This Week in Playlisting

In playlist news this week, the Guardian’s music team selects songs or albums that they ”just can’t turn off”. From new indie sounds by the likes of Bonny Prince Billy, The High Dials and The Decemberists, to the classic soul of Al Green, to the exquisite African meanderings of Ali FarkaTouré and Toumani Diabaté.

Broadcast Newsroom comments on CNN anchor Anderson Cooper’s celebrity playlist, which reveals his good taste and sense of humor.

David Harrell talks about the overload of music available today and the lack of time people have to listen to it all, or for that matter, filter it. “The total volume of available music–old and new, from artists at all levels of success–just keeps expanding, faster than ever. Digital distribution makes it economical for record companies, from the smallest indies to the major labels, to re-release out-of-print albums, rarities collections and outtakes… I’m certainly not complaining about having more music to choose from, but at some point, something has to give–you can’t listen to EVERYTHING, even within a fairly narrow genre of music.” Of course, the playlist is the filter that overcomes this overload problem for the consumer.

And finally, Yahoo Music Unlimited and the Yahoo Radish got some press in the Washington Post this week. Staff reporter Yuki Nogushi’s article highlights big changes in the music industry, including an increase in the demand for music, driven by the Internet, as well as a sea change in how people discover music, away from radio and onto blogs and/or online music services. A quote by Yahoo Music’s own Ian Rogers sums it up nicely. When speaking about how technology is ushering in a changing of the guard in relation to music marketing he said, “You [no longer] end up consuming what’s marketed to you. With the Internet, you consume exactly what you want.”

For this week’s playlist category highlight I wanted to focus on the songwriter. As you know, not all songs are written by the artists known for performing them. In fact, some of the legendary, including the king himself, Elvis Presley, never wrote a song. Many songwriters choose to stay behind the scenes, either working for a label, a publishing house, or freelance. Playlists are a great opportunity to shine a spotlight behind the curtain. A chance to expose those composers who may not be household names, but whose influence on popular music is undeniable.

Below are some playlists that highlight the work of the unsung songwriter:

• The Songs of Leiber and Stoller - Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller are among the most important songwriters and music producers in post-World War II popular music, although they’re not well known because of their work in the shadowy back-stage of the industry. The songwriting team’s tunes have been big hits for the likes of Elvis Presley, Charles Brown, Wilbert Harrison, Buddy Holly, The Drifters, The Searchers, The Coasters, Dion, Peggy Lee, and many more.
• Songs Written By Allen Toussaint - David O came through with this week with this playlist of songs written by Allen Toussaint. Although Toussaint has a visible career as a performer, this New Orleans legend has also written songs performed by artists as diverse as Boz Scaggs, Robert Palmer, Devo, Otis Redding, Glen Campbell, The Rolling Stones, Art Neville and many more. This playlist includes a fine selection for you to get familiar with.
• Songs Written By Bert Berns - Bertrand Russell Berns (November 8, 1929 - December 30, 1967) (a/k/a Bert Russell and Bert Berns) was one of the great American songwriters and record producers of the 1960s. A pioneer of sixties rock and soul, Berns’ contributions to popular music are among the most significant of his generation. His untimely death from heart failure at age 38 put a stop to a remarkable run of success as songwriter, producer and record label chief. [more]
• Songs Written By Will Jennings - Will Jennings is a prolific and highly successful American songwriter. Born Wilbur Jennings, he has written songs for a number of motion picture soundtracks and numerous popular singers including Steve Winwood, Roy Orbison, Joe Cocker, Eric Clapton, and Céline Dion. Jennings was recently inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame on June 15, 2006 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.
• Songs Written By Dan Penn - Not many folks know who Dan Penn is, but everyone has heard the songs he’s written. He’s a prolific songwriter who’s been crafting soul, R&B, rock, blues and country tunes for over 30 years. Dan’s songs have been recorded by the likes of Aretha Franklin, Solomon Burke, Otis Redding, The Box Tops, Wilson Pickett, Janis Joplin, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Irma Thomas, Patti Labelle, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Kris Kristofferson, Percy Sledge and many more. This playlist will give you a good overview of his work.

