Last FM Playlist

Kakande w/Mory Kante

I'm at it again. Time to promote the stuff I'm promoting. In this case, Kakande with Mory Kante.

Kakande will be playing Johnny D's featuring a guest appearance by Mory Kante! This concert is a CD Release Party for much anticipated new album Dununya.

Mory Kante is an international super star from Guinea, West Africa, and rarely backs anyone up. However, Kakande (led by Famoro Dioubate from Guinea) has touched Mory so much that he'll be appearing with them for this show.

"Kakande takes a unique approach to Mande music—acoustic, kinetic, textured and grooving. Dioubate's virtuosic balafon riffing is rightly front and center, backed harmonically by a sweet blend of electric guitar (Mamady Kouyate), cello (Raoul Rothblatt), flute (Sylvain Leroux)
and sax (Avram Fefer). These players step out occasionally, but mostly hang with the crisp rhythm section, creating textures that work as well in a dark, roiling jam like "Paya Paya," as on a slow, mellifluous praise song like "Mariama Traoré.""
- Afropop Worldwide's Review of Kakande's album "Dununya"
(http://www.afropop.org/explore/album_review/ID/3433/

Come on out and have a great time! More details below.

Press Release:
On Thursday February 21th, Johnny D's presents Kakande, a 9-piece West African band based out of NYC, celebrating the release of their much anticipated album, Dununya (http://www.JumbieRecords.com). The West African music scene has been steadily growing in the U.S. in recent
years and it is sure to explode when this groundbreaking new disc hits stores. To celebrate Dununya's release, African superstar Mory Kante will join Kakande on stage, in a rare U.S. appearance, and an once-in-a-lifetime chance to see this legendary musician supporting another group.

Kakande is a 9-piece collective that demonstrates how the balafon (xylophone) has electrified African music for 800 years. Lush vocals, flutes, sinewy guitars, cellos and countless melodic textures are propelled by the power of Famoro Dioubate's balafon virtuosity. Layers of intricate melody come together in Kakande to create this explosive
new groove. Mory Kante's support for the group is remarkable, especially since he was the first African artist to sell a million CDs (see http://www.MoryKante.com).

February 21th will be a historic chance to join Kakande and Mory Kante as Boston writes a new chapter in the history of griot music.

Who: Kakande with special guest Mory Kante

What: CD release for new album Dununya

Where: Johnny D's
17 Holland St.
Somerville, MA 02144
617-776-2004

When: Thursday Feb. 21, 2008

Price: $15 advance/$18 door
Advance Tickets at: http://kakande.eventbrite.com/

Yes We Can Song

Just wanted to post the text that accompanies the Obama video below. . . Inspiring stuff, just like the man himself.

The Yes We Can Song
by will.i.am

I was sitting in my recording studio watching the debates...
Torn between the candidates

I was never really big on politics...
and actually I’m still not big on politics...
but 4 years ago, me and the black eyed peas supported Kerry...
And we supported Kerry with all our might...
We performed and performed and performed for the DNC...
doing all we could do to get the youth involved...

The outcome of the last 2 elections has saddened me...
on how unfair, backwards, upside down, unbalanced, untruthful,
corrupt, and just simply, how wrong the world and "politics" are...

So this year i wanted to get involved and do all i could early...

And i found myself torn...
because this time it’s not that simple...
our choices aren’t as clear as the last elections ...
last time it was so obvious...
Bush and war
vs
no Bush and no war...

But this time it’s not that simple...
and there are a lot of people that are torn just like i am...

So for awhile I put it off and i was going to wait until it was decided for me...

And then came New Hampshire...

And i was captivated...

Inspired...

I reflected on my life...
and the blessings I have...
and the people who fought for me to have these rights and blessings...

and I’m not talking about a "black thing"
I’m talking about a "human thing" me as a "person"
an American...

That speech made me think of Martin Luther King...
Kennedy...
and Lincoln...
and all the others that have fought for what we have today...

what America is "supposed" to be...

freedom...
equality...
and truth...

and thats not what we have today...
we think we are free...
but in reality terror and fear controls our decisions...

this is not the America that our pioneers and leaders fought and
died for...

and then there was New Hampshire

it was that speech...
like many great speeches...
that one moved me...
because words and ideas are powerful...

It made me think...
and realize that today we have "very few" leaders...
maybe none...

but that speech...

it inspired me...
it inspired me to look inside myself and outwards towards the world...
it inspired me to want to change myself to better the world...
and take a "leap" towards change...
and hope that others become inspired to do the same...
change themselves..
change their greed...
change their fears...
and if we "change that"
"then hey"..
we got something right...???...

1 week later after the speech settled in me...
I began making this song...
I came up with the idea to turn his speech into a song...
because that speech effected and touched my inner core like nothing in a very long time...

it spoke to me...

because words and ideas are powerful...

