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Nope, I'm back. And yes, I do feel like Michael Corleone in "The Godfather III." You know, "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in."
How long is this reincarnation of yours truly as the music maven going to last? Who knows? It could be a temporary deal until a more savvy musical type comes along, or it could be more long term situation where I once again use this as a forum to run off at the keyboard.
So, why don't we get right to it? I mean, I've got six months of music to catch up on in one week, you know? The tack I'm taking is commenting on some of the more interesting music stories of the past six months and throwing in my two cents.
* Why-100? What could Radio One be thinking? I mean, how do people get put in charge of multi-million dollar corporations and then screw it up to high heaven.
Taking Y-100 off the air was the radio bizz equivalent of making Gilligan the captain of an America's Cup boat. It's just something that should have never happened.
My gripe is not a knock at the new 100.3. There is definitely a market for urban contemporary music. Power 99 has had a stranglehold on that genre for some time and the folks over at Radio One - the parent company for Y-100 - felt they had a strong enough product up the dial at 103.9 that they could finally give the regents of radio rap a run for their money.
Fine, but at the expense of the lone modern rock radio station in the Philadelphia listening area?
How about this novel idea? Instead of blowing up the rock format, move the urban stuff down the dial so it's much closer to 99 and move the rock up to 103.9, where fans could listen to their favorite modern day rock artists.
Instead, they decided that a Gospel station has more mass appeal. Isn't that like suggesting Janet Jackson was a better Super Bowl halftime act than Paul McCartney? I mean, come on. No disrespect for fans of Gospel music, but that's a radio format more suited for a small AM station, not a top-flight spot on the FM band. Especially at the demise of one of the area's best modern rock stations.
* False 'Idol'
When will someone other than me start crying "foul" with the most corrupt show on television - "American Idol?" I mean, we've sunk to new lows this season.
How about the whole re-air, re-vote debacle last week because they accidentally listed the wrong phone numbers? Are you kidding me? That can not happen. How come no one suggests that maybe, just maybe, FOX is dictating the voting and not really letting America decide.
Or, if they are on the up-and-up in the vote tallying process, how come no one questions their blatant promotion of ballot-box stuffing?
They recommend that fans of the show vote as often as they like for their favorite contestants. Imagine the furor in the country if we allowed the electorate to vote more than once for President.
This voting style doesn't show you who is the best contestant, nor who is the most popular, but proves to you who has the ability to cheat the most and set up a phone dialing system to have more votes cast than everyone else. But does FOX care? Hardly. They're rolling in the bucks from their biggest TV hit ever, and America follows along like a herd of sheep.
And does Simon Cowell deserve $7 million a season to make pre-written snide comments? No.
I wish it would go away - kind of like some previous winners (Kelly Clarkson excluded). You know why? Because these contestants really aren't that good.
* Surviving Delco-style
I know this isn't music-oriented, but I just felt I needed to throw some props the way of Darby Township's Stephenie LaGrossa who is kicking some serious butt on the latest installment of the CBS reality show "Survivor."
As a "Survivor" fan who has missed only one episode in the six-year run of the show, I can honestly say she is the best female contestant the game has ever seen.
She doesn't whine, she's not a freeloader. She works hard, and she's far and away the best athlete the show's ever seen.
Unfortunately, it's going to take a miracle for her to get to the end of the game and win since she was put on a tribe with eight of the most inept contestants in the history of any competition, but she's done nothing but make Delco proud. The show airs on Thursday nights on CBS.
Get Marooned at Temple
* They've been on the road for two years straight, but that hasn't stopped Maroon 5 from their meteoric rise up the music charts. They "will be loved."
Since releasing their rhythm and blues and funk infused "Songs About Jane" in 2002, Maroon 5 has turned from late '90s, post-grunge, alterna-rock dudes, into a unique amalgam of the roots of rock and soul that is taking the country by storm.
Tonight, they play at the Liacouris Center on the campus of Temple University, a great, intimate location for a band of this stature.
Tickets are still available at the Liacouris Center box office. If you're free tonight, go see this band and I promise you'll come away with an appreciation for their genre you may never have had before.
Looking ahead to summer
* The summer concert series promises to be bigger and better than ever, and the tickets going on sale this week only justify that expectation.
Take for example two huge shows going on at the Tweeter Center.
Returning to the area for two summer shows is the Dave Matthews Band, who's new album - "Stand Up" - will be in stores on May 10. They will arrive on the Camden waterfront on July 5 and 6 with both shows starting at 8 p.m. Tickets go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. and are $54 and $36.50 for lawn seats.
To chronicle the making of the new record, their first studio album since 2002's "Busted Stuff," the band launched a Web site dedicated to the project. On the Web site (www.dmbnewstudioalbum.com) fans can see taped interviews with band members and new producer Mark Batson. The Web site is a bird's-eye-view into the making of the new album.
* Not to be overshadowed, the Tweeter Center will welcome the legendary James Taylor back to the stage on July 8.
Tickets go on sale Monday at 10 a.m. and vary in price from $69.50 for the orchestra seats to $20 for the lawn. If you've never seen Taylor live in concert, this is the perfect opportunity. A warm summer night, outdoors and some of the sweetest folk-rock you'll ever hear.
Local spotlight on Media siblings
* It's extremely rare that a brother and sister launch their individual recording careers at precisely the same time, but that's what's happening at Stairway Records with the simultaneous release of CDs and DVDs from world-flavored singer-songwriter Jenn Stang and her brother Emmett, a budding guitarist whose brawny power trio is simply called Stang.
Both Jenn and Emmett, transplanted Canadians now residing in Media, each are releasing a live CD and DVD, all of which are titled "Live at the Grape Street Philadelphia" and they're celebrating their arrival as recording artists together at the scene of the recordings - with a double CD/DVD release party, Tuesday at Grape Street Philadelphia, 4100 Main St. in the Manayunk section of Philadelphia. Show time is 8 p.m. Admission is FREE.
Mainstays on Philadelphia area stages for the past year, they recently were asked to compose a song together for the Rainforest Foundation, and also recorded music for Cher with Grammy-nominated songwriter Eric Bazilian ("One of Us") of the Hooters, with whom they will soon be writing.
Just Wonderingv * All right, I must admit, when my e-mail inbox went from being filled with fun interaction between myself and Delco's music aficionados to dealing with irate hockey fans, I was a bit forlorn. So, I'm looking forward to having old friends respond this week and breathe life back into the Daily Times e-mail server. With that, I'll ask a simple question to ease our way back in.
I find that when I'm driving around, I grow tired of listening to the same CD compilations that I burned on my computer because certain songs got old real quick. Yet, there are always a couple songs that I never grow tired of, no matter how many times I hit the repeat button.
So I ask you, what songs in your collection can you listen to a million times, and never skip over when they come on? Send your responses to asanfilippo@delcotimes.com and I'll print your responses here next week.
