Hey Everyone

I will be on vacation next week, so I will not be blogging. I hope you all have a great week, check out the podcast and enjoy the Fourth of July. Mad Mad Media will return Monday July 10. Until then, best wishes,
Eric

Listen to PODCAST by clicking HERE!

(or below)

PODCAST and Summerfest Starts TODAY!!!!

MADMADMEDIAPODCAST#4:SUMMERFEST
(click to listen, right click to save)

Summerfest begins today in Milwaukee and runs through July 9. The massive music fest will host hundreds of bands from all over the world. We obviously could not include every band, but this is a sampling of music you'll be hearing on some of the stages. For more information about Summerfest, check them out online HERE.


Jupiter Sunrise — “Why’d I Wait So Long.”
The Los Angeles based Jupiter Sunrise packs their songs with amazing power pop hooks. They will be performing on July 1 at 5:30 p.m. on the U.S. Cellular Connection stage.

WEBSITE
MySPACE


Squint — “Postergirl”
This Louisiana-based group is originally from the UP and were featured on the first ever MadMadInterview earlier this week.
Squint will be performing on July 2 at 5:30 p.m. on the Mountain Dew Rock stage.

WEBSITE
MySPACE



Zox — “Can’t Look Down”
Zox of Providence, Rhode Island, successfully blends elements of progressive rock, ska, punk and baroque, as evidenced on their 2006 record, The Wait, on Side One Dummy Records.
That was Zox with Can’t Look Down. Zox will be performing on July 3 at 8 p.m. on the Harley Davidson Roadhouse stage.

WEBSITE
MySPACE

My Little Radio — “Leave the Light On”
My Little Radio of Boston is in the process of working on their first full length CD with producer Matthew Ellard.
My Little Radio will be performing on July 4 at 5:30 p.m. on the U.S. Cellular Connection stage.

MySPACE

Those Royals — “Pink is the New Black”
Those Royals are one of the homegrown bands from the MKE. Their first CD, Sleepy Suburbia, is amazing.
Those Royals will be will be performing on July 6 at 2:30 p.m. on the U.S. Cellular Connection stage.

WEBSITE

MySPACE

Sleater-Kinney calling it quits

The alternative rock group Sleater-Kinney announced yesterday they will be calling it quits after 11 years after their tour ends in Chicago on Aug. 4.
"We feel lucky to have had the support of many wonderful people over the years," the group wrote on its Website." We want to thank everyone who has worked with us, written kind words about us, performed with us, and inspired us."
The group released its last CD, The Woods, on Sub Pop records in 2005. Here's a sample off of that album courtesy of Sub Pop.


Sleater-Kinney-Jumpers
click to listen-right click to save

NBC to promote shows via YouTube

One of my biggest complaints about major corporations is that they are too slow to embrace technological trends. Look at DVD. That was around for years before the major movie companies decided to put their new releases out on the format, citing a fear of piracy. They said the same thing years earlier about video and will probably continue to say the same thing about distributing their films over the Internet (though some companies have dipped their toes in these terrifying waters).
That’s why I’m so impressed with NBC’s announcement that they will be promoting several of their shows via YouTube.
YouTube, a video sharing site, was launched last year and has become a huge Internet phenomenon (in fact I regularly pull stuff off of YouTube for Mad Mad Media). Of course, most of it is teens acting stupid, but there are a couple of real video gems on the site.
NBC had a run in with YouTube late last year after users posted copies of “Lazy Sunday,” a Saturday Night Live rap about two guys going to see the Chronicles of Narnia, and other SNL skits.
But to the surprise of many, instead of suing them and making them shut down — like the RIAA with Napster or the MPAA with the Internet as a whole — NBC saw YouTube’s potential.
According to an InformationWeek article, 70 million videos are downloaded from YouTube everyday and the service has 12.6 million unique visitors each month. That’s a huge audience of people that, lets face it, aren’t watching TV.NBC, I may not have agreed with you on Suddenly Susan, Men Behaving Badly, anything crammed between Seinfeld and Friends, ER, the cancellation of Automan, Joey, Jesse, In The House, Caroline in the City, Wings, Empty Nest, The Golden Girls, the last season of The Apprentice, that dating show where the model was dating normal people, Whoopi, The Biggest Loser, Good Morning, Miami, Fired Up, and about a million other things, your deal with YouTube more than makes up for that.

Eddie is Dead!

The Internet Movie Database is reporting that the Jack Russell terrier who played Eddie the dog on Frasier has died at the age of 115 dog years. He's still funnier than Roz.

Photo courtesy of Cafe Nervosa.

