News …

Will you buy music on memory cards? SanDisk thinks you will – Associated Press

George Michael apologizes to fans for latest drug bust – Reuters

Eddie Vedder writes song to let the world know the Chicago Cubs are still alive – Associated Press

Shedding some light on why Israel banned The Beatles – The Guardian U.K.

Gail Zappa works to protect the legacy of her late husband Frank – Los Angeles Times (registration may be required)

Jazz session drummer Earl Palmer passes. He was 84 – The New York Times (registration may be required)

Views …

Alicia Keys in Seattle – “Her show Saturday night at WaMu Theater was like an old-fashioned R&B revue, with a top-notch seven-piece band, including a drummer, percussionist, rock guitarist and horn-and-flute section.” – Seattle Times

Nickelback in Birmingham U.K. – “But what distinguishes Nickelback is their gift for servicing the musical needs of both sexes.” – The Times Online U.K.

Randy Newman in NYC – “He’s an excellent torturer. Not that that he’s a bad performer, or that he makes bad art. It’s the opposite of bad art – done in fine strokes, with unreliable narrators, several kinds of irony and proud resistance to musical trends.” – The New York Times (registration may be required)

Farm Aid in New England – “While the point of the festival went beyond the music, the music was pretty formidable too.” – The Providence Journal

The Raconteurs in Seattle – “In all, the Raconteurs showed themselves to be a thunderous and wildly impressive band, blowing up the architecture of their songs into stadium-filling (or, in this case, theater-filling) expressions of Jack White’s shrill voice: shaky and emphatic, manic and barely contained.” – Seattle Post Intelligencer

Clint Black in Grand Rapids – “While the Grammy-winning artist may be playing smaller venues now, Black on Sunday clearly demonstrated that, artistically, he is every bit the superstar he was in the 1990s.” – The Grand Rapids Press – MiLive.com

They Say It’s Their Birthday … (Or so says Associated Press)

King Sunny Ade is 62

David Coverdale (Whitesnake) is 57

Debby Boone is 52

June Forester (The Forester Sisters) is 52

Nick Cave is 51

Johnette Napolitano is 51

Andrea Bocelli is 50

Joan Jett is 50

Matt Sharp is 39

Dave Hernandez (The Shins) is 38

Big Rube (Society of Soul) is 37