Shania name-droppings...

[BamaGuyJP]

Laugh track

By Kathy Rumleski, Free Press Reporter

http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/Today/Entertainment/2005/10/22/pf-1273651.html


Derek Edwards

Age: 48

Hometown: Timmins

Years in the biz: 19

Appearances in London: Has been involved with the Comedy Fest and was last year's award winner as top male stand-up. A nine-year vet of the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal, Edwards is bringing his one-man show, Sleepless in Gogama, to the Grand Theatre on Nov. 27. The show, touring to 14 cities, is likened to taking a ride in a golf cart with a good friend and a six-pack.

First big laugh: "I'm still waiting. It's been 19 friggin years. Maybe in London."

Favourite joke target: He doesn't like to make fun of people. Instead, he zeroes in on the essence of Canadiana, what's in the news and current affairs. Also known to take shot at himself, wryly noting he's the second-best known entertainer from Timmins after Shania Twain.

Comedy Festival gig: Performing at the awards show tonight at the Wolf Performance Hall at 8 p.m.

Quote: Coming from the same town as Shania is "like being the second- best known person from Bethlehem. I'm screwed. Nobody remembers Duncan of Nazareth."

IF YOU GO

What: 2005 Canadian Comedy Awards & Festival

When: Till tonight

Tickets: Centennial Hall box office, by phone at 672-1967 or at www.centennialhall.london.ca

For more information: Call 263-5050 or visit www.canadiancomedyawards.ca

FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

Today

- 2 p.m., Jokers vs. Knights Alumni charity hockey game at John Labatt Centre; $10

- 3 p.m., Parenting With Humour; workshop featuring Kate Davis at the Grand Theatre's McManus Studio; $15

- 8 p.m., the 2005 Canadian Comedy Awards show, Wolf Performance Hall; $40

- 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., Randy and Mr. Lahey from the Trailer Park Boys, Yuk Yuk's; $25

A mini-profile of a comedian performing at the Canadian Comedy Festival


LOL...I thought this was cute and funny! :funny:

[Troll]

Thanks for the article.

[shania megafan]

Thanks for the article! :D

[matty]

Lol, thanks for posting :)

[GorToma]

thanks for posting :D:D

[Shonah]

thanks for the article

[canoilers]

That joke was once my signature, except when I heard it dave was the name. :D

[FinnFreak]

:p

ok - the thread name looks funny..? ;) - you should see my original idea...


This is the "Articles Where Shania's Name Is Briefly Mentioned, As Her Name Sells, Though The Article In Question Might Not Have Anything To Do With Shania At All, So We Don't Actually Consider It As News" -thread


So, that's what this thread is for - instead of filling the News & Articles forum with threads - post the less newsworthy mentions of Shania in here...


John - ;)

[Troll]

Good idea John. :up:

[FinnFreak]

Cape Argus - November 2, 2005

Martelize has the world in her sights

http://idols.mnet.co.za/ContentImages/Idols/images/MartelizevanNiekerk_LG.jpg


By Diane Hawker


Top eight Idols finalist Martelize van Niekerk may not have won, but this local star in the making still has her eye on the real prize.

Although she was booted from the popular M-Net reality TV show on Monday night, she has not given up her dream of becoming South Africa's hottest musical export.

The 19-year-old songbird says that while she would have liked to have stayed in the game longer, the fan base she has built up will be a firm footing for her career. "I just want to sing," she says.

Speaking from Johannesburg yesterday, she said: "I really wanted to be the Idol. Last night I cried my eyes out. You know, you don't want to believe that you might go. I didn't really see it coming.

"Last night when it happened, I think Colin (Moss) actually shed a tear. He didn't really cry, but in the ad break I saw him wiping his eye. Then he patted me on the back. That's when I thought it might be me."

Martelize describes herself as a "big softy", unlike Idols counterpart Deidre Visser who also left the show this week. "Deidre handled it so well," she said. "I didn't ever see her cry."

Sad as she may be, Martelize plans to put her dreams of releasing a chart topping album in motion. She plays piano and guitar and writes her own music, but says she has yet to decide on what style of music to pursue.

Fans were surprised to hear her launch into an up-tempo Shania Twain number on Sunday, which earned her mixed responses from the judges.

"I spoke to a couple of people after Sunday's performance and they said pop music wasn't my thing. I think people are more used to hearing me sing more slow, sad songs, but I don't want to do depressing music all the time."

Parents Ryno and Linda-Marie van Niekerk of Kuils River drove to Johannesburg to watch Sunday's Carnival City performance and were present at Monday night's elimination show.

"I thought she did quite well. She can be very proud of herself," said her mom. "I don't think it was her time to go. There are lots of people, her fans, who are very upset."

dianneh@incape.co.za


http://www.capeargus.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=49&fArticleId=2977161


Profile:

Martelize van Niekerk Status: Out

Age: 19
Starsign: Pisces

A girl with magic eyes, Martelize was born to sing and has been doing so since her teens. At 14, she appeared on Noot Vir Noot and she`s also toured alongside her sister performing Afrikaans music...

Place of residence: Kuilsrivier

Occupation: Full-time singer

Favourite artist/musician: Jamie Cullum, John Mayer ('I love blues and jazz - my cat is called Jazz!')

Favourite previous Idols: Heinz ('He's in my church')

Hobbies: Drawing and art

Formal training / experience: Sang in church choir; Musical Dolls in Namibia; singing tours with her sister

Audition song: `Nothin'`, Alicia Keys

Group stage songs: ''Unforgettable'', Natalie Cole; ''Pretty Baby'', Vanessa Carlton

Top 12 stage - Millennium Hits: 'The First Cut Is The Deepest', Sheryl Crow

Top 11 stage - Number One Hits from the 90s: 'Don't Speak', No Doubt

Top 10 stage - Music from the movies: ''All By Myself'', Jamie O’Neil (Bridget Jones’ Diary)

Top 9 stage - Viewers' Choice: 'Let The River Run', Carly Simon

Top 8 stage - How It Should Be Done: 'Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman', Bryan Adams

Top 8 stage - Music Video Hits: 'That Don't Impress Me Much', Shania Twain


John - ;)

[Esther]

heey that's a goood idea John! :up:

[Troll]

Area Woman Walks Nearly 200 Miles for a Cause*
Published Date: 10-29-2005 10:42*PM
It's not every day that you see a lone woman, sporting a bright orange vest, and walking along a busy highway. But this is no ordinary walk, and she's definitely no ordinary woman. News 12's Emily Carlson takes us along highway 60, where one woman has been inspired to trek nearly 200 miles, for a cause. Nat Trafficif you drive too fast, you'll miss Herit's loud the traffic is Loudsue Eichstadt is walking along side semis trucks racing past her at over 60 miles per hour this is no Frolick. Sue is determined to make a point. Affordable and accessible healthcare for all Mninspired by her mother in law, who can barely get by with all her medication costs, sue decided she was going to walk 154 miles from Windom to the state capitol and talk to legislators about making healthcare a Consitutional right. When she came up with this everyone told her she was crazy. Laurel is sue's Gaurdian angel in a red Minivan. She stops to feed sue protein and warm food while she walks an average of 35 miles per day. Anyone that's this dedicated the least I could do is Ridethis is the 5th hour of the first day of sue's week long trek. She hope by the time she gets there, she's cooled off a bit. When I get mad I walk my kids know when mom's upset out the door she goes. She wants to make sure legislators know she's upset with the price of healthcare and the way it does business. I made a comment to my friends that I Outta walk to the capitol and tell them what I think and maybe I'll cool down by the time I get there. Sue will walk most of the way by herself, but she says she always has Shania Twain tunes to keep her company. Along highway 60, Emily Carlson, news 12. Sue will celebrate her fiftieth birthday on Tuesday when she will walk up and over the hill in Le Sueur.*Watch the Video
http://www.keyc.tv/article/view/85478/

[aFinn]

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051102/BUSINESS/511020389/1003

Made in indiana
Company offers security to guitarists, photographers

What: Action Custom Straps, a family-owned business that makes straps for cameras and guitars.
History: Owner Terry Misner made his own camera strap in the late 1970s, planting the seed for a camera-strap business that operated until 1986. Action Custom Straps was relaunched in 1999 and guitar straps were added to its product line. Today, the company is run by Misner, his wife Dena, and daughter Nikki Misner O'Neal.



Products: Originally designed and handcrafted camera and guitar straps made with leather and snakeskin, as well as accessories that include wallets, money clips and flip-phone covers.
Notable clients: Jimmy Buffett, Jewel, Keith Urban, Kelly Clarkson, Martina McBride, Toby Keith and Shania Twain.


Website: www.actioncustomstraps .com

[cftennisnative3]

great idea .....I've always wished something like this would be made :p

[Troll]

Redneck Renaissance
Gretchen Wilson’s return to town makes us wonder, What’s really behind all these songs about Wal-Mart, cheap beer and NASCAR?
By John Nova Lomax

Published: Thursday, November 3, 2005


Don't look now, but in Nashville, there's a new moon (pie) on the rise. The big-city glitz and suburban kitchen-sink melodrama of Shania Twain and all those sensitive hot-tub and sippy-cup milquetoast wusses are out, and rollicking tunes about Busch beer, four-wheeling down at the mudhole in your honkin' new Chevy 4X4 and dipping Copenhagen are in.
Or so the bevy of redneck-themed songs on the charts would lead Racket to believe. This week, as the Muzik Mafia -- Big & Rich, Cowboy Troy and Gretchen Wilson, the "Redneck Woman" whose monster hit jump-started the whole shebang -- comes to town (see "Bling Twango," page 64), the Billboard country singles chart also sports Craig Morgan's "Redneck Yacht Club" in the two-hole and Jason Aldean's "Hicktown" at No. 11. Not to mention such redneck-simpatico songs as Neal McCoy's "Billy's Got His Beer Goggles On," Little Big Town's "Boondocks" and Joe Nichols's "Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off," all of which are also in the Top 20.

Country is no longer about domestic, suburban tranquillity, as it was just a couple of years ago. Today, it's all hard-drinking women and no-bull**** men. And no longer are rednecks painted as villains, as they often were in such 1970s songs as "Redneck Mother," or as critters only to be tolerated when they were modified somehow -- by the fact that they had long hair or smoked pot, say -- as they were in 1970s classics by Charlie Daniels, Hank Jr. and David Allan Coe.

Though rednecks have been a stock figure of country music since at least 1970, and there was a peak of Redneck Chic around the time Jimmy Carter was president and Burt Reynolds was still a matinee idol, they have never truly been celebrated just as they are, in all their barefoot, Mountain Dew-swilling, NASCAR-watching glory.

Or at least that's the way the people who write these songs would have you believe rednecks are. Some are better at it than others. "Boondocks" -- the super-smarmy Little Big Town hit -- is god-awful. It's a standard "I'm proud of where I come from" statement, but it's absolutely rife with clichés -- there's "muddy water in my veins," a midnight train, fishin' in the crawfish hole, a tin roof, a gravel road and, of course, a front porch. Gretchen Wilson, on the other hand, nailed it on "Redneck Woman" -- right down to claiming an encyclopedic knowledge of Tanya Tucker, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Hank Jr. Likewise, her delivery is convincing and infectious. And that's because Wilson was, in fact, raised as a redneck, just like she sang in the song.

Leslie Lindley, of traditionalist honky-tonk group Miss Leslie & Her Juke Jointers, has a background that is not too dissimilar to that of Wilson. Though she admits she grew up in suburbia, she says she knows her roots: "My dad's family picked cotton in Tennessee. My mom grew up eating the fish for supper that they caught that day."

I asked her what she thought of the current redneck craze on country radio. "I can have an appreciation for Big & Rich and Gretchen Wilson -- while I'm not a fan of their music -- for being themselves and true to who they are. But when you take an artist who grew up in the suburbs of a big city, was the high school cheerleader and has never knocked on the door of a trailer house, let alone lived in one, and have them sing a song about the good ol' days at the trailer park with a six-pack of Schlitz…I hate that."

And why would someone want to do something like that? You could argue that it's for authenticity's sake -- that it is as important for country singers to be perceived as rednecks as it is for gangsta rappers to be seen as "real-*** niggas." Neither wants to be seen as suburbanites -- the former has to be from a trailer park in Possumneck, Mississippi, while the latter has to be from the deadliest corner of the worst ghetto in their hometown.

Historian Thomas Sowell recently posited in The Wall Street Journal that black ghetto culture is identical to redneck culture, that the same code prevails in both the projects and the trailer park. As Sowell points out, the ancestors of the rednecks hailed from the poorest, most ignorant and most violent regions of the British Isles, and it was from them that black slaves picked up hair-trigger violence, intemperance and sexual promiscuity as well as a knack for pyrotechnic oratory, which was employed by both white segregationists and Martin Luther King. (And, debatably, today's rappers.) Sowell cites as proof the fact that during World War I, Northern blacks scored higher on IQ tests than Deep South whites. (Intriguingly, there are musical odes to Patrón tequila on both country and rap radio right now.)

But I believe there's more to it -- both in country and in hip-hop -- than a mere quest for authenticity. Otherwise, why would so many white suburban kids listen to hip-hop? They're not validating themselves as white people; what, then, are they doing? And why are so many morally upright, McMansion-dwelling, Tahoe-driving, Applebee's-eating suburban, professional college graduates reveling in songs about the joys of abject rural poverty and getting plastered?

Let's look at some of these songs a little more closely. It's a convention of virtually every "proud to be a redneck" song that you tout simple, cheap things at the expense of anything that offers even the barest whiff of sophistication.

Here's Wilson in "Redneck Woman": "No I can't swig that sweet champagne / I'd rather drink beer all night."

Here's Aldean, in "Hicktown": "We hear folks in the city party in martini bars / And they like to show off in their fancy foreign cars / Out here in the boondocks we buy beer at Amoco / And crank our Kraco speakers with that country radio."

And here's Little Texas, with "A Redneck Like Me": "I don't need no Porsche car / No pumped-up music or a whacked-out bar / No ghost-white chicky, dressed up like a bad, black dream…It don't take much to please a redneck like me."

And so on and on and on…There is absolutely no limit to what they'll say is too dadgum fancy-schmancy. Hell, Billy Ray Cyrus dares to say that even God's paradise is too dang highfalutin for a good ol' boy like him. He wants -- nay, demands -- that God quit getting above His station. "You can have your streets of gold / sawdust will do just fine," he sings on "Redneck Heaven." "And about those singing angels / Just give me Patsy Cline…Give me swingin' doors instead of pearly gates."

So clearly, you've got to have a couple of them-there "I don't need no fancy [insert desirable consumer item/eternal destination here]" lines.

Lindley's not buying the idea that these are genuine redneck sentiments. "If you're living in a trailer house, you're not really excited about living in a trailer house," she says.

Then who would be? Who's buying all these records?

Who else but the grass-is-always-greener set. "I love rednecks," Lindley says. "And I'd much rather be around people that know who they are and don't apologize for it. Which is maybe what people really wish they could have. Maybe they don't really want to live in a trailer or drink cheap beer while riding an ATV, but maybe they admire the fact that there are people who do and who are able to actually find happiness in their existence. They don't need new houses filled with new furniture, a brand-new car and the latest fashions -- or they don't feel a need to make everyone think that that's what they have."

Some of these songs are fairly blatant exercises in redneckery as middle-class wish fulfillment. The protagonist in John Michael Montgomery's "Paint the Town Redneck" is an office drudge who spends his workweek "dreamin' in color but livin' in black and white." He's eagerly anticipating Friday night, when his true artistry comes to the fore and he can be "a honky-tonkin' Michelangelo" and "Picasso with a pool stick" and bring a smile to the "Mona Lisa" in his life.

And on "Just Like a Redneck," Shannon Lawson (a Muzik Mafia member not appearing on this bill) is brave or stupid enough to spell it out explicitly. "I got my favorite white cotton muscle shirt on," he sings. "I'm gonna sit around and drink all day long / In my plastic pool, that I bought from the Wal-Mart / 'Cause it's Sunday afternoon and it's time for the race / I'm waitin' for Junior to take first place / But number 30 will always be in my heart / Ain't that just like a redneck? / Just like a redneck? / Don't you wish you could be one too? / Trade in your white collar for workin' man blues…"

A real, natural-born redneck like Merle Haggard -- who penned the original "Workin' Man Blues" -- would probably disagree with that sentiment. But what does he know? How many records has he sold lately?

http://www.houstonpress.com/Issues/2005-11-03/music/racket.html

[Troll]

Deceased professor missed by students, faculty
By Betsy Martinez / BBC Editor

From country music videos to field trips to a local jail, Donald Sneed did everything he could to ensure his students got the real-life experience portion of a college education.

Sneed, a journalism professor and country music fan, died three days short of his 61st birthday from a heart attack at his home in Plantation on Oct. 30.

Sneed graduated from Southern Illinois University where he earned a doctorate in journalism and mass communication.

Before coming to FIU in 1996 as department chair for the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, he taught at Texas A&M, the University of Mississippi and San Diego State, worked at several newspapers across the country as a writing coach and helped prison inmates develop news-writing skills.

Students, like Ana Ribeiro, remember Sneed as a person with a loaded heart and a great mentor.

"He always said he was proud of me, and he was the only person who encouraged me to pursue this profession," Ribeiro, a junior majoring in print journalism said.

Ribeiro recalls the last time she was able to speak to Sneed a few days ago.

"The last time I spoke to him he said, 'We have to meet up soon or else I'm going to run out of chances.' If there's an afterlife, I'm sure he's watching over his students," Ribeiro said.

Sneed was known for sending graded assignments by e-mail and students viewed him as the mascot of the journalism program.

"I got most assignments he sent by mail, but it wasn't so much about the grades. It was about the teaching," said senior Alex Mateo.

Senior, Daniel Diaz, a senior majoring in broadcast journalism recalls enjoying chocolate bars and watching videos with Sneed during class.

"What I remember most was that every time he put on a video he said, 'Here we go,'" said Diaz imitating Sneed's drawled Southern accent. "He also brought in expired Moose Bars and said they were a delicacy. We all ate them, and survived. He was the only professor I could actually talk to."

Sneed encouraged students to prepare for life after graduation by obtaining internships and clippings from local newspapers.

"I got my [Miami] Herald internship because of him. He told me to call editors by myself. He gave me a phone number and told me to call right away. I did, and I got the job," said Diana Sempere, a senior majoring in print journalism. "Now, every time I report I do it the way he taught us in class."

SJMC chair Allan Richards remembers the way Sneed welcomed him to FIU in 1997.

"During the summer I started working here he took this lowly adjunct to get his picture taken for a photo ID and library card. I couldn't figure out why a department chair would want to take a lowly adjunct like me on a campus tour - it was because he was a gentleman," Richards, said. "Don was admired, respected and loved by his students."

This semester Sneed was on sabbatical to complete a book on Ralph Renick, Miami's first television news anchor. His co-workers are eager to get the book published and say he kept them updated on it.

"He liked to send e-mails very early in the morning. He sent me e-mails about the progress of his book. And after interviewing Walter Cronkite he was trying to get him to write the foreword of the book," Richards said.

Sneed was also famous for sending e-mails about famous people who wear bow ties and the cost of life while his generation was growing up.

"He sent lots of e-mails. It's his strange and sarcastic sense of humor that'll be remembered most, and it all begins by looking at his office," said Pat Rose, associate dean of SJMC.

He left his dimly lit office stacked with newspapers dated decades ago. His desk is cluttered with about a hundred videotapes, and the shelves around the room hold over 300 books. A poster of Shania Twain smiling down on him decorated part of his wall.

The university is encouraging students and staff to donate funds to the Don Sneed Memorial Scholastic Fund in lieu of sending flower arrangements. Checks should be made to the FIU Scholarship Foundation and sent to Lewis Alpert in care of SJMC.

Sneed is survived by his wife Elizabeth and daughters Samantha and Sarah.

Although he will be buried in Mississippi, a memorial service for friends, faculty and students will be held at Plantation United Methodist Church, 1001 NW 70 Ave.

Information on the time and date of the memorial services will be available at the SJMC department.


http://www.beaconnewspaper.com/media/paper540/news/2005/11/02/News/Deceased.Professor.Missed.By.Students.Faculty-1042281.shtml

[Shaniabomber99]

That's a great idea :)

Carley

[Shaniabomber99]

Wheres Shania's name menton? :confused:

Carley

[FinnFreak]

:D

yeh, please help make the name Shania Twain stand out..!


John - ;):up:

[FinnFreak]

The Independent - Published: 03 November 2005

Radio station brings out the animal in its audience


By Andrew Gumbel


There are radio stations for gun collectors. Radio stations for collectors of obscure sports trivia. And now the internet has spawned a radio station for pets.

DogCatRadio.com, run out of a caravan in the hills above Los Angeles, is designed to keep pets engaged and amused while their owners are at work. The announcers convince themselves they are communicating with four-legged creatures, and play a panoply of songs that seem suitable for the pet audience Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog" being a big favourite.

It runs a Spanish-language hour, to give pets a whole other language they may hear but cannot speak.

The morning host Jane Harris adopts a slightly infantile tone in her voice and enunciates much as though she were addressing an elderly relative with hearing problems. She urges pets to be kind to the postman, not to chew on anything they are not supposed to chew on, and talks about the attention the station has inevitably received.

"I wish I was half as cute as at least a quarter of the pictures we receive at this station," she said yesterday, after spinning a Shania Twain tune with the chorus: "You're still the one I run to, still the one I belong to."

"The radio station all pets enjoy," is its logo. Plus, one suspects, a few lonely pet owners as well.


http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article324318.ece


John - :p

[Troll]

That is interesting John.

[malshania]

like the thread.. thanks

[FinnFreak]

Replace Karl Rove with Shania Twain


George W. Bush ignored a cardinal rule of politics in picking Miers over dozens of more qualified judicial nominees. All George had to do was consult Shania Twain, who recorded the song "Dance With the One Who Brought You" for her self-titled debut album in 1993. Conservatives brought George W. Bush to the dance when they reelected him in 2004.


Today's topics are Harriet Miers and "Scooter" Libby and how no one outside the bubble that is Washington, D.C., cares about either story that is being shoved down our throats by the liberal media.

Harriet Miers is now just a footnote in history, a victim of the "radical right," if you believe Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid.

We may never know what George W. Bush was thinking when he nominated Miers, his White House counsel and longtime friend from Texas, to succeed Sandra Day O'Connor. My pick for the Supreme Court was Ann Coulter, the leggy blonde lawyer and conservative political commentator who has made a career in exposing liberal hypocrisy in best-selling books.

Democrats sat on the sidelines and watched with glee as Republicans inflicted painful wounds on themselves, but the Dems may end up regretting their decision to sit out the Miers imbroglio. Miers may have been as moderate a judicial nominee as Democrats are going to get while George W. Bush sits in the White House, which by my calculation is going to be for another 1,155 more days. This might be the reason Democrats are so cantankerous.

Miers' replacement, Samuel Alito, is a solid conservative in the mold of Antonin Scalia, the type of judge the Democrats abhor. In other words, somebody who's actually read the Constitution and isn't trying to legislate from the bench. The initial misstep in nominating Miers is being blamed on Karl Rove or Dick Cheney, but let's not gloss over the president's role.

George W. Bush ignored a cardinal rule of politics in picking Miers over dozens of more qualified judicial nominees. All George had to do was consult Shania Twain, who recorded the song "Dance With the One Who Brought You" for her self-titled debut album in 1993.

Conservatives brought Bush to the dance by reelecting him in 2004. Bush promised two things: 1) Keep the nation safe from terrorist attacks (so far, so good) and 2) Steer the Supreme Court back from the slippery liberal slope of the last 20 years. The selection of John Roberts as chief justice was brilliant. But Bush's courtship of Democrats was real dumb. Why in the world would you nominate somebody Harry Reid recommends? Reid and his counterpart in the House, Nancy Pelosi, are the poster children for the do-nothing Democrats in Congress.

Alito's confirmation will give the court four solid conservatives (Scalia, Thomas, Roberts and Alito) and one confused conservative in Anthony Kennedy, who joined the four liberals in the ridiculous eminent domain ruling earlier this year that pretty much abolished private property rights guaranteed in the Constitution.

There's a good chance Bush will get one or two more picks over the next three years and the odds are that aging liberals John Paul Stevens and Ruth Bader Ginsburg will most likely die or retire. If Bush can leave office with a solid conservative majority on the Supreme Court, his legacy as a good president is assured.

One of my liberal nemeses sent me an e-mail gloating about the indictment of someone or something named "Scooter" and wanted to know when George W. Bush was going to be impeached. When Bill Clinton was impeached for perjury, that was news. When "Scooter" Libby is indicted for lying to a special prosecutor about a crime that never happened, you have to wonder what goes on in the fairy-tale world inside the Beltway. Libby's legal troubles don't change the price of gas anywhere in the United States.

The liberal media horde tried its best to make this nothing story into some sort of scandal. The Sunday talk shows were all over "Scooter" and this week's cover story in Time, Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report feature how poor "Scooter" fell on his sword for his boss, Vice President Dick Cheney.

The indictment of Libby, as well as the earlier indictment of Texas Congressman Tom Delay is the latest tactic by the left to embarrass the president. Unable to win elections and about to lose their grip on the federal courts, the left has turned to "political indictments" to keep interest in its dwindling grip on relevance.

Let's put the "Scooter" indictment into perspective. A special prosecutor spent nearly two years and millions of tax dollars investigating the alleged leak of a CIA operative's identity and could find no connection to the White House or anyone in the Bush administration.

Instead of admitting he wasted so much time and money on a political witch hunt, special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald indicted "Scooter" Libby for lying to him because a statement Libby made did not match a notation on a memo that Fitzgerald reviewed. Did Libby forget? Was he trying to protect his boss, Dick Cheney, from being bothered by Fitzgerald? Who knows?

More to the point, who cares? There are real problems in this country that politicians are refusing to address. It's so much easier for Democrats to make up phony scandals and blame Bush for everything instead of offering solutions to any problems facing the nation.


E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com

Tony Phyrillas
Columnist, The Mercury


Tony Phyrillas is an editor and columnist for a two-time Pulitizer Prize-winning newspaper in Pennsylvania. You can send him an e-mail at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com

http://www.webcommentary.com/asp/ShowArticle.asp?id=phyrillast&date=051103


John - :)

[FinnFreak]

Published Tuesday 8th November 2005 11:26 GMT

PETA seeks Europe's hottest veggie

Cruelty-free phwooooar!

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/11/08/peta_compo.jpg

By Lester Haines


Fun-loving and fur-free animal rights outfit PETA is looking for (http://www.peta.org.uk/feat/europessexiest05.asp) Europe's hottest veggies or vegans because, as the campaigning organisation puts it: "Vegetarianism has become synonymous with sexy."

Well, you might go and explain that to Paris Hilton, responsible earlier this year (http://www.theregister.co.uk/internet/web/paris_hilton_advert/) for millions of adolescent tumescences worldwide when she cavorted, bikini-clad, with a steaming Carl's Jr. Spicy BBQ Burger.

Nonetheless, according to PETA:

"Hot vegetarian hunks include Chris Martin, Tobey McGuire, Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Outkast’s Andre 3000 and Red Hot Chili Pepper Anthony Kiedis. Meat-free glam goddesses include Natalie Portman, Alicia Silverstone, Liv Tyler, Pam Anderson and siren songbirds Shania Twain and Joss Stone."

Yup, it's enough to have the most die-hard bacon sandwich aficionado running for a glass of virgin-thigh-rolled wheatgrass extract with added organic jojoba essence, make no mistake.

To enter, you have to be a veggie or vegan and resident in one of the country's listed on the PETA website. The list rather interestingly includes the Vatican City - that world-renowned breeding ground of waif-like, meat-eschewing supermodels.

And speaking of waif-like, as far as we are aware cocaine is a 100 per cent natural and animal-cruelty-free product, so no impediment there to entering if your entire diet consists of Bolivian marching powder and Bacardi Breezers.

The deadline for photographic entries (which should be "tasteful", meaning no naked poses with your laughing gear wrapped suggestively round a meat-substitute sausage) is 9 December. The finalists will appear on PETA's website and two lucky winners - one male and one female as selected by you, the public - will receive some fabulous, fabulous prizes (http://www.peta.org.uk/feat/europessexiest05-prizes.asp).

Plus, no doubt, a $1m dollar contract to pose for the Non-Genetically-Modified Soya Product Marketing Board's 2006 calendar, shot entirely outside the gates of Huntingdon Life Sciences. ®


http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/11/08/peta_compo/


John - :p

[Troll]

Still a little bit country but they're becoming more rock 'n' roll
By Linda Espenshade, Intelligencer Journal Staff
Intelligencer Journal

LANCASTER COUNTY, PA - Finding cowboys in traditional Western wear at WIOV's country music Fallfest was akin to finding a needle in a haystack.

There were signs of the western influence -- cowboy hats, cowboy boots and shiny belt buckles and blue jeans -- but the Roy Rogers and Gene Autry lookalikes were a rare breed.