Mad Mad Media Podcast Interview #1: Squint

Mad Mad Media Podcast Interview #1: Squint
(click to listen-Right Click to Download)

After inverviewing Pat MacDonald for podcast #2, I really wanted to do a couple of shows devoted to a single artist, including music and an indepth inteview.
This is the first one.
Squint is a hard-rocking alt act out of Louisiana. The plain and simple truth? They rock. Lead singer Dane Adrian and I chatted last week, and I put this together out of our half-hour interview.
Squint will also be one of the artists on our next show (Thursday) celebrating some of the acts performing at Summerfest in Milwaukee.
Squint is performing before Joan Jett on the Mountain Dew Rock stage. But you get to hear them here first!

You can also check them out online through the links below.

Squint's Website
Squint's MySpace Site

Photo courtesy of the band. Live in Austin, TX.

Happy Monday!

It's Monday! Happy Happy Happy! Monday Monday Monday! Everybody's happy!

OK, it looks like everybody isn't 100 percent happy, but it's a nice day, the coffee is fresh, there was a good song on the radio while I was driving in, and everything is groovy. Plus, we have a special podcast tonight, which is cool. Now everyone can hear me stammer through an interview! How much fun is that? But check it out, it's pretty cool.

Alt. Rockers Squint to appear in special Mad Mad Media Podcast

Mad Mad Media Podcast host Eric LaRose will sit down and chat with Dane, the lead singer of the Louisiana Alt-Rock group Squint, on a special Mad Mad Media Podcast on Monday.
During the show they will talk about the current state of independent music, the origins of Squint and their record label and life as an indie artist. It will also feature a track off of Squint's 2003 CD, Tinsel Life.
To check it out, go to Mad Mad Media at madmadmedia.blogspot.com on Monday after 5 p.m. or subscribe to the Mad Mad Media Podcast on iTunes.
The next regular podcast, on the music of this year's Summerfest in Milwaukee, is set to launch June 29.

One more for the road

I have long been impressed with the immediacy of the Internet. Trends on the Web seem to come out of nowhere, and instantly everyone knows about it. That’s why this video fascinates me. Musician Terra Naomi loaded the video for her new song, Say It’s Possible, on YouTube a week ago. She had written the song three days prior.
It’s hard to believe that someone could write a song and make it available to a worldwide audience just days after finishing it. Especially when you think about groups like Guns N Roses who have been threatening to release Chinese Democracy for a decade. She just wrote it, and there it is.
And here it is for you. Also, don’t forget to checkout the other YouTube findings and other stuff below. See you Monday!

Al Gore...Funny?

Former Vice President Al Gore may not be known as being a funny guy, but in this trailer for "An Inconvenient Truth," from the creators of Futurama, he is downright hilarious! Thanks YouTube!

Blast from the past

I found this on YouTube this morning, and thought I would share it with you guys. I'm not going to say if I was a fan of the Spice Girls or not, but I wasn't disappointed when I found this. Enjoy and remember:
People of the world, Spice Up Your Life!

Nikki Capra: My new best friend

OK. I've never met Nikka Capra, but I asked her if I could use one of her songs on an upcoming podcast (which you can subscribe to through iTunes - HINT HINT).
Anyway, she got back to me right away and said cool and then, get this, she put links to Mad Mad Media on her MySpace site and her Web site.
That is so cool! Thanks Nikki.
You are my new best friend!
So, while Nikki is going to be on the July 14th podcast, here's some links so you can check her music out early.
She's a really great artist, and I have a feeling we're going to be hearing a lot more from her in the future! Click the links below!

Nikki's MySpace site HERE.
Nikki's Website HERE.

Hooray! For Zoidberg! (Plus free music!)

I have absolutely no reason to write this entry, except that I have been giggling all day about Dr. Zoidberg from Futurama.
I don't even really know why. There was an episode a couple of days ago, on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, where he called Bender, the smart aleck alcoholic robot, "Robit."
That strange mispronunciation with a slight Russian accent has had me laughing to myself for a days.
I know, that's weird, but it's Friday!
So, Hooray! For Zoidberg!

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, check out Futurama Monday-Thursday on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim or late Friday night on TBS. Or DVD. There's always that too! Click HERE for more!

Speaking of Adult Swim, the AS website is letting people download of the Chocolate Swim EP featuring music from Kovas, Lady Sovereign, Ghislain Poirier, Mos Def, Diverse and Vast Aire F/MF Doom for FREE. I downloaded it yesterday and it is awesome. Get it HERE.

New Regina Spektor song

After amazing critics with her debut CD, Regina Spekor has returned with "Begin to Hope."

I haven't heard the whole thing yet, but I am digging her first single, "Samson."

Here's a link to check it out HERE.

