Bringing MySpace Back

Justin Timberlake is the proud new owner (alongside a small Californian Marketing company) of one very large white elephant. The pachyderm in question is MySpace, and News Corp. sold it for $35 million and a 5% stake in the buyer, which is about $525 million less than what they paid for it 6 years ago. We're wondering what JT has planned.

At the time people applauded media mogul Rupert Murdoch's forward thinking, though the price tag drew criticism for over payment. While MySpace made money initially, with over 1400 employees it cost a pretty penny to run and it's inability to keep up with the innovations by rivals watched it's userbase and advertisers dwindle.

But that's all relative. With over 30 million users (roughly a dollar a user) in the US alone, Specific Media and JT want to re-invigorate the music angle of the social network and make it a cool place to interact with fellow fans, meet the musicians and find new beats. The question is, does he have a plan or is he a method actor stuck in his role as Sean Parker?

Just how it's going to differentiate itself from existing services like Spotify, Last.fm and Pandora is not yet clear.

“There’s a need for a place where fans can go to interact with their favorite entertainers, listen to music, watch videos, share and discover cool stuff and just connect. Myspace has the potential to be that place,” Timberlake was quoted as saying.

Look out for the relaunch later this year. For now, if you need to get new beats, we've got you covered.

Best of Glastonbury

Glastonbury has come and gone with all it's usual chaos, mayhem and music so good you wish you were there. Luckily for you the best of the best has been put on youtube for you to enjoy.

If you think you know what baby making music is, you'll definitely recognise this: Beyonce was the first solo female performer to headline Glastonbury in 20 years, and part of her show included a couple of covers. She belted two out, one after the other and you can watch the performance here. She did a phenomenal job on Kings of Leon's 'Sex on Fire' and Prince's 'Beautiful Ones'.

Other artists who made a big impression were recently re-formed British outfit Pulp, and the highly acclaimed Mumford and Sons.

Glastonbury is set to take a year off in 2012 to let the farm grounds, and most importantly the fans, recover, but there is already buzz regarding the 2013 line-up. Organiser Michael Elvis claims he's already got his headliners but is keeping his mouth shut. Who would you hop on a plane to go watch?

Have Some Black Coffee

Our new list of 10 free tracks went up Monday, if you haven't checked them out, why the hell not?

We're keeping a tight mix of local and international going and the beat we're really digging on this week is a local boy with a global sound.

DJ Black Coffee may hail from KZN but his jazzy keyboard infused and beat heavy tracks have taken him all over the world. The guy's a businessman, artist and philanthropist. He's started a charity benefitting the disabled and launched his own music label. He'll also be at the South African Music Conference later this year imparting his wisdom to up and coming artists.

Plus he just married the gorgeous actress Mbali Mlotshwa. All in all the sort of guy you'd happily have some interesting conversation with over a few drinks. He's an incredibly talented producer and musician and his track 'Urban Zulu" is on our list this week. Give it a listen, let us know what you think.

Selling Out or Buying In?

Local music, sport and culture magazine Mahala recently published an in depth interview with the Parlotones' lead singer Khan, a band who they confess to have derided with glee and abandon for quite some time. Parlotones were recently announced as Coldplay's support during their SA tour.

Kahn is frank and eloquent, and the article has garnered over 100 comments when we last looked.

Why exactly do they take such an exceptional beating? They're undoubtedly talented musicians and equally savvy businessmen to have earned the results they've had, and they put their dues in just like any other success story must.

Despite these accolades they receive vitriol and hate that seems excessive in proportion to the number of fans they collect. Is it jealousy, crab bucket mentality or is the South African music scene's collective psyche so damaged from years of struggling anything that doesn't resemble a starving artist is singled out and torn apart.

It's a long read, but worth it. What's your stand on the flak they get? Valid criticism or bitter abuse?

Bang Bang Beats for Free

You should know by now that MFM is showing our fans big love in the way of free downloadable music.