Some further playlist ideas from the past week:

Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Winners

Play It! The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences was established in 1957 by musicians, recording engineers and producers and is best known to the public for the yearly awards they give out called Grammys. Honestly, the major Grammy awards (Record of the Year, Artist of the Year) do not interest me much. However, each year the Academy gives away lifetime achievement awards that are reserved for artists who are nothing less than legends. Of the 126 artists who have been awarded a lifetime achievement by the academy, 122 of them have music available on Yahoo Music Unlimited. This playlist includes a standout track by each of these 122. It’s over 8 1/2 hours in length and is a great overview of the best in popular music. A time capsule, that if found by aliens a thousand years after the human race is gone, would certainly reflect well on our civilization. From the very first recipient in 1962 (Bing Crosby) to the inductions of David Bowie, Cream, Merle Haggard and Robert Johnson in 2006, there is not much in this list that a real music fan could disagree with (although some omissions definitely come to mind).

The Best of 1969

Play It! 1969 was a big year. The most notable event being the landing of the first man on the moon. In addition to this gargantuan historical event, 1969 saw the last public performance by the Beatles on the roof of Apple Records, Yasser Arafat appointed head of the PLO, Mickey Mantle retire, Jim Morrison of the Doors arrested for “lewd and lascivious behavior” after exposing himself on stage, the battle of Hamburger Hill fought in Vietnam, John Lennon and Yoko Ono conduct their famous “Bed-in”, the Stonewall riots in New York City mark the beginning of the gay rights movement, Ted Kennedy drives off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island and his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, is killed, the Charles Manson murders are committed in California, the category 5 hurricane, Camille, devastates Mississippi and 248 people die, Monty Python airs it’s first “Flying Circus”, the Brady Bunch debuts on American television, the Woodstock festival takes place, Wal*Mart incorporates, and last but not least, ARPANET is created, which would eventually lead to the Internet. On top of all that, the music was incredible. This playlist features four hours of the very best 1969 had to offer.

Songs For A Friend’s Most Unfortunate Accident

Play It! Sometimes a playlist can tell a story, or capture a moment in time, much like a diary. And this includes the bad times as well as the good. Today, I offer just such a playlist, and needless to say, it was not a great day. A close friend was on his roof attaching a safety line so that he could remove some plastic from his chimney, which was left by a mason. He lost his footing and fell. The home he shares with his wife and two dogs is a beautiful three story brick Colonial in Charleston, SC, and unfortunately, the roofline is about 25 feet high. He landed directly on his feet which broke both of his ankles and inflicted a compression fracture in his back. When his head caught up, his face met his knee and broke a cheek bone, orbit and dislocated his jaw. Gravity sucks.

Robert Burke
Yahoo! Radish

Circuit City Sells Yahoo! Music Unlimited

I would like to start by first thanking Circuit City for re-introducing me to the 1978 Cars mega-hit, “Just What I Needed”. It’s a fantastic song they are using in their ads, although when you listen to the actual track, it takes too long to get to the cool chorus.

But that’s not why I’m posting today. I’m writing to you all today because virtually all of Circuit City’s 600+ stores, you will see a new tenant on the shelves – a CD selling Yahoo! Music Unlimited To-Go at a discount. For $23.99 you can get 3 months access to any song in the catalogue for your computer or MP3 player. After that time period, you can decide to re-up for an annual subscription ($9.99 a month) or keep going month-by-month ($11.99 a month).

We’ve been over this a million times, but let me give you my biased opinion once more. If you don’t go subscription, you can listen to 24 songs in three months for that price. That’s also half of what you might pay for a Superman iPod cover. Yes, you get to keep downloads for your burn-to-CD library and that’s great. But if a burn-to-CD library isn’t a part of your life, the download model shouldn’t be, either.

Again, totally biased.

The offline world is a very large and strange place for the Yahoo! Music marketing team, but the folks at Circuit City have been fantastic at teaching us the ropes. We’ve learned about security checkpoint tags, inventory management reports, sales training documents, end caps, weekly flyers, and much more. Hey, whatever we gotta do to get YMU to meet new friends.

