July 10, 2007 - Prince runs afoul of recording industry again. Prince was one of the first major artists to sell music from his Website. He was an early supporter of peer-to-peer music trading. Now, he's giving away his new album inside a U.K. newspaper before it's officially released. Prince's 10-song album, Planet Earth, will be tucked inside the Mail on Sunday newspaper. Prince's giveaway has angered music retailers, who say the recording artist is helping to cement the notion that music should be free.
July 19, 2007 - MPR’s Roseanne Pereria reports that while farming runs deep in the Hmong culture, many Hmong farmers are isolated both by culture and language from the rest of U.S. agriculture. They often have difficulty getting resources and finding information. Pereria interviews one local grower who work towards changing that.
July 26, 2007 - Got a prime ticket to a hot concert, game, or other event? Well, come August first you can legally resell that ducat for more money than you paid for it. Minnesota is among the last states to legalize scalping. As Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Moylan reports, the new law may change little.
July 31, 2007 - On this episode of Musicheads, guests Tony Lopez and Danny Sigelman talks with host Bill DeVille discuss Prince's Planet Earth, check out the world music sounds of Stereo Spirit by African musician Daby Toure' (and spend some time chewing on just what "world music" means anyway), and share enthusiasm for the John Doe release, A Year In The Wilderness.
August 13, 2007 - As part of the series “Songs from Scratch,” MPR’s Nikki Tundel profiles Stephen Burt, a poet turned lyricist. Burt shares thoughts on writing lyrics and how they interact with the music.
August 14, 2007 - As part of the series “Songs from Scratch,” MPR reporters Sanden Totten, Larissa Anderson, and Chris Roberts get first reactions from three bands as they get the lyrics from writer Stephen Burt, and begin shaping his words into songs.
August 15, 2007 - As part of the series “Songs from Scratch,” MPR reporters Sanden Totten, Larissa Anderson, and Chris Roberts check in with our three bands as they try to turn the words of Stephen Burt into songs.
August 15, 2007 - MPR’s Stephanie Hemphill talks with poet Louis Jenkins about writing poetry and his book "North of the Cities." Jenkins reads a few poems, including "Uncle Axel."
August 16, 2007 - As part of the series “Songs from Scratch,” MPR reporters Sanden Totten, Larissa Anderson, and Chris Roberts invite musicians to come in and record the songs they've written based off poet Stephen Burt’s lyrics.
August 17, 2007 - As part of the series “Songs from Scratch,” MPR’s Nikki Tundel meets with poet Stephen Burt to hear what his words sound like in the hands of the musicians. Segment contains audio clips from completed songs.