Reverb: The Official UTF Blog

This is one of my favorite Queen songs performed by some inmates in the Philippines. Yes, you read that right…inmates!

YouTube Video Link:

YouTube Video Link: Queen’s Radio Gaga by Prisoners

Question, when will our prisons in America get this cool?

• Bonus Video: Prison Inmates do Thriller.

Unless you’ve been living in outer space, Lohan was busted for the second time in approximately two months for DUI and cocaine possession. Those are the exact same charges Lohan had before she went through her second stint at “rehab” at the Promises facility. Nearly two weeks later, she’s allegedly carjacking a white Denali, running over an innocent young man’s foot, and kidnapping two passengers in the vehicle…all of this just to chase after her ex personal assistant. To top it off, she claims the cocaine found in her pocket was not hers (eye roll) and that “I wasn’t driving, the black kid was driving” when officers arrived on the scene. Note that the so-called “black kid” she referred to appears to be of Latin descent yet I digress. The gossip flowing about Lohan has been nothing short of shocking and almost too good to be true yet sadly, it is. It’s a huge tumble down the heights of Hollywood, and Lohan’s career as a starring actress may be nearly extinct.

A few hours ago, I caught the early morning showing for Lindsay Lohan’s flick, “I Know Who Killed Me” for $4.00. I wasn’t about to pay full price for it. I’m sure many of you might wonder why I even bothered. The truth is, I use to be “Li-Lo” fan…before she started partying like it’s 1999 every night of the week. I knew that she had talent after catching her in “Freaky Friday” and felt that if she played her cards right, she could become a player in Hollywood. Obviously, I was wrong. Lohan has had approximately five bombs in a row, with “I Know Who Killed Me” more than likely making it number six. Now, I’d seen the trailer and thought the movie somewhat interesting. The press and hype surrounding her recent arrest did not deter that. Read more

If you are a fan of Pandora and/or other Internet radio stations, then you may be aware that the music industry is trying to raise the fees for the songs played on these stations. The proposed fee hike will probably shut down and silence many if not all Internet radio stations. This is yet another attempt by the industry to crap all over the fans. They don’t seem to understand that services like Pandora bring new music to fans that possibly result in CD or digital download sales. But of course, the industry doesn’t grasp that concept.

Fortunately, there is a grassroots movement to save Internet radio. If you regularly use and listen to Internet radio, then please support the cause by calling or writing your congress representative. I don’t know about you, but I’m sick and tired of the music industry’s greedy paws trying to dip deeper and deeper into the honey jar. I realize and understand that artists have to make a living, but organizations like the RIAA and others are turning off many fans, leading some to pirate music sites/services. However, we do have a voice. Let’s use it to help save Internet radio and win this battle in the war.

If you’re like me, commercial radio is dead. I can’t discover new music because the radio stations are too busy playing the same playlists nearly every other day. Fortunately, there is hope: on the web.

Pandora Radio

Pandora is a service that allows you to listen to the radio right through the comfort of your favorite web browser. While I don’t listen to it is often as I could, it’s a great way to discover other artists that sound like artists you already like. You can create your own, customized radio stations that sound like any of your favorite artists. Some of my radio stations include: Paul Oakenfold Radio, Depeche Mode Radio, Donna Summer Radio, Rick James Radio, and of course, Nine Inch Nails Radio.

Last.fm

Recently acquired by CBS, Last.fm is rather popular, especially in the UK. It’s a social networking tool that is similar to what Pandora does. It allows you to also share your musical interests with other users of the site. I will say that if you don’t like sharing some of your music tastes with other users, this may not be the site for you, especially if you have some MP3s of artists on your PC that may make you lose your street cred with friends.

SHOUTcast

SHOUTcast is Internet radio brought to you by an application instead of the web browser. You have to download the Winamp application to use the radio – the media player of choice for many users during the heyday of Napster. While you can’t customize your radio station based on a specific artist that you like, you can select certain genres (metal) or eras (80s) for music. If you enjoy your privacy and don’t care for the social networking aspect of Internet radio, this may be the option for you.

Odeo

Odeo has lost some of its steam and focus after founder Evan Williams (creator of Blogger) started turning all of his attention to Twitter. It started out as a site to help users subscribe to podcasts, but it has also become a place where you can find good music…if you look hard enough. The difference here is that you can (most of the time) download the actual track(s) listed in the Odeo directory. The problem? Well, you’re not paying for any songs you may download from here, unless they’re songs distributed by an independent artist. If you’re going to indulge in downloading some music here, I wouldn’t indulge too much in case the RIAA starts looking for you.