I just wanted to add a melody to those words...
I wanted the inspiration that was bubbling inside me to take over...

so i let it..

I wasn't afraid to stand for something...
to stand for "change"...
I wasn't afraid of "fear"...
it was pure inspiration...

so I called my friends...
and they called their friends...
in a matter of 2 days...
We made the song and video...

Usually this process would take months...
a bunch of record company people figuring out strategies and release dates...
interviews...
all that stuff...
but this time i took it in my own hands...
so i called my friends sarah pantera, mike jurkovac, fred goldring, and jesse dylan to help make it happen...
and they called their friends..
and we did it together in 48 hours...
and instead of putting it in the hands of profit we put it in the hands of inspiration...

then we put it on the net for the world to feel...

When you are truly inspired..
magic happens...
incredible things happen...
love happens..
(and with that combination)

"love, and inspiration"

change happens...

"change for the better"
Inspiration breeds change...

"Positive change"...

no one on this planet is truly experienced to handle the obstacles we face today...
Terror, fear, lies, agendas, politics, money, all the above...
It’s all scary...

Martin Luther King didn't have experience to lead...
Kennedy didn't have experience to lead...
Susan B. Anthony...
Nelson Mandella...
Rosa Parks...
Gandhi...
Anne Frank...
and everyone else who has had a hand in molding the freedoms we have and take for granted today...

no one truly has experience to deal with the world today...

they just need "desire, strength, courage ability, and passion" to change...
and to stand for something even when people say it's not possible...

America would not be here "today" if we didn’t stand and fight for
change "yesterday"...
Everything we have as a "people" is because of the "people" who fought for
change...
and whoever is the President has to realize we have a lot of changing to do

I'm not trying to convince people to see things how i do...
I produced this song to share my new found inspiration and how I've been moved...
I hope this song will make you feel...
love...
and think...
and be inspired just like the speech inspired me...

that’s all...



Let's all come together like America is supposed to...
Like Japan did after Hiroshima...

that was less than 65 years ago...
and look at Japan now...

they did it together...
they did it...

"We can't?...

Are you serious..?..

WE CAN!!!

Yes we can...
A United "America"
Democrats, Republicans and Independents together...
Building a new America

We can do it...
"TOGETHER"

Please visit www.yeswecansong.com

Thank you for reading and listening...
will.i.am

Why Toni Morrison is endoring Obama

Here is the letter that Toni Morrison wrote when she endorsed Barack Obama. I like this line "I would not support you if that was all you had to offer or because it might make me "proud."" that she writes when she talks about the race/gender conflict dynamic so many people are struggling with. I am voting for Barack because it will make me proud. Not proud to be voting for a black man, just as I would not be proud to be voting for a woman. But I'll be proud to be voting for the person who I think offers these United States the best chance to move forward, to start to make this country and world a better place. Someone who can move things forward, not someone who will get bogged down in the gridlock of political patterns of fighting and the blind rage that some people feel towards Clinton. Someone with the vision and the fortitude and enough experience to get us to someplace better. Someone who will inspire millions of Americans and other around the world to join in this cause, who has already inspired people to dream of a better future, and someone who will work for tomorrow's challenges today.


Toni Morrison's letter:
Dear Senator Obama,

This letter represents a first for me--a public endorsement of a Presidential candidate. I feel driven to let you know why I am writing it. One reason is it may help gather other supporters; another is that this is one of those singular moments that nations ignore at their peril. I will not rehearse the multiple crises facing us, but of one thing I am certain: this opportunity for a national evolution (even revolution) will not come again soon, and I am convinced you are the person to capture it.

May I describe to you my thoughts?

I have admired Senator Clinton for years. Her knowledge always seemed to me exhaustive; her negotiation of politics expert. However I am more compelled by the quality of mind (as far as I can measure it) of a candidate. I cared little for her gender as a source of my admiration, and the little I did care was based on the fact that no liberal woman has ever ruled in America. Only conservative or "new-centrist" ones are allowed into that realm. Nor do I care very much for your race[s]. I would not support you if that was all you had to offer or because it might make me "proud."

In thinking carefully about the strengths of the candidates, I stunned myself when I came to the following conclusion: that in addition to keen intelligence, integrity and a rare authenticity, you exhibit something that has nothing to do with age, experience, race or gender and something I don't see in other candidates. That something is a creative imagination which coupled with brilliance equals wisdom. It is too bad if we associate it only with gray hair and old age. Or if we call searing vision naivete. Or if we believe cunning is insight. Or if we settle for finessing cures tailored for each ravaged tree in the forest while ignoring the poisonous landscape that feeds and surrounds it. Wisdom is a gift; you can't train for it, inherit it, learn it in a class, or earn it in the workplace--that access can foster the acquisition of knowledge, but not wisdom.

