Blog Posts by Dave DiMartino

Let me take this opportunity right now to apologize if you are one of my many friends or acquaintances who might have received an odd email from me this morning, at around 9:49 am PDT, that offered nothing but an anonymous URL upon which you theoretically were supposed to click!

In fact, it was at that precise moment that my hacked personal email account sent you--courtesy of a wonderful benefactor in Poland--marvelous spam!

Additionally, if you were one of the half-dozen or so now-deceased acquaintances that I apparently sent email to since 1997 or so, rest assured it's OK if you don't send me a personal note telling me my account has been hacked!

Just tell me if it really made a difference if you were good or bad while you were still running around on earth! And if you can really tell what I'm wearing while I type this!

Maybe we should take this offline!

Frank Ocean: channel ORANGE (Odd Future) Everyone's talking about the new Frank Ocean album, and with good reason! The big question? Is he related to Billy Ocean? Heck, I don't know! Even more importantly:  In the scheme of things, can massive physical bodies like mountains, clouds, rivers or oceans ever be less than frank? You know--insincere? "Hi, even though I look like a big, ominous dark storm cloud in the sky, I have no intention whatsoever to rain--so go ahead and have your picnic!" It's no small matter! Still, the man of the hour--who has written for artists such as Brandy, Justin Bieber and John Legend, according to a trusted biographical source, and is a member of the spectacularly written about for no apparent reason Odd Future--has released a power-packed album filled with marvelous songs, guests like Andre 3000, John Mayer, and the legendary Earl Sweatshirt, and an album title certain to puzzle anybody with a TV remote control in their hand! I'm thinking it may be the most meaningful experience I've ever had in my life! Well, except for that day in confession!

One of the most unexpected delights of covering the music scene are those random encounters with celebrated, truly iconic figures that one rarely expects to meet.

At the top or very close to it? Ram Country's recent jaunt to New Haven, Ct., where with full crew and a strange sense of the surreal, we boarded the tour bus of no less a legendary figure than Willie Nelson.

Nelson--only one of a handful of working musicians whose name and image is recognizable to inhabitants of virtually every continent on the planet--was outside New Haven's Shubert Theater, where in a few brief hours he'd be doing what he does best--singing and playing in front of an audience that clearly loved the man, the music, and all he represents.

And what Willie Nelson represents is the finest in American music tradition: An outstanding songwriter--the man wrote "Crazy," "Funny How Time Slips Away" and "Hello Walls," among many other standards--a world-class singer, a poet, a movie actor, one hell of a guitar

It's a week filled with familiar names! Larry, Bob, Otis, Mike, Linda, Anne Marie and Belinda!

Similarly, many of this week's new releases are by familiar names as well!

I'd like to think it's pure coincidence! After all, if the middle of 2012 brings us a batch of music releases by artists who've been around the block a few times, perhaps have a few gray hairs or, even less tactfully, are dead--what does that say about today's biggest hitmakers?

Could it be that many of them are talentless fops unworthy of any press coverage whatsoever? Could it be that rather than recording albums and making music, today's best and brightest talents are making millions of dollars as computer programmers and entrepreneurs by exploiting the recorded works of other, lesser individuals--directly taking from them whatever small pittances they might make as recording artists until, heartbroken, they begin new careers as short-order cooks who could have once had promising careers but now work the late-night shift at Denny's?

Nope! It's just a crummy week! And hasn't it been hot?

Zac Brown Band: Uncaged (Atlantic) There's no denying that the Zac Brown Band are one of country's music's brightest stars: They're award-winners, they have serious musical chops, they don't worship at the altar of country radio, and, any way you look at it, they rock. This latest set, their third, features an intriguing array of

Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Usher, Linkin Park, the reunited No Doubt, Brad Paisley, Green Day and more than a dozen other A-list performers will be headlining Clear Channel's 2012 iHeartRadio Music Festival--the lineup of which was announced this morning.

The two-day festival, slated for Sept.21-22 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and billed as "the Biggest Live Music Event in Radio History," will be streamed live by Yahoo!, Clear Channel's web and mobile webcast partner for the event.

This year's iHeartRadio Music Festival follows last year's inaugural event--tickets for which sold out 10 minutes after being made available to the public—and likewise has focused on superstar talent.