On stage, Hot Apple Pie could have been mistaken for a rock 'n' roll band in their nondescript black T-shirts, and Aaron Tippin sang his in-your-face, cowboy-attitude hit, "Kiss This," without a 10-gallon hat on his head or in his hand.

It seems that the Western influence on country music fashion has faded along with the preponderance of twang, as the genre also has evolved to embrace the masses.

"The line between traditional country clothing and traditional rock and roll clothing has gotten pretty blurred over the last five years," said Dick Raymond, program director of WIOV and afternoon disc jockey on I-105. Many country music artists still wear boots and jeans, he said, "but you're just as apt to see them in a T-shirt now."

The most noticeable departure from the country music fashion scene is the double-yoked shirt with double-flap pockets and snaps down the front. Typically made of cotton with brightly colored Southwestern or embroidered designs, the shirts are tucked inside Levis trimmed with a hubcap-size belt buckle.

Jason Fritz of Fivepointville was an exception to the trend at the concert. He proudly wore his Western shirt and silver buckle with Leo, the Foundation Sire of the American Quarter Horse Association, etched into the metal. He's a rodeo rider.

"That's what gets me into it more than the music," he said.

Country music fans are just as apt to walk into Abercrombie & Fitch to get their attire as they are to seek out a Western store, said Holly Gleason, a Nashville-based writer and publicist for Brooks & Dunn and Kenny Chesney --who dresses more like he'll be wrastling down a beer at a tiki bar than a bull at a rodeo.

At F.M. Brown's Sons English and Western Wear Tack Shop in Sinking Spring, manager Mary Brown said people stopped buying Western wear for country music concerts after Garth Brooks stopped performing. Brooks was the last artist, Brown said, to inspire fans to pursue a completely traditional western look.

Now, country line dancers, rodeo riders and lifetime traditionalists are the customers who want a total Western look, Brown said.

However, Western wear never goes out completely, she said, noting that her grandson, a banker in New York City, bought some shirts to fit in with the Western influence seen in mainstream fashion there. Boots, with Western styling, are especially popular with women's fashion this fall.

"There's something about it that persists," Brown said, "somewhere between the rugged reality of the Western expansion 150 years ago to our automated, controlled and regulated world of today, it endured."

Gleason contends that Western influence on country music fashion has not waned as much as it has evolved.

Even the legendary designer of formal Western wear, Manuel Cuevas Martinez, whom Gleason calls "the Coco Chanel of Rhinestone," has built his reputation on redesigning the traditional Western Nudie jacket.

Manuel -- he's big enough to go by just one name -- updates and personalizes jackets that appeal to "anyone who's anyone," from Jimi Hendrix to today's Gary Allan, who was at Fallfest.

Manuel's tailoring and detailed embroidery are reserved for formal wear, but the same metamorphosis has happened in casual wear as the performers appeal to their younger fans.

"Who wants to wear the same old thing?" Gleason asked. "This is show business. People want to be entertained."

And the fans want to emulate what they see on stage. So women are bearing midriffs and wearing short skirts, just like Shania Twain does on stage and on the cover of her 2002 release, "Up."

When she first came on the scene, "Nashville was appalled," said Raymond. "She became so popular and so powerful we decided we better get out of her way."

Fans followed the Dixie Chicks, whose sometimes country, sometimes punk look blew up the rules of country music fashion "like an atom bomb," Gleason said.

"They showed you could be a serious musician and have fun with your clothes."

Raymond credits the Dixie Chicks with attracting younger people to country music, fans and performers who have a strong influence on the less traditional style of dressing, Gleason said.

Country music has a strong affiliation with freedom, which carries over into fashion, said Gleason. "Everybody fancies themselves as being beyond the system and these clothes say that."

But country music is also about tradition, and even the singers who look like rock stars admire their Western-wearing forerunners. Hot Apple Pie, for example, lists Merle Haggard as one of their heroes, said Raymond.

"For whatever reason, the artists in this format don't want to be like their idols," he said, "but they don't want to throw them away either."

Neither do the fans, so cowboy hats, boots and concho belts keep showing up at country music concerts, even if they aren't the norm. Jeans remain standard, even if they are paired with tank tops or daring necklines.

"Country music has evolved over the years," said Raymond. As the music has become less traditional, more people are listening to it.

"It's not a backwoods genre of music anymore," Raymond said. Neither are the clothes.

Linda Espenshade's e-mail is lespenshade@lnpnews.com

http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/18406

[Troll]

What's In Store gets to help 'Walk the Line'

Local jewelry store adds to VIP goody bag stash

By COURTNEY WATSON
Staff Writer


FRANKLIN — While accessories entrepreneur Dena Nance will stay at her Main Street shop — What's In Store — today, her jewelry will be making a splash in the Big Apple.

Nance's necklaces will be part of the VIP gift bags celebrities receive as part of the premiere of the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line tonight in New York City.




"We're the only Tennessee company represented," Nance said.

Celebrities including Reese Witherspoon, Shania Twain and Jennifer Aniston will go home with a few of Nance's vintage-style beaded necklaces.

The gift bags are worth about $13,000 apiece, according to Joe Soto, whose celebrity gifting company, Celebrity Connection, coordinated the goody bags.

Nance's designs will be sharing space in the bags with high-tech gadgets from Plantronics and Bluetooth wireless, Western-wear products from Wrangler and Durango, restaurant gift cards and other pricey freebies.

"Dena's jewelry is always a big hit," Soto said. "The stars know her name. Once they see it, they can't get enough of it."

Walk the Line opens Nov. 18 in theaters nationwide, but that won't be the end of the jewelry designer's savvy product placements.

Nance will be working with Soto again on the Miss America pageant in January, where she said she selects earrings and necklaces with "more glitz and glam."

"She's been with me at Miss USA, Miss Teen USA, Nashville Star," Soto said. "She's like a little mogul." •

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051110/COUNTY090101/511100367

[FinnFreak]

Wednesday November 16, 2005 @ 03:30 PM


Submersed In Substance... And Shania

http://www.chartattack.com/pics/2005/11/16-submersed.jpg
Submersed


Submersed are living in a strange place. Not necessarily geographically (although growing up in Stephenville, Texas might qualify), but mentally.

Listening to the band's In Due Time debut album is analogous to getting plastered and then spending an evening with auntie Edna, who keeps removing her dentures mid-sentence. Everything is distorted, disturbing and darkly humorous.

The distorted and disturbing part is easy to gather from such songs as: "Hollow," the first single; "Divide The Hate," which deals with lingering 9/11 tensions; and "You Run," which addresses religious hypocrisy.

"We like to create one big monster," claims guitarist Eric Friedman. Bassist Kelan Luker, sitting next to him during a recent interview at Toronto's Club 279, giggles in agreement.

"I think we're in a place right now where we're scrutinizing what it means to be American," continues Friedman. "In a weird sense, when you're at home, sitting back and watching TV, I don't think a lot of people are even paying attention.

"A lot of people don't even watch the news. I think a lot of people live their lives and wait 'til it affects them. So I think this opportunity to get ourselves and our music out there gives us the opportunity to inspire people with substance. I feel like it's our responsibility."

It's easy to think of a long lineage of like-minded rock bands that may have tried to do the same thing at a certain point — Staind, 3 Doors Down and Creed come to mind — but Submersed hope to add something new to the equation: the notion that music is a psychological component of the immune system.

"Music is medicine," Friedman defiantly proclaims. "I've been saying that my whole life. 'Divide The Hate' is talking about making choices. The things that break you down also make you stronger. Anybody can relate to that."

Yet the band's dark humour peeks through the heaviness when the guys list their favourite bands, which range radically from Bob Marley to Pantera. Luker, who until this point has been relatively quiet, looks up and declares his love for Shania Twain.

"It's her whole look — her face, her eyes, her lips," he bashfully admits, while Friedman laughs hysterically. "This all started years ago. I'm connected with Shania."

When I inform Luker of the Shania museum in Timmins, Ont., his eyes light up. But Friedman yelps, "You shouldn't have told him. Oh God! Now we're gonna have to go."

—Christine Estima


http://www.chartattack.com/damn/2005/11/1608.cfm


...look out, STC & Timmins - they're comin'..!


John - :funny:

[Afonso]

That's very interesting , Luker rocks :D:D

[SHANIANUTS!]

http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k5/nov/nov177.htm

Discovery Travel & Living to air two localised series in 06 Indiantelevision.com Team
(17 November 2005 9:00 pm)

BANGALORE: International lifestyle channel Discovery Travel & Living (DTL) is bringing out two series next year which will be localised in India. DTL is also making a five episode series on speed as an element slated to launch by the end of this month.

This was revealed to indiantelevision.com today on the sidelines of a media briefing to kick off a series on revolutionary music that left an indelible mark on the world --- Impact: Songs That Changed The World. “We are going to bring out two series next year which are going to be localised for India, made by Indian production houses. It’s for the first time that we’ll be seeing a product made and commissioned by Indian producers. Our idea is not just to showcase the world to India, but to showcase India to the world. These series-one food and one travel show- will be broadcast abroad as well as in India,” said DTL manager corporate communications Rajiv Bakshi.

Speaking about Impact: Songs That Changed The World, bakshi said the series is celebrating the songs and not the singers per se and 12 songs have been selected. The weekly show kicked off on 12 November on DTL and has been slotted at 8:30 pm. A rerun will air every Saturday at 4:30 pm.

Most of the songs are in demand even today, and songs of singers such as Bob Marley sell more than they did when he was alive. His freedom anthem I Shot the Sheriff , Elvis Presley’s Heartbreak Hotel or Aretha Franklin’s female empowerment mega-hit Respect, these songs represent several indisputable milestones in the history of popular music.

The series includes the following songs in the episodes:
(1) MAYBELLENE, Chuck Berry
(2) HEARTBREAK HOTEL, Elvis Presley
(3) I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND, The Beatles
(4) RESPECT, Aretha Franklin
(5) I SHOT THE SHERIFF, Bob Marley
(6) I WANNA BE SEDATED, The Ramones
(7) STAYIN' ALIVE, The Bee Gees
(8) DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS?, Band Aid
(9) WALK THIS WAY, Run DMC & Aerosmith
(10) LIKE A VIRGIN, Madonna
(11) SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT, Nirvana
(12) ANY MAN Of MINE, Shania Twain

“People could say that we could have added more songs or some of the songs should not be there, we understand that and we appreciate that”, said Bakshi while speaking with Indiantelevision.com.

[Troll]

Thanks for the info.

[canoilers]

Thank you for posting this, very, very much.

[GorToma]

yeah - thanks for posting bob

[Troll]

Goldie Locks & the 2 Bears
-- We're about to get to the fate of the third bear. Before Shania Twain adopted her husband's meat-free ways and became a Vegan, her favorite dish was roast bear.

These days, Shania says she goes for chocolate. And not your fancy expensive chocolate in dinky little portions. We're talking big honkin' candy bars. Meat-free, of course.

[Kristian]

Interesting and weird thread :uhh:

[Kristian]

Thanks for posting :up:

[Kristian]

Thanks for the info :D

[twaintrain]

Carrie Underwood
Some Hearts
Arista Nashville
2005
B

Clearly, Carrie Underwood can sing. If she couldn’t, she wouldn’t have won American Idol a mere six months ago. But being a good singer doesn’t automatically mean you can make a good album, cf. Celine Dion, or for that matter, Ruben Studdard. Country music is more demanding than pop when it comes to voices, however; whereas the pop world accepts that neither of the Simpson sisters can sing and says “Who cares?,” in country incredible singers can be found every night at the Bluebird and Tootsie’s in Nashville. If you’re actually lucky (or talented, but it’s often just dumb luck) enough to actually get a shot, you’d better hit it out of the park. There’s no TRL on CMT to show record execs that yes, in fact, you do have a following even though you might not be burning up Soundscan.

Shots don’t come much sweeter than winning American Idol, then—but Underwood’s the first champ to go country. Fortunately for her—and for us—she sinks every tooth she’s got into this opportunity, making an album that’s fairly mass-appeal while still fairly country, singing her *** off all over Some Hearts while the cream of Nashville’s studio musicians work it out behind her (and country superproducer Dann Huff sits behind the board). Did I mention that she’s been gifted a set of some fine songs, as well?

Some Hearts, in case you’re keeping track at home, is better than any album Faith Hill’s made this decade, speaking of mass-appeal country. It’s not as good as Shania’s body of work, but little is. Sure, it’s calculated—she won a friggin’ TV talent show, for pete’s sake. Calculated doesn’t necessarily equal “bad,” mind you; ever hear of Madonna?

It’s no surprise that Underwood’s bravura set piece on Idol was her version of Martina McBride’s “Independence Day,” as she’s got a comparably strong voice. The difference between them (well, the obvious one) is that where McBride’s always sounds as if it’s this close to breaking like crystal, Underwood’s seems to be made of stronger stock. Not only does she have lungs that don’t quit, but there’s a certain je ne sais asskicking quality to her voice that comes through much better on Some Hearts than it ever did on Idol. (The cynics in the audience could suggest that it’s due to studio trickery, and they could be right, though her performance on the CMA Awards would seem to belie that fact.)

The obvious touchstone for much of this album is a certain kind of “80’s Ladies” country: Juice Newton, K.T. Oslin, Janie Fricke. This is country with a gloss on it, but country much moreso than pop; heard in this context, even Underwood’s Idol single “Inside Your Heaven” sounds country. The title track of Some Hearts is clearly a pop-crossover move, but it works, with its ‘80s bombast (Pat Benatar could’ve sung this in between doling out asskickings) and Underwood’s supreme belting. (And doesn’t the title “Some Hearts” itself even sound like it’s of ‘80s vintage?)

“Jesus, Take the Wheel” nails that Christian-secular vibe in a way that only country seems to pull off (and in a way that Faith Hill used to be able to pull off, natch). On the same hand, I buy Underwood’s lies—no way is she throwing back the whiskey she alludes to in “Before He Cheats,” but she sells it. “The Night Before” is an aural cousin to Trisha Yearwood’s classic “She’s In Love with the Boy” and is all the better for it—and if Arista plays their cards right, that’s your #1 country smash right there.

Some Hearts has no damn right to be any good, but it’s the second consecutive album by an American Idol champ (step right up, Fantasia) crafted to accent its singer’s strengths and hide her faults and do so in expert focus group fashion without smacking of just that. This is musical comfort food, good ‘cause it’s familiar but also ‘cause it’s just plain good. Carrie Underwood (and Dann Huff), take a bow.


Reviewed by: Thomas Inskeep
Reviewed on: 2005-11-18


A reviewer who knows what he's talking about:)

[canoilers]

Thats freakin wicked, thanks for posting that little tid-bit.

[matty]

Least it was a good mention :)
Thanks for posting.

[Afonso]

Thanks for posting :)

[shania megafan]

Thanks for posting! ;)

[SHANIANUTS!]

Where is this from??????????

[Troll]

Thanks for the article.

[twaintrain]

It's from Stylus Magazine. I found it on Carrie's message board. It amazed me to see a critic who I actually agreed with.:)

[Troll]

Mentioned in the review.....

Big & Rich are smart to make much ado about their eclecticism—the self- promotional shtick is half the fun. Yet by post-Shania standards, this music has never been as outrageous as advertised. "Jalapeno" is a giddy shout-along, "20 Margaritas" is Tex-Mex two-step at its most wedding-ready, and "Soul Shaker" manages to be generic in several genres at once. Partying white adults, who've historically never objected to a little drunken cornball mayhem, may never even realize they've joined a revolution. That said, damn me if the fiddles' knack for consistently mimicking a disco string section shouldn't keep Mutt Lange awake till dawn. On Comin' to Your City's title track, the strings bound off a canted bass line for a break so Chic-like that wheeling through unhip burghs like Cincinnati and Canton sounds half as fun as they insist. Besides, what red-blooded hetero stud wouldn't want to swig moonshine with swimsuit model Jessica White? She's smokin'.

http://www.seattleweekly.com/features/0547/051123_music_bigrich.php

[Troll]

A Canadian Christmas 2 (helping Children's Aid)

Sounds like a Canadian Christmas

Nov 23 2005

What do Bryan Adams, Roch Voisine and Honeymoon Suite have in common?
Is it that they all make me long for temporary deafness?
That, and the fact all are featured on A Canadian Christmas 2, and surprisingly, fit into the Christmas music genre quite well.
The album opens with Adams' Christmas Time, which sounds, well, like an appropriately sappy Bryan Adams tune.
It continues with the Barenaked Ladies' Elf's Lament, which is a pretty good song, typical of the group, but lacks something of a Christmassy sound.
Indeed, there are plenty of great songs on this album and, believe it or not, I actually found pleasure in listening to Voisine.
That's something I never thought I'd write.
Highlights of the album include Holly Cole's Baby, It's Cold Outside, the jewel of a song that is Aselin Debison's The Gift, and another winner in Paul Anka's Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer.
The Irish Rovers offer up a typical Rover's version of Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer. It's a little bit country, little roots and a lot of fun.
And, in fact, Honeymoon Suite's I Believe in Father Christmas is perhaps one of the album's golden moments. Both Christmassy and catchy, it's got everything a good Christmas song ought to have.
Michel Berube's version of White Christmas is good, but it's no Boney M, if you know what I mean.
Christian singer Shawn Smith's XMas Wish, however, is probably one of the drawbacks of the album. It wouldn't have to be bad, save for the fact Smith sounds like he sang the whole song after having just come from the dentist. Wait for the freezing to wear off before entering the studio, Shawn. Jeez, a reviewer shouldn't have to explain everything.
And finally, if you really want to keep that warm fuzzy feeling brought about by the majority of the album, skip over Shania Twain's God Bless The Child.
While it is a great song, with an awesome message, it's pretty bleak - "Some are born addicted, some are thrown away / This child is homeless that child's on crack / One plays with the gun while the other takes the bullet in his back . . .," you get the picture.
The best thing about this album is that a portion of the proceeds will be directed to the Children's Aid Foundation.

http://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=15&cat=44&id=539785&more=

[SHANIANUTS!]

...I guess Shania is gonna have to come up with a real Christmas tune one of these days...

[SHANIANUTS!]

Mentioned in the review.....

Big & Rich are smart to make much ado about their eclecticism—the self- promotional shtick is half the fun. Yet by post-Shania standards, this music has never been as outrageous as advertised. "Jalapeno" is a giddy shout-along, "20 Margaritas" is Tex-Mex two-step at its most wedding-ready, and "Soul Shaker" manages to be generic in several genres at once. Partying white adults, who've historically never objected to a little drunken cornball mayhem, may never even realize they've joined a revolution. That said, damn me if the fiddles' knack for consistently mimicking a disco string section shouldn't keep Mutt Lange awake till dawn. On Comin' to Your City's title track, the strings bound off a canted bass line for a break so Chic-like that wheeling through unhip burghs like Cincinnati and Canton sounds half as fun as they insist. Besides, what red-blooded hetero stud wouldn't want to swig moonshine with swimsuit model Jessica White? She's smokin'.

http://www.seattleweekly.com/features/0547/051123_music_bigrich.php...they let anyone write these reviews I guess...:rolleyes:

[canoilers]

...they let anyone write these reviews I guess...:rolleyes:
I pretty sure they don't let people who are illiterate write these. Who knows maybe I'm wrong, stranger things have happened. :p

[Troll]

The Media: They're going to be hounding you to reveal your plan to deal with America's rising sexiness deficit. Recently, the United States has fallen behind several Asian nations and, on the strength of Shania Twain videos alone, Canada.

http://www.macleans.ca/switchboard/columnists/article.jsp?content=20051128_116466_116466

[Troll]

Shania Twain Calendar Is #1
Shania Twain's 2006 wall calendar tops the Calendars.com best-selling country music calendars list. Tim McGraw's calendar is number-two and Alan Jackson's calendar is third.
In other Shania news, no bunnies died to make Shania's jacket. Shania wore what appeared to be a fur-lined Marc Bouwer jacket in New York during the recent week of Country Music Association activities there. However, the designer tells the New York Post that all the furs used in the coat she had on were faux.

http://www.acctop40.com/listingsentryHeadline.asp?ID=332117&PT=headlines

SHANIA TWAIN’S STILL TOP CALENDAR GIRL
Tim McGraw may be used to always coming in first place, but when it comes to country calendar sales, he’s sitting at No. 2, reports Premiere. Alan Jackson—another guy who’s no stranger to the top spot—is at No. 3 on the list. So who’s No. 1? Shania Twain.

That’s not so surprising for people who have followed Shania’s career from the beginning, and the role calendars played in her success. When Shania’s first three singles from her self-titled debut album all failed to break her out as a star, she kept people talking about her through her sexy videos and very sexy calendars, until she started hitting big with songs from her second album, The Woman in Me.


-countrystars.com

[Troll]

Million-Air certificates were also presented throughout the evening in recognition of those songs that have had two million or more US performances. Topping the list were Sting’s "Every Breath You Take," which reached the eight million performance plateau and the Van Morrison classic "Brown Eyed Girl," which won a seven million performance award. Other Million-Air recipients included the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, the Bee Gees, Sir Elton John (PRS) and Shania Twain.

http://www.antimusic.com/news/05/nov/3002.shtml

[canoilers]

Thanks for these, I'm in your debt. :)

[SHANIANUTS!]

...Shania was not there in person but some award winners were as noted on wire image website....

[Troll]

UMG Country Artists Coming To A Motorola Phone Near You
As the result of a deal announced in early October with Universal Music Group (UMG), Motorola’s forthcoming cell phone-based iRadio service will feature channels fashioned around UMG country artists, including George Strait, Shania Twain, Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, Trisha Yearwood and Lee Ann Womack. iRadio is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2006.

“We can now create specific radio channels that are dedicated to their artists and include much, much more than simply music,” Motorola director of product marketing Dave Ulmer tells Billboard Radio Monitor.

An artist’s channel might, for example, include tour dates, album release dates, new singles and back catalog. “A whole selection of stuff that’s very focused to their specific fan and gives [artists] a direct connection to that fan,” Ulmer says.

iRadio users, who will pay between $7 and $10 a month for the service, will make their channel selections via their PC and then download them to their cell phone via a USB connection. However, iRadio content is perishable, meaning that once it is listened to it is gone.

Using Bluetooth technology, the iRadio programming can also be played over a car radio or home stereo system.

Listeners will be able to purchase albums and concert tickets or respond to exclusive promotions simply by pressing a button on their phone or existing car stereo.

Motorola phones are used by Verizon, Cingular, T-Mobile, Nextel and Sprint customers

http://billboardradiomonitor.com/radiomonitor/news/business/digital/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001611791

[SHANIANUTS!]

...they must think people are made of money and want to spend it on insanely juvenile electronic crap like this...

[SHANIANUTS!]

...I love the one they are selling now that allows you to watch your tv on your cell phone....these geniuses want to rip your money off every which way....

[FinnFreak]

swissinfo December 1, 2005 10:39 AM

Party fights tax breaks for rich foreigners

http://www.swissinfo.org/xobix_media/images/sri/2005/sriimg20051201_6281921_0.jpg
Shania Twain is one of a number of famous
faces who have settled in Switzerland


The centre-left Social Democrats, one of the four parties in government,
are taking their fight against tax perks for wealthy foreigners to Brussels.

The party says it wants to help coordinate a Europe-wide campaign against
what it calls "increasing competition" among countries seeking to attract the
rich and famous.


swissinfo, Ramsey Zarifeh


Switzerland – which is not a member of the European Union - is famous for the special tax deals offered by certain cantons to attract wealthy foreign residents.

Music stars Tina Turner and Shania Twain are just a couple of the famous names who were apparently lured to the country as much for the generous tax breaks as for the alpine views.

It is estimated that around 3,000 wealthy foreigners are currently benefiting from fiscal incentives.

The number is expected to rise following the ratification of an accord between Bern and Brussels on the free movement of people.

The Social Democrats argue that Switzerland is one of many countries in Europe competing to lure billionaires.


Search for support

Senior party official Matthias Manz told swissinfo he would use a meeting of centre-left parties in Brussels on Thursday to build momentum for a concerted effort to stamp out the practice.

"The problem is... that exaggerated tax competition is a danger for healthy public finances," he said.

"We see this going on both within Switzerland between the cantons as well as between European countries, and we want to focus attention on this problem.

"Our aim is to discuss this issue, see whether other [centre-left] parties share our concerns and come up with a common position which could be implemented within the EU and Switzerland."

Supporters of a relaxed tax regime for rich non-Swiss citizens argue that the system allows local authorities struggling with public-spending cuts to gain additional revenue.

But Manz says this is not sufficient justification for maintaining the status quo.

"Sure these [rich non-Swiss] people are contributing to the public finances, but they are contributing much less than they should be when you consider their income and wealth," he said.

"If Switzerland offers special tax rules, other countries will do the same and you end up with a race to the bottom, with every canton and country competing against each other [to attract wealthy foreigners]."


Domestic agenda

It is not the first time that the Social Democrats have attempted to put the issue on the political agenda.

Earlier this year Susanne Leutenegger Oberholzer, a Social Democratic parliamentarian, tabled a proposal in the House of Representatives aimed at abolishing the fiscal perks.

She said there was no need for such a system because Switzerland already offers enough advantages for rich foreigners.

But her argument that the incentives are unfair and undermine the morale of ordinary taxpayers fell on deaf ears - Leutenegger Oberholzer's motion was thrown out of parliament.

Manz denies he is making the trip to Brussels because his party has lost the fight at home.

"At first sight it looks like that... but the truth is that we were already discussing the issue of tax competition [with other centre-left parties] in Europe."

The Social Democrat rejects suggestions made by Christoph Blocher, a cabinet minister and member of the rightwing Swiss People's Party, that tax benefits should be extended to include wealthy Swiss citizens as well as foreigners.

"[All I can say is that] I would like to see the People's Party propose a nationwide vote on whether rich people should not have to pay the tax they are paying now," he said.


http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=107&sid=6281863&cKey=1133429644000


John - :smirk:

[FinnFreak]

Sun-Sentinel - December 1 2005


Sniff for Scratch

Everyone who's anyone is cashing in on name recognition with a fragrance.


By Rod Stafford Hagwood, Fashion Columnist


Celebrities' clothing lines or miniature dogs are soooo five minutes ago. Celebrities who want to put the wow in now need their own celebrity scent.

Britney Spears has one.

So do Jessica Simpson and Sarah Jessica Parker.

No to mention Donald Trump, Andy Roddick, David Beckham, Antonio Banderas, Andre Agassi, Carlos Santana and Allan Cumming.

No lie ... Allan Cumming.

Sean Combs calls his "Unforgivable."

Hilary Duff is still working on her first one while Paris Hilton has one for women and another for men. You just knew she would.

From Danielle Steel and Jennifer Lopez (five scents to her name bringing in more than $100 million in sales, according to Fortune magazine) to Celine Dion and Steffi Graf, celebrities are bottling their fame in signature fragrances these days.

Even people famous for just being fabulous -- say, for example, Tom Ford or Kimora Lee Simmons -- smell the sweet smell of success with scents (Youth Dew Amber Nude and Goddess, respectively). Need more evidence? Local heiress Amber Ridinger introduced her own "Amber No. 13" fragrance at her November bat mitzvah party at the Forge in Miami Beach.

And if you're not pimping your own product, at least get a contract to spritz away for some designer. Gwyneth Paltrow has one with Estee Lauder's Pleasures, while Enrique Iglesias pimps True Star for Tommy Hilfiger. Beyoncé Knowles does the same for the female True Star fragrance (while stealthily planning the launch of her own "House of Dereon" perfume). Shania Twain and Matthew McConaughey tip their hats for Stetson. NASCAR hunk Jeff Gordon puts the pedal to the metal for Halston Z-14. Salma Hayek, Scarlett Johansson and Ashley Judd also are spokesmodels for fragrances.

"No matter how great a fragrance you have, if it's in the closet and no one smells it then it's not doing you any good," explained Ilia Lekach, chairman and CEO of Fort Lauderdale's Parlux Fragrances, which makes Andy Roddick, Maria Sharapova and Paris Hilton's perfumes and colognes.

"But if you have a great fragrance and a great celebrity, then that can open many doors for you and people will at least sample the fragrance," he said. "Lots of people think you just slap a name on a bottle and you make a gazillion dollars. But people don't buy that. But then if you have a great celebrity like Paris Hilton who will do promotion for you and you also have a great fragrance, great packaging and great marketing, then you get even more sampling and more buying."

Of course you don't have to be a famous person. You could be a famous thing. Like Mattel ("American Girl") or Adidas ("Adidas Originals"), for example. Ferrari, Hummer and Jaguar cars are selling scents ... and before you ask: No, it is not that "new car smell" in a fancier bottle. All the luxury jewelers have fragrances: Tiffany's, Van Cleef & Arpel, Bulgari, Cartier, Chopard, etc.

You could even be a color. In men's colognes there is Ralph Lauren's Polo Black, Onyx by Azzaro, Black by Kenneth Cole, Avon's Black Suede, Giorgio Armani's Black Code, Ferrari Black by Satinine for Men, Cuba Black, Bulgari Black, Stetson Black, Black Jeans by Versace and Jack Black.

