Quest’oggi Real Networks ha firmato un accordo triennale con l’operatore mobile SFR, il più importante carrier telefonico francese. Il servizio è attivo da ieri ed estende la copertura di Real che attualmente serve in Austria (con Mobilkom A1), Vodafone in 9 paesi tra cui Inghilterra, Irlanda, Portogallo, Germania, Italia, Grecia, Olanda, Romania e Spagna.

Complessivamente Real Network è disponibile attraverso 84 operatori mobili, in 45 paesi, rendendoli disponibili ad un bacino d’utenza complessivo pari a 860.9 milioni di abbonati.

L’intero catalogo Wondermark è disponibile su Real Networks, dal 2007.

In the groove

I had originally planned on doing a video interview with the owner of The Bus Stop Music cafe in part II of the series, however I’ve had to push this back to Monday. In the meantime, I took a trip to another awesome record store that has also embraced the record store/cafe business model which seems to be increasingly popular these days. Check back for part II of The Bus Stop Music Cafe post this week.

Interior shot of Grooveground

Groove Ground is not only one of the coolest coffee shops in South Jersey, it’s one of the most unique spots in the area to hang out, listen to music and pick up a new record.

Located at 647 Haddon Ave. in Collingswood, mere minutes from a PATCO station, Center City Philadelphia and other areas of Camden County , this coffee shop is surprisingly accessible, open Monday-Thursday from 7AM-10PM, Fridays from 7AM-11PM, Saturdays from 8AM-11PM and Sundays from 8AM-10PM.

Besides offering a delicious and eclectic regular and catering menu, the place is a local hotspot for musicians and music-lovers alike. Aligning the walls are racks of records and CDs which customers can browse through or purchase, ranging from newer releases to old or classic albums. They had a number of classic albums ranging from Nirvana to Led Zeppelin, as well as more contemporary music like Minus the Bear’s Menos el Oso.

In essence, Groove Ground brings you back to a time when small, independent record shops were the places to be and customers had the freedom to just hang out and listen to a record, even if they didn’t plan on purchasing it. This is extremely rare nowadays, as big corporate chains continue putting music behind glass and selling only what’s mainstream.

Since last February, Groove Ground began hosting “Fridays Live,” which showcases local musicians, bands and artists of all genres in a live/acoustic setting. They also have a special event every second Saturday of the month, from book signings and readings to poetry and art openings, while also hosting community events. They are also a participator in Record Store Day.

In 2008, Groove Ground won “Best of the Best” among coffee shops in South Jersey Magazine, and rightfully so.

Here’s an audio interview with Grooveground employee, Rich DeGregory (the sound in the middle is a milk steamer):

photos from the Grooveground website

GROOVEGROUND
647 Haddon Avenue
Collingswood, NJ 08108

Phone: [856] 869-9800

Mon-Fri: 7a – 10p
Sat: 8a – 11p
Sun: 8a – 10p

the records at The Bus go round and round…

A latte records at The Bus Stop Music Cafe

This Saturday, I took a trip over to Pitman’s famous Bus Stop Music Cafe. For the four years that the store has been located in Pitman, it has become a very well-known landmark for great food and coffee, as well as great records. They’ve had two locations prior to being in Pitman and the store used to operate solely as an independent record store but has now opened it’s doors to patrons looking for a fine meal or snack, as well as great music.

They have a wide selection of used records, some new records as well as a small guitar and music gear store located toward the back, which even offers guitar lessons. In addition to selling and teaching music, The Bus Stop Music Cafe has also become a great little venue for local musicians, poets and artists.

I will be interviewing someone from the store in the very near future, so stay posted for more info on the Bus Stop Music Cafe and check it out sometime if you happen to be in Pitman.

In the meantime, here is a little photo essay that I have put together for your viewing pleasure…for the record

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BUS STOP MUSIC CAFE

148 S Broadway Pitman, NJ 08071

(856) 582-0009

www.myspace.com\busstopmusic

Sunday: Closed
Monday: 9am – 9pm
Tuesday: 9am – 11:30pm
Wednesday: 9am – 9pm
Thursday: 9am – 9pm
Friday: 9am – 11pm
Saturday: 9am – 11pm

No Bull.

This store is the ****.

AP Photo of Bull Moose's co-CEO Chris Brown and the father of Record Store Day

If you thought that Strange Maine was the strangest record store in Portland, here’s the best. This store was highly recommended to me by my friend from Maine and what a recommendation indeed. I must say, those people up in Maine are truly onto something.

Before I go any further, I’d like to make it clear that Bull Moose Music is called Bull Moose Music instead of Bull Moose Records for a reason. Bull Moose is not chiefly a record store by any account. They specialize in new and used CDs, Tapes, and LPs, and in that order. They also have a huge selection of new and used DVDs and video games. As far as the actual music at the Bull Moose in Portland goes, I’d say that the store is 70% composed of CDs, 20% composed of Tapes and 10% composed of good old vinyl records. But that 10% was spot on and the entire shopping experience was a delight.

The Bull Moose in Portland was in a slightly odd location in the depths of a mini mall of sorts in the underground of an old brick building, however this gave the store a very underground, indie feel right from the start. What it lacked in windows it made up in sheer floor, wall and shelf space. This medium-sized store was absolutely loaded with music.

I must admit that I was a little surprised when I walked in. I was expecting to find wall-to-wall LPs, but I actually had to look around for a minute or two before I located them at the back wall. As I made my way over, I had to notice how clean and organized the store was. The CDs were broken up by genre such as rock, r&b, techno and etc. And within the well-labeled genres, they were also labeled alphabetically. This was not fye, where it is nearly impossible to find an album.

When I hit the vinyl at the back wall of the store, I was excited to see that nearly all of the albums were brand new. Many record collectors are solely into vintage collector’s items, but I love my new, unplayed vinyl records and I have a soft spot for indie, which has really embraced the medium of the record and made it its own. If you’re looking for new indie records, Bull Moose Music will be your new best friend.

I’m talking bands such as Minus the Bear, The Arctic Monkeys, MGMT and Passion Pit. You name it, Bull Moose had it. All brand new and in the general $15-$20 price range. Not too shabby.

New Pressings at Bull Moose

Also, I was shocked to see brand new pressings by the legendary German krautrock band, Can. I had never seen a single one of their records at any used record store, not to mention a single one of their records in general. This was something to behold. Although I couldn’t find my favorite of their albums, Tago Mago and Ege Bamyasi, the thought was there. And it was greatly appreciated. I found Incubus‘ new Monuments and Melodies, a 4 disk collection of their hits, b-sides and some new material, but the $25 price tag held me back. I was determined to find the Brooklyn indie band MGMT’s Oracular Spectacular, which is simply speaking, my new favorite album and lo and behold, there it was under M, right where I thought it would be, along with a 7″ single of their pre-Oracular material that I was not familiar with.

