Maybe it’s coincidence that “Brooklyn Anthem” hasn’t left my turntable for the last week (except of course to occasionally flip it over and play “BK Assassin”) but this week we’ve been getting a swarm of news from the Team Shadetek front. I’ve seen pieces of the story on FADER, Reggae Country and other music blogs, and even I have been covering new developments at my “day job.” But it wasn’t until Matt Shadetek emailed me recently that I saw the full picture. Now that I see what the buzz is about, I am excited to share it with you! Shadetek has been at the forefront and in the middle of the best new music coming out of the Brooklyn dancehall scene. It’s urban and electrified. It gets bass bins pumpin and booties jumpin from Jamaica to NYC to SF to London. Matt Shadetek has been building a name for himself for many years now, but in 2007 he’s come like a storm with a killer single 12″ release, smokin dublate specials, and collaborations with other fantastic producers that just ooze talent and originality. There have been various reports of this storm and its effects on different communities. I’ve gathered some of the stories and present them for you here. The first major impact came when “Brooklyn Anthem” hit the streets… ([More →])

HearingTest has been following the story of Jah Cure’s new found freedom, from his first concert in Holland, the many updates about Curefest, and recently the announcement of a handful of shows in the UK. Well, I’m sorry to report that tour has been canceled, but not by Jah Cure or his management. It has been shut down and Jah Cure has been “banned from Britain” because of his background. ([More →])

Hypebot reported today about a protest at Popkomm against Sony/BMG music and DRM. Popkomm is an international business platform for the music and entertainment industry. Imagine an annual trade show combined with an awards ceremony. Sony/BMG was one of the many booths set up to share their “innovations” and was subsequently the site of a protest against DRM and the malicious software and hardware that Sony produces. ([More →])

I have enough trouble getting the theme song for Weeds out of my head, I really can’t imagine practicing it and performing it. I’m glad I don’t have to. The song is annoyingly catchy, but it’s extra popular due to the show featuring different versions by different bands. “Little Boxes” has been covered by Angelique Kidjo, Billy Bob Thorton, and Randy Newman. And now The Shins and Man Man. ([More →])

Music producer “Computer Paul” Henton is widely appreciated by digital reggae and jungle fans, but not as widely recognized by mainstream channels. He’s had four of his tracks go Gold: “I Can See Clearly Now” by Jimmy Cliff, “As Raw As Ever” by Shabba Ranks, and two songs by Inner Circle, all (I think) from the 90’s. The spotlight shines on Computer Paul again this week as he receives his first platinum award and it’s a double! ([More →])

So many bands and music fans are concerned about the future of the Manium - an all ages venue in downtown Olympia that the city is trying to shut down. If you have ever been involved with an all-ages venue in any city in the US, you know the kind of problems they face. Instead of being appreciated for getting kids off the streets and away from the television, they are viewed as sources of illegal activities and the corruption of society. Maybe there are a few rare cases where this happens, but usually the venue is a boon to society, especially a culture that neglects its youth more and more and fails to provide healthy gathering spaces. ([More →])

XLR8R TV recorded an interview with the talented DJ Youngsta - one of London’s finest dubstep djs. He’s not only one of the hottest dubstep djs on the planet, he also knows a lot about the roots and progression of the genre. He spins on RinseFM as well as FWD parties and recently played in SF with our local dubstep superstar - DJ Ripple! ([More →])

The RIAA is responsible for defending our rights to ringtones? Talk about a surprising plot twist! With all the talk of Apple iPhones and ringtone technology, the truth is revealed: creating your own ringtones and using them on your phone is explicitly legal thanks to RIAA. That’s right, the originators and biggest defenders of DIY ringtone access is the same agency famous for SLAPping toddlers and grannies with music piracy lawsuits. It turns out, in a move very similar to the tactics used by Clear Channel and Payola, that the RIAA wanted to “distribute ringtones of its artists’ music without having to pay the artist big money to do so…” Therefore, the RIAA convinced the Copyright Office that ringtones of copyrighted music is not a derivative work, and thus does not infringe on the songwriter’s and performers’ copyrights. The results of winning their persuasive argument, is that anyone can create a ringtone without a license for the music. As long as you legally own the rights to the music (which includes rights granted to the consumer upon purchase of an album/CD/mp3 etc.) you can legally make a ringtone out of it. However, this does not give you permission to sell, distribute or otherwise commercialize your creation. So, does this mean junglists can get sample clearance if they make a ringtone of the sample they want first? ([More →])

