Last week, Gilles Peterson counted down the Top 30 tracks of 2006 as voted by Worldwide listeners around the globe. As can be surmised from a glance at the tracklist, it was an overwhelming show chocked full of the best tunes aired in 2006. There was a general sigh of relief amongst the show's core followers that Nicole Willis , a not-quite mainstream artist filled the number one spot this year. Surprisingly, the body of the list struck a palatable balance...

Since 2006 ended, you might be wondering what to celebrate in 2007. Well, perhaps a full free album from Talib Kweli and Madlib entitled Liberation will suffice. A Blacksmith & Madlib Invazion production, the project bridges the final gap between CD and digital download, providing full artwork and additional media links. Progressive to say the least, the indie hip hop scene just got larger. Click

This coming Thursday, January 11th 2007, Chico Hamilton will continue to celebrate his 85th year down at Makor for a special International Association For Jazz Education (IAJE) event. More info here .

The one and only Mr. Dynamite a.k.a The Hardest Working Man In the Show Business a.k.a. James Brown died early today (Monday, December 25) at Atlanta's Emory Crawford Long Hospital of congestive heart failure at age 73. "It appears what happened is that he did die of a heart attack as a result of his pneumonia," the singer's agent Frank Copsidas told CNN Radio. JB laid the foundation for funk with truly classic songs such as "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," "I Got You (I Feel Good)" and...

UK pop darling Lily Allen has recorded a very special holidays message for her fans that you can now view here . It's short, but as always Allen is in a jolly mood! In other news, Lily Allen is gearing up to release her debut album 'Alright, Still' in the US next month. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve seen one of her playful videos on YouTube, Yahoo or on her MySpace page, which has catapulted her...

Tru3 Magic (not a typo), Mos Def's third solo album comes out just in time for post-holiday music exchanges on December 29. Geffen’s peculiar release date will hopefully be overcome by Mos Def’s lyrical gymnastics and production by Pharrell , Minnesota , and Preservation . You can stream the first single, " Napoleon Dynamite ,"

Co-founder of Atlantic Records , Ahmet Ertegun died yesterday (12/14) at the Weill Cornell Medical Centre , New York City. 83 years old, the music executive fell into a coma on October 29th at a Rolling Stones Concert and never recovered. Son of a US Ambassador to Turkey, Ertegun took the entrepreneurial leap in 1947 at age 24 with a meager $10,000 borrowed from his dentist, eventually creating a legacy in music history. Atlantic pioneered a variety of groundbreaking...

Arguably the hardest working woman in techno (and all things electro), DJ, producer, designer and label head of Bpitch Control Ellen Allien presses forward into 2007 with European tour dates, two hot mix compilations and production work to boot. The latest edition of the Time Out Presents series, Ellen’s The Other Side Berlin (out March 30) showcases the gamut of Germany’s finest producers from Booka Shade to

Swedish solo artist José González unexpectedly dropped a digital download Live Session EP via iTunes today (similar to Goldfrapp’s release). Three of the five songs were taken from his Veneer album. One of the tracks, “Storm” was originally available only on import, and “Suggestions” came previously as a B-side. Keeping up with modern distribution, José will re-release...

European dance duo Goldfrapp recorded an iTunes session live in San Francisco May 2006. The selection of 4 songs from their repertoire will be released as a download only EP available exclusively (of course) through iTunes on December 19th. The group recently received Grammy nominations for Best Dance Recording ( “Ooh La La” ) and Best Electronic Dance Album ( Supernature ). EP Tracklist: Ooh La La Deer Stop Ride A White Horse...