Sold.

And oh yeah, there was a good amount of used vinyl as well.

Awww... Yeah!

The vinyl records offered at Bull Moose were awesome, despite the fact that they were restricted to only a portion of the back wall of the store. New, old, indie, obscure, you name it. It was all there along with a healthy dose of 7″ singles to whet one’s record collecting appetite. Even if you have never bought a vinyl record in your life and don’t plan on it, Bull Moose is your place for all things music in Maine. It is the very definition of the way an indie music store should be. The guy at the cash register was awesome and very excited to see that I was buying vinyl. We talked music for a little bit and I complimented him on the store. I signed up for a Bull Moose Music discount card immediately.

Bull Moose has come a long way from it’s humble beginnings in 1989. Bull Moose began as a makeshift music store, carrying only a few discs. Started in Brunswick by Bowdoin College junior Brett Wickard, it is now the largest independent retailer of new and pre-owned music, movies, and video games in Maine and New Hampshire. As their horizon began to expand, they became known for their irreverent style. In 1991, the Portland, Maine-based chain ran its first radio ads, promising high prices and bad service. “Why pay less?” one spot asked. Another declared, “If your CD doesn’t play, that’s your problem, as long as we’ve got your money.”

In addition to being a great little franchise, they have also become somewhat of a legend in their own right after just twenty years of business. Not only were they the very beginning of now-revered Record Store Day, but this affiliation with Record Store Day has led to Bull Moose’s stores becoming somewhat of a known small concert venue by artists such as female folk singer Ani DiFranco as well as a great place for autographs by high profile artists.

Mother Folker (can I say that?), Ani DiFranco plays at one of Bull Moose's stores to a delighted crowd.

According to AllBusiness.com:
“Wickard declines to specify the chain’s annual sales volume—which Billboard estimates at $15 million—he says Bull Moose has grown in sales and profits every year, including this one.” -for the record.

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Here are all of their locations throughout Maine and New Hampshire:

BULL MOOSE MUSIC

http://www.bullmoose.com/

Brunswick
151 Maine Street
Brunswick , Maine 04011
Ph: 207-725-1289

Hours: 9:00am – 10pm Tues-Sat
10am – 10pm Sun

9am – midnight Mon

North Windham
Windham Shopping Center
771 Roosevelt Trail
North Windham, Maine 04062
Ph: 207-893-1303

Hours: 9:00am – 11pm Mon-Thurs

9:00am – midnight Fri-Sat

10am – 10pm Sun

Portland
151 Middle Street
Portland , Maine 04101
Ph: 207-780-6424

Hours: 10am – 11pm every day

Lewiston
Lewiston Mall
20 East Avenue
Lewiston, ME 04240
Ph: 207-784-6463

Hours: 9am – 9pm Mon-Sat

10am – 6pm Sun

Portsmouth, NH
82-86 Congress Street
Portsmouth , NH 03801
Ph: 603-422-9525

9:30am – 11pm every day

9:30am – midnight Mon

Sanford
Center For Shopping
1364 Main St.
Sanford, ME 04073
Ph: 207-324-5786

Hours: 9:30am – 10pm Mon-Sat

10am – 8pm Sun

Waterville
14 Elm Plaza
Waterville, ME 04901
Ph: 207-861-5884

Hours: 9am – 10p Mon-Sat

9am – 8pm Sun

Bangor
Maine Square Mall
683 Hogan Road
Bangor, ME 04401
Ph: 207-262-0410

Hours: 9am-11pm Tues-Sun

9am – midnight Mon

Salem, NH
356-366 So. Broadway
Salem, NH 03079

Ph: 603-898-6254

Hours: 10am – midnight every day

Scarborough
456 Payne Rd.
Scarborough, ME 04074
PH: 207-885-9553
Hours: 9am – 11pm Tues-Sun
9am – midnight Mon

It was unexpected for me to go to Sounds Unlikely (a local music store) at noon to check out You Say Party! We Say Die! Oh boy, I almost got their name wrong because instead of the “We”, I still say the “You.”
It’s another B.C. band who I haven’t got a chance to see them live previously but I was lucky to see them live in an acoustic environment. It’s different when a band performs at a store as it brings an intimate atmosphere. They sang several songs from their previous and current album, XXXX. There was two song from the current album that I can remember from today, one was Make XXXX and the other was Laura Palmer’s Prom. It’s funny how the second song is pop culture related. Twin Peaks anyone?
The last song they sang was Monster from their previous album, Lose All Time. One cute moment was when the lead singer used someone’s mittens and sang during the set. I forgot the song name but it was funny seeing the singer improvise.

I had the opportunity to do an audio interview with the lead singer of YSP!WSD! and it will be on a future broadcast on my radio show at CKCU. Speaking of errors, I found out I will be alternating on Mondays but I will still be on every Mondays but one will be for 30 mins and the following Monday will be 90 mins. I will still deliver interviews from musicians and bands since I got several lined up.
Here are photos I took from the show, click here to view the pictures.

Here is a Youtube clip I took of them doing the song, Downtown Mayors Goodnight, Alley Kids Rule!
Funny they did a funny puppet show.

Alma matters

Since I’m still waiting for the pictures from my trip to Maine, I will wait until I have everything together before I put up the post for my reviews of Strange Maine and Bullmoose Records. In the meantime, I took a trip to the beautiful college town of Princeton, NJ this past weekend and will whet your record collecting appetite with a review of Princeton’s own, Princeton Record Exchange.

The Princeton Record Exchange Storefront.

When I showed up to the Princeton Record Exchange at 10 am for the store opening, my shoes and my laptop were sopping wet from the past weekend’s relentless rain. The wet shoes I could barely live with, but the wet laptop I could not. After some time in front of the car’s dashboard heater, my Macbook was good to go again, so here we are:

As soon as I walked in, I was happy to see that there was a place for my umbrella right by the door. They were even nice enough to take my wet computer bag for me and hand me a cool, little, laminated ticket so that I could pick it up on the way out. I know from experience that it’s nearly impossible to peruse a record store one-handed, so it was nice to see that they recognize this and have a system in place to free up busy hands.

As I took in my surroundings, I was amazed by the sheer volume of music in this store. The entire left half of the store was dedicated to CD’s and straight ahead was a long aisle of nothing but vinyl records. To the right, past the counter was a wall filled from floor to ceiling with cassette tapes. My first impressions were that the store was very clean and well kept, as well as extraordinarily organized. Total Ivy league. This store had none of the dusty, dinginess that is nearly synonymous with most record stores. And to top it off, Yes was playing in the background, so I immediately felt right at home.

