Thanks to Nooman

So people are reading my blog. I'm impressed.

So, I've gotten a bunch of suggestions in the past day and I wanted to take the time to respond to them. A self-proclaimed 'queen of katamon' who shall remain nameless has verbally attacked me for having a blog since I've often criticized her for her blog. But since she no longer has a job where she can read the internet, I doubt she'll ever read this. I'm sure in a couple of days I'll feel the loss of her readership.

So, the rest of the comments have been positive. People have suggested I post mp3's of songs so people can download what I'm talking about. But I'm not sure if that's legal, and I'm all about the legality of things. I'm trying to figure out a way to stream songs, that might be more legal. I'll figure it out soonish. I might just do a bi-weekly compilation CD that I can give out to people in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv (sorry to those of you in the US). I'll keep you posted.

So Nooman made a slew of interesting comments, one of which would be awesome, but sadly, unlikely to happen. How great would it be to have a decent radio station in this country? A station that plays more than just Kelly Clarkston, Idan Reichel and 'Bad Day'. A place where you can actually hear music that the rest of the world's music listeners are currently enjoying. I'm not talking about an underground or college radio station, but something on par with what exists in major cities around the world. So if anyone wants to donate like $125,00 or so to this cause, get in touch with me.

So Nooman also suggested I listen to a new London-bred artist named Lily Allen. And thank you for that suggestion man. She's great, I thoroughly enjoyed what songs I could find. According to her myspace.com page (http://www.myspace.com/lilymusic), her debut album will be out in July. Currently she has a demo that's circulating. Its worth finding and giving a listen to. Her ability to mix styles, genres and cultures with a beat and a funky rhythm knocked me off my seat. After one song, I was hooked. Thanks mate.
Recommended songs: LDN and Everythings Just Wonderful

So, while listening to Lily Allen, I often though of another talented English chick who has a knack for meshing sounds in her songs. M.I.A., whose official debut album came out around this time last year (but who had a couple of widely circulated demos) has gathered some notoriety in the US and curiously enough been accepted into the US Hip Hop community. Her songs have also been featured on a number of this year's EA Sports video game soundtrack. Like Ms. Allen, she knows how to mesh sounds and produce something totally riginal sounding. Unlike Ms. Allen, M.I.A.'s sound is more danceable, a combination of Trip Hop beats and Rap grooves. Think Missy Elliot meets Tricky. The album was funded and produced by Justine Frishman, who on top of being married to Damon Album (lead singer of Blur and the only real music playing member of Gorillaz) led one of my all time favorite bands, Elastica. And to top it all off, she's got an amazing story of her childhood and upbringing. You can read it here (http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/mia__4_/artist.jhtml#/music/artist/mia__4_/bio.jhtml).
Recommended songs: Pull Up The People and Fire Fire

So, I downloaded the new Red Hot Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam albums yesterday and have just started listening to them. I must say, I've never been a big Pearl Jam fan, but the initial reviews of the album have been amazing. So I figured I'd give it a listen. Can't hurt. I only downloaded the Red Hot Chili Peppers album because bassist Flea made a public plea for people not to download it (http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060504-080018-5112r). I couldn't resist. So far the Chili Peppers album is better. I'll save the recommended songs till tomorrow when I've got a better handle on the songs.

So, till then...