We've got 10 tracks available till the 19th then we'll take 'em down and put some new ones up. Our choice right now is #6: Pete DaFeet's remix of Bang Bang's 'Broken'. It's a smooth and loungey down tempo track that's a perfect start to the night. The sort of beat you're playing at home early in the night before you head out to the spot, something to set the mood to put you in the mood for a good night out.

The Capetonian group is doing some cool House infused live instrumentation and Pete DaFeet's mix complements their vibe very smoothly. Check out more from him and other artists at his label Lost My Dog.

Go give it a listen, then browse through the other 9 tracks and find something to take your evening top the next level.

And tell us what you want to hear!

Bono Bites the Spider-Bullet

You'd think with all the chaos surrounding Spider Man: Turn off the Dark that Bono and the Edge would cut and run from history's most expensive musical. It's not like they can't afford to write the $65 million fiasco off as a bad call.

But instead they have risen above the snide comments, accidents and getting shredded by just about every comedian and TV show host alive (and inanimate. Even Sesame Street has put the boot in) and tried to give the show a re-vamp, focusing on what they know best: the music.

They've added some new songs, gone ahead with an album release and arranged to have the lead appear on American Idol. Bono calls it "Doubling Down", and he's right. By aligning themselves so closely with the musical, any egg on the shows face is just as much on their own. But at least they've kept their sense of humour.

"Being in a band with Edge for all these years, to discover he's gay now is just wonderful" Rolling Stone quotes him as saying. "He's so into these dance routines. Who knew?"

The show opens tonight. Hopefully no-one breaks a leg.

Aging Gracefully

Motley Crue are launching a massive US tour with "more Pyro than Rammstein" according to guitarist Mick Mars, Brian Johnson wants AC/DC back on the road and Aerosmith are getting into the studio for the first time in a decade, assuming they can find one big enough to accommodate the chip on Joe Perry's shoulder and Steven Tyler's ego.

The weird thing is the music these guys became famous for put youth on a pedestal and now they're in their 60's. At what point does it cease to be relevant Rock n Roll?

Perhaps it's not about age, but rather about attitude. If that's the case, we're likely to see Tyler strutting across a stage wearing scarves and tight jeans well into his golden years, a thought that should make even the most die hard fan just a bit nauseous.

Maybe they should all take a lesson from Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder and try something new, like playing a ukulele. Is there a point at which this whole thing becomes a joke (like the Metallica themed version of Monopoly, perhaps?) or can the music, fans and bands age together with some style?

Kaiser Chiefs New Social Media DIY Album

British rockers Kaiser Chiefs have always been at the forefront of rocking new tunes, but the release of the band's latest album, The Future Is Medieval, has seen them pioneering a new business model rooted firmly in social media…

For years the music industry has been trying to find a novel way to monetise the power of social media, and it seems the Chiefs may have stumbled onto a winning formula. Their latest album is on sale through the band's website for £7,50 as a download. Nothing too ground-breaking there… but here's where they've got clever. First of all, they have allowed their fans to custom-make their own album by selecting 10 of the 20 songs available, and also by allowing them to design their own album cover artwork.

Further to that - and this is where they are leveraging social media - the band will pay their fans £1 for every album they sell to one of their friends, thus incentivising their fans to become their sales force. It's a novel approach, and a step in an interesting direction. It'll be interesting to see how the concept affects sales and the music industry as a whole. Whatever your take, the Future is far from Medieval…

Shark Rock

Earlier this week we included AC/DC's 'Thunderstruck' in our list of songs to include in a running playlist, but we may have been leading you astray. It seems that the band's rock 'n roll stylings are more likely to get you chilled out than pumped up. If you're a shark, according to Matt Waller, a South Australian charter operator.

After chatting to divers in Guadalupe who commented that the sharks around them had different reactions to different types of music, Waller experimented with a few tracks and found that the Aussie quartet's ode to amore 'You Shook Me All Night Long' produced a calming and inquisitive effect on the animals.

It's about frequency and vibration more than lyrics, considering sharks don't have ears, and Waller is now on a mission to find something that will repulse the apex predator.

"If there is something that attracts them there is obviously going to be something that they reject - maybe it would be Justin Bieber." His words, not ours.