. And counting.

‘We’ve hit a rich songwriting vein,’ he explains. ‘It gets a bit dark down here but looks like we've found diamonds not coal. I thought a while back we might have the album wrapped by now, but why come up above ground now if there's more priceless stuff to be found?

For now, they’re keeping a promise they made to themselves when they started writing: ‘We said to each other that if we got to the great place then we wouldn’t stop…’

So the writing and recording continues and while they now know what shape most of the album will take, they're not leaving the studio just yet.

‘We know we have to emerge soon but we also know that people don’t want another U2 album unless it is our best ever album. It has to be our most innovative, our most challenging … or what’s the point ?’

They have no doubts that it will be as important a release for U2 as any. ‘It’s a brand new chapter for us, and everyone we’ve played the tracks to has said that musically it feels like another departure.

‘The last two records were very personal, with a kind of three piece at their heart, the primary colours of rock - bass, guitars and drum. But what we’re about now is of the same order as the transition that took us from The Joshua Tree to Achtung Baby.’

He also mentions that the recording in Morocco was the first time the band have worked in a studio open to the sky: ‘On that track you can hear the sound of a swallows nest close to the building - it’s beautiful.’

Longtime collaborators Danny Lanois and Brian Eno have joined the band at different times, and, more recently, Steve Lillywhite – usually a tell-tale sign that a record is nearly done. ‘Steve has that ear for a top line melody and a good hook.’

But while Bono is itching to get the music out he says it’s going to be early 2009 when we first get to hear the songs.

‘I’m always the one who underestimates how easy it is to simply 'put out the songs now', if it was just up to me they’d be out already! But early next year people will be able to start hearing what we’ve been doing. We want 2009 to be our year, so we’re going to start making an impression very early on …’
* * *
Sylvania, Ohio
November 8, 2008

I love the music on Paul McCartney's new album, "The Fireman: Electric Arguments," a collaboration with an artist named Youth. But I was appalled to find that the thick, glossy booklet enclosed in the package contained photos of Macca and Youth painting their childlike scribblings used on the album cover.
You'd think such an expensive add-on would show the pair making music, or include the lyrics, or essays about the recording sessions or the musicians' approach to the album.
No such luck. It's just feed-the-ego photos of these two great musicians making artwork that, to be brutally honest, is little more than infantile. I was drawing better cartoon graphics when I was in grade school.
McCartney is a world-class songwriter and musician and composer who has enjoyed immense fame and wealth from his musical achievements. But I guess that's not enough for him. Does he think he must prove to the world that he's a Renaissance man, a great visual artist as well as a musical genius?
If that's his attempt, he failed miserably in the "Fireman" booklet and album cover.
Sorry, Sir Paul, you should stick to what you're good at.
You have accomplished more than most people ever will, and there's no need to try to prove anything more.
* * *
Toledo, Ohio
Dec. 3, 2004

Here are some photos I took at the Bill Gaither Homecoming Concert 12/4/08 in Toledo. There were more than 20 singers on the stage and the concert lasted from 7 p.m. to 11:15 p.m., longer than almost any other concert I've been to except the Grateful Dead, Bruce Springsteen, and the all-day or all-weekend festivals...
Wonderful vocals and arrangements in traditional Gospel music style... Hope you enjoy the pics. -- David

Bill Gaither

The Gaither Vocal Band

The Isaacs

Mark Lowry

Ivan Parker

Vic Speer

David Phelps

Ernie Haase & Signature Sound

Today would have been singer Jim Morrison's 65th birthday had his life not been cut short by drugs and alcohol. He died July 3, 1971 at age 27.
It also is the 28th anniversary of John Lennon's tragic death, shot and killed by a demented "fan" in New York City. Lennon was 40 years old.
Both of these singer-songwriters were major inspirations in my life, especially Lennon.
When I was growing up in the 1960s I fell in love with their music and I felt inspired to question and challenge the status quo because of their lyrics and the statements they made in interviews.
Some of their views were naive and their behavior self-destructive, but they did help lead a generation in a transitionary time from the button-down culture of the 1950s to the self-indulgence and freedom of the psychedelic 60s.
Lennon was always seeking the truth and skeptical of institutions. It's such a shame that he was murdered just as he was getting his life on solid ground, getting past Beatlemania and revolution and plugging into society as a "house husband" and father.
Morrison was a poet and an iconoclast who was always on the verge of skittering out of control. He was charismatic but with a dark side. Yet the Doors music was vibrant and moving, and the melodic and rhythmic magic will still sweep you away.
I interviewed Ray Manzarek, the Doors' keyboard player, several times and he has kept the anti-establishment and mystical mindset of his old band alive, saying repeatedly: "Break on through to the other side."
I never interviewed Lennon or any of the Beatles but I did get a Christmas card from Yoko Ono one year after I wrote a column about what Lennon meant to me.
Tonight, I'll give these two rock icons some playing time on my stereo. Their music and legacy live on, although personally their influence on my life has been tempered by time and a little wisdom.
* * *
Last week was another anniversary of the death of a rock great: Frank Zappa died Dec. 4, 1993 of cancer at age 52.

