M Is FOR MASHUP - April 27th, 2011
Welcome To The 3rd World Of Mashups
By DJ Useo
Lightning in the form of a super mashup collection strikes a third time with 'The 3rd WORLD : The Annual Genre Smashed Compilation'
( www.envisiondesign.com.au/The3rdWorld/ ). The first 2 years the past 'World' mashup albums incited huge pleasure, so this year the compiler, masher & web designer
ENVISION
( www.envisiondesign.com.au ) put his nose to the grindstone even harder & inspired an impressive group of home producers to top the already successful past releases. The results are telling with 44 inspired tracks by 31 bootleggers. I was very pleased with the enormous amount of new tracks on the album so when I saw today on the official '3rd World' website that there're even more bonus tracks available I nearly plotzed! In the actual words of ENVISION 'Each and every DJ that has become part of the annual compilation for 2011 has put in their best true skills and amazing talents to make 3 discs full of mash-ups that will have everyone amazed by the quality of every brilliant genre-smashed tune that they hear! For 2011, get ready for the biggest, the best and the most memorable compilation that you have heard!'
Envision did a bold thing & posted an open invitation to any bootleggers who could 'smash the genres' by mashing artists of opposing styles. So rock on rock or hip on hop was right out. As you know, I get a real kick out of appearing on mashup albums & thus I got right to it, trying to perfect the perfect genre-clash mashup. Eventually, I sent 5 tracks, 3 of which were praised, but rejected for not being opposed enough stylistically. The 2 of mine that did make it on the album are almost painfully genre-clashed. Try to imagine Devo singing over Creedance Clearwater Revival or T.Rex's Marc Bolan singing over Simon & Garfunkel. It reminds me of a true story about T.Rex coming to America & having to open for Three Dog Night. Not the best fit of 2 musical artists. My wife told me she saw Kiss live once & Bob Seger opened for them & the audience nearly booed him off the stage.So imagine those artists singing their songs at the same time & you get the genre clash idea.
Now imagine the artists performed their songs together at once & that they sounded wonderful! That's 'The 3rd WORLD : The Annual Genre Smashed Compilation'. On this record, you'll hear such oppositional mashups as Kelly Clarkson vs Loudon Wainwright III, Scissor Sisters vs Good Charlotte, Black Sabbath vs Eric Prydz, & Michael Jackson vs AC/DC. The thing is, through the mashers' expertise & ENVISION's oversight, the tracks all play with strong appeal, even when you don't think that style is for you. GaraGara mixed Peggy Lee's 'Fever' with Scientists' 'Dub' & gave us the enchanting 'Dub Fever'. It sounds easier to do than it is, but listening to this assortment of instant classics is the easiest part.
The '3rd World' site is a real joy, what with 3 mashup collections, videos to view of many of the tracks, & even bonus tracks. Most of the mixers are well-established, well-known & well...never-ending founts of creativity, I think is a good way to express it. Once you absorb the content of this new release, you'll certainly be inspired to visit the mixers' individual sites & go hog wild on mashups! This collection has people mixing on it like Marc Johnce, Sugamotor, LeeDM101, Fissunix, Voicedude, & so very many more whose work excels. With mashup albums like this appearing, the mashup genre is not going anywhere soon. All of the tracks on this baby are good, or great, & a batch are actually 'perfect'. See for yourself by grabbing your copy
here -
( www.envisiondesign.com.au/The3rdWorld/ )
Mashups are free, you know. So tell your friends!
Mix Of The Week
ToTom's 'Le Mix de ToToM : #74 : Do the Right Mix' is the latest in his long-running, popular series. This new one is mashups for the most part, with a few remixes, This new set keeps up the high quality of past ToTom mixes, & is sure to compel you to dip into the past ones. Check it out
here
( official.fm/tracks/154717 )
Mashup tip : An abacus can be used to check pitching. (If you have an IQ of 400)
Latest Useo Thing
'Chasing Servos' (Mystery Science Theater 3000 vs Faux Pas) is a big hit for me, altho all my tracks consistently do well considering I can't sell them. This new one is funny, & also clubby. Imagine dancing to Tom Servo's singing! Lol!