Well, The Great Gatsby is out

So, I started reading F. Scott Fitzgerald classic, The Great Gatsby.
Yeah, that's not going to happen. 10 pages into it I'm like "Wait does he live in East Egg or West Egg? What part of Manhattan is this? What are these notes in the margin? Gatsby is a figure of his imagination? Who is this person I'm reading about?"
Nuts to that! So I'm still searching. I have gotten some suggestions, and I'll be looking for those next. Here is a list of other books I have already ruled out:

Dante's Inferno: I get it. We're all going to hell. And after the first four levels it doesn't seem like that great of a place.
War and Peace: Irony. The greatest masters of the English language are Russian. Irony.
Anything by Stephen King: I like King, but I read a lot of his stuff years ago. Plus, what is the toaster evil now? How about the coffee pot? He has to have run out of ideas by now.
Anything by Dean Koontz: See Stephen King Passage.
The Da Vinci Code, Cold Mountain, Bridges of Madison County: I've seen the movies.
The novelization of any movies: Books written after the movies are released are worse than anything.
Autobiographies: If it's not good enough for the Biography Channel, it's not good enough for me!

Back to the library for me.

A review Nelly Furtado’s “Loose”

While it is the title of her latest release, Loose is also a great way to describe world-music popstar Nelly Furtado’s new CD - released on Tuesday. It’s unsteady, with shaky results.
Furtado was first introduced to the world as an anti-Britney, which makes this CD — full of urban dance rhythms and booty beats — so confusing.
After the success of her first CD, “Whoa, Nelly” Furtado returned with “Folklore,” an interesting and successful foray into world music. The CD separated Furtado from the anti-brit pack, including Vanessa Carlton and Michelle Branch, and it appeared she was destined to show the world she was a talent to be reckoned with.
I don’t know what happened, but Loose is as step in the wrong direction.
The songs aren’t bad, especially the first single Promiscuous featuring Timberland and the Latin dance track No Hay Igual, but they completely lack substance.I’m assuming Furtado’s last CD flopped, except with the less-than-coveted NPR and PBS crowds, and she is attempting to regain some market share, but Loose is a mess. It’s fun to listen to, but it’s completely disposable.

I think I have to read more

It hit me this morning. I was surfing around the TV, switching between national and Milwaukee news, before hitting the Internet. I've been trying to line up groups for Podcast #5 and keep up on the latest entertainment news.
I jumped on the Internet Movie Database and Yahoo News, read about the film festivals in NYC and how Nicole Kidman is getting married, and so on.
Then I went to MySpace to see if any bands had confirmed, one has - cool, and looked for some other acts (by the way, as a music promotion tool nothing is better than MySpace).
Then I checked out the headlines just to see what's going on in the world.
Somewhere in there though I started thinking.
It has been a long time since I read an entire book, from cover to cover. Oh, I've started plenty, but I haven't finished a book in a long time. I even have library fines on books, and I couldn't tell you what they are about.
I read all of the time, but reading has become a test of speed. I hit blogs, look for news snippits, and check out what people are talking about. But nothing of any length.
To be honest, I can't remember the last book I finished reading. It has to have been a couple of years.
I know that lots of books are sold, but are you busy people out there in the same boat I'm in? Are you finishing the books you're buying? Reading almost seems like a lost art form, at least for me.
So I decided that I'm going to read a book. I have no idea which one, but it won't be a book on home repairs or a tech manual. It will be a novel.
Reading for fun...how novel.

Photo Courtesy of Battellemedia.

The Big Fat Independent Summer Movies

I had an extended weekend, so we went and checked out "A Prairie Home Companion" at the Downer in Milwaukee. First of all, I'm a little angry that the Landmark Theatres chain has also resorted to showing commercials before the feature presentation, though the beer commercial seemed to be tailor made for the indie audience. For shame.
But, despite that, this seems like it's going to be a great year for independent movies, starting of course with "A Prairie Home Companion."
Based on the popular National Public Radio show (not a video game, television show, popular line of toys, a comic book or a movie popular in the '70s). In it, a radio show announce, Garrison Keillor, and his crew of entertainers perform their weekly radio show for one last time in front of a packed house at the Fitzgerald Theatre in St. Paul, Minn. after learning the major radio conglomerate that bought the station is pulling the plug on the show after 32 years.
As an ode to a days-gone-by radio show, the film plays well. Keillor, who has hosted the real "A Prairie Home Companion" since 1974 -which still reaches about 4 mil. listeners weekly - is a treat. He wanes and waxes from charming to pompous without so much as a blink — a rare talent. And having a cast that includes Lily Tomlin and Meryl Streep as country-western singers, Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly as cowboy commedians, Kevin Kline as a detective stuck in the days of gumshoes, and Lindsey Lohan as a teen bent on poetic depression, only adds to the film's charms.
But, two minor subplots stop the film dead in its tracks, not enough to kill it, but they definitely strike down Keillor's momentum.
It also hurt the film immensely that someone at the Downer decided that it would be a good idea to play the soundtrack of the film, including many of the films vaudevillian jokes, before the film. So anyone who got there early to get a good seat, ME, knew a lot about the movie before the film started to roll. Still a good movie.
And there's more to come. Look for a documentary about the New York Times crossword puzzles, Wordplay, later this summer, as well as the strange animation film "A Scanner Darkly," "Strangers With Candy-The Movie," "Who Killed The Electric Car?" and a documentary about a girl's basketball team, "The Heart of the Game."

