By JIMENITA SWAIN Guardian Staff Reporter In the Bahamas today, the phrase "Bahamians have lost their culture" has rolled off many wagging lips, especially during times when foreign musicians like Beres Hammond are brought in on work permits, to entertain scores of young people at almost astronomical prices. Sometimes one has to step back a bit into history, to realize the rich culture Bahamians have, but they tend to imitate, so many other cultures that true Bahaminisation is slowly slipping away... soon to be lost, if not embraced. In an attempt to educate and enlighten young minds this roving reporter has searched out a ...

Simon & Garfunkel, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Elton John, KISS, Aerosmith, Cher -- it seems like an army of 50- and 60-something music acts have abandoned the comfort of their country estates for the rigors of the road. One thing bringing these seasoned performers back to concert stages is to hear those stadium crowds scream and chant their names one more time. But independent music critic Christian Bordal reports that the money is a big draw, too. Live concert ticket sales are topping $2 billion a year, and the biggest-name acts can pull in more that $1 million a night. There's been a 40 percent increase in concert gross re...

Compiled by Joel Brown & Randy Hascall Argus Leader Here are the performers of the all-time favorite renditions of nearly every Christmas song you can think of, in alphabetical order by song title. "All I Want for Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)" Arthur Godfried. "All I Want for Christmas is You" - Mariah Carey. "An Angel Gets Its Wings" - Trisha Yearwood with Vince Gill. "And the Glory of the Lord" - Dianne Reeves. "Angel Medley" - Wayne Watson. "Angels We Have Heard on High" - Michael W. Smith. "As Long as There's Christmas" - Roberta Flack and Peobo Bryson. "Away in a Manger" - Nat King Cole. "Auld Lang...

When Randy Cordero worked a cover of "Sweet Caroline" into his acoustic act at a Tempe, Ariz., club in 1989, he figured he'd get booed into oblivion and pelted with Bud bottles. Instead he learned a life-altering truth: People love Neil Diamond. He eventually quit his job as an engineer, and for more than a decade Cordero has been serving up zirconium versions of Diamond originals in his highly unironic tribute band, Super Diamond. Now known as "Surreal Neil," Cordero dons sequins and slaps an alternative-rock spin on Diamond's canon. Among those who've seen the act and said "I'm a Believer" is Neil himself, who has performed with the grou...

Hadley will join Super Diamond for a complete show in Anaheim Friday Dec. 12th at House Of Blues. Hadley saw the band last March and really enjoyed it. I spoke to Hadley and he asked me to post the news.

TIDAL WAVE ANNOUNCES Rogers TV Viewer's Choice Award Winners The winners in the Short Film, Documentary Film, and Feature Film categories are as follows: Top Three Short Films 1) Unseen Enemy, Saint John Director, Tim O'Neill 2) Birthday Suit, Fredericton Director, Roger Moore 3) Street Music, Fredericton Director, Nik Mills Top Three Documentary Films 1) Men Of The Deeps, Canada, Directed by John Walker 2) Feel Neil, USA, Directed by David Sarich 3) My Student Loan, Canada, Directed by Mike Johnston Top Three Feature Films 1) "U", New Brunswick, Directed by Students of the UNB Film/Video Certificate Program 2) Dirty Pr...

Johnny Cash set leads strong crop of disc collections We have Bob Dylan - or at least Dylan's handlers - to thank for the modern box set. In 1985, Biograph came out with three CDs of the usual Dylan songs - Tangled Up in Blue, Positively Fourth Street, Mr. Tambourine Man - and a slew of previously unreleased cuts, from the legendary 1974 New York sessions version of You're a Big Girl Now to a solo acoustic 1966 live Visions of Johanna. This is the stuff fans knew was in the vaults and had been dying to get their hands on. Its scope (and more important, its commercial success) changed the standard for reissues ever since, and tha...

By Robert Hilburn There's something so fiercely independent about Bob Dylan that it's hard to agree on which of his albums should be selected for a boxed set. So the chances are you'll begin second-guessing the contents of ``Bob Dylan - The Limited Edition CDs Boxed Set'' the moment you pick up the 15-disc package. But you won't argue over the selections in another historic collection included in this holiday guide to boxed sets. ``The Complete Sun Singles Vol. 1'' is a four-disc set that contains every single released by Sam Phillips' Sun Records from 1953 through 1955, which covers Elvis Presley's time there. The set allows us t...