Looking toward the front of the store, the CDs to the right.

The long aisle of LPs and the wall of used CDs on the back wall.

I was struck by the meticulous organization of the music at Princeton Record Exchange. The vinyl section, which ran most of the length of the store was broken up into rock, jazz and yes, (headbangers rejoice!) even metal. The vinyl cases were seamlessly alphabetized and prominent bands had their own dividers, as would be expected, but the one thing that struck me was the fact that less-prominent bands frequently had their own little sections. I had never in my lifetime seen an entire section dedicated to lesser-known indie groups such as The Black Keys. In fact, as I looked further, I was amazed by the sheer volume of indie music tucked in amongst the shelves. It was almost akin to the volume of indie music that a store that specializes in indie would have, except that it was nicely balanced out by more popular bands, both old and new.

Speaking of old and new, both new and used vinyl graced their shelves side-by-side. There were older artists on brand new 180-gram vinyl reissues, alongside the original used copies. There was also a plethora of brand new music out on vinyl. My only criticism was that there was no designated “New Releases,” section to make the new music slightly easier to find, but this all added to the fun of digging through the eclectic mix of records on the shelves.

I was surprised to see that there was even a small section designated to audiophile original master recordings, something that I’ve never seen before.

Original Mater Recording section.

The overall quality and condition of the records offered was exceptional. There was nothing I could find on the top shelves that was in less than new, mint, or near-mint condition. But you get what you pay for, so these older mint records were a little on the pricey side. There was a mint copy of Pink Floyd‘s A Nice Pair that was being offered for $34 because of its outstanding condition and relative rarity (this one says $13.99, but trust me, there was a $34 one):

A very nice pair (of records).

Here were some of my findings at Princeton Record Exchange:

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There were also a number of unexpected gems that I came across in this store, such as a beautiful MC5 High Time Picture disk and a limited copy of Thom Yorke’s Being Pulled Apart By Horses.

Oh, and by the way, there was also a really great $1 special section at floor-level, below the main displays of records. These records were also in surprisingly good shape and were an absolute steal. You’ll have to do a little sifting though, as these records were mostly unorganized.

The employees at Princeton Record exchange were fantastic and there was one instance when an album came on in the store that I absolutely loved. I walked up to the desk to ask what was playing and a cute redhead informed me that I was hearing Electric Warrior by T-Rex. This was an album that I had to have and I was thrilled to discover a great new (1971) band. The employees here definitely capitalized on one of my favorite pastimes of record collecting, which is simply talking music with the store owners. These people were plain friendly and knowledgeable and loved to talk.

Check out T-Rex here. You definitely know this song:

Here was what I wound up buying for a total of $34 (same price as the one Floyd record):

Pink Floyd's "A Nice Pair," T-Rex's "Electric Warrior" and a $1 Maynard Ferguson record.

A Nice Pair was a must-have, plus the artwork is priceless. Electric Warrior might just be my new favorite album and I would highly recommend it to anyone who’s into straight, good, early 70’s rock with a slight glam undertone. As the man at the checkout counter informed me, this record is his favorite by T-Rex and is quite a departure from their first few albums which were much more acoustic. And I had to get the Maynard Ferguson album because well, he’s a plain and simple terrific jazz musician. Plus it was a dollar.

One happy customer.

In summary, I was very pleased with Princeton Record exchange and I would highly recommend it to anyone. The store was clean, organized and had an unbelievable offering of music, both new and old. The employees were friendly and knowledgeable and they even let you keep the plastic record sleeves with your purchases (can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen those taken at the counter. Total pet peeve).

Point blank, this is one of the coolest record stores that I’ve come across in recent memory and yeah– it’s totally ivy league.

Argyle is optional– for the record.

PRINCETON RECORD EXCHANGE

20 S Tulane St.
Princeton, NJ 08542
(609) 924-3472 www.prex.com

Store hours:

Mon-Sat: 10 am-9 pm, Sun: 11 am-6 pm

City on Fire is the debut album from City of Life Church, one of Central Florida’s most vibrant, growing churches. Under the direction of senior pastor and worship leader Jeffrey Smith, City of Life’s vibrant worship has been captured on this live release of thirteen tracks that will drive you to a deeper expression of love for God.-   http://www.cityoflifeworship.com

At wala na akong masasabi pa…

I know you lab me…

iks-o-iks-o

gossip girl

Kate Langenburg/A&E Groove

While browsing through the New York Times music section today, I came across a story about record stores and the lack thereof. After reading, it definitely got me thinking about how many I have (or have not) seen around my area.

Rock the vinyl. Photo by Kate Langenburg.

It is true that the invention of the internet, the compact disc, and the ability to purchase online have severely slowed down the sales of vinyl records. Of course, the fact that they are “old fashioned” doesn’t help either. A younger generation refuses to see anything past what they grew up with. But then why is it that many new artists have decided to put out their music on vinyl? There is certainly a love affair with the archaic sound quality.

I have to admit, I love the sound a vinyl record gives me. It is so genuine and pure with no technology to doctor it up. But that article I read, called “Record Stores: Out of Sight, Not Obsolete,” is right. Vinyl is hard to find these days. I can only think of a handful of stores that carry records within a 35 miles radius…but perhaps that is more than other areas around the country might have.

There’s just something so intriguing about spending hours at the local record shop, picking through every last old vinyl until you’ve finally found the right 20 or 30 to take home. It’s a past time that, hopefully, will never die.

If you live anywhere near the Stroudsburg, PA area, you might want to check out Main Street Jukebox. They are the best local record shop I can think of and have always been on a campaign to save vinyl records. They buy whole collections and have a pretty huge vinyl area to look through. Check it out and help save the record!

It is high time that I update this ‘job search’ blog, for it’s a running blog on how said job search is also tying in with the quality of life that I’m after. Yes, that would include having a full-time job, but at least I’m making the most of things as a freelance writer and traveler; I fully embrace several activities at once while this economy and other factors continue to darken the clouds above me. I do have developments, so before a full two months go sailing by, I’ll fill you in.

