Amoeba Music Hollywood has one highly recommended free instore performance today when producer/remixer/rapper and hip-hop legend Pete Rock graces the stage of the 6400 Sunset Blvd store at 7PM for a free show. For full details on the Mt. Vernon, NY hip-hop great, whose new joint is the appropriately titled NY's Finest -- a guest-heavy production that among others includes Wu Tang Clan's Raekwon and Masta Killa.  Check out the insightful, in-depth bio on Pete Rock (including his influential years with musical partner CL Smooth, with whom he recorded one of hip-hop's greatest songs - the classic "T.R.O.Y." - among others) elsewhere on the Amoeba website by clicking here. 

Remember tonight's Hollywood Amoeba instore starts at 7PM sharp so get there on time if you are planning on heading over.  Meantime check out the electronic press kit video of NY's Finest below.




Another new hip-hop full-length release and one that I highly recommend is Questolous by longtime San Francisco turntablist DJ Quest of the Bulletproof Scratch Hamster/Space Travelers and Live Human fame who tomorrow (April 1st) drops this, his first solo album since he dropped Questside seven years ago.  Questolous is an amazing hip-hop album, rich with scratch mastery from the pioneering Bay Area scratchmaster Quest plus his numerous guests including DJ Marz (Space Travelers), DJ Vandal, Oaty Love, Dawgshit, and DJ T-Rock, who each add either scratching or production to the sixteen track offering that also features the three Bay Area emcees Luke Sick, Bas-One, and Eddie K, each on their own tracks.  If you love hip-hop but have gotten sick of much of what passes for hip-hop in recent years, this is an album you should really like.

The Internet started in 1969 which is relatively recently.  And everyday I have to pinch myself when I look at this little laptop computer I am typing on right now as I enter this AMOEBLOG and think about how simply amazing both the compact powerful electronic device and the limitless online world it opens me up to are. Just to think how effortless it is for me and my fellow AMOEBLOGGERS to log on from anywhere, at anytime, and  post text, images, video, and links to other websites here on this website - and do so instantly!

The capabilities of this technology are just mind-blowing to me and I don't think I will ever take them for granted.  Especially when I think about them in terms of  the history of mankind and realize just how very very recent all of these technological advances are; it's all in the past two or three decades that we have made such advances with the most widespread (in terms of  near everyone jumping online with their own computers) all been in the past decade.  

The above video, which is worth watching, is a lecture by Ethan Zuckerman in which he neatly traces a concise history of the Internet and puts it all in perspective noting that much of the creations came about in the years 1979 - 1982 with such other key years/events as the following:

1965: first form of Email
1969: the Internet is born
1975: first Emailing lists
1978: first BBS (Bulletin Board Systems)
1990: world wide web arrives
1997: weblogs

If you turn on your favorite radio station or webcast Tuesday, June 26th, and you are surprised to hear nothing but dead-air, pure silence - be forewarned that it will not be technical difficulties you're experiencing. Rather it will most likely be that your favorite webcast or radio station is participating in the national planned "day of silence" -in protest of the new webcasting rates that look likely to go into effect within three weeks and, if so, will have serious consequences on streaming music online.   As you already know the future of Internet radio is in immediate danger because royalty rates for webcasters have been drastically increased by a recent ruling and are due to go into effect on July 15 (retroactive to Jan 1, 2006!). So in protest traditional and online radio stations are protesting by going silent. In addition to the 'silent-treatment' protest some stations around the country, including WFMU in Jersey City, will make their protest by not going silent, but rather by boycotting all RIAA/Sound Exchange music and only playing indie artists outside the  RIAA governed titles.

For more information about this important day of protest that will affect how we listen to new music in the future visit here or SaveTheNet and to find out more about participating in the actual day of silence contact dayofsilence@savenetradio.org.  There are also many benefit events planned to help raise awareness including one in San Francisco (home of numerous webcasters including the wonderful electronic music , "extremely independent" SomaFM) at the Bottom of the Hill this Sunday (July 1st: 6PM-10PM) that is being organized by Reapandsow, SomaFM, SonicLiving, myopenbar.com, and BAGeL Radio. Meantime, you reading this, should seriously consider calling your Congressional Representatives right now to voice your opinion on this important issue.