The market is being driven by newness and built-in recognition. Why launch a new line and have to build a consumer base when you can simply use the audience that someone like Disney star Raven Symone has garnered. You can even name the fragrance after the star-making vehicle. Hence: That's So Raven ... the fragrance where before there was solely That's So Raven ... the cable TV show. Of course design labels -- from grand French houses like Jean Paul Gaultier and Yves Saint Laurent to sporty American brands such as Donna Karan and Cynthia Rowley -- have years of brand building behind them.

According to NPD Beauty, celebrity fragrance brands generated $94.9 million in 2004 and captured a 6 percent share of the fragrance market, up from 2 percent in 2000. NPD also reports that there were more fragrance launches in the first half of 2005 than in the entire year of 2000.

The next launch? Giacomo. The Kentucky Derby winner.

That's right. A horse.

Of course.

Rod Stafford Hagwood can be reached at fashionguy@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4721.


Local scents

Fort Lauderdale's very own Parlux Fragrances is teaming up celebutante Paris Hilton with Tourneau Watches. The $100,000 white diamond-encrusted Paris Hilton "Limited Edition" watches were launched in New York this week.

Dorjon Hair & Cosmetics in Boca Raton offers personally blended Pure-fumes by Aveda. From 10 scents, customers can blend their own perfume. "I think people just like to create their very own scent that is unique to them," said manager Dawn DiLorenzo. A 0.5 ounce bottle retails for $20.

Smith & Wesson - that's right, the gunmaker - will debut its fragrance at Casa Casaurina in South Beach this month.

Buy a unit at Sunny Isles Beach's Jade Ocean Condo and you'll get one of Giorgio Armani's four exclusive fragrances called Eau de Jade (they're both called jade, get it?). Or you can just go to Saks Fifth Avenue and plunk down $185 for the 1.7 ounce bottle.


http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/lifestyle/sfl-lifragrancefashdec01,0,581091.story?coll=sfla-features-headlines


John - :)

[FinnFreak]

30 November 2005


Cliff Richard exclusive - Exclusive webchat


http://www.gm.tv/media/images/a/k/cliff_m.jpg


Sir Cliff Richard shared a few secrets when he
joined us at GM.TV for a bumper video webchat


Marilyn: Hi Cliff - I'm wondering if you got to meet my fellow Canadian Shania Twain at the CMAs? When you meet other stars, do you get flustered like we do when we meet you?

Cliff Richard: I did meet Shania Twain. No I didn't get flustered as she's a very nice person to meet. She's a lot shorter than you think, because on stage she seems such a big performer. When I met her I was thrilled to hear she knew who I was. I haven't told her yet but I would like to do a duet with her.


http://www.gm.tv/index.cfm?articleid=17896


...who wouldn't want to do a duet with Shania..? ;)


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

Springfield News-Leader - Thursday, December 1, 2005

Nashville could benefit from a little more honesty


by 'In The Goove' columnist Michael Brothers


Nashville is trying to skew younger these days. It seems record sales are down, particularly with listeners younger than 35.
The Country Music Association Awards were held in New York a couple of weeks ago as part of this push. It was actually just the centerpiece of the week-long "Country Takes NYC" event, billed as a five-borough celebration of country music. How's that for a mash-up?

All week in the Big Apple, pop-oriented stars like Keith Urban were held up as what country music really sounds like. I'm afraid that in this attempt to skew, country is going to skewer itself by adding more lacquer to an already overly glossy sound.

Instead, they ought to try a little realism. Labels should let artists be a little more raw, rely less on formulaic production and find more artists who sing their own songs (instead of ones churned out by Music Row-bot songwriters).

I'm not talking about dumping the gloss. It works, and it's here to stay. Shania Twain sells loads of records because — for reasons beyond me — people like her songs. (Mod: Yes we do. Because they are beautifully crafted and rock this world. So: now you know.) :]

But there are artists right under Nashville's nose who could make a demographic difference. A lot of them sing the "red dirt" music I wrote about two weeks ago but are ignored by Music Row. Dierks Bentley and Gretchen Wilson are great examples of two no-B.S. acts who've hit the mainstream. They're the kinds of acts Nashville should push more of if it wants younger fans.

People in their 20s and 30s see right through media gloss and dig what's real. What is real? Depends, but in general it's music that doesn't seem trite or contrived.

True story: I have a few friends in their mid-20s who listen to (mostly) one Springfield radio station. They're big fans of old-time blues, underground hip-hop and indie rock. Their station of choice? BASS Country, the "classic country" station that plays Willie, Waylon and Dolly.

The underlying connection in all those forms of music is honesty. The songs and artists seem real. It's nothing more than that, and it's what Generation X and Generation Y, or whatever letter we're on now, wants to hear.

All this is long-term but here's an easier place to start: "Monday Night Football." Each week Hank Williams Jr. and Tim McGraw are on national TV doing their industry a disservice singing corny music. Hank Jr. (whom I like — no, really) sings the intro, "Are You Ready For Some Football?" (which I hate). At halftime, McGraw sings stilted lyrics about NFL highlights to the tune of his song, "I Like It, I Love It."

Tim, I want no more of it. You hear me? None. Nada.


http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051201/COLUMNISTS04/512010330


John - :)

[Troll]

Thanks for all the articles John.

[FinnFreak]

This Day in Music
for December 2, 2005

http://www.everythingshania.net/gallery/tdimm/tdimm05.jpg

1998 - Brunette Shania Twain goes strawberry
blonde in the video for her single, 'That Don`t
Impress Me Much' which debuts on CMT.


http://music.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1066062.php/This_Day_in_Music_for_December_2_2005


John - :]

[Troll]

Thanks for the info John.

[Troll]

BY HOWARD COHEN

hcohen@herald.com

For Lee Ann Womack, a 39-year-old native of Jacksonville, Texas, it was a defining moment early in her career.

Womack was just starting out and her self-titled album in 1997 was a refreshing oddity. Shania Twain's gimmicky brand of exclamation-point pop dominated the country market while Womack, with songs like Never Again, Again and The Fool, was a traditionalist.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/13299195.htm

And with no offense to Shania, Christina, Missy or any of her other contemporaries, Stefani is currently the biggest female music star in any idiom.
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=255997&Category=20

[SHANIANUTS!]

BY HOWARD COHEN

hcohen@herald.com

For Lee Ann Womack, a 39-year-old native of Jacksonville, Texas, it was a defining moment early in her career.

Womack was just starting out and her self-titled album in 1997 was a refreshing oddity. Shania Twain's gimmicky brand of exclamation-point pop dominated the country market while Womack, with songs like Never Again, Again and The Fool, was a traditionalist.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/13299195.htm

And with no offense to Shania, Christina, Missy or any of her other contemporaries, Stefani is currently the biggest female music star in any idiom.
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=255997&Category=20..the article on Womack makes mention of the fact that artists like Sara Evans do not seek out her type of traditional fare to record..what the writer forgets to mention is Sara started out (and is fantastic with that music) that way and could not get her music on the radio (witness Three Chords and the Truth) and so she evolved as she has leaving her fantastic traditional music behind her for the time being...

...the article on Stefani builds her up as the next Madonna...I frankly think she is awful but I think that of Madonna too...

[Troll]

..the article on Womack makes mention of the fact that artists like Sara Evans do not seek out her type of traditional fare to record..what the writer forgets to mention is Sara started out (and is fantastic with that music) that way and could not get her music on the radio (witness Three Chords and the Truth) and so she evolved as she has leaving her fantastic traditional music behind her for the time being...

...the article on Stefani builds her up as the next Madonna...I frankly think she is awful but I think that of Madonna too...

I agree Bob. :up:

[RKSTFan]

BO DEREK TURNS DOWN REALITY TV SHOWS

10 star BO DEREK has turned down several reality TV show (http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/bo%20derek%20turns%20down%20reality%20tv%20shows#) ideas because they're all crass and they invade her private life.

The stunning actress (http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/bo%20derek%20turns%20down%20reality%20tv%20shows#) admits she has been inundated with offers to star in reality programmes, and was the original choice for KEPT, which became a vehicle for JERRY HALL, in which she picked the perfect gigolo.

She says, "The stupidest one was sort of an AUNTIE MAME, where I take these underprivileged children and we go on safari, we go on trips and I keep eliminating one and in the end they get a scholarship, they get all these wonderful things in their lives.

"I said, 'I have a problem with this because of the eliminating the kid. I'm fine taking them all on safari but I just can't, every week... (say) you go back to public housing,' and they said, 'We'll work this out.'"

Derek admits the major turn-off about all the projects she has been offered was her fear she'd have too much of her personal life shown on TV (http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/bo%20derek%20turns%20down%20reality%20tv%20shows#) - something she constantly tries to avoid.

She explains, "SHANIA TWAIN's (http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/bo%20derek%20turns%20down%20reality%20tv%20shows#) an acquaintance of mine; she's got a serious private life and she's the biggest thing there is."



Contact Music News (http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/bo%20derek%20turns%20down%20reality%20tv%20shows)

[RKSTFan]

HERE's (http://www.countrymusictoday.com/magazine/pages/archive03.htm) an article excerpt from "Country Music Today" magazine where Shania mentions her connection to Bo and John Derek:


“WHOSE BED HAVE YOUR BOOTS BEEN UNDER” 1995

ACTION: First Shania\”Mutt” Lange songwriting collaboration. Improbable scenario has Shania being ignored as she saunters through a diner full of men. Produced by Bo Derek (whose 1980 film 10 made her an instant sex symbol) and her husband, John Derek, who passed away in 1998.

SHANIA: The people in the café were real. They were all real customers that go there every day. They were just real people who never acted before, and they did a great job of ignoring me, so it was a lot of fun. They sure had a lot to eat that day.

It’s definitely more the performer side of me, which is not a superficial side, I mean, it’s definitely part of my personality.

John Derek was the director and Bo Derek was the producer, and her sister Carrie was her assistant. It was a whole family affair. Bo’s mother, Norma, is actually a professional hair and makeup artist in Hollywood and does movies and everything. So she was my hair and makeup.

John didn’t really want to do it at first, because he [was] retired and not really interested. He[‘d] already filmed the most beautiful woman in the whole world. But Bo was interested in doing it. So that’s how it all happened. We had a meeting, and Bo convinced John to do it and in the end we all became great friends

l wrote a lot of [this] song before I’d even met Mutt. And he kind of finished the whole thing with me. But that song was written in my cabin in Ontario in Canada. And it’s fun to listen to those writing tapes because you can hear the fire crackling in the background.

[The “cook”] with the big mustache–he’s really a cook. That’s what he does. And he was a real sport. He wasn’t an actor; he was a real guy, a real character. There was an older guy there who must have been 90-something years old. And he was such a sport, and he was so sharp. He really left an impression on me. He just had such a zest for life and I said, “What’s your secret? How can you be so energetic and cheerful?” And he said, “Well, I take ginseng every day.”

SHANIA SIZZLE-METER RATING: 6



“ANY MAN OF MINE” 1995

ACTION: Shania, in an entirely solo performance (with the exception of a few horses), dances around a barn and frolics in a field. This is considered the music video that turned Shania’s moderately successful career into an exploding rocket. Also produced and directed by the Dereks, with additional material directed by Charley Randazzo, and produced by Mark Kalbfeld.

SHANIA: My manager at the time, Mary [Bailey], she had just remembered seeing a lot of John Derek’s photography over the years with Bo Derek and Ursula [Andress]. So she just thought of me and the combination worked. It started out with John Derek doing the photography for the album. He did the album cover The Woman in Me, and Bo actually shot the photography that’s on the reverse side of the CD. That was just a shot she did from the truck, during the [video] shoot of “Any Man Of Mine.” And she just did behind-the-scenes snapping, and that became the back cover.

I’ve always been a singer. I’ve done a certain amount of things but never really, really knew myself on camera. John Derek [was] very straightforward and very bold and [was] not going to pamper anyone’s ego, not even for a second. Even if it means making you comfortable, he [was] not interested necessarily in making you comfortable by stroking your ego. As a woman, I mean most women are kind of sensitive about–if someone says you’ve got an ugly nose, you don’t really feel like stepping in front of a camera and showing your nose. But it really taught me a lot. It taught me to forget about my ego. So that was a really good lesson for me and a good introduction for really being involved with video and camera and all that kind of stuff. Because I’m not a model. I don’t know how to do those things. I’ve spent my whole life being a singer and a songwriter.

“Any Man of Mine” was done in two parts actually. It was done out in L.A. And John and Bo Derek had done a whole bunch of footage. And then Charley Randazzo directed another part of the footage. It all blended very well together. The performance stuff that’s mostly in the grass was done with Charley. And then the stuff all around the stable and with the horse, that was done at John and Bo’s ranch. So it was very interesting.

I was suffering from severe allergies that day. There was something in the air. My eyes were all puffy, and we had to delay the shooting and all that kind of stuff.

The horse part was my favorite part. I’m so in love with horses. I think they are gorgeous animals. And what it does, l think, for me is it calms me down. I’m a very high energy, do everything very fast kind of thing person. But when you’re around horses you have to move slowly, fluid. You can’t be flinging your arms and raising your voice. You have to be very calm, and it forces me to do that. It’s very therapeutic for me. So I just love being around them in general. I would never trade a horse for any guy.

SHANIA SIZZLE-METER RATING: 8


CMT magazine (http://www.countrymusictoday.com/magazine/pages/archive03.htm)

[canoilers]

Merci................

[RKSTFan]

I just noticed that there's a Bo Derek thread (http://www.shaniaforums.com/showthread.php?t=39618) in the Music section of the forums...and that same "Country Music Today" article was posted there. :ashamed: :hide:


:swoosh:

[canoilers]

People make mistakes, its happened before and it will happen again. You are human after all, we've all done it before. :)

[SHANIANUTS!]

...actually that "Bo Derek" thread has something to do also with John Corbett who is dating Bo and beginning a country music career in midlife...Bo is helping him launch his career...John was on Northern Exposure as Chris the DJ and Sex and the City in addition to many other acting gigs over the years....

[GorToma]

thanks for posting :D:D

[Troll]

Thanks for the articles.

[matty]

Thanks for posting that :)

[Troll]

The Invisible Woman
-- Last night's "ACM 40th Anniversary Celebration" special left me feeling good about being a country music fan. But at the same time, the show left me with a question. What about Shania Twain

[shania megafan]

Thanks for sharing these articles! :up:

[ROTHCOU]

Thank you for sharing it. Its ok if the article was already posted.

[Troll]

New York Daily News fashion editor Amy DiLuna wrote that Shania Twain went goddess glam in a gown by Marc Bouwer, while fashion expert (?) Whitney Pastorek allowed in Entertainment Weekly that Shania looked like a shiny furry pony.....Gretchen Wilson opted for a simple black pantsuit by Dolce & Gabbana.
http://www.cmt.com/news/articles/1517341/20051202/index.jhtml?headlines=true

[Troll]

Recognizing Santa's team needs a vacation, 40 percent of Canadians would send Rudolph and the reindeer gang on a ski vacation to Banff National Park in Alberta. In their absence, famous Canadians Shania Twain and Mike Myers were chosen to be Santa's new helpers at 35 percent and 34 percent, respectively.
Additional survey results showed:

http://www.autoserviceworld.com/article.asp?id=50284&issue=12052005
Canadians pick minivan as preferred replacement for Santa's reindeer ride, according to DaimlerChrysler Canada Survey

Shania Twain is the top pick to ride shotgun with Santa on Christmas
Eve
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/December2005/05/c2766.html

[canoilers]

Gee I wonder why that would be? :p

[captainCorr]

Twain on track, but not richest Canadian

By MARYANNA LEWYCKYJ

TORONTO -- Shania Twain may be a chart topper in the music world, but she's failed to crack the list of 100 richest Canadians -- again.

The seventh annual list compiled by Canadian Business magazine has a distinct lack of star power, with Twain, Jim Carrey, Keanu Reeves and Celine Dion all failing to make the lineup.

"Shania Twain has never been on the list," said Canadian Business senior associate editor Alex Mlynek. "We did look at her this year and she wasn't quite there. She's definitely close."

To make this year's list, a Canadian citizen would have to have a net worth of $366 million. The list includes 40 billionaires, up from 36 in 2004.

Carrey last made the list in 2002, while Celine's last appearance was in 2003. Keanu Reeves made last year's list, but just barely, capturing 100th place.

"Keanu Reeves made some movies this year, but nothing to create the monetary value of the Matrix," said Mlynek.

Conrad Black, who renounced his Canadian citizenship, wasn't eligible for consideration on the list. Although Black has cracked the lineup in the past, his waning wealth and mounting legal bills may have kept him off the list.

Publishing mogul Ken Thomson again topped the list, followed by bakery and grocery magnate Galen Weston.

Surging oil prices helped propel the Irving brothers past eBay founder Jeff Skoll to claim third place on the list. Source: Ottawa Sun (http://ottsun.canoe.ca/News/National/2005/12/06/1340324-sun.html)

[Troll]

Thanks for the article Mathias.

[Troll]

Great gadget gifts for everyone on your list
High-end TVs, leather-clad USB drives and a SpongeBob game player
If this is the year you've decided to go for HDTV, take a look at Panasonic, which makes its own plasma "glass." This 42-inch Panasonic plasma TV, the TH-42PX50U, retails for $3,600 but is widely available at a significant discount.

By Michael Rogers
Columnist
Special to MSNBC
Updated: 12:16 p.m. ET Dec. 5, 2005
High tech gifting is sometimes a challenge, especially in today’s world of multiplying technical standards. Will Accessory A work with Gadget B? Does your beloved prefer Firewire, USB 1.0 or USB 2.0? And while you may find the coolest case ever made for the iPod Nano, that won’t do your sister much good if she owns an iPod Mini.

Before you give up and resort to Jerry Garcia ties, fluffy bedroom slippers or Shania Twain’s greatest hits, however, here are some high-tech present ideas that should let you think more about compatibility with your loved ones than about with their hardware.

Starting with preteens, here are two good possibilities: first, the new FLY Pentop Computer from Leapfrog. The $99 FLY is an electronic tour de force that’s basically a scanner shaped like a large pen that uses special paper. Write on the paper, and the scanner not only reads aloud, but processes the information — if you write an appointment, it will remember and remind you at the proper time. Write a math problem and the pen solves it out loud. And there’s more: it plays music based on drawings, for example and includes a series of pen-based games. It’s educational, in the Leapfrog tradition, but it’s also so novel that most kids probably won’t figure out it’s supposed to be good for them.

Don’t feel like something educational for Christmas? Also for preteens, but not as vitamin-packed, is the Game Boy Advance SP SpongeBob package, which for $99 gives you the latest Game Boy Advance — with a new back-lit screen — decorated in SpongeBob dressing, along with two games based on the hugely popular cartoon franchise. The new screen is a considerable improvement; the double game is a nice Christmas bonus.

If your teens have iPods, they've probably already bought at least a few of the approximately ten million accessories now on the market. But here’s a piece of hardware that may have been out of their price range: the Altec Lansing inMotion iM7 portable audio system, which works with all iPods except the Shuffle. Unlike many of the smaller external speaker systems for the iPod, the$249 inMotion puts out great sound with plenty of volume, and since it runs on batteries or AC power it can be used either on the road or as a full-time bedroom sound system.

If your teen doesn’t have a digital camera yet, the Canon PowerShot SD200 is an excellent compact camera that’s lately seen price drops and rebates bringing it below $200. It has a large LCD viewfinder, the traditional great Canon optics and electronics and a slim metal body. The price is dropping because its 3.2 megapixel count is low by current market standards — yet that’s still plenty of resolution for most purposes.

The Eton FR300 is a wind-up emergency radio that can also be run off batteries.

How about new spins on old-fashioned radio? The Delphi MyFi is a pocket-sized satellite radio receiver that can be used in both home and car, as well as (in most locations) on a stroll around the block. Keep in mind that the recipient will also need to pay a monthly subscription fee, but you can throw in an XM gift card to cover the first few months.

The Eton FR300 is a totally different kind of radio: a wind-up emergency model that covers AM, FM, the weather band and VHF television. It also includes adapters to charge a number of the more common cell phone models and is a bargain at about $50.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10253640/

[Troll]

Who’d have thought that reality TV would be the best thing to happen to country music since Shania Twain traversed the desert in a gaudy, leopard-print frock? Seriously, C&W hasn’t had a year this full of gloriously manufactured fun in, like, ever, and we have none other than the Fox and USA networks to thank for introducing us to bubble-country stars Carrie Underwood and Erika Jo.
http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=8572

[Troll]

found on cmt board...

Mary Bailey says that Shania lived for her music and that "she's very familiar to an athlete going for the gold. I'm sure she's got a frivolous side to her, as I'm sure we all do, but I was never privy to it." As far as Shania'a personality, Mary Bailey says, "She's very quiet, very reserved and very cautious about who she lets in."

[Troll]

ALBUM: "Now That's What I Call Music 20." Whereas what we call music would melt Shania Twain's brain.

http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/friday/113412425659810.xml&coll=2

[theTWAINfan]

@Troll: U know what they mean by that?

[SHANIANUTS!]

ALBUM: "Now That's What I Call Music 20." Whereas what we call music would melt Shania Twain's brain.

http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/friday/113412425659810.xml&coll=2...what a load of crap they are purveying..

[Troll]

The Guitammer Company announced today the release of the ButtKicker Gamer --- now shipping worldwide. The ButtKicker Gamer allows the user to feel explosions, crashes and impacts without cranking the sound. Low frequency (bass) is transferred directly into the bodies of the listener, providing a powerful virtual reality experience. The Gamer works with all gaming systems, Xbox, PlayStation 2 and GameCube, and answers the need for both accurate low frequency response and maximum tactile effect.

ButtKicker Gamer is a smaller, consumer version of the popular ButtKicker transducers used by Disney, IMAX, The Rolling Stones, Green Day, Shania Twain, Avril Lavigne, Usher and Los Lonely Boys. It easily attaches to office chairs, making video gaming, computer entertainment and digital music come to life. PC and video games, movies and music have never been so realistic --- or intense.

http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/8894/ButtKicker-Gamer-Released/

[Troll]

ButtKicker(R) Radically Changes the Way We Hear Sound

WESTERVILLE, Ohio, Dec. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- In late 1999, The Guitammer
Company made the claim that their unique ButtKicker low frequency audio
transducers would radically change the way people listen to music and watch
movies. Since then ... product sales have proven their claim.
Thousands of home owners have installed ButtKickers in their home
theaters. Entertainment giants such as Disney and IMAX use ButtKickers in
movie theaters and specialty venues. Entertainers such as Shania Twain, The
Rolling Stones, The Backstreet Boys and Green Day are using ButtKickers for
stage monitoring. Thirty-seven 2005 Gammy Award nominees use ButtKickers on
stage, including ten category winners. Four of the five nominees for 2005
Record of Year use ButtKickers. Berkline, the leader in home theater seating,
offers the ButtKicker as a factory installed options on their home theater
seating line.
ButtKickers can be experienced from Disney World in FL, to IMAX theaters
in Boston, Universal Studios in CA, the Lincoln Museum in IL, the upcoming new
Kennedy Space Center visitor's center and in hundreds of furniture stores
across North America.
In 2005, Guitammer released three new consumer versions of the ButtKicker:
ButtKicker Gamer for PC and video games, music and movies; ButtKicker LFE kit,
a do-it-yourself kit for easy installation; and Silent Subwoofer for Car
Audio. The ButtKicker Gamer has garnered numerous positive reviews from the
gaming community and is on sale at many retailers at $99.99 for the Holiday
season.
The ButtKicker provides amazing low frequency impact to movies, music and
video games by transferring the feeling range of audio directly into the
listeners bodies, rather than through the air as with traditional loudspeakers
and subwoofers. But ... far from a gimmick, the effect is natural, pleasing
and extremely powerful ... without loud volume. In fact, one ButtKicker
attached to the frame of an average-sized motor vehicle replaces a massive
subwoofer in the trunk, with very little sound being heard outside the
vehicle.
How well do people like this sensation? Well, sales of ButtKicker
products have more than quadrupled in past three years and the growth
continues.
ButtKicker products at available at CompUSA and Fry's Electronics stores,
through leading etailers such as newegg.com, buy.com and amazon.com and
electronics retailers worldwide.
Experience the ButtKicker at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 5-8,
Las Vegas - booth #20353.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/12-13-2005/0004233326&EDATE=

[canoilers]

I already felt Shania's music, but this takes it too awhole new level. Thanks for the butt-kicking article. :D

[ROTHCOU]

Thanks for sharing it.

[FinnFreak]

From Miss Universe to Harry Potter:
Yahoo! Canada 2005 Internet Year-in-Review tracks Canadian pop culture online

New Yahoo! Canada Buzz Index Provides Insight and Commentary on Canadian Search Trends


TORONTO, Dec. 15 /CNW/ - Yahoo! Canada (www.yahoo.ca) today released the Yahoo! Canada 2005 Internet Year-in-Review (http://www.yahoo.ca/yearinreview) showcasing the latest Canadian Internet trends and the most popular searches conducted by users on Yahoo! Canada Search for 2005 (http://search.yahoo.ca).

Yahoo! Canada also launched the Yahoo! Canada Buzz Index (http://buzz.yahoo.ca), a measure and commentary on popular searches.

"Canadians turn to the web for information that's important to them whether it is news, sports or entertainment. The Yahoo! Canada 2005 Internet Year-in-Review provides insight into Canadian popular culture and the habits of Canadians online," said Oliver Ho, editor of the Buzz Index and Year-in-Review, Yahoo! Canada. "The Yahoo! Canada Buzz Index provides a unique perspective on the surfing and searching habits of Canadians."


Yahoo! Canada Buzz Index: Pop Culture Online

The Yahoo! Canada Buzz Index (http://buzz.yahoo.ca) measures the top searches from Yahoo! Canada Search. In addition, The Yahoo! Canada Buzz Log provides insight and commentary from the editors at Yahoo! Canada Search. After data is collected from Yahoo! Canada Search log files the editors review the total number of people searching for specific subjects, as well as subjects that spike in interest at particular times of the year and in response to events. Individual users and their searches remain completely anonymous.

Editors filter out company names (such as Yahoo!), utilities and formats (email, MP3), and general terms (movies, downloads, football). The editors' goal is to define and list subjects that are relevant and interesting to the broadest possible audience. To this end, terms related to adults-only content are also excluded.


Canadians and the Internet: 59% Are Online(1)
---------------------------------------------

With over 19 million Canadians online or 59% of the Canadian population, Internet use continues to climb across the nation. The time that men and women spend online every day is more or less equal at around 85 minutes, and the over 68 billion pages they browse online also trend toward equality.


Surfing Trends 2005: Equality Online(2)
-------------------------------------

This year the Internet is the great equalizer between the sexes for Canadians looking for information online. When it comes to the latest news online, the male population stands at 51% with a slight edge over women at 49%. In entertainment women have the slight edge on television information at 52% versus men at 48%. The two sexes are almost evenly split when it comes to music (males 47.3%, females 52.7%) and movies (males 50.3%, females 49.7%).

Surprisingly, in traditionally male-dominated sports, women account for 44% of users.


Search Trends in Canada - Most Popular searches on Yahoo! Canada Search in 2005 (by Category)(3)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note: This data was compiled using the Yahoo! Canada Buzz Index methodology described above.

Newsmakers

1) Karla Homolka
2) Miss Universe, Natalie Glebova
3) Terry Fox
4) Pope John Paul II
5) Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Angelina Jolie


Scandals

1) Jetsgo
2) Gomery Commission
3) Brad, Jenn, Angelina
4) Belinda Stronach
5) Michael Jackson


Movies

1) Harry Potter
2) Star Wars
3) Napoleon Dynamite
4) Batman Begins
5) The Exorcism of Emily Rose


TV Shows

1) American Idol
2) Canadian Idol
3) Days of Our Lives
4) Survivor
5) Big Brother


Canadian Music

1) Avril Lavigne
2) Simple Plan
3) Kalan Porter
4) Shania Twain
5) Nickelback


News Stories

1) Hurricanes
2) Tsunami
3) Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo
4) Live 8
5) Jetsgo


Celebrities

1) Oprah
2) Paris Hilton
3) Britney Spears
4) Hilary Duff
5) Jessica Simpson


Music

1) Britney Spears
2) Hilary Duff
3) Jessica Simpson
4) Avril Lavigne
5) Lindsay Lohan


Canadian Celebrities

1) Avril Lavigne
2) Pamela Anderson
3) Miss Universe, Natalie Glebova
4) Simple Plan
5) Terry Fox


Sports

1) Toronto Blue Jays
2) Toronto Maple Leafs
3) Tour de France
4) Ottawa Senators
5) Montreal Canadiens


For more details and to view the full Yahoo! Canada 2005 Internet Year-in-Review, please visit Yahoo! Canada (www.yahoo.ca) or http://www.yahoo.ca/yearinreview.


(1) comScore Media Metrix, Canada, Demographic Profile Report, January to October 2005
(2) comScore Media Metrix, Canada, Demographic Profile Report, January to October 2005
(3) Yahoo! Inc. Internal Data, Yahoo! Canada registered users, 2005


http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/December2005/15/c0657.html


John - :)

[Troll]

Thanks for the article.