( groovytimewithdjuseo.blogspot.com/2011/04/chasing-servos-mystery-science-theater.html )
Podgornio,The Mashup Psychic Predicts
In 2 years, many of the current politicians in office will bond over mashups while serving long jail sentences. .(You know who)
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
William R. Brody: 2005 Commencement Address (Johns Hopkins University)
I'd like to close with one last story that I think you will especially understand, because today you are receiving a degree from what you know firsthand is a very competitive school.
Paul Krugman: Let's Take a Hike (New York Times)
If the federal budget and national deficit situation is so serious, shouldn't we be raising taxes, not cutting them?
Andrew Tobias: "Letters from Chairman Buffett" (Fortune, 1983)
Berkshire Hathaway shareholders have come to expect two things of their annual report: good news […] and the unorthodox letter of their chairman, Warren Buffett (who took over 18 years ago). Indeed, the chairman's letter practically is the Berkshire Hathaway annual report.
Jim Hightower: ARE YOU READY FOR A BRAVE NEW WORLD OF FOOD?
"The Netherlands," exclaims the professor, "wants to be in the forefront of food." By "forefront," he's talking about waaay out there - all the way to buffalo worms, locusts, caterpillars, crickets, and other insects for human consumption.
Rachel Maddow: 'I'm definitely not an autocutie' (Guardian)
The top US news anchor on why she prefers jokes to anger and why she is proud to be gay. By Hadley Freeman.
Scott Burns: Vanity Investment (assetbuilder.com)
The massive growth (and recent resurgence) of hedge funds is strong evidence that a sucker really is born every minute.
"Bossypants" by Tina Fey: A review by Janeane Garofalo
I received Tina Fey's new book, 'Bossypants,' last Friday and read it straight through until 7:40 Saturday morning. I guess, as they say, I couldn't put it down. Not just a trite expression; in this case it is literally true.
Laura Bennett: Review of "Bossypants" (National Review)
NEUROSIS AND COMEDY make a natural pair. The former is often a type of pathological self-awareness, and nothing breeds a sense of comic irony like obsessive doubt and social maladjustment. Woody Allen, Richard Lewis, Larry David: all Jewish men from whose brains you can almost hear the constant whir of anxious introspection. Tina Fey may seem like an odd addition to the mix,…
Glenn Garvin: HBO looks at the making of the show that ruined TV (McClatchy Newspapers)
At the beginning of the annual congressional shootout over funding for public broadcasting, PBS inevitably launches a barrage of press releases about its storied cultural and intellectual contributions to U.S. culture. One achievement that never gets mentioned: the invention of reality television. Long before Jon and Kate or the "Real Housewives," PBS gave us the bickering, brawling Loud family.
Juliet Lapidos: Hate Thy Neighbor (Slate)
Whether we describe Leslie and Ron as "mom and dad" or "clueless-liberal and buddy-conservative," Parks and Recreation does not endorse one disposition over the other. In remaining silent on which character has the right priorities, perhaps the show is arguing that our capacity to care about other people isn't limitless. As a result, we end up rationing our reserves-some of us lavish our attention on neighbors, while others reserve their do-gooding for the faceless masses.
Randy Lewis: Emmylou Harris, in the moment (Los Angeles Times)
Her new album is called 'Hard Bargain,' but at 64, the singer-songwriter seems at ease with her life thus far.
Paul Krugman's Blog: "Arcade Fire: Haiti" (New York Times)
No particular reason to post this, except to provide something cheering after a tough day. I'm ashamed to say that I wasn't even aware of the band until the Grammys - but hey, I'm 58! And as I suspect is happening with Brad, as an aging baby boomer I find it vastly reassuring to see that there are honest, creative artists still making their way up amid the commercialization. And their live performances are truly addictive.