Michael Cowan
Yahoo! Music

The Yahoo! Music Engine Bible

Just when you thought you knew everything there was to know about the Yahoo! Music Engine, along comes the mother of all resources to further enlighten you - the Yahoo! Music Engine User Guide.

This monster is packed with tons of helpful tips and instructions for every YME feature and music service - from playing, ripping, burning, playlisting and sharing, to taking full advantage of YME’s suite of music services include Yahoo! Music Unlimited and LAUNCHcast Radio. Just download and print the guide and you’ve got the perfect YME desk reference – no more toggling between help files and the application on your PC.

Check it out!

Gary Brotman
Yahoo! Music

Y! Music Weekly Music News Recap

Visit Y! Music’s Top Events Page

1. Nicole Kidman’s Urban Renewal - The former Mrs. Cruise is about to upgrade with husband #2, country star Keith.
2. The Fur Flies At Beyonce Dinner - Apparently the animal-rights group PETA thinks Miss Knowles is a naughty girl.
3. The Dixie Chicks’ Anti-Patriot Act - Guess they’re still not ready to make nice.
4. Matisyahu Faces Off With The Police - The Hasidic reggae star covers “Message In A Bottle” in the Y! Music studio.
5. Katharine McPhee Admits To Eating Disorder - The Idol finalist spills her guts (no pun intended, seriously) to People magazine.
6. Warrant Issued For Boy George’s Arrest - Seems the judge really wants to hurt him.
7. Drunk Richard Ashcroft Crashes Youth Club - Much like Wu-Tang’s Ol’ Dirty Bastard, the rambling ex-Verve man claims he is for the children.
8. When Divas Attack - Is Madonna starting a feud with Mariah?
9. Radiohead’s Thom Yorke “Confused” By Bush Daughter - The Hail To The Thief singer finds out he has a fan in the First Family.
10. Top Of The Pops Bottoms Out - Britain’s legendary music show is cancelled after a four-decade run.

We live in sad times, people. There was an era, not so long ago, when a pop star and her semi-famous sister could enjoy a five-star sushi meal in peace. But unfortunately, those days are over. This week, poor Beyonce and Solange Knowles were obliviously munching away on their rainbow rolls at Manhattan’s Nobu, when suddenly their two dinner guests–who had won the pleasure of the Knowles sisters’ company in an eBay charity auction–began lecturing them on the evils of fur, a much-used material in Beyonce’s fashion line. Seems they were card-carrying members of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). D’oh! Mama Knowles, who was also present, quickly ushered the two animal-lovin’ agitators out of the restaurant, but not before the whole ruckus was captured on camera for TMZ.com. Meanwhile, no one seemed to be crusading on behalf of the many innocent eels, tunas, salmon, yellowtails, and smelt eggs that are tragically slaughtered at Nobu every day. And you call that justice, PETA? Sheesh…

Speaking of justice–or a lack thereof–former Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft kindly offered his services at a youth center in England this week, and guess how this unusually generous rock star was rewarded for his philanthropy? He was arrested, that’s how. OK, sure, he was reportedly plastered, incoherent, and in tears. And yeah, he refused to leave the youth club when nicely asked. And maybe he scared a few children. But still, this guy said he wanted to work with kids and “do good things”! Sigh. Apparently no drunken good deed goes unpunished…

Moving on to an admittedly completely unrelated matter, the latest celebrity feud–following 50 Cent vs. the Game, the Killers vs. the Bravery, Lindsay vs. Jessica, Paris vs. Nicole, and Fall Out Boy vs., um, pretty much everyone–is the faceoff between almighty pop queens Madonna and Mariah Carey. Rumors are flying that Madonna, whose Confessions tour is a massive success, is laughing her tiny, well-toned ass off regarding the worse-than-Glitter ticket sales for Mariah’s under-performing Adventures Of Mimi tour. Girls, girls–can’t we all just get along? Obviously, there’s only one way to settle your differences: a pay-per-view, Jello-wrestling cage match. All proceeds from this event should of course go to either the Eel/Tuna/Salmon/Yellowtail Relief Fund or the Free Richard Ashcroft Campaign…

All right, time to wrap up, but do come back next Friday for more amusing and bemusing music news. Until then, goodnight, and good music.
Lyndsey Parker
Yahoo! Music

Enjoy Yahoo! Music Unlimited on Linux

Disclaimer: This is NOT intended to start a Linux -vs- Windows flamewar, it is to inform Linux users that they can now enjoy the ability to use Yahoo! Music Unlimited on their Linux desktop.

