Free Republic

IN 1964, at the height of the ska craze, Edward Seaga, Jamaica's minister of social welfare and economic development, invited Byron Lee and the Dragonaires (BL&D) to his West Kingston constituency to revel in a sound that was rocking Kingston's clubs. "Byron, myself and Ken Lazarus went down there and he (Seaga) said 'listen to this'. We heard these guys making amazing music," recalled BL&D lead singer Keith Lyn. That "amazing music" was ska. The West Kingston trip inspired Lazarus and Lyn to write Jamaican Ska, which remains one of the band's biggest hits. It is one of 20 songs...

Steve Harwell, the singer of Smash Mouth, completely lost his composure onstage yesterday at Taste of Fort Collins, a three-day music and food festival which is, according to its website, "A family-friendly celebration perfect for Northern Coloradoans' active lifestyle." Apparently, part of that active lifestyle includes throwing bread at an increasingly irate Harwell. According to The Coloradoan, who broke the story, the bread was being given away for free by some of the festival's food vendors. In the video, Harwell openly challenges the people throwing bread to a fist fight in a profanity-laced tirade, then jumps off stage in an...

Graduating high school is a big deal, so you might as well make a big deal out of it. The seniors at Portsmouth High School in Portsmouth, N.H., did just this, with some help from Taylor Swift. No, Swift didn't show up. But her hit "Shake It Off" sure did, as the graduating class performed a flash mob-style dance to the mega-hit that had everyone out of their seats grooving. At the class valedictorian's closing words of his speech, "All you have to do is shake it off," the fun got going — first with hand moves and then full...

Charlize Theron and Sean Penn's A-list romance has come to an end. The Oscar-winning actors have reportedly called time on their relationship just shy of a year and a half together, according to Us Weekly sources. Theron, 39, was allegedly the one to break up with the 54-year -old star, the mag noted. The two, who were rumored to be engaged, last stepped out publicly side-by-side in mid-May around the annual Cannes Film Festival. Theron and Penn first coupled up following a romantic Hawaiian getaway over the holidays in 2014.

Professor Irwin Corey — 100, who appeared on TV with Paar, Bishop, Carson, Griffin — was recently seen at Sarge’s Deli “denying he passed away.”

MC Hammer is a diehard part of the Dub Nation. The "2 Legit" rapper and Oakland native was spotted courtside as the Golden State Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night. Hammer has attended other NBA Finals games, too: He was photographed watching Game 1 on June 4. Bay Area rap stars have been vocal in their support for the Warriors' ascension this season. Lil B's public curse against Rockets shooter James Harden led many fans to thank the Based God, while E-40 wrote a Warriors rhyme and has promised the team a year of free wine from his...

"You know what happened to all those folks who invested in my Trump Hotels and Casinos??? Well, once I'm elected, that is EXACTLY WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN TO THE MEXICANS AND CHINESE!!!!"

It all started with a video. A local police department produced a video about a 13-year-old Taylor Swift fan who was diagnosed with cancer late last year and, thus, unable to attend the singer’s Philadelphia concert. The video attracted local attention — in addition to Swift’s, who invited Victoria Marsh, who also has Down syndrome, backstage over the weekend before performing at a stop on her “1989 World Tour.” Created by the Dover Police Department, the video explained that Marsh was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer after feeling pain in her ankle. The video was viewed more...

I wrote this song for two reasons: 1) I wanted to see if I could write a genuine song short enough to be shared on Instagram (i.e., under 15 seconds), and 2) I'm a sick puppy. Three quick points: 1. Hopalong Ginsberg is my pen name. I don't have a tribal name, but if I did it would be Snarks For Wampum. 2. You can download a free MP3 of "Jack and Jill" either here or here. 3.

California’s drought is serious and the state’s uber-thirsty beef industry is taking a huge hit. Now, the Grammy Award-winning DJ, musician and very vegan artist Moby is the face of a new campaign that let’s folks ‘have their steak and eat it, too,’ even in these drought-shaming times. Just skip showers. Skip Showers For Beef is a grassroots movement borne from the premise that every four ounces of beef takes about 450 gallons to produce, the equivalent of 26 showers. The organization reached out to eco-conscious Moby to help get their message across: stop showering. In a new black and...

