Mammoth Blog

American Idol" winner David Cook wowed viewers during the show's seventh season with his rock-'n'-roll sound and his skills on the guitar. Two weeks after winning "American Idol," 11 of Cook's songs entered the Billboard Hot 100, putting him in close company with record breakers like the Beatles. With hits like "The Time of My Life" and "Light On," Cook nabbed a Teen Choice Award for Male Reality/Variety Star. His eponymous album will be released Nov . 18. source>>>

The 12-year-old Orthodox Jewish boy at the center of a legal dispute over what constitutes the end of life has died.

Motl Brody's heart stopped beating Saturday, 11 days after doctors at Children's National Medical Center in Washington had declared the New York boy legally dead because his brain activity had ceased. Motl's parents had sued to keep their son, who is suffering from brain cancer, on life-support equipment, arguing that Jewish law does not define someone without brain activity as dead.

A District of Columbia Superior Cout hearing had been held early last week, and another scheduled for this week had been postponed at the request of the Brody family and the hospital.

The hospital had said in court filings that "scarce resources are being used for the preservation of a dead body" and treating him was "offensive to good medical ethics."

"In the end, nature took its course before the judicial system ran its course," Brody family attorney Jeffrey Zuckerman told the Washington Post. source>>>

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall feels Rocky Long deserved better from New Mexico's fans.

One day after Long stepped down after 11 seasons as New Mexico coach, Mendenhall complained Tuesday about what he perceived as a lack of community support for Long's hard work and success.

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It echoed an issue Long cited when he stepped down Monday. While Long's 65-69 record is modest compared with more renowned coaches and programs, it's by far the best in New Mexico's mostly long-suffering history.

Yet without better fan support, the former Lobo quarterback concluded he couldn't produce a conference title.

"I don't see it happening with me as the head coach," Long said.

Mendenhall knows Long as well as anyone in the sport. They worked together at Oregon State in the mid-1990s and Mendenhall was a defensive assistant at New Mexico from 1998-2002.

"Coach Long has shaped my coaching philosophy more than any other coach," Mendenhall said on the Mountain West teleconference.

The BYU coach said he has modeled himself after Long's work ethic, his meticulous preparation, a steadfast belief in his players' abilities and a refusal to acknowledge critics' claims.

"I admire his courage and integrity to walk away," Mendenhall said. "He has done a phenomenal job and now he's ready for someone else to take over. ... I admire it. It is remarkable in today's world of college athletics."

Meanwhile, New Mexico athletic director Paul Krebs met with reporters to outline his vision for the next coach.

That person, Krebs said, must be "a very, very strong recruiter," run an exciting offense that puts fans in the seats, be enthusiastic about promoting the program in the community and have strong leadership skills.

"We will work very hard to find the right coach," Krebs said. "I am extremely confident we will find the right individual."

He called the New Mexico job "very attractive," thanks to advances made under Long, and said his phone was ringing Tuesday with agents, coaches and athletic directors lobbying for their clients and assistants.

The university has hired a national search firm.

"There are a lot of moving parts to this process. There are a lot of dynamics in play. What's most important is that we get the right individual," said Krebs, who as Bowling Green's AD in 2001 gave Urban Meyer his first head coaching job.

Krebs said there's no timeline for making a hire but named Danny Gonzales as interim coach. The defensive assistant will oversee recruiting, academics and offseason conditioning until the top job is filled.

News of Long's decision came as a shock around the Mountain West.

"I was floored," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "Rocky Long is a terrific person. He is the epitome of what a football coach is all about. He's hard-nosed and tough. I hope the word 'old-school' is not derogatory, but he's an old-school coach."

TCU coach Gary Patterson, a former New Mexico assistant who was passed over when Long got the job in 1998, said the Lobos have made tremendous strides under Long and the job represents a great opportunity for his successor.

The Lobos have made five bowl appearances in seven seasons since 2002 and last year's team ended the school's 46-year drought without a bowl victory, beating Nevada 23-0 in the New Mexico Bowl.

On Long's watch, New Mexico built an indoor practice facility and is making plans for a stadium expansion.

"It will be interesting to see who they find who they think can be better," Patterson said.