New Love Songs Albums for Valentine's Day 2004 From The Temptations, Engelbert Humperdinck, Quincy Jones, Isaac Hayes, Vanessa Williams, and Donny & Marie Osmond 'I conclude that musical notes and rhythms were first acquired by the male or female progenitors of mankind for the sake of charming the opposite sex.' (Charles Darwin, 1871) LOS ANGELES, Dec. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The evolution of the love song album reaches its peak in time for this Valentine's Day with the January 13, 2004 release of six new compilations from UMe. Each track has been digitally remastered on albums from The Temptations, Engelbert Humperdinck, Quincy J...

Gaw lee and shuh zam! By CAROL STOSKOPF DePINO, Columnist Did you watch the Andy Griffith Reunion Show last week? I did. I used to love watching Maberry RFD. I also watched the reunion show because Jim Nabors was going to be on it. I wanted to see how he looked since I knew he'd had a liver transplant almost 10 years ago. Seeing him brought back wonderful memories of a weekend many years ago. When I lived in Houston, I became friends with Nabors' niece Angela. It was months before I knew who she was referring to when she spoke of visiting her uncle in Los Angeles. You could tell by the way she spoke about him that she adored him. Fr...

By DAVID HINCKLEY DAILY NEWS CRITIC-AT-LARGE With most of the obvious box sets already in print, record companies are looking for niches - artists who may not be Hall of Famers, but who have a loyal record-buying following. Just in time for your holiday-gift list, here are a few of this year's new selections: AL GREEN, "The Immortal Soul" (Hi). 4 CDs. Soul and gospel, weaving in and out of each other, and it doesn't get much more intense. Or much better. Fascinating song selection, too, from "Light My Fire" and "To Sir With Love" to "My God Is Real." The whole set's worth buying just for "Funny How Time Slips Away." **** NO ...

On this page and the next, USA TODAY's Elysa Gardner, Edna Gundersen, Steve Jones, Brian Mansfield and Ken Barnes assess this year's CD box-set bounty. Pop, rock, classical Joan Baez, The Complete A&M Recordings (A&M, 4 CDs, list price $50). Baez's pure, clear vocals are front and center on these remastered tracks, including Diamonds and Rust and her cover of The Band's The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, along with lesser-known gems. Leonard Bernstein, A Total Embrace: The Composer (Sony Legacy, 3, $20). One of the greatest musical geniuses of the 20th century, Bernstein produced symphonies and such timeless musicals as West Side ...

Technology and varying tastes make music easier to create and sell BY JEFF DIAMANT Star-Ledger Staff Jeff Schwartz scanned the music aisle of Judaica House in Teaneck this week, looking for Chanukah music his three children would enjoy. Compared to years ago, the choices seemed endless. Among the hundreds of CDs and cassettes on the shelves were "Reggae Chanukah," "Chanukah and all that Jazz," and an album by a comic Jewish band called "Shlock Rock" with the song "My Menorah," performed to the melody of "La Bamba." "There was nothing like this 20 years ago," said Schwartz, who plans to take his children to...

CD/DVD REVIEW: U-WIRE lists top holiday items for stuffing stockings From U-wire Staff (U-WIRE) SAN DIEGO -- 'Tis the season to fill your stocking with all kinds of entertainment-related goodies, and the folks at U-WIRE are here once again to point you in the right direction. We know you're tired of the same old yuletide garbage, so we've compiled reviews of some of our favorite holiday releases so that you, our humble readers, won't have to give your loved ones the same crap you've been showering on them all these years. Give the ones you love the gift of music! It might not be as tasty as a membership to the Jelly of the M...

By Andrew Gans Tovah Feldshuh — who is currently portraying Golda Meir in the one woman show Golda's Balcony at the Helen Hayes Theatre — and recent Listen to My Heart star Alix Korey are among the women scheduled to perform in a concert titled From Brooklyn to Hollywood. Conceived and written by Scott Siegel, the May 3 evening will be held at New York City's Town Hall. The concert will also feature the talents of jazz vocalist Natalie Douglas, Forbidden Broadway regular Christine Pedi, Starmites Tony nominee Sharon McNight and The Full Monty's Annie Golden. Show time is 8 PM. From Brooklyn to Hollywood will celebrate the Hollywo...

MULTI-MILLION RENOVATION PROJECT TO BE COMPLETED BY SPRING OF 2004 The 74-year-old, award-winning Greek Theatre broke NEW ground November 17 with a Multi-million renovation project, which is scheduled to be completed by spring of 2004, marking the theatre's 75th Anniversary. The construction will include restoring the front of the theatre to its 1930's facade as well as, 35,000 square feet of improved plaza areas with upgraded concession stands; a relocated and upgraded box office, a new picnic lawn plaza located in front of the theatre, and a state-of-the-art sound and lighting system. In addition, the theatres backstage dressing ...

