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Benefit Features News

Musicians & Media Get Involved In Haiti

By now you’ve heard about the devastation in Haiti and the aftermath of the earthquake. Many musicians and media outlets have been doing their part to raise money and I thought I’d fill you in on two music related ventures — Paste Magazine‘s “Songs For Haiti” and MTV’s “Hope For Haiti.”

Paste Magazine is offering those who donate money to the Haiti earthquake relief unreleased songs from diverse artists including Ludacris, Of Montreal, Andrew Bird, Hanson, Low Anthem, Umphrey’s McGee, Switchfoot, Derek Webb and over 200 others. If you’ve already donated you still can still participate (just say where you made your donation) as all will have access to “Songs For Haiti” MP3s. All the money raised through Paste will be spread equally among three charities active in Haiti relief: Doctors Without Borders, The Red Cross and Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund.

“We obviously don’t think people would need incentive to donate in this effort, but perhaps the campaign will inspire more music fans to get involved, or to encourage people who have already donated, to donate again,” said Josh Jackson, Paste Magazine Editor-In-Chief. “Music has always been a force that brings people together, and to have so many fantastic artists drop everything to contribute to this effort was very touching,” Jackson added.

I couldn’t agree more. For more information on “Songs For Haiti” and to donate click here.

Friday night, at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT and 7:00 p.m. CT, MTV along with many other networks will host a night of performances to raise money for Haiti relief. The lineup includes Madonna, Taylor Swift, Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Dave Matthews, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Stevie Wonder, Wyclef Jean, Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Shakira, Keith Urban, Sheryl Crow, Kid Rock, Sting, Coldplay, Bono, the Edge, Jay-Z and Rihanna.

Additional appearances include former President Bill Clinton, Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt, Robert Pattinson, Will Smith, Julia Roberts, Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Muhammad Ali, Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Clint Eastwood, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Jon Stewart, Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman, Nicole Kidman, Samuel L. Jackson and more.

“Hope for Haiti Now” will begin accepting donations at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT on Friday, January 22 via the following methods:

Online: www.hopeforhaitinow.org
Phone: 877-99-HAITI
Text: Text “GIVE” to 50555
Mail: Hope For Haiti Now Fund, Entertainment Industry Foundation, 1201 West 5th Street, Suite T-700, Los Angeles, CA 90017

All musical performances will be available for purchase for 99 cents per song through iTunes beginning Saturday, January 23. iTunes customers will be able to exclusively pre-order both the “Hope for Haiti Now” full performance album ($7.99) and the full two-hour video telecast ($1.99). Pre-orders will be delivered in the days following the telethon. All proceeds will benefit relief funds managed by Hope for Haiti Now charities.

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News

You Sing, I Write Invades the Blogosphere

I’m psyched to report that Paste Magazine‘s new Local:NYC blog has You Sing, I Write featured as a local blog they trust! You can check it out here. Filter will be featuring my blog soon too, I’ll let you know about that as soon as it’s up! In the meantime, I’ve added my own Blogroll of different blogs I read, mostly music related but there are some other interesting non-music blogs in there as well. You can check that out on the right side of the page, under the archives section.

In addition to the new band of the week feature each week, I’m trying to work out a schedule to stick to so you know what’s coming each day. Here’s my tentative schedule, let me know what you think or if you have any suggestions of topics to cover.

Monday: Band of the Week/Artist of the Week
Tuesday: Q&A; Tuesday (I like the rhyme to it . . . lame, I know). Interviews from me or random, intriguing interviews I find.
Wednesday/Thursday: Concert reviews/album reviews/other music news
Friday: Song of the Week
Saturday: Blast from the Past — reviews/interviews/articles I’ve previously written. I’ve gotten a lot of good feedback from featuring some of my earlier writing samples so I think I want to keep this going. However, if you get bored of this let me know!
Sunday: Whatever else I find blog worthy.

I also wanted to congratulate Caitlin from Vernon, New Jersey, for winning the All-American Rejects contest! You have an autographed mug from AAR headed your way, so be sure to check the mail! Below are her answers to my questions.

1.) If you could ask the All-American Rejects one question, what would it be?
I would ask them, “You’ve made 2 albums and are in the process of releasing a third. In the editing process, which song did you hate taking off any of those records and why?

2.) What’s your favorite AAR song and why?
My favorite song by them is “Dance Inside.” This is because it is different from any of their songs on Move Along or their self-titled album. It can be interpreted as sexual or passionate, and the lyrics paint a really good picture of a couple in love. It’s a beautiful song.

3.) If you could spend the day with AAR, what would you do?
I would make sure they relaxed somewhere . . . my house, their tour bus . . . wherever. I feel like they never really get much of a break. I would love to treat them, like give them ice cream and lots of junk food. (And in Mike’s case, Dr. Pepper.) We could watch movies, hang out, goof off . . . I would love to get to know them on a personal level.

I’m hoping to have more contests in the future, so be sure to check back!