We had drinks with an old friend tonight -- he does Radio Promotion for a major record label. The Promo guys - God bless 'em, they're always the last to realize shifts in musical trends and overall changes in the music industry. They get paid to get records played on the radio. End of story. Anyway, tonight this friend announced: "Ya know the business is getting tougher -- people under the age of 20 don't buy music anymore -- they just download it for free or rip friends' CD's into their computers. There's no way for record labels to make money anymore. So drink up, I'm not sure how long this company credit card is gonna last -- I'm just gonna ride this dinosaur into the ground."

Now, if this was a label head or even an A&R executive saying this, we'd have smacked him upside the head. But he's a buddy of ours whose (well paying) job it is to polish turds. We gave him a pass.

People over 20 will still pay for music. Who the hell do you think it is buying all those goddamned Paul McCartney CD's from StarFucks? Who bought that horseshit Bon Jovi country record?

We could go on and on about this ad nauseum, but instead we figured we'd hip you to (ANOTHER) unsigned artist who will appeal to an adult with a credit card and a longstanding passion for good music:BRENDAN JAMES (unsigned, unpublished) -- Born and raised in New Hampshire, now based in New York, Brendan James has got the GOODS. Proficient pianist. Good looking. FANTASTIC voice. No label. No publisher. His lawyer is Reid Hunter. Brendan will perform at the Living Room in NY on August 2 and at Joe's Pub on August 21. As Howard Stern's dad once said: "Don't be stupid ya moron." Get it done. Keep your expense card a while longer.