Aw yeah!

Some exciting stuff on the music front.

The B-52s album "Funplex" just landed over my transom and I have to say, I'm feeling it. But I'm sort of prejudiced; I've always liked them. I will never forget that party I was at in Manhattan at the Hammerstein Ballroom -- who can remember what it was exactly? -- when the kind sponsors pumped everyone full off free drinks for like two hours and then, surprise...opened the curtains to reveal the B-52s, who put on this incredible, mind-blowing performance complete with stilt walkers and people in inflatable costumes. It was amaaaazing. Anyway the album is cool…rock oriented with touches of electro and punk.

Also, Natasha Bedingfield came out today. (Her album, that is. She did not announce that she is a lesbian.) I was dying to hear the track she did with Norfolk alum Danja (#13) because I was in the studio in LA when they made it. It's called "Not Givin'  Up." Watching them collaborate was so cool...for the first 40 minutes. Come on, I have a short attention span. If you've never watched it, the songwriting process is a lot less magical than you'd imagine. There's mumbling of words until they become sentences, and the playing of a beat over and over and over and over and over again until it all comes together. After about half an hour, they politely booted me out of the room so she could concentrate, so I was literally sitting in an adjacent room staring at the walls. I'd have begged for a Nancy Grace rerun. I should have belched really loudly or something so I could hear myself today and go, 'That's my gas!" Anyway, the song turned out cool.

But the most exciting music I am hearing right now comes from the group The Black Hollies. They will be at The Boot in Norfolk March 4, on the way to South By Southwest. I love them. It's 60s garage rock, mixed with psychedelia and soul. And they're from Jersey City. Get into it, don't miss the show. They're gonna be major. You will love this band.

And finally...stay tuned. Yours truly is cooking up some great stuff. We will be going out of town soon, to bring you stories and video from something truly "magic"al taking place in Las Vegas. And we'll be checking in with the latest up-and-coming super-producer from Hampton Roads as he does his thing in New York.

Friends don't let friends get their entertainment news from anywhere else...

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