By Angelo Comsti
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines—Celebrated singer Akon has been the talk of the town these days because of his controversial concert antics. So when news spread that the 27-year-old R&B artist was to perform before a crowd of 3,000 (tickets were limited) in Singapore last Aug. 18, the local press (this writer included) was more than eager to witness (and write) what could be the next day’s entertainment headlines.

Thirty minutes into the concert, I arrived at Downtown East’s D’Marquee Stadium, amazed that the crowd was constantly chanting Akon’s name in the middle of a human beatbox’s performance. It was a free-standing event, and I could understand why.

Right after the host’s short introduction, DJ Benny D warmed up to everyone with his crazy mix of tunes and red kilt. He played familiar songs from the Black Eyed Peas, P. Diddy and Amy Winehouse and stood on the turntable, prompting everyone to join his wicked free-style dancing. For a while, it felt like a Benny D concert until Akon emerged behind the curtains and began his repertoire with “Jam Rock” and “Shake Down,” songs befitting the crowd’s ear-shattering reaction.

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By Associated Press

NEW YORK–Get ready for Dead air.

A new channel devoted entirely to the Grateful Dead debuts Sept. 7 on Sirius Satellite Radio, beginning with the broadcast of a rare 1974 performance by the band at the Hollywood Bowl, the company announced Wednesday.

“This is gonna be one fun channel,” Dead guitarist Bob Weir said in announcing the station. “We, the guys in the band, get to be involved as much as we can and we’ll make sure it’s fun. We want the fans to be involved as well.”

This Associated Press file photo shows members of the Grateful Dead posing in 1985 in Marin County, California. From left, back row, are Bill Kreutzman, Phil Lesh, Jerry Garcia, and Mickey Hart. In front are Brent Mydland, left, and Weir.

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By Agence France-Presse

NEW YORK–Hilly Kristal, founder and owner of an underground rock club in New York known as the spiritual home of American punk, has died of lung cancer, local media reported on Wednesday.

Kristal launched CBGB in 1973 in a derelict bar in the East Village, at that time a poor, rundown district of the city. A fan of acoustic music, he initially intended on offering music the club was named after: Country, Bluegrass and Blues.

But after he allowed two young, obscure rock bands — Television and the Ramones — to perform, the club evolved into a center for underground music and punk rock. And Kristal attracted raw talent by requiring bands that only play their own original music.

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By Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–Is the CD obsolete?

With digital music downloads — both legal and otherwise — fast becoming the preferred medium for obtaining music, it’s beginning to look like the days of the CD are numbered. Some prophets of techno-doom are predicting that within the next three years, CDs will all but disappear as consumers switch to MP3 players and other hard-drive media, or the higher-capacity DVDs.

When that happens, unthinkable as it might have been just 10 years ago, the vinyl LP would have outlasted its “successor.”

On the brink of extinction when CDs first emerged in 1982 with its promise of “perfect sound forever,” the 12-inch long-playing phonograph record has, against all odds, survived and, in some ways, even thrived.

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By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net

FILIPINOS overseas who long to listen to the sounds of home can access a new online music site and download an entire library of Filipino music.

PinoyTunes.net has over 3,000 all-Filipino songs ranging from the latest pop and rocks songs to classics of the 80s and 90s, as well as hard-to-find songs released during the 60s and 70s.

The songs are encoded in high-quality MP3 format and have been encoded with digital rights management security. which allows the copying of the downloaded songs up to five times.

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