Yahoo Music & Gracenote Offer Free Music Lyrics with Songs
Yahoo Music & Gracenote are now offering not only songs but the accompanying music lyrics each time a song is purchased and downloaded. This service is also free. The new service by
Yahoo Music and Gracenote mean that customers now can get lyrics that are legal, licensed and accurate, according to the publishers.
Gracenote is saying that the lyrics to popular songs that are downloaded are more accurate than some websites carrying thousands of music lyrics. This is because Gracenote gets its lyrics directly from music publishers, official songbooks, album liners and other official sources.
If you're old enough to remember record albums, which typically had lyrics printed on the backs of the album, album sleeves or in enclosed printed material, you'll know how painful the transition to CD was when most music lyrics started falling out of the plastic jackets into oblivion.
This is precisely why many online lyrics websites have been so popular since the beginning of the Internet, to fill this void that music publishers have failed to fill. While our website only lists a few popular song lyrics for education purposes with a critique of each, some websites offers literally hundreds of thousands of lyrics of varying degrees of reliability.
I don't see Yahoo Music and Gracenote as directly competing with these large lyrics databases. But, rather, Yahoo Music and Gracenote will be complimenting them as another source for music lovers to turn to who want to be assured that when they buy music they will also be receiving accurate lyrics. In the end, the music buyer will win and that's what it's all about now isn't it?
Cal Akbar Lyrics Get Firefighting Rapper in Hot Water
According to the Associated Press, a Philadelphia, City of Brotherly Love, brother Rodney Jean-Jacques, who goes by the name Cal Akbar may get fired from the Fire Department for some anti-police lyrics he has written. Cal Akbar apparently wants to turn "pigs into bacon bits" and the firefighting higher ups are reeling as the Philadelphia Police Union is squealing to get Jean-Jacques tossed off the force.
Cal Akbar's persona met with a non grata today over his Sin City, Vol. 1 album, which was released to the Internet last week through Akbar's Larsiny Records website. Though Akbar may have been told in the past to not quite his day job, the matter now may not be in his control as the controversial firestorm over the firefighting rapper continues.
Bad Lyrics Take the Cake (or Cookie)
There's an article in the
Fort Wayne News Sentinel by Celia Rivenbark called "I Love Bad Lyrics Like a Fat Kid Loves Cake" that I would like to talk about today.
Ms. Rivenbark makes some very good and insightful points, most of which I wholeheartedly agree with, for sure.
For instance, Ms. Rivenbark bags on bands like America, The Steve Miller Band (who hold my favorite from the
Worst Music Lyrics list), Hilary Duff, John Mayer, Shakira and even the Black Eyed Peas. Okay, I will give her those. I can see the point.
But, there is one artist's lyrics that I'm not budging on. And that is Puff Daddy or P. Diddy or just Diddy's line "Young, black, and famous, with money hanging out the anus" from the song "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" from the
Now Way Out album.
C'mon, Cece! These are great lyrics. Sure, they're a bit crude, but they sure do paint a picture, now don't they? I mean these beat the heck out of America's "A Horse with No Name" or the Steve Miller Band's "Abracadabra". Give the Puff-meister some credit here. How many artists are currently rhyming famous with anus? So, since you're into baked goods, send the man some Famous Amos cookies and call it a day. What'd ya say?
American Idol Songwriter Contest Back On
In a reversal of fortune for songwriters from a week ago, the
American Idol Songwriter Competition is now back on. Just last week, producers were reporting that due to overwhelming demands of the show's regular responsibilities, the
American Idol Songwriter Competition would be nixed.
The winning songwriter will have their song performed on the finale of American Idol in front of approximately 40 million plus viewers and have their song released as well. The last five winning songs on
American Idol's unofficial songwriting competition have hit the number one spot on the Billboard charts.
The
American Idol Songwriter website offers a few tips for those wanting to write hit song lyrics for the competition. They even offer advice for those wanting to record a song for the
American Idol Songwriter Competition on their home PC or Mac computers. There is a $10 entry fee, but for the songwriter who hits it big, this will be the best investment of their lifetime.
School of Rock in Vancouver Washington
An article in
The Columbian online newspaper out of Vancouver, Washington tells the tale of a teacher who used to be a lyric writer who uses some of his old lyrics to teach high school kids about writing. Apparently, teacher Randy Cate used to write lyrics for Ted Nugent, Dionne Warwick and others.
Mr. Cate uses some of the different versions of his old lyrics to teach the kids about how to rewrite songs while playing a music video of Ted Nugent. This sounds like it could be the sequel to Jack Black's "School of Rock" and, unlike the original, Mr. Cate will get to keep his job.
