Rockphiles Blog

Sites Of Interest

Occasionally we run across websites we think are useful. Check out the following:

Wounded Bird Records - a CD only, reissue label - great for hard to find CD's.

Spitfire Records - another site for unusual or hard to find rock.

Celebrity Auction

Check out the People for the American Way 2004 Annual EBAY Celebrity Auction website. Good cause and great items !

People for the American Way Website

Radio Probe Expands

Rolling Stone magazine ran a short news story about Congress and the FCC stepping up payola investigations. Here's the link.

Go to Rolling Stone story

James Brown

James Brown, the Godfather of Soul,  has announced that he will undergo surgery for prostate cancer on Wednesday, December 15.

"I have overcome a lot of things in my life. I will overcome this as well," Brown stated.

The 71 year old r'n'b powerhouse, known as the hardest working man in show business, will release his autobiography next month. Plans for a tour of Asia and Australia in early '05 remain unchanged.

Coming off a two-week tour in Canada last Thursday, Brown will recuperate for three weeks post-surgery.

Let's keep a good thought.

Update : The surgery, according to his surgeons, was a complete success and he will recover at home over the holidays.

iPod Contest Winners

Congrats to all who won:

Grand Prize:

Catherine Powers, NJ

T-Shirts from DJ Tees :

Pablo de Neve, UK

Bob LaSalle, NY

John McPhee, MA

Leslie Oberhaus, MD

Paul Murphy, UK

The Musical Box

Thanks to Jim Harrel for submitting the following article on The Musical Box recreation of Genesis's "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway." Click on the picture to get a better view.

The Musical Box Recalls the Magic of Genesis

Exactly 30 years after the groundbreaking tour of Genesis’s “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway”, Montreal based The Musical Box has set out on a world tour to re-create in exact detail that original masterwork. The Genesis tour was to be Peter Gabriel’s swansong with the legendary rock group, and in it he pushed the contemporary bounds of music by combining theater-style staging and costumes with progressive rock. It was the birth of a new musical genre often referred to as “art-rock”.

The Musical Box has been licensed by Gabriel and Genesis to reenact the landmark show in which they perform the entire “Lamb” album, exactly as it was 30 years ago. In fact they use the exact slides that were used by Genesis on the original tour. The reproduction is so authentic that veterans of the original concert have commented that it’s like taking a trip back in time.

On a world tour that includes the eastern US, Canada and Europe, 4 stops have been added in the west, making this their first time to play this region ever.

December 1 – The Center Stage Theater in Whittier Calif. (tickets at www.calprog.com)
December 2– The House of Blues in Las Vegas
December 3 – The Henry Fonda Theater in Hollywood (tickets at TicketWeb.com)
December 5– The Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco

The Whittier show is at a 400 seat community theater making this the smallest and most intimate venue on the tour. This captivating musical and visual production promises to be a nostalgic goldmine for Genesis fans from the 1970’s while providing a slice of musical history for those who were too young at the time to experience the hey-day of progressive rock.

Grammy Nominations

And the nominees are...

RECORD OF THE YEAR
"Let's Get It Started" -- The Black Eyed Peas(A&M Records)
"Here We Go Again" -- Ray Charles & Norah Jones(Concord Records/Hear Music)
"American Idiot" -- Green Day(Reprise Records)
"Heaven" -- Los Lonely Boys(Epic Records)
"Yeah!" -- Usher featuring Lil Jon & Ludacris(Arista/LaFace/Zomba Label Group)

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
"Genius Loves Company" -- Ray Charles & Various Artists(Concord Records/Hear Music)
"American Idiot" -- Green Day(Reprise Records)
"The Diary Of Alicia Keys" -- Alicia Keys(J Records)
"Confessions" -- Usher(Arista/LaFace/Zomba Label Group)
"The College Dropout" -- Kanye West(Roc-A-Fella Records)

SONG OF THE YEAR
"Daughters" John Mayer, songwriter (Mayer)

"If I Ain't Got You" Alicia Keys, songwriter (Keys)
"Jesus Walks" C. Smith & Kanye West, songwriter (West)

"Live Like You Were Dying" Tim Nichols & Craig Wiseman, songwriters (Tim McGraw)

"The Reason" Daniel Estrin & Douglas Robb, songwriters (Hoobastank)

NEW ARTIST
Los Lonely Boys
Maroon 5
Joss Stone
Kanye West
Gretchen Wilson

FEMALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE
"Oceania" Bjork (track from: "Medulla") (Elektra/Atlantic)
"The First Cut Is the Deepest" Sheryl Crow (track from: "The Very Best of Sheryl Crow") (A&M Records)
"Sunrise" Norah Jones (track from: "Feels Like Home") (Blue Note Records)
"What You Waiting For?" Gwen Stefani (Interscope Records)
"You Had Me" Joss Stone (S-Curve Records)

MALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE
"Let's Misbehave" Elvis Costello (track from: "De-Lovely -- Music From the Motion Picture" (Various Artists) (Columbia)
"You Raise Me Up" Josh Groban (track from: "Closer") (143/Reprise)
"Daughters" John Mayer (track from: "Heavier Things") (Columbia/Aware)
"Cinnamon Girl" Prince (track from: "Musicology" (Columbia Records/NPG Records)
"Love's Divine" Seal (track from: "Seal IV") (Warner Bros.)

POP PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCAL
"My Immortal" Evanescence (track from: "Fallen") (Wind-up Records)
"The Reason" Hoobastank (track from: "The Reason") (Island Records)
"Heaven" Los Lonely Boys (track from: "Los Lonely Boys") (Epic Records)
"She Will Be Loved" Maroon5 (track from: "Songs About Jane") (Octone/J)
"It's My Life" No Doubt (track from: "The Singles 1992-2003") (Interscope Records)

POP COLLABORATION WITH VOCALS
"Redemption Song" Johnny Cash & Joe Strummer (track from: "Unearthed") (American Recordings/Lost Highway Records)
"Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" Ray Charles & Elton John (track from: "Genius Loves Company") (Concord Records)
"Here We Go Again" Ray Charles & Norah Jones (track from: "Genius Loves Company") (Concord Records)
"Something" Paul McCartney & Eric Clapton (track from: "Concert for George") (Warner Strategic Marketing)
"Moon River" Stevie Wonder & Take 6 (track from: "Ultimate Mancini" (Concord Records)

POP VOCAL ALBUM
"Genius Loves Company" Ray Charles & Various Artists (Concord Records)
"Feels Like Home" Norah Jones (Blue Note Records)
"Afterglow"Sarah McLachlan (Arista Records)
"Mind, Body & Soul" Joss Stone (S-Curve Records)
"Brian Wilson Presents Smile" Brian Wilson (Nonesuch Records)

TRADITIONAL POP VOCAL ALBUM
"Only You" Harry Connick Jr. (Columbia)
"Count Your Blessings" Barbara Cook (DRG)
"Ultimate Mancini" Monica Mancini (Concord Records)
"Just for a Thrill" Ronnie Milsap (Image Music Corp.)
"Stardust ... The Great American Songbook Volume III" Rod Stewart (J Records)

TRADITIONAL BLUES ALBUM
"Me and Mr. Johnson" -- Eric Clapton (Reprise)
"Baby, Don't You Tear My Clothes" -- James Cotton (Telarc)
"Blues With a Vengeance" -- John Lee Hooker Jr. (Kent Records)
"Blues to the Bone" -- Etta James (RCA Victor)
"Ladies Man" -- Pinetop Perkins (M.C. Records)

A more comprehensive list is on the message board .