June 29, 2007
Never too much of Luther: Luther’s music was a balm, both for himself and for his faithful listeners
Now, I’m a big music fan in general. And that’s a massive understatement. From Handel’s Messiah to Motown, from Duke Ellington to Dr. Dre, from Billie Holiday to Beyonce, my tastes in music are catholic and varied. If it swings, scats, raps, boogies, bounces or croons, count me in. So it’s with that background and love of music that I reflect on my 25-year love affair with the music of Luther Vandross.
You see, I’m no Luther-come-lately. There are singers, and then there was Luther. First name only, class all of his own. There are those who follow the mold and those who are the mold. Even singing back up and commercial jingles, he stood out. I heard his melodic tenor behind his idol Dionne Warwick and behind Roberta Flack. When he led the group Change in 1980 with its hit “Glow of Love,” we were all in his light. The consummate cover artist, his versions of the standards became the standard. When he debuted with “A House Is Not a Home’–Warwick’s 1964 hit–she called his lush arrangement of the Bacharach-David standard “definitive.”
Luther provided the soundtrack for our youth. Not to mention the mood music for many a romantic interlude. His legendary ballads led a thinking person to ask, “Is a serious romance even possible without slow dancing to Luther?” Countless couples included his “Here and Now” in their weddings, either during the ceremony itself or as their first dance song. During the 10 years after he recorded that song, it was virtually impossible to attend a wedding without hearing it. Many of our children owe their very existence to Luther, and couples told him all the time that he was their inspiration–and brought their children to his concerts.
Luther was the consummate pillow-talk romantic and an expert in the subtleties of sweet seduction in song. He once said, “I’m more into poetry and metaphor, and I would much rather imply something rather than to blatantly state it.” This delicate touch is perhaps a lost art today in an era where singers simply make blunt and brutal lyrical assaults that leave nothing to the imagination.
Nokia N95: Shoot and play music…
Nokia is a leading mobile manufacturer in the mobile industry. The company has placed itself as the leading mobile manufacturer all over the globe. From consumers point of view, Nokia offers technologically advanced phones that are capable of managing both personal and professional world with equal enthusiasm.
The introduction of the Nokia N series has done a wonderful job in the mobile world. These feature rich handsets offer unparalleled multimedia applications and productivity tools. Recently, Nokia has further added a new gem in its Nokia N series, the Nokia N95 – offers excellent 5.0 mega-pixel camera, music player and other features including Bluetooth, WAP and more.
Tara McCormick Returns To Washington To Release Her Second CD Titled 'GO THAT FAR'
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Laurent Garnier & Bugge Wesseltoft - Public Outburst [2007]
Live to Love, A New CD with Baby Boomer Hits by Colorado Musicians Judy Hunt and Rob Wallace Released Today
Baby Boomer entertainers Judy Hunt and Rob Wallace have produced 13 hit love songs from the many hits of the “boomers” era in a new CD released this week called, “Live to Love.”
Grand Junction, CO (PRWEB) November 30, 2006 — Judy Hunt and Rob Wallace have released a CD called “Live to Love” which is 13 hit songs from the baby boomer era. “Live to Love” will be released Nationally and published on the Internet on 4 different websites.
Judy Hunt sings, and Rob Wallace plays keyboards. Judy and Rob recorded, produced, developed the sound design and CD cover. The project was recorded at LazyCats Records, Judy and Robs record label.
Songs like “Sunny,” “Laughter in the Rain,” “More,” and “House of the Rising Sun,” are some of the tracks specially selected for this CD.
Australian Court Rules Against Music Service Kazaa
Federal Court Judge Murray Wilcox ruled that Kazaa’s Australian owner and developer, Sharman Networks, had not itself breached copyright but had encouraged millions of Kazaa users worldwide to do so.
“The respondents have long known that the Kazaa system is widely used for the sharing of copyright files,” said Wilcox in his ruling in a Sydney court.
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The decision follows a similar judgement in June in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that file-sharing networks such as Grokster can be held liable if their intent is to promote copyright infringement of music or movies.
