Thanks for your support! I know a lot of you reading this voted for me, but according to their stats, I placed just behind the top 5 votes. I’ll write something more in-depth as time permits; as it stands, I feel very strongly that I got shorted based on the technology they used.

Seemingly without fanfare, the Beale Street Music Festival launched a contest this year seeking persons who want to “Be The Agent” for Beale Street Music Festival 2012. Most of the time, these contests are merely vanity-driven adventures meant to create a false illusion of opportunity for the winner; a meet-and-greet with a band, an autograph session, a chance at having one’s photo taken with a famous singer or rapper. Not the case, here: if you read the fine print of this particular contest, it’s actually got some meat and it makes sense for the people booking Beale Street Music Festival to do it. People are doing their jobs for them by suggesting acts and having people vote on which combination is most popular. The vote combination with the most votes will win, and people picked some competitive groupings of bands.  I picked up on what made this contest opportunity different right away, and I want to win.

So why would I want to get involved in this contest and win? It’s easy: I love Memphis and Beale Street Music Festival & I hope by winning the contest, I’ll have an opportunity to sit down at the table and provide input that will make the festival even better than it was last year. And who could argue how terrific it was? The Flaming Lips, MGMT, Mumford & Sons, Cee-Lo Green, Lucinda Williams and others came together to make it (in spite of tornadoes) the best BSMF in years. I want to capitalize on this opportunity to sit on the inside of the festival for all of you, to expand musical opportunities that will draw attendees not only from the mid-south but from other parts of the country, this year and in years to come. Now there are some other prizes, like $1000 cash (which it would be nice to get), but I’m really looking at the main prize: a chance to influence the lineup at this year’s fest directly.

So who do I want to bring to Memphis in May? Well, the two bands I am intent on bringing, The Black Keys and The Weeknd, appeal to a broad cross-section of the people who will be attending BSMF 2012. Grammy Award winners The Black Keys, arguably the most successful blues-rock duo of the past several years, make an easy and alluring choice to headline the festival based on their sheer popularity within our region and in the surrounding region. With a new record sure to do well & sounding great, this will be a tremendous show to see.

The Weeknd might seem like a tougher sell, but ask your friends or your high school-aged or older children about The Weeknd. If you’re not familiar with Abel Tesfaye‘s angelic multi-octave voice and his confessional-style of R&B then you haven’t been reading my blog, certainly, and maybe you’ve just had too much going on to pay attention. The Weeknd, who hail from Toronto, represents quite possibly the greatest unsigned hype surrounding any artist ever, in large part thanks to the reverent attentions of fellow Toronto-ite Drake over the past 12 months. Via a trilogy of mixtapes, House of Balloons, Thursday, and the yet-to-be-released Echoes of Silence, they have built a juggernaut of a following that crosses generation and race in an unflinching zig-zag. In addition, The Weeknd appears several times on Drake’s new album Take Care, and Drake refers to Abel as an influence & someone whose music has pushed him to work at being a better singer. Can you imagine getting to see this live in Memphis? Maybe I could get Drake to come with?

:: Drake feat. The Weeknd – Crew Love ::

Now, I am not saying that Matt & Kim suck or that LMFAO won’t put on a show people will like, or that some random unknown performer who has started a grassroots campaign to win and get noticed isn’t relevant. But out of all the lineups of all the entrants, the two acts I’ve chosen to compete with are the most cohesive, appeal to the largest cross-section of our population and provide Memphians, Mid-Southerners and visitors from around the region a chance to hear great music that we normally end up having to travel to Coachella, Bonnaroo or Lollapalooza to see. I am really passionate about this opportunity to spice up our festival and make it the world-class event that it is and should be.

But I can’t do it if you don’t click here and vote right now:

https://apps.facebook.com/contestshq/contests/166221/voteable_entries/35971049

It may require you to install the Contests Application on Facebook, but you can always delete the app on November 23rd when the contest is over. It isn’t gonna spam your friends or hack your account, I promise.

:: TECHNICAL NOTE :: For some reason, this “Contests Application” does not play well with Google Chrome on some computer (mine included). If you have a problem with Chrome, open the link in Firefox, Internet Explorer or Opera — it will work fine.

The good people over at exfm are having terrific giveaway for Record Store Day 2011 & you can get in on the action — here’s the deets courtesy of The exfm Blog:

To honor Record Store Day and give back to the exfm community we’re giving away an exfm gift pack. This gift pack will be chock-full: a Crosley Revolution Turntable, $100 worth of vinyl from our favorite local record store to enjoy on your new turntable and a pile of exfm swag. The Crosley Revolution is a turntable of firsts: their first battery-powered turntable, the first with a platter smaller than a teacup saucer, and the first with a wireless transmitter for cord-free enjoyment. Mouths watering yet?

So how do you get your hands on these goodies? It’s simple; starting NOW until 10:00pm EST on Saturday, April 16, just reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook or Tumblr.

Twitter: Tweet, “Record Store Day Bonanza” with the hash tags, #exfm<3rsd11 and #crosleyturntable to @exfm.

Facebook: Visit our Facebook page and write on our wall, “Record Store Day Bonanza”

Tumblr: “like” this Record Store Day Bonanza Post.

We’ll choose one lucky recipient at random to be announced on Monday, April 18th. This fortunate exfmer will also be profiled on our blog along with a little Q&A if they are willing to indulge us.

Brian Wilson — you know, The Beach Boys? SMiLE? musical genius Brian Wilson? — has a brand, spanking new album out entitled That Lucky Old Sun. There’s no lack of brilliant pop songwriting genius to this new collection & we’re thrilled to offer you a chance at owning your very own, limited edition copy on 180 Gram archive-quality vinyl — a $30.00 retail value! Runners up can receive a copy of his single, “Midnight’s Another Day”, on 7″ vinyl. For details on how you can win, join us after the jump!

– Send an email to contest at loudersoft dot com & include “Brian Wilson Vinyl Giveaway” in the subject line. Be sure to include in the email all your contact info — and don’t worry, we’re not giving your email address to anyone under any circumstances.

– In the email, I want you to pick and write about a Brian Wilson or Beach Boys song lyric that has a significant meaning for you. Tell me the name of the song and (in 250 words or less) why the lyric(s) you selected is (are) so significant to you —

eg. “The first time my husband and I ever kissed, we were listening to Brian Wilson’s ‘SMiLE’ and the song “Vegetables” came on right as he was making his move. Mid-kiss we started laughing and he said, “I’ll never put down my vegetables”. As a vegan, I knew I’d found the one.”

The contest is open to everyone except employees of Capitol Records & its subsidiaries, employees of FADER Magazine or Cornerstone Promotion. By entering the contest, you agree to have your entry reproduced, in part or in whole, on Loudersoft. Entries must be received no later than 10am EST on Friday, September 26th, 2008. Entries received after this will not be considered. Winners will be announced next week. You may link or repaste these contests details anywhere.

Good luck to everyone & I’ll see you next week!!