Fridae

New Year's Eve with Scissor Sisters
Get ready for a special jetsetting New Year's Eve celebration next Sunday that involves special live gigs in five different cities around the globe that will be broadcast online. The line up includes concerts by Scissor Sisters (Berlin), Nelly Furtado (Mumbai), The Black Eyed Peas (Rio) and John Legend (NYC).

You can watch the live shows right here at the Nokia NYE web site. The good things is that if you're in the US, you can watch Nelly Furtado and Scissor Sisters perform live and kick off 2007 before you head off to your own New Year's party.

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What It Is like To Work With Gwen Stefani
Keane's Tim Rice-Oxley wrote the song "Early Winter" for Gwen Stefani's new album "The Sweet Escape." On keanemusic.com he talks about what it was like to work with Stefani and the state of pop music in general:

"I think pop music is the most powerful art form there is because it reaches so many people. But it's so often done badly or it's about following trends and cashing in. But with Gwen and the people she's been working with, it's about genuinely creating the best pop music in the world. There's nothing half arsed about it. I love that attitude. That seems to be where it's at in very high quality American pop. I think Britain is languishing in a bit of a rut as far as really exciting pop music goes. America's leading the way at the moment. Pharrell is a classic example of someone who'll take influences from absolutely anywhere and do whatever it takes to make it a really world beating pop song. There's no snobbery or pre-conceptions. It's pretty exciting to be around that sort of thing."

I think Tim was a bit starstruck in the mighty presence of Ms. Stefani in the studio. America putting out better pop than the U.K.? I happen to disagree. "Early Morning" is a cute song though. (By the way, Pharell's "In My Mind" was dubbed one of the worst albums of 2006 by Entertainment Weekly.)

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RIP: James Brown (1933-2006)
James Brown died today about four blocks from where I am right now on a cold and dreary day in Atlanta.

He will be missed.

Not only has he influenced multiple generations of fans and musicians with his one-of-a-kind soul music for over 50 years, he was also one of the hardest working entertainers in showbusiness. If you're interested in listening to some vintage James Brown, I recommend checking out that was recorded in Harlem in 1962. You can download it from iTunes here. "Jump back, Jack, see you later, alligator!"

Watch James Brown Live at Olympia (1966)
Watch James Brown at the Ed Sullivan Show (1966)

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Stream New Whitney Houston Track
John has found a leak of Whitney Houston's comeback tune "Family First" that features her mother Cissy Houston and cousin Dionne Warwick. You can stream it here. This track will appear on the soundtrack for the movie "Daddy's Little Girls."

I am very glad Houston is healthy and recording again, but I have to admit that this wasn't exactly the song I hoped the singer would release to enter back into the public spotlight. It is a mediocre ballad that clearly shows that Houston has been to hell and back in the last few years as demonstrated by her raspy, lived-through vocals. Her teaming for this meaningful song with mother and cousin is wonderful though and deserves respect. Let's wait and see what Clive Davis cooks up for Houston next. It's gotta be bold and beautiful.

On a related note, in a viewers' poll by MTV's LOGO network, Houston was voted the number one diva beating entertainers like Madonna, Mariah Carey and Cher. (via NewNowNext)