[Troll]

He is, in fact, king of the realm. Bachman-Turner Overdrive and April Wine might represent the fond old guard, but it's Adams who best embodies — and who has taken to its greatest commercial and international heights — a Canadian sub-genre that runs through Loverboy, Honeymoon Suite and Haywire to Nickelback, Theory of a Deadman and Three Days Grace and will no doubt continue to thrive as long as homegrown record execs keep one ear attuned to U.S. radio playlists.

Celine and Shania have sold more records since 1984's Reckless became the first Canadian album to notch a million in sales in Canada (at the time, it was only the 12th album ever to move that many copies in this country), but Adams is still our most profitable proponent of damnably ear-pleasing, meat-and-potatoes guitar-rock tunes that don't think too much and always go exactly where they should.

Combined, his two biggest albums, Reckless and 1991's Waking Up the Neighbours, found their way into nearly 20 million homes around the world.

And although his presence on the pop charts has diminished since a mid-career nosedive into some hokey soundtrack schmaltz and bile-raising nightmares like "(I Wanna Be) Your Underwear" and "When You're Gone," recently redone as a duet with Pamela Anderson, he's still good for a hit ballad in adult-contemporary circles every year or two.

Even given today's context, there remains something very likeable about Adams's peak-years output. Fault him for a willingness to take the easiest route in his songwriting — and a habit of employing collaborators such as Jim Vallance, "Mutt" Lange and Michael Kamen to safeguard his tunes' mass appeal — but his best singles ("Cuts Like a Knife," "This Time," "Run to You," "Summer of '69") are some of the most memorable pop anthems Canada has foisted upon the rest of the planet. Ditto the treacly "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You," which ushered in Adams's soft-rock freefall after selling some eight million copies worldwide in 1991 but lingers as the sweetest, least calculated of his latter-years love songs.

He burned some goodwill on these shores by griping loudly from his English mansion when Neighbours — recorded overseas and produced by British-born Def Leppard/Shania Twain overseer Lange — failed to qualify as fully "Canadian" content under CRTC airplay regulations, despite knowing bloody well that including "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" on the track listing made it a pre-ordained smash. But if the whining was a bit of a faux pas from someone who rose to his station on the back of those regulations, Adams's hubris was at least partially justified from a Canadian superstar who emerged at a time when such a creature was almost unheard of

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1134515413314&call_pageid=970599119419

[FinnFreak]

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - December 16, 2005; Page B1

Silent Night for Music Sales

Holiday Buyers Spurn Tunes
As Industry Picture Worsens;
'Cesspool of Really Bad Bands'


http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/images/MK-AF483_MUSICS_20051215210012.gif


By ETHAN SMITH


The holiday season has traditionally been a time for the music industry to relax and watch the money roll in as big-name releases all but sell themselves. The stocking-stuffer effect is generally strong enough that the season generates 40% of the industry's annual revenue.

This year, though, there's little Christmas cheer to go around. During the crucial Thanksgiving week, for instance, the top 10 albums sold 40% fewer copies than the top 10 albums the same week in 2004. Album sales so far this year are down 7.8%, according to Nielsen SoundScan, compared with the same point a year ago. Sales of individual digital tracks on services like Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes Music Store have increased -- but not nearly enough to offset the slide in CD sales. According to an estimate from SoundScan, overall sales of recorded music are down about 4.5%, if one considers 10 individual tracks the equivalent of an album.

"It's sort of a bleak holiday season at the end of a bleak year," says Jim Urie, president of Universal Music Group's Universal Music & Video Distribution arm.

Retailers who specialize in music say that their outlook is worse than bleak. Music sales at Virgin Megastores' 20 North American locations are down nearly 20%, according to Simon Wright, chief executive of Virgin Entertainment Group. Other music retailers report similar numbers.

Things are so tough that Rob Roth, owner of the Vintage Vinyl music store in Fords, N.J., says that being able to simply keep pace with last year's sales puts him among the lucky few. His new motto: "Flat is the new up."

This season's slide is evidence that, despite a brief uptick in music sales at the end of last year, the music-industry meltdown that began more than five years ago is far from over. The long decline has been fed by a combination of factors -- including online piracy, CD burning, high prices and competition for consumer dollars from videogames and DVDs.

Lately, people in the music industry have said the same basic issues have been intensified by the growing popularity of pricey gadgets like Apple's iPod and Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360, as well as the rising prices for games that go with the new platform.

In the near future, the introduction of next-generation DVDs, which carry high-definition TV signals, is likely to eat into the shrinking space retailers allot CDs. The arrival of Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 videogame platform threatens to further erode music sales. And despite some heavy holiday discounting on CDs, many retailers say their customers believe they are still too expensive. Now, there is even competition for digital-music sales within the iTunes store itself from $1.99 episodes of network-television shows.

But many retailers and label executives alike point to a more fundamental problem this year: A lack of hit acts. Don VanCleave, president of the Coalition of Independent Music Stores, says blame lies with "an absolute, gigantic cesspool of really bad bands."

Consumers seem to agree. This year has seen more albums come and go from the No. 1 sales spot than any year since SoundScan began keeping score in 1991 -- a sign that few hits have staying power. This year's album charts have seen brief reigns, often followed by rapid tumbles, by more than two dozen artists, including Kenny Chesney, Hilary Duff and Rob Thomas.

The music industry hasn't connected broadly with fans since the late-1990s heyday of the teen pop performed by the Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync and Britney Spears. "It's almost like we need a new genre of music," says John Sullivan, chief financial officer of Trans World Entertainment Corp., which operates music stores under the FYE and Coconuts names, among others. "There hasn't been anything fresh to get consumers excited in a while."

The biggest sellers during the current holiday season include Green Day and Mariah Carey, whose albums have been out for months. "These are not as big as the albums we had last year," Mr. Sullivan says. Last year's big sellers included new albums by U2, Eminem and Shania Twain.

None of the four global music companies has been immune to the slide. Vivendi Universal SA's Universal Music has managed to keep its dip to just 2%, but the company has seen disappointing releases by rap stars 50 Cent and Eminem, whose latest releases have done far less well than many retailers had hoped. Mr. Sullivan of Trans World says the soundtrack to 50 Cent's movie "Get Rich or Die Tryin' " was "a disappointment, no question." The disc sold just about 317,000 copies its first week in stores, compared with over 1 million copies in the first week for the rapper's previous album, "The Massacre."

Mr. Urie of Universal, though, says that both the soundtrack and Eminem's greatest-hits package have done as well as the company expected.

After a generally soft year in which it lost several percentage points in market share, Sony and Bertelsmann AG's Sony BMG Music Entertainment have fielded some strong year-end releases by Shakira, System of a Down and R&B newcomer Chris Brown. Warner Music Group Corp. has also had a mixed year, with standouts that included Green Day and several strong rap titles released in partnership with small regional labels.

EMI Group PLC's Capitol and Virgin labels have struggled to field hit albums, although the company's Nashville operation has been strong. And this week Virgin, which is not affiliated with Virgin Megastores, scored the No. 3 position on Billboard's album chart with hard-rock band Korn. The company also says that it has aimed to keep album sales for various artists, including Gorillaz and Joss Stone, strong for the long run, rather than concentrating on huge opening-week numbers. Additionally, the company recently installed as the new chairman of Virgin Records Jason Flom, an industry veteran with a strong track record in finding and developing artists.

Ron Werre, president of EMI Music Marketing, notes that while music sales overall are down, sales of so-called catalog titles -- which have been in stores for more than two years -- have actually improved slightly in the past two weeks. "There is still a viable, interested music buyer,'' Mr. Werre contends. His company has recently seen strong performances by older titles from the Beach Boys, Dean Martin and Keith Urban, among others.

Some retailers say that hot videogame consoles and titles have had a negative impact on some unexpected genres of music. "Often Mom and Dad are the ones buying the Xbox 360" for the kids, says Bryan Everitt, director of music operations at Hastings Entertainment Inc., which operates 153 stores in 20 states in the West and Midwest. "So country, easy listening, classical, and jazz are affected. Even the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Neil Diamond -- Boomer artists -- they're affected."

Mike Dreese, co-owner of New England entertainment chain Newbury Comics Inc. and a board member of the National Association of Recording Merchandisers, says that pricing remains a major problem for the music industry, especially compared with DVDs. "The new Harry Potter movie came out and they're offering $7 videos from the previous movies," he says. "You don't see any $7 Beatles albums."

Universal Music has cut its wholesale prices by as much as 25% in recent years, but its competitors haven't generally followed suit, and some retailers have complained that what cuts there have been haven't been aggressive enough. Eminem's new greatest-hits collection, for instance, sells for more than $10 wholesale, according to retailers. But to compete effectively with big chains, such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which sometimes sell CDs for less than what they pay for them, retailers say they need to sell hot new titles at $9.99 -- which Mr. Dreese calls "the magic price point."

The big question now is whether this year's slide in sales will continue into next year. EMI's Mr. Werre anticipates what he calls a "gift-card effect" after the holidays, when consumers redeem certificates for music both online and in stores. With iPod sales expected to reach new heights this holiday season, music executives say that digital gift certificates for downloads are also expected to do brisk business. The music companies don't count sales from those cards until they are redeemed.

Many music retailers aren't taking any chances and have begun adding products other than CDs. Virgin Megastores, for instance, are being reconfigured to emphasize "music-lifestyle" items, such as clothes and memorabilia, over music itself. In the locations that have been overhauled, music now accounts for only 40% of sales. "If we're dependent on music, then we're going to be vulnerable to the ebb and flow," says the stores' Mr. Wright. "And the fundamental trend in physical music is downward."


http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB113469750280524159-cHiBMNTXDkDv9L46K_JDaIjOcy8_20061215.html?mod=tff_ main_tff_top


John - :)

[canoilers]

OMG I'm losing it, not only did I think I posted in here. Thanks for the articles, hopefully I'm not losing it and I'll post it this time. :p

[Shania's4life!!]

I think it is safe to say that Shania is without doubt one of the most important artists around who are keeping the music industry alive, whether it be with record sales or touring.
Too bad Nashville don't show her the respect she deserves...if it wasn't for people like Shania then the country industry would most likely be out of business by now, they are biting the hand that feeds them.

[Troll]

Thanks for the article John.

[Troll]

What would make someone really want to watch this game is if Mark Twain’s daughter Shania was one of the cheerleaders.

(I know they’re not related, but they both use pseudo names).

http://www.irontontribune.com/articles/2005/12/18/sports/sports091.txt

[canoilers]

What would make someone really want to watch this game is if Mark Twain’s daughter Shania was one of the cheerleaders.

(I know they’re not related, but they both use pseudo names).

http://www.irontontribune.com/articles/2005/12/18/sports/sports091.txt
I don't know but I watched a Superbowl because she was there. :p

[FinnFreak]

Portland Press Herald - Monday, December 19, 2005


Disabilities can't get in the way of Christmas party in Buxton


By SETH HARKNESS



BUXTON — After 20 years of throwing an open-invitation Christmas party for developmentally disabled people in Maine, Kevin Fallen knows where the fun really starts. "Watch the way they attack Santa," he said, shortly before donning a red suit and white beard and being rushed by the crowd as he made his way across the room to the stage.

Both guests and volunteers describe the annual party as one of the highlights of their holidays.

The tradition began as a collaboration between Fallen, who owns a catering company and function hall in Buxton, and an employee who worked with disabled people.

On Sunday afternoon, Fallen's hall on Chicopee Road, The Roost, was trimmed with a festive mix of balloons, lights and garlands. About 25 volunteers from local Lions Clubs and other community groups served turkey dinners to 310 guests and their caretakers. When the music got going, many put down their apple pie and took to the dance floor.

"You will not get a better dancing crowd," said volunteer disc jockey Dan Giroux of Augusta as some guests bounced and swayed in front of the stage and others clapped from wheelchairs.

The already enthusiastic crowd became even more excited when Giroux began playing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town."

Happy shouts erupted when Fallen appeared in a Santa suit and carrying a sack of presents slung over his shoulder. After giving out dozens of hugs, he slowly made his way to the stage where he bantered about his reindeer and handed out grab bags of presents.

A few guests took the opportunity to tell Fallen what they wanted for Christmas. Walter Brooks, a country music fan from Westbrook who wore a black cowboy hat and a blue blazer, asked for the same thing he did last year.

"(For) Shania Twain to come to Portland, Maine," he said.

Later, as guests were opening their small bags of toys with delight, Fallen said the satisfaction of seeing how a small gesture could bring great joy was one reason he had continued hosting this party for 20 years.

"That's what it's all about," he said. "Plain and simple, to see them light up like that. It brings it all back to what it should be."

Fallen and his volunteers stage an annual Halloween party for the same group in the fall.

Cindy Herson, a caregiver at a group home on Emery Street in Portland, said many social events that cater to the developmentally disabled have disappeared with budget cuts.

She drove six people to the Christmas party in Buxton, some of whom had been looking forward to it for weeks.

"They definitely live for this," she said.


http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/york/051219christmasparty.shtml


John - :)

[canoilers]

Great article John, thank you very much. :D

[Troll]

That is a great article.

[Ania]

Thanks so much for the article!!!

[FinnFreak]

Tuesday December 20, 2005 7:56 AM EST


Bell and Groove Mobile launch Canadian mobile music store

By: T.O. Whenham Via: CNW Group

It seems like only yesterday that Canada got electricity, but now they have a new mobile music store. Groove Mobile, already the self-proclaimed world’s leading mobile music service, has teamed up with Bell Canada, the largest Canadian provider, to launch a new download service.

The service lets you download a song seven times, so you can download it to your phone or your PC and transfer it back and forth between the two to your heart’s content. You can also easily send your friends a 30 second preview of a song so that they will know what you are listening to and how cool you are. All downloads also include the cover art, making listening to music a visual treat, too.

Groove Mobile, with the addition of Bell’s subscribers, now serves 77 million users worldwide. They offer both major label music and independent recordings. They’ll do well in Canada as long as they offer old country music and songs from Shania (says the proud Canadian, playing into American stereotypes).


http://www.mobilemag.com/content/100/344/C5681/


John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

Keith Urban Take On Country

Urban sees country as ever-changing and always the same


By Neil Haislop


NASHVILLE, TN Thursday Dec.22.2005 /netmusiccountdown.com/ -- Keith Urban is one of a line of singers that have had success in country music with their own unique style.

His main example is Shania.

"I think Shania, making the record she did (The Woman in Me) changed the acceptance of what country could be. Hers being an extreme version of that, but I mean, good Lord, country is always evolving, it's always got records being made that are extreme versions of what it could be, and then watered down versions come out that are a little closer to acceptance," Keith explains.

He even looked farther back for an example. "Chet Atkins, you know, he came in and added lush strings and the music community, the purists, hated it. Now he's got a street named after him! So, it's a constant evolution and same as it ever was at the end of the day."


http://www.netmusiccountdown.com/inc/news_article.php?id=9417


John - :)

[canoilers]

Keith Urban Take On Country

Urban sees country as ever-changing and always the same


By Neil Haislop


NASHVILLE, TN Thursday Dec.22.2005 /netmusiccountdown.com/ -- Keith Urban is one of a line of singers that have had success in country music with their own unique style.

His main example is Shania.

"I think Shania, making the record she did (The Woman in Me) changed the acceptance of what country could be. Hers being an extreme version of that, but I mean, good Lord, country is always evolving, it's always got records being made that are extreme versions of what it could be, and then watered down versions come out that are a little closer to acceptance," Keith explains.

He even looked farther back for an example. "Chet Atkins, you know, he came in and added lush strings and the music community, the purists, hated it. Now he's got a street named after him! So, it's a constant evolution and same as it ever was at the end of the day."


http://www.netmusiccountdown.com/inc/news_article.php?id=9417


John - :)He he he he, I liked that one baby........ Thank you John very much. Sounds like somebody's been reading my posts. :p God I'm so freakin modest, its almost like I invented modesty. :p

[Troll]

Thanks John for the article.

[matty]

Thanks for posting the articles guys :)

[theTWAINfan]

That's not exactly an article, but still it's great to know I think:
Australian country newcomer Natalie Howard, who has recently won the 2006 IMA category "Country Song of the Year" (infos on that should be available on the IMA website soon) told me in an Interview that Shania is one of her big idols. The Brisbane-based singer-songwriter, who is good friends with Keith Urban, has done a duet with James Dean Hicks and has released her album "Yesterdays Make-Up" on her own Label Ozstar, told me she was thrilled when her album was reviewed on the same page as Shania's Greatest Hits and got an equally good review in an Australian magazine. She describes Shania's career as amazing and says she knows Shania is really down to earth despite all of her success.
Source: My interview with Natalie for 101.9 Coast FM Cairns

[canoilers]

Thats cool, and I remeber a basher coming here and asking who has she inspired. Thats so awesome, I love that stuff. Thank you very much for that. :D Ha ha show that basher, God I'm so mature. :

[Troll]

Thanks for that article.

[FinnFreak]

The Edmonton Sun - Tue, December 27, 2005


Hurtin' song

Country music sales down in '05, but hot debuts and Cash legacy helped the numbers


By AP


NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- A spate of album releases during the busy holiday shopping season has helped buoy country music sales, but probably not enough to avoid a decline from last year.

Through the week ending Dec. 11, country music sold 64.07 million U.S. units this year compared with 66.29 through the same period last year - a three per cent dip, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The figures are considerably better than a couple of months ago, when country sales were off by 10%. The latest numbers also show country to be doing slightly better than the overall music industry, which is down four per cent in total sales from

"I still think the year is going to end up down for us, as it will for the overall industry. There are no late releases that are going to save us for the year," said Joe Galante, chairman of RCA.

The holiday sales period from mid-November through New Year's Eve is critical for the industry, accounting for 30% or more of the year's sales. Record labels often load the final quarter with their biggest releases. This year, for example, records by Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, Johnny Cash, Garth Brooks, Big & Rich, Martina McBride and Reba McEntire all came out around the holidays.

Chesney sold two million copies of his latest, The Road and the Radio, after only six weeks, while Underwood, McBride, Brooks and Cash reached the one-million mark.

The success of The Legend of Johnny Cash, a greatest hits package, is tied to Cash's film bio, Walk the Line. The movie has done well at the box office and generated Oscar buzz for actors Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. The soundtrack also reached Billboard's Top 10.

"The movie is helping the genre in numbers quite a bit," said Ben Kline, Universal Music VP. But like Galante, Kline doesn't expect the late surge to be enough to reverse a slide from last year. He said 2005 didn't have the blockbuster releases of 2004, when Tim McGraw, Toby Keith, Shania Twain, Rascal Flatts and Keith Urban all put out albums, and debuts by newcomers Gretchen Wilson and Big & Rich were surprise smashes.

And, according to Kline, some of the major albums that did come out this year didn't do as well as expected. Recent albums by Keith, Wilson, George Strait, Faith Hill and Brooks & Dunn sold well, but not at the level of some of their previous releases.

Several reasons are cited for the slump. The hurricanes that devastated the U.S. Gulf Coast - a significant market for country music - hurt sales, as did the subsequent spike in gas prices. There's also been strong competition this year from other entertainment products, such as the Xbox and IPod.

Illegal music downloading continues to erode sales.

"I think our business overall is in a massive transition,'' said Capitol Records CEO Mike Dungan. "We're shifting from a physical product to a digital world. All you have to do is go to the Apple store on the weekend and see the cultural shift. It's not just kids playing around with IPods. It's parents and grandparents, too."

Despite the sales downturn, the year had several bright spots.

The Atlanta trio Sugarland and American Idol winner Underwood both had platinum-selling debut albums. Sugarland's Twice the Speed of Life actually came out in 2004 but didn't catch on until this year. Underwood, who had huge name recognition after winning the popular TV show, debuted at No. 1 and went platinum after only about a month.

Another newcomer, Miranda Lambert, went gold when her debut album Kerosene sold 500,000 copies.

Wade Jessen, director of Billboard's country charts, said mid-level acts Trace Adkins, Dierks Bentley, Sara Evans, Brad Paisley and Montgomery Gentry also had banner years.

The genre also seemed to raise its profile, from the Country Music Association holding its annual awards show in New York City to the tabloid coverage of celebrity romances. Chesney's sudden - and brief - marriage to actress Renee Zellweger was one of the hottest celebrity stories of the summer. Urban's relationship with actress Nicole Kidman and Brooks's marriage to Trisha Yearwood also drew splashy coverage.

"We've seen country artists and country music in places we don't typically see them," Jessen said.


http://www.edmontonsun.com/Entertainment/Music/2005/12/27/1369558-sun.html


John - :)

[FinnFreak]

Winnipeg Free Press - Tue Dec 27 2005


'Hello, Winnipeg!'

When it came to live concerts, 2005 provided an embarrassment of riches on local stages


GO back a few years, and it was way too easy to pick the year's best concert. Winnipeg Arena only hosted a handful of shows, so it wasn't too mentally taxing to select the one big Metallica or Shania Twain spectacle.

In 2005, I have no such luck. During MTS Centre's first full year of operations, Winnipeg was graced with dozens of big names, from pint-sized pop stars Hilary Duff and Avril Lavigne to grizzled vets like Paul Anka and what's left of Cher.

Objectively speaking, the biggest draw of the year was Pearl Jam, who packed 15,748 fans into the Phone Booth on Sept. 8. Three months later, Aerosmith and Lenny Kravitz raked in the biggest gross, an estimated $1.15 million on Dec. 8.

But unless you own a McDonald's franchise, quality and quantity are not the same thing. Here, in my not so humble opinion, are Winnipeg's finest live shows of 2005:


EVENT OF THE YEAR

Juno Awards

MTS Centre, April 3


OK, so Brent Butt turned out to be a dud of a host and all the music-industry dweebs snagged the best seats. But when Winnipeg hosted Canada's biggest awards show, the screams of rabid enthusiasm could be heard all the way from Squamish to St. John's.

The show itself was nothing special, and that Winnipeg tribute at the end was more about Randy Bachman's whining than the local music scene.

Yet when the last bottle of expense-account gin was drained and all the minor-league pop stars flew home to Toronto in economy class, it was clear most of Winnipeg had a blast.

Did it have anything to do with music? Nah, not really. But it's safe to say we'll never experience a party like that again.


SPECTACLE OF THE YEAR Gwen Stefani

MTS Centre, Nov. 16


As a vocalist, Gwen Stefani is no better than your average casino-band crooner. As a choreographer, fashionista and conceptualist, the sabbatical-taking No Doubt frontwoman is a freaking genius.

In a year that saw Rod Stewart and Nine Inch Nails bring amazing stage shows into MTS Centre, it was Stefani's freaky love letter to Tokyo street culture that left the biggest impression.

The Harajuku Girls' saucy dance routines were part of the appeal. But four male breakdancers stole the show with moves that combined the athleticism of NFL defensive backs with the grace of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.

It didn't matter what the tunes sounded like, given the visuals.


ARENA ROCK SHOW OF THE YEAR System of a Down

MTS Centre, Sept. 22


The best rock shows should make all the hair stand up on your neck and send a shiver down your spine. Green Day's May appearance at the Phone Booth had potential, but Billie Joe Armstrong's constant pandering to the kiddies broke the spell. Pearl Jam had too many boring lulls, an otherwise excellent Audioslave could not transcend its own sucky material and a parade of classic rockers -- most notably Robert Plant, Judas Priest and Aerosmith -- did remarkably well without inspiring any awe.

The only show that made me jealous of the kids on the floor was September's appearance by System of a Down, L.A. prog-metal weirdos extraordinaire.

Never mind the fact these guys are as tight as NoMeansNo used to be in the days when hardcore was still an underground phenomenon. Music with a message -- in this case, social outrage -- is far more effective than rock without a conscience.


THEATRE SHOW OF THE YEAR

Arcade Fire Burton Cummings Theatre, Sept. 30


Every year or two, a band rides into town on a wave of hype so thick you're predisposed to hate them before they play a note.

Arcade Fire overcame this handicap with a brilliantly paced recreation of most of the tunes from Funeral, the Montreal collective's savant-like debut album. Watching this band, you can't help but get the impression the kids from your high school band are exacting their revenge: This lush, orchestral pop sound shows the geeks really are inheriting the Earth.


FESTIVAL PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

Camper Van Beethoven

Winnipeg Folk Festival, July 9


OK, this one's personal: In 1990, seminal U.S. roots-rock pioneers Camper Van Beethoven broke up months before an appearance at the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Fifteen years later, the reunited band finally made it to Birds Hill Park, playing a 75-minute afternoon set to a crowd of die-hards.

Back in the late '80s, CVB's mix of gypsy fiddles, punk-rock guitars and country two-step was almost too strange for the alternative rock crowd. Today, it sounds incredibly modern.

Good on the Folk Fest for consistently booking the weird and wonderful. I'm going to miss it.

See Thursday's Tab to see what I mean.


http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscriber/entertainment/story/3235758p-3746220c.html


John - :)

[FinnFreak]

The Louisville Kentucky Courier-Journal - Monday, December 26, 2005

Faux real


Fur-wearing socialite Paris Hilton, 24, made PETA's worst-dressed list, but who is tops when it comes to looking sexy in synthetics? Shania Twain, 30, Charlize Theron, 30, and Mariah Carey, 35.

"They all wear a lot of faux fur," said PETA rep Michael McGraw, and look fabulous in the fakes.

But what to do if you — like The Buzz — have grown tired of defending your counterfeit coat to the peeps who mistake it for a dead-animal pelt?

"Your best bet is to wear fur that is obviously fake — à la the gals on "Sex and the City," advises McGraw. "Otherwise, people like Shania wear a pin on their jacket or sweater with the word `fur' crossed out on it."


http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051226/COLUMNISTS18/51226003



:shocked: - ...they think Shania's 30..? :D - younger than Mariah Carey..? - somebody's gotta love this... :]


John - :p

[canoilers]

Who could that ever be. :p Thanks John for the articles very much. :D

[Troll]

Thanks for the articles John.

[FinnFreak]

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - December 29, 2005


The ups and downs of the music scene;
'05 got ugly (no offense, Mariah)


The year 2005 wasn't a pretty one for most of the music industry.

Album sales and touring profits continued to fall. The big labels waged war on consumers through more illegal downloading lawsuits, and a CD spyware scandal that left many music fans' computers exposed to hackers or riddled with unwanted programs.

The year won't be remembered for creativity in the mainstream, either. The most commercially successful artists - gangsta retread 50 Cent and glossy adult-contemporary comeback queen Mariah Carey - weren't exactly pioneers.

There were some bright spots in 2005, however, from some local venues scoring major tours to legal downloading becoming more user-friendly.

You know we love to point fingers. So here are our picks for the winners and losers in music this year, for better or worse.

Winners: Women in pop. Mariah, Mariah, Mariah. The multi-octavalicious songbird made a huge commercial comeback with "The Emancipation of Mimi," which gave her the No. 1-selling song of the year, "We Belong Together," according to Billboard. Carey also is in a three-way tie with John Legend and Kanye West for the most Grammy nominations, with eight possible wins going in to the February awards show.

But the year in pop didn't belong to Mariah alone. The majority of the year's top 10 albums and singles, according to Billboard, belonged to women, with strong showings by Carey, Kelly Clarkson, Gwen Stefani, Destiny's Child, Shania Twain, Ciara and the Pussycat Dolls.

Losers: Women in rock. The Recording Academy, which awards the Grammys, felt the field of female rockers was so weak this year that it combined the male and female rock vocal performance categories into one, the "best solo rock vocal performance" - and then nominated five guys, only one of whom is younger than 50 (Rob Thomas).

I don't have anything against Kelly Clarkson personally - the girl can sing, and her Everychick persona is a welcome break from the pop tarts sharing the charts with her - but these are dark days indeed when she's the most rocking of the successful women in music.

Winners: Consumers who downloaded legally. SoundScan puts the growth of legal digital music sales at 152% over last year's levels, and that's not counting an anticipated post-holiday surge as people cash in iTunes gift cards, reportedly one of the top sellers this season.

Losers: Consumers who purchased CDs legally. The compact disc was already on the way out as more consumers turned to the Internet for their music, legal and otherwise. The major label machine hastened its death, however, with the Sony BMG rootkit scandal that unfolded in November. More than 5 million copies of 50 recent titles released by the mega-label contained a sneaky program that not only tracked user information, including how many times the disc was copied, but also made the computer on which the disc was played vulnerable to hackers.

The program hid itself on the hard drive, making both detection and removal difficult. Nice one, guys. While Sony BMG issued a recall and promised not to use the malicious "extended copy protection" on future releases, thousands of the troublesome CDs - distinguished by the "XCP" logo on the back - are still in stores. It's times like these that lead otherwise decent men and women to piracy, I tell ya.

Winners: Cute-boy bands. Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance and other Warped Tour alumni took over MTV's "TRL" and scored success on the charts with their angsty lyrics and bouncy guitar-pop marketed as punk. Joe Strummer and Joey Ramone are probably spinning in their graves, but hey, if Kelly Clarkson can qualify as a "rock chick," well. ...

