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Electioneering: Democratic National Convention

by Chris Ryan

The Democratic National Convention wound down with all the subtlety of the final homerun scene in The Natural; with all the fireworks, banners and cheer, I was half-expecting Randy Newman's rousing, mythos-invoking score to blast out of the Invesco Field PA system after Barack Obama concluded his historic acceptance speech. It would have been less surprising than what we did hear: the Brooks & Dunn happy-hour-in-the-USA anthem, "Only in America," a song that frequently concluded the rallies of another presidential hopeful eight years ago: George W. Bush.

Ronnie Dunn found the song's useage both "ironic" and "flattering" (how's that for a bi-partisanship?), but in truth, it was somewhat out of place, both given its place as a bookend to the epic sweep and save-the-world message of  U2's "City of Blinding Lights," which served as Obama's intro music, and the decidedly non-Music-City vibe that surrounded the Dem Party gathering. Here's a wrap-up of the convention's musical moments.

Q&A: Dragonforce

by Jen Guyre

Dragonforce's legacy, as most people know it, involves an unbeatable track on Guitar Hero III, but they're no overnight sensation. Formed in England in 1999, this international British quintet -- vocalist ZP Theart from South Africa, guitarists Herman Li from Japan and Sam Totman from the U.K., bassist Frederic Leclerq from France, keytarist Vadim Pruzhanov from Ukraine and drummer Dave Mackintosh from Scotland -- has produced four electronically-charged, guitar-fueled, anthemic albums. 2008's Ultra Beatdown -- the followup to their 2006 breakthrough album Inhuman Rampage (featuring the awe-inspiring "Through the Fire and the Flames") -- is like an arcade turned up to 11.

Aside from being video game enthusiants and a freakishly talented powerhouse live act, Dragonforce also has an amazing sense of humor.Check out Theart and Leclerq's entertaining views on the new album, their contribution to gaming world, and their hopes for the future.

Rhapsody Song of the Day

Song: In My Secret Life
Album: Oceana 
Artist: Till Bronner
Selected by: Nick Dedina
Date: August 29, 2008

Leonard Cohen is a brilliant songwriter but sometimes his luxuriously gruff "voice of God” stops you from really listening to all of his lyrics, the same way you can let a sermon run over you. Here, Till Bronner, a German trumpeter enthralled by Chet and Miles, lets Carla Bruni put her own spin on a modern Cohen classic. The only first lady in modern history who had an affair with Mick Jagger (on record at least), Bruni sinks Cohen’s lyrical nails further into our modern culture when she croaks, “I bite my lip and buy what I’m told.”

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Photo Gallery: Inside Outside Lands

by Stephanie Benson

San Francisco might have had free acid and Dead concerts back in the '60s, but did it have live webcasts, gigantic inflatable spacemen and hip-hop? Check out highlights from the first Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival, August 22-24, 2008, minus the raw burgers, wine lines and miles of walking. We covered the scene from Primus and Sharon Jones to Jack Johnson, Devendra Banhart, Ben Harper and more. The hippie haven of Golden Gate Park may have turned into hipster heaven, but the counterculture spirit still floated through the fog. Peace out indeed, Lupe.

Further Viewing:
Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival Recap [Rhapsody.com]

The Noise-to-Signal Ratio of New Zealand's Pumice

by Chuck Eddy

Has it really been more than two decades since the sunniest and most fragile amateur indie-pop melodies ever first swept up on American shores from the distant isle of New Zealand -- soon changing the world forever, or well-documented portions of it anyway, if you count back when Pavement originally came out and were being hyped as “America’s first Flying Nun Records-style band”? Yeah, it has. It’s been so long, in fact, that I don’t even know if that kind of music exists down there anymore. Except for Pumice, who totally keeps Flying Nun’s tipsy and off-kilter post-Velvet-Underground sheep-farmer shortwave-static kiwi-folk prettiness alive. And who I shall hereby pay tribute to.