Podcast #3 is here!

Mad Mad Media Podcast #3
Click to open/right-click to save

Here it is. Hot off of the presses. The Mad Mad Media Podcast #3. Check it out and let me know what you think. And if you like it, sign up to have it delivered to your computer through iTunes through the links to the right! Also, don't forget to visit the artists links below. Enjoy and have a great weekend.

Song 1: Victoria Vox "America"

Artist: Victoria Vox
Song: “America”
From: Green Bay/Baltimore
Style: Folk/Americana
Description: America is off of “Victoria Vox and Her Jumping Flea.” It’s a beautiful song. The music is simple and Vox’s voice resonates with power and passion. Check her out at one of her concert dates in June and July in Maryland, Minneapolis and Wisconsin. (dates available on her Web sites)
Link: Web site
Link: MySpace

Song 2: Tamara Bedricky "Addicted"

Artist: Tamara Bedricky
Song: “Addicted”
From: Detroit/Chicago
Style: Pop/Folk/Rock
Description: I interviewed Tamara a couple of years ago when her CD “Through These Eyes” was released. She’s an easygoing singer, with the talent to back it up. “Addicted” is my favorite song off of her CD. It’s upbeat, and always puts me in a good mood!
Link: Web site
Link: MySpace

Song 3: Jane Jensen "Burner"

Artist: Jane Jensen
Song: “Burner”
From: Indiana
Style: Rock/Industrial/Indie
Description: Jane Jensen rocks! Simple as that! She is a super sonic Cheeka, a rebel without a pause, a great musician, a great actress and I obviously can’t say enough about her. I really wish she would come out with her new CD soon. It’s so hard waiting Jane! “Burner” is on my top-10 list of favorite songs ever! The rest of the disc, her first CD and her side project — The Dolls are all awesome as well!
Link: Web site
Link: MySpace

Song 4: Ani Difranco "Studying Stones"

Artist: Ani Difranco
Song: “Studying Stones”
From: Buffalo
Style: Folk/Blues/Americana
Description: One hundred years from now, people will still be talking about Ani Difranco’s music. Difranco has been releasing music on her own for years. Music that matters. She is one of the greatest American storytellers, and “Studying Stones” is proof of that. I can’t wait for her new CD to come out on August 8. I’m already saving my pennies.
Link: Web site
Link: MySpace

Song 5: Joan Jett "ACDC"

Artist: Joan Jett
Song: ACDC
Style: Rock/And Roll
From: Long Beach, NY
Description: Talk about an artist who doesn’t need to be described. Joan Jett is the best. She’s a musical pioneer who can still rock stadiums with the best of them. Her music has always been raw, and in your face. As I said on the show, in a business where musicians are chewed up and spit out on a regular basis, Joan Jett has managed to be the one with the teeth. She released her new CD, Sinner, on Tuesday and will make appearances in Milwaukee — with the Warped Tour on Saturday and at Summerfest on July 2.
Link: Web site

Truth time people

I watched Matt Lauer’s interview with Britney Spears last night. I didn’t mean to, but I was working on something and I was too lazy to look around for something else to watch. She, of course, denied or defended everything the tabloids have been reporting lately — that she broke up with Kevin, that she’s a dangerous mother — and she told a very concerned Lauer (a little too concerned) that she just wants to have a normal life.
Normal life? Britney. You grew up on a Disney show, moved onto MTV, you were in one of the worst movies ever made, danced with a snake on your shoulders on national TV, dated a member of a boy band a the height of his popularity, had a “Reality” show on UPN, and every time I turn around I have to see some part of you on TV, the newspaper, magazines, Internet, CD covers... you threw normal out the window a long time ago.
And now, after you’ve made millions and you live in a mansion next to Mel Gibson, you complain you don’t like the attention? I bet you don’t. But face it. Agreements come with conditions. One of the conditions of being a pop star is being the recipient of a lot of attention. And you played a prominent role in the media game.
Think about it.
Nelly Furtado is a pop star. She had a child. Does any body care about her? No! Michelle Branch is a pop star. She had a child. Are the tabloids following her? No! Why? Because they don’t go on national TV and cry every time they are mentioned in the press!
We truly aren’t interested in you Britney. You have nothing to say. But your tearful overreactions and blame-game antics, now that’s good TV.

Photo courtesy of Dateline NBC.

