Category Archives: News & Announcements

The Johnny Cash Project Is Nominated For A Grammy

Posted on by
A Pciture Of Johnny Cash With His Wife, June Carter.

A Picture Of Johnny Cash With His Wife And Savior, June Carter.

OK, I know that asking you to make an effort after all that you must have imbibed and ingested yesternight and try to remember what I wrote about The Johnny Cash Project two months ago is too much. Just click here and read what I posted back there and then about it.

And believe me, there is a very good reason to do that. The Johnny Cash Project is up for a Grammy, no less.

The crowd-sourced clip for “Ain’t No Grave” which is found on the site has been nominated for best short form video.

The nomination is a triumph in itself. The video is taking on monster hits like Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” and “Love The Way You Lie” by Eminem and Rihanna. Both clips have more than 200 million views in YouTube each (Lady Gaga’s clip actually moved past the 300 million milestone not so long ago).

Congratulations to filmmaker Chris Milk (the one who dreamed up the whole project) and also to all the people who have already contributed to it, obviously.

Hmm… I think it’s about time I got down to reviewing the country legend on MusicKO, wouldn’t you say? Let me see what I can do before the year comes to a close…

The Top Artists Of 2010 On Last.fm

Posted on by
Below You Will Find The Most Popular Songs On Lastfm During 2010

Below You Will Find The Most Popular Songs On Last.fm During 2010

Yes, folks, it is that time of year in which “Best Of” lists start populating the Web. I came across these two today, and I felt like sharing them with you.

They highlight the artists Last.fm users have listened to more intently during 2010. The one on top is devoted to the US, and the other showcases the likes of people the world over. Both have Ke$ha reigning supreme, but that is hardly surprising considering how viral TiK ToK was.

Agree? Disagree? Feel like emulating Pete Townshend and bashing someone with your guitar over the head? Well, why don’t you leave a comment below instead and get things out of your system?

Last Fm Top

MTV Releases The Music Meter

Posted on by
Presented By MTV, The Music Meter Is A Tool For The Discovery Of New Artists

Presented By MTV, The Music Meter Is A Resource For The Discovery Of New Artists

The days in which the popularity of music was measured by how many albums were shifted are not just extinct, they are actually fossilized. Nowadays, the popularity of any piece is judged based on a plethora of factors. The number of views on YouTube is one of these, and so is how frequently the song is streamed on sites like Spotify and Last.fm.

MTV has just released a new site in which all these variables are taken into account, and used to create a chart in which the online buzz around musicians is fully reflected. This chart goes by the name of The Music Meter, and it is updated daily. And learning more about the artists who get featured there is really easy, since tweets and bios are accessed at a click. So, getting acquainted with any performer that you discover through the chart is simplified to no end. Continue reading →

Arte Solidario En Maldonado Este Sábado 18 De Diciembre

Posted on by

Arte Solidario en Maldonado

Arte Solidario en Maldonado

El próximo sábado 18 de diciembre a las 21:00 tendrá lugar el evento
“Arte Solidario” en el Cine Teatro Cantegril de Maldonado. Habrá música
en vivo, poesía y pintura.
El objetivo es recaudar juguetes para los niños carenciados de Maldonado, los  cuales serán repartidos por la ONG Rumbos esta navidad.

Las bandas que tocarán esa noche incluyen a Opus Rock, Conkistadores, Viejo Perro, Pitbull Rock y K-Lambre. También se presentarán Gabriel Arce y la murga Lapopular. Por su parte, Eduardo Fajardo tendrá su espacio de tattoo y pintura. La parte de poesía recaerá en Matías Ríos Nocetti, y yo tendré el placer de presentar “Once” y “Ten”.

Contamos con todos ustedes para llenar el teatro esa noche. La entrada es un juguete.

¡Los esperamos!

Michael Jackson’s New Album Has Been Leaked

Posted on by
Michael Jackson’s Posthumous Album Is Now Available For (Illegal) Download

Michael Jackson’s Posthumous Album Is Now Available For (Illegal) Download

A leak of Michael Jackson’s posthumous album has hit the Web like a cyclone. A simple search on most file-sharing and torrent sites will let you get our hands on the 10 tracks that make it up.

