I want to make sure all my friends in Southern California know about this … wish I could go. If you don’t know Buddy’s music, you can find several great free MP3s on his web site. RIP, my friend.

If somebody had challenged me to write a blog post teaching journalists about online by using an American Idol contestant, I don’t think I would have even tried.

Shawn Smith just wrote a great post. He’s spot-on with his advice.

And if you didn’t watch Idol this week, you missed what may be the best performance in the entire series (rivaling  Fantasia’s “Summertime“)

While I’m on an Idol post — Amanda, the female Elvis, the female singer Lisa Marie wishes she could be, should not have been voted off last week.

Long-time readers know that I’ve tried my hand at songwriting a few times, and have been audacious enough to torture those good readers by posting my MP3s on this blog.

I haven’t done it in a long time. I haven’t finished a song in a long time.

Coolness arrived with the new year, though. My friend Kevin Featherly liked one of my songs well enough to record it with his band.

Here it is: Trouble and Turmoil.

Credits: Bruce Featherly, vocals; Scott Maida, drums; Kevin Feathery, all other instruments, production and mixing; words and music by Howard Owens.

You can read the full story of “Trouble and Turmoil” on Back Channel.

A conversation with a friend reminded me of the George Jones classic, “He Stopped Loving Her Today.”  That got me poking around the web a bit.

I didn’t start listening to country music seriously until 1986 or so, and “He Stopped Loving Her Today” just seemed like one of those songs that had been around forever. All this time, I’ve just assumed it dated to the 1960s or early 1970s.  It has such a classic sound.

Actually, it dates from 1982, and Jones recorded the song even though he believed it too sad to ever become a hit (Wikipedia).

Many people believe, as I do, that it is the greatest country song ever.  It’s also a song, I believe, that nobody will ever sing as well as George Jones.

Here’s the video.

I’m well past the age in which I seek out information on my favorite rock stars and ravenously read every I can (like I did in high school with Elvis Costello).

But Jack White fascinates me.

He is maybe the most complex and interesting musician on rock today.

So I don’t mind that Eat the Press broke format and gave us a scoop on Jack, who I know no is really John Gillis.

Interesting reading for White Stripes fans (and if you’re a true music fan, the only reason you wouldn’t be a White Stripes fan is you haven’t really listened yet).

We’re coming up on the one year anniversary of my friend Buddy Blue’s death within the next week. Quite by accident I found a treasure trove of Beat Farmers videos on YouTube, including this classic:

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RIP, Buddy and Country Dick.

So, you want to be a rock and roll star?

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If you love music, you owe yourself a viewing of the new U2 video for “Window in the Skies.”

Mary Tyler Moore beget Lou Grant. From X-Files came The Lone Gunmen. Because there was an Adam-12, we were treated to Emergency. And now it’s time for HowardOwens.com to launch its own spinoff.

MP3 Caravan is live.

Now, go give a listen, and then go tell your friends. Tell them all. Please.

No more MP3’s of the day on howardowens.com. Here’s the new RSS feed.

NOTE: My goal with “MP3 of the Day” is to find great, free, non-DRM MP3 downloads. If you have a tip for a good source, leave a comment.

NOTE: My goal with “MP3 of the Day” is to find great, free, non-DRM MP3 downloads. If you have a tip for a good source, leave a comment.

NOTE: My goal with “MP3 of the Day” is to find great, free, non-DRM MP3 downloads. If you have a tip for a good source, leave a comment.

NOTE: My goal with “MP3 of the Day” is to find great, free, non-DRM MP3 downloads. If you have a tip for a good source, leave a comment.

So Seth Gitner doesn’t like my “MP3 of the Day” feature.

I’m starting to think the idea has enough merit, and that I can continue to find MP3s for some period of time.

Also, people do like it. I’m having fun with it.
I’d kind of like to keep it going.

One lesson of the web: Whether it’s an e-mail discussion list, a forum thread, a blog, or any sort of web site, people generally like you to stay on topic. And while I tend to broadly define howardowens.com as a “media blog” of my media interests, it’s also clear I most often groove in one particular niche (online newspapers) and that is probably why post people come here (or consume the feed), and the whole MP3 thing is really kind of a specialized niche all its own.

Also, I flashed on Jim Romenesko, who is best known for his Romenesko blog, but also runs Romenesko’s Obscure Store and Starbucks Gossip. He’s not mixing topics, and he’s not a bad guy to pattern your blogging after.

So, I just registered MP3Caravan.com. I’ve installed WordPress. That’s as far as I’ve gotten.

It will be some work to move all my previous posts over. It will be some work to move all my draft posts over (I create the posts well in advance, usually in blocks when I have time, so I don’t risk running out). The blog needs a template (any volunteers?). It needs some plugins.

In other words, there’s a lot of work to do before it’s a proper MP3 blog.

I may finish it in a week, a month, or never. In the meantime, I’ll keep posting my picks on howardowens.com, because the vote in favor so far is about 3-1 with lots of abstentions.

I’m taking the motto for MP3 Caravan (at least initial thought here): “We’re on a quest to find the best Non-DRM MP3s on the web.” Quite a mouth full, but it sums up the idea nicely, I think.

That doesn’t mean I won’t go off topic here ever again. It is my blog. It’s supposed to be a place of personal expression.

UPDATE: I successfully imported the previous posts. And I have a working RSS feed.

NOTE: My goal with “MP3 of the Day” is to find great, free, non-DRM MP3 downloads. If you have a tip for a good source, leave a comment.

NOTE: My goal with “MP3 of the Day” is to find great, free, non-DRM MP3 downloads. If you have a tip for a good source, leave a comment.

NOTE: My goal with “MP3 of the Day” is to find great, free, non-DRM MP3 downloads. If you have a tip for a good source, leave a comment.

NOTE: My goal with “MP3 of the Day” is to find great, free, non-DRM MP3 downloads. If you have a tip for a good source, leave a comment.

NOTE: My goal with “MP3 of the Day” is to find great, free, non-DRM MP3 downloads. If you have a tip for a good source, leave a comment.

NOTE: My goal with “MP3 of the Day” is to find great, free, non-DRM MP3 downloads. If you have a tip for a good source, leave a comment.