David Bruce has 41 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $41 you can buy 10,250 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," and "Maximum Cool."
wrote:
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Reader Suggestions
Michelle in AZ
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
BadtotheboneBob
Jodie Foster stands by 'Suger Tits'
Reader Suggestion
being gay with Mr.Sulu
sgray1955@sbcglobal.net
Subject:
To: Sharon Gray
George Takei, Mr. Sulu from Star Trek, said "I'm lending my name. It's okay to be Takei".
Awesome video of Mr. Takei calling out a gay-hater:
Sharon in Tejas
Thanks, Sharon!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Spring day, summer heat.
Not A Hannity Fan
Anderson Cooper
CNN's Anderson Cooper says Fox News Channel took his words out of context to make a false point about media bias.
Cooper, on his CNN show, noted that he was quoted in last week's Sean Hannity special on media bias. Fox aired a clip of Cooper saying that a former U.S. ambassador in Africa, Joseph Wilson, was "the victim of a Bush administration smear campaign."
Cooper says that if Fox aired his full report, it was clear he was reporting Wilson's claim of a smear campaign - not saying it himself.
Cooper says that he tries to choose his words carefully and "don't like it when someone cuts around them to make it seem like I'm saying something that I'm not."
Anderson Cooper
Staying In February
Oscars
The Academy Awards are sticking to the last weekend in February rather than moving to an earlier date.
Tom Sherak, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, announced Tuesday that next year's ceremony will be held Feb. 26, the same Sunday as most other recent Oscar shows.
Oscar organizers have considered moving up the show, saying that earlier film awards might be stealing some of the thunder of Hollywood's biggest night.
Nominations for the 84th Oscars will be announced Jan. 24.
Oscars
Current TV
Keith Olbermann
Liberal news anchor Keith Olbermann will call his new Current TV show by an old name -- "Countdown," the same as his old program on MSNBC, cable network Current TV said Tuesday.
Current TV said "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" will premiere on June 20, at 8 p.m. eastern time. The hour-long show will air every weeknight.
Olbermann joined Current TV, a public affairs channel co-founded by former U.S. vice president Al Gore, about two weeks after he left MSNBC in January.
The outspoken political affairs anchor abruptly parted ways with MSNBC with two years left on his contract, despite being having the highest show on the network with more than one million viewers.
Keith Olbermann
Changes Name
Altoona, Pa.
POM WONDERFUL PRESENTS: THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER SOLD, Pa. (AP) - About 31,000 central Pennsylvanians will soon be living in a joke.
Beginning at 1 p.m. Wednesday, the city of Altoona will change its name to "POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold," after the latest film by sarcastic documentarian Morgan Spurlock.
The city is changing its name for 60 days to make some money - and to help Spurlock make a point about the proliferation of advertising in American life.
He'll be in the city 85 miles east of Pittsburgh Wednesday for the East Coast premiere of the film, which opened far more conventionally in Los Angeles last week.
The locals needn't worry too much. The name change is ceremonial - meaning people won't have to address mail using the movie's title. The film was in the can before the naming rights deal was approved earlier this month by city council, on which Bruce Kelley serves as vice mayor. The money is going to the police department.
Altoona, Pa
Worst Kept Secret
Katie Couric
Katie Couric has confirmed that she's leaving her anchor job at the "CBS Evening News."
Couric also told People magazine in a story published Tuesday on its website that she hasn't decided what she's doing next. But she says she is "looking at a format that will allow me to engage in more multi-dimensional storytelling."
The Associated Press reported three weeks ago that Couric's tenure as CBS anchor would end just short of five years in the job. Her contract expires June 4.
CBS has not set an exit date but is expected to appoint Scott Pelley of "60 Minutes" as her successor as early as next week.
Katie Couric
Gather In DC To Discuss Future
Public Broadcasters
PBS anchor Jim Lehrer and public broadcasting leaders from across the country are gathering in Washington to discuss the most serious threats to their federal funding in 44 years.
The National Press Club and the Missouri School of Journalism host the summit Tuesday.