Losers: Cute boy-bands. The 'N Sync reunion never happened (darn it!), and the Backstreet Boys' comeback foundered. Released in June, the Boys' "Never Gone" sold 291,000 copies in its first week, compared with 1.1 million copies sold in the first week of release for 1999's "Millennium." The most famous boy band refugee this year, Nick Lachey, wasn't famous for music at all, but for calling it quits with wife Jessica Simpson.


http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2005/dec/1246147.htm


John - :)

[Troll]

Thanks for the article.

[Troll]

Celebrities and their horses

One of the latest trends to grip Hollywood is a fascination with horses. Celebrities are demonstrating a love for horses, and many own and ride these magnificent animals. As rich, and powerful as these people are in their own right, it’s the animals that make them who they are… It’s this connection to nature, and the true respect for the power and grace a horse represents, that can bring any person to his knees. Thus we decided to name a few of the celebrities you probably never knew had such an interest in these graceful beasts.

Shania Twain who is the proud owner of five horses, featured one of her show horses in the video that was considered to have launched her career, 'Any Man of Mine'.

http://www.bodogbeat.com/archives/2005/12/celebrities_and.html

[canoilers]

Thanks for the articles John and Andrew. :D

[FinnFreak]

YOUR STARS FOR 2006


Virgo (August 24 - September 23)

Life: 2006 marks a year of profound personal transformation for you. A lunar eclipse on March 14 will end one phase of your life, and a solar eclipse on September 22 will mark a new chapter. The time in between will be a time of rest, reflection, and contemplation. It appears as though an intimate relationship is involved with this shift. If you’re single, you could decide to get married quite suddenly when you meet the love of your life under unexpected circumstances. If you’re in a troubled relationship, you may decide to cut ties and go solo. Signing a business partner, agent, or manager is another strong possibility.

Love: Your powers of attraction will be at their strongest for the first two months of the year. If you’re single, you may have several people ask you for your number. If you’re already in a relationship, your partner will be especially responsive to your needs. Looking for a date to get engaged or married? Set your sights on the weekend of September 8, which will be glowing with the romantic energy of a lunar eclipse. There will be some astonishing developments, thanks to unpredictable Uranus’s tour of your seventh house of intimate relationships. Fortunately, most of these surprises will be of the sweet and sexy variety.

Loot: If you want to boost your income, pour some extra money into an advertising campaign, website, or promotional materials. The more people who hear of your services, the more business you’ll generate. This may seem like a no-brainer, but you’ll find that a slick new marketing campaign works wonders for you. If you’re looking for work, put together a press kit that includes your CV and work samples. Send out this kit to any companies you’d like to work for, even if they’re not advertising for help. The response may be overwhelming. Best day to ask for a raise? October 23, when the power of the new moon will be on your side.

Luck: The more you travel this year, the luckier you’ll be. You won’t have to take long, overseas journeys to reap rewards. Rather, your best luck may be found in places that are just a few hours from your home town. If you have siblings or cousins, they could throw some golden opportunities your way. Neighbours could also be instrumental in helping you find love, money, work, or anything else you desire. If you’ve ever wanted to be a published author, 2006 could be the year you’ll finally see your name in print. Submit those poems, short stories, and manuscripts!

Famous Virgos: Steve Guttenberg; Billy Ray Cyrus; Claudia Schiffer; Sean Connery; Macaulay Culkin; Jason Priestley; LeAnn Rimes; Shania Twain; Cameron Diaz; Van Morrison; Gloria Estefan; Lily Tomlin; Keanu Reeves; Charlie Sheen; Kristian Alfonso; Raquel Welch; Chrissie Hynde; Adam Sandler; Hugh Grant; Sam Neill; Tommy Lee Jones; David Copperfield; Jada Pinkett Smith; Jimmy Marsden; Jeremy Irons; Bill Murray; Ricki Lake; Stephen King.


http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/weekendlife/viewarticle.aspx?id=316747


John - :)

[FinnFreak]

The Telegraph (Calcutta, India) - Sunday, January 01, 2006


The party just grows bigger


http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060101/images/01food1.jpg
Interiors of Marrakesh, the
lounge bar at Cinnamon.
Picture by Rashbehari Das


Calcutta has really learnt to party, party hard and party long. With the party people in town staying out later than even their Mumbai counterparts, those catering to the crowd are scrambling to keep pace with novel sights and new sounds. So, 2006 is all about taking the party experience a step further.


Motto

According to Bunty Sethi, who sparked it all with Anti-clock and Winning Streak, offering something new will be the New Year clubbing mantra. “You have to be a different player to gain a foothold in this crowded market. Get noticed, consistently maintain quality and there’s no stopping a new nightclub doing great business.”

With partying now a habit, price sensitivity is fast becoming a thing of the past. “Prices won’t matter anymore — as long as you are delivering the goods right,” adds Bunty.

Also, the ideas need to be rocking. While they could be a little gimmicky, but there is no room to “fool around”. For, the party people mean serious business.


Sound

The music makers are set to make this a year to remember, with super international sounds, very ‘with it’ musical leanings and the zeal to teach the crowd to groove. The agenda is quite something, but so is the action plan. DJ Girish feels 2006 is definitely going to be a big year for dance. “Bollywood as always will be huge but the difference will be noticed in the Hip Hop genre. It assumes a new avatar with Reggaeton and the two-step Hip Hop. Electro-house is surely going to dominate the clubbing scene,” feels Girish.

So while we bid bad remixes goodbye, you must watch out for divas like Madonna and Shania Twain as they make a comeback.

Also, just standing there and shaking a leg will be a no-no with Calcuttans all geared up to dance all night, and dance it right. “With Latino dance forms making waves, the regular party goer is ready to try out newly-acquired dance moves on the floor,” adds Girish.


Address

The party pitch too promises to grow. At least three new night spots are scheduled to hit the floor this year.

The action starts off with the launch of Bunty’s 11,000 sq ft nightclub Venom on the eighth floor of Fort Knox at 6, Camac Street. Also coming up at Venom are a restaurant and the city’s first Ice Bar.

The other big bang comes in the summer of 2006. With cutting-edge technology, high-profile fashion shows and parties, and lots of visual imagery, F-Bar and Lounge will open its Calcutta doors. “The work on the interiors is on and we are trying to open the place fast. The chilling out curve in the city is on the rise and we want to cash in,” says P.C. Rao, Calcutta operator.

A brand extension of Fashion TV, the bar and lounge is coming up on 11/1, Sarat Bose Road, the space that previously housed The Golden Harvest and China Valley restaurants.

Marrakesh, the lounge bar housed inside the posh Cinnamon restaurant on Park Street, is also slated to open its doors in January. The 2,000 sq ft lounge is inspired by and themed on Morocco.


http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060101/asp/calcutta/story_5663287.asp


John - :)

[Troll]

Thanks for the article John.

[FinnFreak]

Philadelphia Daily News - Tuesday, Jan 03, 2006


Radio scramble

Broadcast industry takes steps to counter Sirius (and XM) problem

...

Thanks to deals made with record labels including the Universal Music Group, users will find channels dedicated to specific artists - including 12 just for Universal country headliners, including Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, Shania Twain and George Strait.

...


http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/living/13537302.htm


John - :)

[FinnFreak]

Technology Marketing Corporation - January 04, 2006

Byte Interactive Announces Record Growth; Strategic Digital Marketing Firm Grows Revenues, Client Base, Employees


SOUTH NORWALK, Conn. --(Business Wire)-- Jan. 4, 2006 -- Byte Interactive, a strategic digital marketing agency, announced today that 2005 represents the most significant period of growth in the firm's eight-year history. Revenue in 2005 has grown approximately 80 percent over 2004; and the number of employees has jumped more than 25 percent since January.

Mike LeBeau, CEO of Byte Interactive, said: "This has been a groundbreaking year for Byte Interactive. The team's ability to secure business from a number of world-leading consumer-products companies only further establishes Byte Interactive as a major player in the industry."

In 2005, Byte Interactive landed three new high-profile new accounts, including BIC, leading supplier of office products; K2 Inc., consumer products company with a portfolio of leading sporting goods brands; and Vitasoy, leading soy foods and beverage company.

"We selected Byte Interactive because the team has demonstrated superior expertise and innovative thinking," said Tim Koletsos, Director, Stationery Marketing, BIC. "Byte is a true marketing partner with a clear understanding of BIC's business needs and our customers' needs - a balance that is critical to the success of our strategic communications initiatives."

In addition to revenue growth from new accounts, Byte Interactive also secured additional business within its existing client base, launching new project work with Nestle Waters and Coty, which included the Web component for the fragrance launches of Sarah Jessica Parker's Lovely and Shania Twain's Shania by Stetson.


http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2006/jan/1260990.htm


John - :)

[Troll]

Thanks for the article.

[FinnFreak]

PR Web - January 4, 2006


Con Hunley's New Album Follows 2004’s Successful Comeback

Country music singer/songwriter Con Hunley releases a new album, Shoot From The Heart, on the heels of his 2004 successful comeback CD.


Nashville, TN (PRWEB) January 4, 2006 -- In a masterful follow-up to the critically acclaimed Sweet Memories, Con Hunley releases a new album, Shoot From The Heart, on January 10th and begins a series of personal appearances to promote the new record.

Country music fans are re-discovering the blue-eyed country song stylist who placed 25 hits on the country charts in the 70’s and 80’s. His 2004 comeback CD garnered ecstatic reviews from critics and fans, and CMT.com named Sweet Memories one of the top-10 country albums of the year.

Singles from Sweet Memories received airplay at stations from coast to coast as well as both national satellite country outlets, XM and Sirius. Since then, the unforgettable stylist has done more than 400 media interviews about his remarkable resurgence.

Like Sweet Memories, Shoot From The Heart is co-produced by Hunley and Norro Wilson, the legendary Nashville producer who also co-produced Kenny Chesney's No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem triple platinum release and albums by Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, Sara Evans and George Jones, among others.

Hunley co-wrote the collection’s autobiographical title tune, as well as its wildly energetic rocker “That Old Clock.”

Shoot From The Heart comes packed with country ballads that have long been the stylist’s specialty – “Look at Me Loving You Again” and “The Keys,” for instance. His soulful rendition of “Deep in the Arms of Texas” is underscored by weeping steel guitar.

Hunley’s heart-melting vocal phrasing has seldom been more expressive than on “I Can See You With My Eyes Closed” and “Georgia On My Mind.” His performance on the CD’s first single, the heart-felt power-ballad “I Can’t Make it Alone,” is so intense it raises goose bumps.

“I Can’t Make It Alone” will be released to radio on January 9th.The album Shoot From The Heart will be available at Wal-Mart and select record stores as well as online at conhunley.com. For more information visit http://www.conhunley.com


http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/1/prweb328314.htm


John - :)

[theTWAINfan]

YOUR STARS FOR 2006


Virgo (August 24 - September 23)

[...]a solar eclipse on September 22 will mark a new chapter.
[...]
Famous Virgos: [...] Shania Twain; [...]


Does that mean we'll get a new Shania album September 22nd? :p

[FinnFreak]

Does that mean we'll get a new Shania album September 22nd? :p
:funny:

...perhaps a new single first..?


John - :p

[FinnFreak]

The Tennessean - Thursday, 01/05/06

Album sales drop in '05 as legal downloads soar

Country music purchases off 3.3% but top all genres except one


By RYAN UNDERWOOD
Staff Writer


Sales of country music albums dipped 3.3% last year, but it could have been a lot worse.

Buffeted by a huge increase in legal downloads of individual songs, traditional album sales across virtually all genres of music fell 7.2%.

Industry experts blamed everything from higher gasoline prices siphoning off consumers' discretionary income to younger consumers cherry-picking the music they want off the Internet instead of plunking down bigger bucks for CDs in brick and mortar stores.

The data was included in a year-end report issued by sales tracking firm Nielsen SoundScan yesterday.

The good news was that overall sales of CDs, ringtones, albums and digital downloads passed the 1 billion mark in 2005, climbing 22% in terms of units sold thanks to the rapid expansion of digital offerings.

Sales of digital albums and tracks soared by triple-digit percentages last year, offering industry insiders a fresh plate of data on the impact of the paid download market.

One downside to the digital bonanza, though, is that the sale of single tracks generally brings only a few pennies compared with CDs that sell for $15 to $20.

With album sales down and digital sales way up, what is Music Row and the rest of the music industry to make of this news?

"Bottom line: It was a down year," said Geoff Mayfield, director of charts and senior analyst for Billboard magazine, pointing out that high gas prices may have affected entertainment spending.

"Spinning it as anything but that would be like gift wrapping the garbage," he said.

While sales of digital tracks — downloaded from pay sites — shot up 150% to 352.7 million units in 2005, and digital album sales went up 194% to 16.2 million, Mayfield pointed out that compared with the rest of the industry's sales, digital remains a drop in the bucket in terms of revenue for the overall music market.

"Not to diminish digital sales, but what tends to get forgotten is that CDs still comprise the vast majority of the money that's being made for record companies," he said. Year-end numbers on revenue were not available yesterday.

Total album sales in 2005 came in at 618.9 million units, according to the Nielsen SoundScan report. Digital albums, for all their percentage gains in recent years, sold 16.2 million units in 2005. That amounted to just 2.6% of total album sales.

And even though 352.7 million digital tracks were sold last year, the total revenue they bring in (at a sales price of 99 cents a song) pales in comparison with CDs, which typically cost around $15. SoundScan collects data only on the number of units sold by music retailers and does not track revenue information.

In terms of albums sold, even though country sales slipped, the genre still managed to finish at No. 2 behind Latin music, which saw a 12.6% increase and was the only genre to see its sales increase. Christian/gospel album sales were off by 8.1% for the year.

The big question mark for all genres is whether the increase in downloaded music is enough to offset the sizable decrease in album sales. Nielsen SoundScan also does not break down digital sales by genre, making it impossible to understand how much of the album sales slack is being taken up by downloading in a particular musical niche.

For instance, with country album sales down 3.3%, it's unclear whether Music Row had an off year altogether or if digital sales were enough to fill that gap.

One other complicating factor for country is that a Garth Brooks boxed set sold exclusively at Wal-Mart for the holidays was not included in SoundScan numbers.

The retailer reported last month that the set had sold more than a million copies, and various reports put the number as high as 2 million to 2.5 million. The inclusion of those sales could have pushed this year's country numbers closer to last year's country album sales of 77.9 million.

One category that may have a better answer to how much of an impact digital sales are having on its volume is Christian/gospel. Unit sales for that genre are reported separately by the Christian Music Trade Association in partnership with Nielsen Christian SoundScan.

In that report, released yesterday, sales in the genre, including digital tracks and albums, rose 2.4% to 43.5 million units.

"Gospel music held its own in 2005, maintaining its album market share in an overall music industry that was down in sales," said John W. Styll, president of the Nashville-based Gospel Music Association, in a release announcing the year-end figures.

Styll was traveling outside the country yesterday and couldn't be reached for further comment.

The Country Music Association, which had high hopes for the year after getting significant national media exposure when it held this year's awards show in New York, had no comment.

A CMA spokeswoman said the association was preparing its own report, which is scheduled for release tomorrow — or early next week — that will include revenue figures for music sales and artist tours.

Two country stars landed a spot on SoundScan's 2005 top 10 selling artists list: Kenny Chesney at No. 4 and Toby Keith at No. 9. Rascal Flatts' album Feels Like Today came in No. 7 on the top 10 selling albums for the year.

Two digital songs broke the 1 million sales mark in 2005: Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani (1,172,000) and Gold Digger by Kanye West (1,080,000). No country stars made it onto the top-selling digital lists.

But Shania Twain's Come On Over finished as the top-selling album of the SoundScan era, 1991-2006, with 15,355,018 units sold.


http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060105/BUSINESS11/601050396/1003/BUSINESS


John - :)

[RKSTFan]

Thursday, 01/05/06

Album sales drop in '05 as legal downloads soar

Country music purchases off 3.3% but top all genres except one

By RYAN UNDERWOOD
Staff Writer

Sales of country music albums dipped 3.3% last year, but it could have been a lot worse.

Buffeted by a huge increase in legal downloads of individual songs, traditional album sales across virtually all genres of music fell 7.2%.

Industry experts blamed everything from higher gasoline prices siphoning off consumers' discretionary income to younger consumers cherry-picking the music they want off the Internet instead of plunking down bigger bucks for CDs in brick and mortar stores.

The data was included in a year-end report issued by sales tracking firm Nielsen SoundScan yesterday.

The good news was that overall sales of CDs, ringtones, albums and digital downloads passed the 1 billion mark in 2005, climbing 22% in terms of units sold thanks to the rapid expansion of digital offerings.

Sales of digital albums and tracks soared by triple-digit percentages last year, offering industry insiders a fresh plate of data on the impact of the paid download market.

One downside to the digital bonanza, though, is that the sale of single tracks generally brings only a few pennies compared with CDs that sell for $15 to $20.

With album sales down and digital sales way up, what is Music Row and the rest of the music industry to make of this news?

"Bottom line: It was a down year," said Geoff Mayfield, director of charts and senior analyst for Billboard magazine, pointing out that high gas prices may have affected entertainment spending.

"Spinning it as anything but that would be like gift wrapping the garbage," he said.

While sales of digital tracks — downloaded from pay sites — shot up 150% to 352.7 million units in 2005, and digital album sales went up 194% to 16.2 million, Mayfield pointed out that compared with the rest of the industry's sales, digital remains a drop in the bucket in terms of revenue for the overall music market.

"Not to diminish digital sales, but what tends to get forgotten is that CDs still comprise the vast majority of the money that's being made for record companies," he said. Year-end numbers on revenue were not available yesterday.

Total album sales in 2005 came in at 618.9 million units, according to the Nielsen SoundScan report. Digital albums, for all their percentage gains in recent years, sold 16.2 million units in 2005. That amounted to just 2.6% of total album sales.

And even though 352.7 million digital tracks were sold last year, the total revenue they bring in (at a sales price of 99 cents a song) pales in comparison with CDs, which typically cost around $15. SoundScan collects data only on the number of units sold by music retailers and does not track revenue information.

In terms of albums sold, even though country sales slipped, the genre still managed to finish at No. 2 behind Latin music, which saw a 12.6% increase and was the only genre to see its sales increase. Christian/gospel album sales were off by 8.1% for the year.

The big question mark for all genres is whether the increase in downloaded music is enough to offset the sizable decrease in album sales. Nielsen SoundScan also does not break down digital sales by genre, making it impossible to understand how much of the album sales slack is being taken up by downloading in a particular musical niche.

For instance, with country album sales down 3.3%, it's unclear whether Music Row had an off year altogether or if digital sales were enough to fill that gap.

One other complicating factor for country is that a Garth Brooks boxed set sold exclusively at Wal-Mart for the holidays was not included in SoundScan numbers.

The retailer reported last month that the set had sold more than a million copies, and various reports put the number as high as 2 million to 2.5 million. The inclusion of those sales could have pushed this year's country numbers closer to last year's country album sales of 77.9 million.

One category that may have a better answer to how much of an impact digital sales are having on its volume is Christian/gospel. Unit sales for that genre are reported separately by the Christian Music Trade Association in partnership with Nielsen Christian SoundScan.

In that report, released yesterday, sales in the genre, including digital tracks and albums, rose 2.4% to 43.5 million units.

"Gospel music held its own in 2005, maintaining its album market share in an overall music industry that was down in sales," said John W. Styll, president of the Nashville-based Gospel Music Association, in a release announcing the year-end figures.

Styll was traveling outside the country yesterday and couldn't be reached for further comment.

The Country Music Association, which had high hopes for the year after getting significant national media exposure when it held this year's awards show in New York, had no comment.

A CMA spokeswoman said the association was preparing its own report, which is scheduled for release tomorrow — or early next week — that will include revenue figures for music sales and artist tours.

Two country stars landed a spot on SoundScan's 2005 top 10 selling artists list: Kenny Chesney at No. 4 and Toby Keith at No. 9. Rascal Flatts' album Feels Like Today came in No. 7 on the top 10 selling albums for the year.

Two digital songs broke the 1 million sales mark in 2005: Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani (1,172,000) and Gold Digger by Kanye West (1,080,000). No country stars made it onto the top-selling digital lists.

But Shania Twain's Come On Over (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000001EW3/ref=pd_ecc_rvi_1/102-1225807-1178506?%5Fencoding=UTF8) finished as the top-selling album of the SoundScan era, 1991-2006, with 15,355,018 units sold.




Sources:

The Tennessean (http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060105/BUSINESS11/601050396)

RCtimes.com (http://www.rctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060105/BUSINESS11/601050396/1005/MTCN0303)

Dickson Herald (http://www.dicksonherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060105/BUSINESS11/601050396/1297/MTCN02)

Fair View Observer (http://www.fairviewobserver.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060105/BUSINESS11/601050396/1321/MTCN06)

Ashland City Times (http://www.ashlandcitytimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060105/BUSINESS11/601050396/1291/MTCN01)

Gallatin News Examiner (http://www.gallatinnewsexaminer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060105/BUSINESS11/601050396/1309/MTCN04)

[GorToma]

thanks for posting :D:D

[ROTHCOU]

Great news. Thank you for sharing it.

[Roger]

This article has a very negative spin, I guess because it reflects the view of the record companies. Their main interest seems to be making money, not serving the public. For the public this was a great year for the music biz. Now people are not held hostage to the album format. Now we can buy only the music we really want.

[canoilers]

Thank you for the articles. :D

[canoilers]

Thanks for posting this article.

[SHANIANUTS!]

....they know how many were sold in 2006....pretty good....

[Shania's4life!!]

So this means Come On Over sold just under 90,000 units during 2005.
That is still great sales for an album that is almost a decade old, but the release of the Greatest Hits has definitely hurt Come On Over's sales considering COO sold over 370,000 in 2004. I think this year COO will regain some higher stablized sales though, but the GH will remain Shania's highest cataloge seller for now.

[Ania]

Thanks for posting that!!

[shaniagal]

PeopleNews
http://img.timeinc.net/people/i/2006/news/060116/dpelltier.jpg
Olympic Figure Skaters Wed
Saturday Jan 07, 2006 6:00am EST

CREDIT: GERRY THOMAS / PHOTO JOURNEY LTD.
For their wedding it came down, as usual, to him, her and a judge. Only this time, Canadian pairs figure skaters David Pelletier and Jamie Sale – who were awarded gold medals at the 2002 Olympics after it was revealed their second-place finish was a result of vote-rigging – didn't have to wait long for the verdict.
After a 15-minute ceremony on Dec. 30 at the Fairmont Banff Springs hotel in Alberta, Canada, the judge – a decidedly partial family pal – pronounced the couple husband and wife.
During the ceremony 115 family members and friends held candles as Pelletier, 31, and Sale, 28, exchanged personal vows. Sale, who began dating Pelletier a year after they started skating together in 1998, admits she was "both excited and nervous" to speak her vows; as a surprise to her French-speaking Quebecois groom, Sale told him "that I love his smile, how he laughs, and that he’s my soulmate" in his native tongue.
"It was," says Pelletier, "very emotional for me."
Before a dinner featuring smoked trout, sushi and maple sugar pie, the two, who went back to work on the Smucker's Stars on Ice tour a week after the wedding, took their first dance to Shania Twain's "From This Moment."
After the night of dancing ended at 12:30 a.m., says Sale, "We were like, 'It's over already?’” Nah, just beginning.
Sale, for one, loves the new feeling she gets every time she looks at Pelletier. As she says: "Wow. That’s my husband."

http://people.aol.com/people/articles/0,19736,1146885,00.html

[shania megafan]

Thanks for posting! :up:

[Troll]

That is cool. :up:

[matty]

Awesome, thanks for posting :)

[melli]

Yeah, that's cool!
I wanna get married to Shania too :p .

[GorToma]

:great: - thanks for posting :D:D

[SHANIANUTS!]

;).........I saw this article via my Google Shania Alert before looking at the title of this thread......... and it still threw me for a moment.......;)

[Roger]

They are a great couple, attractive in all ways.

[Ania]

Cool, thanks for posting! :)

[canoilers]

Nice Edmonton couple if you ask me, nice taste in music too. :p I wish them the very best, and a long and happy life together. They certainly made this town very proud of them, as well with the rest of the nation.

[canoilers]

Maybe we should be asking them for next weeks lotto numbers too. :p

[shaniagal]

I've met them. Jamie is really sweet and humble. David is okay but a bit cold. I completely understand though. :D

[canoilers]

I wouldn't mind meeting Jamie, she seems like a nice person. Jamie I don't know too much about, but from what I've seen he's seemed okay.

[shaniagal]

I wouldn't mind meeting Jamie, she seems like a nice person. Jamie I don't know too much about, but from what I've seen he's seemed okay.

I think you mean David

[canoilers]

Yeah I mean David, I can't believe I wrote Jamie............. Gee I wonder where my brain is at, would that be a Freudian slip. I mean the penised one of the two people in question. :p

[ShaniaKoukla]

If you go to their website:http://www.sale-pelletier.com/english/quickfactsjamie.html you can read the line: Who are your role models/heros? Scott Hamilton, Shania (love her), Bill Cosby and Tiger
and :if you could be anybody else for a day, who would you be and why? I would love to be a dog for a day because I'd be kissed all the time, sleep all the time and have someone do everything for me. Life is good! I would also like to be Shania for a day, to sing and be so beautiful and sell out shows. I always thought it would be so cool to have everyone know the words to your songs. Wow!

[shania megafan]

That's great! Thanks for the info! :up:

[Paul]

If you go to their website:http://www.sale-pelletier.com/english/quickfactsjamie.html you can read the line: Who are your role models/heros? Scott Hamilton, Shania (love her), Bill Cosby and Tiger
and :if you could be anybody else for a day, who would you be and why? I would love to be a dog for a day because I'd be kissed all the time, sleep all the time and have someone do everything for me. Life is good! I would also like to be Shania for a day, to sing and be so beautiful and sell out shows. I always thought it would be so cool to have everyone know the words to your songs. Wow!


I like them both already....... :p Bill Cosby rules!

[MiniShaniaTwain]

That's great news for them, and that's really cool that they got married to Shania!

[SHANIANUTS!]

Google Alert for: Shania Twain

This talented Canadian band blends musical genres in its second ... (http://www.ardemgaz.com/ShowStoryTemplate.asp?Path=ArDemocrat/2006/01/08&ID=Ar05800&Section=Features)
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (subscription) - Little Rock,AR,USA
Smart Kid Nettwerk ACanadians come up with some of the niftiest sounds around, that is if you ignore Celine Dion and that scantily clad bimbo, Shania Twain. ...

[SHANIANUTS!]

;)...first she was called "the highest paid lap dancer" ...now she is "that scantily clad bimbo" ...wow she is coming up in the world...;)

[SHANIANUTS!]

http://www.arkansasonline.com/ShowIndex.asp?Section=Features

This talented Canadian band blends musical genres in its second big-label release Clumsy but Smart (http://www.arkansasonline.com/ShowStoryTemplate.asp?Path=ArDemocrat/2006/01/08&ID=Ar05800&Section=Features)
The Clumsy Lovers Smart Kid Nettwerk ACanadians come up with some of the niftiest sounds around, that is if you ignore Celine Dion and that scantily clad bimbo, Shania Twain. I’m referring to the Barenaked Ladies, Blue Rodeo, The Dukhs and The Tragically Hip, bands that don’t get the attention they deserve south of the border.

[canoilers]

Google Alert for: Shania Twain

This talented Canadian band blends musical genres in its second ... (http://www.ardemgaz.com/ShowStoryTemplate.asp?Path=ArDemocrat/2006/01/08&ID=Ar05800&Section=Features)
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (subscription) - Little Rock,AR,USA
Smart Kid Nettwerk ACanadians come up with some of the niftiest sounds around, that is if you ignore Celine Dion and that scantily clad bimbo, Shania Twain. ...

:shocked: Some people eh. Hey those two happen to deserve the Spot light they have in the States. Shania's worked very hard to get where she's at, and as being a member of the O.C. just goes to show a fraction of how proud we are of her.

[canoilers]

http://www.arkansasonline.com/ShowIndex.asp?Section=Features

This talented Canadian band blends musical genres in its second big-label release Clumsy but Smart (http://www.arkansasonline.com/ShowStoryTemplate.asp?Path=ArDemocrat/2006/01/08&ID=Ar05800&Section=Features)
The Clumsy Lovers Smart Kid Nettwerk ACanadians come up with some of the niftiest sounds around, that is if you ignore Celine Dion and that scantily clad bimbo, Shania Twain. I’m referring to the Barenaked Ladies, Blue Rodeo, The Dukhs and The Tragically Hip, bands that don’t get the attention they deserve south of the border.Well for one thing, The Bare Naked Ladies actually sell better in the States than in Canada, one of the very few bands to do so too. He's right, but he screwed up the artist, Shania should get way more play in the States. Theres really not enough of her south of the 49th. Although I would agree with Blue Rodeo and the Tragically Hip are right on the money.

Scantily Clad I take it now as meaning fully clothed, wow he changed the defintion of a word....... cool.