But when it comes to elevating New Mexico's program to a league title - perhaps even making a Bowl Championship Series run - the recurring theme centers on fan support.

During Monday's news conference, Long's voice climbed when he spoke of the climate in Albuquerque. He said New Mexico can recruit in basketball because The Pit is nationally famous but the football program has nothing like that.

Not yet, anyway.

"The community has to get behind a good football coach and fill up the stadium every single game, win or lose, jump in with both feet and make this place special if they want to get to the top," Long said.

Mendenhall saw those frustrations up close during his time at New Mexico but said it wasn't until he became BYU's head coach that he fully understood what Long was experiencing.

In any case, Mendenhall agreed the community culture must change to make football an emphasis before New Mexico can achieve Long's goal. He's puzzled that the stadium rarely filled up, despite Long's unprecedented run of success.

"I believe Coach Long, the assistant coaches and the players wanted it more than the collective community at large," Mendenhall said. "I probably just made some enemies by saying that.

"But in seeing it, the way he works, the way their staff works and their players work, the success they had, to see it not rapidly generate more interest in the program, that to me is disappointing. They deserved more." source>>>

If you had $1 million riding on the outcome of a NASCAR race and could pick any driver past or present to win it, I'm sure the names Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt Sr. and David Pearson would top the list. Or maybe you would go with Jeff Gordon, Darrell Waltrip, Cale Yarborough and Bobby Allison.

But you couldn't go wrong with Jimmie Johnson, either, not after the El Cajon, Calif., native clinched his third consecutive Sprint Cup championship Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Johnson joined Yarborough as the only drivers to win three straight Cup titles.

Johnson now is one of the greats, even though I sense there is reluctance by some to put him in that category. Here's what I say about that. Johnson has finished first or second in the points standings in five of the seven years that he has been Cup racing.

Critics will say that Johnson is just fortunate to be racing for super team Rick Hendrick Motorsports, which has now won eight of the past 15 championships.

Critics also point to the Chase for the Championship format, which NASCAR implemented in 2004. Johnson is better than the rest at the final 10 tracks, they will say. And they will add that the Chase isn't a true reflection of the whole season.

Both make for good arguments in poking holes in the Johnson dynasty, but I'm going to poke back.

If Hendrick is so powerful and mighty and any driver competing at the local track could win with one of his cars, then how come Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. combined to win one race this year, while Johnson finished with seven victories?

It's true that Johnson has figured out the final 10 tracks better than the rest. But why is that a problem? He's just doing his job. These are today's rules, and he does them better than anyone else.

Johnson's greatness goes beyond the championships, too. He has 40 career victories in 255 starts. Plus, Johnson started racing Cup full time in 2002, and he has never finished worse than fifth place in his seven years. He was second in 2003 and 2005.

Those statistics match up nicely with the sport's best. Keep in mind, too, that Johnson is only 33. The best may be yet to come for this guy. source>>>

In the face of a broadening economic crisis, NASCAR did the right thing in banning most testing for the 2009 season.

The clear intention is to save money in a climate where money is tighter than a racecar with a severe push.

An unintended byproduct of the action may be to engrave Jimmie Johnson's name on a fourth straight Sprint Cup championship trophy.

Ironically, Johnson opposes the very test ban that might help him to a record-setting title.

"We have to figure out how we can get good information," Johnson said Sunday night after celebrating championship number three in victory lane. "Is that testing at small tracks? Is that more wind tunnel data? Is that more seven-post data (simulations of suspension dynamics)? We've got a lot of question marks, and we have to truly understand the rules to figure out how to get to work and develop our cars and make them better."

From NASCAR's point of view, the rules are cut-and-dried: No teams in the Sprint Cup, Nationwide or Camping World Truck Series -- or in the Camping World East and West regional touring series -- will be allowed to test at racetracks that host any of those series.

Owner Jack Roush proposed extending the ban to all testing, even at non-NASCAR tracks, but that won't happen. Joe Gibbs Racing president J.D. Gibbs already indicated his Toyota teams probably will test at Rockingham Speedway, where owner Andy Hillenburg had the foresight to build a "mini-Martinsville" to complement the existing one-mile banked racetrack.