When, I wondered, was the last time this country was guided by such a leader? Someone whose moral center was un-embargoed? Someone with courage instead of mere ambition? Someone who truly thinks of his country's citizens as "we," not "they"? Someone who understands what it will take to help America realize the virtues it fancies about itself, what it desperately needs to become in the world?

Our future is ripe, outrageously rich in its possibilities. Yet unleashing the glory of that future will require a difficult labor, and some may be so frightened of its birth they will refuse to abandon their nostalgia for the womb.

There have been a few prescient leaders in our past, but you are the man for this time.

Good luck to you and to us.

Toni Morrison

OBAMA! Si Se Puede! Yes WE Can!

OBAMA! Si Se Puede! Yes WE Can!

Andy Palacio

please hold andy palacio in the light. he is currently fighting for his life. he has been tragically taken ill within the past week. i'll paste the email from his label & manager below.
andy is a musician.
andy is a humanitarian.
andy is a mensch.
andy has made a positive impact on this world.
andy is an inspiration.
andy is a hero.
please pray for him, hold him in the light, carry him with you in your heart, your head, your ears, your mind, your body and your soul.

i have so many words to describe what this man means to me, and who am i? and yet, i have so few words right now. . . just hope.

http://www.myspace.com/andypalacio
http://andypalacio.calabashmusic.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Palacio
http://www.cumbancha.com/welcome.php?_pg=albums/watina

email from friday (jan 18th):
Dear Friends:

We're deeply saddened to report that Andy Palacio has experienced what was apparently a severe heart attack and is in grave condition. He is currently on life support and the prognosis is not good. We are all hoping for a miracle and that Andy will regain consciousness, but at this point this does not seem likely.

Andy started feeling poorly a few days ago and visited a doctor with complaints of dizziness and blurred vision. On Wednesday he began experiencing seizures and was rushed to a hospital in Belmopan, Belize and then on to another hospital in Belize City. The doctors initially though Andy, who was still conscious and communicative at that time, had experienced a stroke, and were even diagnosing multiple sclerosis at one point. At this point, we were all hopeful Andy would recover.

Yesterday, Andy's condition worsened and he began experiencing more seizures. Andy is a national icon in Belize, and the story of his illness has not only been big news there, the Prime Minister has been putting his full support behind Andy's treatment. When Andy's condition started to decline, he was placed on an air ambulance to Chicago where he was expected to get treatment at one of the premier neurological facilities in the country.

En route to Chicago, the plane stopped in Mobile, Alabama to clear immigration. At that point, Andy was unconscious and it was determined that he was too ill to continue on the flight to Chicago. Andy is currently in a hospital in Mobile, Alabama where he is in a coma. His cousin is by his side and Andy's daughters will be arriving shortly .

It is impossible to describe the pain we feel from this unfathomable tragedy. We will notify you if we hear any significant updates on Andy's condition. In the meantime, keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Sincerely,
Ivan Duran (Stonetree) and Jacob Edgar (Cumbancha)

DRM is Dead!!

today is the day! drm is dead! it was very exciting to turn on today and read these kind of headlines:

* Napster Goes DRM-Free on Downloads, MP3s Ahead
* Sony BMG Confirms Initial DRM-Free Strike, Retail Play Emerges

Amazing stuff. i think that iTunes is going to be the only place to get DRM'ed tracks (except for some SOL little independent sites) within 6 months. and that (DRM on iTunes) only because the majors are pissed at apple/jobs and won't give them their catalogs fully DRM free.
Imagine how much further along we'd be if this had happened 5 years ago?!?
Instead of this rapid downturn of sales, maybe we'd be that much closer to actually developing a working market for artists.
I know people who still haven't downloaded music, think that it is too complicated, haven't opened up to paypal or putting their credit card info in online, don't use itunes, have been scared off by "DRM" talk (either it is too hard to use, or that someone will be tracking them), or any number of other reasons/excuses. Now that they know that their music will play everywhere they want it to, maybe they'll try buying something somewhere. Imagine if the 844 million tracks bought in 2007 is just from the early adopters! wow. that is some power.

good news/bad news

Some interesting facts below highlighting both the opportunity for growth and the sad state of music sales today. Very interesting, but also great. The numbers keep on going up and up, which is a wonderful sign.

• Despite a 45% increase in digital sales, overall U.S. music album sales fell 9.5% in 2007, the Associated Press reported, citing data from Nielsen SoundScan.
• Individual digital track sales totaled 844.2 million in 2007, up from 588.2 million in 2006.
• The holiday week was the best ever for the industry, which saw a record 58.4 million units moved during the last week of 2007.
• On the mobile front, Americans purchased more than 220 million ringtones last year.

