How did I miss Kay Hanley's latest gig?

I'm behind the times.

I never saw Boston-based band Letters to Cleo in concert but I always liked their pop melodies. About 13 years ago, I bought their 1994 album, "Aurora Gory Alice," which I uploaded to iTunes last spring.

As I listen to it now, I wondered what happened to lead singer Kay Hanley. I found this Boston Globe article from last December that highlights Hanley as a backup singer to Miley Cyrus.

If I was a bigger Letters to Cleo fan, I suppose I would have known this. But it goes to the bigger issue that I'm out of touch with today's music scene.

As a college student, I belonged to BMG, Columbia House, CDNow, and other music "clubs" that sent packages of free CDs if I agreed to buy so many more at jacked-up prices. That's how I built up most of my collection of 500+ CDs over the years.

But now? Do I buy a CD or do I download it off iTunes Music Store? I used to buy CDs for no reason than the cover art looked pretty or a song sample sounded good; it's too easy to buy music these days and there are a billion and a half more music concerts today than 10 years ago, so how am I supposed to choose what I like?

Foray into iTunes music store

Nearly two years after purchasing an iPod and storing my music on iTunes, and about a year after buying a CD, I finally downloaded two songs from the iTunes music store.

It seems Starbucks has a 'Pick of the Week' featuring a different song each week, where patrons can walk out of the physical store with free cards that specify redeemable codes to download songs.

This week's song is "So Many People to Love" by Carly Simon.

I don't own any (other) songs by Carly Simon, but a free song is a free song, no?

Around the same time I was looking at the iTunes music store website, I saw the music video for "Famous Last Words" by My Chemical Romance on Comcast's alternative music channel... so bought the 99-cent song on impulse.

It's convenient, for sure. But how often will I be playing songs on my computer or listening on my iPod?

Truman Greene

Truman Greene sings and plays guitar in this video in his own advertisement for H&R Block.

It's so bad it's actually funny!

We are the World

I've been listening to Comcast channel 526 (80's music) in the background.

Right now, "We are the World" from the 1985 USA for Africa album is playing. Tina, Bruce, Cindy, Stevie, Michael; all the one-name singers that everyone knows by name and sight.

I know this song is on the web, and I'm sure there are youtube bootlegs of the MTV video, but I haven't heard this song just appear in a long time.

I remember watching the behind-the-scenes of the making of the video and album in the days following its release. How many of today's youth know of this momentous recording and Live Aid concert for Africa?

Beach Boys

My first live music concert at a real performing venue with a real stage was on June 17, 1988 headlined by the Beach Boys. Here is the 28-song setlist.

John Stamos, fresh from his second season on the TV sitcom, "Full House," cameoed as the band's drummer.

Roy Orbison opened for the Beach Boys, six months before his death at 52 from a heart attack. And John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band (which performed the music of the fictional band in "Eddie and the Cruisers") opened for Roy.

Dad had received tickets from a client, and I remember the joy of a 13-year-old sitting in the sixth row at Great Woods watching Mike Love's sweat. Stamos received wild applause, as did the hula-hoop dancers donning bikinis. It was summer, after all.

Fast forward 19 years, and I've attended dozens of concerts in the years since: Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Duran Duran, Indigo Girls, Steve Miller Band, Dave Matthews Band, Bob Dylan, Billy Idol, Natalie Merchant, Rilo Kiley, Kevin So...

Tonight, in about five hours, the Beach Boys take the stage at the Hatch Shell, for a free concert sponsored by local oldies radio station, 103.3 FM. I'll be at the concert, reliving the memories from 1988, back when life was different and simpler. I'm sure the Esplanade will be a mob scene, but the music will still roar and it will be Fun, Fun, Fun.

deSoL will shine in Boston

WBOS is sponsoring a free concert on Thursday, August 5 featuring deSoL, a Latin rock band from Asbury Park, New Jersey.

I've followed the band since their formation in 2001, thanks to their first photographer, Jamie, who shot pictures of the band's rehearsals for media advisories and a pre-domain website. I knew Jamie from an Internet chat forum, and while we never met in person, I learned to appreciate her work and began to enjoy the sounds of deSoL and other musicians she photographed.

Three years later, after numerous concerts around the country including opening for headliners such as Blues Traveler and Cypress Hill, deSoL marked their Boston-area debut with an electrifying performance at the Ryles Jazz Club on August 21 2004.

I remember emailing a Boston Globe editor with a pitch to write a preview of that concert, knowing I'd have access to the band through Jamie. The editor's response: "No thanks."

I attended that concert with a mix of friends, and everyone walked away with a smile on their face and a foot that kept tapping. I remember chatting with lead vocalist and acoustic guitarist Albie Monterossa, telling him of my fascination with the band since 2001, and he also smiled. Nice guy.

I've followed deSoL over the past three years, and while I've known they've played around the city, I never saw them again.

On Thursday evening, I'll stroll down memory lane and see deSoL again, opened by R&B sensation Ryan Shaw.

Tommy Tutone working on a new record

Spectra Records recently signed Tommy Tutone, notoriously known for the ditty, "867-5309 (Jenny)," which is receiving revived press due to two plumbing companies fighting over the right to use the phone number. I couldn't have made this stuff up.

The Associated Press carried the story over the weekend, and it's since been carried by NPR today and referenced by dozens of bloggers, including Brian Cormier, who displays the catchy video.

According to tutone.com, not just is a record being planned for release this summer, but the band is hitting the road with the so-called "Starship and Friends," a glitzy rock show headlined by Starship's Mickey Thomas, and featuring Survivor's Jimi Jamison, Toto's Bobby Kimball, Three Dog Night's Chuck Negron, and others. Click here for more information on booking Starship and Friends.

I bring this news up as I am importing my remaining CDs to iTunes. I bought some CD sleeves today. I intend to keep ~100 CDs (just the discs and liner notes, tossing the plastic jewel boxes) and sell the rest. Only question is what to keep...

Geekiness

Last August, I bought the 4GB iPod Nano. At the time, I bought it to partially join the iPod bandwagon and partially to satisfy my thirst for techno gadgets. For years, friends and family members had turned to me with their geeky questions, but it's hard to expertly answer a question when I don't have the technology. Despite my working knowledge learned over the years, I bought my first DVD player in 2005 and both a digital camera and laptop computer in 2006.

Frankly, I didn't want it. I freak out every time I board a subway train and see an entire row of MP3 earbud warriors, reading a book while listening to music. I don't know how they multitask like that. Read, or listen, but dear God don't do both at once! And they tap their thumbs, or kick their toes to the ground. Never sing. Well, rarely sing. I rarely hear them sing to their songs blasting through their ears.

So why did I buy an iPod? To reduce space, basically. I haven't bought a CD in about two years, and my collection of 300+ CDs collects dust, so I've gradually imported my collection into iTunes, keep some of them on my iPod and store the rest on my computer. Right now, I'm ripping the albums I care about, and then I'll store about 100 CDs in vinyl sleeves, toss their plastic boxes, and sell the rest for cash or credit.

It sounds like a plan. The thing with me and plans, though, is I rarely keep them, preferring spontaneity. In retrospect, I used the iPod for several months last fall, but as soon as I ditched the T for driving into work, I stopped using the player. The act of importing my CDs also fell by the wayside. Now that I have more free time, I'll continue the importing and will consolidate my personal space with the sleeves and the sales.

In the meantime, if you're on the subway and hear someone singing aloud the lyrics to the Beatles, Nerf Herder, or Lasgo, you know who to blame.