Hit rewind and jump to the Burbank Skatepark around August of 2005. That was when I told Ian that I was going to make the full-time move from Windows to Linux. His reply: “Linux?…but there is no DRM in Linux”. There was nothing more for him to say, it was understood that I was going to have to say good-bye to my beloved Yahoo! Music Unlimited in my personal life. I have to use Windows on my box at work, so I would still have at least 40 hours of visitation rights every week. I am lucky to be able to listen to music while I work, but it becomes more like background music in an elevator when you are focused on work. My workplace YMU visitation rights were not allowing me the freedom to listen to music in a setting that would allow me to fully enjoy the music as it was intended to be, but I was determined to keep Linux as my primary operating system at home. I like to listen to music while I do my geek thing on the computer, but booting into Windows just to listen to music was even more painful than YMU missing from my life at home.

I recently found a tutorial that explained how to install the latest beta release of VMware Server on Ubuntu Linux. VMware Server is a server virtualization technology that allows you to run other operating systems on Linux or Windows. There is no need to shutdown your current operating system in order to use another operating system. You can enjoy both (or more) at the same time.

Unlike your traditional Windows setup, Linux allows you to have multiple virtual desktops. With virtual desktops, you can eliminate the clutter that fills your standard single desktop in Windows. One virtual desktop might contain a browser, a second desktop might contain a text editor, and a third desktop might contain a video player. It is easy to jump between desktops and easy to find what you are looking for without have to move a bunch of windows or try to locate the right program tab in your taskbar. I keep VMware Server running on one of my virtual desktops, just in case I need to do something in the Microsoft Windows universe.

After about a week of tinkering, it occurred to me, Yahoo! Music Engine might run on Windows XP in a virtual server. Sure enough, the Yahoo! Music Engine installs in the Windows virtual server as you would expect it to do so on any regular Windows desktop. I nervously logged into my Yahoo! Music Unlimited account and clicked on the first song that I could see. I was thrilled to discover that it worked.

Thanks to Peturrr and the wonderful VMware Server installation tutorial that they posted at ubuntuforum.org, the fine folks at VMware for their amazing server virtualization technology, and Yahoo! Music Unlimited. Now, you too can enjoy the sweet sounds of Unlimited music while using Ubuntu or other Linux distributions.

Tracy Moon
Yahoo!

LAUNCHcast Plugin Updated for Yahoo! Messenger 8

Yesterday the Messenger team launched the beta version of Messenger 8.0. LAUNCHcast (Yahoo! Music’s personalized radio service) has been a part of Messenger for a couple of years and for 8.0 we made it sleeker and a little bit cooler. There is a new feature called the Side Panel. Play a song in LAUNCHcast and select the arrow off to the right and then you will see album cover art, song information and much more.

Messenger 8.0 is not just about LAUNCHcast. The new Messenger has some cool new plug ins like Yahoo! Answers and Yahoo! 360. If you one of those Yahoo! Answers addicts you can view questions that the world is asking right from Yahoo! Messenger. You can even track your bids on eBay with the new eBay plug in.

Download the new Messenger 8.0 and explore the fun, new features. Please be forgiving and remember that we are in beta. There are a few known bugs that we are busily attacking.

Share the love!

Robyn Vantol
Yahoo! Music

Attention Canadians: Take the Rogers/Y! Music Unlimited 30 Day Challenge!

