R.I.P. Alex Chilton

William Alexander Chilton was born in Memphis, Tennessee on December 28, 1950. He was a guitarist, singer and producer best known for the pop-music bands Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton grew up around musicians and his career launched during his teen years.

After living in New York during the 70's he moved to New Orleans. Here he put his music career on hold for a few years. He then started playing with Panther Burns. After he finished recording with Panther Burns in mid-1984 he started focusing on his solo career and put together his own band. Chilton dragged with him Panther Burns' bassist Coman and added Doug Garrison as his drummer. The three of them quickly got to work and by 1985 they had already released they're first album.Alex Chilton had a very successful career, both as a composer and as an artist. Many famous artists performed his songs with their own interpretations.

Today Alex Chilton died in New Orleans. He had been complaining during the day about how he didn't feel to well and when he was taken to the hospital it was too late. They think it was caused by heart problems, maybe a heart attack, but nothing has been confirmed. May he rest in peace and he will surely be remembered by his fans, friends, and family.

Latin Representation

Juan Luis Guerra was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on June 7, 1957. He studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston. He made it to Boston with an attraction to jazz, which didn't quite work out with him. He has dedicated his career to sing and compose "merengue", "bachata" and "salsa". This is what he has been doing all of his life and has won many Latin Grammys along the way of his career.

Guerra often sings about the economic and political situation that many people living in Latin American countries have in common. He has a song called "El Costo de la Vida" (The Price of Life); he talks about all the expenses people face on a day to day basis yet the government doesn't care and these prices keep rising while people still don't earn enough money. It is very hard for poor people in these countries to survive and keep their families alive while the government keeps them prisoners and penny-less.

Although he's from the Dominican Republic he sings about neighboring Latin American countries and raises awareness of what is really going on. Although his music usually protests world situations they are usually up beat and can liven any party. Juan Luis Guerra is also a romantic and sings beautiful love songs, not just depressing protest songs.

Juan Luis Guerra will be a part of the New Orleans Jazz Fest this year. He will be performing on April 25. I am very excited to be able to see him perform since he is one of my favorite Latin artists. It's always a lot of fun to dance some "merengue", "salsa", or "bachata".

Inmate Carter

Dwayne Michael Carter has been sentenced to a year in jail for gun possession. His sentence began on February 9, 2010 at a correctional facility in Ricker's island. It's been three years since his arrest in New York City.

Wayne's fans are heartbroken because he will not be able to record any new songs or put out a new record during his sentence. Lil' Wayne was sure that he'd be able to stay on top of his work "I'll have an ipod and I'll make sure they keep sending me beats", is what he said to the Rolling Stone magazine. Little did he know that he would only have access to an AM/FM radio and earphones.

Wayne has been around the public eye for almost a decade, being one of the most famous and popular rap artists of his time. He has become a role model to the younger population, which isn't something our population needs. He encourages teenagers to become involved in drugs, derogatory towards women, and use of guns and weapons. Wayne might be considered a genius for the music he produces in the rap genre, but he surely isn't role model material.

"Ignorance is Bliss"

Most people are ignorant to the fact that a company such as Clear Channel Corporation exists. They run the majority of the radio stations in the U.S. and some American radio stations around the world. These people program stations and decide what music the public, depending on age and other social factors, will listen to. When only one company is in control of so many stations the variety of songs and exposure of certain artists is very limited. This means that when Clear Channel decides against a song or an artist, they won't have any air time on millions of radio stations, quickly losing popularity.

A corporation as powerful as Clear Channel is a double edged sword for us, because music is one of the main components of shaping our society. When we loose the power to choose what we want to listen to and what we don't we just all grow into liking the same songs. When we listen to the radio it's always the same songs playing because that's what they're trying to sell and make us like.

I'm sure a lot people are unaware that a corporation like Clear Channel even exists and that's the biggest problem. They think that what radio stations classify as the best music out there really is. They don't take time to look for less popular bands and artists out there who are producing music with important and powerful meaning. There are some, not many, but some independent radio stations out there, which are a lot more reliable as to the variety they'll play. These radio stations are slowly being shut down one by one as Clear Channel gets stronger and stronger.

Our generation has to support music in many different ways other than through popular radio stations and t.v. channels. We need to support our local bands since their music might be 10 times better than many songs repeated on the radio, but no one will ever know if we just let them fail.