Neil is coming to PBS. Taped in Dublin in July, 2002, NEIL DIAMOND: SPECIAL MOMENTS IN CONCERT FROM IRELAND is a rousing music special featuring performances of some of Neil's most beloved hits, including "Sweet Caroline", "America", "September Morn", and "Cracklin' Rosie". In addition, Neil has taped a special interview, which will be shown during the one-hour program in select cities. This concert special premieres during the December 2003 PBS Pledge Drive. Check your local listings for dates and times or visit www.pbs.org.

Hilary Duff, Clay Aiken Unwrap The Mysteries Of Holiday CDs Hilary Duff's Santa Claus Lane Photo: Buena Vista "If you're feeling the Christmas spirit, you wanna do a Christmas album and make the people feel good." — Ginuwine "My dream is to do a Christmas album," Jessica Simpson said backstage at a recent holiday festival. "But I gotta have a really big hit album first." From Frank Sinatra to the Beach Boys to Mariah Carey, that has traditionally been the strategy, but is it still the route to go? Forget about "Do You Hear What I Hear?," the question singers are asking this holiday season is: When exactly is the right tim...

John Soeder Plain Dealer Pop Music Critic There's no need to think outside the box if you're still hunting for the ideal gift for the music lover on your shop ping list. As usual, this holi day season offers a boxed set to match almost any taste, in cluding the following noteworthy new releases: Leonard Bernstein "A Total Embrace: The Conductor" (Sony Classical/Legacy, three CDs; $19.98) The first of two new boxes dedi cated to the multifaceted Bern stein celebrates his arm-flaying prowess with the baton, leading the Columbia Symphony Or chestra, the New York Philhar monic and other ensembles. Total tracks: 29 (all pre...

By Spencer Patterson (spencer@lasvegassun.com) For a music fan, there's nothing better than opening up a gift box only to find ... another box inside! Over the past 20 years boxed CD sets have become as much of a holiday tradition as menorahs and mistletoe. Virtually every major musical artist has released one, if not several, such collections chronicling their career. As technology has changed, so have the contents of boxed sets. Several collections released in 2003 include not only audio material, but also video footage, on the increasingly popular DVD medium. There's something for practically every taste in music among thi...

CD Reviews By DAVID PERRY Sun Staff 'Tis the season for extravagance. If there's a music lover on your list, there's a box set to fit their taste. Multiple-disc boxes typically attempt to encapsulate an artist's career, usually tossing in live or previously unreleased material to justify the price and lure diehard fans who may already own the hits. As always, a slew of box sets hit the shelves this year. A few choices to ponder follow. Talking Heads, Once in A Lifetime. (Rhino) A beautiful job. And wouldn't you just know they'd come up with a widescreen cover that defies the status quo. Artsy. Bubble-gum. Hard, polyrhythmic f...

COLIN MCCONNELL/TORONTO STAR Eight weeks ago, Toronto 1 news anchor Wei Chen and Michael Pollard travelled to China to bring Jensen home. They've since discovered she's a music buff. "She likes the energy of soca, but also responds to Tom Jones, Neil Diamond and Mozart," Pollard says. TV anchor, husband celebrate little one What a difference 8 weeks make as Jensen turns 1 Adopted baby having a hoot in Cabbagetown ASHANTE INFANTRY STAFF REPORTER It's wet and gloomy outside. Inside, a plumber's muddy footprints are resentfully vacuumed away. But neither weather nor thoughtlessness can mar the celebration taking plac...

From jazz to rock, search for the perfect soundtrack to the Christmas season Christmas music is an iffy thing. Two minutes in any retail store between Thanksgiving and the middle of January can pretty much present you with a year's supply of the genre. On the other hand, it can be nice, at parties and whatnot, to add a few musical reminders of the holiday. Here are a few of the more interesting albums of holiday tunes currently on the market. Bing Crosby, "White Christmas." MCA, 1992. The original Mr. Christmas sings all the familiar carols: "Adeste Fideles," "Silent Night," "Jingle Bells" and of course the title son...

Rusty chats with Neil Diamond Watch video Rusty Gatenby talked to Neil Diamond about the release "Stages: 1970-2002," a boxed set of six CDs of the musician's live performances. NEIL: "There were songs I don't remember doing, Bob Dylan's 'Lay Lady Lay' ... We have about 80 live performances that have never been heard before. So it was a big job." NEIL: "It was a bigger job than I thought it was. It was two years of involvement." The collection also includes a CD of live Christmas music. NEIL: "But I do like performing during Christmas." But will Neil ever perform in Minnesota again? NEIL: "I'm definitely coming back....