Hi everyone, or actually just you Canadians… Last week we launched a special promotion for Rogers customers (which I hear is pretty much all you guys up North). If you sign up for Yahoo! Music Unlimited with your Rogers Yahoo! ID, you’ll get your first 30 days free! If you have a compatible portable device and want to take your music to go, no worries…you can get 30 days of the To Go service free too! Just go to http://ca.music.yahoo.com/unlimited/rogers, sign in with your Rogers Yahoo! ID and click on Get It Now! For the To Go service, go here: http://ca.music.yahoo.com/unlimited/rogers/togo.

Since it probably won’t take the whole 30 days to convince you what a great music service this is, I’d like to give you something else to do for your first 30 days. Y! Music Unlimited is my favorite tool to discover new music (and I’m not just saying that because I work here). I challenge you to find as much new music as you can in 30 days using a just a few simple techniques (do I sound like an infomercial yet?).

US subscribers: even though you can’t get this Rogers promo, you can still play along

1. Start by rating a bunch of your favorite artists, albums and songs (The more you rate, the better the results).
2. Once you feel like you’ve rated enough, go to the Y! Unlimited homepage and click “more new releases.”
3. Next, drag a bunch of the recommended albums into the “Now Playing” playlist section to the right.
4. Click shuffle and then play.
5. Now just sit back, relax and discover.

You may end up skipping a few, but you’ll also come across some cool new stuff you probably wouldn’t have heard otherwise. While writing this blog, I discovered The Classic Crime and Amusement Parks on Fire. I can’t guarantee these bands are cleared for our Canadian catalog, but there’s no shortage of music out there and if I was able to find two new bands I like in just a few minutes, imagine what you can do with 30 days…30 FREE days thanks to Rogers and Yahoo! Music Canada! So act now! This offer won’t last forever. (Hmm, maybe an Y! Music infomercial isn’t such a bad idea?)

David Warmerdam
Yahoo! Music

This Week in Playlisting

In playlist news this week, the Philadelphia Inquirer has created a “Philadelphia” playlist, but have refused to include Elton John’s “Philadelphia Freedom” or anything from a Rocky Soundtrack. Sirius Satellite Radio channel 75, “Standard Time”, will be broadcasting a playlist of songs for the wedding of Wisconsin couple John McHugh and Maggie Lee. The lovebirds sent an email to Sirius requesting some songs for their ceremony. Not only did the couple receive a response, but Sirius will provide all of the music for the wedding, as well as personalized dedications by DJ Lee Arnold. The US Navy Times has sent out a request to sailors for their “at-the-gym” playlist for a future R&R feature. And finally, Author Jami Attenberg provides the soundtrack for her book Instant Love over at Largerhearted Boy.

This week, I thought I would talk about the birth of the playlist and the “Mix Tape“. In 1963, Philips introduced the cassette tape. In the decade following, it enabled the home consumer to build their own musical compilations, and in the 1980’s cassette tape sales overtook vinyl due to the introduction of the wildly popular Sony Walkman. Before this time, playlists were controlled exclusively by record companies and radio stations. It was the cassette tape that brought the power of the playlist to the masses. I can think of whole days lost with a mountain of records and cassette tapes piled in front of the stereo, painstakingly copying songs to cassette one at a time. It took dedication and effort, but mix tape creation time was cut in half when I was able to purchase my first dual, high-speed dubbing cassette deck. Today, the art of the mix tape has been blown wide open by the Internet and subscription music services for a few reasons:

• It’s quick! You can now build playlists without the manual copying from record to tape, tape to tape, CD to tape, CD to CD, MP3 to CD, etc. You simply add songs to your “Now Playing” pane in Yahoo Music Unlimited, save it, and you’re done. The only time used, in addition to the actual selection and search process, is downloading the completed list to your subscription compatible device, emailing it, or publishing it to the web.
• Access. Back in the day, your mix tapes were limited to the albums you physically owned. Now you have a library of a million and a half tracks to choose from. More music = more possibilities and better mixes.
• Instant and worldwide distribution. With a mix tape on CD or cassette you could make a copy for a friend or two, but now your lists can be published to the whole world in seconds. The cost of blank media has been eliminated as have the time limits native to physical media.