He was another brilliant innovator and iconoclast whose sophisticated musical skills and intelligent ideas were somewhat obscured by a pseudo-juvenile sense of humor.
But if you listen to some of his neo-classical-jazz-rock instrumentals, you'll find that FZ was a genius who stood far above most of his contemporaries.
I saw him in concert a dozen times and he was probably the most interesting, entertaining, demanding, and precise band director in rock history.
I remember one thing about Zappa was that he always had a burly, shaved-headed security guard on stage with him, looking fierce and intimidating. One time I was at a Zappa concert at the Jai Alai fronton in Tampa when a fan tried to climb onto the stage. The bodyguard ran quick as a gazelle at him and kicked him square in the chest, sending the guy flying backward into the seats.
It wasn't until years later that I realized why: Zappa had been pushed off the stage by a fan in London in 1971 and suffered serious injuries to his head, back, leg and larynx. His band members thought he was dead when he hit the concrete floor.
No wonder he had a bodyguard nearby after that scary moment.

Toledo, Ohio
Dec. 8, 2008

One of the most interesting Christian music projects of 2008 is CompassionArt, in which a dozen top artists huddled together in a small Scottish town to write songs with all proceeds going to charity.
The CD comes out in January but six songs are already available for free, a donation requested, online.
Click here to get the songs.

I recently dusted off one of my all-time favorite albums, "Mingus" by Joni Mitchell. This 1979 album had some of the finest jazz musicians of the day working with Mitchell on a tribute to the great jazz bassist Charles Mingus.
Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Peter Erskine, Don Alias, and Emil Richards performed on the disc, along with the incredibly funky and highly expressive genius Jaco Pastorius on fretless bass.
Mingus had contacted Mitchell, thinking she would be an artist he'd like to work with. He had written six songs for her, but by the time she linked up with Mingus the bassist was very ill -- in a wheelchair with ALS. He died in January, 1979, before the album was completed.
The "Mingus" disc is a classic collaboration of jazz and pop artistry at the pinnacle. It's a thing of beauty and a timeless bit of joi de vivre.
For the last few days, I've been obsessed with one single track, "The Dry Cleaner from Des Moines," featuring Joni Mitchell's brilliant lyrics, her scat-like vocals and Jaco's amazing bass lines.
Here's a link to them performing the song live. The studio version is "more perfect" but it's nice to see this super jazz band on video. Few singers can jump from the lows to the high notes as fluidly as Mitchell, and her timing is impeccable.
On the album, you hear Mingus' raspy voice saying after the music ends: "I was lucky. I was blessed by God. God blessed me."
* * *
Here are the lyrics, reprinted from the official www.jonimitchell.com, to show the sheer poetry of this whimsical composition.
* * *
The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines
By Joni Mitchell

I'm down to a roll of dimes
I'm stalking the slot that's hot
I keep hearing bells all around me
Jingling in the lucky jackpots
They keep you tantalized
They keep you reaching for your wallet
Here in fools' paradise

I talked to a cat from Des Moines
He said he ran a cleaning plant
That cat was clanking with coin
Well he must have had a genie in a lamp
'cause every time I dropped a dime I blew it
He kept ringing bells
Nothing to it!

He got three oranges
Three lemons
Three cherries
Three plums
I'm losing my taste for fruit
Watching the dry cleaner do it
Like Midas in a polyester suit
It's all luck!
It's just luck!
You get a little lucky and you make a little money!

I followed him down the strip
He picked out a booth at Circus Circus
where the cowgirls fill the room
With their big balloons
The cleaner was pitching with purpose!
He had Dinos and Pooh Bears
And lions pink and blue there
He couldn't lose there!

Des Moines was stacking the chips
Raking off the tables
Ringing the bandit's bells
This is a story that's a drag to tell
(In some ways)
Since I lost every dime
I laid on the line
But the cleaner from Des Moines
Could put a coin
In the door of a john
And get twenty for one
It's just luck!