The Republican-led House voted to eliminate funding for public broadcasting. Those efforts stalled in the Democratic-controlled Senate and a budget deal with the White House has kept most money intact.
Most of the uproar focused on NPR after the controversial firing of analyst Juan Williams over his comments about Muslims, and following the release by a conservative activist of footage that appeared to show an NPR executive condemning the tea party movement.
Public Broadcasters
Announces 5 Renewals
CW Network
The CW network is announcing early pickups of five of its series for next fall, including an all-star version of "America's Next Top Model" and the network's hit drama, "The Vampire Diaries."
The network said late Tuesday that "Gossip Girl," "90210," and "Supernatural" also will be returning for another season.
In the first of two editions set to air next season, "America's Next Top Model" will bring back models from the show's past competitions for a rematch.
News of these series renewals comes several weeks before the CW's official schedule announcement next month.
CW Network
SETI
In the mountains of Northern California, a field of radio dishes that look like giant dinner plates waited for years for the first call from intelligent life among the stars.
But they're not listening anymore.
Astronomers at the SETI Institute said a steep drop in state and federal funds has forced the shutdown of the Allen Telescope Array, a powerful tool in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, an effort scientists refer to as SETI.
The $50 million array was built by SETI and UC Berkeley with the help of a $30 million donation from Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen. Operating the dishes cost about $1.5 million a year, mostly to pay for the staff of eight to 10 researchers and technicians to operate the facility.
SETI
Finishes Vegas DUI Requirements
Vince Neil
Motley Crue singer Vince Neil has completed requirements of his Las Vegas drunken driving sentence.
Court officials and Neil's lawyer, David Chesnoff, say a Las Vegas judge declared the DUI case closed Tuesday. The 50-year-old rocker didn't appear at the hearing in person.
Neil served 10 days of a 15-day jail sentence in February, another 15 days of house arrest, paid a fine and completed drunk driving and victim impact counseling.
Court spokeswoman Mary Ann Price says Neil also made a $500 donation to Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
Vince Neil
Can't Run
Carl Lewis
Nine-time Olympic champion Carl Lewis, a legendary sprinter and long jumper, was denied a chance to run for the New Jersey state senate on Tuesday for failing to meet residency requirements.
New Jersey secretary of state Kim Guadagno ruled that Lewis cannot have his name on the Democratic Party primary ballot in June's election because he has not met a four-year state residency requirement for candidates.
Lewis, who turns 50 on July 1, can appeal the decision.
Guadagno, a Republican, revealed Lewis said he filed taxes in California, owned a home and staffed business offices there and was registered to vote in California.
But Lewis, who grew up in New Jersey, has a New Jersey driving license, has owned homes in the state since 2005 and has served as a volunteer high school athletics coach in his hometown, Willingboro, since 2007.
Carl Lewis
Gitmo Doctors Ignored Signs
Torture
In at least nine cases, doctors charged with the medical care of Guantánamo Bay detainees failed to follow up on signs and symptoms of torture, according to a new study.
The study, published online today (April 26) in the open-access journal PloS Medicine, comes on the heels of the release of more than 700 secret documents on former and current detainees at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp in Cuba. The authors, two nongovernment experts retained by attorneys for Guantánamo Bay detainees, evaluated nine cases of alleged abuse and torture. In each case, they found that medical and psychological evaluations were consistent with the detainees' allegations. However, said study author Vincent Iacopino, the senior medical adviser to the non-profit Physicians for Human Rights, broken bones and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder were consistently glossed over by Department of Defense medical professionals at the camp.
"The pattern of neglecting the physical and psychological evidence of torture is striking," Iacopino told LiveScience. "It appears to us that this was an essential component of enabling torture." [Read Study: U.S. Torture Techniques Unethical, Ineffective]
Iacopino, a physician, and his co-author, retired Brig. Gen. Steven Xenakis, were both contacted by attorneys for Guantánamo Bay detainees who said they'd been tortured. They had access to the nine detainees' medical files as well as the affidavits and legal files related to their court cases. Three other nongovernmental experts also reviewed the files; only one was partially compensated for the time, Iacopino said.
