A delightfully strange nugget of music news crossing the wire today…

LONDON (Reuters) – Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards said in an interview published on Tuesday that he once snorted his father’s ashes mixed with cocaine.

“The strangest thing I’ve tried to snort? My father. I snorted my father. He was cremated, and I couldn’t resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow,” Richards said in the interview, which was posted on NME’s Web site.

Source: Yahoo News

What more is there to say?

Get Lost with YouTube Keith:

• Watch this priceless concert footage of Keith unleashing on a stage crasher.
• Hunter S. Thompson interviews Keith. Hats off to anyone who can understand more than 15% of the dialogue. Yet they completely understand eachother. Coincidence?
• Norah Jones & Keith sing “Love Hurts” at the Gram Parsons Tribute.
• A 1974 Keith interview.
• Add more in the comments if you find some tasty Keith footage.

Good people of North America,

It is our solemn and sworn duty to ensure that Sanjaya Malakar – that spritely, effeminate contestant, and current member of the Top 12 on America Idol – continues to ascend to his rightful position as this year’s American Idol winner.

Tonight, at the properly allotted time, you must vote, vote, and vote again for Mr. Malakar. Tune into at least the last 10 minutes of American Idol. Check your local listings. Tell your friends and family, we must mobilize the masses!

• MTV News: Is Howard Stern Behind Sanjaya Malakar’s Staying Power on Idol?
• Vote for the Worst

For those who cry foul, no worries. There is no way the producers would allow it to happen. I’m sure the voting results have been manipulated in the past, and will be manipulated in the future. But let’s put the voting system integrity to the test. Vote on!

Yours,
Evil Ick

March 22 Update – It’s happening, people. The groundswell of support for the great Sanjaya is only beginning. Sanjaya breezed through this week, and is now a member of the top 10, who get to tour the country after the season. Yes, a Sanjaya tour!

Feel free to bookmark this post. This will be the Sanjaya Super Post, containing any and all things pro-Sanjaya! Let’s do this!!!

Join us…

March 27 Update: Oh Lordie, did you see our boy tonight? Working the pony-tailed-mohawk? Fierce, Sanjaya! I put in my 5 votes for our next American Idol, how about you?

On March 2nd, the Copyright Royalty Board (part of the U.S. Library of Congress), released the new royalty rates that Internet Radio broadcasters have to pay, retroactive from 2006-2010. The new rates are so high that, for the most part, they exceed 100% of the revenue of most online radio stations.

What this means is Internet Radio as we know it is threatened big time. I can’t count the number of songs and artists I’ve been exposed to because of online radio. Great sites like Radio Paradise, Pandora, KCRW’s streams of Morning Becomes Eclectic, and Live 365 have been invaluable to me. To even consider life in this day and age without them is something I don’t even want to think about. It can’t happen!
The best defense against this is speaking out. You can help by going to Save the Streams.org, signing an online petition, and  submitting an email or printed letter to your congressman. They have pre-written letters there for your convenience.

Please , if you’re a music lover, and you agree that these sites have a right to fair royalty rates, help out and speak out.

Resources and reading:

Save the Streams.org

Pandora’s plea for help.

Radio Paradise’s take on it.

Time Running out for MP3 Blogs? There have also been recent mumblings about the RIAA going after music bloggers by approaching their Internet Service Providers and having their accounts suspended or their sites taken down.  Is this the beginning of the end?  See what Jefito has to say about it. And check out Gizmodo’s Boycott the RIAA Month.

Fingers crossed.

Yipee, Major League Baseball! As a Sirius subscriber, that’s the one and only area where I harbored jealousy toward XM Radio subscribers. Well, the rumor mill apparently was correct: XM and Sirius are joining forces (if the regulators will allow it). Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin will retain his position as CEO of the new company, and XM chairman Gary Parsons will be chairman.

So consider me stoked that I will get to hear any broadcast of any Major League Baseball game, while continuing my current habit of spending entirely too mucn time listening to Howard Stern.

The transaction should be wrapped up by the end of the year. Happy Days!

Fantasy Baseball: Is any regular reader out there interested in joining my CBS Sportsline Fantasy Baseball league? Send me an email for more details if you’re interested. I have one – possibly two – open spots.

chocolategenius

A few nudges in various directions tonight…

1. Tonight, I was flipping the channels and thankfully came across the latest ‘American Experience’ on PBS, focusing in on New Orleans. One of the folks offering their insight during the program was Kalamu ya Salaam. It took me only a few seconds to make the connection. Kalamu is one of the contributors on a great music blog called Breath of Life. He’s a writer, a fimmaker, a poet, and he calls a great city home: New Orleans.