[Troll]

Doesn't anybody think that topic title seems a little wierd?

[canoilers]

If you go to their website:http://www.sale-pelletier.com/english/quickfactsjamie.html you can read the line: Who are your role models/heros? Scott Hamilton, Shania (love her), Bill Cosby and Tiger
and :if you could be anybody else for a day, who would you be and why? I would love to be a dog for a day because I'd be kissed all the time, sleep all the time and have someone do everything for me. Life is good! I would also like to be Shania for a day, to sing and be so beautiful and sell out shows. I always thought it would be so cool to have everyone know the words to your songs. Wow!
Yeah baby I like the fact thats another Edmontonian who likes Shania. I know I'm not the only one, but hearing that puts a smile on my face. Jamie Rooooools, I thought she was awesome before..... but even more so now. :D :] :bounce: :bow: :nod: :bonk: :cowboy:

[Troll]

If you go to their website:http://www.sale-pelletier.com/english/quickfactsjamie.html you can read the line: Who are your role models/heros? Scott Hamilton, Shania (love her), Bill Cosby and Tiger
and :if you could be anybody else for a day, who would you be and why? I would love to be a dog for a day because I'd be kissed all the time, sleep all the time and have someone do everything for me. Life is good! I would also like to be Shania for a day, to sing and be so beautiful and sell out shows. I always thought it would be so cool to have everyone know the words to your songs. Wow!

Thanks for the info.

[FinnFreak]

Variety.com - Mon., Jan. 9, 2006


Greatest hits stumble amid holi-daze

Repackaging plan leaves biz with little in its Christmas stocking


By PHIL GALLO


"The Beatles 1" gave the music industry a great idea back in 2000: Pump the bottom line with hits compilations in the fourth quarter. That recipe for success, however, may be as stale as last year's fruitcake.

Of the greatest hits albums released after Oct. 1, only a single disc, Eminem's "Curtain Call," has topped 1 million in sales, while the top 10 sellers have represented just 4.85 million units sold. That's a 48% drop from the 9.3 million sold at the end of 2004, a fourth quarter led by three country stars -- Shania Twain (2.24 million), Toby Keith (1.9 million) and George Strait (1.88 million).

In 2004, 18 hits compilations released after Oct. 1 made it into the top 100. There were 19 compilations readied in 2005, which had music retailers confident -- in November -- that the season would perform about as well as the year before. They were wrong.

Whereas 2004 had several steady sellers, '05 had to sit nervously waiting for the Dec. 6 release of the Eminem compilation that, while it sold well, didn't come close to posting the numbers his previous full-lengths have.

The savior, to a great extent, was Johnny Cash. A hits compilation from Island and Columbia Legacy, "Legend of Johnny Cash," posted the late country singer's best numbers in decades and settled into the top 20 amid contempo stars such as Madonna and Fall Out Boy. Buoyed by the Cash-June Carter biopicbiopic "Walk the Line," the Cash catalogue burned like a ring of fire.

"Legend of Johnny Cash" sold nearly 850,000 between its release on Oct. 25 and Jan. 1. The four-CD version of "The Legend" has sold125,000. And during Christmas week, Cash's "16 Biggest Hits" sold 52,000, "Essential Johnny Cash" sold 35,000 and "Live at Folsom Prison" sold 22,000 copies.

"Everyone is getting smarter about when to release a hits project," says Ronn Werre, president of EMI Music Marketing, which has done well recently with Dean Martin and Beach Boys projects, but faltered with a John Lennon compilation last year. "It is too expensive to release anything but superstar records in the fourth quarter, so you need to find better release dates during the year."

He singled out holidays such as Father's Day, memorial Day and Valentine's Day as dates worth circling on the calendar for certain releases. Tim McGraw's "Greatest Hits Vol. 2" and "Reconsider Me: The Love Songs," Artemis' collection of work from the late Warren Zevon, are the first albums targeted for release just before Valentine's Day 2006.

Another factor is clearly the digital arena wherein fans can create their own greatest hits records long before any label decides they want to hit retail with a compilation.

Labels and online services are reluctant to discuss whether Apple's iTunes and other similar services cannibalize the greatest hits marketplace. In the case of Destiny's Child, for example, every song from their catalog was available online prior to Columbia's release of "#1's." And iTunes often organizes an artist's catalog so that a consumer can navigate the catalog according to their interest level.

That organization and availability certainly limited the sales of "#1's," which is well under 1 million units. A collection of 'N Sync hits released by Jive got no higher than No. 47 after its release on Oct. 25, and was off the top 200 chart by Thanksgiving.

The one compilation that seems to thrive despite the prominent availability of hit songs on Internet sites is the "Now That's What I call Music" series. Vols. 19 and 20 were still in the top 200 as the year closed; No. 20 had sold 2. 1 million copies in nine stanzas while No. 19 had a cume of 2 million after 25 weeks.

Werre actually had a card up his sleeve when discussing the fate of compilations. EMI was using the last week of the year to launch Ricky Nelson's "Greatest Hits," which sold 18,000 copies in its first stanza. Release date was tied to -- what else? -- death. Nelson died 20 years ago on Dec. 31 in a plane accident.

The Nelson record opened at No. 102 on the Nielsen SoundScan chart, making it his highest-charting debut since "Garden Party" opened at No. 65 in 1972. In the SoundScan era (since 1991), Nelson had never sold more than 2,300 units in a week.


http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117935599?categoryid=1019&cs=1&s=h&p=0




The Record-Journal


New Goodwill store holds grand opening


By Jesse D. Smolin, Record-Journal staff


SOUTHINGTON — While Goodwill stores have traditionally been thought as stores for the less fortunate, Terry Sciola, the New Haven area regional retail director, said she wants the Southington store to cater to all walks of life.

The new 12,000-square-foot Easter Seals Goodwill store on 350 Queen St., capped with a bright white roof and sloping black awnings proves that. Instead of being housed in a one-room storage area the large building resembles most other retail outlets.

On Thursday, about 15 employees hustled in and on and off the sales floor as they arranged garment racks and setting up displays in preparation for grand opening this past Friday. The store will celebrate the day with raffles and 25 percent off most items

While most of the store’s items are donated to the store, including clothing, house wares shoes and furniture, they do not look used. Many of the goods had their original tags on them. Goods are often donated from stores that went out of business and from people who received unwanted gifts, Sciola said.

Nothing at the store will stay on the floor longer than four weeks. Each week, new clothing will be put out and labeled with a colored tag, this week’s clothing was labeled with a pink fastener. At the end of the month all of the clothing with a pink tag will be marked one-half off, and then sold for $1 on the Sunday before they are sold as rags, Sciola said.

“Each week the same people will come in. I am not going to insult them by leaving the same things on the rack,” she said.

To ensure donations keep coming a drive-up donation center will by finished later this week to make it easier to donate.

Because the goods are donated they are donated for nominal prices. Most shirts are sold for $3.99 and pants for $4.99, the name brand items are sold in the store’s boutique section for slightly higher prices of $8.99. Miscellaneous items are also placed in front of the store including a signed picture of Shania Twain, and a Southington Monopoly Game with past local businesses, each for $9.99.

Proceeds from the goods are then used to fund programs designed to enhance employment and opportunities for people with physical and mental disabilities, individuals who were formerly homeless, and those who are poor or unemployed.

“The more money we make the more programs we are able to open,” said Jim DeLucia, the store’s manager.

The programs include job placement, computer training, vocational assessment and career exploration activities for special education students, helping children and adults find a job after being incarcerated.

Once they have landed a job Goodwill offers job-coaching services to ensure successful transition to employment including transportation to and from the job.

“We want them to become productive members of society,” Sciola said.

The Southington store is one of eight other stores in the state. There are two donation centers, one at 1032 S. Main St. in Cheshire.

Members of the nonprofit organization also plan to work with the Southington Social Services Department, to coordinate in helping to find clients, provide clothing vouchers to them, and job opportunities in the next few months, said Joseph Galasso, the vice president of retail operations. Goodwill International chose Southington based on demographic and population studies.

The Southington store is one of nine stores in the state. There are also donation centers in Branford and in Cheshire on 1032 S. Main St.

Store hours are Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

jsmolin@record-journal.com

(203) 317-2234


http://www.record-journal.com/articles/2006/01/08/news/news06.txt


John - :)

[canoilers]

Doesn't anybody think that topic title seems a little wierd?
Well I do see the sitituation on one hand, I think he's right. You American's miss out on some really talented Canadians. I can totally understand the part, as for the thing against Shania I don't.

[canoilers]

Variety.com - Mon., Jan. 9, 2006


Greatest hits stumble amid holi-daze

Repackaging plan leaves biz with little in its Christmas stocking


By PHIL GALLO


"The Beatles 1" gave the music industry a great idea back in 2000: Pump the bottom line with hits compilations in the fourth quarter. That recipe for success, however, may be as stale as last year's fruitcake.

Of the greatest hits albums released after Oct. 1, only a single disc, Eminem's "Curtain Call," has topped 1 million in sales, while the top 10 sellers have represented just 4.85 million units sold. That's a 48% drop from the 9.3 million sold at the end of 2004, a fourth quarter led by three country stars -- Shania Twain (2.24 million), Toby Keith (1.9 million) and George Strait (1.88 million).

In 2004, 18 hits compilations released after Oct. 1 made it into the top 100. There were 19 compilations readied in 2005, which had music retailers confident -- in November -- that the season would perform about as well as the year before. They were wrong.

Whereas 2004 had several steady sellers, '05 had to sit nervously waiting for the Dec. 6 release of the Eminem compilation that, while it sold well, didn't come close to posting the numbers his previous full-lengths have.

The savior, to a great extent, was Johnny Cash. A hits compilation from Island and Columbia Legacy, "Legend of Johnny Cash," posted the late country singer's best numbers in decades and settled into the top 20 amid contempo stars such as Madonna and Fall Out Boy. Buoyed by the Cash-June Carter biopicbiopic "Walk the Line," the Cash catalogue burned like a ring of fire.

"Legend of Johnny Cash" sold nearly 850,000 between its release on Oct. 25 and Jan. 1. The four-CD version of "The Legend" has sold125,000. And during Christmas week, Cash's "16 Biggest Hits" sold 52,000, "Essential Johnny Cash" sold 35,000 and "Live at Folsom Prison" sold 22,000 copies.

"Everyone is getting smarter about when to release a hits project," says Ronn Werre, president of EMI Music Marketing, which has done well recently with Dean Martin and Beach Boys projects, but faltered with a John Lennon compilation last year. "It is too expensive to release anything but superstar records in the fourth quarter, so you need to find better release dates during the year."

He singled out holidays such as Father's Day, memorial Day and Valentine's Day as dates worth circling on the calendar for certain releases. Tim McGraw's "Greatest Hits Vol. 2" and "Reconsider Me: The Love Songs," Artemis' collection of work from the late Warren Zevon, are the first albums targeted for release just before Valentine's Day 2006.

Another factor is clearly the digital arena wherein fans can create their own greatest hits records long before any label decides they want to hit retail with a compilation.

Labels and online services are reluctant to discuss whether Apple's iTunes and other similar services cannibalize the greatest hits marketplace. In the case of Destiny's Child, for example, every song from their catalog was available online prior to Columbia's release of "#1's." And iTunes often organizes an artist's catalog so that a consumer can navigate the catalog according to their interest level.

That organization and availability certainly limited the sales of "#1's," which is well under 1 million units. A collection of 'N Sync hits released by Jive got no higher than No. 47 after its release on Oct. 25, and was off the top 200 chart by Thanksgiving.

The one compilation that seems to thrive despite the prominent availability of hit songs on Internet sites is the "Now That's What I call Music" series. Vols. 19 and 20 were still in the top 200 as the year closed; No. 20 had sold 2. 1 million copies in nine stanzas while No. 19 had a cume of 2 million after 25 weeks.

Werre actually had a card up his sleeve when discussing the fate of compilations. EMI was using the last week of the year to launch Ricky Nelson's "Greatest Hits," which sold 18,000 copies in its first stanza. Release date was tied to -- what else? -- death. Nelson died 20 years ago on Dec. 31 in a plane accident.

The Nelson record opened at No. 102 on the Nielsen SoundScan chart, making it his highest-charting debut since "Garden Party" opened at No. 65 in 1972. In the SoundScan era (since 1991), Nelson had never sold more than 2,300 units in a week.


http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117935599?categoryid=1019&cs=1&s=h&p=0




The Record-Journal


New Goodwill store holds grand opening


By Jesse D. Smolin, Record-Journal staff


SOUTHINGTON — While Goodwill stores have traditionally been thought as stores for the less fortunate, Terry Sciola, the New Haven area regional retail director, said she wants the Southington store to cater to all walks of life.

The new 12,000-square-foot Easter Seals Goodwill store on 350 Queen St., capped with a bright white roof and sloping black awnings proves that. Instead of being housed in a one-room storage area the large building resembles most other retail outlets.

On Thursday, about 15 employees hustled in and on and off the sales floor as they arranged garment racks and setting up displays in preparation for grand opening this past Friday. The store will celebrate the day with raffles and 25 percent off most items

While most of the store’s items are donated to the store, including clothing, house wares shoes and furniture, they do not look used. Many of the goods had their original tags on them. Goods are often donated from stores that went out of business and from people who received unwanted gifts, Sciola said.

Nothing at the store will stay on the floor longer than four weeks. Each week, new clothing will be put out and labeled with a colored tag, this week’s clothing was labeled with a pink fastener. At the end of the month all of the clothing with a pink tag will be marked one-half off, and then sold for $1 on the Sunday before they are sold as rags, Sciola said.

“Each week the same people will come in. I am not going to insult them by leaving the same things on the rack,” she said.

To ensure donations keep coming a drive-up donation center will by finished later this week to make it easier to donate.

Because the goods are donated they are donated for nominal prices. Most shirts are sold for $3.99 and pants for $4.99, the name brand items are sold in the store’s boutique section for slightly higher prices of $8.99. Miscellaneous items are also placed in front of the store including a signed picture of Shania Twain, and a Southington Monopoly Game with past local businesses, each for $9.99.

Proceeds from the goods are then used to fund programs designed to enhance employment and opportunities for people with physical and mental disabilities, individuals who were formerly homeless, and those who are poor or unemployed.

“The more money we make the more programs we are able to open,” said Jim DeLucia, the store’s manager.

The programs include job placement, computer training, vocational assessment and career exploration activities for special education students, helping children and adults find a job after being incarcerated.

Once they have landed a job Goodwill offers job-coaching services to ensure successful transition to employment including transportation to and from the job.

“We want them to become productive members of society,” Sciola said.

The Southington store is one of eight other stores in the state. There are two donation centers, one at 1032 S. Main St. in Cheshire.

Members of the nonprofit organization also plan to work with the Southington Social Services Department, to coordinate in helping to find clients, provide clothing vouchers to them, and job opportunities in the next few months, said Joseph Galasso, the vice president of retail operations. Goodwill International chose Southington based on demographic and population studies.

The Southington store is one of nine stores in the state. There are also donation centers in Branford and in Cheshire on 1032 S. Main St.

Store hours are Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

jsmolin@record-journal.com

(203) 317-2234


http://www.record-journal.com/articles/2006/01/08/news/news06.txt


John - :)Thanks for the article John.

[Troll]

Well I do see the sitituation on one hand, I think he's right. You American's miss out on some really talented Canadians. I can totally understand the part, as for the thing against Shania I don't.

No the title seemed like those two married Shania.

[Troll]

Thanks for the articles John.

[canoilers]

Ahhhhh I gotcha. :D

[FinnFreak]

Los Angeles Times - January 10, 2006


Boy bands draw grown-up paydays


The heady pinnacle of the teen-pop explosion five years ago casts a long shadow in the pop world. 'N Sync, though long gone from the charts and arena stages, still holds the record for combined concert and album sales revenue since Calendar began compiling the list in 1997.

'N Sync racked up a whopping $212.9 million in 2000 and finished in the Ultimate Top 10 for four consecutive years, taking No. 1 honors twice. So it's no surprise that the youth-pop sensation has generated the most money on that list over its nine-year existence: $529.6 million.

Additionally, 'N Sync's peers landed two more spots on the overall Top 10 list.

At No. 2: Backstreet Boys, with $520.5 million. Neither the group's 2005 reunion tour nor its album ("Never Gone") made a big impression on year-end rankings, but they added enough to the group's 1998-2001 take to push it ahead of Céline Dion for runner-up honors.

Dion's $517.3 million makes her the only other act to crack $500 million. The rest of the Ultimate Top 10 finishers through the years: Dave Matthews Band ($408.5 million), U2 ($376.4 million), the Rolling Stones ($375.4 million), Britney Spears ($346.7 million), Eminem ($333.2 million), the Dixie Chicks ($283.6 million) and Shania Twain ($282.8 million).


http://www.calendarlive.com/music/cl-et-ultimate10jan10,0,4789766.story?coll=cl-home-more-channels


John - :)

[FinnFreak]

PR Newswire - Jan. 9 2006


Country Music Wraps 2005 on Strong Note


NASHVILLE, Tenn., Jan. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- While the bulk of the music
industry slumped with an across-the-board decline of 7.2 percent for music
sales in 2005, Country Music finished stronger than every format except Latin,
with a more modest 3.3 percent drop, according to figures released this week
by Nielsen SoundScan.

...

Corporate sponsors lined up to sign Country stars to endorsement deals in 2005.
- Shania Twain released a new fragrance, Shania by Stetson.

...

Accolades

- Shania Twain received Canada's highest civilian honor, the Order of Canada,
which was established to recognize the lifetime contributions made by Canadians
who made a major difference to Canada.


http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01-09-2006/0004245711&EDATE=



John - :)

[FinnFreak]

Roadrunner Records - Jan 10th 2006


STRATOVARIUS To Play Taiwan And Hong Kong For First Time


Finnish melodic metallers STRATOVARIUS have lined up the following dates during January:

Jan. 14 - Thessaloniki, GRE @ Idrogios
Jan. 15 - Athens. GRE @ Club 22
Jan. 18 - Osaka, JPN @ Shinsaibashi Club Quattro
Jan. 19 - Nagoya, JPN @ Bottomline
Jan. 21 - Tokyo, JPN @ Shibuya O-East
Jan. 22 - Tokyo, JPN @ Shibuya O-East
Jan. 24 - Taipei, TAI @ Taipei City Hall Family Theater
Jan. 26 - Kowloon, HK @ Hitec Auditorium

STRATOVARIUS are continuing to tour in support of their latest, self-titled effort, which was released in the U.S. on September 13 via Sanctuary. A video for the album's first single, "Maniac Dance", was in April 2005 in Helsinki by director and guitarist Timo Tolkki's old schoolmate Antti Jokinen (BEYONCÉ, WYCLEF JEAN, KORN, MISSY ELLIOT, NIGHTWISH, SHANIA TWAIN, CELINE DION).


http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=46614


John - :)

[Troll]

Thanks for the articles.

[captainCorr]

Los Angeles Times - January 10, 2006


Boy bands draw grown-up paydays


The heady pinnacle of the teen-pop explosion five years ago casts a long shadow in the pop world. 'N Sync, though long gone from the charts and arena stages, still holds the record for combined concert and album sales revenue since Calendar began compiling the list in 1997.

'N Sync racked up a whopping $212.9 million in 2000 and finished in the Ultimate Top 10 for four consecutive years, taking No. 1 honors twice. So it's no surprise that the youth-pop sensation has generated the most money on that list over its nine-year existence: $529.6 million.

Additionally, 'N Sync's peers landed two more spots on the overall Top 10 list.

At No. 2: Backstreet Boys, with $520.5 million. Neither the group's 2005 reunion tour nor its album ("Never Gone") made a big impression on year-end rankings, but they added enough to the group's 1998-2001 take to push it ahead of Céline Dion for runner-up honors.

Dion's $517.3 million makes her the only other act to crack $500 million. The rest of the Ultimate Top 10 finishers through the years: Dave Matthews Band ($408.5 million), U2 ($376.4 million), the Rolling Stones ($375.4 million), Britney Spears ($346.7 million), Eminem ($333.2 million), the Dixie Chicks ($283.6 million) and Shania Twain ($282.8 million).


http://www.calendarlive.com/music/cl-et-ultimate10jan10,0,4789766.story?coll=cl-home-more-channels


John - :)

Thanks for posting..:cool:

[FinnFreak]

The Daily Mail - 11th January 2006


Officers line route for shot Pc's funeral


http://img.dailymail.co.uk/img/galleries/beshenivsky/beshenivskyPA_350x250.jpg
Pc Sharon Beshenivsky and Pc Teresa Milburn were shot at by
gunmen as they confronted a gang in the street just outside a
travel agents in Bradford, following a reported robbery.


Hundreds of police officers have stood in silent tribute today to their murdered colleague Sharon Beshenivsky.

They lined the route of the funeral cortege through the city of Bradford, where the 38-year-old mother, who left three children and two stepchildren, was gunned down as she investigated a robbery at a travel agency on November 18.

Her funeral service at Bradford Cathedral at noon was to include a personal tribute by West Yorkshire chief constable Colin Cramphorn.

Mourners were also to hear a solo performance of Pc Beshenivsky's favourite song - Shania Twain's You're Still The One, which was sung at her wedding to her husband Paul.

The cathedral is expected to be packed, and members of the public who cannot get in will gather at the city's St George's Hall where live coverage of the funeral will be broadcast on screens.

More than 400 police officers are expected to attend the service and line the streets of the city centre, many of which are being closed specially for the funeral.

The officers include representatives of every force in the UK.

Pc Beshenivsky's youngest child, Lydia, was celebrating her fourth birthday on the day she was shot.

Her colleague Pc Teresa Milburn, 37, was seriously injured in the same incident.

An inquest into Pc Beshenivsky's death was opened and adjourned in Bradford on January 6.

Officers from West Yorkshire Police are continuing to search for Mustaf Jama, who is wanted for questioning in connection with the incident.

He is believed to have links with Sheffield, Birmingham, Coventry and Leicester, although detectives say they are not ruling out the possibility that he could be anywhere in the country.

Jama's brother, Yusuf Jama, 19, and 24-year-old Muzzaker Imtiaz Shah, have already appeared in court charged with murder.

Rewards totalling £90,000 are being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the people responsible for the crime.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=373790&in_page_id=1770



John - :sad:

[canoilers]

The Daily Mail - 11th January 2006


Officers line route for shot Pc's funeral


http://img.dailymail.co.uk/img/galleries/beshenivsky/beshenivskyPA_350x250.jpg
Pc Sharon Beshenivsky and Pc Teresa Milburn were shot at by
gunmen as they confronted a gang in the street just outside a
travel agents in Bradford, following a reported robbery.


Hundreds of police officers have stood in silent tribute today to their murdered colleague Sharon Beshenivsky.

They lined the route of the funeral cortege through the city of Bradford, where the 38-year-old mother, who left three children and two stepchildren, was gunned down as she investigated a robbery at a travel agency on November 18.

Her funeral service at Bradford Cathedral at noon was to include a personal tribute by West Yorkshire chief constable Colin Cramphorn.

Mourners were also to hear a solo performance of Pc Beshenivsky's favourite song - Shania Twain's You're Still The One, which was sung at her wedding to her husband Paul.

The cathedral is expected to be packed, and members of the public who cannot get in will gather at the city's St George's Hall where live coverage of the funeral will be broadcast on screens.

More than 400 police officers are expected to attend the service and line the streets of the city centre, many of which are being closed specially for the funeral.

The officers include representatives of every force in the UK.

Pc Beshenivsky's youngest child, Lydia, was celebrating her fourth birthday on the day she was shot.

Her colleague Pc Teresa Milburn, 37, was seriously injured in the same incident.

An inquest into Pc Beshenivsky's death was opened and adjourned in Bradford on January 6.

Officers from West Yorkshire Police are continuing to search for Mustaf Jama, who is wanted for questioning in connection with the incident.

He is believed to have links with Sheffield, Birmingham, Coventry and Leicester, although detectives say they are not ruling out the possibility that he could be anywhere in the country.

Jama's brother, Yusuf Jama, 19, and 24-year-old Muzzaker Imtiaz Shah, have already appeared in court charged with murder.

Rewards totalling £90,000 are being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the people responsible for the crime.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=373790&in_page_id=1770



John - :sad:Awh thats so sweet, it breaks my heart. She died a hero, she was just doing her job.

[FinnFreak]

Jeff Foxworthy Returns as Host of the 2006 CMT MUSIC AWARDS

Show to Air Live on April 10


PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Last year he took his stage entrance straight out of a Shania Twain video - swinging onto the stage on a crystal chandelier. This year, anything goes as famed comedian Jeff Foxworthy returns for the second year as host of the 2006 CMT MUSIC AWARDS, country music's only fan-voted music video award show, airing live on CMT Monday, April 10 at 8:00 p.m., ET.

"I think CMT and I are a perfect fit. I'm country, I like music and I own a TV," says Foxworthy about returning as host.

With Foxworthy at the helm, the 2005 CMT MUSIC AWARDS set viewing records at the network, becoming CMT's highest rated and most watched telecast in channel history.

"Jeff's just a 'natural,' he never misses. CMT's stars love working with him," says Brian Philips, executive vice president and general manager, CMT. "We're thrilled to have him back at center stage after last year's record ratings."

Jeff Foxworthy is one of the most respected and successful comedians in the country. He is the largest selling comedy-recording artist in history, a multiple Grammy Award nominee and best-selling author of more than 15 books. Foxworthy stars in and executive produces the television series, Blue Collar TV, which came about due to the success of Blue Collar Comedy Tour, The Movie and the concert tour of the same name. Blue Collar Comedy Tour, Rides Again, the sequel to the first film, has sold more than three million units since its release in December 2004.

The 2006 CMT MUSIC AWARDS is produced by Audrey Morrissey and Live Animals Productions. Sarah Brock serves as executive producer for CMT.

CMT, America's No. 1 country music network, carries original programming, specials, and live concerts and events, as well as a mix of videos by established country music artists and new cutting-edge acts, including world premiere exclusive videos. Founded March 6, 1983, CMT, owned and operated by MTV Networks, reaches more than 78.7 million households in the United States. Go to country music's biggest web site at http://www.cmt.com/.


http://sev.prnewswire.com/entertainment/20060111/CLW50312012006-1.html


John - :)

[FinnFreak]

Courier News - Thursday, January 12, 2006


The name game

Central Jersey hospitals reveal most popular baby names of 2005.


By STEFANIE MATTESON - Staff Writer


When it comes to naming babies, Central Jersey parents are sticking to traditional names such as Michael and Ryan for boys but choosing from a wider variety of names for girls, including Isabella, Madison and Destiny.

The trends, reflected on local hospitals' lists of the most popular newborn names in 2005, differ from the national favorites cited by BabyCenter, an online resource of baby names.

While Aidan and Emma were the most popular baby names nationally in 2005, Somerset Medical Center's list was topped by Michael for boys and a tie between Isabella and Samantha for girls. At Hunterdon Medical Center in Raritan Township, Ryan topped the boys' list, and Madison and Sophia -- another tie -- led the girls' list.

Aidan was only ninth on the Somerset Medical Center list and didn't even make it onto Hunterdon's list, while Emma was tied with Sarah for fourth at Somerset Medical and tied with Emily and Grace for third at Hunterdon, spokeswomen for both hospitals said.

Anthony, which ranked 36th nationally, made the top five list at both hospitals, Somerset Medical Center spokeswoman Kathleen Roberts said. And girls' names such as Mia, Ashley, Julia, Brooke, Megan and Sydney were favored in Central Jersey but did not make the top 10 nationally.

Lori Feldmus of the Kendall Park section of South Brunswick, who gave birth to Julia in December at Somerset Medical Center, said she was disappointed to learn that Julia was sixth on the hospital's list since she and her husband, Mike, had wanted a more unusual name. But they can take solace from the fact that Julia is in the 47th slot on BabyCenter's list.

"We didn't want a mega-trendy name, but I guess that in Jersey it is," she said.

When it comes to middle names, however, Feldmus and her husband may have been ahead of the curve by giving their daughter the middle name of Lennon in honor of the famous Beatle. BabyCenter reports Lennon to be a trend in 2005, presumably in observance of the 25th anniversary of John Lennon's death, which occurred Dec. 8, 1980.

"We like the Beatles a lot, and we decided it would be a fun, different name," Feldmus said.

Because Julia is probably going to be their last child, the Feldmus's figured they wouldn't have another chance to memorialize John Lennon in a name, "unless it's a pet." Besides, Lori Feldmus said, Lennon wrote a song called "Julia."

Other musical celebrities whose names inspired national baby-naming trends in 2005 include Beyonce, Bolton, Cobain, Coolio, Duran, Jagger, Kanye, Ozzy, P. Diddy, Reba, Shania and Whitney, according to BabyCenter. And then there is the perennial favorite: Elvis.

But Central Jersey also had its share of nontraditional names.

Hunterdon Medical Center reports Novaleigh as the most unusual female name for 2005 and Rage, Aticus, Benjamin Franklin, Keanu and Reagan as unusual boys' names. Of those, BabyCenter reports Keanu, presumably for movie star Keanu Reeves, to be something of a trend.

