American Idol 10 – eight left and counting

American Idol voters, you stink.

But first, the show.

Opening medely – fun, even James did okay on “The Letter.” I’m sure Paul found it hard to hold up a fist and scream, “Repazent!” when they finished the Skynyrd tune.

I’d never heard of Constantine Maroulis, who apparently was a season 4 contender, but when the camera moved up on this long haired microphone-gripper with a scarf tied to the mike stand in a shameless smooch to Steven Tyler, my douchebag radar went off like an air raid siren. He sang “Unchained Melody,” which was already a bit overdone, and he really overdid it; it came out burned on top like a pan of biscuits left in the oven five minutes too long. He seemed like a nice enough guy in the interview, but send me a warning when he approaches the stage next time.

Hey, I didn’t know you could say “shit” on network TV! I guess you can if your name is Iggy Pop. I’ve always loved this freak, though “Real Wild Child” is one of his weaker hit songs. Who knows, maybe he’s tired of singing “The Passenger.”

And then the bottom three.

Jacob, Stefano and Pia. What’s wrong with 2/3 of this picture?

Stefano’s had a good run and is certainly better than a lot of the people who’ve gotten cut (but not recently), but Jacob? Pia? They’re both top-echelon. Yeah, Jacob’s statement that if he was eliminated it was because America “Couldn’t look itself in the mirror” was pretty damn pompous, but you expect ego and attitude from people that talented. As long as he belts out the tunes like a champ, it’s a small crime. And Pia? Really?

And then the judgment came down. Pia is out.

I’m glad to see that the judges were all as totally floored by this judgment call as I was when I found out. It wasn’t hard at all to read the “WTF?” on Randy’s lips, and Jennifer looked like one of her own children had just fallen down a well. Mr. Cool Ryan Seacrest even seemed a bit disturbed. When asked, all three judges responded, well, as they should have. Absolutely confounded. Ms. Toscone herself was very well composed, no tears, all in order like a pro. I’m sure the waterworks came later, but she was ready for her final song which she threw down, as always, like a star. After it was over, that camera shot of Jennifer again, hands up, shaking her head in disbelief pretty much said it all.

I don’t live in the U.S. and therefore can’t vote in this contest, so I guess I have an excuse. In the long run, again, it’s just a game show, and of course Pia could have done her career worse than making it into the top nine of a high-profile TV show. She’ll be on the tour and no doubt she, like Scotty, could survive a cut and go one to a very successful career. We shall see.

The results show a few of the flaws in the voting system on this show.

I’ve heard a lot about the cute boy syndrome on the show, where young girls vote for whoever they think is the most dishy male singer. This explains the continued presence of both James and Stefano and to a lesser degree, Paul (who has some modicum of talent). Conversely, the same girls tend to be a bit catty with the female singers, so maybe someone like Pia, who is astonishingly beautiful and talented, is a bit too much competition for the little Heathers out there. The cushiony Lauren is maybe more acceptable… but then there’s Haley, so I dunno. Not a perfect theory.

Scotty, Lauren and Paul may have an extra layer of protection around them because they’re southerners. We have constituted a disproportionate number of Idol winners, because we tend to support our own and because, well, we take music seriously because it’s something we’re just damn good at. Deal with it, United Statesians.

I’d like to think it’s because of his talent, but maybe Jacob is now benefitting from being the only black contender left. It didn’t keep him out of the bottom three this week, however.

It hurts, though, to see such a talent step off the stage, but that’s what’s always going on here.

Pia darling? I’m a big fan. You’ve got tremendous charisma onstage, you’re beyond gorgeous and your voice makes me happy to be alive. You’re a star, baby. Don’t stop singing, whatever you do.

So it’s eight now.

American Idol voters? I beg you; next week SEND JAMES DURBIN HOME.

He has worn out his welcome for this international viewe

Make Your Own Beats For Free!

If you have the talent for creating music beats, you can make it in the music business fairly easily. Don’t worry if you lack the funds or hardware in the beginning. These do not have to be hindrances to your goals. No need to wait for a big fish in the industry to discover you, instead make yourself discovered. By simply using the internet to your advantage, you can make your own beats for free, tossing aside all that concern about needing expensive equipment or software. This is a cheap and fun way to make your dreams come true.

