by Mark Kirby, Neo Pop Gem Enriches the Musical LandscapeWe are seeing the beginnings of a pop music revolution. Musicians from such far-flung musical worlds as James Blunt, Christina Aguilera and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah have common elements, ones that underlie most of the great music ever created. These are discernable, memorable melodies and song structures.

by Mark Kirby, Every new singer with a loud voice is being hailed as the "New Queen of R&B" or a "Hip Hop Diva." All this usually means (besides having a hype machine behind her) is that said artist has some vocal chops and the willingness to use them ad nauseam. Some of the best voices of the last ten years -from Whitney Houston to Mariah Carey and Mary J. Blige - have taken what a real soul singer would use as the peak moment of a song and made it a starting point. Worse yet, they've made it a style unto itself, replacing tunes with vocal gymnastics that butcher songs. Think American Idol.

MusicDish, an Internet music magazine publisher and artist marketing/development firm, is proud to announce the addition of Pop/Jazz singer Astrella Celeste to the MusicDish Network roster. Combining a variety of online viral marketing strategies, the MusicDish Network will be coordinating a broad campaign in support of her debut album "Blue Star" (the Spanish translation of Astrella Celeste).

by Mark Kirby Brazilian music is as deep and as wide as the nation itself. The traditions and styles of their musical heritage include concert forms like choro, which features violins, woodwinds and piano; samba drumming, which is the melding of the European marching drum corps and African drumming; and jazz music that blends samba rhythms with the Afro-Portugese sounds of bossa nova.

Wild Child, Brave Journey of Just a Girl
by Mark Kirby, Like all forms of music, folk and country are inundated with an overflow of artists. This is just as true for indie and alt versions of these styles as it is for the commercial forms. The egalitarian, do-it-yourself philosophy that punk rock and the internet has championed has had the unintended consequence of allowing the talent less, the mediocre, and the downright delusional, to add to the cultural noise. The upside of this movement is that deserving artists can also break through. Lee Lindsey is a singer songwriter who blends old school country music, Irish fiddles, and electric folk rock to create a unique, personal sound.