“The message is very clear for P2P services: It’s time to go legal,” said John Kennedy, chief executive of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). “Today’s judgement shows that Kazaa—one of the biggest engines of copyright theft and the biggest brand name in music piracy worldwide—is illegal.”
Peer-to-peer (P2P) networks distribute data between users instead of relying on a central server.
Sharman Networks said it was disappointed with the judge’s decision, and that it planned to appeal.
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La Kura is the King of Podcasts After Making Presence Felt on Nationwide Radio Competition
The combination of a Dominican Host (Downtown), along with a Canadian sidekick (Rubio) makes for an interesting recipe in the Podcast show La Kura, which entered a national radio contest called Progressive Talk Radio Star. In it, they were chosen as one of the top ten “At Large” contestants among hundreds who submitted demos through the internet.
(PRWEB) November 24, 2006 — The name La Kura does not suggest much unless you know a little Spanish and understand that the word “Kura” is a mispelled translation of “Cure”. La Kura is the name of a little Podcast show, which, like thousands, broadcast on the internet catering to a niche audience.
The show host, named “Downtown” was described by an industry insider as someone with “…a nice, friendly, and bouncy style”. The 10-minute demo includes the participation of Rubio, a Canadian musician/producer as a guest; their conversation included he topics of immigrants in the U.S. and the mid-term elections.
There are many podcasters who believe they have what it takes to be on regular radio, however, by listening to many of them one concludes that theres a big difference in what we hear on the airwaves and the net in terms of production, charismatic hosts, content, etc.
During a recent national competition for a syndicated talk show, the Podcast La Kura, with a slightly modified style, prepared a 10-minute demo and submitted it as one of the many radio people who wanted a shot at the prize. They were placed among the top ten contestants who entered via web through the “At Large” part of the contest.
The competition was sponsored by media giants Clear Channel Radio, Jones Radio Network, The Center For American Progress Action Fund, Media Syndication Services, and Nakea.
The finals were held in Washington, DC and Russ Belville was the winner after performing in front of the 5 judges and a live audience.
La Kura is a Podcast which started on February, 2006 and since their launch through the site www.LaKura.net, they have acquired lots of listeners all over the world and is currently streamed by more than 30 diferent Podcast websites worldwide in English and Spanish.
“We are not professionals but mere consumers with a point of view we feel is worthwhile expressing, the technology available allow us to do so, and La Kura is the end result” says the host “Downtown”.
During its time online, La Kura has been considered an unclassifiable Podcast since the content may vary from talk about music, to interviews with tenants on the verge of eviction, or artists with gripes to air, or politicians who want to be heard. As a result, this Podcast has garnered the attention of radio industry people who have expressed that theres something about the show that makes it unique, and its transition to satellite or terrestrial radio is only a matter of time.
“Downtown is the kind of communicator thats considered a phenomenom which seems to appear as scarcely as the Halley Comet”, says Franco Cruz, Executive Producer of tv show “New York & Quisqueya”, a show aired on Super Canal Caribe every Sunday at 5:PM.
Cruz went on to say that “…Downtown is a philosopher with a volcano-like mind who is able to blend in with the South Bronx ghetto language, music and overall culture as well as the Dominican, African American, Puerto Rican, Mexican, Colombian, Caucasian, Jamaican and many other communities that coexist in NYC”.
La Kura can be accessed through its page www.LaKura.net where users can link up to the audio episodes where they are being held until the pages construction is completed.
There are many opinions about this show and its main host “Downtown”, but whatever the buzz is, it certainly has added to the fact that La Kura has now proclaimed itself as The King Of All Podcasts because of its accomplishment of reaching (and getting much farther) than any other.
“Having been entered in the Progressive Talk competition is in itself a great accomplishment, but being in the top ten among the web contestants nationwide is a great victory considering we were the only Dominicans and Podcasters included. “Thats good news for our community”, expressed its main host Downtown with a smile.
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