An artist or a musician can have different ways of expressing themselves. They can make music that is soft, loud or even noisy. Either way, it is a means of expressing themselves and communicating their talents and passions and feelings to the world. That’s what makes an artist unique and exceptional, the ability to differentiate his or herself. If this is your dream, you can do it too, from the convenience of your home. You can do it at your own pace in your own time, and you can make your beats for free.

Here are some tips to help you make your own beats for free. There is a lot of stuff out there and the tools and resources you choose will have a lot to do with your personal preferences. Your tastes in music will help dictate where you go and which software might be best suited to your needs. There are a lot of software programs with a lot of different features out there, but once you know what kind of music you want, looking for just the right software won’t take that much time.

You can begin to make your own beats for free by having a good sequencer followed by a reliable sound editor. This will be useful for editing samples and wave files. Of course, if you are not that musically inclined, you can get your samples from a number of other areas. Samples are that part of the audio track that you have extracted from your personal choice of music. You can get them from CD samples, old records, or any good sounding music will do.

Make Your Beats for Free:

1. Download the software you need from the internet. Online software for making music beats can be acquired in free downloads or trial versions and either can help you create a finished beat. Install them and be ready to begin.

2. Open the program and look through the files to choose the music that you want to modify and sample on. You can scan through your music; find each one until have your selection.

3. Click on it and zoom it in the toolbar, specifying the part of the music where you want to create the sample, from the beginning to the end. It shows as a highlight on the screen.

4. Press play for a preview and save the selection part to be used later

5. Back to the program, you can start adjusting the keys. Some applications are really user friendly and only need trial and error to suit your needs. Then go to file and click Add sampler and the sampler you have saved will be loaded to the program, ready to be edited.

6. You can start adding kicks, snares, Hi Hats, claps, loops or any addition - you can create your own preference. These keys are all found in the program and easy to find.

7. Make the final adjustment of your pitch, tempos, and applications you want and save them either as MP3 or any other compatible file type.

An exclusive beat that nobody else can use sets you apart from everyone else. An exclusive beat can make you a unique artist. Start to make your own beats for free and you never know – maybe it will hit the radio charts. Making beats is fun and easy and can be free to boot, so if that’s your passion, go for it!

Self Storage For Musical Instrument

If you are a musician, you are bound to have a lot of musical instruments, which can vary from your current musical accessories to your collectibles. You can never seem to get rid of your old instruments, and your emotional attachment with them necessitates a secure self storage.

Are you an Internet savvy person with a passion for musical instruments? Being an online retailer of musical instruments is a great business venture for the musically inclined entrepreneur looking for a way to make some real income off of their interests. Musical instruments provide the art form that is music to our ears. And people love them so much; they even decorate their houses with instruments, even if they don’t play them, to impress guests to their homes. Actual musicians are just trying to find ways to purchase them at a cheaper rate. Of course, they’re looking online.

First, think about the type of music store you envision. Don’t have capital for a storefront or room for inventory? Self storage is the perfect place to store your inventory. Will you specialize in one type of instrument? Or have a variety of percussion, keyboards and guitars. Look into wind instruments, musical accessories like shakers and tambourines, amplifiers, cases, DJ equipment, electric guitars, microphones, and string instruments. The possibilities are endless, but try to form a niche. To make your store unique, stick with where you have the most experience. If you’re like most online entrepreneurs, you might be a bit strapped for cash. Have any other skills? A way to increase profits is to offer local classes to music students or clubs and perhaps even rent some of your inventory out to them. Your online business can start on a part-time basis from home. A self storage can safely keep any inventory you’re keeping and is easy to access once you make that first sale.

Once you get going, start a VIP club or offer discounts to regulars and students to make them feel special. Everyone loves a good deal and it’s a great way to get your customers to keep coming back. In the age of the Internet, anyone can have an online business. It doesn’t cost much to start one, and with facilities like self storage units, your overhead is marginal. Make sure you’re always updating your website to keep up with current technology and trends. The music industry changes constantly and your online instrument business should always reflect changes to keep up. Perhaps the greatest benefit of an online musical instrument business is that you have something of value to share with the world, which can potentially generate income for you for the rest of your life.