Copyright © 1978-1979; Crazy Crow Music
* * *
I am amazed at how pathetic the "celebrity gossip" is today, when I went to yahoo.com and the big headline is about how Brangelina (Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie) "snubbed" Ryan Seacrest on the red carpet at the Golden Globes.
First of all, who cares? Second of all, it would have been worth a blurb if Pitt had slugged Seacrest or something. But all they did was not grant an interview. This is so lame, it's a disagrace to American journalism that anyone is even reporting it.
Next thing you know, they'll have a big story on what entrees Matt Damon didn't order at a restaurant.
* * *
Sylvania, Ohio
January 12, 2009

Matt Rach is one of the most skilled, talented and expressive guitarists I've ever seen, and that's all based on youtube videos of this French teenager playing guitar in his bedroom. He's got the nimble, swift, precision touch of a master like Joe Satriani and the gut-wrenching rock power of Jimmy Page. OK, maybe I'm jumping the gun a little but he's in that ballpark -- and he's just a kid. Believe me, I know guitar talent when I see it and hear it.
Click here to check out this version of Pachabel's Canon in D and you'll see what I mean.
He also does a monstrous medley of Jimi Hendrix tunes.
Check it out here.
You can find his stuff on iTunes but I don't think he's got any CDs out ... yet.
Gentlemen, start your air guitars.
This skinny little French teen who plays guitar in his attic bedroom is destined for stardom.
* * *
Sylvania, Ohio
Feb. 28, 2009

That's the title of the new U2 CD, coming out on Tuesday... 3 days and counting. I can hardly wait.
Read more about it and check out the first single, "Get On Your Boots," here.
Tour schedule will be announced March 9.

The world needs a little jolt of U2 to put some life into this messed up year. The timing of U2'S NLOTH couldn't be better.
* * *
Sylvania, Ohio
Feb. 28, 2009

I watched U2 perform on Late Night with David Letterman last night -- the first of five nightly appearances this week. They played one song off the new album.
I wasn't impressed.
Darn.
I don't know what the song was about. Bono was spouting words super fast, something about 9:05 on June 16 and then I lost touch. The music was narrow in range with a monotonous beat. I just wasn't feeling it. Edge seemed to be robotic.
Of course, Bono had the crowd on its feet, clapping along. But with his charm he can rile up any crowd, especially in a small theater like the Ed Sullivan where Letterman tapes.
Sometimes I have to listen to a song or an album numerous times before I "get it." I hope it's that way with this one. I have great respect for U2 and am feeling terribly disappointed by the first song I heard them play from "No Line on the Horizon."
Hopefully tonight will be better.

I wrote a review of the new U2 album, "No Line on the Horizon." This disc has been an unusual experience for me thus far. I started out disliking it but felt I needed to give it a few more listens. As I kept listening to it, I started disliking it less. I started to appreciate a song or two. After a dozen spins, I absolutely loved it.
I called my brother John, who turned me on to U2 many years ago, and asked him what he thought. He had the same experience. At first he thought "it sucked!" to quote John. Now he thinks it's the band's best album.
I think it's because we have such high expectations for a group like U2 and also because they did not fit their mold on this one but took a different tack. It's a more compressed sound, more introspective, and full of keyboards and beats and all sorts of stuff.
The two best songs, imo, are "Unknown Caller" and "Stand Up Comedy."
Here's a copy of my review.
* * *
Sylvania, Ohio
March 15, 2009

The inimitable folk troubadour and cultural sage Bob Dylan is releasing a new album, "Together Through Life," April 28, and is offering a free download of one song -- today only -- called "Beyond Here Lies Nothing."
Here is a link. Hope you get a chance to download it.

* * *
Toledo, Ohio
March 31, 2009

This is quite amusing because back in the old days ... ah yes, I know, I'm sounding like my father ... concert halls were almost always filled with smoke from both cigarettes and joints... Artists either didn't notice, didn't care, or toughed it out. I never remember any singer or musician disappearing because there was too much cigarette smoke.
On the other hand, I'm glad most U.S. venues are smoke free. It's much healthier and much more comfortable. I think Britney's staff should have checked out the venue's smoking policy before the show was booked. I'm sure they will do so from now on... -- David

Britney Concert Goes Up in Smoke

The latest stop on Britney Spears' Circus tour featured a little too much smoke and not enough mirrors.
The pop star has issued an apology to ticket holders of last night's Vancouver show after smoky conditions on stage led to a 30-minute delay of the concert—a delay that came just three songs in after Spears walked off stage without explanation, leaving the crowd to sit (and boo) in the dark arena..

"The building is awfully smoky," an announcer finally explained to the sold-out crowd, per the Vancouver Sun. "It's become uncomfortable and unsafe for the performers, including Ms. Spears..

