Monday Wrap

Alright, this is Joe from IA. Barrett is on vacation this week and asked me if I would help out a little during his absence. So in addition to a few posts that he was able to write ahead of time, you'll be receiving a few from me. Since it is what you are used to and a nice change from what I do on my site, I am going to stick to commenting on music news items. Here are some that stuck out to me today...

- Have any of you ever used Last.fm? I've used it, but I had no idea that 20 million people use it! Sony BMG caught wind of that and they signed a deal that will allow all of those users free streaming access to their big ass catalog. Obviously, this is huge for both sides. Last.fm will become the largest web based radio station in the world and Sony BMG has a lot more people to pimp their music to.

- Along the same lines, Sprint has apparently decided to join forces with Atlantic Records and internet do-gooders MediaDefender to distribute rapper Plies' music on P2P networks. Basically, when you get a song, you also get Sprint's branding shoved down your throat. Since we don't see enough of this company everywhere else, they want to make sure that the computer geeks who don't watch television, also get sick of their crappy marketing. My question is out of all the musicians in Atlantic's stable, why the hell would they pick that guy? I'm willing to bet that this is just the beginning.

- A couple of weeks ago, Panda Bear played a big show in Baltimore. For those of you who missed him, he has decided to distribute a free tour DVD. You can learn more at the special site.

- I love Daytrotter! For those of you who aren't familiar, they are a site that has several bands a week come to their studio and record unique songs that they then distribute freely in mp3 format. For their latest session, they brought in indie darlings The National who decided to record a cover of The Psych Furs' classic "Pretty in Pink." You can check out the session here.

- Back in college during the late 90's, my girlfriend (at the time) and I had this ongoing argument. Who is better, Prince or Michael Jackson? I've always stood by Prince and time has proven me right. Needless to say, it was cool to see him continue his renaissance over the weekend. On Saturday, he returned home to Minneapolis with not one, but 3 shows! He started by playing a department store to promote his cologne, then he played a show at an arena. He ended the night with a return to First Avenue, which is the club that he made famous way back in the 80's with his movie "Purple Rain." The night finally ended when the cops shut him down at 4AM.

- Did any of you see Metallica play Live Earth this weekend? James Hetfield had this freaky ass grey beard. Apparently it was so freaky, that it scared the people responsible for security at Britain's Luton airport. He was detained over concerns that his beard was too "Taliban-like". Personally, I find it hilarious that the man who penned "Enter Sandman" is arrested for looking Amish.

Well, that is it for tonight. Before I leave, I ask you for your thoughts on last weekend's Live Earth. What did you think? Personally, I thought it was bloated and pointless. They meant well, but in the end, you had your usual musicians, actors and politicians preach from their pedestals. If I want that, I'll pick up that latest issue of Rolling Stone.

Feel free to comment on your thoughts on any of the topics that I touched upon, things that I may have missed or how much you miss Barrett. Good night.