Richest man to finally give up working

Bill Gates is quitting his day job. The AP is reporting the Microsoft Corp. chairman announced he will leave behind the day-to-day responsibilities at the company he co-founded to concentrate on his charity, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Gates will continue to be the company’s chairman for two more years.
Read more HERE.

Photo courtesy of AP.

New MMM Podcast arriving tomorrow

Mad Mad Media Podcast #3 is hitting the Web tomorrow afternoon.
This show will focus on indie women and will feature the music of Victoria Vox, Jane Jensen, Tamara Bedricky, Ani DiFranco and Joan Jett.
I am so excited about this show it hurts. It really does.
Not just because it will be the first new show available on iTunes, it is just a great line up.
I have nothing but major respect for all of these artists and their songs.
And I can’t wait for you to hear them! Check it out tomorrow, or sign up on iTunes now and it will be automatically loaded onto your computer (if you follow the instructions right). Later!

Taylor Hollingsworth show is $3

The people from Mill Creek in Appleton called to say the Taylor Hollingsworth show Friday night costs $3. The show starts at 9 p.m. For more information call Mill Creek (417 W College Ave.) at 920-738-7408.

Taylor Hicks: American Bachelor?

According to People Magazine, American Idol winner Taylor Hicks is this year’s top bachelor. Apparently the rumors that he is dating Katharine Hicks are not true.
Hicks told the magazine there hasn’t beet time to date, but he did see an attractive blond on a flight who he exchanged glances with — but he didn’t get the woman’s digits. Taylor?!?
The magazine has stepped up the search for the mystery blond by setting up e-mail and mailing addresses for the woman to contact Hicks. It must be rough to have a popular magazine acting as your dating service.
Hick's first single was released this week. Runner-up McPhee signed a record deal with legend Clive Davis and 19 Records Unlimited last week. Her first single will be released June 27.
Hick's first album, also with 19 Records, does not have a release date yet, but Hicks will be the voice behind Ford Motor Company's "Drive on Us" campaign debuting today!

To see the full list of top bachelors, check out People Magazine HERE.

Taylor Hollingsworth, you’ve got to check this guy out

I was always a big fan of The Replacements. They had this great barroom rock feel that made their songs seem like they were equally driven by half talent and half drunken ambition. But since they broke up in the early 1990s, their unpolished sound has rarely been matched.
Taylor Hollingsworth has that sound written all over him. The Birmingham, Ala. native’s latest full-length CD, Tragic City, on Brash Records is a testament to rock and is a gritty breath of refreshing rock ‘n’ roll air in the wake of poseurs like Nickelback and All-American Rejects.
Songs like the raucous “Take The Money” and the horn-infused “Little Queenie, make way for interesting gems such as “Duct Tape Heart,” “Gambling Barroom Blues,” and the amazing “When Eye Get Around.”
Hollingsworth’s sings with a self assured vocal swagger. He’s smart not to try and overpower his music, holding back to let the winding guitars and pounding drums tell their tales of woe, anger and redemption. There isn’t a stinker on the whole CD.
And it’s just great to hear a sloppy guitar solo that doesn’t sound like it was added on by the recording engineer as an after thought. I have heard he puts on a great live show, which you can check out on Friday at 9 p.m. at at Mill Creek in Appleton (417 W College Ave. 920-738-7408-call for ticket prices) or Saturday at 10 p.m. at Martyr’s in Chicago (3855 Lincoln Ave. (774) 404-9494 - Tix $6). If he puts out half of the energy live that he does on his CD, it will be worth the trip.

You can check out Hollingsworth's music on his MySpace site HERE.
You can check out a video for "When Eye Get Around" by clicking HERE.

Hannah makes big "Splash" with police

Reuters News Service is reporting that Los Angeles Police wearing riot gear descended on a community garden today to evict tree-sitter activists — including "Splash" star Darryl Hannah— who were attempting to save the park from destruction.
At least 25 immigrant farmers and supporters were arrested on trespass charges, the service reported, while Hannah stayed up in a 40-foot-tall walnut tree. For more check out the article HERE.

Splash poster courtesy of the Internet Movie Poster Awards Gallery.

Morning roundup

“The Princess Bride” is being re-released on two special edition DVDs: the Dread Pirate Edition and the Buttercup Edition. The discs feature the same supplements, but different packaging and list for $24.96. Check it out and other DVD releases on IMDb HERE.

“Cars” was a big hit at the box office pulling in $60 million in its opening weekend, but it still didn’t best “Shrek 2,” which earned $108 million its opening weekend. “The Prairie Home Companion” earned $4.5 million in its opening weekend. Find out what other movies made the charts HERE.

Sony is reporting that “The Da Vinci Code” starring Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon has earned $642 million worldwide since it was released four weeks ago. AFP is reporting Sony has also purchased the rights to another Dan Brown novel, “Angels and Demons,” the first novel to feature Langdon. Read more HERE.