Rick Hendrick, who co-owns Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet with driver Jeff Gordon, has been lobbying for data acquisition (telemetry) on Fridays at race weekends. Gibbs advocates more track time for rookies, a group that includes his own 18-year-old sensation, Joey Logano.

With NASCAR necessarily in a cost-cutting frame of mind, however, it's unlikely race weekends in 2009 will look much different from race weekends in 2008. In the race for improved performance, frugality will win.

"At the end of the day, I think this rule is going to hurt a lot of people," Johnson said. "I understand why, but I'm hopeful that things turn around and everybody has the opportunity to go to the track and work on their stuff -- even if it's on Friday, and we can get data sets.

"I think it's going to hurt the show. In the bottom of my heart, I do. I understand that they're trying to keep the big teams from getting away, but everybody needs track time. If I was king for a day, I would do it differently."

Consider, though, that the teams with the greatest resources are likely benefit from the rule because they can afford to explore other technological avenues. Listen to what Johnson's crew chief, Chad Knaus, had to say Sunday night.

"Obviously, our simulation programs are going to have to get a lot more efficient," Knaus said. "Our wind tunnel testing will have to get a lot more efficient. Our seven-post facility will probably have to be burning up -- not that it doesn't run all the time now. But it's probably going to have to have some modifications to correlate more to what we see at the actual racetrack.

"It's going to be tough. We all understand why this has been done. We really do. I hope that the economy takes a turn, and we can get back to testing at some point next year, because I really feel like it's going to hurt the smaller teams.

"You know, when I worked at Melling (Racing), we only had 20-something guys. So I know what it's like to have a small team to compete against the Hendrick Motorsports guys and the Roush guys. The only way you can get better is to be on the racetrack."

Knaus' logic is spot-on. The teams with the most resources will use them. The have-nots won't, because they can't.

So, even though Johnson doesn't approve of the testing ban, he might not mind it so much in November 2009 when he's holding the Cup trophy for a record fourth straight time. source>>>

Carl Edwards won the season-ending Ford 300 on Saturday, but came up 21 points short in his attempt to overtake Clint Bowyer and win his second straight Nascar Nationwide Series title.

Bowyer, who won only 1 of 35 races, finished fifth at the 200-lap event at Homestead-Miami Speedway source>>>

Canadians who auction their goods on eBay can now expect to have their personal information released to the Canada Revenue Agency.

The online auction site has sent a letter to affected customers telling them the law now requires it to send the tax agency the names and gross sales figures of so-called "power sellers." These are eBay sellers who make more than US$1,000 a month in sales over three consecutive months on the site.

"While eBay strenuously objects to these requests made by the CRA, we are obliged to comply with the legal ruling," the company said in the letter.

The company is following a ruling by the Federal Court of Appeal last April, which upheld a lower court decision ordering the company to release personal information about their users' sales activities.

Over the past few days, sellers have been posting queries about their tax obligations on the forums section of eBay's website. Several sellers have gone on the site to say they're extremely upset that the CRA is trying to take a tax bite out of the money they get for their old clothes or used goods.

Many said they didn't understand why they should pay taxes again on items that were already taxed when they were originally bought.

"That's just nuts," exclaimed one seller on the site.

"Don't they (the CRA) have bigger fish that they can fry without putting someone through all that twice!?"

But not everyone appeared to be against the CRA's focus on eBay.

"I do not mind at all (that the CRA is) auditing taxpayers, even if I am the target from time to time. That is the only way to keep the system honest," wrote one online merchant.

The Canada Revenue Agency would not speak specifically about the case with CTV.ca, citing confidentiality provisions. But it said tax laws that apply to traditional commerce apply equally to electronic commerce.

An individual is "responsible for reporting income from all sources to avoid penalties," CRA spokesperson Catherine Jolicoeur told CTV.ca on Monday. source>>>

Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio had an interesting quote posted on espn.com today. To go to the Rose Bowl, his Spartans need to beat Penn State a few hours after archrival Michigan beats Ohio State.

Still, Dantonio, a former Ohio State assistant and protege of Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel, said he's pulling for the scarlet and gray.