Here are some good examples of Yahoo Music Unlimited “Mix Tape” playlists:

• Over in About An Hour - This goal of this playlist by Johnny O’Brien at The Rugs Don’t Work was to “create an one hour (ish) playlist that blends established artists with those that are up and coming, cross genres, decades and styles, and to dabble in moods, lyrical, and emotional journeys.”
• Steve Clark’s Best of 2006 - Steve Clark has listed a bunch of playlists on the ymuplaylisters group that feature his favorite tracks of 2006 as well as his favorites broken down by genre. A great way to get a sense of someone’s tastes and discover new music.
• Jharvell08’s Workout list - If you’re looking for a workout mix tape you can find plenty on Yahoo Music Unlimited, find one by searching playlists in YMU with the keywords “workout”, “exercise” or “gym” and see if the music you discover inspires you to work a little harder.
• Songs For a Friend’s Most Unfortunate Accident- The most popular mix tapes have to do with love affairs, breakups, road trips and workouts, however you can build one for any event in your life, both good and bad. This one speaks to an accident that put a good friend in the hospital. [more]
• Wedding Songs by lpqueenie - Are you looking for wedding music? Browse the playlists on YMU to see what others have chosen. It may jar your memory and help you find the perfect soundtrack for your big day.

Have you recreated your mix tapes in YMU yet?

As usual, I leave you with further playlist ideas from the Radish.

Songs Produced By Martin Hannett Martin “Zero” Hannett is a legendary figure, partly do to his creative production work on many influential records by the likes of Joy Division, The Buzzcocks, Magazine, New Order, The Stone Roses and others, and partly do to his eccentric, hedonistic behavior and lifestyle, peppered by heroin addiction. He helped to mold the sound that came out of Manchester, England in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Hannett played bass with the Mandalaband, which eventually became Sad Cafe, but it was his production work that lives on past his death from heart failure on April 18, 1991. In the late 70’s Hannett was excited about introducing electronic synthesizers, even though they were facing opposition from rock & roll purists. It was Martin who convinced Joy Division to add sythesizers to their landmark album Unknown Pleasures. [more]

Songs That Sample Dr. Lonnie Smith This playlist contains a dozen hip-hop tracks that sample jazz keyboardist Lonnie Smith. Unfotunately, most fans of the hip-hop artists in this playlist are not familiar with Lonnie Smith. The turban-topped “Dr. Lonnie Smith” (as he likes to be called), was born in Lakawanna, New York, just outside of Buffalo, into a musical family who had a singing group and radio show. Smith credits his mother as a major influence in his musical career, introducing him to gospel, classical and jazz music. He began his musical career playing the trumpet, then moved on to forming a vocal group in high school. Music store owner Art Kubera gave Smith his first Hammond B3 organ, the instrument with which he has become famous. His affinity for R&B melded with his own personal style, and he quickly became a local legend. He moved to New York City, where he met George Benson, the guitarist for Jack McDuff’s band. [more]

The Top 20 Musical Mullets of the 1980s Sometime around the turn of the century, circa 1999 - 2000, a website called Mullets Galore caught fire and was soon the subject of water cooler talk in offices across the nation. If you ask me, this distraction was a contributing factor to the dot com bust. What could be funnier than photos of mullets? How much VC was spent on paying whole departments to surf Mullets Galore? Ah, the flush years…
Anyway I digress, the mullet, for those in a coma since 1999, is simply a haircut that is short on the sides and long in the back. The style is strongly associated with the demographic most likely to attend a truck pull, be arrested for domestic violence and drive a hand-painted Camaro. Billy Ray Cyrus in particular, helped the order of the crimson nape claim the mullet as their defining hairstyle. However, a little time spent revisiting photographs of 80’s bands, especially new wave bands, reveals that the mullet was once embraced by a higher echelon of society. This playlist examines 20 of the greatest musical mullets of the 1980s. Continue the article to enjoy a plethora of mullet photos. [more]

Robert Burke
Yahoo! Radish

Yahoo! Music Shows LGBT Pride With Gay Club Mix Radio

Earlier this year, Yahoo! Music released an instant hit: Gay Club Mix Radio. In it’s first week it was one of our top 25 stations with tens of thousands of listeners.