Public TV funding drive falls short of goal David Dinell KPTS Channel 8 wrapped up its fund-raising efforts falling short of its $65,000 goal by several thousand dollars. During the nine-day pledge drive, KPTS raised $53,787 and signed up 253 new contributors. "Of course we are disappointed with the final numbers," said Don Checots, KPTS president and general manager. "However, we won't complain too loudly. We know that times are lean for many area families, businesses and nonprofits, and meeting the community's basic needs of food, clothing and shelter should be everyone's top priority." KPTS is a locally owned, not-for-...

MARKETING BRAND BRANDING ADVERTISING Most companies spend a lot of time and energy trying to find and keep customers. But what they really should be doing is creating fans, according to the author of a new book. Newswise — Most companies spend a lot of time and energy trying to find and keep customers. But what they really should be doing, according to Roger Blackwell, is creating fans. America’s staid, button-downed companies need to be following the path of the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith and Madonna, said Blackwell, a professor of marketing at Ohio State University's Fisher College of Business. These rock stars and others ...

Dolly Parton & Neil Diamond Added To Album (Nashville) -- The new music project termed by Howard and David Bellamy as ?the highlight? of what is now their second quarter century (their first national attention with ?Let Your Love Flow? hit in the mid ?70?s) of making music as ?The Bellamy Brothers? is picking up major star power steam in the studio. The hook? This time around Howard and David are inviting a few of their closest?and highest profile musical friends to help them with the recording process. Neil Diamond and Dolly Parton are just announced as the latest artists tracking for the new Bellamy retrospective. Previously in ...

By Times Staff Writers You notice them more on hot summer days. Cars tooling down your street, windows — sometimes even tops — down, and music thumping. Noise ordinances in most communities try to muffle such things, but almost all of us have a neighbor kid whose buddies pull into the driveway at midnight blasting Limp Bizkit. Or Creed. Or Evanescence. These days, as we begin our four-month or so ride through wintry weather, the windows and tops are up, and the heaters are cranking. But guess what? Car audio systems are still blasting. We just might not hear them as easily. With that in mind, we asked a number of Finger Lakes a...

Michael Stipe - no 'Desert Island' questions... He learnt to sing from his soul by accident. Now Michael Stipe is learning to trust his instincts, he tells Mark Edwards Michael Stipe looks keen and eager to talk, sitting on the edge of the couch in his Knightsbridge hotel room. He’s smiling and friendly. This is going to be a good interview, I think. And then he lobs in his opening thought. "I’m really bad at Desert Island questions," he says. "I just don’t process information that way. I don’t think like that. I don’t have ‘the best REM show ’ or ‘my favourite track’ or ‘the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to me’. My tho...

Fieldhouse memories Under construction In early 1929, while the Fieldhouse was under construction, I attended the old McKinley School on Jefferson Street in ninth grade. Since they finished the gymnasium first at the Fieldhouse, we ninth-graders were allowed to walk two blocks to the gym for our exercise class. There we were doing the best we could with all the hammering and sawing making noise on the other parts of the building. Elnora Puterbaugh Muncie A local Bearcat fan I went to Muncie High School from 1937 to 1940. I was a loyal fan of the Bearcats and attended almost all of the basketball games there in the Fieldh...

TODAY "The Last Samurai" comes out. Some people see it for Tom Cruise. On West 25th they see it for the swordplay. The Fencers Club is 125 years old and has 425 members, but - en garde! - it's $800 to join. I went to see this gentleman's sport, where a code of conduct, proper manners, no cursing behind the mask are the rules. Think "The Three Musketeers," "Scaramouche," "Cyrano" and "Zorro," and it's a shock to learn the executive director is no Hungarian nobleman, but a wife and mother named Rita Finkel. In aisles as narrow as a medieval castle hallway, maybe 50 men and women, age 8 to 80, in white knickers, stood parrying and thrus...

POLLY HIGGINS Tucson Citizen Get to know Polly Higgins Every artist seems to give a try at a Christmas album at some point, and the results range from the curious to the classic. What follows is a summary of offerings released this year, with a concentration on pop and rock holiday albums. American Idol, "The Great Holiday Classics" (RCA) - It's not a question of whether or not Clay Aiken's rendition of "The First Noel" needs to exist in this world - 'cause here it is - but rather whether or not someone on your shopping list deserves it. This companion to the "American Idol" holiday special, which aired in late November, also feat...