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My favourite female singers with age and birthday (listed chronologic), place of birth (if known), short description (from Wikipedia) and picture (only included for the deceased ones).

(born before 1940)

† Bessie Smith (born April 15, 1894, Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S., died September 26, 1937), sometimes referred to as "The Empress of the Blues," was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s. She is often regarded as one of the greatest singers of her era and, along with Louis Armstrong, a major influence on subsequent jazz vocalists.
http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/360355/Bessie+Smith.jpg

† Marlene Dietrich (27 December 1901 – 6 May 1992, Berlin, Germany) was a German-born American actress and singer.Although she still made occasional films in the post-war years, Dietrich spent most of the 1950s to the 1970s touring the world as a successful show performer. In 1999 the American Film Institute named Dietrich the ninth greatest female star of all time.
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Voting is now open for the April LP Group listening session on Twitter. This month's theme is "Alt-Country Classics"

This will involve anyone who is interested listening to the same album on Twitter at the same time and having a bit of a discussion.

Send five votes to @Lpgrp from the list before 10pm on Friday 16th March 2012. The number only will do. You are unable to vote for an album you nominated.

Please send a Direct Message or a Mention.

Please send all of your comments to @LPGrp. This will hopefully clear the clutter from your timelines for your followers.

To follow the session search @LPGrp with a program such as Tweetdeck.

Everyone is welcome!

The session will take place at 9pm on Sunday 1st April 2012

The previous @lpgrp Sessions are as follows;

January - 'Great album' - Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
February - 'Debut' - Portisthead - Dummy
March - 'Women' - PJ Harvey - Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-0drZqMdR4
The good news about the 54th Grammys is that it could have been worse. Without reason, I continue to hope that this venerable institution will do right by the music. Instead, the collective continues to do right by the marketers. It's who you know, not what you know. One day I'll learn that lesson.

Select Results of Some Americana-ish Interest in the 2011 Grammy Season, awarded in February 2012

Best New Artist: Bon Iver I've at least heard.

Rock Performance, etc: I don't mind the Foo Fighters (not an Americana-ish comment, just a complimentary comment in the could-have-been-worse vein)

Most of the "Country" categories: Nashvegas marketers win again (insert disparaging remarks about Taylor Swift here, tho I will say this, she's the best pop star out of Nashville since Faith Hill)

Best Country Duo/Group Performance: Barton Hollow Many of my go-to Americana tweeters like The Civil Wars. I've avoided them simply because it's a stupid name for a band. …

About 18 months ago, my relationship with music changed.

It changes from time to time, as my life and technology has progressed. The way I listen to music - the where, the when and the how of it, affect the who, what and why of the music I listen to.

18 months ago, I decided to try out the music leasing model. I'd had a few backup hard drives die on me, and I'd lost a big chunk of my musical collection. And I was the kind of guy that digitized his CDs and then sold the CDs to Half-Price books. So I didn't have originals anymore.

So I subscribed to Rdio. It was before Spotify was able open shop in the States. When Spotify finally got going in the US, I thought I may jump ship, but it lacked some of the bells and whistles that I grew accustomed to with Rdio.

One of the things I enjoyed with Rdio was the discovery process. Every Tuesday (at midnight, Monday night), hundreds of new albums appear in Rdio's catalogue. They're all in random order and come with no descriptions. …

20. Anna Waronker - California Fade

19. Dawes - Nothing Is Wrong

18. Etta James - The Dreamer

17. Marianne Faithfull - Horses And High Heels

16. Lindsey Buckingham - Seeds We Sow

15. Kate Bush - Director's Cut

14. Wanda Jackson - The Party Ain't Over

13. Middle Brother - Middle Brother

12. Gillian Welch - The Harrow & The Harvest

11. Arbouretum - The Gathering

10. Aretha Franklin - A Woman Falling Out of Love

9. Matraca Berg - The Dreaming Fields

8. Daniel Romano - Sleep Beneath The Willow

7. Haley Bonar - Golder

6. The Bangles - Sweetheart Of The Sun

5. Ryan Adams - Ashes & Fire

4. My Morning Jacket - Circuital

3. R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now

2. Stevie Nicks - In Your Dreams

1. Lucinda Williams - Blessed

Good year for music it seems. I had a hard time narrowing the list to twenty. Still there's plenty I didn't hear or never even heard about. Would appreciate any recommendations...

1. Old 97's - The Grand Theatre, Vol. 2
I really enjoyed the first Grand Theatre album and for some reason was expecting Volume Two would be a bit of a let down... was I wrong. It picks up right where Volume One left off and just cranks up the awesomeness. Bursting with raw energy and confidence.

2. Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
Probably my favourite Beastie Boys album of all time. They somehow manage to incorporate their many diverse influences – hip hop, punk rock, reggae, jazz - without sounding particularly eclectic. And all the while managing to tread a fine line between silliness and genius. Bonus feel-good points for Adam Yauch returning from cancer treatments to sound as cool and as sharp as ever.

3. Drive-By Truckers - Go-Go Boots
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Another list posing as a post. You'll see many of my Best of 2011 on the list and some 2011 releases that were candidates. Some old favorites and some new favorites. Some country, some folk, some blues, all good stuff.

JC's Artists Played in 2011

1 Alison Krauss & Union Station / Alison Krauss
2 Drive-By Truckers
3 Cowboy Junkies
4 Emmylou Harris
5 Dwight Yoakam
6 Willie Nelson
7 Gillian Welch
8 Lyle Lovett
9 Steve Earle
10 Johnny Cash
11 Patty Griffin
12 Lori McKenna
13 Tom Russell
14 Lynyrd Skynyrd
15 Lucinda Williams
16 AUDREY AULD
17 Graham Lindsey
18 Merle Haggard
19 Billy Joe Shaver
20 Kasey Chambers

Albums spun in 2011

1 Drive-By Truckers – Go-Go Boots
2 Alison Krauss & Union Station – Paper Airplane
3 Various – Country: The American Tradition
4 Steve Earle – I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive
5 Lucinda Williams – Blessed
6 Amos Lee – Mission Bell
7 Gillian Welch – The Harrow & The Harvest
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http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/2839/4d6e79dceefd5.jpg
01. Lucinda Williams - Blessed - 2011.02.28 - US

http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/1323/4e62b4d000825.jpg
02. Feist - Metals - 2011.09.30 - CA

http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/1212/4eb8397751277.jpg
03. Kate Bush - 50 Words for Snow - 2011.11.23 - GB

http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/7530/4deaac2a9275f.jpg
04. Vanessa Carlton - Rabbits On The Run - 2011.07.26 - US

http://img862.imageshack.us/img862/5791/4dee3ee39a66f.jpg
05. Heather Nova - 300 Days At Sea - 2011.05.29 - US

http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/6045/4e5a60f49fc53.jpg
06. Rachael Yamagata - Chesapeake - 2011.10.11 - US

http://img861.imageshack.us/img861/4264/4debf2149ea51.jpg
07. Blondie - Panic of Girls - 2011.05.30 - US

http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/8103/4e5346b9334d2.jpg
08. Laura Marling - A Creature I Don't Know - 2011.09.13 - GB

http://img861.imageshack.us/img861/4934/4deffe2a01a97.jpg
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