DAILYSESSION

By Corey Kilgannon – NY Times

The man in the hooded sweatshirt and cargo pants was not recognizable, but the three letters he was rendering as a 15-foot mural on the wall of a Hell’s Kitchen building certainly were: B.N.E.

This mischievous monogram, posted by marker, spray can, roller and especially stickers, has become part of the landscape of New York and cities worldwide, thrilling graffiti admirers and roiling public officials. Its saturation has provoked one of the more enduring Internet mysteries: What and who is B.N.E.? [Read More]

By Jim Farber – Daily News

In an era ruled by pop and R&B acts, a scrappy rock band just racked up the most downloaded CD of the year.

“Only By The Night” from Kings of Leon has earned the title of top selling digital album of the year so far, according to iTunes, enjoying sales of just under 400,000 units. (Apple doesn’t release exact figures for its downloads, but SoundScan Nielsen does, and the overwhelming majority of those come from iTunes).

Another edgy rock album took the No. 2 spot – the “Twilight” soundtrack – followed by the debut from shock dance queen Lady GaGa at No. 3. Each enjoyed sales in the 330,000 to 350,000 range. (The two works switched positions on SoundScan’s list, which demonstrates the narrow margin between general downloading figures and iTunes’ own). [Read More]

By Patrick Mcgeehan – NewYork Times

At a glance, the far corner of the main floor of J&R Music looks familiar to anybody old enough to have scratched a record by accident. There are cardboard boxes filled with albums by the likes ofMiles Davis and the Beach Boys that could be stacked in any musty attic in America.

But this is no music morgue; it is more like a life-support unit for an entertainment medium that has managed to avoid extinction, despite numerous predictions to the contrary. The bins above the boxes hold new records — freshly pressed albums of classic rock as well as vinyl versions of the latest releases from hip-hop icons like 50 Cent and Diddy and new pop stars like Norah Jones and Lady Gaga. [Read More]

By The Beatles.com

Following the September 9 (9-9-09) debut of The Beatles’ digitally re-mastered catalogue on CD, Apple Corps Ltd. and EMI Music are pleased to announce the worldwide release of a limited edition of only 30,000 Beatles Stereo USB apples on December 7 (December 8 in North America, December 16 in Japan). [Read More]

By Patrick Fallon – XLR8R

Trip-hop veterans Massive Attack are set to follow up their recent Splitting the Atom EP with the fifth full-length album of their near two-decade career, entitled Heligoland.Coming February 8 from Virgin, the UK production duo’s new record features high-profile vocal work from Blur frontman Damon Albarn, Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star, Martina Topley-Bird, Guy Garvey, and TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe. Current Attack members Robert Del Naja and Grant Marshall also collaborated with DFA’s Tim Goldsworthy and Portishead’s Adrian Utley on a few songs throughout Heligoland. The forthcoming album’s release will also be followed by tour dates, to be announced next year, from the seasoned production team both in the UK and the US. [Read More]

By Stephanie Murg – Unbeige

Visionaire is always among the things we’re most thankful for, so what better time to tell you about the new issue? The fifty-seventh edition of the art-meets-fashion triannual brings together images from 365 artists in the format of an electronic 2010 calendar. The works that light up the sleek HD screen were selected by 52 influential figures from the worlds of art, design, fashion, and film. Curators including Zaha Hadid, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Louise Bourgeois, and Rei Kawakubo, chose works by artists from Richard Artschwager toAndrea Zittel. [Read More]

By Andrew Adam Newman – NewYork Times

As physical formats and devices have shrunk, revenues for the audiobook industry have grown, since it is more convenient to listen to an iPod while exercising and commuting than fiddling with CDs. Digital downloads grew to 21 percent of the industry’s total sales in 2008, from 6 percent in 2004, according to the Audiobook Publishers Association.

It is all the more odd, then, that Hachette Audio recently announced that the latest audiobook by David Sedaris, “Live for Your Listening Pleasure,” which features readings before audiences, would be available on the least portable of formats: vinyl. [Read More]