Neptunes producer and hip hop artist Pharrell now represents Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy. It’s part of the Hennessy “Flaunt Your Taste” campaign that suggests taste is the new bling in hip hop culture and Pharrell has stepped up to be the first musician to Flaunt what he’s got. The campaign will be seen in 7 internet spots, 3 tv commercials, and print ads in Vibe, Vanity Fair and GQ magazines. ([More →])

This article is going to deviate from music news about other people for a moment and focus on your creative flow. I was reading Gala Darling’s blog iCiNG recently and saw a post from a woman who has moved to a new city where things were starting to get too hectic for her.

Whether it’s job pressures, family responsibilities or just a lack of energy - stress and fatigue make it very difficult to get inspired.

She was stressed out and most of all, she really missed the creative energy that she used to have. She was asking how to get her creativity back, and she received a lot of advice. I began to leave a comment on Gala’s post, when I realized that I have a lot to say about it, as this is a very common problem in life. Everyone loses their creative drive at some point and it’s hard to know what to do to get it back. Whether it’s job pressures, family responsibilities or just a lack of energy - stress and fatigue make it very difficult to get inspired. So, I decided to write an article that addresses this situation, for all artists: musicians, painters, writers, dreamers of all sorts… Like all exercise, these techniques only work when you actually practice them, but here is what has worked for me. ([More →])

The incredible artists/activists Dr. Cornell West and Mos Def laid some knowledge on the table on Bill Maher’s show a few days ago. I adore the combined energies of West and Def. Mos Def has so much charisma and a fantastic sense of humour, he keeps the energy up and just keeps dropping conspiracy theories. Dr. Cornell West has the deep voice and elegance of a professor and a Panther. They complement each other perfectly. If only Adam Yauch and Mos Def would run for Prez and VP of the US, then get Dr. West a high position in the White House or the Congress… That’s the US I want to live in! ([More →])

If you have never been to a proper dancehall concert, where artists display their prowess via audience interaction, shout outs, dance moves and all kinds of antics that strengthen the bond between the artists and the dancehall community, here’s what you’ve been missing! Elephant Man - notorious as being the most brash and eclectic of all dancehall artists - brought pure FIRE to NYC’s On Da Reggae Tip concert this year! With an audience well versed in dancehall culture, from its dance moves and its “slackness” (sexual inuendo) to the importance of family and society, Elephant Man performed a coming-of-age ritual for RnB singer Chris Brown. ([More →])

Blogging can get you fired. It happens all the time. What you say online, stays online. Forever. For everyone to see. It’s been the subject of so many articles and blog posts because it continues to open and close doors for people in the offline world. As a musician, if you tell your fans online to scream “f**k George Bush” at your concerts, it has the possibility to close doors for you professionally. Unless of course, political music is all you do professionally. Unfortunately political music isn’t usually very commercially viable… ([More →])

Here’s a crazy twist to the DRM-free digital downloads story - Wal-Mart is selling digital music files on its website right now without the restrictive technology known as DRM. The world’s largest retailer now offers a new mp3 catalog with “thousands of albums and songs from major record labels such as Vivendi’s Universal Music Group and EMI,” for a mere 94 cents per track and $9.22 per album. That’s quite a discount compared to Apple iTunes’ price of $1.29 per track of DRM-free files! It’s even cheaper than a restricted file from iTunes! ([More →])

HearingTest has enjoyed a very productive weekend!! We have a new Front Page with a little bit of featured content, a space for event flyers, and a layout that makes it easy to see everything new in the Music News and Culture categories all at once. Now that the Front Page is sorted out, we put all the new posts on the News page where they belong. As always, we have the individual channels for those of you that prefer to surf the music by genre. But now you can also subscribe to each channel individually too! You can mix and match to get all the content you want and none that you don’t. Check out the Subscribe page for all the Feed details. But wait, it gets oh so much better… ([More →])