"Please extinguish all cigarettes…The show will resume as soon as the air around the stage is clear.".

A spokesman for Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment, which owns GM Place, the Vancouver venue where the concert was held, said that despite initial reports claiming the smoky air was a byproduct of toking-up concertgoers, the smoke was believed to be from cigarettes, not marijuana..

(The rep did not comment on why anything was being lit up in the first place, given as smoking indoors is illegal there.).

"We want to apologize to all the fans who attended our Vancouver show tonight for the brief pause in Britney's set," reads a statement on Spears' blog. "Crew members above the stage became ill due to a ventilation issue.".

The New York Times ran a terrific Sunday profile story on Toledo-born jazz pianist Larry Fuller. You can read the story here.
I've written about Larry a number of times and count myself among the local jazz aficionados who have long been proud of this Toledo jazz piano virtuoso. Rusty Monroe always mentioned Larry when she was talking about the great jazz artists who played at her club.
Religion pops up in the Times story in one of Fuller's funniest quotes. He was talking about singer Ernestine Anderson, who hired him in her band for his first "big break."
She happened to be a Buddhist, and used to seek spiritual from Buddha, according to Fuller:

"I used to pick her up to go to the plane, and she'd invariably be late. So she'd get in the car, and we're flying off to the airport, and she's chanting so that we can make the plane. And I'm thinking, 'Why don't you just leave on time?'"

* * *
Here's a story I wrote about Larry in November, 1998:

FULLER BACK FOR JAZZ ENCORE

``IT'S KIND of a ladder that you climb,'' pianist Larry Fuller said, describing a jazz artist's career.
The Toledo native and member of the Jeff Hamilton Trio, which performs with the Toledo Jazz Orchestra Sunday and Monday, has been scaling new heights lately.

``I recently got to tour a month in Europe with Ray Brown, and it was the thrill of my life,'' Fuller said, referring to the bass great who used to perform with Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, and Oscar Peterson (and who was married to Ella Fitzgerald from 1948-52).

Fuller also recorded his first CD as a frontman, on which Hamilton played drums and Brown played bass.

``I've been on tour so much that I haven't even had a chance to mix the album,'' he said. ``We recorded Aug. 18 but the tapes are still sitting in my home.''

Although he doesn't have a record deal yet, he isn't overly concerned. The names Brown and Hamilton virtually guarantee its marketability in the jazz world.

Fuller, 33, grew up in the Old North End section of Toledo, on Erie Street, and knew as early as junior high school that he wanted to be a professional musician.

``I studied with Candy Johnson, the great tenor saxophonist who had played with Count Basie's band, and with Bill Doggett's and Duke Ellington's bands,'' Fuller said. ``He had a music program in the public schools, the Toledo All-City Youth Jazz Band.''

Fuller cites Oscar Peterson and Monty Alexander as his main inspirations on piano, and said he ``practically grew up'' at Rusty's Jazz Cafe. He is glad to be back in town this weekend when owner Margaret ``Rusty'' Monroe celebrates her 80th birthday Sunday.

``When I was in high school it was the only real place to play in town,'' he said. ``I had a steady Sunday night gig there.''

After graduating from Central Catholic High School, Fuller worked regularly at the Bird of Paradise Cafe in Ann Arbor, Mich.

One weekend in 1989 he played in a local trio that accompanied famed singer Ernestine Anderson for three shows.

``She liked my playing and asked if I would be willing to go on tour with her, and I agreed to.''

Anderson hired Fuller as her musical director and pianist, and he moved to her hometown of Seattle in February, 1990.

The ``grunge rock'' movement exploded out of Seattle at about the same time that Fuller moved there, but ``I don't run in those circles and I didn't see it too much. ... I'd just read in the paper about these bands with funny names becoming famous.''

Hamilton, a native of Richmond, Ind., has played drums for the bands of Woody Herman and Lionel Hampton, and has appeared on more than 175 recordings. Among the artists he has accompanied are Barbra Streisand, Mel Torme, Dr. John, Natalie Cole, and George Shearing.

He joined the Ray Brown Trio in 1988 and left in March, 1995, to concentrate on his own group. Playing bass with the trio is Christoph Lundy, a native of Stuttgart, Germany.
* * *

Toledo, Ohio
April 29, 2009

This is a verbatim press release from Solid PR in New York for an event being held tonight in New York City... Unfortunately I won't be able to make it but maybe you can check it out. Fill me in if you go. -- David

LOUD FAST JEWS!
A Summit with Four Jewish Fathers of Punk
Featuring Tommy Ramone, Lenny Kaye, Chris Stein and Handsome Dick Manitoba!