"I'm not rooting for Michigan," Dantonio said, according to espn.com blogger Adam Rittenberg. "I'm going to focus on our task at hand here and worry about the things we can control. I have too many good friends and too many people that wouldn't let me back into their house to let me do that.

"So Go Bucks." source>>>

Country music has given birth to some of the nation's best songs, artists and has helped give birth to rock-'n'-roll. And while some skeptics may believe the genre is limited to distraught love songs about tears in beers, emotionally disturbed girlfriends or patriotic propaganda, country music has proved it is and can be so much more than these stereotypes.
country singers
Some pop stars have ventured into country music, including Jessica Simpson, top left; Lil' Wayne, top right; Kid Rock, bottom left; and Julianne Hough, bottom right.

It has given rise to some of the best crossover artists and new perspectives from traditionally noncountry musicians. With the help of artists like Ray Charles, Faith Hill and the hip-hop man of the moment Lil' Wayne, the field has gained new fans and shown just how powerful and widespread its reach can be.

Check out some of the unexpected musicians who've dabbled in country music.

Darius Rucker

Surely few people believed that the frontman of the mid-'90s Hootie and the Blowfish could have a successful country music career. Yet Rucker has surprised critics and fans with his success as a country music star.

The 42-year-old singer, who first shot to pop star fame with songs like "Hold My Hand," "Only Want to Be With You" and "Time," now has the No. 9 album on Billboard's Country Music chart.

"Learn to Live" has reignited Rucker's once-stalled career and produced a No. 1 single in the genre, "Don't Think I Don't Think About It."

It's a long title that may lengthen Rucker's Nashville career.

Julianne Hough
Best known as the supersweet, supercute coach on "Dancing With the Stars" who twice helped stars take home the mirror-ball trophy, Julianne Hough decided to show the world she could two-step to more than just a ballroom beat.

After only three weeks, her holiday album sits in the No. 25 spot on the Billboard Country Music chart and is marked as a pacesetter. The 20-year-old released her debut album earlier this year, and it debuted at No. 3.

Hough joined superstar Brad Paisley's 2008 Tour, which also featured Jewel and Chuck Wicks. Jessica Simpson
Hoping to revive a sagging musical career and break out from the dumb-but-beautiful-blond persona that the reality show "Newlyweds" helped solidify, Jessica Simpson decided to see if country music could bolster her musical credibility.

Her 2008 country release "Do You Know" gave the crooner the first No. 1 album of her career. The singer is set to tour with Rascal Flatts.

This may make up for her December 2006 miscue during a tribute to Dolly Patron when Simpson forgot the lyrics at the Kennedy Center Awards.

Lil' Wayne
Hip-hop's current lyrical king may be a far stretch from traditional country music performers, but that didn't stop Lil' Wayne from dropping by the CMA Awards for a performance with Kid Rock.

The pair performed Rock's "All Summer Long" just as they did at the MTV Video Music Awards last summer. The New Orleans rapper didn't spit any rhymes during the performance, but the dreadlocked performer did rock out on a guitar, proving his skills go beyond setting the mic ablaze. Kid Rock
Kid Rock has never been shy about flirting with other music genres. He may have entered music on Detroit's hip-hop scene, but after gaining national attention, he became uber-successful marrying hip-hop and rock.

Then, he and singer Sheryl Crow released a huge pop country hit in 2001 called "Picture." Sure, it featured the common staples of cheating, beer, whiskey and some drug use, but, man, did it sound good.

It also laid the groundwork for his most recent album, "Rock N Roll Jesus," which clearly takes some cues from the country music community. Singles like "Roll On" show how much twang has influenced Kid Rock's music.

Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash was a country music star with so many memorable songs and performances, it would take tons of print to list them all. But one of his most engaging songs and moments came not from a Cash original but rather a cover of a Nine Inch Nails song. The video for "Hurt" has become a sort of epitaph for Cash, whose deep, moody and pensive take on the single made it unforgettable. An aged Cash, whose poor health was apparent, singing about regrets and past mistakes was so moving it brought him an even younger generation of fans.