This might as well be the highest-profile leak of the year, well ahead of Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” and the beginning of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1”.

Sony and Epic Records have declined to make comments of any kind. I guess they are too busy grinding their axes… This has been one leak too many. The consequences this can have on file sharing could be radical.

LimeWire Is No More

Posted on by
RIP LimeWire

RIP LimeWire

LimeWire (one of the most popular peer-to-peer file-sharing services that existed) is now shutting down for good.

The company was defeated seven months ago in Federal Court, and tried to reinvent itself as a store in which music could be purchased legally, a la iTunes or eMusic. But it was all to no avail.

The company’s official statement reads:

“Given our current situation, plans to bring our separate, legal music service to market have been canceled. The beginning of 2011 will mark the closing of LimeWire’s New York office and cessation of business by LimeWire. We attracted some of the top talent from the technology community over the years to build our new music service. We’ll be helping our team members commence their job search over the next few months.” Continue reading →

“Much Too Soon” (A New Song By Michael Jackson) Is Made Public

Posted on by
“Much Too Soon” Is The Third New Song To Have Been Made Public From Michael Jackson’s Upcoming Posthumous Album

“Much Too Soon” Is The Third Song To Have Been Made Public From Michael Jackson’s Upcoming Posthumous Album

A new song from the King of Pop’s posthumous release (to be titled “Michael”) has just been made available to the public. It is named “Much Too Soon”, and it has had a warmer reception than the last one, “Breaking News”. It was not that “Breaking News” was panned in terms of quality – it was its veracity that was disputed. Fans, critics and Jackson’s family all argued vociferously that it wasn’t Michael singing, but an impersonator.

Luckily for Epic Records, “Much Too Soon” received no such unwanted criticisms. Continue reading →

How Much Did The Beatles Sell On Their First Week In The iTunes Store?

Posted on by
Sales Of Beatles Music Through iTunes Have Been Excellent. Their Most Purchased Album Has Been “Abbey Road”, While The Most Sought-After Track Has Been “Here Comes The Sun”.

Sales Of Beatles Music Through iTunes Have Been Excellent. Their Most Purchased Album Has Been “Abbey Road”, While The Most Sought-After Track Has Been “Here Comes The Sun”.

“How well would the Beatles’ music sell if it became available digitally?”

That was a recurrent question for years on end. But now that the Beatles are finally featured on the iTunes Store, the time for speculations has ended.

The results are quite impressive. The band sold 450,000 albums and 2,000,000 individual tracks on its first week on iTunes alone.

To give you an idea of how good these numbers are, Led Zeppelin sold just 300,000 songs on the week its music went digital. Continue reading →

Month In Review – November 2010

Posted on by

One year after having issued my first book of poetry (“Once”) I have now released a new volume: “Ten”. Which is just suitable, especially when you take into account that “Ten” is the prequel to “Once”, and that the events described there happen one year before the events described on “Once”. Both books have been published by Rumbo Editorial.

I have obviously posted some poems from the book (here and here), along with a handful of pictures. I am posting plenty more soon.

As far as additions to the blog are concerned, the inclusion of Radiohead to the list of featured artists has been a significant one. You can read the general introduction here, and then what I have to say about “Pablo Honey” here.

The startups I wrote about during the month included TuneCrank, Bud To Bud and Durocast. And both Bryce Clemmer and Elliot Swan from Durocast found the time to sit down for an interview, too.

On December I hope to review a lot of Uruguayan acts, both signed and unsigned. That will be a great way to send off the year!

Jay Z Promotes His New Compilation With A Really Classy Website

Posted on by
“The Hits Collection” (Vol. 1) Is The First Compilation That Jay-Z Releases In America.

“The Hits Collection” (Vol. 1) Is The First Compilation That Jay-Z Releases In America.

Legendary rapper Jay-Z is promoting his multi-volume hits collection with one of the most polished sites I have seen in a long, long time.

The design is elegant and the menu is decidedly versatile, but what really sticks out is the way in which social media has been integrated. Micro messages are a constituent part of it all, and people can use a big microphone to shout out whatever they fancy and have it posted for all to see. Visitors are invited to contribute the memories of the gigs they have attended, and also to submit their favorite lyrics from the eminently quotable rapper. Continue reading →