If you are secretly (or not so secretly) a fan of American Idol, I’m here to tell you it’s okay. Here is why I am not ashamed – I don’t watch because I love the contestants. I think America hardly ever gets it right. I watch to see the ‘mentors!’: Huge stars from eras past: Neil Diamond, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Dolly Parton, and Mariah Carey (who is still producing mega-hits, so maybe shouldn’t be categorized as from a past era…) 

Instead of crying when your favorite gets the boot, take some time to add some oldies to your playlist. They will be around a lot longer than whatever terrible song they choose for the winner to sing at the finale:

* Neil Diamond – The Movie Album

* Andrew Lloyd Webber - Evita

* Dolly Parton – Treasures

* Mariah Carey – #1s

We just subscribed to a new music service called Finetune…and everyone at the library LOVES it! You create your own unique playlists, and as long as  you don’t select more than 3 songs by the same artist, it is considered Internet radio (and therefore, free.)

You can’t download the songs – it is more like a custom radio station playing only the songs you want to hear! You can also go to their site and listen to Artist Radio – playlists created or inspired by an incredible number of musicians and bands. It’s a great way to find new music. On our Finetune player, we have songs from the teen music collection – some of which might surprise you.

Make your own Finetune playlist, and send us the code – we’ll post it on our page for everyone to hear. And as always, if there is music you need that we don’t have, just tell us – we’ll get it for you.

…is just one of the things being said about award-winning soul singer/rehabbing train wreck Amy Winehouse. But wouldn’t you know, the band producer Mark Ronson chose to back Ms. Winehouse on her groundbreaking Back to Black album are The Dap-Kings, who, with lead singer Sharon Jones, have been reviving the funk/soul/blues sound of the ’60s for over ten years now!

We have their newest album, 100 Days, 100 Nights in our collection. So if you can’t get enough of the Winehouse sound, we suggest you check out Ms. Jones. You will not be disappointed.

Maybe it has something to do with being librarians: We love collecting things, and we love collections – short stories, anthologies and…soundtracks!

Sometimes your new favorite song is something you heard not on the radio, but in a movie or on a TV show. What is great about soundtracks is that you find both new artists and songs you’ve never heard by artists you already love all rolled together.

 Some soundtracks to check out:

* Juno featuring the Moldy Peaches

* Once by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova

* Grey’s Anatomy featuring Tegan and Sara

* Into the Wild by Eddie Vedder

* Across the Universe featuring The Secret Machines

 

 

The end of the year means (in addition to awards) the presenting of ‘Best of’ and ‘Worst of’ Lists for just about everything, and our go-to source for pop culture, Entertainment Weekly magazine, is no exception. What do you think of their choices?

EW’s choices for best songs of the year:

Umbrella by Rihanna (feat. Jay-Z)

You Know I’m No Good by Amy Winehouse

No One by Alicia Keys

And their picks for worst album of 2007?:

Curtis by 50 Cent

Dreaming Out Loudby OneRepublic

Souljaboytellem.com by Soulja Boy

There is a section of our Music collection that sits, dusty and forlorn, for eleven months out of the year. Then, for one month…it vanishes!

Of course, I am talking about our Holiday music collection, located behind our non-fiction DVDs and videos.

With so many artists putting out holiday collections – including the omnipresent, Colbert-defeating Barry Manilow, who knows where to begin? For me, it’s not really the holiday season without the right tunes playing – and that means one thing: A Charlie Brown Christmas by the Vince Guaraldi Trio.

Want the same musical feel without the holiday vibe? Check out Linus and Lucy, in our Jazz section. (In case you were wondering, that’s the name of the song we all associate with Peanuts!)

Come to the Teen Room for some new tunes, including, but not limited to…

*None Shall Pass by Aesop Rock

* The Con by Tegan and Sara

* One Cell in the Sea by A Fine Frenzy

* Finding Forever by Common

* Canon by Ani DiFranco

* Once Original Soundtrack

* Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga by Spoon

 

 

Due to popular demand, we are throwing another Wizard Rock party at the library. This time, we will play host to three bands: The Whomping Willows, Draco and the Malfoys, and Justin Finch-Fletchley and the Sugar Quills!

 Still don’t know what Wizard Rock is? Well, it’s just original rock music based on the magical works of some author named J.K. Rowling (not be confused with her detective novel…)

Come to the concert on Friday, October 19 at 7 PM. It is free and open to all.

Learn a little more than you might want to know about some of you favorite Harry Potter characters…a sample lyric from a Whomping Willows tune:

Hermione, this is killing me
You’re seriously a tease just for existing close to me
My curiosity keeps me in captivity
You’re gonna make this tree
a slave to pure insanity
Five years it’s been since we first met
Now you’re kicking it with house elves
And you’re every teacher’s pet
But to you a tree is just a tree
What would it take for you to wake up and get next to me

You’ll never think of the Harry Potter books in the same way again!

Amy Winehouse has taken the U.S. music scene by storm, and now she’s…err…exhausted. So while the Rehab singer is resting, why don’t you check out some albums by the girl groups and jazz singers who influenced her throwback style:

Greatest Hits by Billie Holiday

Brazilian Romance by Sarah Vaughan

Ella and Louis Again by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong

The Ronettes (featured on Phil Spector: Back to Mono)

Martha and the Vandellas (featured on Motown #1s)

A new old album in our Teen department for you to enjoy: Grace by Jeff Buckley. Never heard of him? He was a rising star in the New York music scene who tragically drowned before beginning the recording of his second album. His work has inspired many current bands, and although the album is over 10 years old, the songs still feel relevant and fresh. Learn more about him in the book Dream Brother by David Browne.