Speaker Cables: Ensuring Outstanding Bass Output Everytime! Guaranteed!

Speaker cables have long been established in the market as well as in the hearts of customers as a desired upgrade. But despite being so much in demand, a gap or a lacunae relating to tailor-made cables can always be observed in this area. Yes, there is a significant dearth of manufacturers who are actually rolling out custom-made speaker cables of any length. Interestingly, smart manufacturers have identified it and are now busy making and supplying the same to customers, especially in any combination of spades and banana plugs as per requirement.

Speaking of versions, speaker cables are now available in various categories. But whatever be the version, the end result in the terms of excellent bass of speaker cables should always be there for customers. One of the popular versions, is the siren multi core speaker cables that are individually insulated with a PVC jacket. In addition, there is a further coating (also known as secondary jacket) for both left and right channels. There is another additional insulation inside the teflon seal. Lastly, all channels are wrapped to their precise windings including the teflon spiral fillers.

Such speaker cables can cater to single and bi wiring demands easily. Again, the output in this case is something that can be easily rated as excellent since it delivers outstanding response across all frequencies.

Other than multi core speaker cables, there are ultra flat speaker cables. As the name suggests, these speaker cables are extremely flat. In fact, the most accurate term to describe them is 'paper-flat'. But despite being so thin, these speaker cables are extremely easy to install. Interestingly, owing to their paper-thin size, these cables can be easily cut to the required length with scissors or blade. Additionally, they also give the impression of invisible installation, and can even be plastered onto and inside walls. Moreover, these ultra flat speaker cables come with a transparent PVC outer. Another feature of these cables is their low capacitance and high conductivity due to large surface area.

To sum up the whole discussion, both siren multi core and ultra flat speaker cables belong to high-quality category and are extremely cheap from pricing point of view. This makes them all the more desirable among all customer-group. Clearly, speaker cables is the choice of every customer today.

Easy Guitar Lessons for Beginners

Relevance Info Services, an international publisher of quality information asked me as a professional musician and guitar player to reveal a number of methods to learn play the guitar. There are a lot of methods today but also a lot of difference between those methods. I try to guide you to take the right decision based upon your personal goals

This article is about “Easy Guitar Lessons for Beginners”. More subject related articles will follow later on.

Yes! It’s possible. You can take easy guitar lessons without ever spending a dime. Following you will find four easy lessons to aid you in learning how to play the guitar.

Easy Guitar Lessons Number 1: How to hold a guitar.

Normally, you play the guitar on the leg. You’ll be strumming using your dominant hand so the guitar goes to the side of your dominant hand as well. Keep the guitar nice and straight, nice and close. Sometimes the guitar slides off your leg while playing because you bend your back to look at the placement of your fingers on the frets. This is quite normal for guitar players. But, it is important to stay away from bad habits while you’re just starting. So again, keep the guitar nice and straight, nice and close.

Easy Guitar Lessons Number 2: Getting to know the chord chart.

For the six chords you will be learning today, you will be focusing on the four first frets of the guitar. Frets, by the way, are the spaces between the metal vertical lines on the guitar. As there are six strings on the guitar, there will be 6 horizontal lines as well on the diagram representing the strings. Your fingers will be numbered 1-3 starting from the index finger.

Easy Guitar Lesson Number 3: The three basic chords.

The first chord you will need to study is the D chord. Finger #1 and #2 will be positioned on the second fret. Finger #1 will be on the third string while finger #2 will be on the first string. Finger #3 will be positioned on the third fret on the second string.

The second chord to study is the E chord which is one of the ideal chords for beginners to learn. Finger #1 is positioned on the first fret on the third string. Finger #2 and #3 will be on the second fret. Finger #2 will be positioned on the fifth string while finger#3 will be on the fourth string. Follow the diagram below.

The A chord is also one of the easiest chords to master. This chord can be played in more than one way but this is the basic method. All Fingers #1, #2, #3 are all positioned on the second fret. Finger #1 goes to the fourth string, finger #2 goes to the third string and Finger #3 is positioned on the second string. Refer below.

Easy Guitar Lesson Number 4: Strumming and changing chords.