Coming up, Tommy Ramone and Handsome Dick Manitoba, who will be at the birthday bash, are speaking with Lenny Kaye (of the Patti Smith Group and more) and Chris Stein (of Blondie) at "LOUD FAST JEWS! A Summit with Four Jewish Fathers of Punk" on Thursday, June 11th at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research - BrooklynVegan

For over thirty years New York's Bowery St. CBGB's was the cradle for the punk music and its' movements throughout the national and global sphere. When it closed in 2006, it was a sad day for punks everywhere as the black, sticker and graffiti-covered façade was replaced with that of an expensive clothing designer's brand. Many of the club's mainstay performers came from all over the city of New York in the early days- kids coming into Manhattan's East Village from any of the outer boroughs and beyond to help forge this new sound. What many don't know, though, is that a good portion of these early punk progenitors were Jewish. - FUEL TV

Like Sandy Koufax to baseball, these fine men will give you a better appreciation of the impact they had on their craft. - The Tripwire

To purchase tickets, visit:
www.smarttix.com or call 212-868-4444

For more information, visit:
www.yivo.org

Nicely edited compilation of "I Saw Her Standing There" performed at different times by The Beatles and by Paul McCartney's bands. It just feels good to hear such a simple, melodic, rhythmic song played with verve.
My childhood hero John Lennon -- I love the way he bounces his body at the knees when he strums that Rickenbacker guitar. I still miss him, he was one of a kind.
Thanks to Pastor Mark Vipond for sending this my way and giving me a welcome break from the daily grind....

=====================

=======================

By the way, the best band of the 21st century kicked off its world tour last night in Barcelona. I'm speaking about U2 and its new "360" tour. The Dublin lads come to the USA in September.
There's loads of info on the band's official site. Click here.

(from U2.com)
U2's set list, opening night of 360-degree Tour, Barcelona 6/30/09:

Breathe
No Line on the Horizon
Get On Your Boots
Magnificent
Beautiful DaY
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Angel of Harlem
In A Little While
Unknown Caller
Unforgettable Fire
City of Blinding LIghts
Vertigo
I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Pride (In The Name of Love)
MLK
Walk On
Where The Streets Have No Name
One
-------
Ultraviolet
With Or Without You
Moment of Surrender.

Here is a great deal on a great album: an MP3 of Matthew West's "Something To Say" is only $2.99 to download from Amazon.com.

Amazon has been offering these deals on CD's by artists who are slated to play at Disney's Night of Joy in September. Yesterday it was Tobymac's "Portable Sounds."

These are really good contemporary Christian artists and their discs are worth it at full price -- so this deal is definitely worth checking out.

P.S. I get no kickback on this! I just want to spread the word, so to speak.
P.P.S. Void where prohibited by law. Offer not available in New Hampshire and Bulgaria. Insured up to $100,000 from the FDIC. Objects in mirror are closer than they appear. Nobody knows da trouble I seen.

Mick Taylor, former Rolling Stones guitarist? Here is a link to an article from Sunday's edition of the Daily Mail that gives the scoop.
Quite an amazing story, with a few sad twists. Mick and Keith, won't you throw your old "Honky Tonk Woman" guitarist a few crumbs from your tables?

I had to get a new phone the other day because my blackberry was malfunctioning. The girl at Verizon who helped me out saw my U2 screensaver and we started chatting about music.
According to Kristi, Larry Mullen Jr. of U2 bought a bar in Nyack, N.Y., just outside NYC, about 5 years ago and called it Vertigo, after the hit song by the band. That bar got to be such a popular pilgrimage site for U2 fans that he sold it, unbeknownst to most U2 pilgrims, and bought a different bar just down the street called the Old Village In (or OVI, as the locals call it).

Kristi said she has a friend who lives in Nyack who was invited to a private "dinner" at the OVI, which was closed to the public that night, and U2 came out and played an acoustic set in the bar.
That would be the dream show for me and most other of U2's millions of fans. I wish the band would do a small-theater stripped down acoustic show following the amazing stadium spectacles of their current 360 degree tour.

I got this press release via email today... it's always exciting when Jimmy releases a new disc. He's one of the greatest story tellers of our day and he has a great ear for melody. OK, it's true that some of his songs are morally questionable and I delete those from my personal playlist. The vast majority of his music is relaxing, enjoyable, and stirs warm feelings of boats, beaches and harbors, which usually puts me in a good mood. Buffett's tunes have helped get me through many cold Ohio winters. -- David.