Watching "The Man in Black" sit solemnly in a chair strumming a guitar and softly belting out lyrics like "I hurt myself today to see if I still feel," gave a glimpse into the soul of a man whose lifetime was filled with difficult moments.
Related
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He turned rock into country. In the song he sings, "What have I become? My sweetest friend, everyone I know goes away in the end." But with performances like this one Cash ensured he and country music would never fade away. What did he become? An icon with a permanent place among Nashville's elite.

Ray Charles
Ray Charles may be remembered as a soul man, but his love for country was fierce. So much so that the musical genius recorded a country album.

"Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music" became a rapid success and pushed Charles further into the stratosphere. The 1962 album had songs like "Born to Lose" and "I Can't Stop Loving You."

The record's theme is often found in country music: one of heartache and love.

Pat Boone
Pat Boone switched to country music as his hit-making proficiency began to wane, thanks in part to the British invasion. But what really surprised fans was his making a heavy metal album.

"In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy" was a collection of covers and Boone's leather-clad appearance on the American Music Awards in 1997 shocked just about everyone but Boone himself.

Shania Twain
In the late '90s, country music and pop were synonymous, thanks to singers like Shania Twain who manufactured hit after hit. Need proof? You surely know at least one baby named Shania from that period.

The singer from the Great White North proved Canadians could croon country as well as Americans.

Her smash album "Come on Over," which featured songs like "You're Still the One," "From This Moment On" and "That Don't Impress Me Much" became top pop staples and some people probably didn't even realize they were jamming to country music. The video for "Hurt" has become a sort of epitaph for Cash, whose deep, moody and pensive take on the single made it unforgettable. An aged Cash, whose poor health was apparent, singing about regrets and past mistakes was so moving it brought him an even younger generation of fans.

Watching "The Man in Black" sit solemnly in a chair strumming a guitar and softly belting out lyrics like "I hurt myself today to see if I still feel," gave a glimpse into the soul of a man whose lifetime was filled with difficult moments.
Related
Can These 12 Artists Revive Their Careers?
Kid, Skynyrd Form Southern Rock Alliance

He turned rock into country. In the song he sings, "What have I become? My sweetest friend, everyone I know goes away in the end." But with performances like this one Cash ensured he and country music would never fade away. What did he become? An icon with a permanent place among Nashville's elite.

Ray Charles
Ray Charles may be remembered as a soul man, but his love for country was fierce. So much so that the musical genius recorded a country album.

"Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music" became a rapid success and pushed Charles further into the stratosphere. The 1962 album had songs like "Born to Lose" and "I Can't Stop Loving You."

The record's theme is often found in country music: one of heartache and love.

Pat Boone
Pat Boone switched to country music as his hit-making proficiency began to wane, thanks in part to the British invasion. But what really surprised fans was his making a heavy metal album.

"In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy" was a collection of covers and Boone's leather-clad appearance on the American Music Awards in 1997 shocked just about everyone but Boone himself.

Shania Twain
In the late '90s, country music and pop were synonymous, thanks to singers like Shania Twain who manufactured hit after hit. Need proof? You surely know at least one baby named Shania from that period.

The singer from the Great White North proved Canadians could croon country as well as Americans.

Her smash album "Come on Over," which featured songs like "You're Still the One," "From This Moment On" and "That Don't Impress Me Much" became top pop staples and some people probably didn't even realize they were jamming to country music. The video for "Hurt" has become a sort of epitaph for Cash, whose deep, moody and pensive take on the single made it unforgettable. An aged Cash, whose poor health was apparent, singing about regrets and past mistakes was so moving it brought him an even younger generation of fans.

Watching "The Man in Black" sit solemnly in a chair strumming a guitar and softly belting out lyrics like "I hurt myself today to see if I still feel," gave a glimpse into the soul of a man whose lifetime was filled with difficult moments.
Related
Can These 12 Artists Revive Their Careers?
Kid, Skynyrd Form Southern Rock Alliance

He turned rock into country. In the song he sings, "What have I become? My sweetest friend, everyone I know goes away in the end." But with performances like this one Cash ensured he and country music would never fade away. What did he become? An icon with a permanent place among Nashville's elite.

