Counting Stars and NEW Musical Instruments Invented!

Do you ever get tired of just guitars, pianos, bass, drums, strings, horns and all the other instruments we've heard for decades (and centuries in some cases)? I recently came across an article about an annual competition at the Georgia Institute of Technology where they invite inventors from all over the world to come demonstrate new types of musical instruments. This year 23 inventors from 14 countries came to compete for prizes up to $5K and for recognition of their design and engineering expertise. To learn more about this very cool competition check out this link New Musical Instruments Competition.

Maybe when this is all over there's still time for me to learn a new instrument or two :)

Going forward we'll be trying to blog at least once a week and when we do we'll be featuring a new song that has gotten our attention. This weeks entry is "Counting Stars" by One Republic, the act whose original success as an unsigned act out of Colorado Springs shot them to stardom like nobodys business. That first single "Apologize" went to #2 on the US charts and we again see One Republic's "Counting Stars" recently hitting #2 on the Billboard chart (currently #6 but climbing again). If you're not one of the 182 Million people who have listened to this great song on YouTube already I invite you to check out the tune and video for "Counting Stars" It's a great pop tune that will grow on you a little bit more each time you listen.

We're heading towards the end of February already and the spring thaw has begun (60 degrees this weekend in Philadelphia). Looking forward to the rest of the thaw and some more good music as March roars into the calendar. Enjoy the last week of February and see you next month! Peace, Love & Laughter, ~Vincent James @ LoveSongs.com

Friday's Featured Song - "Stop and Stare" by One Republic

One Republic has a different single on the charts right now "All the Right Moves" which has a pretty cool chorus - but the song I really like (apart from their monster hit "Apologize") is "Stop and Stare" - haunting verse and chorus that are perfectly matched and the orchestrated background is just perfect. "Stop and Stare" went all the way to #12 on the Billboard Chart in 2008. One Republic originally formed out of Denver, Colorado in 2002 and at one point became the most popular unsigned band on MySpace (which will tend to get you some serious attention :)). "Apologize" from their debut CD hit #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart and was followed up by this really cool song check it out:

"Stop and Stare" - One Republic (YouTube)

Warner Music may pull their music from Streaming Sites

Warner Music has said they don't support streaming only sites (aka Last.fm and Pandora) that are advertiser supported as they take away sales of MP3s through other sites. Instead they may support sites that offer paid subscriptions to hear unlimited tracks. This whole music streaming battle is far from over will be interesting to see how it all plays out over the next few years. Here's a recent article on Warner Musics position: Warner Music to pull music from Streaming Sites

Valentines Day just two days away!

Valentines Day is not just around the corner but its two doors up the street and moving fast. Fortunately the snow has actually stopped and we are almost dug out of our neighborhoods so maybe we can enjoy Valentines weekend. Tomorrow I'll be doing my crazy Whirlwind Valentines Tour visiting 8 different Borders - should be a fun time and I'll get to actually celebrate Valentines with the Mrs on Sunday whooo hoooooo!

Have a great Friday and will be posting another update and tune early tomorrow before we head out for the shows - first show is at 9 AM (man thats early :))

~Vincent