Last time I was discussing Teen Scene, so while I fully support this project and the ideas behind it, I am not currently running (or trying to run) a paper. I was attempting to get the paper off of the ground as I continued to job search, so unless I came into a sum of money or had some scrap of my writing bought up for a few thousand, I had to limit how many non-paying jobs/writing projects I was taking on. Basically, working as a director or editor (the latter of which I’d still like to be, among the jobs I’ve decided I want to do one day) would be on a commission basis. Somehow that would be worked out once money was raised, yet I still couldn’t find the time or fulfillment in looking ahead to all of the recruitment, marketing and fundraising efforts that would be solely up to me. I politely declined this position, for I felt like that decision had been coming. I explained my current career pursuits and needs to the ‘guru,’ adding that I couldn’t do the paper as a full-time ‘job.’ I wanted to help as a volunteer in some way when I had time, but I pretty much got no response. Why must so many choices in life be all or nothing?

In case you haven’t noticed, I’m still trying to start my career. If in some world I actually have, I’ve had a rough, frustrating and slow, slow beginning. My freelance writing is a constant; I could technically count all those years of writing for free or for a stipend while in college. There needs to be a regular job in there too; it just must be so. And now, no more semi-colons. I am now taking most anything that would offer me income, it’s true, but one direction that I’ve taken is working retail at a place that I’d normally go to. I may highly desire a professional job that has regular hours and isn’t an hour and a half away from home and will lead into a path I’m pursuing and…yet, I’ll take something that I can just DO. Maybe a job to have, but one that I could do part-time or in the background (as well as can be expected) should a good and steady job finally find me. I recently landed a part-time and temporary job with a music store, for it was their busy season for instrument rentals.

I was at this job for about a month or so, but I was given the opportunity to set my hours and the day I started. I managed to get on a list when I visited the store during the summer, and after waiting a bit to see if I would get called after all, things were official in August. I donned a polo shirt and waited on parents and potential band students. Most of these youngsters were beginning band students, so while I’d advocate anyone playing an instrument for life, I simply had to rent these customers instruments and give them a speech of sorts on how that was done. I must say, I liked a variety of my co-workers and picked up much intellect on how certain management styles were (and were not) effective. I most certainly did not challenge someone’s way of doing things and getting customers on through, for I was quite new—a number of my fellow renters had done this job at least a year or more in season. I just found myself greatly interested in making customers (like scared band parents) feel at ease and set in their right mind with what they needed while shopping at the store. I had some clueless folks and plenty of proxy shoppers sent in lieu of the necessary student who may know what size reed to buy, but hey, I helped everyone to the best of my ability. Not everyone’s rental process was smooth, so while I’ll admit that the fine print and contracts weren’t what brought me into work every day, they were the reasons why I was even there!

I made the most of my temporary gig, and enjoyed some of it too. One fun fact is that I became quite skilled at bagging merchandise and putting the labels on each pack of reeds or saxophone neck strap or tiny little accessory for a string instrument. I would help stock items around our section of the store (which was quite sizable) and keep the tables for rental customers neat and ready for whatever rental request that happened to come our way. I made conversation with the guys in the sheet music department, for they wandered into our midst a good deal. Plus, we directed people to them, and them to us. I found myself able to talk to several of the students too, and be impressed with one girl as she played her violin and figured out what new accessories she really needed (I feel more skilled in the string family now). One day, I had the chance to play a little bit on someone’s clarinet as they looked it over to be sure that the repairs or something were complete. The little joys, the tired feet and mental state, the grabbing of items from the Indiana Jones-type warehouse in the back (and a short discussion with a guy that worked there as well) were trappings of my workplace. I knew that it was a positive thing to move on, but I still need something to be moving into!

I’m back on the path for Barnes and Noble, hoping to be on their temporary and holiday staff. I’m being sure to turn in the applications early, especially when I wouldn’t mind becoming a more permanent  employee. I went for this last year, but no dice. Some days I wonder if I’ll ever find job satisfaction and a job at the same time! I suppose there’s time for building up those 30 years of dedicated work  and memories with someone like the University System of Georgia, but seriously, c’mon. Until the next development, I will be off trying to come up with material worthy of a blog such as this. The two people that accidently stumble upon it on occasion are depending on me!

Nokia Music Store sbarca in India, (l’annuncio è stato dato dalla stessa Nokia alla recente Music Connects Conference, lo scorso 26 Agosto). Nokia ha inoltre siglato diverse partnership con le principali major ed etichette indipendenti locali, tra cui Tseries, Yashraj Music, Saregama, Big Music e Venus, oltre che un accordo con la Indian Music Industry, l’associazione che riunisce i produttori discografici indiani. Nokia ha inoltre annunciato che il suo servizio “Comes with music” sbarcherà in India a fine anno. L’estensione di Nokia Music Store raggiunge quindi un totale di 21 paesi, tra cui appunto India, Singapore, Arabi Emirati e Polonia, paesi attualmente non ancora coperti dal servizio musicale leader, iTunes Music Store.

JUST ARRIVED SHOP KORG… use the latest technologies to create the finest electronic musical instruments, and allow musicians to sound their very best.

 PA-500 For the musician, composer, performer and entertainer, the interactive PA-500 is the perfect musical partner. For more details on this keyboards use the link below: http://www.korg.com/Product.aspx?pd=294

SP-250 Korg brings a heightened level of realism and feel to its line of portable digital pianos with the new SP-250.The SP-250 provides an expanded range of expression and performance with an outstanding new stereo piano sound, which is matched to a third-generation RH3 graded action keyboard. The SP-250 Digital Piano is the perfect answer for any pianist looking for rich piano sounds and the convenience of a lightweight, portable instrument. http://www.korg.com/Product.aspx?pd=134

SPECIALS FOR WHILE STOCKS LAST KORG

PA-500 Normal Retail: R15 750-00 Now Only: R 11 750-00

KORG SP-250 Normal Retail: R15 000-00 Now Only: R 11 250-00

We are looking for SECOND HAND Musical Instruments: “It’s Music” wants to sell your unused instruments; if they are collecting dust let us turn them into cash. For a small commission you tell us amount you want and we will try to get your price. With Christmas around the corner, it’s almost time for giving. Every year “It’s Music” donates a few musical instruments to those less fortunate wanting to learn. We are calling out to people with any musical instruments that they are not use and would like to donate. This helps in creating an opportunity for someone to live there dream… Your help would be greatly appreciated.

STUDIO

We are still running with last month’s studio special of R1600-00/day (8hrs). We also have a large selection of backing tracks for use in studio or live, they are all in the songs original key, great quality and up to date. Please phone for your request. Studio News… We now have an Acoustic Piano in studio, so for those recording artists looking for that authentic piano sound, you need no longer to look any further. Give us a call and come view the studio or make a booking.