Rhapsody Song of the Day

Song: Corazon (You're Not Alone)
Album: Prima J 
Artist: Prima J
Selected by: Rachel Devitt
Date: August 28, 2008

Prima J may have debuted on the Bratz soundtrack, but their first album is packed with serious, grown-up girl power, whether they're waxing "chilosa" (their own word for their own fierce independence) or offering a friend real strength and a shoulder to cry on, as on this sweet slow jam.

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Rhapsody Exclusives: Lil' Wayne, Jonas Brothers & More

What's new? What's good? What will you find here that you won't hear anywhere else this week? Sit back, relax and click through to the premieres, the originals and the exclusives available only on Rhapsody! This week:

Jonas Brothers, A Little Bit Longer (+ FNMTV Bonus Tracks) (Rhapsody Exclusive)
Maroon 5, It' Won't Be Soon Before Long (+ FNMTV Bonus Tracks)  (Rhapsody Exclusive)
Miley Cyrus, Breakout (+ FNMTV Bonus Tracks) (Rhapsody Exclusive)
Panic at the Disco, Pretty Odd (+ FNMTV Bonus Tracks) (Rhapsody Exclusive)
Lil' Wayne, The Carter III (+ FNMTV Bonus Tracks) (Rhapsody Exclusive)
Rihanna, Good Girl Gone Bad (+ FNMTV Bonus Tracks) (Rhapsody Exclusive)

Some of the biggest and best albums just got bigger and dare we say it ... (yes, we dare) BETTER. The teen pop of Miley and the Jonas Bros, the R&B and hip-hop of Rihanna and Lil' Wayne, and the rock of Maroon 5 and Panic at the Disco have all expanded their waistlines a little. We've added exclusive live tracks to the artists' latest albums, culled from their performances on FNMTV.

Q&A: Slipknot

by Jen Guyre

When Rhapsody caught up with Slipknot percussionist Chris Fehn (#3) at the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival, things were looking up for the infamous metal collective. After nearly three years away, the nine masked members -- Sid Wilson (turnables), Joey Jordison (drums), Paul Gray (bass), Fehn (percussion), Jim Root (guitars), Craig "133" Jones (samples/media),  Shawn "Clown" Crahan (percussion), Mick Thomson (guitars) and Corey Taylor (vocals) -- were back out on the touring circuit with two singles dominating the airwaves and a new album in the pipeline. "You always wonder if you’re going to be able to keep up, but we’re a touring band," explains Fehn. "When we’re on the road is when we’re the best."

But since then, the title of their highly anticipated fourth full-length, All Hope Is Gone, has proven to be a bit of a bad omen. After Jordinson recently broke his ankle -- and with Wilson already nursing two broken heels in a wheelchair -- Slipknot had to cancel all of their European tour dates. However, according to Fehn, nothing can break this Iowa-born heavy metal machine. "Things are going to happen ... but the best part of being human is you can pick yourself up, dust off, and make it better." See what else Fehn had to say about the making of Slipknot's new album, new masks and new attitude.

Rhapsody Song of the Day

Song: Closed Captioned Slang
Album: Ancestor 
Artist: TK Webb and the Visions
Selected by: Justin Farrar
Date: August 27, 2008

It's about time a modern hard-rock band builds from Fleetwood Mac's Peter Green era - Then Play On and stuff like that. "Closed Captioned Slang" comes studded with attitude, from the fuzzy, rusted out guitars to the lyrics, which are far smarter than what most heavy dudes croak about.

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Go Home: The Gits Return

by Sarah Bardeen

On the night of July 7, 1993, Mia Zapata left a bar in Seattle and walked home. But before she could reach her house that night, Zapata was beaten, raped and murdered on a deserted Seattle street. She was 27 years old.

Zapata was lead singer for Seattle punk band the Gits. The group had formed in the mid-1980s at Ohio's now-defunct Antioch College, a liberal bastion that drew an assortment of freaks and DIY misfits to its halls. (Antioch became famous in the '90s for its policy on sexual relations between students, which required consent every step of the way.) Raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Zapata was reputedly a distant relative of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata. She was also, despite her shyness as a child, a remarkable singer and an uninhibited performer.