Powerhouse Radio Newsletter
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Holiday Gift Suggestions for the Old School Fan
December 8, 2004
This issue includes...
1) Holiday Gift Suggestions for the Old School Fan
2) Powerhouse Radio Songs: Rate them
3) Turntable Spin
4) Music News: Stevie Wonder Slams Eminem
5) Concert Dates: Who's on Tour?
6) The Broadband Haves and Have Nots
7) Miss Patti's Holiday Pot Roast
8) CD Reviews: Destiny's Child, Chaka Khan, Dionne Warwick
9) Summer 2004 Flashback: Isley Brothers in Concert
10)Send Your Feedback via email to King at Powerhouse Radio
Forward this issue to a friend
*Rescheduled*
Saturday December 11, 2004 maintenance...
For 6 - 9 hours, the Powerhouse Radio music will stop Saturday, December 11, beginning at approximately 6pm Eastern (3pm Pacific), as important computer system maintenance is completed.
1) Holiday Gift Suggestions for the Old School Fan (on your list)
Music gifts:
Here are 10 "best of CD's," from 10 great artists: Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, Chaka Khan, Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind & Fire, The Isley Brothers, Diana Ross, Patti Labelle, Prince, and Marvin Gaye. Click the links to go to the pages. 2021 Update: these links below have been sunset.
Aretha Franklin
Michael Jackson
Chaka Khan
Stevie Wonder
Earth Wind & Fire
Isley Brothers
Diana Ross
Patti Labelle
Prince
Marvin Gaye
Learn Something New Gifts:
Jermaine Griggs, the CEO of HearandPlay.com, who created the fabulous "Play Piano by Ear" course...
Play Piano by Ear
has a new GospelKeys202 course: "Mastering Worship Chords." Not only is this course great for any aspiring gospel musician, but the chords and progressions are used across different genres.
GospelKeys202 includes chords and voicing for R&B, jazz, and blues musicians. Check it out here:
Play Piano by Ear
Radio Gift of the Year:
Lastly, if you are in the USA, and the person on your gift list can handle the $10 per month subscription fee, I highly recommend both Sirius and XM satellite radio. All of the bigger retailers now carry these radios.
This is a higher end gift, but music and/or talk radio fans will absolutely love it.
2) Powerhouse Radio Songs: Rate them
We've selected 50 songs we'd like you to rate. This is a newsletter subscriber exclusive.
Cast your votes right now by going to:
(removed by the editor)
Rate as few or as many songs as you like on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 the lowest rating, and 5 the highest.
Tip: No need to close the little voting window after you rate the song, just click on the next "rate it" button of your choice.
Have fun!
3) Turntable Spin
Do you have some old vinyl discs hiding out in a closet? You're not alone, as over 30 billion phonograph records have been produced and sold worldwide in the last 100 years.
Several companies still make turntables to play these discs. Converting the audio into a digital format (like MP3) is becoming more important because of the archival value of the original vinyl records.
Analog turntables, (the old fashioned kind with needles), are available from several vendors, including:
Sam Ash Music
New laser turntables, developed by the Japanese in the late 1980's, substitute a pickup head with four laser beams (no needle) for contact free tracking of the vinyl disc. Laser turntables will even play cracked discs!
Laser turntables are very, very expensive, and are used commonly by libraries, universities, and museums. Look to spend $10,000 or more for one of these.
You can pick up an inexpensive analog turntable for less than $99, to transfer some of your old vinyl sides to your computer.
Convert tracks to the MP3 format (for use with an iPod like device). You'll need MP3 software.
Plug the turntable into an inexpensive mixer console from a company like Radio Shack, then plug the output of the mixer into your PC's sound card input.
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written by King for the Powerhouse Radio Newsletter
4) Music News: Stevie Wonder Slams Eminem
Stevie Wonder
----------------
Motown Stevie has blasted Eminem for making fun of Michael Jackson in a controversial video. Wonder, in a rare press statement to Billboard Magazine, explained that "kicking someone when he's down is not a good thing."
Other Wonder thoughts about Eminem: "I have much respect for his work, though I don't think he's as good as (the late) 2Pac."
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5) Concert Dates: Who's on Tour?
Brenda Russell, Dave Koz
Friday, December 10, 2004
Nob Hill Masonic Center
San Francisco, CA
Gerald Levert
Friday, December 10, 2004
Tower Theatre
Upper Darby, PA
Afrika Bambaataa
Friday, December 10, 2004
Club Six
San Francisco, CA
Boyz II Men
Sunday, December 12, 2004
Westbury Music Fair
Westbury, NY
Alicia Keys
Monday, December 13, 2004
Tweeter Center
Camden, NJ
Vanessa Williams
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Kravis Center for the Performing Arts
West Palm Beach, FL
7:00pm
Lionel Richie
Saturday, December 18, 2004
Caesars Circus Maximus Theater
Atlantic City, NJ
9:00pm
Dionne Warwick
Saturday, December 18, 2004
Chisholm Trail Coliseum
Enid, OK
Pointer Sisters, Rose Royce
Friday, December 31, 2004
Hyatt Regency San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
Teena Marie
Friday, December 31, 2004
House of Blues
West Hollywood, CA
Chaka Khan
Saturday - Sunday, January 15 - 16, 2005
Resorts Casino
Atlantic City, NJ
8:00pm
Gerald Levert
Sunday, January 16, 2005
Atlantic Civic Center
Atlanta, GA
B.B. King, Bobby Blue Bland, & Clarence Carter
Sunday, January 16, 2005
DAR Constitution Hall
Washington, DC
7:00pm
Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Paramount Theatre
Denver, CO
Gap Band
Friday - Saturday, February 4 - 5, 2005
Mohegan Sun Casino
Uncasville, CT
Jill Scott
Thursday - Friday, February 10 - 11, 2005
Paramount Theatre
Oakland, CA
6) The Broadband Haves and Have Nots
In a new report by the U.S. Commerce Department, just 1 in 7 African Americans, and fewer than 1 in 8 Hispanics, live in a household with fast Broadband Internet service.