Contact Us: 021-975 9736

www.itsmusic.co.za

Interactive Site Engages Audiences of All Ages

AMARILLO, Texas, August 10, 2009 – Hastings Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAST), a leading multimedia entertainment retailer, announced today the launch of a new e-commerce web site that includes a prodigious assortment of new and used books, videos, music, video games and fashion trends products.  The new site, www.goHastings.com, includes updated branding, expanded product availability, improved searching and browsing capabilities and improved interactivity for customers.  The site will enable customers to access over 2.8 million unique new and used entertainment products and unique contemporary gifts. 

Built by Fry, Inc., a leading e-commerce solutions provider, the new online storefront features a more interactive customer experience with enhanced browsing and buying capabilities.  Fry built the site using its Open Commerce Platform™ (“OCP”), an e-commerce solution that provides retailers with the tools to expand their e-commerce business.  With OCP, Hastings’ new site also includes flexible merchandising and promotional tools such as cross sells and product reviews.

The new goHastings.com site features the ability to watch video and video game trailers, preview and download thousands of music titles, set up a user wish list that can be passed on to family and friends for improved gift giving, reserve a copy of an upcoming release to be picked up in one of our local stores or shipped to a customer upon release, and check the balance of a gift card. In addition to these features, the new site will integrate more seamlessly with stores, allowing customers to look up specific store information, store hours, unique store events, and check online to see if a desired item is in stock at their local store.

“With everything the new and improved goHastings.com site has to offer, we can provide our customers with a one-stop shop for all their entertainment needs,” said Kevin Ball, Vice President of Marketing at Hastings.  “In addition, the new site offers an increased availability of used and value priced products, which will allow our customers to discover their entertainment, especially during a time of economic downturn.  The new goHastings.com is not only a distinct and fun online shopping experience but a great local store shopping tool that can help our customers discover more about what is in their favorite Hastings store.”

“Fry recognizes the importance of an engaging customer experience and how it relates to translating Hastings’ brand online,” said David Fry, President of Fry, Inc.  “We designed the site to reflect the interactive nature of their brand and we’re excited to launch a site that will be a leading destination for multimedia entertainment products.”

About Hastings

Founded in 1968, Hastings Entertainment, Inc. is a leading multimedia entertainment retailer that combines the sale of new and used books, videos, video games and CDs, as well as trends merchandise, with the rental of videos and video games in a superstore format.  We currently operate 151 superstores, averaging approximately 21,000 square feet, primarily in medium-sized markets throughout the United States.  We also operate www.gohastings.com, an e-commerce Internet Web site that makes available to our customers new and used entertainment products.  The site features exceptional product and pricing offers. The Investor Relations section of our web site contains press releases, a link to request financial and other literature and access to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

About Fry, Inc.

Fry, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of MICROS Systems, Inc. and part of the MICROS-Retail group, helps retailers and consumer goods manufacturers optimize their direct-channel businesses by identifying market opportunities and providing multi-channel solutions.  From strategy and marketing through design, development, managed services and fulfillment, Fry provides both the strategic expertise and technical solutions that yield real business results for clients such as Crate and Barrel, Eddie Bauer, Godiva Chocolatier, La-Z-Boy, Meijer, The Swiss Colony and Whirlpool.  One of the industry’s leading e-commerce solutions, Open Commerce Platform™, was developed by Fry. With offices in Ann Arbor, Chicago, New York and San Francisco, Fry has designed and developed e-commerce applications since 1994. For more information, visit us at www.fry.com.

by amy

Domanda lecita per qualsiasi canzone….. voglio ascoltare qualcosa prima di decidere, comprare e giudicare un artista. Per questo ho creato http://www.myopenmusic.com il giusto compresso fra gratuito (Commons Creative) per iniziare a conoscere nuovi musicisti e nuove sonorità e far continuare quelli che apprezzi nella loro opera acquistando le loro traccie.

Musicista e ascoltatore non sono mai stati così vicini, ora tutti hanno la possibilità con pochi di click di incontrarsi nel nuovo spazio virtuale dedicata alla musica.

Foto by coscurro

Slowly but surely, I will have less to lament over for this blog. Consequently, I may have less to post where it concerns my job acceptance (for it is long past being a hunt or search…just need the job to choose me, really!), but the writing continues. It should continue as long as I want to form words and read them, and especially since I doubt my need to record thoughts and events in a grammatically correct fashion will cease anytime soon. Plus, the travel must find a way to go on, no matter what! I find all of these aspects of my personality necessary; I will blog on another day.

For today, however, we’re looking at what turned out to be a grand month. July treated me quite well, so cheers to these last 31 days! I lagged a little in doing entries and keeping my temporary work going for Jenn, but I plan to extend the work that I’m promising myself I’ll do a little into next month. Technically, the internship of sorts was to run through June and July, but several things occurred that made my schedule a hopping one. And I like hopping at this stage in life when I could still go in almost every direction that I care to explore. So in late June, the mother of one of my good friends since elementary school (thank you facebook!) wrote me to ask if I was interested in helping to revive a newspaper for teens in my area. I rode with her to meet up with the man who had started the paper in Alabama and kept it going for a while; he had found success, but a personal illness had apparently halted the paper’s production.

Now the ‘guru’ (as I like to call him, for he should be able to help me bring the paper in my area up to the same speed that he reached) is retired and helping three satellite editions of Teen Scene flourish. We have Athens, Augusta and me in Atlanta, but I’m focusing on Cobb County for the time being. I am still applying for full-time writing jobs (especially in higher education, for I know of at least two jobs that I’d like to hold one day at a college or university), but hopefully I’ll have this gig as a commission one soon. Yes, we must do fundraising and try to get grants and spread the word. I’ll take verbal and demonstrative support as well as financial! Mr. Guru has some ideas as to when we could each try to have all of our writers on board, our first fundraiser, the first edition, etc. I will keep at it and do things from becoming involved with the Chamber of Commerce to visiting principals and English teachers at high schools. The core purpose of the paper is to instill business and writing skills in teens, so I knew that I could initially get on board with that goal.

Also, I look forward to when I can truly call myself and editor, perhaps ‘Managing Editor.’ That title is pretty much self-assigned, but as I find a Marketing and Sales person (and for now, it’s commission, okay?), I can focus on editing and perhaps the sessions on journalistic ethics and seminars that Mr. Guru is wanting to do as a “Writing Academy.” Several items that were indicative of Teen Scene Alabama are surely on their way, and I do have copies of the paper as examples. I’ve set up a separate planner (they are like little book extensions of myself) and tried to get off the ground through the sense of organization that comes naturally.