JIMMY BUFFETT RELEASES NEW STUDIO ALBUM ON DECEMBER 8

“I actually didn't go to the desert with the pre-conceived notion of returning with an album. I went looking for stories. And stories are still the things good songs are made of. The story that sparked the song, 'Buffet Hotel,' which eventually turned into the title track and name of this album, began the minute we set foot on the patio of the infamous Hotel De La Gare Buffet in the Bamako train station, better known as Le Buffet Hotel.”__

Jimmy Buffett's new album, Buffet Hotel (one t), is his first studio record since 2006. Produced by Coral Reefers Mike Utley and Mac McAnally, the album is scheduled for release on December 8. It contains 12 new songs plus a 24 page booklet. Inside fans will find “Lost In The Sahara - A Desert Memoir From Jimmy Buffett,” a rich description of his adventures in Mali that inspired the record, plus liner notes for each song. The album was recorded in London, Nashville, Chicago, Long Island, Muscle Shoals, and Bamako in Mali.

__The title cut has a strong West African influence and was conceived during a trip to the “Festival In The Desert,” a music festival that takes place annually near Timbuktu, Mali. “It was one of the best musical experiences of my life,” said Jimmy. It was there that Jimmy ran across the Buffet Hotel, an old colonial era train station/hotel where the music scene flourished in Mali after its independence in 1960.__

After Jimmy started writing for Buffet Hotel he decided to introduce three of the new songs into his 2009 set list. They are “Summerzcool,” the quintessential beach song, which became the 2009 tour name; “A Lot To Drink About,” a commentary on current events; and “Surfing In A Hurricane,” the first surf song Jimmy has ever written. __

Says Jimmy, “It was an oasis on the banks of the Niger River, not on an island or a boat, where this group of songs started spinning around in my brain.” For more details, check-in to Buffet Hotel - grand opening December 8!

I just got back from a concert by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. This band is simply incredible. Nobody puts more into a show than TSO... some say the initials should stand for Total Sensory Overload.
More pyro, more lights, more sound, more lasers, more video, more smoke, more singers, more power, more dancing girls than any other band on earth and that includes Kiss and the Stones and U2.
I know it's not a fair comparison in many ways, and I don't want to rate the TSO with those bands in terms of musical history, but as far as sheer force of willpower and determination to put on a show you won't ever be able forget, Trans-Siberian Orchestra tops the list.
If you've never seen them before this is a show you have to see at least once.
Trust me. It doesn't matter what your musical preferences are or what age you are.
You won't be disappointed.

Bruce Springsteen committed the Spinal Tap-style faux pas last weekend when he greeted fans at Michigan's Palace of Auburn Hills by saying "Hello, Ohio!"
And the Bruceman said Ohio three times before band member Steve Van Zandt could correct him.
Well, Ohio's such a great state you can't blame Bruce for thinking about it. Right? Just kidding.
Almost every crowd and stage looks the same from the spotlight, so Springsteen should have taken a precaution that many touring bands do -- have a written reminder displayed on the platform.
When Alice Cooper played in Toledo in August, I was walking around the stage hours before the concert started and saw a large piece of masking tape on the back of a metal prop, located center-stage, with the word "COLUMBUS" written in black magic marker.
An hour later, I looked and a new piece of tape was in its place with "TOLEDO" written on it.
The tour veteran Cooper has his crew write down the location to prevent him from looking stupid when he greets his fans.
Springsteen looked a little foolish, but it's not that big of a deal. Here's the inside scoop about it from rollingstone.com's interview with Van Zandt:

“The first time I was like ‘Did I just hear that?’ The second time I looked at [bassist] Garry [Tallent] and said, ‘Did you hear what I just heard?’ At that point I knew I had to get Bruce’s attention, but I couldn’t get it through the rest of ‘Wrecking Ball.’ There was no time to really have that conversation [laughs hysterically]. I’m like, ‘Please, God, don’t give him a chance to do it again before I get a chance to talk to him.’ Sure enough, he did it a third time and I’m like, ‘That’s it. This crowd is about to rebel. They’re going to attack us!’ I just grabbed him and said, ‘You don’t realize it, but you’re saying Ohio and we’re in Michigan.’ He was like ‘What!?’

He just goes to a place onstage. At certain times he’s down on earth where we can have a conversation and a lot of the times he’s not. It’s a full adrenaline rush where you can’t have a conversation. I looked him right in the eye and he knew I wasn’t just saying something casual. It took him two or three times for him to come down to earth and hear what I was saying. He made a great joke out of it. He said, ‘I’ve been worried my whole life I’m going to do that and I finally did that.’ I guess the last gig was Cleveland. Maybe it was that. He didn’t have the city wrong. In his mind he knew he was in Detroit, but somehow Detroit wound up in Ohio for a minute.”