In every case, the medical evidence suggested that torture, both as defined by the United Nations and as defined by the narrower United States guidelines at the time, may have occurred, Iacopino said. Three inmates' medical records mentioned broken bones and lacerations. No cause was recorded.
Torture
Official State Gospel Song
Oklahoma
The Oklahoma House on Monday voted to name "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" as the state's official gospel song.
If the measure becomes law, the song would join five others that have official status in the state, including the title song from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "Oklahoma!"
The measure, which was already approved by the Senate, passed the House by a vote of 89-0 and now heads to Governor Mary Fallin.
State legislatures across the country are pondering not only their state budgets but also what should be their official state foods -- or guns.
In Arizona, for example, legislators seeking to make the Colt revolver that state's official firearm won a close vote -- over protests by a Navajo lawmaker who questioned the wisdom of glorifying a weapon used to kill his ancestors. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has not yet acted on the bill.
Oklahoma
University of Sydney Offers Portrait
Pablo Picasso
Christie's said on Wednesday that it would offer a Pablo Picasso portrait of his lover Marie-Therese Walter at auction in June on behalf of the University of Sydney.
"Jeune fille endormie," estimated to be worth 9-12 million pounds, was given to the university by an anonymous donor on condition that it was sold and that the proceeds were spent on scientific research into obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
The painting was executed in 1935, and is one of several portraits of the same subject by Picasso. It will go under the hammer in London on June 21 at the impressionist and modern art evening sale.
Last year, Christie's in New York sold another Marie-Therese portrait titled "Nude, Green Leaves and Bust" for $106.5 million, a world auction record for any work of art.
Pablo Picasso
Prime-Time Nielsens
Ratings
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by the Nielsen Co. for April 18-24. Listings include the week's ranking and viewership.
1. "American Idol" (Wednesday), Fox, 22.54 million.
2. "American Idol" (Thursday), Fox, 20.32 million.
3. "Dancing With the Stars," ABC, 20.1 million.
4. "Dancing With the Stars Results," ABC, 16.31 million.
5. "NCIS," CBS, 13.44 million.
6. "Hawaii Five-0," CBS, 11.44 million.
7. "Body of Proof," ABC, 11.37 million.
8. "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS, 11.23 million.
9. "The Mentalist," CBS, 11.08 million.
10. "Survivor: Redemption Island," CBS, 11.02 million.
11. "Bones," Fox, 10.96 million.
12. "60 Minutes," CBS, 10.58 million.
13. "Desperate Housewives," ABC, 10.15 million.
14. "Mike & Molly," CBS, 9.98 million.
15. "Modern Family," ABC, 9.95 million.
16. "Glee," Fox, 9.8 million.
17. "Amazing Race 18," CBS, 9.37 million.
18. "NCIS: Los Angeles" (Tuesday, 10 p.m.), CBS, 9.11 million.
19. "House," Fox, 8.8 million.
20. "Criminal Minds," CBS, 8.71 million.
Ratings
In Memory
Phoebe Snow
It wasn't long after the release of "Poetry Man," the breezy, jazzy love song that would make Phoebe Snow a star, that the singer experienced another event that would dramatically alter her life.
In 1975, she gave birth to a daughter, Valerie Rose, who was found to be severely brain-damaged. Her husband split from her soon after the baby was born. And, at a time when many disabled children were sent to institutions, Snow decided to keep her daughter at home and care for the child herself.
The decision to be Valerie's primary caretaker would lead her to abandon music for a while and enter into ill-fated business decisions in the quest to stay solvent enough to take care of Valerie.
Snow, who worked her way back into the music performing world in the 1980s and continued to perform in recent years, died on Tuesday from complications of a brain hemorrhage she suffered in January 2010, said Rick Miramontez, her longtime friend and public relations representative. She was 60.
Snow never regretted her decision to put aside music so she could focus on Valerie's care. She was devastated when her daughter, who was not expected to live beyond her toddler years, died in 2007 at 31.