I became busy with things this month too, though, for along with starting and finishing projects I’ve been at for a while, I got to play in my church’s production of Oklahoma! That was a highlight of the summer, so while it meant plenty of rehearsal hours  and a solid week of doing the show (the tunes are still not fully out of my head!), I felt quite blessed throughout the entire process. It was like the old days of going to summer camp or maybe the slightest bit akin to the wonderful removal of being abroad. I like finding that where I can, even if it’s re-visiting Hogwarts in the latest Harry Potter movie.  I could launch into the connection to the book about now and what I thought about the scenes that should have been in the film (and the ones that were but should not have been!), but I’ll bring my last point up.

I had my own clarinet fixed this summer, for it had not seen a repair shop for some time. I had borrowed the other clarinet player’s nicer model for the show (she is awesome to play alongside in services and everything year-round), but that had me in the music store a few times this summer. I first went in to buy reeds and get ready for Oklahoma!, but I got to talking to one of the managers at the store. Next thing I knew, I was on a list of people for the rush that is back-to-school and the season that is almost upon us. They take on more people to cover all of the customers and paperwork and more that I’m sure I’ll find out about soon, but I have training this weekend. Then I’ll know more about what I’ll be doing when I begin August 17^th. I had waited around somewhat to find out when (and if) I would be called up to help for August until early or mid-September, and once I did, I was better able to make plans for all of the month.

I tend to want to follow up on something that I expressed more than a little interest in (especially work-related); now I have an interesting temporary job, and I hope to network a little more with teenagers or others for Teen Scene. So I have more than a few things to juggle or handle as I volunteer and write when I can and apply (although not for everything under the sun now). Schedule managed!

Glasgow is vegan cafe central, but mono is the only one that can keep my sworn carnivore friends happy with their exceptionally delicious veggie burgers and homebrewed pink lemonade.

Mono is the kind of place where you can waste away an afternoon drinking organic beer on the sofas, swapping a book at their library exchange or getting crafty at one of their regular Stitch and Bitch events.  It’s in a quiet, rogueish part of town, down by the Clyde and just far enough from trendy Merchant City and Argyll Street’s uninspiring shops.

The soundtrack is provided by in-house record store Monorail, which has an amazing mix of records and CDs from every Scottish indie album you could ever want to antifolk, glitchy electro and obscure film scores.  At night, mono turns into a gig venue with a tiny stage that has seen all the greats like Arab Strap and Belle and Sebastian and now plays host to the kind of bands on Domino and ATP Recordings, oh and their own jazz night.

But more about the amazing, wholesome vegan food!  If Stella McCartney has got you into Meat Free Monday, then you’re in for a treat – 3 delectable course for £10, all day Monday.

On the menu are Indian or Greek platters and thai stirfrys, a variety of tapas and snacks like crostini with aubergine and chilli.  My longtime hangover cure was a veggie burger with spicy chips and garlic mayo, but if you’re after total obliteration, go for the Big Mono (£7.50) – it’s a burger with the full works, chips and a side salad.

Mono is lucky to have some pretty good neighbours, with treasure trove vintage shop Mr Ben just two doors down and 13th Note across the road. The only problem is, it’s kind of hard to tear yourself away!

Mono, 12 Kings Court, Glasgow, G1 5RB

Retail Hell Inside A Record Store

Someone get me off this record store treadmill!

After graduating college, I decided to put my degree in International Studies to good use.  I got a job in an independent record store, where I worked for the next five and a half years.  It nearly drove me crazy.  After awhile, I became assistant manager but it was just a title and I had to still do crapwork.  The only plus to being assistant manager was that I could make decisions about certain things which made me have a false sense of power.  But that power was fun and came in handy when I needed it.  Working retail has to be one of life’s great challenges.  Customers always are right and you’re wrong, even if you know you’re really right.

One of the good things about my job was the lack of a dress code.  I wore anything I wanted to wear–usually a T-shirt and jeans.  My job consisted of buying and selling used CDs, ordering merchandise, pricing, stocking, answering customers’ mind-numbing, often imbecilic questions and communicating with record labels.  One of the most difficult parts about the job was deciding how much to pay for CDs, as it depended on the popularity and condition.  Customers would often argue with me about why I wouldn’t take their Vanilla Ice CD or their Milli Vanilli CD, or they’d say I wasn’t giving them enough for their CDs, which were all really good, according to them.  Well, if they’re really good, then would they be selling them in the first place?

I also had to baby-sit the owner’s ill-behaved bird during my shift.  I wanted to kill that bird.  I had to clean its cage every morning, change out the newspaper, feed it, let it out of the cage and watch it run around the store for the next 8 hours, destroying everything in its evil path.  That bird bit me so many times—on the ankles, fingers, hands, arms, legs, shoulders..…you name it.  I am proud of the fact that I didn’t kill him before I quit. One time, he bit my finger and severed a nerve.  My finger was numb for a couple of months.  I should have sued.  How can a person expect to operate a record store while chasing around a bird that acted worse than a two year old?  What kind of a professional business was that?  Nevertheless, it was the owner’s bird and I had to comply by the rules.  They should not have had a bird in a record store in the first place.   I don’t think that the owner nor his wife had their heads on straight.

For all of the bullshit I had to put up with, I was paid $6.50 an hour.  I should have gotten paid $10 an hour just to baby-sit his bird who was the most evil feathered fowl I had ever seen and another $10 an hour for my knowledge of the “business” side of things.  Of course, who wants to pay what an employee is really worth?

Occasionally, there would be fill-in people who didn’t really know what they were doing but could write out receipts and operate a cash register but were clueless about the music and buying CDs.  The owner worked sometimes–just enough to make sure that we didn’t get more than 36 hours a week.  After all, he didn’t want to pay us more than he had to.  Besides, he had to make sure that he kept the business from actually making a profit so he liked to put a lot of the day’s receipts in his pockets.

My boss  was a cheapskate, a hypocrite and a liar.  He’d tell us not to do something and then he’d turn around and do it.  For example, he’d give people up to $6 cash per CD and also take nearly any CD that people would try to sell.  The boss would believe anything people would tell him and they kissed a lot of his hairy behind so he’d give them more for their CDs.  However, we were told not to pay more than $4 cash per CD or that we weren’t allowed to pay out cash at all that day.  Then he’d turn around and pay out cash after telling us not to.  His wife, an airline pilot who knew little about record store operations, would butt in frequently, telling us what to do as if we didn’t know what we were doing.  I nicknamed her Endora from the 60’s TV show Bewitched.  She fit the profile of a witch quite nicely. Since he’d pay way more than we were allowed to for CDs, people would wait until the boss was working and then sell their CDs.  The customers would make sure to comment on how “The owner always gives me $6 per CD.”  Sometimes I’d reply with, “That’s why we don’t let him work that much.”  Due to this hypocrisy, conflicts arose with customers who could not understand why I would give “so little”, yet that older guy was much more generous.  One idiotic male customer told me, “That other guy is much more generous with the amount of money he pays for my CDs.”  I should have told the guy, “Well that is because he is trying please everyone because he is afraid of being disliked.”