Tonight on TV, new episodes of Fear Factor at 7 p.m. followed by a new Last Comic Standing at 8 p.m. on NBC. Check them out HERE.

New releases today according to Amazon.com: Find out more HERE.
“Do I Make You Proud” / “Takin' It To The Streets” [CD-single] Taylor Hicks
12 Gardens Live [Live] - Billy Joel
The Big Bang - Busta Rhymes
One X - Three Days Grace
Rather Ripped - Sonic Youth
Sinner - Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
Earth to America - Widespread Panic
Begin to Hope - Regina Spektor
News and Tributes - The Futureheads

PC World gave the new Apple MacBook a very good review. Read it HERE.

Speaking of Mac Users, from now on I’m going to recommend a weekly widget for you dashboard. This week’s widget is the “Single of the Week” widget from Largemouth Software. The widget displays the free single on iTunes - a must for any music lover. Check it out HERE.

Rock Paper Scissors Championship on A&E tonight

No, I'm not kidding.
Tonight, the A&E network will present an in-depth look at The USA Rock Paper Scissors Championship, held this past April in Las Vegas. Regional winners from all over the nation (including Brandon Pannier from Plymouth, Wis.) competed for $50,000 in the ultimate game of strategy and chance.
While it seems unbelievable that this could even be true, stranger things have happened. Don Johnson did have a hit singing career for a while there...as did Bruce Willis.
So check it out tonight at 9 p.m. Central on A&E.

Get out of the house!

What are you doing? Hey, you have to get out of the house this weekend! What are you going to do?
Heck, if you have been listening to my Podcasts (now available through iTunes - HERE.
If you're looking for something a little more..risqué, Pridefest is going all out in Milwaukee. Tonight (Friday) Margaret Cho is headlining. On Saturday, Jill Sobule (who kissed a girl) and Berlin (No More Words) will perform. On Sunday the fest will feature En Vogue and DHT. Check out the festivals very colorful website HERE.
Of course there's always a movie. Some low budget movie called "Cars" his hitting theaters as is the explosive blockbuster "A Prairie Home Companion." Wait, I think I have that backwards.
You just have to get out of the house.
IT'S SUMMER!

Bye bye beer. I'm thinking iPod.

It may taste great and be less filling, but beer doesn’t hold a candle to the iPod.
According to an AP story, the iPod music player by Apple Computer Inc. surpassed beer drinking as the most “in” thing among undergraduate college students,
Nearly three quarters, or 73 percent, of 1,200 students surveyed in the latest biannual market research study by Ridgewood, N.J.-based Student Monitor said iPods were “in” — more than any other item in a list that also included text messaging, bar hopping and downloading music, the story said.
Though to be fair, students did not rate Toga parties, signing up for 40 credit cards to get a T-shirt and reading Mad Mad Media.
This is only the second time in the 18 years of the survey beer has been dethroned. In 1997, the Internet took top “in” honors.
For more check out the AP story HERE.

Speaking if iTunes, you can now subscribe to the Mad Mad Media Podcast on iTunes. Click HERE to subscribe! You must have iTunes to subscribe. Download iTunes HERE.

Just when I was about ready to chuck this whole stinking alphabet

Here’s a little alphabet soup for you. I was converting my MP3 to AAC today on my MAC so I could burn the as DATA files on a CDR and upload them on the WWW with my PC at work. It was bad enough that the AIFF files would only load as WMA files on my WMP, and my CD drive wouldn’t accept a DVD (+R or -R) but I couldn’t save them as M4As.
The sad thing is, most of us know what this means.
What does it mean to me? I’ll tell you. No, I’ll show you!

Dear Podcast Owner

Your podcast, located at [ http://feeds.feedburner.com/MadMadMediaPodcast ], has been approved. You should expect to see it in iTunes within the next few hours. When it’s available, you will be able to access it with the URL below.
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=158393277
Sincerely,
The iTunes Music Store Team

After hours of manipulating files, creating feeds, finding an appropriate host and going crazy ... it’s official.
We are on iTunes Baby!
Next episode is coming June 16 ... and it’s going to be huge!!!!!
Sign up on iTunes today!