Ray Charles
Ray Charles may be remembered as a soul man, but his love for country was fierce. So much so that the musical genius recorded a country album.

"Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music" became a rapid success and pushed Charles further into the stratosphere. The 1962 album had songs like "Born to Lose" and "I Can't Stop Loving You."

The record's theme is often found in country music: one of heartache and love.

Pat Boone
Pat Boone switched to country music as his hit-making proficiency began to wane, thanks in part to the British invasion. But what really surprised fans was his making a heavy metal album.

"In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy" was a collection of covers and Boone's leather-clad appearance on the American Music Awards in 1997 shocked just about everyone but Boone himself.

Shania Twain
In the late '90s, country music and pop were synonymous, thanks to singers like Shania Twain who manufactured hit after hit. Need proof? You surely know at least one baby named Shania from that period.

The singer from the Great White North proved Canadians could croon country as well as Americans.

Her smash album "Come on Over," which featured songs like "You're Still the One," "From This Moment On" and "That Don't Impress Me Much" became top pop staples and some people probably didn't even realize they were jamming to country music. The video for "Hurt" has become a sort of epitaph for Cash, whose deep, moody and pensive take on the single made it unforgettable. An aged Cash, whose poor health was apparent, singing about regrets and past mistakes was so moving it brought him an even younger generation of fans.

Watching "The Man in Black" sit solemnly in a chair strumming a guitar and softly belting out lyrics like "I hurt myself today to see if I still feel," gave a glimpse into the soul of a man whose lifetime was filled with difficult moments.
Related
Can These 12 Artists Revive Their Careers?
Kid, Skynyrd Form Southern Rock Alliance

He turned rock into country. In the song he sings, "What have I become? My sweetest friend, everyone I know goes away in the end." But with performances like this one Cash ensured he and country music would never fade away. What did he become? An icon with a permanent place among Nashville's elite.

Ray Charles
Ray Charles may be remembered as a soul man, but his love for country was fierce. So much so that the musical genius recorded a country album.

"Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music" became a rapid success and pushed Charles further into the stratosphere. The 1962 album had songs like "Born to Lose" and "I Can't Stop Loving You."

The record's theme is often found in country music: one of heartache and love.

Pat Boone
Pat Boone switched to country music as his hit-making proficiency began to wane, thanks in part to the British invasion. But what really surprised fans was his making a heavy metal album.

"In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy" was a collection of covers and Boone's leather-clad appearance on the American Music Awards in 1997 shocked just about everyone but Boone himself.

Shania Twain

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The deal builds upon a six-year relationship between the two companies and will see TradeDoubler continue to work across both the consumer and business-to-business divisions until 2011 providing campaigns and affiliate network support as well as pay-per-call tracking.

The pan-European partnership spans several major territories including the UK, Germany, France and the Nordics and further cements Dell's long term commitment to online marketing activity. Since coming on board as a keystone client in 2002, TradeDoubler has helped Dell to become an early adopter of affiliate marketing, developing a dedicated Online Demand Generation team and various exclusive offers and incentives to promote sales from its site.

A 25-person strong TradeDoubler team supports Dell's business and marketing strategy, not just driving online conversions, but enabling Dell to introduce new products to market and break into previously untouched markets. This latest contract reaffirms TradeDoubler's strength across Europe, further supported by Comscore's September 2008 figures which show a 73.4% European Internet audience reach for TradeDoubler.

Andreas Iversen, Senior EMEA General Procurement Manager at Dell, commented: "We were early to recognise the value of affiliate marketing and have worked closely with TradeDoubler to maximise and refine our online presence over several years.

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For the first time the nominations for the annual Grammy Awards will be announced live on prime-time television. The Grammy Nominations Concert Live -- Countdown To Music's Biggest Night will be broadcast live from Los Angeles' Nokia Theatre on CBS from 9-10 PM EST on December 4. The event will double as a celebration of grand opening of the Grammy Museum and feature a performance by 14-time Grammy winner B.B. King. Other performers include Foo Fighters, John Mayer and Mariah Carey. LL Cool J and Taylor Swift will co-host the one-hour TV special. Please check out the December/January issue of Relix for more on B.B. King. source>>>

spotted a cool little video the other day from Relient K (well from some friends of theirs). It's for Sleigh Ride, a song on their great new Christmas album called Let It Snow Baby.. Let It Reindeer. The album is packed full of seventeen crazy tracks that only a band like Relient K could pull off. Check out the video over at CMStreaming (Relient K - Sleigh Ride). While you are there, add it to your Facebook and share it with all your friends.