There were several ways that the boss would screw us over when it was time for our paychecks.  Once, I recall looking in the business checkbook and seeing that he purchased another overpriced parrot for $400 that he was planning to breed with the evil bird he already had living in the record store.  Can you imagine being a bird and trying to breed in a record store full of people?  So, because he bought another stupid, overpriced bird, we had to wait to get paid because there wasn’t enough money in the checking account.  The owner (boss) would frequently kite checks.  Kiting checks means you write checks for money you don’t have in the bank yet.  Sometimes he’d be $1000 in the hole!  Another time we had to wait to get paid because he bought his wife a computer!!  He would take money out of the till and go spend it on booze and food.  No wonder his business didn’t make much profit.  He made so many idiotic business decisions and was easily swayed by slick salespeople who would call and convince him to order a bunch of CDs or T-shirts that wouldn’t sell.  I told him to quit letting them pressure him into ordering cheesy stuff that wouldn’t sell.  He wouldn’t listen to me although I apparently knew more than he did about the workings of a record store.

There were some perks that made it worthwhile to continue working in such a stressful, frustrating environment.  I got a lot of promo CDs, most of which I sold right back, free posters and free tickets to get into concerts.  One time a representative from Sony called in the afternoon a few hours before Pearl Jam was going to play and asked if I wanted free tickets to the show. Pearl Jam wasn’t one of my favourite bands, but a chance to go see them for free and rub the privilege in the faces of paying people was more than I could bear, so I dragged my fiancé to the show with me.  And the fact that all of those paying people had to wait in line for hours, some even spending the night outside the ticket office made me even more eager to go.  The opening band was L7 , much more entertaining that Pearl Jam could ever be.

I also got to call record labels and ask for promo CDs and to be put on guest lists at a local club.  I made extra money by selling promos which enabled me to buy a computer, a mountain bike, a wetsuit, books and food.   I needed to sell the CDs to supplement my meager income.  I also got to meet a lot of cool bands and even do a few interviews for my zine.

Sometimes people would try to return a used CD that they didn’t like.  They’d want their money back but of course I couldn’t give them their money back.  Any moron could have walked in and said, “I hated this CD.  I want my money back.”  I’d think that they just taped it and brought it back.  So they’d get upset with me when I’d tell them that they could trade the CD for something else and I could give them four dollars credit.  It’s not my fault they bought the CD and didn’t like it.  It’s not like we guaranteed someone would like music they bought.  We could only guarantee against physical defects. Unfortunately, the owner was well versed in kissing ass and made me look like a fool.  He was adept at not practicing what he preached.  He’d gladly give the customers a refund or let them trade it for another CD even if the same person returned CDs or tapes all the time.

One evening at about 8 p.m., a young, black guy about 18 years old walked in.  I had never seen him before.  He was walking around, touching everything.  I knew something bad was going to happen, but I never expected what happened next.  He was just acting too suspicious.  The ironic thing is that when I got to work at about 4 p.m., I decided to put my gun in my jacket pocket because I had this feeling…..women’s intuition I guess.  I was not wary of him because of his colour but because of the way he was acting.  I had seen this type of behaviour before and knew it meant trouble.

I’m sitting in my chair, flipping through a magazine, and decide to get ready for what was going to happen.  I didn’t know exactly what was going to happen but I wanted to be ready for anything.  I eased my chair as far away from the counter as I could to give me more room between him and me.  I look up and think I see him masturbating.  My first thought was, “Nah, it’s just my imagination.”  I look up again and see him with his wanker out, masturbating by the T-shirts.

That pissed me off!  I yelled, “GUESS WHAT!!  YOU’RE BUSTED!  YOU’RE BUSTED!”

He stared at me in disbelief.  Here was this woman who was supposed to be shocked by a guy pulling on his willy whom she’d never seen before and instead, she’s yelling, “YOU’RE BUSTED!”

A few seconds passed.  He just stood there and for a moment, I thought he might come after me.  I opened my jacket and reached for my gun.  His eyes got big and he turned and ran  out the door, jumping over the railing.  I was so pissed that I ran out after him.  He took off as fast as he could across the street.  I came back in and called the cops.  They didn’t catch him but he never came in again.  The joke was on him.  I hope I prevented him from ever doing something like that to anyone else. I still can’t remember what he did with his pecker – did he quickly tuck it back in his pants while he was running, or was it hanging out, flapping in the wind? I’ll never know.

Dealing with occurrences like that was stressful to say the least, along with dealing with the usual weirdos and imbeciles who inhabited the store for a few hours.  One time, a woman called to find out what Michael Bolton tapes we might have.  We sold used tapes as well and this was the only way you’d ever see Michael Bolton in our store.  She asked me what tapes of his we had, so I read off the two tapes we had for sale.  She then asked me if a certain song was on one of the tapes.  I looked at the song listings and told her no.  Then she inquired as to what tape the song would be on.  I told her I had no idea.  She said in a rude voice, “You mean you work in a record store and you don’t know anything about Michael Bolton?”  I told her that I knew about punk music and we sold a lot of it. If she really knew anything about music, she certainly wouldn’t be listening to Michael Bolton.  Besides, what does she think I do all day long, memorise song titles of every CD we have?

There were many more instances like this of people calling and asking stupid questions.  Sometimes, I’d mess with their heads.  Unfortunately, people would come into the store looking for country music so we had to sell that too—-used of course.  One day, a cowgirl called up and asked in a strong southern accent, “Do yew have any John Michael Montgomery CDs?”

I felt disappointment as I asked her, “Okay, now who are you looking for?”

Once again she said, “John Michael Montgomery.”

I pretended like I had never heard of him before and didn’t know who he was.  I told her in an uncertain voice, “Well, I’ll check.  What kind of music is it?”

She said, “Kuntry.”

I said, “One more time, what’s his name?”

She replied, “John Michael Montgomery.”

I told her I’d go see what we might have.  I put the phone down and stood there for about a minute, not even walking out to the country section to check on her bad taste in music.  Then I picked up the phone and said, “No, sorry, we don’t have anything by him.”