Everything should work on everything

I have been having nothing but computer problems the last couple of days, and it is driving me nuts! First of all, I do most of my work at home on a Mac, especially with the Podcast. So, I have been attempting to get the Podcast listed on iTunes, which should be no problem. I followed the instructions: I created a Podcast, I found a host, I created a feed, and I submitted it. Simple right? Well iTunes keeps bouncing back the feed. Out of sheer frustration, I read through the instructions again. Though it doesn’t come right out and say it, I think I have to save the recording as an AAC file, not an MP3 to have it pulled. No big deal since I can convert the Podcast from an MP3 file to and AAC file in iTunes (but you do have to ask if iTunes can play an MP3 why can’t it pull that?)
With that out of the way I go to host the AAC at its new home on the Internet. But what’s this? I can’t upload it from home because the site only supports uploads from a PCs. ERRRRRRR! So I had to burn the files on a disc, bring them to work, load them onto my computer here (a PC), and upload them.
But, here’s the kicker. I don’t have iTunes here at work. So, to see if it worked and to resubmit the feed, I have to go back home and do it on my computer (not to mention Blogger - which hosts this site - has been having issues the past couple of days). I feel like I’m on a cell phone commercial and my network just dropped my call!
And it doesn’t stop there. I can only modify this Blog from home using Netscape (I don’t like Netscape). Safari (the awesome Internet browser for Apple) and Mozilla don’t work. I’d use MS Internet Explorer, but they stopped making it available to Mac users this year, and recommended we (the righteous Mac users of the world) to use Safari. Fine, but then make everything work on everything. I don’t want to switch browsers to shop at the Gap. I don’t want to switch applications to work on my Blog, and I don’t want to switch computers to do anything. I’m not using Linux here people! I don’t have an Apple IIe. Everything should work on everything...and that’s it!

Last Comic Standing

You know there’s nothing on TV when you’re choosing between a rerun of According to Jim on ABC and Last Comic Standing on NBC, but that was the choice I was left with last night. Tired and cranky, I went with my what seemed to be the lesser of two evil: Last Comic Standing.
I have found my summertime replacement for American Idol. Despite the woefully dreadful comic stylings of Kathy Griffin and Anthony Clark, the show’s contestants brought the funny.
Right now contestants are vying to get into the comic house. Five made it last night. I don’t have my favorites yet, and if American Idol was still on I wouldn’t give this the time of day. But this has to be better than Simon Cowell’s “America’s Got Talent,” which will have Brandy and David Hasselhoff as celebrity judges and looks of a remake of the Gong Show. Oh, I’ll watch it. But I’m skeptical. Last Comic Standing airs Tuesdays on NBC at 8 p.m. Central.

06-06-06

Can one day be anymore evil? Check out the date today. 06-06-06? Freaky! And how does the entertainment world reward us for this spooky day? By releasing a bunch of scary stuff.
A remake of “The Omen,” the 1976 movie about an evil kid named Damien, is being released in theaters today worldwide except in Slovenia (they have to way until the 8th) — releasing a movie on a Tuesday is almost unheard of. The updated version stars Julia Stiles and Liev Schreiber star as the parents of the devil child and early buzz about the movie is pretty good.
Underworld: Evolution, the sequel to the 2003 vampire/werewolf scifi/horror/love story staring Kate Beckinsale hits the DVD shelves as does an unrated version of “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” the film that broke up Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt. EVIL!AFI, a group in the same vein as My Chemical Romance, is releasing its seventh CD, “Decemberunderground,” which has some good early momentum from its first single “Miss Murder.”

Let's try this again!

So, some of you who were trying to download our latest Podcast were sent to another Website.
Because of that minor glitch, we are not listed on iTunes yet...d'oh!
After trying to workout issues with that site, I have decided to give up and try another site on for size.
Here's a like to Podcast #2 on its new host, hopefully this works out better! And thank you for being so patient!

MADMADMEDIAPODCAST#2

Red Hot Controversy

Dig the new Red Hot Chili Pepper’s song “Dani California?” A lot of people do, but a Delaware Radio station is saying there may be another reason for it’s mass appeal, besides it being a rocking song.
Producer Jared Morris of WGMD Radio in Delmarva, DE, posted a Podcast on the Internet to show “Dani California” is incredibly similar to Tom Petty’s “Mary Jane’s Last Dance.” I’ll be honest, the first time I heard about this, I thought it was ridiculous, but after hearing his Podcast, the similarities are undeniable. (Though it does sound like they played both songs at different speeds to help prove their point).Check it out by clicking HERE and listen to the comparison. Then, come on back and tell us what you think.

Chris Richards

Hey, if you're here to check out Sheboygan native Chris Richards' music, you're in the right place. Here are two songs off of his Tumblers & Grit CD from his Web site.

To Sing The Blues

Crazy Too

To find out more, check out Chris' Web site HERE.
And while you're here, check out the Mad Mad Media Podcast #2 below!

PODCAST #2

MADMADMEDIAPODCAST#2

After all of the headaches, the computer problems, the delays, the errrrrrrrr, it is finally here. This edition of the Mad Mad Media Podcast features music from the Steel Bridge SongFest 2 in Sturgeon Bay June 8, 9 and 10.
To learn more about the festival and the artists on the Podcast scroll down.

I hope you enjoy it, and we'll have another one for you in two weeks...if my head doesn't explode first! Click to listen, right click to download. This is a large file and it may take a while. Please be patient.