Not much in the way of releases this week but Jeremy Camp's new one is only seven days away! source>>>

What will be the 'must-have' gift under the tree this year? The ultimate board game for music lovers - BANDthology(R)!
This new music-themed board game was invented in Canada and launched just prior to Christmas 2007. The frequent comment from players is that the game is "highly addictive". The company feels that the timing for BANDthology is perfect, with the immense popularity of music themed games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero.
"We encourage Rock Band and Guitar Hero fans to give BANDthology a try", says company spokesperson Sharon Wilson. "Hosting your own BANDthology game night is a great way to re-connect with family and friends. People of all ages spend a great deal of time interacting with technology. This trend is so rampant that families find themselves having to "schedule in" quality time together. It is important for families and friends to turn off the techno gadgets for awhile and laugh, talk and re-connect."
Music is the ultimate connector and BANDthology is the ultimate game for music lovers of all ages and different music interests. Teen players can pit their Sum 41 or Green Day knowledge against Mom and Dad's Rush or Beatles expertise.
BANDthology(R) the board game combines unique Open Ended "Play" cards, (name a song title or music artist with the word "Blue"), "Musicology" trivia cards, fun "Now What" cards, which help or hinder you (Your van broke down on the way to the gig, move back 3 spaces) and hilarious charade style "Now What Auditions".
The object of the game is to have as much fun as humanly possible while being the first individual or team to collect 6 musicians to form your own Supergroup.
It is the "Open Ended" play that makes BANDthology(R) unique because it calls upon each player's musical knowledge and experience. BANDthology(R) crosses over different age groups and music genres to make it a game for everyone, says Wilson. A teen player at a recent BANDthology Live! Event summed it up nicely by saying, "It Joggles your Brain".
BANDthology Music Games have also launched a travel version called the BANDthology(R) Touring Edition and the Ultimate Canadian Edition. These card packs can be played anywhere, on the go or added into your BANDthology(R) board game. They are the perfect stocking stuffer for the music lover on your list.
BANDthology games are available in over 100 retailers across Canada. To find a store near you or buy online visit www.bandthology.com. source>>>

Rest assured, Carrie Underwood's Utah concert on Nov. 19 will be a carnival ride -- compared with her schedule the past week.

On Wednesday, she hosted the 42nd Country Music Association Awards on live TV, and she readily admitted her nerves about the prospect in an advance interview.

So nervous was she, in fact, that she did her research, watching tapes of past shows to learn from the hosts, including her role model, Reba McEntire. "I feel like I got to practice it more than you'd think," Underwood said.

The 25-year-old Underwood, winner of the fourth season of "American Idol" and seller of more than nearly 10 million records since then, will bring her "Carnival Ride Tour" to the E Center Wednesday with opening act Little Big Town

The girl from Checotah, Okla., promises a "high-energy" show for her fans, with a set list that includes songs from her debut album "Some Dreams," as well as her second, "Carnival Ride." Besides charting numerous country singles ("Jesus, Take the Wheel," "So Small" and "All-American Girl"), she has had two certifiable crossover hits ("Before He Cheats" and "Last Name"). "I consider myself really lucky to not be pigeonholed," Underwood said.

While Underwood admitted to some fatigue as she nears the end of the long tour -- "I love being on the road, but I love being back with my family" -- she is excited about playing with Little Big Town. She appreciated the band's musical skills when she watched them rehearse

without amplification and electricity, and they sounded good without all of that.

As for the opening act, "Talk about things you want to put on a Bucket List," said Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town about touring with Underwood, arguably the biggest current draw in country music.

Formed a decade ago -- about the time Underwood was celebrating her 15th birthday -- Little Big Town consists of four musicians who share lead singing duties, and the band is known for its sublime four-part harmonies.