A police force has defended scanning the faces of 90,000 festival-goers this weekend and checking them against a list of wanted criminals across Europe. Leicestershire Police, which used facial recognition technology on revellers at Download, said it had now destroyed the information it gathered. It was believed to be the first time the software had been used at an outdoor event in the UK... ...A cashless payment system was put in place for the first time in a bid to cut crime. Thousands of revellers braved the rain at Download, held at Donington Park, to see headliners Slipknot, Muse and...

We all know that giant monsters can smash Japan. Until now, though, we didn't know that you could dance to it. The usual foofaraw: 1. I write and record my music under the pen name "Hopalong Ginsberg." All evidence to the contrary aside, I do not write it under duress. 2. For a free MP3 download of "Tokyo Stomp," click here or here. Click here if you truly must. Really. You sure about that? [WARNING: Foul language.] 3.

(ANTIMEDIA) A recent study served to confirm the patently obvious: song lyrics for the most popular genres of music are ridiculously obtuse — and getting worse over time. Though this might not be a revelation, the figures are distressing indicators of both an intellectually vapid societal and cultural future as well as its apparent inevitability. If you’ve already moved away from Billboard music, congratulations, you refuse to be insulted. But if you haven’t, or if you’re concerned about pop culture trends acting as portents of systemic dysfunction, you should probably pay attention. Andrew Powell-Morse of SeatSmart studied the “Lyric Intelligence”...

"If you listen to enough modern rock and metal music, what with the shredding/blasting guitar sounds and distortion pedals and stomp-boxes and so on, it can be a real eye opener to re-listen to the surprisingly smooth and clean sounds of the earlier hits of the Rolling Stones, and to hear the extent to which they favored finesse and musicality over brawn....."

Tennessee Ernie Ford, Is there a better Gospel Singer ? Tennesee Ernie Ford: Amazing Grace DVD/CD It's a great one hour show.

Those who once built their music-buying week around new albums coming out on Tuesdays will have to change their schedules. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry -- a trade group representing more than 1,300 international record labels -- has announced that beginning July 10, its members and a consortium of other retailers, artist reps and other groups in over 45 countries will shift to a single global Friday release date for new albums.

If Sir Christopher Lee had just been a movie star, he would still have been an icon. But the late actor, who passed away last week, had an amazing life even beyond his incredible body of work. Whether you’re still lamenting his passing or unsure why his death is such a loss, here’s 22 reasons why Christopher Lee will always be a legend.

The new schedule for Monday, June 22 will be: 6:15 AM The Mummy (1959) 8:00 AM The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) 9:30 AM Horror of Dracula (1958) 11:00 AM Dracula, Prince of Darkness (1966) 12:45 PM Dracula Has Risen From the Grave (1969) 2:30 PM Horror Express (1972) 4:00 PM The Three Musketeers (1972) 6:00 PM The Four Musketeers (1975)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Actress, singer and voice of the Chiquita Banana cartoon character Monica Lewis has died. Her former manager, Alan Eichler, says Lewis died Friday of natural causes at her home in the Los Angeles area. She was 93. Lewis started her career as a vocalist with Benny Goodman's orchestra and went onto record several jazz hits in the 1940s. In 1950, she hit Hollywood, signing an exclusive contract for music and movies with MGM. Her film credits include 1951's The Strip with Mickey Rooney and Excuse My Dust with Red Skelton.

I visited my friend Glen Campbell Wednesday in Nashville. Laura and Kim Campbell were there as well. You may be aware that Glen has bravely been living with Alzheimer's Disease. Along with his strong and courageous wife, they have changed the face of Alzheimer's forever. The world watched as Glen traveled from city to city, to continue doing what he loves to do: perform and share his music. Doctors were amazed at how the music and activity appeared to slow the pace of the disease for awhile. With his family, they showed the world that you don't have to hide...