BILLBOARD RANKS TOP 50 MUSIC MOMENTS OF THE DECADE

It's fun to look back at the stories that shaped the way we will remember the last decade.

THE GOOD INCLUDE: Live 8, the iPod, American Idol and the Dixie Chick's diss of George Bush

THE BAD INCLUDE: Chris Brown/Rihanna, Elliot Smith's death, and CBGB's closing

You can check out all 50 moments at:

http://www.billboard.com/news/the-decade-in-music-top-50-moments-1004055326.story#/news/the-decade-in-music-top-50-moments-1004055326.story

LOS PINGUOS MAKE YOU MOVE!

Two years ago, my friend and musician Dawn Alexander invited me to see this band Los Pinguos. I was a bit hesitant because the majority of their music is in Spanish, but within two minutes I was hooked!

The sexy sounds of the Spanish guitars and cajon (one of my favorite instruments) combined with the harmonic vocals makes you want to grab a lover and dance the night away.

Originally from Argentina, the band moved to Los Angeles in 2001. Their work has been featured in several movies and television shows as they've traveled the world in support of their recordings. They can be found gigging around LA quite often and last night Dawn and I reconnected to hang with the boys.

I highly recommend checking them out, you may just discover a flavor for something new like I did.

http://www.myspace.com/lospinguos

LAST 5 DOWNLOADS

Ladyhawke "Magic"

Timothy Craig "One Small Miracle"

Jack's Mannequin "Spinning"

The Stills "I'm With You"

Brandi Carlile "Fall Apart Again"

GREAT SONG FOR A GREAT CAUSE

Below you will find part of an email musician Timothy Craig sent talking about his new single and the donation he will make to St Jude's Research Hospital. I've known Tim for several years and shot his album cover for Grand References. The song has always been a favorite of mine and I have personally supported St. Jude's for a long time. If you like it, please think about spending $.99 to help a good cause. Happy holidays :)

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My latest single "One Small Miracle" from my new album You Got It just shipped out to over1,800 Country Radio Stations in America and 350 Stations outside the U.S. I wrote the song myself and all the proceeds are being donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. This means publishing, iTunes downloads (or any other digital download company), even a percentage of the album sales, etc!So please forward this email to everyone on your list and help donate to St. Jude's this holiday season!

"One Small Miracle" by Timothy Craig, just click on the iTunes link below:

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=280851979

GARTH BROOKS INVADES VEGAS!

Garth Brooks headed to Sin City this weekend to end his nine year retirement and if the reviews are any indication he hasn't missed a beat.

Hotel mogul Steve Wynn presented the king of country an offer he couldn't refuse. Play 15 weekends per year for say five years and receive a ton of money and your own private jet to fly back and forth from your home in Oklahoma. Sweet deal and it looks like it's going to be sweet all the way to the bank for both Brooks and Wynn- the first set of shows sold out in less than five hours.

Am I surprised, NOT AT ALL. Garth is probably the best performer I have ever seen live. He connected with not only country fans, but ALL music fans as he is RIAA's (Recording Industry Association of America) best-selling solo artist of the 20th century in America.

See what they are saying:

http://www.musicrow.com/2009/12/garth-brooks-is-back-vegas-gig-gets-rave-reviews/

LILITH FAIR IS BACK!

Lilith Fair was one of the most successful festivals of the late 90's. It's where I saw The Dixie Chicks, The Pretenders and Chantal Kreviazuh for the first time.

Now Sarah and the girls are back! Lilith veterans Sheryl Crow, Emmylou Harris and the Indigo Girls are confirmed, as are newcomers Colbie Caillat, Sugarland and Miranda Lambert. And the likes of Mary J. Blige and Metric will take the 2010 festival to a whole new level.

Check out the confirmed artists at http://www.lilithfair.com/

THE DECADE'S BEST

Seems like just yesterday that I was standing in Times Square waiting for the millennium. I was still living back east and was still in my twenties. Now I'm living in Los Angeles and in my 30's. During that time, we went from 'NSync selling 2.4 million units in one week to seeing major record chain Tower Records close its doors for good.

Let's take a look back at what Rolling Stone (chosen by a panel of artists) and I think were the best artists, albums and songs of the decade. Will we agree?- let's see shall we!

TOP ARTISTS OF THE DECADE

ROLLING STONE

1. Bruce Springsteen

2. Radiohead

3. Kanye West

4. Beyonce

5. Arcade Fire

6. M.I.A.

7. Jack White

8. U2

TAMMY GOOD

1. U2

2. Lady Gaga

3. Jay-Z

4. Kanye West

5. P!nk

6. Dixie Chicks

7. Britney Spears

8. Radiohead

TOP ALBUMS OF THE DECADE

ROLLING STONE

1. Radiohead: Kid A

2. The Strokes: Is This It

3. Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

4. Jay-Z: The Blueprint

5. The White Stripes: Elephant

TAMMY GOOD

1. Lady Gaga: The Fame

2. Daniel Merriweather: Love & War

3. Ryan Adams: Gold

4. MGMT: Oraclar Spectacular

5. Jesse Malin: Glitter in the Gutter

HONORABLE MENTION

Amy Winehouse: Back to Black

Dixie Chicks: Taking The Long Way

John Mayer: Continuum

Duffy: Rockferry

Beth Hart: Leave the Light On

Dan Wilson: Free Life

James Morrison: Undiscovered

TOP SONGS OF THE DECADE

ROLLING STONE

1. Gnarls Barkley: Crazy

2. Jay-Z: 99 Problems

3. Beyonce feat. Jay-Z: Crazy in Love

4. Outkast: Hey Ya

5. M.I.A.: Paper Planes

TAMMY GOOD

1. Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys: Empire State of Mind

2. Amy Winehouse: Rehab

3. Sugarland: Baby Girl

4. Beth Hart: Leave The Light On

5. Anna Nalick: Breathe (2 A.M.)

HONORABLE MENTION

Estelle feat. Kanye West: American Boy

Kings Of Leon: Sex On Fire

Paulo Nutini: Last Request

MGMT: Time To Pretend

Daniel Merriweather feat. Adele: Water And A Flame

SONG LINE OF THE DAY

SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE I LIVE IN GRAND CENTRAL STATION

TONIGHT I'M NOT TAKIN' NO CALLS

'CUZ I'LL BE DANCIN'

STOP CALLIN'

Lady Gaga "Telephone"

HOTEL KEYS GET A NEW LOOK

Marketing folks are always trying new ways to expose their products to consumers. This week I saw something new and it came to me via my Hilton hotel key card. To my surprise, when I went to swipe the card I saw the movie poster for George Clooney's latest film 'Up In The Air' which arrives in theaters later this month.

You may be wondering why I would write about my George Clooney encounter on a music blog. Well you see I travel a great deal for work and I wouldn't be surprised if album releases may too soon appear on my hotel keys. I could see it being a great option for artists like Chris Botti, Sheryl Crow, or The Eagles. Team with a major hotel chain and market to an older sophisticated demographic with expendable income.

TBC.......

LILY ALLEN TO LAUNCH LABEL

Back in September, Lily Allen was wrapped up in a communication misunderstanding as some misconstrued her not renewing her record contract as Allen quitting music all together. Thankfully that was NOT the case, but we did learn today that Allen has plans to launch her own label.

Allen told BBC Newsbeat that she is taking “one to two years off from recording and performing” because she wants “to concentrate on doing some behind the scenes sort of stuff.”

One of those projects will be to launch a record label that will concentrate on new artists.