The band has charted 10 country singles, but saw some of its biggest success this year when a live cover of "Life in a Northern Town" (performed with Sugarland and Jake Owen) was leaked to radio and became an unexpected hit. "I was completely shocked" by its release, Fairchild said.

Fairchild herself has been in demand for her voice. A friend of John Mellencamp, she sang on nine songs on his 2007 album "Freedom's Road" and four on this year's "Life, Death, Love and Freedom." She and bandmate Kimberly Schlapman sang a duet with the late Elvis Presley on the recently released "Elvis Presley -- Christmas Duets."

Playing with Carrie Underwood and Elvis Presley. Sounds like a big year for Little Big Town.source>>>

As part of Israel's 60th-anniversary celebration, its most prominent ensemble, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, visited Carnegie Hall on Sunday and Monday with the young Venezuelan firebrand Gustavo Dudamel on the podium. The Sunday afternoon concert was part of Carnegie's regular orchestra series and an installment of Bernstein: The Best of All Possible Worlds, the festival Carnegie and the New York Philharmonic are presenting this fall.
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Hiroyuki Ito for The New York Times

Nitzan Bartana playing Bach's Double Concerto in D minor.

Bernstein's close relationship with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra was most famously documented on dozens of recordings. But he also wrote music for it, including an expansive Concerto for Orchestra, "Jubilee Games," composed for the orchestra's 50th anniversary in 1986 and filled with inside jokes and references likely to mean more to this group than to most others. Numbers, shouted in Hebrew by the players, add up to 50. Meters dance around 18-beat figures because the Hebrew word for 18 also means "life." A vocal passage in the finale quotes a biblical benediction (Numbers 6:24-26) that is part of the daily Jewish morning service. (Carnegie included the Hebrew text in its program book, but printed it backward. Did no one think to have it proofread?)

This joyful score, with its hard-driven "Diaspora Dances" and the hints of Latin rhythms and jazz harmonies in its chaotic, semi-improvised opening movement, is just the kind of thing Mr. Dudamel thrives on, and he rode its wilder sections on Sunday like a loose-limbed champion surfer.

The heart of the work -- "Mixed Doubles," an extended series of duets for first-chair players in an orchestral frame -- drew on another of his skills: he shaped even the sparest textures with suppleness and warmth. David McFerrin, a baritone, contributed a graceful account of the almost cantorial vocal line in the finale.

The program began with Bernstein's "Halil," an appealing flute concerto with the solo line cast partly as a sweetly lyrical rhapsody and partly as a tense, 12-tone melody, a split that Bernstein meant to represent peace and tension. Eyal Ein-Habar played the solo with an affecting purity.

The Bernstein works were played lovingly, but the performances paled beside Mr. Dudamel's account of the Tchaikovsky Fourth Symphony, which showed how spectacular this orchestra can sound. This was not a reading that lurked meekly among shadowy mezzo fortes. Mr. Dudamel's gestures were bold, and his dynamic palette was broad. When the score called for a fortissimo, Mr. Dudamel had his players shake the house, with no loss of tonal luster in the strings or brasses.

Striking, too, was his no-hands conducting of the pizzicato movement. The orchestra's playing here was remarkably solid, and Mr. Dudamel shaped it entirely by tilting his shoulders and shaking his head.

The Monday evening concert, a benefit for the orchestra sponsored by the American Friends of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, offered a more commonplace but no less pleasing program. Pinchas Zukerman opened the concert with Bach's Double Concerto in D minor (BWV 1043), which he conducted from the violin, with a superb young violinist, Nitzan Bartana, playing the second line. (There was advance talk of Mr. Dudamel's playing in the violin section for the Bach, but he didn't.)

Mr. Zukerman's sound was inexplicably coarse in the Bach. But in Bruch's Concerto No. 1 in G minor, with Mr. Dudamel on the podium, Mr. Zukerman's sound was at its sweetest and most passionate. Mr. Dudamel closed the program with a performance of Brahms's Fourth Symphony. If it wasn't quite the killer reading that his Tchaikovsky was, it shared many of the same qualities. source>>>