International Reggae Day

[Best of Both Worlds - Bob Marley & Football. Photo by Adrian Boot. All rights reserved]

Who knew - in addition to July 1st being the first day of UV Safety Month, it is also International Reggae Day. Visit their site here for information on symposiums, classic clips, Twitter Trivia, and more. And enjoy your reggae the other 364 days!

Free Download - Baaba Maal "Miracle" (The Very Best remix)

Listen below to the The Very Best remix of Baaba Maal's "Miracle", from Television. For a free download, go here.

Patti Smith's debut recording honored by Library of Congress

No surprise to her fans: Patti Smith's debut recording "Horses" has been added to the select list of important recordings in The National Recording Registry. With classics like "Birdland" and "Redondo Beach", as well as her own take on classics like "Gloria", the recording introduced to the world the power, punk, and poetry of this music pioneer.

Congratulations Patti. . .visit here for more information

Baaba Maal 2010 US Tour

Fans from LA to NY (and many points in between), get ready - Baaba Maal and his band are on tour!! With the first stop April 2nd in Toronto, and big shows in LA (Royce Hall), DC (LIsner Auditorium), and New York City (Fillmore East), Baaba will be bringing the soul of Senegal to America for his first full tour in years. And for you fans in the South - Baaba will be appearing this year at JazzFest in New Orleans

Visit Baaba's site to see if your city is on his itinerary.

Patti Smith = STYLE!

Patti Smith and her. . .sense of Style? The NY Times talks to the punk-rock icon about her image and, yes, that sense of style that has defined punk goddesses for decades. Candy Slice anyone?

Patti Smith: A Rare Spirit, a Rarer Eye

Newton on The Iditarod!

Newton Marshall, musher-supreme and star of the Jamaican documentary Sun Dogs, has taken on the ultimate dogsled adventure - THE IDITAROD. Having mastered the sport while working with pound dogs in Jamaica (as documented in the film), Newton is now on his greatest adventure on the thousand mile plus trek across Alaska.


UPDATE: Newton Marshall completed his first Iditarod. Congratulations mon!!!!

Amoeba online supports Haitian relief

Amoeba Hollywood is running a one month online program, where they will make a donation to Doctors Without Borders for every sale of select titles. One of the choice titles is the new Blu-ray edition of Stop Making Sense. So go to Amoeba.com, buy the classic Talking Heads movie, and support Amoeba's effort.

SIDESTEPPER IS BACK!

Sidestepper, your favorite Colombian / World Beat band, is back with a new 7 piece live band and two shows on the West Coast. If you ever saw any of their legendary US performances (Coachella, Brooklyn's Prospect Park), you know it's a treat to have them back in the States. Check them out February 19th at The Independent (San Fran) and the 20th at the Luckman Theatre (Los Angeles). For more updates, visit their Facebook site.

Tribute to TOWNES VAN ZANDT wins a Grammy

Steve Earle's heartfelt tribute to songwriter Townes Van Zandt, appropriately entitled TOWNES, has won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album.

You can find out more about this recording here and more about Townes here.

"Just Kids" - Patti Smith reflects on Robert Mapplethorpe

This week Patti Smith celebrates the release of 'Just Kids', her book on her early years and life with Robert Mapplethorpe, her friend / confidant / roommate in the '70s. The NY Times reports, "'Just Kids' carries its author to the verge of fame. . .becoming pregnant at 19 and heading to New York for a fresh start. . .(a) tenderly evocative memoir."


Read the full The New York Times Review

FREE MUSIC FROM PALM!!

In association with Amazon, Palm proudly announces the release of "THE PALM SAMPLER", a free full-length download featuring tracks from some of your favorite Palm artists. From the world beat rhythms of BAABA MAAL and SIDESTEPPER to indie rock favorites EARLIMART and MOVING UNITS, the Palm Sampler give you 10 choice cuts as an introduction to our catalog.

Go HERE to check it out!

Baaba Maal "Best of 2009" - Nat Geo Music

Among the many accolades given to Baaba Maal's latest CD "Television", National Geographic has chosen it one of the best new discs of 2009. Calling it "a complex, heady album that gets more rewarding with each listen," Nat Geo Music celebrates "Television" as a highlight in a great year for international music.

See the full list at National Geographic's site here