The officially announced talent lineup-- unveiled this morning via special live announcement  by Ryan Seacrest--also includes Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Lil Wayne, Swedish House Mafia, Pitbull, Deadmau5, Miranda Lambert, Enrique Iglesias, Linkin Park, Jason Aldean, Pink, Mary J. Blige, Calvin Harris and Shakira.

Further

I don't think I've ever been as invigorated about a week's new album releases as I am right now!

Just think: A new album by the highly charismatic Chris Brown! He's quite famous! The return of Flo Rida! Gosh, all that success even with that horrid stage name! And the return of Asia! Frickin' Asia!

Plus a bunch of great reissued albums that probably came out before you were born!

In the words of one very famous writer,  it's the best of times and the worst of times!

Sadly, that writer is long dead! But we're not!

Chris Brown: Fortune (RCA) I think Chris Brown's been on the receiving end of a bad rap! Sure, he's done some wacky stuff in the past, but clearly he's a changed man! Look at those glasses! Glasses just...I don't know...make the person wearing them look smart or something! And weak! And mild-mannered! He'd never hurt anyone! He

Today marks an historic event in Yahoo! Music history--as we announce a new relationship with Clear Channel Media and Entertainment in which the distinguished media company will become the Yahoo! Media Network's premiere digital radio service, and provide our 167 million U.S. users with an unprecedented, greatly enhanced entertainment experience.

Listen to iHeartRadio now

Central will be the company's well-known iHeartRadio platform, which will offer users instant access to more than 1,000 of the nation's most popular live broadcast and digital-only radio stations, as well as user-initiated, commercial-free Custom Stations that tap into iHeartRadio's unrivaled catalog of more than 400,000 artists and 14 million songs.

Significantly, the deal also makes Yahoo! the exclusive web and mobile destination for fans looking forward to the 2012 iHeartRadio Music Festival, scheduled to take place Sept. 21-22 at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. Additionally, Yahoo! will be Clear Channel's

Big changes are afoot at Yahoo! Music, and today you're looking at one of the very biggest.

Music fans around the world have been enthralled by Spotify, the very successful digital music service that offers listeners unprecedented access to works—the songs, the tracks, the albums—from one of the richest music libraries in existence.

Today we're happy to introduce Spotify as a rich component of your own Yahoo! Music experience.

What does that mean? For starters, as a Spotify user you get direct access to nearly every kind of musical experience you can imagine. Curious about that new Fiona Apple album? Wonder what the big deal was about Jimi Hendrix? Like Ice T's movie Something From Nothing: The Art Of Rap and want to hear more from Eric B. & Rakim? You're there with Spotify.

And if you're playlist-happy, from Top Summer Songs to British Invasion Hitmakers to The Most Obnoxious Songs Ever, you'll be able to hear intelligently curated playlists of great tracks compiled by experts

Any week featuring new album releases by Maroon 5, Linkin Park and R. Kelly simply has to be the best week ever!

Especially if those are your three favorite artists!

Sadly, however, a random sampling of young consumers this afternoon at the Santa Monica Promenade told a tale that some may find disturbing! Out of 76 random subjects, most of whom appeared to be between the ages of 15-25, not a single person expressed any interest whatsoever in purchasing these fabulous artists' new albums!

Among the comments offered during this highly scientific poll:
*"I hate music."
*"Leave me alone, buddy."
*"R. Kelly? (odd laughter)"
*"My brother says Lincoln Park is in Michigan, but I know it's in Illinois!"
*"I just bought Kraan's Wintrup. And you look like a douchebag."
*"Do you like this tattoo?"
*"My favorite band in the world is Maroon 5!"

The final commenter, it should be noted, smirked, held a cup of Starbucks coffee in his hand, and was reading a copy of Wired.

Between you and me, those people are geeks!

Maroon 5: Overexposed (A&M/Octone) Like their artistic forebears the MC5, five people from the Motor City, Maroon 5 are five human beings that, due to a random twist of fate--not to mention genetics--were born with an oddly purple skin pallor! Boy, would that be weird! Still, the dudes have not allowed God's random dice-toss to affect