You can read the whole story here.

The legendary film score composer Ennio Morricone, who has composed the music for 450 films in his 50-year career, was interviewed by the National Catholic Register in its 11/15-21 edition.

Here's an interesting quote from the 81-year-old composer and maestro (i added the underline):

Q. You’ve probably often been asked this question: What makes a great film score?

A. I don’t know. If I knew, I would always write more music like this. I don’t have a formula for the music; I just write at any given moment, and, therefore, it depends on an inspired or less inspired moment. In any case, when I’m less inspired, I’m always saved by professionalism and technique.

And here's another notable quote:

Q. What is your opinion of Pope Benedict XVI, who is also very musical?

A. I have a very good opinion of Pope Benedict XVI. He seems to me to be a very high-minded Pope who has a great culture and also great strength. He has a great wish to correct [liturgical] errors that have existed and continue to exist, and he tried to fix them just a few days after being elected. Today, the Church has made a big mistake, turning the clock back 500 years with guitars and popular songs. I don’t like it at all. Gregorian chant is a vital and important tradition of the Church, and to waste this by having guys mix religious words with profane Western songs is hugely grave, hugely grave. The same thing happened before the Council of Trent, when singers sang profane songs with sacred melodies and sacred words. He [the Pope] is doing well to correct it. He should correct it with much more firmness. Some churches have taken heed [of his corrections], but others haven’t.

You can read the entire interview with Ennio here.

On a personal note, reading about Morricone always reminds me of my longtime friend from childhood, Tom Donovan, with whom I grew up in New York and kept in touch with over the decades. Tom, who died in 2005, was a major fan of Morricone going back to the Spaghetti Westerns he scored for Clint Eastwood in the late 1960s.
Despite Tom's best efforts, I never really got too into Morricone's music, but I recognize and appreciate his brilliance.

I'm not a big fan of the American Music Awards -- nor the Grammys, for that matter. The first is a teenybopper popularity contest and the second is all about the money.
But I recorded the AMA's and watched a few performances last night.

My first and foremost impression is that Adam Lambert was pathetic.
What a disappointment!
Lambert is capable of so much more than what he showed last night. It was a disgusting no-class performance in which he grabbed a couple dancers by the head and thrust them into his crotch. He kissed the keyboard player, grabbed one female dancer's crotch a couple of times as she hung on a pole above his head
What the heck was he thinking?
I don't care if he's straight, gay, transgender or asexual, that was totally inappropriate for a network music-awards telecast and showed Lambert has lost any sense of class or style he may have had during his American Idol stint.
Making it worse, the song he sang last night was just awful. It barely had a melody and Lambert just shrieked like a banshee as he strutted around that bizarre troupe of dancers.

I actually think Lambert tripped at one point while he was climbing some stairs but did a somersault and kept on singing. Either it was a trip and a quick recover, or some goofy choreography.

Sorry, Adam, you have a lot of talent but you're making some absolutely horrendous career choices. If you don't change things around, you'll be going from mainstream to downstream to washed up in a hurry.
* * *
Lady Gaga, on the other hand, is an amazing show person (show woman? showman?) I don't know much about her (or his) personal life but the performance last night was mesmerizing. Bizarre, yes, but you couldn't take your eyes off the artist in that frightul costume, smashing a glass wall with a mic stand and smashing whiskey bottles while playing a flaming piano. I kind of felt like I was rubber necking at an accident scene. I don't even remember the song but the visuals were unforgettable.
* * *
In the grand finale, Taylor Swift beat Michael Jackson for artist of the year.
Are you kidding me? I don't think that was a good decision on the voters' part and only reinforces my lack of respect for the AMAs. Swift is cute and sweet and a talented artist but she's no MJ, and this year of all years the Gloved One deserved the honor.
I thought Swift made a wise move, or at least it was a good coincicence, not to attend the ceremony in person. She was in London and spoke via live video (it was 3:52 a.m. when she acknowledged the big award).
With 6,000 miles between her and the stage, no buffoon could jump up in her face and tell the world that somebody else deserved the award.

Susan Boyle makes chart history with No.1 debut

NEW YORK (AP) — Move over Beyonce. Step aside Taylor Swift. There’s a new queen of pop, and her name is Susan Boyle.
The British talent contestant-turned-singing sensation sold just over 700,000 copies of her debut album, “I Dreamed a Dream,” debuting at No. 1. Her record label, Columbia Records, says that not only gives her the best first week sales of 2009, but also the best-selling album debut by a woman in the Billboard SoundScan era.
It’s been a whirlwind year for the 47-year-old Boyle, who became an instant star when she appeared on “Britain’s Got Talent.”