This past week, Yahoo! Music was proud to have Gay Club Mix Radio a key anchor of Yahoo!’s Pride ‘06 site.

Just a reminder that at Yahoo! Music we’re open, not scared of the closed-minded, and the goal is to supply music for one and all.

Many colors,
ian c rogers
Yahoo! Music

Y! Music Weekly Music News Wrapup

View This Week’s Top Events On Yahoo! Music

1. Britney Breaks Down - The pop princess spills her guts–and tears–on the Today show.
2. Cristal’s Got 99 Problems, And Jay-Z’s One Of ‘Em - Hova encourages the hip-hop community to boycott the bubbly.
3. R. Kelly Sex Tape No Longer On The Down Low - His videotaped bump ‘n’ grind is about to be shown in open court.
4. Missy Goes To The Movies - Rapper Elliott is set to star in the big-screen version of her life story. Tentative title: 9 Mile.
5. New Paris Hilton Video Hits The Internet - But wait…it’s not what you think!
6. Original Beach Boys Reunite For First Time In 10 Years - Will the good vibrations last? Or are they headed for an endless bummer?
7. Lady Sovereign Goes On $10,000 Date - This brings new meaning to the U.K. rapper’s song “Ch-Ching.”
8. Gary Glitter: Still Guilty - The glam man has lost his appeal–in more ways than one!
9. Dem Franchize Boy Arrested - Will he be leanin’ wit it, rockin’ wit it in jail?
10. People Declares Taylor Hicks America’s Hottest Bachelor - Oddly, Kevin Covais didn’t make the magazine’s list.

There was a time when many revelers, particularly large-livin’ members of the hip-hop community, guzzled Cristal like it was going out of style. However, now it may be going out of style for real. See, in what is probably the most glaring alcohol-related marketing gaffe since the ad execs over at Zima coined the slogan “zomething different,” a spokesman for Cristal champagne has left a bad taste in one of the most powerful mouths in hip-hop, that of almighty Def Jam president Jay-Z. This week, Cristal marketing director Frederic Rouzaud told The Economist magazine that he was none too pleased with his high-end champagne’s association with rappers’ bling-bling lifestyles, saying, “What can we do? We can’t forbid people from buying it. I’m sure Dom Perignon or Krug would be delighted to have their business.” Now, as a result of these snooty remarks, Jay-Z has decided to pull Cristal from his chain of nightclubs, and he’s asking his high-rollin’ homies to boycott Cristal as well. Will other Cristal-swilling hip-hoppers like Diddy and Kanye also ban the bubbly? If they do, expect Cristal’s profits to pour right now the drain…

Of course, this Cristal embargo was not officially in place on June 9, the night that Jay-Z’s latest Def Jam signing, British emcee Lady Sovereign, took Internet dating to a whole new level. Regular Top Events readers may recall a report several weeks ago, about an intrepid young San Franciscan named Zach Slow launching a website to raise money to take Lady Sov out on a $10,000 date. “OK, I know some people are thinking, ‘Why would ZACH’s dream night be worth MY money?’ Well, this is where I get deep,” Sov’s number-one fan wrote in his online plea. “This night is for ALL of us…the little guys…for everyone who’s had a dream that didn’t come true, we’re going to show the world that anything is possible. Sure, it will be ME sippin’ the champagne and handing SOV a diamond grill with MY name on it, but you will ALL be there with me…it will practically be your name on that grill. So let’s show the world the power of community.” Somehow Slow’s words touched a nerve, because he did end up reaching his $10K goal and whisking Sovereign off for a very special night of limo-cruising, private-yachting, and, presumably, a good deal of Cristal-swigging. We hope the happy couple had a blast, but if Sovereign wants to stay in Jay-Z’s good graces, we suggest she switch to Dom or Krug in the future…

All right, time to wrap up, but do come back next Friday for another weekly fix of amusing, bemusing, and downright excitement-oozing music news. Until then, goodnight, and good music.

Lyndsey Parker, Yahoo! Music