I am still in awe of the fact that today at SXSW I got to hear Morrissey and Neil Young interviewed within hours of each other. I have an incredible amount of respect for both of them for their dedication to being creative regardless of what the industry or their fans expect and demand of them, and most importantly the fact that they write some damn good songs. Neil brought tears to my eyes. He was sweet, funny, sincere, humble and couldn't be more down to earth. He is so happy to still be doing what he loves and thanked all of us for our and support in coming to see him. Being just 10 feet away from Morrissey while he took part in an uncomfortable interview with David Fricke was mindblowing. I was sitting next to his fan/friend Winnie who he kept talking to during the interview. What a brilliant, witty, brutally honest, good hearted man. Oh, and he's not celibate anymore! It was interesting to see how drastically Moz's persona changed from the man writhing and rolling his eyes during the interview and waiting for it's end, to the peformer last night at the Austin Music Hall who took of his shirt (twice!) and paraded around the stage (again making snide comments about Bush/bombing Iraq) singing his heart out. I think I lost my mind when he busted out, "How Soon is Now" and "Girlfriend in a Coma". He encored with "Last Night I Dreamt".

The MP3.com staff stayed at the office last night to watch the annual GRAMMY Awards. I always get a kick out of watching the Grammy's, especially with others as we tend to add our own colorful commentary on the performances. Even though most of the music being celebrated is not relevant to my personal music preferences, it does showcase some of the artists raw talent. For instance, if I had to listen to Mariah Carey's album, I might invest in some sound blocking earplugs, but she does have a "good" voice. Same for the babbling Kelly Clarkson. I enjoyed Paul McCartney's "Helter Skelter" and Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska-esque "Devils & Dust". The Sly tribute was totally entertaining. Madonna and The Gorillaz was cool, somehow I knew she'd end up grinding the cartoon characters. Kanye and Jamie Foxx's performance was extremely bizarre, "Broke Phi Broke", WTF? I was happy to see Alison Krauss win. Also that Bowie and Merle Haggard won lifetime achievement awards and they both get props for not even showing up!

I saw the Rolling Stones and Metallica last night and it made me feel young and spry since it was my first time seeing either band and most around me seemed to be seasoned spectators. Both bands get mad props for rocking as they did. I mean, Mick is pushing 70 and dancing sexier and uninhibited than anyone out there and looks fantastic (and also hilarious) doing so. The Stones were certainly good, but they played all the standard hits which get tiresome since I've been hearing them on the radio 3x a day since I was 7. "Sweet Virginia" with Mick on acoustic guitar was the highlight for me. Metallica was unbelievable, I didn't want their show to end. As James said, "If this is your first time seeing us and you like it, that's good, b/c our plan is to get our hooks in you." Everybody wins!

I just Saw Liz Phair at the Fillmore and what a bizarre show it was. I love "Exile in Guyville" as much as the next girl, so it was a pleasure to hear those songs live and she fortunately played a number of them. Liz has never been known for her birdlike voice, but the lack of range and fluidity really showed when she sang the older songs. Her new super saturated pop songs actually catered to her voice a little better, but too bad the songs are so awful and a complete deviation from her raw indie rocker ballads when they once made her the reigning queen of Matador's roster. She did this odd thing for every song, where she moved her eyes across the crowd like a oscillating fan and donned this fake smile all the while. Apparently her foray into the mainstream is proving to be a success after witnessing her monstrous tour bus as well as her bevy of guitars which she not only switched between every song, but in the middle of songs for crying out loud! Our favorite little naughty girl has come a long, long way...

So today is Halloween and instead of dressing up or gorging myself with candy, I am listening to my favorite goth albums. Going through my The Cure collection now and realizing it is hard for me to choose a favorite, but if push came to shove it would be "Disintegration". Also listening to the Bauhaus collection 1979-1983 (Disc 1) and Joy Division "Substance". That should just about do it for today and hopefully not send me into a week long depression.

Well, well well, here we are in Blogtown. After lots of dedication and hard work from the MP3.com team, we are very proud to launch the new and enahnced MP3.com. We gave it a face lift and also added some great new features including daily news, Billboard charts, a nifty new media player and many robust community features. Send me a PM and let me know what you think!