I've mentioned Paper Tongues before... It's a great new band with an amazing story. The guitarist with the long brown hair, Joey, is a good friend of Cara and Dustin's. He went to school in Australia with them and he was the first person Janet and I met when we arrived in Sydney.
Here's Paper Tongues' first official video, of their song "Ride to California." I hope you love their unique style and energy as much as we do.

Bust of Frank Zappa to grace Baltimore library

BALTIMORE (AP) — It took more than a year, but Baltimore officials finally decided where to put a bust of rocker Frank Zappa that was given to the city by his fans in Lithuania.

The eccentric musician's statue will be erected outside a public library.

Zappa never visited Lithuania, but his music was popular there among the avant garde. A Lithuanian fan club erected a Zappa statue in the Lithuanian capital, and last year donated a replica to Baltimore, the singer's birthplace.

Baltimore's public arts commission considered multiple locations, including the bohemian Fells Point waterfront, before deciding on the working-class Highlandtown neighborhood known for its Greek restaurants.

Officials don't know yet when it will be installed. Zappa died in 1993.

Copyright 2008, The Associated Press
This May 7, 2008 file photo shows a couple sitting beneath a statue of Frank Zappa in Vilnius, Lithuania. In 1995, a quirky band of Lithuanians managed to erect a bronze bust of eccentric rocker Frank Zappa in downtown Vilnius, the capital of the former Soviet republic. Zappa never visited Lithuania, but his music was popular there among the avant garde. A Lithuanian fan club erected a Zappa statue in the Lithuanian capital, and last year donated a replica to Baltimore, the singer's birthplace. It took more than a year, but Baltimore officials have finally decided that the statue will be erected outside a public library. (AP Photo/Mindaugas

"Stop helping God across the road like a little old lady."
from the song "Stand Up Comedy" on the "No Line on the Horizon" album.

We went to Detroit last night to see a band I've really been anxious to see: Paper Tongues.
If you haven't heard me talk about them before, this is an up and coming band from South Carolina whose rhythm guitarist is a friend of my daugther and son-in-law. They all went to college in Australia together and when I heard Joey was in a band I was glad for him but my usual skeptical prove-you're-any-good self. I've heard so many new bands that sounded like any other band. As a music critic for ten years I've heard way too much music in my life and have fairly high standards.

When Paper Tongues' EP arrived and I gave it a listen, I was blown away. This is a terrific band with a fresh new sound and I've never heard anything like them. They are now categorized as "modern rock" but they mix so many different elements together including rock, rap, reggae, jazz, pop, and blues. You can't pigeonhole them.
Best of all, in my mind, anyway, is that they are all strong Christian guys but are not in the Christian marketplace. In other words, they won't sing songs that are negative influences on kids but they also don't preach to them. I think this is the highest calling of an artist today, to pursue excellence and positivity and let your art and your words have an impact that glorifies God whether or not the viewer or listener or reader realizes the source of your inspiration.
The show was in a tiny little bar called Small's, in the Detroit suburb of Hamtramck. It used to a totally Polish neighborhood but now it's like the United Nations. There were storefronts displaying colorful saris, a pizza joint called Al-Qarama's, and a video store advertising videos in Polish, Albanian, Arabic, Indian, and a few other languages.
We got the chance to hang out with Joey for a few hours before the show and he's just a great young man. One hour before showtime, the seven band members all go into the bus for what they call "lockdown." They do voice exercises, get into their stage clothes, and pray, among other things.
Afterward, I spoke briefly with the other band members and the lead singer, Aswan, told me the band is on a mission like Esther in the Book of Esther. She earned favor with the king and defeated the evil enemies who plotted against her. In such a way, Paper Tongues is infiltrating the rock world and offering something different, something positive and inspiring.
And all of that would be moot if they weren't so talented. Did I mention that the guy who signed them to their record deal is Randy Jackson of American Idol?
Joey sort of apologized to us for playing such a dumpy little bar last night but I told him it's really cool because the next time we see them they'll be playing concert halls and probably arenas after that. We can say we saw them and knew them when.

Sanctus Real's fifth studio album, "Pieces of a Real Heart," was released today by Sparrow Records.
It's a terrific disc and shows the continued artistic and personal growth of the Christian rock band from Toledo.
You can get a "Digital Deluxe" edition featuring the full slate of studio recordings plus five acoustic versions and a digital booklet, exclusively online.
Go to the band's website to check it out, then go ahead and order a copy. You'll love it.

The band's website also has a link to Sanctus Real's live webcast at 9 tonight EST and a link to the video of "Forgiven," their first hit single off the new disc.