Steel Bridge SongFest2

What: Steel Bridge SongFest 2
When: June 8, 9, 10
Where: Sturgeon Bay, WI- various venues including: Nautical Inn, 234 Kentucky St., (920) 743-3399; Pooh's Corner, 164 N 3rd Ave, (920) 743-3933; Red Room, 66 S 3rd Ave., (920) 743-3913; Bluefront Cafe, 306 S 3rd Ave, (920) 743-9218; Andre's Food & Spirits, 23 West Oak St. (920)743-4179; Stone Harbor, 107 N 1st Ave, (920) 746-0700, Pudgy Seagull Restaurant, 113 N 3rd Ave., (920) 743-5000; Great Lakes Yacht Services, 61 Michigan St., (920) 746-6247.
Who: 60 bands from just about every genre including Jackson Brown, Pat MacDonald, Corrina Wannish, Todd Carey, pat mAcdonald, Andy’s Automatics, Corey Carlson, Sleeper Car, The Championship, Ellie Maybe and the One Ray Band, High On Stress, Emilie Rose Bishop and More!
Price: Free (donations are recommended and reserve passes are available for donations $25 or more).

Find out more about the festival by clicking HERE.
Find out the history of Steel Bridge SongFest by clicking HERE.
Find out the schedule by clicking HERE.
Find out all of the bands playing the festival by clicking HERE.
Find out more about contacting organizers by clicking HERE.

Song 1: Mo Rose

Artist: Mo Rose
Song: “Nobody Sleeps”
From: Green Bay
Style: Folk/Country/Blues
Fun fact: Played football according to his MySpace site. His jersey was #23.
Playing: June 9 and 10 at Pooh’s; June 10 at SBSF.
Link: MySpace

Song 2: The Championship

Artist: The Championship
Song: “This Is How It Begins”
From: Milwaukee
Style: Indie/Rock
Fun fact:
Playing: June 9 at Andre’s; June 10 at SBSF.
Link: Website
Link: MySpace

Song 3: Fun With Atoms

Artist: Fun With Atoms
Song: "Star Love"
From: Green Bay
Style: Alternative/Rock
Fun fact: Recorded with Butch Vig at Smart Studios in Madison before Vig produced Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins.
Playing: June 10 at SBSF and Nautical Inn.
Link: Website

Song 4: Dorothy Scott

Artist: Dorothy Scott
Song: “Loving Arms”
From: New York
Style: Folk/Jazz
Fun fact: "Restless Machinery" was chosen as #1 in local favorites (NYC) “chart section” in Rolling Stone Magazine June 2002
Playing: June 8 at Blue Front; June 10 SBSF
Link: Website


photo by Denise Jalbert

Song 5: Beach Patrol

Artist: Beach Patrol
Song: “Amelia”
From: Green Bay/Milwaukee
Style: Rock
Fun fact: Putting finishing touches on debut CD, “It’s Only Greener ‘Til You Get There.”
Playing: June 9 at Andre’s
Link: MySpace

Song 6: Pat MacDonald

Artist: Pat MacDonald
Song: “SteelBridgeSong”
From: Green Bay
Style: Blues/Folk/Rock
Fun fact: Co-founder of SBSF.
Playing: June 9 at Blue Front; June 10 SBSF
Link: MySpace
Link: Website

Again with the podcast

So, this morning at 10 a.m. I put the finishing touches on Podcast #2. It took twice as long as the first one, and I think my computer is about to blow up.
The big news about it though is, if I pushed all of the buttons right, it should be available on iTunes (FOR FREE) next week. The company is currently reviewing it.
So I've got that going for me.
The Podcast will be available after 5 p.m. on this site. Stop on by and check it out!

Everything is going to be OK. I just know it.

As the day has gone on, I'm getting the feeling that everything is going to be OK. The Podcast will be done, there will be no problems getting it online, and I'm even pretty sure everyone will be able to subscribe to it through iTunes starting this weekend (about a month ahead of schedule).
And I even have some work done on the next Podcast, which is going to be very exciting. That though, I will have to tell all of you about in a week or so.
It's getting a little easier to breathe right now. I think everything is going to be OK.

A pickle of a Podcast

It’s never a problem doing something for the first time. That was true with the first Mad Mad Media Podcast. Everything came together in a week, the recording was a breeze, and uploading it on the net was seamless.
The second time is proving to be more complicated.
I have been running into nothing but problems, including technical difficulties pulling songs off of the web, script problems, all of a sudden I forgot how to read into a microphone, and to top it all off I have been trying to get the Podcast registered through iTunes so anyone can subscribe to it, and that’s just a gigantic headache.
I would start screaming, but the people here in the office probably wouldn’t like that so much. But I am screaming in my head.
LOUD!
The Podcast will be up tomorrow. I swear it will be. But man-oh-man, this one was a lot harder than the first one.
I better get to work on #3 a lot sooner!