legend songwriter and musician Lee Hazlewood is gone.

Madame Levy has it. Lee died surrounded by loved ones. George and I were reflecting that "These Boots" was our favorite song when we were kids. Lee's talent inspired more than one generation in his lifetime; it will inspire many to come.

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STEVE DELIVERS! What a Prince!

A Wicked Cool surprise from reader Steve in the UK who delivered Prince's new only-released-over-there CD -- it came it came!!! So far I've gotten it away from Jenna to hear the first two tracks which are interesting as usual for Prince. But oddly so. The first track - Planet Earth - I described to George as Pink Floyd meets Earth Wind & Fire. So, you know, go ponder that sound fest for a minute or two.

Okay, THANKS AGAIN STEVE!! More as I get time to listen. (And thanks to my other buddy across the pond for the mp3s!)

People. They really do surprise.

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What a Wonderful Surprise!!

So Steve, a valued reader from the UK, did the nicest thing since my new mac, which you are not going to believe.

Steve saw my writing and wanting for the new Prince CD, Planet Earth, which is available so far only in the UK given the stroke of anti-establishment marketing genius from The Artist himself, and decided to send me a copy -- w00t!

In case you think he's trying to pull the wool over our eyes, dear friends, I give you exhibits A and B. HOW COOL IS THIS:





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Prince's Planet Earth "Beggars Belief"

UK Bloggers, save me a copy of Prince's new album Planet Earth (old people still call these things albums), could you? Because you'll be getting it for free if you get the Sunday Mail, nearly a month before it's officially released.

Whooo, Prince knows how to cause a stir, fellas. The loud scream you heard was the collective coronary suffered by the record retailers in the UK, who are throwing some sticks and stones at the news that they won't be making any money off Prince's new product.

"It would be an insult to all those record stores who have supported Prince throughout his career," said aul Quirk, co-chairman of the U.K.'s Entertainment Retailers Association, who is in some serious need of media training. "It would be yet another example of the damaging covermount culture [anyone???] which is destroying any perception of value around recorded music. The Artist Formerly Known as Prince should know that with behavior like this he will soon be the Artist Formerly Available in Record Stores. And I say that to all the other artists who may be tempted to dally with the Mail on Sunday."

Lord let me wake up tomorrow on Prince's PR team so I can issue a release entitled: "I know you are but what am I."

Anyway, I'm wondering what Sony BMG UK is thinking -- reports being that Prince's people did an end-run on the label with the deal to giveg away product -- LOTS of product -- causing a hiccup in the payola food chain of this squeeky clean industry.

It's also rumored that Planet Earth will be given away for free at Prince's 21 scheduled UK shows--or at least to those who purchase tickets.

Hey, first blogger to get your hands on a copy, don't forget to twitter!

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New Prince Release Coming

oooo rumors of wendy and lisa on Prince's new album, Planet Earth. Can't wait to hear the latest. Hoping it's WT & JW light.

On the dead hard drive are the high-def video files of Prince's Super Bowl show from a friendly reader who gave me some better-than-youtube renditions. Oh they were nice. waaah. every day I think of more lost stuff. s'okay. my mood will brighten when mackie's back in town. I got not much to whine about.

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so good to see you!

Love this clip of the incomparable and incredible Mr. Eddie Davis on trumpet with the Crusaders.

saints among (side)men

I have met many musical giants during my 23 years with this musical great. So many are gone now -- the silence of their missing instrumentation is deafening at first. The songs left unwritten, licks left unplayed.

The Internet to the rescue? Not quite. But user Generated Content has some good points, although it's UGC "moniker" is not among them.

More and more those we have lost show up online. Through memories and clips from fans, purposefully contributed or accidentally linked, we find those we knew. Sometimes they show up through their musical associations with the big names who they helped make big through the genius of accompaniment, their solid groove, unrivaled professionalism. Example: the incredible, honorable, Mr. St. Claire Pinkney (and here) with James Brown on youtube. St. Claire, you are long and dearly missed.

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guitarman

Just now, George is working out on guitar--sounds great. he's getting in touch with his inner high end.

Me, I'm thinking about cleaning the hamster cage, which means I'm getting in touch with my inner hamster. Insert your own jokes.

Gabriel Brings a Sledgehammer Down on DRM Issue

Smart smart smart smart. We7 is a soon-to-be-launched music download solution that makes sense for all constituents. It got Peter Gabriel's investor $ and is getting a close -- albiet paranoid -- look from the folks currently sucking distribution and marketing dollars out of artists' pockets.

The new company, based in Oxford, appears to be targeting the UK first with its advert-funding model. Using technology that the company calls "MediaGraft," We7 will dynamically insert 10 second advertisements at the beginning of songs when they are first downloaded. The advertisements will be tailored to the particular user requesting the track, and a version without ads can be downloaded one month later.

Gabriel has been involved in several innovative music startups recently, including The Filter, an automatic playlist generation program that is also free to download. He was also a backer of OD2, a "digital service provider" that has formed the foundation of many European online music stores.

Put a social network behind it and BAM you've got an end-around on MySpace. A 'lil sneak attack. Hey, you never know. I've been right before. I think once or something.

Meanwhile, blogging sucks.

Film at 11.

...

screw the game, oh my prince!

The colts,
the bears,
who the heck
cares?

we got to see PRINCE, baby!