Free Republic

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I really like Apple Music. Everything from the setup process (I kept hitting "more artists" until I couldn't anymore) through the entire user interface left me impressed yesterday. Apple has managed to reinvent its Music app by stuffing a subscription music service inside it — without making it all hopelessly confusing... Still, there's one fundamental problem with Apple Music that's crippling its potential for me and keeping it from becoming my one and only music destination — exactly the thing Apple wants it to be. It's the way the service heavily leans on iCloud. Or more specifically, "iCloud Music Library."...

Chicagoans who pay to stream movies and music from services like Netflix and Spotify will now need to fork over an additional 9 percent for the privilege, as will Chicago businesses that pay to use everything from real estate to court databases online, under a decision the city quietly made recently to expand its taxing power.. The added costs are the result of a ruling by the city Finance Department that extends the reach of ordinances governing two types of taxes — the city amusement tax and the city personal property lease transaction tax — to cover many products streamed...

For the past two years, the music industry has been watching a series of lawsuits centered on an obscure aspect of copyright law: whether the performers on older recordings should get royalties when their songs are played on digital radio services. One of those lawsuits was settled Friday when SiriusXM, the satellite radio provider, announced it would pay $210 million to the major record companies over its broadcasting of songs made before 1972. ...two years ago members of the 1960s band the Turtles, whose hits included “Happy Together” sued Sirius in three federal courts, saying their songs before 1972 were...

Former U.S. secretary of state and accomplished pianist Condoleezza Rice teamed up with Grammy-nominated concert violinist Jenny Oaks Baker to perform a wonderful rendition of Amazing Grace. Proceeds from the download at iTunes go to the Wounded Warriors Project:

Enjoy! Thanks for being MY country!!!

THE VOICE OF FREE AMERICA Like the voice of free America, I am pleading now with you, Let’s all shout the word of freedom Throughout Europe and Asia, too. There is no place like our nation, It is led by God’s own hand. Let’s defeat the oppressor And bring peace to every land. Oh, the voice of free America It beams throughout the world, Tells the honest way of life To man and woman, boy and girl. Let’s thank God for all our freedoms. He’s been good to you and me. Let’s unite the willing nations And keep the whole...

Members of the Parsi Zoroastrian community in Calcutta have filed a petition in a local high court against the music video for the song “King” by Amitis featuring Snoop Dogg, calling it blasphemous and disrespectful toward their faith, the Times of India reports. Zoroastrianism is a millennia-old faith with roots in ancient Persia and a flourishing community in India; its scripture emphasizes the sanctity of nature and the duality of existence. Amitis is an Iranian-born singer who now lives in Atlanta; “King” appears to be her entrance into the realm of Western pop. Snoop Dogg is Snoop Dogg — in...

FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allied military and the family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. FReeper Canteen Just Hangin' Cafe Come on in, we're open Need a place just to hang out? This is it. We serve coffee, tea, conversation and music. Our AWESOME military, our AWESOME allies, and their families are welcomed and honored here. No worries in the FReeper Canteen Just Hangin' Cafe. Grab a cup and start a conversation. You never know who you might meet in the Cafe. Glad you could...

Journey drummer Deen Castronovo was in jail in Oregon on Tuesday on charges of rape and sexual assault, court officials said.

The term "Yacht Rock" did not exist during the time when Yacht Rock was at its peak (roughly 1976-1984). I believe the term came into common usage when, in the late 2000s, an obscure TV show of that same name celebrated that era in "mockumentary" fashion. Yet Yacht Rock is a perfect description of the smooth, polished pop songs that came out of recording studios during that era by artists like Christopher Cross, Steely Dan, Doobie Brothers, Little River Band, and Boz Scaggs, just to name a few. When listening to this music, one can almost picture oneself plying the...

A rock icon, Chris Squire, bassist of "Yes," died at age 67 of leukemia, which was only recently diagnosed.

Chris Squire—the bassist, vocalist, and founding member of Yes—died last night following his battle with leukemia, according to a statement from the band. Since he started the group with Jon Anderson in 1968 until he was diagnosed with Acute Erythroid Leukemia in 2015, Squire was the only constant member of the group. He was 67. Squire grew up in central London, where, in 1964, he was suspended from school for having long hair. He played in a few bands in the 1960s, including the Selfs, the Syn, and Mabel Greer's Toyshop. It was through that last band that he met...

The undercover cops didn’t help the vibe, most of all for Moondog. They wore jeans and t-shirts and carried backpacks that made them look almost like everybody else, except not really. They wouldn’t talk to me as they scooped up the spoils of the copyright shakedown – pins and t-shirts – and Moondog, growing uglier by the second as he stood helplessly next to his camper, cursed out the Dead, mocked Bobby and Phil Lesh, then pledged to return next time with bags of heroin decorated with Jerry’s face. Ouch... Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart won’t...

A beautiful, funny, inspiring film about music superstar Glen Campbell's struggle with Alzheimer's disease before and throughout his sold-out "Goodbye Tour."

TO JUDGE by the crowds making their way to Glastonbury Festival on June 24th, it is a good time to be in the music industry. This week nearly 200,000 revellers set up camp across several fields in Somerset, where the festival has been held nearly every year since it first started as a small, hippyish event in 1970. Now hundreds of live bands and DJs will perform on 90 stages over five days. Each punter pays £225 ($353) for the experience, which, thanks to the damp British weather, tends to be a muddy one. Glastonbury is perhaps the most striking...

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Favorite Summer Songs ~ Canteen Mission Statement Showing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies' militaryand family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. The Jamies: “Summertime, Summertime” ”Summertime” from Gershwin’s opera “Porgy and Bess” Please remember that The Canteen is here to support and entertain our troops and veterans and their families, and is family friendly.

Yeah, it is Hank, says it well.

Presidential candidate, real estate mogul, and reality television personality Donald Trump is taking his beef with Neil Young to the next level. SNIP On Wednesday, Trump fired off a number of tweets criticizing Young for being a "total hypocrite." He claimed Young attempted to do a business deal with him and even recently invited him to a concert. Trump included a photo of Young in his office and partial images of documents as proof of his claim the singer recently asked him for money for "an audio deal:" Trump added that he didn't even think Young's music was one of...

The two-time Oscar winner, 61, worked on three James Cameron films, two 'Star Trek' movies and classics like 'A Beautiful Mind,' 'Field of Dreams' and 'Apollo 13.' James Horner, the consummate film composer known for his heart-tugging scores for Field of Dreams, Braveheart and Titanic, for which he won two Academy Awards, died Monday in a plane crash near Santa Barbara. He was 61. His death was confirmed by Sylvia Patrycja, who is identified on Horner's film music page as his assistant.