I’d do that a lot, especially when I knew we didn’t have something people were looking for, but if you tell them right off the bat, they think you’re just lazy and don’t want to go look.   I usually knew what we had in stock though.  Sometimes I was just being lazy and felt like wasting their time but often knew what we did and didn’t have.  I spent enough time inside that insipid place to know the stock pretty well.  I hated answering the phone sometimes.  People would ask the most ridiculous questions and I was expected to answer them as if they’d asked me something profound.

Slacking off on the job was also enjoyable and I participated in this sport excessively.   I worked by myself, just the way I liked it, except when I got bored.  If I’d get hungry, I’d pretend like I needed to get change at the bank and would go get food.   I’d get to close the store for about 10 minutes and escape.  One time I closed the store and went and got food and then walked around the mall for a bit and bought a magazine.  The owner was out of the country.  Those were the best times of all.  I’d leave the bird in the cage a lot because I hated letting him out so he could bite me or unplug the stereo from the wall or chew on the fax machine.

Friends would come in and I’d tell them to go get some beer and we’d put it in the refrigerator and drink it.  I’d get some flyers that people would bring in and change them around to say funny things.  I’d autograph all of the posters, making people think that they were authentic.  Sometimes I’d write silly comments on the posters, especially if it was a band I couldn’t stand, which was most of the time.  Customers would get angry that I ruined a poster they wanted and complain to the owner who in turn would get all over me about it. I’d even put little price stickers on CDs and write funny sayings on them.  Sometimes I’d take used tapes, like Pearl Jam or some other hugely popular band, and record strange songs on them, like Crispin Hellion Glover singing, “Automanipulator”, a song about masturbation.  No one ever complained about something strange on their Pearl Jam tape.  Maybe they thought it was supposed to be on there.

When high maintenance customers would come in, meaning people who wanted me to play a large stack of CDs for them to be their personal DJ and then only buy one CD, if any at all, I’d put in annoying CDs like a very scary band called Chrome, or some hardcore bands.  Sometimes, it would run people out of the store.  It made the day go by faster and it was fun messing with people’s minds and it provided me with stress relief and more entertainment value for my meager hourly wage.

Towards the end of my career at this particular store, the stress became almost too much to bear.  My frustration with my situation was beginning to overwhelm me and I got more and more depressed.  I have clinical depression so that job was beginning to take its toll on my sanity.  A couple of months before I quit, I told a kid to fuck off.  It felt good.  I’m surprised I wasn’t fired.  The boredom and lack of challenge was also reason  for my depression.   I did learn a lot from working there and there were some perks so it wasn’t all in vain.  Since I’ve quit 2 and a half years ago, business has gone down considerably.  Perhaps the owner and his wife will get what they deserve soon.  And I’ll be there pointing a finger and saying, “I told you so.”

Discret malgré un réel foisonnement hip-hop depuis deux décennies, le rap lyonnais ne se trouve pas si souvent que ça des porte-drapeaux susceptibles de rayonner à travers toute la francophonie. En 2009, c’est incontestablement au tour de CASUS BELLI de défrayer la chronique et d’exploser après un prolifique parcours dans l’underground de l’ancienne capitale des Gaule. Et si le parcours indépendant fut long, il fut suffisamment dense pour attirer l’oreille aiguisée de Rohff et de son label, Foolek Records.

Passionné de hip-hop depuis 1995, l’année où il fonde son premier groupe avec des potes originaires comme lui des villes ouvrières de la banlieue de Lyon (Bron et Vaulx-En-Velin), CASUS BELLI suit le parcours classique du rapper underground (mixtapes, compilations, premier maxi) couronné par une participation aux Francofolies de La Rochelle et des premières parties prestigieuses (Raekwon du Wu-Tang Clan, Oxmo Puccino…). Apres avoir distribue gratuitement (plus de 20 000 téléchargements!) 3 street-albums entre 2003 et 2004 pour accroitre son buzz, il fonde le label CB Style qui lui sert désormais de structure phonographique, et sort en 2005 son 1er album “Soul Fiction”, descriptif sans fard de l’envers du décor bourgeois de la préfecture du Rhône (69). L’album marque une solidification de l’écriture du jeune MC qui, en parallèle à sa passion pour le hip-hop, poursuit des études qui vont l’amener à devenir prof de gym dans le secondaire. On retrouve le regard lucide de CASUS BELLI sur les dérives, les injustices et les frustrations croissantes que fait naître une société toujours plus inégalitaire.

Ce premier album lui ouvre les porte du label Banlieue Sud, basé dans le Val-de-Marne (94), qui lui propose d’enregistrer maquettes et morceaux. Le clip “Surenchère” (2007) rencontre un beau succès sur internet et c’est via Banlieue Sud que Rohff découvre CASUS BELLI qui se voit enfin offrir l’opportunité de bénéficier d’une sortie digne de son talent avec le label Foolek (en licence chez Wagram)

« Cas de Guerre », le tout nouvel opus de CASUS BELLI est incontestablement le parfait équilibre entre le fond et la forme. L’album s’apparente à un check up sans concession de l’état actuel de la société française et au vu des symptômes, le diagnostic ne pousse pas à l’euphorie. L’impressionnant “Il était une fois” (un magistral morceau sans refrain de 6 minutes), “Mis à part”, “On Nous Met”, le poignant “Tout P’tit” (un remake chanté d’un morceau présent dans le street album cette fois avec violons, piano et guitare) ou “Un Autre Monde” avec Keny Arkana donnent toute l’ampleur de son aptitude à se faire chroniqueur social sans tomber dans le piège du donneur de leçons. Les faits sont tristement concrets mais amenés de telle manière que plutôt que le renoncement, c’est l’envie de créer pour résister qui surgit. Et malgré tous les constats désenchantés de “Cas De Guerre” dans lesquels nombreux sont ceux qui reconnaîtront de multiples aspects de leur situation actuelle, le MC lyonnais ne se résigne pas à la désespérance et au nihilisme. CASUS BELLI est un lutteur, qui n’hésite pas à amener du réconfort et de l’espoir avec la “Danse De La Galère” ou l’émancipateur “Respect”, à défendre le hip-hop qu’il aime dans “Ma Musique” ou à attaquer le micro à l’ancienne avec le puissant “Surenchère” et son remix qui rameute tous les MC’s du label CB Style (Act 2, Balir et Gunior).

Parfaitement en phase avec l’époque incertaine qui nous malmène, CASUS BELLI s’impose comme un de ces rares MC’s capables de fédérer tous les publics, hip-hop et bien au-delà. La maîtrise technique et la sincérité de “Cas De Guerre”, son 2e opus, faisant office d’armes d’adhésions massives !

Ecrit mer 4 nov 2009 12:44 CET par Yahoo! Music in Artiste émergent du mois