So checking my latest RSS feeds after American Experience, I checked out the latest on Breath of Life, and found a great post on Marc Anthony Thompson, AKA Chocolate Genius. You Bruce fans know Marc from the recent Springsteen Seeger Sessions tour. Marc’s great voice was featured on “When the Saints…” and “Eyes on the Prize” throughout the tour (see this earlier post to watch Marc and Bruce sing a great version of Saints).

BOL’s post features a Chocolate Genius song from the movie American Splendor. It’s a slowed down, beautiful version of Marvin Gaye’s “Ain’t That Peculiar”, and you should definitely find time to read the post and listen to this great song.

Chocolate Genius – Ain’t That Peculiar

2. My fellow Prince geek and internet bud Zack has started up his own music blog called Gonzo’s Music-o-Rama. See a cool music blog grow from the ground up. He has some insightful and entertaining commentary, and some great posts thus far, like this one on the Raveonettes, and this one on the Police reunion. Go off and show him some blog-love (or blove, as Jefito calls it).

Gonzo’s Music-0-Rama

3. And last but not least, check out NYCD Online. Sal has been a music retailer in NYC for the lst 15 years, and shares some good tidbits about the music industry, including his take on last night’s Grammy Awards (we share several opinions).

NYCD Online: The Blog

I thought I would add my comments (be them positive or snide) during tonight’s Grammy Awards broadcast. In encouraging news, The Boss has already won a Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album, but of course this is during the pre-TV phase when they’re dishing them out to the categories with any real meaning or substance. But I digress. Prince is up for a couple tonight as well, so let’s see how it goes, shall we? I’ll try to spare my wife from my smart-ass commentary that accompanies any awards show we watch, and I’ll share them with you instead!

• Good to see that Bruce won a Grammy for his ‘Wings for Wheels: The Making of Born to Run‘. The category was Best Long Form Music Video. This was also presented in the pre-TV part of the ceremony. As for Prince, he’s nominated in 5 different caregories tonight.
• The Police just played together for the first time in what, 20+ years? Excellent performance of “Roxanne”. Though I did hear Sting’s voice in the backing vocals as well. S’ok though. A great performance followed up by Jamie Foxx completely erasing the energy with some dumb “police opening up the Grammys.. Snoop Dogg running away joke.”
• Tony Bennett giving a shout out to Target as the best sponsor he’s ever worked for in his life! Go Tony!
• Dixie Chicks “Not Ready to Make Nice”. Better than I expected. Guitarist dressed like she’s straight out of Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love” video.
• “One word… Beyonce.” So just sayeth Prince. I hope that’s not the only P. moment of the night. The man is riding a high, there’s gotta be more on tap. Beyonce? Looking good. Those hips! Short little ballad. Nice.
• Black Eyed Peas giving a nice little short history lesson on Booker T. & the MG’s. They’re a lifetime achievement honoree. And now they’re giving out best R&B album…. HUGE SURPRISE! Mary J. Blige! (*sarcasm – not the last time). With Prince graciously standing behind her clapping. I’ve mentioned before, no MJB fan am I. But to be fair, I haven’t really listened to her. BUT, let the MJB night begin. We’re gonna be listening to her blubberin’ all evening I think. And her mile long list of Thank Yous….
• Justin Timberlake performance. Not bad. But my 9 month old daughter was making funny faces, and that was a lot more captivating to me.
• Pink and Lupe Fiasco (I think?) (Update: nope, it was T.I.) give away best R&B vocal performance to . . you guessed it… Mary J. Blige. Praise to Lord Jesus.
• Corinne Bailey Rae performance. Never heard / seen her. Love her voice. John Mayer joins on guitar. John Legend on piano. Legend… this guy is everywhere. Talented guy though. Enjoyable performance. So far, no cringe-inducing moments. But it’s early. I’ll be seeking me out some Corinne Bailey Rae.
  