Kathleen Holterman of Bridgewater, who gave birth to son Andrew in August at Somerset Medical Center, was disappointed to learn the name landed in the top 10 on both the Somerset and national lists. But she and her husband, Glenn, are planning to call their son Drew, getting the idea from a character on the TV show "Law and Order."

"Drew was the criminal," she said. "But we liked the name."

Drew barely made it onto BabyCenter's top 100 list of names, coming in dead last.

Other popular names that come from TV shows or actors include Calista, Cagney and Carsen, according to BabyCenter.

Holterman, who calls herself both Katie and Kathleen, said she liked the idea of a name with variants that could be tailored to the occasion.

Drew takes his middle name, William, from Holterman's father-in-law, which is typical: 48 percent of parents give their babies a middle name in honor of a friend or relative, a BabyCenter survey found.

Like 34 percent of couples nationally, the Holtermans initially disagreed on a name. Her husband "caved", Holterman said. However, if they have another boy, it could spell trouble, she said, but if they have a girl, they have already agreed on Amanda, which is 88th on BabyCenter's 2005 list.

In this they also are not unusual: Parents generally find girls' names easier to settle on than boys' names, the survey found.

Dawn Search of Dunellen said she and her husband, Mitchell, had no idea Emma was the country's most popular name when they chose it for their daughter, who was born in November at Somerset Medical Center, though it was fourth in popularity there. Their daughter was named after one of Search's great-grandmothers, and they gave her the middle name Delaney after another.

Emma also was the fourth most popular name in Search's great-grandmother's era in the 1890s, according to BabyCenter.

"We didn't want to go too trendy," she said. "We wanted a solid, old-fashioned name that would be able to grow with her and still have some sophistication to it."

Search is hoping the fact that Emma ranked only fourth at the Somerset hospital means her daughter will be in the vanguard of the Central Jersey Emma trend and that the other Emmas will lag behind her in school rather than be members of her class. But for now, she said, she'll settle for having her daughter sleep through the night.

Joseph Anthony Mazzone of Hillsborough wanted to name his son after himself, but he didn't want a junior so he reversed the names: Mazzone's wife, Hope, gave birth to Anthony Joseph in May at Somerset Medical Center. Mazzone attributed the popularity of Anthony in Central Jersey to the region's large Italian-American population.

"Anthony is a popular name on my dad's side of the family," he said. "It means priceless."

Ethnic populations account for much of Central Jersey's diversion from the national list. Indian names were popular at Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center in Plainfield and even more so at JFK Medical Center in Edison. Topping the list of boys' names at the JFK hospital was Rohit, which means sun, according to the India Parenting Web site, while Akhil, which means complete, was fifth.

Indians were more likely to give their daughters Indian names, with Ananya, which means peerless; Maya, which means illusion; Riya, which means flower; and Anika and Isha, which refer to the goddess Durga, on the top 10 lists at either Muhlenberg or JFK hospitals, Solaris Health Systems spokesman Rob Cavanaugh said.

The BabyCenter list is the country's largest private list, reflecting name data from more than 320,000 BabyCenter members, spokeswoman Shefali Bhasin said. BabyCenter, an online resource for new and expectant parents and parents of young children, also publishes BabyCenter Magazine, she said.

When it comes to trends, however, BabyCenter has identified a few names that should have special appeal to New Jersey residents.

The trendy name Jersey, also spelled Jerzee, adds a layer of meaning to the term Jersey Girl. And if Jersey doesn't have enough local appeal, parents can always name their baby after the state fruit: Blueberry is up and coming.

Stefanie Matteson can be reached at (908) 707-3136 or smatteson@c-n.com.

from the Courier News website www.c-n.com


http://www.c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060112/NEWS/601120304



Truly inspired names: Editors' choices from 2005

By the BabyCenter editorial staff


Where do parents get their inspiration when naming their kids? From cities and countries to historical figures, Greek gods, and favorite foods, there are endless places to find ideas. We're particularly impressed with the BabyCenter parents who used apostrophes to come up with unusual, clever, and musical-sounding names. What other trends have we spotted? Here are some real — and often unusual — names BabyCenter members chose for their babies born in 2005.

• Note: These are names that parents reported to us, not necessarily what made it onto the birth certificate!


Apostrophe creativity

Revamp a classic name with a little punctuational flair. We dig these very creative apostrophe-enhanced spellings from 2005:

Aa'Niyah
A'Driannah
An'Gelez
A'Ngelina
Bles'Id
Cam'Ren
Ce'Qwoia
Cha'Nce
Cour'Tez
De'Liberately
God'Iss
Jer'Miah
Jo'El
Ka'Ren
Ky'Lee
Ma'Kayla
Myr'Acle
O'Livia
Rach'El
Se'Heira
Tai'Lor
Ty'Rece
X'Zavier
Zy'Eire


Gods, myths, and legends

What parent doesn't put his or her child on a pedestal? These noble-sounding names indicate some truly stately 2005 babies:

Achilles
Adonis
Aragorn
Buddah
Destiny
Eowyn
Glory
Greatness
Hercules
Hermes
Hero
Icarus
Isis
Karma
Legolas
Luck
Thor
Venus
Ulysses
Zeus


Food for thought

When Gwyneth Paltrow had her daughter, Apple, in May 2004 she opened the door for a variety of tasty treats that serve as great baby names. Our favorites from 2005:

Banana
Beans
Blueberry
Candy
Cashew
Clementine
Coffee
Cookie
Cress
Curry
Danish
Gherkin
Honey
Java
Jelly
Karamel
Lemons
Peach
Peapod
Pickle
Pumpkin
Rosemary
Safron
Sage


Globetrotting

Love to travel? Pick your favorite vacation destination as your child's moniker. These 2005 babies sound very worldly indeed:

Aspen
Boston
Brazil
Brighton
Bronx
Cairo
Cambridge
Denmark
Dublin
Germany
Hartford
Havana
Houston
India
Indiana
Israel
Jamaica
Jersey
Lebanon
London
Memphis
Milan
Philadelphia
Phoenix
Rome
Sedona
Sicily
Trinidad
Vegas
Zurich


Bookish babes

Look to literature, and reach back into history for fascinating figures. We think these 2005 baby names have real character:

Aristotle
Beckett
Benito
Buchanan
Caesar
Casper
Clinton
D'Artagnan
Darwin
Dashiell
Ebenezer
Edison
Gawain
Geronimo
Hadrian
Hamilton
Hannibal
Hansel
Hemingway
Huxley
Imhotep
Lafayette
Langston
Milton
Newton
Nixon
Patton
Romeo
Rommel
Teddy
Tigger
Truman


Star power

Pay homage to your favorite stars of the big and small screen. These 2005 babies are ready for their close-up, Mr. DeMille:

Beyonce
Bolton
Brando
Bronson
Cagney
Calista
Carsen
Cassius
Charlize
Cobain
Coburn
Coltrane
Coolio
Duran
Elvis
Gisele
Gwyneth
Hallie
Heath
Hendrix
Jagger
Joaquin
Jolie
Jude
Kanye
Keanu
Keaton
Lance
Lennon
Leo
Maddox
Marlon
Neve
Norah
Orlando
Ozzy
Pdiddy
Pierce
Presley
Reba
Renee
Santana
Scarlett
Shakira
Shania
Slater
Tatum
Theron
Viggo
Whitney


Go shopping

Some names come fresh off the packaging, as with these well-branded 2005 babies:

Arden
Bentley
Braun
Butterball
Chivas
Chrysler
Claiborne
Dannon
Dior
Espn
Fandango
Geffen
Google
Haagen
Harley
Hyatt
Jemima
Jerzee
Kaiser
Levi
Mac
Mercedes
Remington
Royce
Scion


Nature calling

When parents look to the natural world for inspiration, the results range from sweet to stormy. Our picks for nature's babies of 2005:

Alp
Briar
Buttercup
Canyon
Ce'Qwoia
Clover
Crystal
Cypress
Daisy
Everest
Harvest
Hay
Hurricane
Iris
Island
Ivy
Jetty
Lavender
Lotus
Meadow
River
Sky
Sprout
Star
Stone
Stormy
Sunshine
Thunder
Violet
Zephyr


http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/pregnancy/babynaming/1459673.html


John - :)

[FinnFreak]

THE GLOBE AND MAIL - Thursday, January 12, 2006 Page A15


Canadian fame: Stars on the Walk to rise and be seen


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v434/FinnFreak/STStar.jpg
Shania's Star on Canada's Walk of Fame in downtown Toronto


By JAMES ADAMS


Wayne Gretzky, Diana Krall, William Shatner, Gordon Lightfoot -- they and dozens more stars in Canadian sports, arts and entertainment will be involved in a huge relocation program this year.

Not them physically, mind you, but their stars on Canada's Walk of Fame in downtown Toronto.

Peter Soumalias, the Toronto businessman who founded the Walk in 1998, said yesterday that all 93 of the stars embedded in red-granite rectangles in the sidewalks of the city's designated entertainment district are going to be "removed from the sidewalk and put on display at eye level . . .

"Reconstruction of the Walk of Fame will start in the second half of [this] year," with completion expected in the spring of 2007, he said in an interview. Also included in the action will be this year's inductees, which could number as many as 10.

Details are still being worked out, but the reconstruction is being undertaken both to heighten the profile of the Walk of Fame for locals and tourists and to maintain the integrity of the star sites through the vagaries of Toronto's weather. "It took us seven years to come to the realization that it snows in Toronto," he said, chuckling.

The stars for Jean Béliveau, Celine Dion, Shania Twain, Mike Myers, Rich Little, Denys Arcand and the rest are going to be housed in heated units that likely will include multimedia or interactive components. It's all part of a larger plan to make the Walk "more original, more attractive, more Canadian, more fluid," Mr. Soumalias said.

In 2002, the Walk's board, which numbers 13 to 15 members, hired a Toronto advertising firm to undertake a "long-term branding" of the Walk. Last April, the board announced a $30,000 streetscape design competition to enhance the attraction's presence. That drew 14 professional entrants, Mr. Soumalias said, from which a short list of three are expected to be announced this month or next. Cost of the rehabilitation will be borne by the Walk and the city government.

Mr. Soumalias confirmed that the Walk's board has "received submissions from different parts of the city," including the Bloor-Yorkville Business Improvement Association and the Downtown Yonge Street Business Improvement Association, to expand or relocate stars there. "Even other cities" have put in similar requests, and "we're looking at that," he said. But "we really don't expect to move from [Toronto's] entertainment district."

At present, all 93 stars -- each of which includes the inductee's autograph, his or her name and a stylized, star-like maple leaf centred with a symbol for his or her area of achievement (a treble clef for a musician, for example) -- are spread across a roughly three-block area, situated primarily along the north and south sidewalks of King Street West between John and Simcoe streets, home to Roy Thomson Hall and the Princess of Wales and Royal Alexandra theatres.

In fact, until last year, Roy Thomson Hall played host to the annual formal Saturday gala honouring the inductees, which have numbered seven to 10 each year. Last year, it was held at the Elgin Theatre, several blocks to the northeast of the entertainment district, at Yonge and Queen streets.

This year, the gala is set for June 3 at the Hummingbird Centre, situated about six blocks to the southeast of Roy Thomson Hall. Mr. Soumalias said the decision to go to the Hummingbird was based on venue availability at the time needed -- "Roy Thomson Hall and the Elgin were not available."

The 2006 inductees are to be announced March 8 in Toronto.


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20060112/STARS12/TPNational/Toronto


John - :)

[Troll]

Thanks for the articles John.

[Troll]

Best Cameo, Actress
Shania Twain in "I ♥ Huckabees." It's refreshing to see this country-pop mega-star gamely willing to let the joke be on her.

http://www.sacticket.com/static/movies/news/0222awards.html

[canoilers]

Thank you John very much. :D

[canoilers]

Best Cameo, Actress
Shania Twain in "I ♥ Huckabees." It's refreshing to see this country-pop mega-star gamely willing to let the joke be on her.

http://www.sacticket.com/static/movies/news/0222awards.html
I agree with that, infact I think she was the best part in the movie. I know I could watch that part a million times over. :D

[Troll]

"They were very collaborative," said Joel Gallen, another longtime events producer who ran the 2003 show with Shania Twain and No Doubt. "They are easy to work with and understand the value of entertainment. It's not like dealing with people who only know football."

http://www.helenair.com/articles/2006/01/13/sports/01s20060113140.txt

[canoilers]

Thank you again Andrew. :D She totally made that Superbowl, she was the best part of the whole thing.

[Troll]

“I LOVE LIFE THE REAL SURVIVORS AND “I LOVE LIFE 3 THE REAL SURVIVORS” CD’S

by Edward R. Murrow and Peabody Award Winning Broadcaster Jerry Dahmen

The creator of the 25-year radio program, “I Love Life,” and the Salvation Army are teaming up together to assist Hurricane Victims and other outreach programs. Award winning broadcast veteran Jerry Dahmen (pronounced DAY-MEN) has authored “I Love Life THE REAL SURIVORS: 50 Stories of Faith, Hope and Inspiration”. Proceeds from the book are being donated to the Salvation Army. Major Paul Duskin of the Salvation Army says the stories can be a double means of inspiration---first, through themselves as people read the book, secondly as the proceeds help others through the Salvation Army.” Less than 2 weeks after the book was released, the Salvation Army was presented with its first check from book sales.

Dahmen, who interviewed Country celebrities for over 17 years while at the Grand Ole Opry’s WSM Radio in Nashville, writes about the people who make the music, including one of Shania Twain’s first interviews after arriving in Nashville from her Canadian home. Other star stories include Dahmen’s sit down interview with Country singer Naomi Judd and her actress daughter Ashley. This was the first interview the mother and daughter did together. When the daughter of Country legend George Morgan, Lorrie Morgan, was recovering from serious health problems and a broken heart, Dahmen was among the first journalists to talk to her---an interview that’s included in the book.

Aside from Country stars, the book includes stories with celebrity broadcaster Willard Scott who candidly talks about his recovery from panic attacks and the loss of his wife of 44 years, Nashville’s Kim Williams who overcame tragedy to become one of Music City’s most successful songwriters (“3 Wooden Crosses”) and internationally renowned self help author and cancer survivor Susan Jeffers (“Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway”).

The book, dedicated to South Dakota cancer victim Tristen Larson Merriman, includes dozens of uplifting stories, including a NASCAR driver who has MS, a blind competitive rodeo bareback rider, an 80 year old stand up comic and the 9/11 widow who’s husband co-piloted the first plane that crashed into the World Trade Center.

In the book, Dahmen , News Director of KXRB Radio, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, candidly writes about the adversities that rocked his world while in Nashville, thoughts of suicide and his eventual recovery from despair and hopelessness.

Aside from the book, a triple CD set featuring 32 inspirational stories is also being released. Produced in Nashville, the stories are accompanied by original music and the theme song, “I Love Life.”

For additional information/interviews, contact Jerry at 605 361 0300 or 605 728 1468.

The book and CD set can be ordered on Jerry’s web site: ilovelifeonline.com .

In Sioux Falls, the book and CD set can be purchased at the Lewis Stores, Hurley’s Religious Goods and Crossroads Book and Music.
http://www.allaboutcountry.com/cfm/Articles.cfm?articleID=691

[canoilers]

Thats awesome thank you for posting that Andrew. :D

[Troll]

In just one month, we sold twice as many copies as the first album (his self-titled 2003 debut) sold in nearly four years. So, yeah, things are pretty unbelievable right now."
With a singing voice that regularly reflects his love of vintage soul and traditional country, the former concrete-factory worker gained initial radio attention with a pair of Top 10 hits from his debut album. One of them, Walk a Little Straighter, was a grim remembrance of his alcoholic father.
The mood switched entirely on Party for Two, a major pop-friendly smash with Twain. Suddenly, Currington went from being a noted rookie to a major country celebrity. The tune's accompanying video, shot in London, England, played on CMT for months.
"The song wasn't an introduction, of course," Currington said. "But it sure boosted my career. Video, though, goes a long way today. Standing next to Shania Twain, who the whole world loves, didn't hurt. I don't think people had any choice but to inquire as to who I was because that video was played so much."

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/entertainment/music/13615521.htm?source=rss&channel=kentucky_music

Currington’s duet with singer Shania Twain n “Party for Two” n put him on the country map, where he has held his own since the release of his first album in 2003. He performed the song and assigned Shania’s part to the audience. While the crowd tried valiantly, they didn’t quite measure up to the country diva.
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2006/01/15/entertainment/news/news01.txt

[canoilers]

Thank you once again for the article sir. :D

[Troll]

Out with the bling, in with the bangles.

There will be plenty of diamonds glinting in the lights on the red carpets of 2006, beginning with tonight's Golden Globes, but most stars are adorning themselves with less clunky, more classic jewelry.

Of all the trends in "frosting" this year, gold bangle bracelets -- plain or with diamond accents -- take the cake.

....
Demi Moore, Nicole Kidman, Uma Thurman, Kirstie Alley, Jane Seymour and Shania Twain also are steady Negrin customers.

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxNjcmZmdi ZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY4NTcwNzUmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZU VFeXk3

[FinnFreak]

New York Daily News - January 17, 2006


Country stars feel lonesome


http://www.nydailynews.com/ips_rich_content/374-wilson_gretchen.JPG
Gretchen Wilson's
new CD is
languishing.


Remember country's new wave? Just two years ago, outsider artists like Gretchen Wilson and Big & Rich rounded up enough support from the nation's trailer parks to become Nashville's most unexpected new stars.

Now, those acts are starting to seem as old as Minnie Pearl.

In 2003, Wilson and B&R sold themselves as cultural revolutionaries - Wilson, by reconnecting female country to the barmaids of the pre-Shania era; B&R, by yoking typical country twang to bits of metal and rap.

Novelties like that helped Wilson sell more than 4 million copies of her debut CD, "Redneck Girl." Big & Rich moved more than 2.6 million platters of "Horse of a Different Color."

Fast-forward to '06 and sales for both acts seem to be heading ... well, South. Wilson's second CD, "All Jacked Up," has yet to reach platinum status after 15 weeks out. It currently languishes at No. 78 on Billboard's Top 200. Big & Rich's sophomore CD, "Comin' to Your City," has moved an only passable 682,537 copies in its eight-week life, and it's on a swift descent, dropping this week to No. 54.

Though both acts touted their independence from Nashville, in fact, mainstream country radio played a key part in their initial successes. Wilson's debut launched four major hits, including "Redneck Woman" (which lassoed the No. 1 slot for five weeks running), "Homewrecker" (No. 2), "Here for the Party" (No. 3) and "When I Think About Cheating" (No. 4).

But the first single from the new CD, "Jacked Up," only got to No. 8. Its followup, "I Don't Feel Like Loving You Today," is building, slowly, at No. 22.

The relatively tepid response to Wilson's CD comes as a surprise, considering its artistic strength - it's just as powerful as her debut. Big & Rich's followup has endured a less rosy response. It made both Entertainment Weekly's and this critic's Worst Albums of '05 list. Worse still, their single, "Comin' to Your City," peaked at No. 21 on country radio, despite an advertising budget that seemed to eat up every spot during Nashville's top TV event, the CMA's.

If Big & Rich's stumble isn't enough, their rapper, Cowboy Troy, flat-out bombed with his CD, "Locomotive." It moved 294,000 copies before skedaddling off the charts entirely.

So which country acts are still riding the bucking bronco of the charts?

Within the time frame of the Wilson/B&R CDs, we've seen hot numbers for Kenny Chesney (1.8 million), Carrie Underwood (more than 1.7 million) and, most surprising, Johnny Cash. His "Legend" set has moved 900,000 copies in the last 11 weeks, and holds high at No. 14. Which says a lot about the longevity of a true Nashville rule breaker.


http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/383262p-325363c.html


John - :)

[FinnFreak]

The Brandon Sun - Tuesday, January 17th, 2006


Trail Tales: Jack prefers piercings over tattoos


OTTAWA (CP) - NDP Leader Jack Layton would rather get pierced than "get some ink done."

In an interview with MuchMusic host Leah Miller, Layton answered a question about whether he preferred body piercings or tattoos. "Probably piercings, actually," he replied. The mental image prompted an immediate "yuck" from a couple of onlookers.

On the question of whether he'd prefer time with American actor Angelina Jolie or with Jennifer Aniston, Layton artfully waffled his way out of it.

"You're giving me all of these either-or" questions, he protested with a laugh.

His response was politically and matrimonially safe: he said he preferred his wife, Olivia Chow.

Layton also ventured into other musical questions when he visited Timmins, Ont., revealing he has no CDs by Shania Twain, the locally born pop-country diva.

He said he was more a fan of the Barenaked Ladies, the Toronto-based pop supporters of the New Democrats.

Ever mindful of offending Timmins voters, Layton quickly added that his daughter is a big fan of Shania and would be jealous of him visiting her hometown.


http://www.brandonsun.com/story.php?story_id=16021


John - :)

[Troll]

Very interesting article.

[tower]

Well I did not see him in Timmins. Could it be because I am not registered to Vote? You have to just love politics though.

[Troll]

Shania Twain would not be a good choice to carry the flag, it's winter, too much clothes. Hopefully all this gets cleared up before February 10th, or our flag bearer might be a corrupt figure skating judge completing their community service

http://www.640toronto.com/news/toronto_sports.cfm?cat=7428109912&rem=28360&red=80110923aPBIny&wids=410&gi=1&gm=toronto_sports.cfm

[Troll]

First, I would be sitting next to Shania Twain because I am in love with her. Second would be Tiger Woods, because I can use all the help I can get on my golf game. Third would be the president, George Bush.

http://oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3260168

[Troll]

Bringing down the house for 10 great years

The 18,500-seat former Corel Centre officially opened as the Palladium with a Jan. 15, 1996, concert by Bryan Adams. Less than two months later it was renamed in a multi-million dollar deal with the Ottawa software company.

.....
Three acts have proven major draws while "Corel" graced the building: In 1999 first Shania Twain, then Celine Dion and Garth Brooks back in 1996. All three filled the centre for two-night concert runs.

Twain pulled them in again when she sold out the venue for a Sept. 2003 show.

http://ottsun.canoe.ca/Sports/Senators/2006/01/20/1403276-sun.html

[Troll]

You'd think I would have learned by now to be more cautious when mentioning singers and bands. Their fans can be a bit, shall we say, testy.

Not all of them, just some.

I've been reminded of this thanks to my last two columns when I mentioned the name of a certain "American Idol" contestant who placed second to Ruben Studdard. It was in jest. I also mentioned the names of a few other celebrities in that column, but I never heard from any of their fans. Either they didn't care, or they agreed with me.

However, I got several e-mails from this particular singer's fans because of my offhand remark. They weren't fan mail, at least not for me. There were a couple of suggestions for things I could go do, one called me a jerk, and all took me to task for daring to disparage their favorite performer. There also were comments about his charitable efforts, which I agree are admirable.

Ironically, because of the mention of his name that column received some of the highest page views in the online edition I've ever received.

Then, last week, I mentioned his name again. It was just a mention; the comment really wasn't about him. Again the e-mails came, and there were a high number of online views of the column.

This time, however, the e-mails from fans were friendlier, wished me well in regards to the medical procedure I'd written about and reassured me not all of this singer's fans were as mean as the ones I'd heard from before, although some do get rather excitable.

Now, I've been careful not to mention the singer's name this time because I really don't want to get something started here, although I didn't mind the online attention and links to the columns. I will say his initials are CA for those you who have come in during the third act.

As I said, I should have learned by now that fans can be quite territorial. A while back I mentioned I didn't think Shania Twain was that much of a country performer any more. I didn't say I didn't like her, or question her talent. I just said I didn't think she was country.

Shania fans called my sanity and taste into question.


I've done a couple of columns about The Rolling Stones and their increasing longevity both as a group and as individuals. I didn't question their talent. I like the Stones, too. But Baby Boomers, some of whom reach a magic threshold this year, took me to task and said they'd like to see me singing and bouncing across a stage like Mick Jagger.

No, they wouldn't. No one wants to see that. Not if they value their sight and their sanity.

There have been a couple of other performers I've written about through the years and touched nerves. There were even a Michael Jackson fan or two who thought I shouldn't have poked fun at him, even though he's one of those people who just screams to be made fun of.

Actually, there are so many celebrities whose very existence seems to be to draw attention to themselves and virtually wear "Ridicule Me" signs around their necks. And they thrive on it. Look at Paris Hilton. She's a celebrity because ... Yeah, that's what I thought. Can't sing. Can't dance. Can't act. Can be ****ty, but when did that become a positive trait that warrants massive media attention?

Now I'll hear from the Paris Hilton fans.

Both of them.

In the meantime, I don't plan to mentioning these folks again any time soon, and, after three weeks, I think it's time to lay off CA.

Paris Hilton, however, ...

Sonny Garrett is editorial page editor ofThe Baxter Bulletin and a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. He may be reached at sgarrett@baxterbulletin.com.

http://www.baxterbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060121/OPINION01/601210328/1014/OPINION

[Troll]

"In just one month, we sold twice as many copies as the first album (his self-titled 2003 debut) sold in nearly four years. So, yeah, things are pretty unbelievable right now."

The mood switched entirely on "Party for Two," a major pop-friendly smash with Twain. Suddenly, Currington went from being a noted rookie to a major country celebrity. The tune's accompanying video, shot in London, England, played on CMT for months.

Standing next to Shania Twain, who the whole world loves, didn't hurt.

http://www.kwnr.com/cc-common/mainheadlines2.html?feed=104651&article=381730

[Troll]

“We tried to get Billy Currington two years ago,” Wiegand said, but he had the opportunity to record a duet “Party for Two” with Shania Twain and tour with her, so it didn't work out at the time.

http://www.beatricedailysun.com/articles/2006/01/20/news/news1.txt

[Troll]

Covered with Shania
-- The syndicated entertainment show "Insider" reports that Shania Twain is supposed to be on the cover of the March issue of "SELF" magazine. Inside, will be a new Shania interview, along with new photos.

Earlier this month, Shania's "Forever and For Always" was certified digital Gold by the the RIAA.

[Troll]

USRN Announces Country Giants 2006 Line-Up
The UNITED STATIONS RADIO NETWORKS (USRN) has announced the all-star line-up for COUNTRY GIANTS 2006, its popular series of musical tributes to today's Country music superstars. This year's line-up consists of four two-hour specials scheduled to highlight Valentine's Day with GARTH BROOKS and TRISHA YEARWOOD, Memorial Day with ALAN JACKSON and KENNY CHESNEY, Fourth Of JULY with TIM McGRAW and MARTINA McBRIDE, and Labor Day with SHANIA TWAIN and TOBY KEITH.

[FinnFreak]

PRNewswire - Jan. 24 2006

Coldplay, Michael Buble and Nickelback Confirmed To Play Canada's Music Awards, April 2

- Nominations for 35th Annual JUNO Awards to be Announced Feb. 15 -


TORONTO, Jan. 24 /PRNewswire/ - International superstars Coldplay, Michael Buble and Nickelback have been confirmed to perform at The 2006 JUNO Awards, Canada's Music Awards, on April 2. The announcement was made today by CTV, Canada's Number One broadcaster, along with The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS). Coldplay, Buble and Nickelback are the first of many internationally-acclaimed acts to be announced to perform on The 2006 JUNO Awards, Canada's most-watched Canadian awards telecast. The 2006 JUNO Awards will be broadcast on CTV on Sunday, April 2, 2006 from Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Since 2002, CTV has broadcast The JUNO Awards from cities across Canada, including St. John's (2002), Ottawa (2003), Edmonton (2004) and last year in Winnipeg, when more than 5.7 million viewers tuned in to watch some part of the broadcast. Some of Canada's biggest musical exports have hosted the awards telecast, including Barenaked Ladies (2002), Shania Twain (2003) and Alanis Morissette (2004). A host(s) for The 2006 JUNO Awards will be announced soon. Nominations will be announced Feb. 15 in Toronto.


Web Links:

JUNO Awards: http://www.junoawards.ca

CTV: http://www.ctv.ca

Coldplay's Official Website: http://www.coldplay.com

Michael Buble's Official Website: http://www.michaelbuble.com

Nickelback's Official Website: http://www.nickelback.com



http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01-24-2006/0004266067&EDATE=


John - :)

[Troll]

That is cool. :up:

[captainCorr]

“More and more are buying property. And I think that’s a trend right now,” she said, adding that Shania Twain bought a place in the Caribbean and that music mogul Clive Davis brings his artists to his estate in St. Bart's every year. Full article @ FoxNews.com (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,182678,00.html)

[Troll]

Don't remember that place.

[FinnFreak]

The Gainesville Sun - January 25. 2006 6:01AM

Hangin' with Savannah Evans

By BRANDON ZIMMERMAN - Sun sports writer


The Basics...

Savannah Evans is a 5-foot-2 ? junior from Destin. Majoring in Sports Management, Evans aspires to be an athletics director. Evans is best known for her performance on vault and floor.


Accomplishments...

