DJ Emily Smith

DJ Jeff K and Annie (BTR’S Music Director), went on a little trip to check out some shows at SXSW. At first, I was terribly jealous… but when they got back to NYC, they’d brought with them many wonderful souvenirs. The duo worked hard and brought back live recordings of some of the best music at this year’s festival.  So, you can enjoy some of the best moments of SXSW, without having to get up off the couch… I like. It’s also quite pleasing that these bands were totally down with BTR recording their sets to air on the site. I love artists that are in it for the right reasons… to make music and share it with their fans!      

Click on the links below to check out these exclusive live performances!!

Asthmatic Kitty & Friends

MEIKO

Rockfour 

Jack (From Ace Fu Records)

The Pinker Tones

Illinois

Semi Precious Weapons

The Hourly Radio

Taken from bumrushthecharts.blogspot.com

“Podcasting gets little respect from traditional media. To them we’re little more than a joke, than amateurs. What they don’t understand is that podcasting is more than just a delivery mechanism - it’s a social movement. People are sick of the watered-down, cookie-cutter content that networks and record companies expect us to enjoy. People are tired of watching friends and loved ones get sued by record labels who only care about profits and nothing else, not even the artists they supposedly represent.

We want and deserve more. On March 22, 2007, we’re going to change that with your help.

We can do better. We can match and exceed the reach of big media, corporate media, labels, and the entrenched interests. On March 22nd, we are going to take an indie podsafe music artist to number one on the iTunes singles charts as a demonstration of our reach to Main Street and our purchasing power to Wall Street. The track we’ve chosen is “Mine Again” by the band Black Lab. A band that was dropped from not just one, but two major record labels (Geffen and Sony/Epic) and in the process forced them to fight to get their own music back. We picked them because making them number one, even for just one day, will remind the RIAA record labels of what they turned their backs on - and who they ignore at their peril.

What’s more, we’re going to take it a step beyond that. We’ve signed up as an affiliate of the iTunes Music Store, and every commission made on the sale of “Mine Again” will be donated to college scholarships, partly because it’s a worthy cause, but also partly because college students are among the most misunderstood and underestimated groups of people by big media. Black Lab has taken it up another notch - 50% of their earnings are going to be donated to the scholarship fund as well.

If you believe in the power of new media, on March 22nd, 2007, take 99 cents and 2 minutes of your time to join the revolution and make iTunes “Mine Again”. If you’re a content producer (blogger, podcaster, etc.), we’re asking you to join up with us and help spread the word to your audience. Nothing would prove the power of new media more than showing corporate media that not only can we exceed their reach and match their purchasing power, but that we can also do it AND make a positive difference in the world. If we can succeed with this small example, then there’s no telling what can do next.”

So, I know this is a music blog… but my bracket is totally failing and I feel like venting. I normally do pretty well in the whole bracketology department but this year is a bust. I think the only way I can win my pool is if both UNC and UCLA loose in the next round. Perhaps I should be more confident, let me rephrase that last sentence. I will win my pool when both UNC and UCLA loose in the next round.

Even though I myself am not flourishing in the bracket department, my team sure is! The Gators made it to the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row. I’m going to cherish every moment of this because next year will certainly be a rebuilding year. It’s going to be hard to say goodbye to Noah, Brewer, Horford, and feasibly Green as well.

I keep hoping that by some strange stroke of luck our National Championship team will stick around another season. YES I KNOW, the chances of this happening are probably one out of a million. (so, you’re telling me their’s a chance!… lame Dumb and Dumber reference)

I really know there is no chance, but one can dream can’t they? Even if Mr. Green would just stick around… I’d be happy. (as long as his passing is better than it was against Purdue…blech!)

Speaking of the Purdue game, did anyone else notice the complete bias toward Purdue? I know that everyone wants the Cinderella story, “REIGNING NATIONAL CHAMPS, KNOCKED OUT OF TOURNEY BY 9 SEED.”  But, COME ON! It’s one thing to have the majority of the crowd against you… but the refs and the announcers to boot!?!?!

I know the Gators played poorly. The passing was atrocious and the rebounding could surely have been MUCH better, but some of the calls were rubbish. BS calls against the Gators and missed calls against the BM’s. (That’s Boilermakers for those of you unfamiliar; I just think the nickname suits them better.)

All things considered, I think the Gators proved themselves. I know a lot of people in The Gator Nation were worried both during and after the Purdue game, but I really was never fearful of a loss. This team has what it takes to pull out wins! And I am confident of a Final Four birth, and hopeful for a repeat national title.

Born in China and raised in Olympia, Washington, singer/songwriter Lijie has definitely seen the world. After graduating college and pursuing a career in finance she realized that, although lucrative, she wasn’t exactly doing something she loved. So, lucky for us, she packed up and moved to LA, where she penned the tracks for her appropriately title debut album Roam.

Roam is packed with Lijie’s poetic and engaging lyrics, but it’s the sincerity in her voice that hooks you. After listening to it a few dozen times, we just had to find out what it is that makes this talented woman tick, and why she ended up choosing a musical path.

Click Here to continue reading about Lijie at BreakThruRadio.com!