Country singer Freddy Fender passed away this weekend. He had been diagnosed with lung cancer earlier this year. For those unfamiliar with him, he was one of the legends of country music - the singer of hits including "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" and "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights."
You can read more here:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,220878,00.html
While their music isn't exactly what you'd call "sheet music-friendly,' British dance duo Basement Jaxx have put out some great music over the years. They just released their latest album, Crazy Itch Radio, and have a video out for the lead single "Take Me Back to Your House."
If you like funny/amusing videos and funky dance music, do yourself a favor and check out the video. It's got dancing bears, a tank, and ridiculously big guitars. What more could you ask for?
As most people who know me already are aware, I'm what some people might call "obsessed" with the Beach Boys. If you're a regular Musicnotes Blog reader, you may have figured this out from this post.
Anyway, the reason for this post is to point out that the 40th Anniversary Edition of The Beach Boys "Pet Sounds" (my pick as the greatest album ever) was just released. It's a two disc set, with one CD and one DVD. The CD contains the album in both its original mono mix, as well as an HDCD digitally remastered stereo mix. The DVD contains a few promotional videos - as well as the entire album remixed in Dolby Digital 5.1. The whole thing is in a furry little green CD case (yes, furry) - although the liner notes seem to be the same ones that were included in the previous stereo/mono CD release.
If you don't already own this album and are a fan of pop music, or especially if you are interested in pop music history, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy. Seeing as how Best Buy is currently offering the full set for only $17.99 (list price $29.98), you have a perfect excuse.