High-speed Internet connections are in the homes of 1 in 4 white Americans.
In urban population areas, 40.4% of households use DSL or high speed cable Internet connections, compared to only 24.7% of rural users.
The three main reasons why most Americans say they don't use a broadband Internet service at home:
"It's too expensive."
"I don't need it."
"Broadband is not available where I live."
Currently, the USA is behind South Korea, Taiwan, and Canada in at home broadband usage.
Check out the report:
A Nation Online: Entering the Broadband Age...
https://www.ntia.doc.gov/report/2004/nation-online-entering-broadband-age
7) Miss Patti's Holiday Pot Roast
Patti Labelle has written two tasty cookbooks. She recently appeared with celebrity chef G. Garvin on the TV One television network to cook up some holiday magic.
Garvin and Labelle hit it off together, and it was a fun show. Here's Patti's Holiday Pot Roast recipe...
2021 Update: Recipe removed by TV One
Garvin's show is called: Turn Up the Heat with G. Garvin
Want some wild recipes emailed to you several times per week from a large community of food lovers who share recipes?
You can check out Willie Crawford's site:
https://www.chitterlings.com/
Chitlins' baby. Believe it!
8) CD Reviews: Destiny's Child, Chaka Khan, Dionne Warwick, Ray Charles
Destiny's Child: Destiny Fulfilled
--------------------------------------
Better than most of the reviewers give it credit for. The maturing ladies of DC dish out the tunes. R&B is emphasized even more on this release.
Song lyrics reflect a more mature point of view. "Lose My Breath" is the exception. It's simply a dance floor jam.
Chaka Khan: ClassiKhan
-----------------------------
Straightforward jazz standards. Excellent. Even the novelty of Chaka tackling a couple of James Bond themes deliver: (Goldfinger, and Diamonds are Forever). Not one dud on this CD. You'll want to listen to this collection all night long!
Dionne Warwick: My Favorite Time Of The Year
---------------------------------------------------------
Dionne, why did you wait almost 40 years to record your first Christmas album? A great singer can interpret any song and make it his or her own. Dionne does just that with this material.
The guest star duets are a slam dunk, with Gladys Knight, Dave Koz, and Bebe Winans in the spotlight. Great mix of the traditional with the contemporary.
Ray Charles: Genius Loves Company
---------------------------------
Somewhat disappointing. Ray was not in the best of health before his passing, when some of these collaboration duet tracks were recorded. There are several misses here among the songs recorded with various "star" artists (who sing with Ray).
The standouts: Ray & Gladys Knight for "Heaven Help Us All," Ray & B.B. King for Sinner's Prayer," and Ray & Natalie Cole with "Fever."
The other "company" teaming with the "genius" include Norah Jones, James Taylor, Diana Krall, Elton John, Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Van Morrison, and Michael McDonald.
Genius Loves Company has been nominated for 7 Grammy Awards.
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Mini Reviews written by King for the Powerhouse Radio Newsletter
9) Summer 2004 Flashback: Isley Brothers in Concert
The Isley Brothers, lead by Ronald and Ernie, on the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum, Philadelphia PA, performed in front of just slightly under 1 million people on July 4, 2004.
So what's a 2004 Isley Brothers Concert like? Here's their musical set, in order of performance:
1) Between the Sheets
2) Footsteps in the Dark
3) Who's That Lady
4) It's Your Thing
5) Twist and Shout
6) This Old Heart of Mine
7) For The Love of You
8) Busted
9) Voyage to Atlantis
10)Summer Breeze
11)Keep it on the Down Low
12)Contagious
13)Shout
45 minutes of hits. Compared to an Isley Brothers/Graham Central Station concert I saw back in the day, this show was better, because Ron Isley, like a fine wine, only gets better with age.
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More Christmas music, both contemporary and traditional, from the artists you love, will be coming to PowerhouseRadio.com for our 4th annual non-stop music holiday spectacular, so check it out as we get closer to Christmas.
10) Send Your Feedback via email to King at Powerhouse Radio
Don't be left out, because we're listening. Leave your comments, feedback, or music requests here:
https://powerhouseradio.com/contact.html
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Our newsletter archive contains every article that we have published since June of 2002.
Check out all of our back issues in HTML format at:
https://powerhouseradio.com/newsletters/newsletters.html
Until the next newsletter in 2005,
Happy Holidays
Copyright 2004 by Powerhouse Radio
All rights reserved
Powerhouse Radio
https://powerhouseradio.com
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More 2004 Powerhouse Radio Newsletters:
| November - | Broadband Wars: Cable vs. DSL and Internet Radio |
| June - | Ray Charles on the Radio |
| May - | Marvin Gaye Remembered |
| March - | Chaka Khan's Triumph |
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