The first three chords will now enable you to play some tunes with one additional step which is the strumming. Strumming your guitar is a fundamental skill to be learned. It is done by moving your dominant hand up and down on the strings. Always keep your hands moving. Don’t rush. Start slowly till you have strumming perfected. Start off slow then build up your speed gradually. The chords should ring out with no buzzing and only play the strings of that chord shown on the chord chart. On changing chords, master the basic cords. Set the beat. Change to the different chord before starting the next beat. To learn how to change chords and strum more effectively, practice on your favorite song with a slow beat.

These easy guitar lessons were designed to be a self-help tool for you. Enjoy playing guitar!

Streaming Radio – It Offers Music Online and a Whole Lot More

If you listen to all of the commercials out there, it seems like you need to spend a fortune to listen to music online. With download fees, royalty fees, and monthly listening limits, listening to your favorite music online can get awfully expensive.

But if you're looking for a way to listen to all of your favorites and save some money, check out streaming radio!

Streaming radio is just that – radio stations that stream their signals over the internet. With internet radio, you don't need to be in a particular area or region to hear stations you like. Instead, you can listen to any station, anywhere, just with the click of a mouse.

Since these are all real radio stations, they all offer real DJ's, real playlists, real programs, real commercials, and real news updates. It's no different than what you would hear riding around in your car, or at home on your stereo.

And, as an added benefit, internet radio is completely free! When you log onto a streaming radio website, you don't have to worry about subscribing to anything or finding hidden fees later.

But, internet radio offers a whole lot more than just your favorite music online. With streaming radio, you can also unleash the power of talk radio!

Talk radio shows are usually on AM stations that are incredibly tough to get over the air – meaning it can be difficult to listen to your favorite shows while you're at work, driving around, or babysitting the kids.

But, with internet radio, the signal comes through your internet connection – instead of over the air – so that you get crystal clear reception. That way, you can listen to virtually any talk radio show in the world, without battling static and interference.

And, if your favorite talk radio show happens to come on right in the middle of your mid-morning conference with the boss, that's OK, too. Chances are there's another internet radio station streaming the show, so you can catch it later, when it's more convenient.

With streaming radio, you get a whole lot more than you get with music downloads... and, it's a whole lot cheaper!

Tom Jones

There are few musical artists that have managed to stay in the mind of popular culture like Tom Jones. Some of this has to do with his timeless hits such as “She's a Lady”. Other reasons that Tom Jones has managed to be so popular is that he constantly reinvents his sound. Finally, there is no doubt that his frequent live performances in the US and of course his famous UK concerts have also helped maintain his profile in the public mind. It can be said that there are some artists who are better well known than Tom Jones, but very few can claim to be as popular and enduring as this singer.

Early Life

Tom Jones was born in South Wales and was challenged early in life by a case of tuberculosis. According to his own statement, his time fighting tuberculosis was the worst two years of his life and he was unable to do little but listen to music and draw. Tom Jones Married soon after high school to Melinda Trenchard and a month later his first child was born.

Early Career

Tom Jones began his performing career with a beat group called Tommy Scott and the Senators which became a well known local group. As he began to become more popular, Tom Jones recorded several early singles which led to him becoming well known not only in the UK, but also in the US where he enjoyed several top forty hits in both countries. After some initial success the young singers popularity began to decline and he switched his style to more of a country sound which revitalized his career.

The Las Vegas Years

In the late sixties Tom Jones became one of several stars to begin headlining in Las Vegas. His shows became known for their sexual tension and raw energy. During his time in Vegas, Tom Jones befriended Elvis Presley and the two became close friends. At this time Tom Jones decided that he preferred the more lucrative club acts to cutting new records and it would be quite some time before he released a new album.

Coming back

For a long time Tom Jones seemed destined to be a footnote in music history, however he enjoyed a rather sudden and strong resurgence in the late 80s and early nineties and has since remained at the forefront of the world wide music scene. While Tome Jones has not released an album in a while he still performs live very often and these UK concerts are well known for carrying the same energy as they did when he was a much younger man.

In the end, Tom Jones is sure to remain part of the music world for years to come and even when he dies there is little doubt many people will remember what he offered. His combination of crooning lyrics, sexually charged performances, and memorable tunes is sure to last for years and years to come.