Evans earned All-American honors on the floor as a freshman with a 9.90 at the NCAA Championships. She also tied two-time NCAA vault champion Susan Hines with a 10.0 on the event on March 12, 2004. Evans has twice scored a 9.95 on floor.


How she chooses the music for her floor routines:

"The coaches help me out a lot with that. They picked out my freshman-year music ("Cotton Eye Joe"). It was perfect for because I loved country music and it fit my personality. This year was difficult to pick because I loved Cotton Eye Joe so much and the crowd got into it, but we ended up with "Man! I Feel Like a Woman" (by Shania Twain). A little more mature but still sticking with the country."


http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060125/GATORS18/201250332/-1/sports


John - ;)

[FinnFreak]

Metro Toronto, Canada - January 25, 2006


Mock stars make a living

Fans know what they’re getting in tribute bands


Tribute bands — they encompass a world that has progressed from being a curiosity to a dominant mode of live entertainment in towns and cities across North America.

For a variety of reasons, linked mainly to the economics of live entertainment, tribute artistry is where more and more professional musicians now earn their livelihoods.

“Sometimes if you have the look, it’s more important than if you do the sound exactly,” says Daniel Dube, president of Continental Entertainment, a Burlington agency that deals almost entirely with tribute artists.

Dean Hughes, 41, has The Look. He could easily be mistaken, at a distance, for Gord Downie, The Tragically Hip frontman.

“Of course, if you can look like it and sound like it, you’re in business,” Dube adds. Fortunately, Hughes also has the Downie voice down pat, which is not easy.

“His (Downie’s) voice has gotten a lot stronger over the years,” Hughes says. “It gets to be a little taxing sometimes — with his new stuff, he’s hitting some notes I find difficult.”

But he and his four bandmates — Trent Richer, Mark Cavarzan, Glen Booth and John McKinnon — carry on. They call themselves The Practically Hip.

http://www.shaniatwin.ca/imgs/gallery2.jpg
Donna Huber, a.k.a. Shania Twin

“This will be good for Mother’s Day,” Hamilton’s Oakwood Place owner Albert Cortez says, pointing to a poster of Donna Huber, a.k.a. Shania Twin. Huber is a 40-year-old Toronto woman who is the best Shania Twain tribute artist on the planet. (The real Shania has publicly confirmed this.) On Mother’s Day, she’ll be at Oakwood Place.

“People were telling me, ‘Oh, you look like Shania Twain,’ ” Huber says of the events that transformed her from a waitress to a tribute artist who is a frequent performer in American and Canadian casinos, has toured Europe, and is slated for a China gig in the near future. “I had no idea what they were talking about. I just smiled and said, ‘Thank you.’ ”

Eventually, Huber caught Twain’s act on the country music channel. “Somebody said I should do a Shania Twain tribute,” she recalls. “I thought, ‘I’m going to try this out and see if I can do it.’ It just kind of happened.”

Huber won’t say how much money she makes but it puts her into the class known as “high-end tribute,” encompassing bands such as Rain, a Beatles tribute that filled the Hummingbird Centre for eight nights last year, and the top-ranking ABBA tributes.

Why the demand for tribute bands? Toronto talent agent Richard Flohil says they exist because there’s a demand for the originals that can’t be met. Factors such as the rise of DJ culture, karaoke and the collapse of the musicians’ union have made it difficult for live bands to make a living unless they can convince bar owners they can pull in the crowds. Top-40 bands that play a variety of material can rarely do that. But good tribute acts can, because bar patrons know beforehand exactly what they’re getting.


http://www.metronews.ca/entertainment_music_detail.asp?id=13570


John - :p

[Troll]

Great articles John.

[canoilers]

Thanks again guys, again as usual. :D

[canoilers]

Don't remember that place.You're lucky I don't remeber any of her places, mostly because I haven't been there. So that would explain no memories of that place. :p

[FinnFreak]

jam.canoe.ca - January 25, 2006


Lucky 7 for Eminem's 'Curtain Call'


By JOHN WILLIAMS - Senior Editor, JAM! Showbiz


Canadians continued to dip into their wallets to buy up Eminem's latest release, "Curtain Call."

The Detroit rapper's hits package remained at the top of the Canadian album charts for a seventh consecutive week, selling over 8,000 copies.

Slim Shady now has his eye on the Canadian Nielsen SoundScan record for consecutive weeks at No. 1, which is currently held by Shania Twain's "Up," which was the top disc in the land for 11 straight weeks between Nov. 2002 and Feb. 2003.


http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/2006/01/25/1411180-ca.html


John - :)

[Troll]

Add the term 'Super Hair' to the SUPERBOWL in San Diego! Celebrity hairstylist Danilo, and HairUWear hairpieces lit up the stage on Shania Twain and Gwen Stefani (plus the 'dynamic dozen' dancing up a super-storm around her).
http://www.wigsgalore.net/about-wigs/news.html

[FinnFreak]

The Daily News (Longview, Washington) - Jan 26, 2006


Canadian clan entertains using their Celtic roots

http://www.cmtcanada.com/images/show_visuals/leahy.jpg
Family band Leahy will bring their brand of modern Celtic music and dance to the
Columbia Theatre on Sunday.


By Tom Paulu


It sounds too quaint to be true, but the blazing fiddles and fancy footwork are proof: The eight siblings in Leahy really are a famous family act, at least in their native country.

The four brothers and four sisters of Leahy, who started playing with each other on their Ontario farm, have grown into one of Canada's hottest acts. They'll perform their modernized version of Celtic music Sunday evening at the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts.

The Leahy (pronounced LAY-hee) clan grew up on a cattle farm near Lakefield, Ontario, which is about 100 miles northeast of Toronto. Father Frank played fiddle and mother Julie was a step dancer, and all the children picked up those talents.

Step dancers concentrate on their footwork, with limited hand and arm movement. They wear clickers on their shoes and dance to lively fiddle music.

With no TV and few trips to town, the children amused themselves with music. Forming a group "wasn't a plan of Mum and Dad's, but it just happened," Frank Jr. said during a phone interview this week. The group started playing around Ontario country fairs in the 1980s -- then the kids split to go to college and start families.

In 1996, the siblings reunited and since then have released three albums. Their career got a boost when they opened for Canadian country-pop singer Shania Twain for a couple of years.

By now, the eight siblings of Leahy range in age from 26 to 37. They do about 150 shows a year, according to Frank Jr., who's the seventh in the clan. "I'm 34 going on 21," he said. It's hard to plunk Leahy into a category.

"The style we play is influenced by Mum and Dad, but also what we grew up listening to," including folk, pop and classical, Frank said.

The Longview concert will be "a compilation of all the different musical influences we have developed over the course of our lifetimes," Frank said. "You never know what will happen. We play according to the momentum of the night."

The band's front man is eldest brother Donnell, a fiddling whiz. He's married to Nova Scotian fiddler Nathalie MacMaster, who played here in 2002.

Other members of Leahy are Erin, piano; Angus, fiddle; Maria, guitar; Siobheann Donohue, bass; Doug, fiddle; and step dancer Agnes Enright. Frank Jr. is the group's drummer. Does sibling rivalry ever threaten the group's harmony?

"Like every family we don't always get along," Frank said. "We're not all the same. I've got the battle scars to prove it."



If you go

What: Leahy, an 8-member brother-and-sister act from Canada with fiddles, dance and vocals.

When: 7 p.m. Sunday.

Where: Columbia Theatre.

Tickets; $30/26/21 adults, $21/18/15 students plus $1.50 theater restoration charge. 575-TIXX or 1-888-575-TIXX.

http://www.tdn.com/articles/2006/01/27/this_day/news01.txt



John - :)

[FinnFreak]

Southern Voice - Friday, January 27, 2006


Let’s get ‘Desperate’

‘Desperate Housewives’ soundtrack may easily draw gay men,
but featured lesbian artists likely to pique female interest, too.

http://www.southernvoice.com/2006/1-27/arts/music/et-housewives.jpg
The ‘Desperate Housewives’ characters played by Eva
Longoria (left), Terri Hatcher, Marcia Cross and Felicity
Huffman each receives a personal theme song on the
show’s soundtrack.


By MIKE FLEMING


EGOTISTICAL DIVAS BATTLING for supremacy, country girls in the big city, soulful sirens with secrets and rocker chicks ready to throw down are in store for eager fans.

No, it’s not the next episode of ‘Desperate Housewives.’ It’s the hit TV show’s surprisingly well-conceived soundtrack.

Released in December, “Music from and Inspired by ‘Desperate Housewives’” grabbed the expected attention of gay men. We love gay creator Marc Cherry’s show about fabulous women who stop at nothing to get their way, and we are the most likely targets for songs by artists including Gloria Estefan, Broadway smash Idina Menzel (“Rent,” “Wicked”), LeAnne Rimes and Shania Twain.

But our lesbian sisters have reasons to get “Desperate” as well. Even if they don’t watch the TV show, female fans can revel in the CD’s inclusion of lesbian artists kd lang and Indigo Girls plus rocker Liz Phair.

Rare are the musicians that appeal to both the male and female gay bents, but the hearty voices of Joss Stone, Martina McBride and Macy Gray should please most listeners.

Cherry oversaw the song *sele-ctions, which include perfectly chosen classic covers and original hits, each with elements of female empowerment and of course, desperation.

Fans are already familiar with composer Danny Elfman’s whimsical theme for the show, which appears on the CD. Instrumental tracks for each “Housewife” also punctuate the album and define *distinct sections of its playlist.

Elfman, who went from ‘80s Brit-pop band Oingo Boingo to become known for his TV and movie themes including “The Simpsons,” “Nightmare Before Christmas” and many others, expertly sets the tone for the album with “Mary Alice,” a nod to the show’s unseen narrator. The band SHeDAISY follows with the aptly titled ditty, “God Bless the American Housewife.”

But the ball really gets rolling after “Edie,” the theme for the b*tchy serial divorcee played by Nicollette Sheridan. Shania Twain’s undeniable voice follows with “Shoes,” and the ‘60s classic “Band of Gold” gets a makeover by Anna Nalick.

After a musical interlude for “Lynette,” Phair provides one of the CD’s highlights with a remake of the Rolling Stones’ “Mother’s Little Helper,” and Indigo Girls have their trademark fun covering Simon and Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson.” McBride doesn’t add anything new to “Harper Valley PTA,” but the song’s inherent appeal is perfect for the soundtrack.

The CD hits its stride with a section of songs starting with “Bree,” an ode to Marcia Cross’ uptight character. Standouts include Rimes letting that famous voice rip on the hauntingly beautiful “We’re Running Out of Time,” and Joss Stone proving her pipes on “Treat Me Right (I’m Yours for Life).”

The selections following “Gabrielle” are among the most impressive. Macy Gray lends her signature growl to “Boom Boom,” and Estefan adds depth to “Young Hearts Run Free” on her cover of the Rod Stewart classic.

AFTER A FUN ride with “Susan,” the best of the character themes, Menzel shows her chops on “Damsel in Distress,” and lang, sure to make the replay list on any compilation album she graces, offers “Dream of the Everyday Housewife.”

Cherry and his collaborators should be commended for putting together a CD that is toe-tappingly strong throughout. With the show’s popularity, it would be easy to crank out and sell a disc with the show’s stars on the cover and any old playlist. But producers went out of their way to organize the CD and select songs with an exacting ear for appropriate content and listenability.


www.southernvoice.com/2006/1-27/arts/music/music.cfm


John - ;)

[Troll]

Thanks John for the articles.

[Troll]

A few years ago, they performed at the Juno Awards (Canada's Grammys), where they took home trophies, and Shania Twain was in the audience. Shania liked what she heard, and loved their show, which includes French/Irish/Canadian-style step dancing. She invited them to tour with her. The offer ultimately took up almost two years of their lives. Suddenly they were playing huge halls and stadium shows for tens of thousands. Somehow they survived the experience and avoided being pulled apart.

Said Maria, "One thing we have learned throughout all of our experiences over the years is as long as the artist is honest with themselves and honest in the music that they're playing and bringing to the rest of the world, on whatever level -- small, rootsy, commercial, whatever -- that makes a huge difference in the satisfaction of the artist. And the audience knows it. We get satisfaction in what we play -- that will always resonate with people.

"A lot of artists are desperate to make it, but they have to know where the line is between satisfaction in their craft and what they're prepared to do to have commercial success. It's so sad to see artists sucked into the commercial way."

http://www.northcoastjournal.com/012606/hum0126.html

[Troll]

Percussion Week continues until tomorrow at Merriam School of Music.
Located at the Mississauga-Oakville border, the school has arranged a series of competitions and workshops focusing on the oft-forgotten member of most bands, the drummer.

"At Merriam Music, we pride ourselves not only on the quality of music education we provide our students but the quality of performers, workshops and clinics we can offer the community," said Anthony Giles, head of the percussion department.

"Both Mark and the Percussion Week line-up embody the quality and excitement we offer in our programming," added Giles.

Meanwhile, Kelso, who is currently the head of percussion at Humber College, has performed with artists such as Shania Twain, Bonnie Raitt and Holly Cole.

Today, the school is hosting a fastest drummer competition.

Also today, Mark Primeau will offer another drum clinic and Jeremy Kleynhaus performs with his ska band.

http://www.mississauga.com/mi/insidenews/story/3289224p-3807747c.html

[Troll]

Currington lured the crowd of nearly 5,000 to sing the Shania Twain half of the duet hit “Party for Two"

http://www.tribstar.com/news/local_story_028234226.html

[Troll]

Troika Design Group Rebrands Great American Country Network

Feedback also pointed to two distinct kinds of country fans—“traditional” listeners of artists like Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash, and “progressive” listeners, who like Shania Twain and other contemporary artists.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/20061/1/prweb338724.htm

[canoilers]

Thanks guys you are a wealth of information, heck you'd guys be millionaires in that case. :D

[SHANIANUTS!]

The Daily News (Longview, Washington) - Jan 26, 2006


Canadian clan entertains using their Celtic roots

http://www.cmtcanada.com/images/show_visuals/leahy.jpg
Family band Leahy will bring their brand of modern Celtic music and dance to the
Columbia Theatre on Sunday.


By Tom Paulu


It sounds too quaint to be true, but the blazing fiddles and fancy footwork are proof: The eight siblings in Leahy really are a famous family act, at least in their native country.

The four brothers and four sisters of Leahy, who started playing with each other on their Ontario farm, have grown into one of Canada's hottest acts. They'll perform their modernized version of Celtic music Sunday evening at the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts.

The Leahy (pronounced LAY-hee) clan grew up on a cattle farm near Lakefield, Ontario, which is about 100 miles northeast of Toronto. Father Frank played fiddle and mother Julie was a step dancer, and all the children picked up those talents.

Step dancers concentrate on their footwork, with limited hand and arm movement. They wear clickers on their shoes and dance to lively fiddle music.

With no TV and few trips to town, the children amused themselves with music. Forming a group "wasn't a plan of Mum and Dad's, but it just happened," Frank Jr. said during a phone interview this week. The group started playing around Ontario country fairs in the 1980s -- then the kids split to go to college and start families.

In 1996, the siblings reunited and since then have released three albums. Their career got a boost when they opened for Canadian country-pop singer Shania Twain for a couple of years.

By now, the eight siblings of Leahy range in age from 26 to 37. They do about 150 shows a year, according to Frank Jr., who's the seventh in the clan. "I'm 34 going on 21," he said. It's hard to plunk Leahy into a category.

"The style we play is influenced by Mum and Dad, but also what we grew up listening to," including folk, pop and classical, Frank said.

The Longview concert will be "a compilation of all the different musical influences we have developed over the course of our lifetimes," Frank said. "You never know what will happen. We play according to the momentum of the night."

The band's front man is eldest brother Donnell, a fiddling whiz. He's married to Nova Scotian fiddler Nathalie MacMaster, who played here in 2002.

Other members of Leahy are Erin, piano; Angus, fiddle; Maria, guitar; Siobheann Donohue, bass; Doug, fiddle; and step dancer Agnes Enright. Frank Jr. is the group's drummer. Does sibling rivalry ever threaten the group's harmony?

"Like every family we don't always get along," Frank said. "We're not all the same. I've got the battle scars to prove it."





http://www.tdn.com/articles/2006/01/27/this_day/news01.txt



John - :)I am surprised that they have not appeared on PBS in the States ... have they been on TV much in Canada?

[canoilers]

Not for awhile, a long long while.

[SHANIANUTS!]

They have something better to offer than Leahy?

[canoilers]

I think one of them died......... but don't quote me on that, I could be mixing them up for the Rankin Family. I don't think they've come out with anything really new for awhile, and I think thats why.

[canoilers]

I personally could stand too see alittle more Shania on the tube too.

[AlanB]

I think one of them died......... but don't quote me on that, I could be mixing them up for the Rankin Family. I don't think they've come out with anything really new for awhile, and I think thats why.

If you're refering to Leahy, I've heard nothing about one of them being dead.

In fact they've been touring most of the past year and they still have an extensive tour planned for the first 5 months of this year, so far. I think that there was a new album within the last year, but I'm not positive.

More info on the band, including tour dates and their family history can be found on their website located here. (http://www.leahymusic.com/)

[canoilers]

Well that should mean more of them on the tube, thats for sure.


Thank you for the tour.

Somebody from one of those two musical family's died but I fail to remeber which one. Its been a few years since it happened. Its nice to see they are still touring, I liked Leahy. Must be the Irish in my blood but I like the Gaelic sound.

[FinnFreak]

The Seattle Times - Monday, January 30, 2006


Super Bowl XL

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v434/FinnFreak/Shania_SuperBowl_2003.jpg
Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003 - Shania Twain


Has the hype gone too far? Most experts say no


By Larry Stone, Seattle Times staff reporter


Mike Veeck knows hype.

Disco Demolition Night? His baby. Owns six minor-league baseball teams, promotes the peanut shells out of them. His dad was Bill Veeck, the greatest American impresario since P.T. Barnum. Sent a midget to the plate for the St. Louis Browns.

Mike Veeck bows down to the Super Bowl, which has become, in the words of Lawrence Wenner, professor of communication at the University of San Francisco, "a cultural high-holy day."

(Norman Vincent Peale, giving a sermon in New York City on the day of Super Bowl X, told his flock, "If Jesus were alive today, He'd be at the Super Bowl." Advertising maven Jim Johnson of Anspach Grossman Enterprise told his flock, "If we were to brand America, the brand would be Super Bowl.")

Mike Veeck is alive today. He won't be there in Detroit on Sunday, but he'll be watching, along with, oh, 130 million other Americans, many of whom will be hosting or attending Super Bowl parties (and ordering 3.2 million pizzas, give or take a pie or two) — and most of whom will be waiting breathlessly for the commercials.

Waiting for the commercials! Not running to the restroom, but actually looking forward to them. Chances are, in the ensuing four hours, a new national catch phrase will be born, the "Whassup?" of 2006. A business or four will be saved or ruined, depending on how their agency came through for the company's $2.5 million per 30 seconds of air time.

"In my world — advertising — the Super Bowl is judgment day," legendary ad man Jerry Della Femina wrote in the Wall Street Journal. "If politicians have Election Day and Hollywood has the Oscars, advertising has the Super Bowl."

Back to Veeck. Got sidetracked there. That happens with the Super Bowl, which is a main tent surrounded by dozens of sideshows, a blur of noise and commotion. Lose focus, and you can get lost in the cacophony. Fred Dryer, who played in a Super Bowl with the Rams (XIV, if we may numeral-drop here) before he stepped down a notch in glitz and went to Hollywood, was asked if the Super Bowl was as big as death.

"Bigger," he replied. "At least it comes in a bigger box."

But we digress. Veeck. Focus.

"I think any time you can captivate the country the way they have, obviously they've done a magnificent job," Veeck said. "Can you over-hype it? Of course. Are they getting close? Of course. The fundamental thing is, will they know when to quit? No. The fans let you know."

The hype has come to define the event. Even the scholarly descriptions of the Super Bowl are hyped up. Listen to Dr. Don Beck, director of the National Values Center, who in 1991 called the Super Bowl "the American dream on cleats," in an interview with the St. Petersburg Times.

"It has all the drama of soap operas on television," gushed Dr. Beck. "It has the high technology, the whiz-bang space age, the gadgets. It has the whole concept of strategic, goal-centered thinking. It keeps score so we know who wins, who loses. It has the echoes of the warrior class, with the gladiators. Then you add in all the celebrity Hollywoodizing ... "

Add all that up, and the Super Bowl has come to a point that the very term "hype" — connoting, as it does in Webster's, "deception" or "fraud" — is no longer apt. The Super Bowl delivers what it promises — the ratings, the buzz, the return on investment (both emotional and financial).

"To me, it's way beyond hype," said Cliff Burnstein, co-manager of Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Fountains of Wayne and Shania Twain.

"The word hype derives from 'hyperbole,' to overstate. Which, of course, in my business might be good for a time for some people, but you don't want to make it your bread and butter. If you overstate and people under-deliver, the whole game is over.

"Hype is a dangerous thing. I don't think the Super Bowl is hype."

David Carter, a sports business professor at USC, calls the Super Bowl "as much of a pop-culture phenomenon as anything that's come along in some time ... just short of a national holiday."

But Carter posits the question, "Is it over the top?" and concludes, "I don't think it is. The hype is commensurate with the amount of interest in the NFL."

Jim Steeg, now chief operating officer of the San Diego Chargers, was Super Bowl coordinator for 26 years as the NFL's Director of Special Events, from 1979 to 2004. Speaking Roman, that's XIII to XXXVIII.

"It's not hype," Steeg said firmly. "The league, if anything, has always tried to downplay it. I'll give you the irony: Find where the league has gone out and advanced the Super Bowl.

"For all the 240 games during the year, you have to send a PR guy into the city. Here, it's like stories happen because the media creates them. You sit back and respond."

Steeg, like most NFL insiders, gives full credit to Pete Rozelle, the visionary who guided the Super Bowl into hyperspace.

"I just think he had an idea what this could become," Steeg said. "It was his baby, absolutely. The first year we did the Friday night party, he was literally into what type of flowers we put out."

The NFL's first stroke of genius was putting the game at a neutral site.

"We could never move this traveling circus into place on one week's notice," said Steeg.

And the second stroke of genius was adding the extra week after the NFC and AFC title games, which allows the drama and anticipation to fester.

"It was as calculated a decision as was ever made by the league," former Cowboys president Tex Schramm told the Dallas Morning News. "The idea was to give the game time to build. That allowed us to get the teams in early, to make them available, to make sure that the media got everything it needed to tell the world about our game."

It did. It still does.

"The Super Bowl," Rozelle once said, "is like the last chapter in a hair-raising mystery. No one would dare think of missing it."

That's not hype. That's reality.


http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2002770926_hype30.html


John - ;)

[canoilers]

Thank you John very much. :D I remeber her Superbowl like it was yesterday.

[Troll]

Thank you John very much. :D I remeber her Superbowl like it was yesterday.

I remember it too. :D

[canoilers]

Yeah but with all the times I have smashed my head on the TV screen trying to run too Shania makes mine extra special. Heck I'm lucky if I remeber my name. :p

Then again I don't even think amnesia could make me forget that half-time show. Yeah I think I may have liked it. :D

[canoilers]

That goes for the Grey Cup too, that one was alittle more special to me........even if the Eskie's lost the game. She was the best part of that, and it all happened here in Edmonton. :D It was a great year too be a Shania fan in Edmonton, she was here a few times during that period. Grey Cups, concerts, and Juno's saw her here many times. :D

[Troll]

That goes for the Grey Cup too, that one was alittle more special to me........even if the Eskie's lost the game. She was the best part of that, and it all happened here in Edmonton. :D It was a great year too be a Shania fan in Edmonton, she was here a few times during that period. Grey Cups, concerts, and Juno's saw her here many times. :D

They Grey Cup performance was awesome too.

[SHANIANUTS!]

Thank you John very much. :D I remeber her Superbowl like it was yesterday.I don't remember much about that StupidBowl but I too sure remember Shania...not the other drek that performed that day...

[canoilers]

Actaully I don't remeber much about that one either except that the Bucs won and Shania was the show. :D

[Troll]

“Exactly what the people saw on television is what I do. That’s why I don’t bring an opening or a closing act because it wasn’t what I did on television,” says the musician, who welcomed almost every country act of the day, including Johnny Cash, Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, the Judds and Shania Twain, on his hour-long telecast.

http://www.brandonsun.com/story.php?story_id=17143

[Troll]

Besides apparel, accessories, jewelry and footwear, Newton said his company will expand its offerings by entering the billion dollar cologne and perfume category. Working with one of the top fragrance development firms in the US, Newton said his new Billy Martin product will carry the name "Riata" -- Spanish for lasso or lariat -- and be positioned to compete against Coty whose top selling brands are Stetson and the "western chic" Shania Twain brand.

Besides apparel, accessories, jewelry and footwear, Newton said his company will expand its offerings by entering the billion dollar cologne and perfume category. Working with one of the top fragrance development firms in the US, Newton said his new Billy Martin product will carry the name "Riata" -- Spanish for lasso or lariat -- and be positioned to compete against Coty whose top selling brands are Stetson and the "western chic" Shania Twain brand.

[Troll]

While in the trance, three students performed on stage as Britney Spears, Shakira and Shania Twain, and a young man dancing and lip synching to “Man I Feel Like A Woman,” made it even more entertaining.

http://www.thetartan.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/02/01/43e154703ea54

[Troll]

Billy Currington Does "Somethin' Right"
Singer, Songwriters Fete First No. 1 Song

Edward Morris

E-mail this story to a friend.

(Marilu White)

It was a festival of firsts: Billy Currington's first No. 1 single (from his first gold album) and Jason Matthews and Marty Dodson's first No. 1 song. The star and the songwriters took center stage in Nashville Tuesday (Jan. 31) as music industry supporters packed ASCAP's spacious reception hall to applaud the chart success of "Must Be Doin' Somethin' Right."

Reflecting on how the song came about, Dodson told the crowd that while he and Matthews had written the song within an hour and a half, it was more rooted in personal associations than in time. "It didn't come from [that] hour and a half," he explained. "It came from all the people in this room."

Said Matthews, "I really feel like we were tapping into God."

"Must Be Doin' Somethin' Right" is from Doin' Somethin' Right, Currington's second album for Mercury Records. It was certified gold in January.

Currington spoke briefly to reporters before the party started. "[This song] means everything," he told them. "This is the spot you dream of." Asked if having a No. 1 song meant "job security" at his record label, he replied, "Job security? Is there such a thing in the music business?"

He acknowledged his high-profile pairing with Shania Twain in "Party for Two" had boosted his career but didn't go into detail about his work with her.

Another sign of his moving up in the music world, Currington said, was being picked to open shows this year on Brad Paisley's Time Well Wasted tour with Sara Evans. He said he hasn't had much chance so far to mingle with the two headliners. As for the prospect of eventually co-writing with Paisley, Currington said, "I've thought about it, but I don't know that he has."

In addition to the Paisley tour, Currington said he was moving ahead with plans to do a fraternity tour of colleges in the Southeastern Conference. "College folks are fun," he observed. "They're lively and wild." Between his chores as an opening act and his solo appearances, Currington estimated he will do around 300 shows this year.

Although he conceded that much has been made in the press about his "sexiness," Currington said he didn't think it has diverted attention from his music.

After all the awards had been presented, Currington told the music industry folk surrounding him, "Thank you for this town. I've been here 14 years, and I really love this place."

http://www.cmt.com/artists/news/1522989/02012006/twain_shania.jhtml?_requestid=21222

[FinnFreak]

VNU'S Media and Marketing Guide for The Super Bowl


NEW YORK, Feb. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Several VNU businesses -- including Nielsen Media Research and ACNielsen -- today released a wide range of consumer and media information illustrating the enormous impact that the Super Bowl has on all areas of media and marketing in the U.S.

...


In 2003, Shania Twain and the group No Doubt both saw an increase in their album sales. Twain's 2002 album UP! saw a 41% increase in sales and her 1997 album Come on Over increased 48% in the week after Super Bowl XXXVII. Similarly, No Doubt's 1995 album Tragic Kingdom increased sales by 58% during the same period.


http://sev.prnewswire.com/advertising/20060202/NYTH13602022006-1.html


John - :)

[Troll]

Thanks for the info John.

[Troll]

Eighteen-year-old Michelle Rene' began performing professionally throughout Arizona four years ago at state and county fairs, music festivals, professional sports arenas, talent shows and local TV shows. She currently hosts her own live show, The Michelle Rene' Show, in North Phoenix every Saturday evening at the District AMC Fountain Stage in Desert Ridge. She is a singer/songwriter who identifies her musical influences as Martina McBride (for her lifestyle, vocal performance and heartfelt lyrics) and Shania Twain (for her stage performance and charisma). Mirroring their style, Michelle Rene' hopes to become a mainstay country music artist. 'My original music has it's own style,' says Michelle. 'I don't want to follow the fads or trends. I just want to stick with what I feel and write, and perform songs that have a future. I have a lot to say and this is just the beginning…of my future in country music!'

http://top40-charts.com/news.php?nid=20431