In brief, the new album from Sahara Hotnights is 34 minutes of up-tempo punk-pop fun.

Reviews from Muze/Rhapsody and All Music Guide:

Instead of digging up age-old guitar riffs from long-dead bluesmen, Sweden's Sahara Hotnights seem intent on playing up the celebratory aspect of basic rock 'n' roll. The songs are big and loud, but the exuberance is all pure pop and glam rock. If you dig handclaps, low-slung guitars and chicks, you'll love this.

Vocalist Maria Andersson shines as a singer; she's vocally focused in her delivery while the harmonies coming from the Asplund sisters are equally fine-tuned, making Kiss & Tell fun right from the start. From the brassy cheers of "Hot Night Crash" and "Who Do You Dance For?" to the foxy Runaways-like impression of "Walk on the Wire," the energy of Kiss & Tell seduces you to twist your hips like never before.

Sahara Hotnights

Review from All Music Guide:

The sophomore album from the "Arabic Tracy Chapman," it is made of an extremely eclectic mix of sounds. The base for it all is in Algerian and Andalusian musics, with rai, flamenco and Arab classical music being the main keystones. On top of that, though, is layer after layer of other genres. Western folk is certainly one of the top factors in some of those, as well as hints of Western classical music in the backing violins and cellos that show up from time to time. East African jive and West African juju both seem to make appearances for a time, and hints of tabla from the subcontinent also creep in when you're not paying attention. The main highlight of the album isn't so much the eclecticism though, as it is Massi's abilities in songwriting, singing, and on the guitar. Her voice projects the proper emotion for powerful flamenco vocal runs, and soft French songs alike. Equally versatile, her guitar can make flamenco solos and folk-rock runs easily, along with more careful ballad picking. It's a very versatile album, with some top-notch musicianship from Massi, as well as some top-notch songwriting.

Pick it up for a nice relaxed listen.

The Guardian said: Massi's songs are rendered irresistible by a combination of gorgeous melodies, sumptuously multicultural instrumentation and a production that glitters.

Souad Massi

The songs on her stunning, award-winning debut album, La Llorona, are all in Spanish, which adds to the veil of mystery that is woven into every song, as Lhasa mines the rhythms and melodies of Latin folklore, poetry in the Andalusian tradition of Federico Garcia-Lorca, European gypsy and klezmer music, and norteño canciones along with more conventional French (and French-Canadian) café styles.

Lhasa de Sela

Joss Stone's highly anticipated new album goes on sale September 28.

Three of 14 tracks are now available for streaming from her web site.

Joss Stone - Mind, Body, & Soul

Decius wrote:
] ... locks you in deeper. Want to buy a different portable music
] player next time you buy one? I hope you don't mind throwing
] away 5 years of songs you bought on iTunes, because they
] aren't going to work with anything else.

The record companies must have known this going in. It's all part of the deal. Think of it as built-in obsolescence ... the wholly digital follow-on to the migrations from vinyl to CD and from VHS to DVD.

Pure, unobstructed digital content is supremely dangerous to their long-standing business model because, among many reasons, it stands to eliminate the critical revenue stream generated by the periodic remonetization of the back catalog.

They advertise DRM as a near-term protector of retail sales levels, but it's equally important as a long-term protector of the business model. This part of the equation is not mentioned as often.

RE: Every Song you buy on iTunes...

Very Senior People are going on the public record with quotes like "not what America needs," "this makes no sense at all," "you'd be better off doing nothing," and "worse than useless."

Meanwhile, the White House responds with, "We're going to continue moving forward and talking in more detail about that authority as we move forward and as we work with Congress."

Did I mention moving forward? Did I mention our working group? Did I mention how we're adding detail to our issues list? Did I mention the bagels? Sorry, forget about the bagels. Did you review the read-ahead and contribute your pre-coordinated inputs to the comment resolution matrix?

Another case in point for the weakness of recommendations. On at least two levels.

How much did I just spend for a $10 paperback?

Chief Recommendation Toothless, Say Critics

"We're going to create a working group to explore the issue," said Tom Daschle.

Congress's 9/11 Fix-It Impulse Is More Outward Than Inward

At a time when Americans need strong leadership and bold action, President Bush offered tired nostrums and bureaucratic half-measures.

No surprise there.

There are a variety of credible ways to construct the job, whether in the cabinet or not, but what Mr. Bush proposed is not one of them. His intelligence director would be in the worst of all worlds: cut out of the president's inner circle and lacking any real power.

We don't care who gets credit. Just get the job done right.

Damn straight.

Mr. Bush's Wrong Solution

Willie: I warned ya! Didn't I warn ya?! That colored chalk was forged by Lucifer himself!

Lisa the Vegetarian

MemeStreams is not what you think.

MemeStreams is not a time-saving device. It is not a substitute for reading the newspaper. Or watching television. Or engaging in face-to-face conversations with people who challenge you and on topics that interest you.

It is not a recommendations site. It is not a collaborative filter. It does not make anything smaller and more efficient. It is not about signal-to-noise ratios. It is not a "gisting" service.

It does not host web logs. It is not a fabulous community of perfect strangers from whom you can obtain timely, interesting trivia with which to impress your coworkers at the water cooler and your friends at parties. It is not and never will be a Temporary Autonomous Zone.

In fact, MemeStreams is not "here to help you" at all. That it occasionally appears to do so is merely coincidental -- a momentary alignment of objectives, so to speak. A tactical alliance, of a sort, between you and the memes.

The memes are firmly in charge.