"She was my universe," she told the website PopEntertainment.com that year. "She was the nucleus of everything. I used to wonder, am I missing something? No. I had such a sublime, transcendent experience with my child. She had fulfilled every profound love and intimacy and desire I could have ever dreamed of."
Known as a folk guitarist who made forays into jazz and blues, Snow put her stamp on soul classics such as "Shakey Ground," "Love Makes a Woman" and "Mercy, Mercy Mercy" on over a half dozen albums.
Snow's defining hit, however, was "Poetry Man," which she wrote herself. The song, anchored by her husky voice and a fluid guitar, was a romantic ode to a married man. It reached the Top 5 on the pop singles chart in 1975, and garnered her a Grammy nomination for best new artist.
Soon after that, her daughter was born. She was born with hydrocephalus, a buildup of fluid in the brain cavity that inhibits brain development. Snow's husband, musician Phil Kearns, left her while Valerie was still a baby.
For years, Snow fought the diagnosis of Valerie's mental condition, but in 1983, she told The New York Times that she had accepted her daughter's fate.
While she was caring for Valerie, her career started to take a downward spiral. Inexperienced in the music business, she broke contracts with record companies and others, and found herself embroiled in a number of lawsuits and severe financial problems.
She started to make her way back into the music business and by the early 1980s was performing shows again. In 1989, she released her first album in eight years, "Something Real." She also supplemented her income doing through the 1980s and into the 1990s by singing commercial jingle for companies including Michelob, Hallmark and AT&T.
Among her other hits was her duet with Paul Simon on the song "Gone at Last." She also sang "Have Mercy" with Jackson Browne.
Snow was born Phoebe Ann Laub to white Jewish parents in New York City in 1950, and raised in Teaneck, N.J. Though many assumed she was black, Snow never claimed African-American ancestry.
She changed her name after seeing Phoebe Snow, an advertising character for a railroad, emblazoned on trains that passed through her hometown. Snow quit college after two years to perform in amateur nights at Greenwich Village folk clubs.
In her later years, Snow continued to make an impact musically. She sang the theme for NBC's "A Different World" and the jingle "Celebrate the Moments of Your Life" for General Foods International Coffees. She also sang at radio host Howard Stern's wedding to Beth Ostrosky in 2008 and for President Bill Clinton, who asked her to perform at Camp David during his presidency.
A private funeral is planned for Snow, who is survived by her sister and other relatives.
Phoebe Snow
In Memory
Poly Styrene
Poly Styrene, the braces-wearing singer who belted out "Oh bondage, up yours!" with the band X-Ray Spex, has died at the age of 53.
Styrene, whose real name was Marion Elliott-Said, had been suffering from cancer.
X-Ray Spex released just one album, 1978's "Germ Free Adolescents." But its aggressively catchy single "Oh Bondage, Up Yours!" became an enduring punk anthem.
Styrene later said the song - a gleeful nonconformist shout-out - was inspired by the iconic bondage trousers designed by Vivienne Westwood.
"Some people think that little girls should be seen and not heard," Styrene sang - before letting everyone know exactly what she thought of that idea.
Of British and Somali heritage, Styrene was born in 1957 in the London suburb of Bromley - a quiet corner backwater with a strong rock `n' roll streak that was also the childhood home of David Bowie, Billy Idol and Siouxsie Sioux.
As a teenager she released a reggae single before being inspired to form a punk band after seeing the Sex Pistols play in 1976. X-Ray Spex stood out from the punk crowd during its short career, both because of its female singer and for including a saxophone player in the lineup.
Styrene's attitude and energy inspired other female singers, and she was often cited as a precursor of the 1990s "riot grrrl" movement.
Styrene later joined the Hare Krishna movement and released several solo albums - the most recent, "Generation Indigo," just last month.
She is survived by her daughter, Celeste Bell-Dos Santos, who fronts the band Debutant Disco.
Poly Styrene
In Memory
Hubert "Hub" Schlafly
A key developer of the device that came to be known as the teleprompter has died.
