With all of the talk about the economy and how even more budget cuts are coming, I’m sure a lot of us are watching our spending. I’ll admit that while my requirements for purchasing a new album are probably more lax than most, not even I will buy just anything. I typically purchase a little music each week, but not last week, when I found a case of my old cds that was so good that I haven’t thought about iTunes or a music store since.

Fashion articles suggest that a good way to create a new look for cheap is to shop your closet, meaning look at some of the clothes you own but haven’t worn in a while and try mixing and matching them in different ways.

If your money is acting funny right now, don’t worry; just shop your closet, I mean music library. Whether you have 15 albums or 150, I’ll bet you can find something cool to jam to. And, to reward you for the money you’re saving, here’s an extra mix this week, comprised solely of songs from my recent rediscovery. I assure you that I’ll be wearing these out. The playlist is below.

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Davina – So Good
Jaheim – Put That Woman First
112 – Funny Feelings
II D Extreme – Cry No More
Dru Hill – We’re Not Making Love No More
Mint Condition – Pretty Brown Eyes (Remix)
4.0 – Have a Little Mercy
K-Ci & JoJo – Last Night’s Letter
Deborah Cox – The Sound of My Tears
Anthony Hamilton ft. Sunshine Anderson – Last Night
Xscape – The Arms of the One Who Loves You
Lil Mo’ – Time After Time
Mariah Carey – I Don’t Wanna Cry
Regina Belle – Make It Like It Was
Beyonce & Stevie Wonder – So Amazing

Today’s discussion topic was sparked from a recent chat with a friend about using social networks to promote music. The conversation started with a simple question – “Mimi, why should I create Twitter and Facebook pages for my music?” I replied with so many reasons that you would think Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey are paying me a commission.

Perhaps my mini lecture was just a matter of timing. The question was posed on the same day that I watched the extraordinary new group KING (who you should check out ASAP if you haven’t already) generate such a Twitter buzz in less than 24 hours that they were featured in LA Weekly the following day. Or maybe I was so eager to sell the good points because my Twitter and Facebook acquaintances keep me in the loop about good music. Whatever the reason was, it tugged at me enough to open the discussion to a larger audience by asking you all – Are social networks good or bad for music?

I’ll keep the discussion focused primarily on Twitter with a few Facebook references since those are the current leading social networks. Speaking of which, Facebook and Twitter are so popular now that it’s hard to remember what it was like before they existed. I think the times were something like this:

Fans and consumers relied on concerts, television appearances and website posts as their means for keeping up with artists.

Artists seemed to be more private. The question of “Has (insert artist’s name) done anything lately?” was not uncommon.

That being said, I’m definitely a supporter of the social network-music relationship. So, let’s start the discussion with the good side of their connection. read more »