• John Mayer sings “Gravity” with Corinne on harmony. Nice tune. Mayer ripping into a great solo on his beat up Strat. Impressive. My God, real music!!
• And Mayer follows it up by winning best pop / rock song or someting of the like. No shout out to his loving, intelligent girlfriend Jessica Simpson!
• Ahhh, like a gushing oasis in the desert, SHAKIRA. She speaks the truth, her hips do not lie. Wowee. She takes top spot for hottie of the evening.
• Song of the year, presented by Burt Bacharach (who’s wearing those trendy shades) and Seal. Get ready for another Mary J….. Yep. Wait, NOPE! Dixie Chicks steal one from her Bligeness!
• Gnarls Barkley performs “Crazy” in airline pilot uniforms. “Crazy” never really connected with me. I know it was the summer song of 06. Some of you regulars dig Gnarls, and I’d probably like the album, but at this moment in time, not blown away by ol’ Gnarls.
• Mary J. Blige performance. Eh. She’s got pipes alright, but man, easy on the melodrama.
• A Bob Wills & the Texas Playboys tribute by Carrie Underwood. “Rose of San Antone”. It wuld be easy to jump all over an American Idol-er, but this girl does have talent. Great voice, and a very lovely girl. Jeeps, I’m being way too nice here.
• Followed by Rascal Flatts doing a very boring version of “Hotel California”. Lead singer plays air guitar. Ok. Next.
• Underwear – er -Underwood sings “Desperado.” Cripes, I’m feeling like a dirty old man here, but she takes #2 hottie of the night after Shakira.
• Smokey Robinson sings “Tracks of My Tears”. He looks 40, and he can’t close his eyes. Ah, botox…
• There’s my boy Lionel singing “Hello”. All that’s missing is the blind chick sculpting Lionel’s head with clay. You know…. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73l9oJ3pZlA
• Damnit. Just saw a huge image of James Brown, and thought Prince would finally be granting my wish, but nope. It’s Christina Aguilera singing “It’s a Man’s World.” Shoulda been Prince my friends, shoulda been Prince.
• Ludakris, Earth Wind & Fire, and Mary J. Blige perform. A song about runaways, drugs, etc. Best part: Earth Wind & Fire’s bass player with a shit eating grin behind Mary and Luda as they sing and rap so seriously. Magic.
• Prince ran a spot to thank everyone for watching his Super Bowl performance. Interesting.
• Jennifer Hudson comes up to the stage with her right breast hanging far below her left one. This will be worthy of a photo when available. Update: see?
  
• Timberlake hits the stage again. Two performances each tonight from JT and Mary J. Blige. Nothing touches Justin’s Dick in a Box with Andy Samberg though.
• Rock & Roll! Al Gore and Queen Latifah presenting Best Rock Album! Hope Tom Petty wins this one, though we all know he won’t. Methinks the Chilis will get it. *drum roll * Yep. Chili Peppers. Drummer Chad Smith is the spitting image of Will Ferrell.
• Saving the best for last: Scarlett Johanssen. Oh Scarlett, sweet Scarlett… she presented album of the year with Don Henley.
  
• So, Dixie Chicks win Album of the Year, and the most awards of the evening. My eyes hurt.

Summing it all up. I was most impressed with Corinne Bailey Rae tonight. I was disappointed that Prince had nothing to do while Blige and Timberlake got all the quality face time.  But as you all know, I’m heavily biased.

Well, I’m off to do the dishes and re-establish contact with my wife.

Another selection from David Johansen’s Mansion of Fun (his weekly show on Sirius)… I’ve been familiar with mandolist David Grisman through his close relationship with Jerry Garcia. But this one was a surprise (and a welcome one at that) when I heard it last week.

On 2001’s Traversata, Grisman is joined by guitarist Beppe Gambetta and fellow mandolin player Carlo Aonzo. They run through 15 different Italian-American tunes from the early 20th century. Now, I just downloaded the whole thing off of eMusic, and I haven’t heard the whole thing yet, but what I did hear was their take on Puccini’s “Oh, Mio Babbino Caro” (it translates to “Oh, My Dear Papa”). Puccini wrote it for an opera entitled Gianni Schicchi, which debuted at the New York Metropolitan Opera in 1918 (see more about the opera in this Wikipedia entry). Really a beautiful piece of music.

David Grisman, Carlo Aonzo, Beppe Gambetta: Oh, Mio Babbino Caro (mp3)

Buy Traversata straight from Grisman’s own independent label, Acoustic Disc, or on eMusic.