Hubert "Hub" Schlafly was 91. He won an Emmy Award for his contributions to the innovation, now commonplace in political addresses.
A funeral home says he died April 20 at Stamford Hospital in Connecticut after a brief illness. A funeral was held Tuesday in Greenwich.
Schlafly was a friend of actor Fred Barton Jr., who wanted a way to remember his lines. Author Laurie Brown says Schlafly, Barton and business partner Irving Berlin Kahn developed it.
It made its debut in 1950 on the soap opera "The First Hundred Years." Schlafly eventually became president of the TelePrompTer Corp.
Herbert Hoover became the first politician to use the device in 1952.
Hubert "Hub" Schlafly
In Memory
Peter Lieberson
American composer Peter Lieberson, who wrote his most inspired songs for his great love, the late mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, has died at age 64.
Lieberson died Saturday at a hospital in Tel Aviv, Israel, of complications from lymphoma, said Peggy Monastra, an executive at his New York-based publisher, G. Schirmer.
The New York-born composer, who lived in Santa Fe, N.M., was in Israel for medical treatment. He had been diagnosed with the cancer while still mourning his wife's 2006 death of breast cancer.
Lieberson was a well-established artist years before he met Lorraine Hunt in 1997. His works were being performed by the top U.S. orchestras and soloists including cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianists Emanuel Ax and Peter Serkin.
A follower of Tibetan Buddhism, Lieberson came from a generation of composers whose classical music was suffused with references to more popular, audience-friendly styles such as jazz and Broadway.
In 1983, Serkin premiered Lieberson's Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which then commissioned three more works from him, including the 2010 "Songs of Love and Sorrow" for baritone, to poems by Pablo Neruda.
After Hunt Lieberson's death at age 52, National Public Radio titled a program about their magical collaboration "Tracing Love's Arc." She had canceled most of her concerts in the final months of her life - except for performances of the "Neruda Songs" with orchestra that her husband wrote for her and she recorded.
Lieberson was the son of Goddard Lieberson, then president of Columbia Records, and Vera Zorina, an actress and former ballerina. He learned harmony by listening to great jazz recordings and live Broadway shows, as well as recordings his father's company made of living classical composers including Arnold Schoenberg and Igor Stravinsky.
Those influences converged in Lieberson's music, along with a fascination for Buddhism that blossomed during his years at Columbia University. He went to Colorado in 1976 to study with the Buddhist master Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and married another disciple, Ellen Kearney. The couple led a Buddhist program in Boston, and Lieberson earned a doctorate from Brandeis University and taught composition at Harvard University.
Buddhism was central to his opera "Ashoka's Dream," the story of an ancient emperor of India. It premiered in Santa Fe in 1997, with Lorraine Hunt singing the part of Ashoka's second wife. Around then, Lieberson stumbled across a paperback at the airport in Albuquerque, N.M., that would change their artistic lives - Neruda's "100 Love Sonnets," with its shocking pink cover.
In 1999, after divorce, Lorraine Hunt become Lieberson's second wife, for whom he also composed his 2001 "Rilke Songs."
Lieberson leaves three children from his first marriage. He also is survived by his third wife and longtime friend, the Tibetan writer Rinchen Lhamo.
Peter Lieberson
In Memory
John Cossette
John Cossette, the longtime executive producer of the Grammy Awards, has died at age 54.
The Recording Academy and Cossette's wife, Rita, confirmed his death in a statement but did not elaborate. She said the family appreciated "everyone's love and support, and further details regarding funeral arrangements will be forthcoming in the next few days."
Cossette, the son of Grammy telecast founding producer Pierre Cossette, worked on the Grammys broadcast for more than 20 years.
His other credits included the Latin Grammys, BET Awards and BET Hip Hop Awards. Cossette's theatrical work included the musical "Million Dollar Quartet" about the 1956 meeting of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis at Sun Studios, which is currently on Broadway.
He is survived by his wife and two daughters.
John Cossette
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