Another Alexandria Fire?

Listening to the news on the way into work today, hearing that there was a mysterious fire in Cheney's offices, my first thought was that we are having another mysterious fire of Alexandria. . .
I wonder which documents, tapes, computers, etc have been destroyed in the fire. . .
I'm sure the cause will be mysterious, or something that could have been created by a talented agent. And I'm sure that just like that old fire, history has lost some key documents which would help us understand how this empire of the USA started its descent.
Sad news indeed.

Obama!

I'm going to just paste Brooks column today from the NYTimes here, as I think it is a great piece of writing on why Obama is the best choice for President. . . More Senators like Hillary, and a President who is Barack, and we're on our way, prosperity bound.

The Obama-Clinton Issue
By DAVID BROOKS
Published: December 18, 2007, NYTimes

Hillary Clinton has been a much better senator than Barack Obama. She has been a serious, substantive lawmaker who has worked effectively across party lines. Obama has some accomplishments under his belt, but many of his colleagues believe that he has not bothered to master the intricacies of legislation or the maze of Senate rules. He talks about independence, but he has never quite bucked liberal orthodoxy or party discipline.

If Clinton were running against Obama for Senate, it would be easy to choose between them.

But they are running for president, and the presidency requires a different set of qualities. Presidents are buffeted by sycophancy, criticism and betrayal. They must improvise amid a thousand fluid crises. They’re isolated and also exposed, puffed up on the outside and hollowed out within. With the presidency, character and self-knowledge matter more than even experience. There are reasons to think that, among Democrats, Obama is better prepared for this madness.

Many of the best presidents in U.S. history had their character forged before they entered politics and carried to it a degree of self-possession and tranquillity that was impervious to the Sturm und Drang of White House life.

Obama is an inner-directed man in a profession filled with insecure outer-directed ones. He was forged by the process of discovering his own identity from the scattered facts of his childhood, a process that is described in finely observed detail in “Dreams From My Father.” Once he completed that process, he has been astonishingly constant.

Like most of the rival campaigns, I’ve been poring over press clippings from Obama’s past, looking for inconsistencies and flip-flops. There are virtually none. The unity speech he gives on the stump today is essentially the same speech that he gave at the Democratic convention in 2004, and it’s the same sort of speech he gave to Illinois legislators and Harvard Law students in the decades before that. He has a core, and was able to maintain his equipoise, for example, even as his campaign stagnated through the summer and fall.

Moreover, he has a worldview that precedes political positions. Some Americans (Republican or Democrat) believe that the country’s future can only be shaped through a remorseless civil war between the children of light and the children of darkness. Though Tom DeLay couldn’t deliver much for Republicans and Nancy Pelosi, so far, hasn’t been able to deliver much for Democrats, these warriors believe that what’s needed is more partisanship, more toughness and eventual conquest for their side.

But Obama does not ratchet up hostilities; he restrains them. He does not lash out at perceived enemies, but is aloof from them. In the course of this struggle to discover who he is, Obama clearly learned from the strain of pessimistic optimism that stretches back from Martin Luther King Jr. to Abraham Lincoln. This is a worldview that detests anger as a motivating force, that distrusts easy dichotomies between the parties of good and evil, believing instead that the crucial dichotomy runs between the good and bad within each individual.

Obama did not respond to his fatherlessness or his racial predicament with anger and rage, but as questions for investigation, conversation and synthesis. He approaches politics the same way. In her outstanding New Yorker profile, Larissa MacFarquhar notes that Obama does not perceive politics as a series of battles but as a series of systemic problems to be addressed. He pursues liberal ends in gradualist, temperamentally conservative ways.

Obama also has powers of observation that may mitigate his own inexperience and the isolating pressures of the White House. In his famous essay, “Political Judgment,” Isaiah Berlin writes that wise leaders don’t think abstractly. They use powers of close observation to integrate the vast shifting amalgam of data that constitute their own particular situation — their own and no other.

Obama demonstrated those powers in “Dreams From My Father” and still reveals glimpses of the ability to step outside his own ego and look at reality in uninhibited and honest ways. He still retains the capacity, also rare in presidents, of being able to sympathize with and grasp the motivations of his rivals. Even in his political memoir, “The Audacity of Hope,” he astutely observes that candidates are driven less by the desire for victory than by the raw fear of loss and humiliation.

What Bill Clinton said on “The Charlie Rose Show” is right: picking Obama is a roll of the dice. Sometimes he seems more concerned with process than results. But for Democrats, there’s a roll of the dice either way. The presidency is a bacterium. It finds the open wounds in the people who hold it. It infects them, and the resulting scandals infect the presidency and the country. The person with the fewest wounds usually does best in the White House, and is best for the country.