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Whether exposing the community to international music or the sounds of the 1950s, WUOG 90.5 FM, has new programs offering a diverse selection.The student-volunteer station has 31 specialty programs, with four new shows this semester: “Odd Man Out,” “Breaking the Ice,” Japan Pops” and “Jitters and Rags.”"There were (disc jockeys) interested and they proposed the shows, and we thought they knew enough about the genres to host the show,” said Amanda Perofsky, a junior from Macon and programming director.”Japan Pops” showcases Japanese music from 8-9 p.m. on Mondays, followed by “Breaking the Ice,” playing Icelandic music from 9-10 p.m.For Jennifer Cole, “Breaking the Ice” DJ and sophomore from Suwanee, the idea for the program came after a call from an excited listener, who heard her playing Icelandic bands, she said.”I realized that Icelandic is kind of its own genre,” said Cole. “The more I researched it, I realized that there are a lot of cool bands out there.”Cole’s program is driven by listeners voting on what genre of Icelandic music to play the next week.Voters chose Icelandic hip-hop for next week’s show, Cole said.”They are really big on indie rock and metal, but have all the same genres as American music.”"Jitters and Rags” features pre-1950s pop music, while “Sundialing” offers “psych-pop garage rock,” Perofsky said.”We thought (”Jitters and Rags”) would be great because not a lot of other stations have it,” said Perofsky. “It’s an interesting concept.”In addition to premiering new shows, “Odd Man Out,” returns from a semester-long hiatus. It highlights the music of all-female bands.Still, pre-existing shows such as “A Matter of Jazz” remain popular with listeners, Perofsky said.”‘A Matter of Jazz’ airs on Sundays for three hours and is a staple of WUOG.”Students interested in DJing for the station can e-mail training@wuog.org, or visit wuog.org.

The furor over the name of rapper Nas’s forthcoming CD perfectly illustrates the divide between the civil rights generation and the younger hip-hop generation, which has benefited from the social advances the elders fought for.

Nas announced in October that he would use a certain racial slur as the title of his 10th CD, which will be released in February - Black History Month. The news came a few months after the NAACP had shown its disapproval of the word by holding a mock funeral for it during its convention in Detroit.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson and representatives of the NAACP quickly criticized Nas’s decision. In response, Nas told MTV News, “If Cornel West was making an album called [racial slur], they would know he’s got something intellectual to say. To think I’m gonna say something that’s not intellectual is calling me a [slur], and to be called a [slur] by Jesse Jackson and the NAACP is counterproductive, counterrevolutionary.”

Tension between the hip-hop and civil rights generations has been brewing since C. Delores Tucker began complaining about the content of rap lyrics in the 1990s. Lately these clashes have become more frequent. Some members of the younger generation criticize older leaders such as Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton for demonizing hip-hop and focusing on the use of the racial slur rather than addressing social ills, such as black-on-black crime or high dropout rates. The other side is represented by such people as actor and activist Bill Cosby, who in his 2007 book “Come On People” blamed the crisis in the poor black community on “the gangsta rap industry and their white enablers.”

Recently, six local representatives of these opposing generations sat down at the Globe’s request to discuss what’s driving a wedge between them. During a three-hour conversation, they moved beyond the surface issues of acceptable words and the influence of hip-hop music to explore the changes in society that have brought the black community to its current state. They discussed the impact of a materialistic society, the effect of the urban public-education system on youths, and the lack of a common sociopolitical goal within the community.

“There’s a real difference, and I don’t think it’s about the music,” says Mel King, a longtime community activist and former state representative who now heads the South End Technology Center. “We were involved in the ’60s, the ’50s. It was like a common direction. The common direction was the civil rights movement, desegregation - it was very clear.”

Now the goals are murkier. Although desegregation occurred, it failed to remove underlying problems.

“Racism has become so multifaceted,” says Chris Conroy, 25, a teaching fellow at South Boston’s Patrick F. Gavin Middle School. “It’s not easy for youth to access a way to fight those things.”

TORONTO — When the late Oscar Peterson was a piano-crazed youth in the 1930s, learning to play jazz was pretty much a do-it-yourself job. It wasn’t as if he could sign up for a course in improvisation or jazz harmony at Montreal High School; he had to find teachers on his own and hope that what they taught would provide the tools he needed.

Peterson was lucky enough to have found an ideal instructor in Paul de Marky, a Hungarian who taught at Montreal’s McGill Conservatory. On a pianistic level, the aspiring jazz musician was in awe of de Marky’s playing. "He’d be sitting there playing and playing, with this beautiful sound that he’d get out of the instrument," Peterson says in Gene Lees’s biography, Oscar Peterson: The Will to Swing.

But he was also lucky, because de Marky was also sympathetic to Peterson’s desire to play jazz. "After the lesson, he’d say, 'What are you doing now, in your field, in the jazz field … ‘ " Peterson says in the book. "I remember playing The Man I Love for him. He’d say, 'I don’t hear the melody singing. … Make it sing.’ "

Aspiring jazz pianists these days don’t need quite so much luck to master both their instrument and their field.

Thanks in large part to the efforts of the International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE), a coalition of musician-educators who will be holding their annual convention in Toronto this week, jazz education has become a standard part of the music curriculum in high schools and universities around the world.

It has been a revolution in music education, and a fairly recent one at that. "The number of schools that offer degrees - not just undergraduate, but graduate degrees and doctoral degrees - has increased enormously," says Paul Read, director of graduate jazz studies at the University of Toronto and the Canada representative on the IAJE executive board.

"We’re offering a doctoral degree in jazz performance at the University of Toronto now," he adds. "In 1991, when I first was hired, I don’t know if there was a doctoral degree in jazz performance in North America, period."

Obviously, mastering the art of improvisation is a part of such an education, but it’s not as if jazz studies consist entirely of Jamming 101. At the university level, it’s not unusual for an aspiring jazz musician to put in as much time studying Bach as bebop, along with intensive classes in harmony, theory and composition.

Jazz is incredibly demanding music, points out Bill McFarlin, IAJE executive director. "It requires very strong musicianship," he says.

"You have to have a command of the mechanics, but you also have to have a command of being a whole musician. You have to be able to cover the whole portfolio if you’re going to be a performer.

"That’s one of the reasons that most jazz musicians who are professionals in today’s world are equally comfortable in a Broadway setting, in a classical setting, in a jazz setting. And being a comprehensive musician only strengthens their jazz playing."

Not that everyone in a jazz studies program ends up playing jazz. A lot of pop musicians, from guitarist Bruce Cockburn to singer Tracy Bonham to members of the progressive metal band Dream Theatre, are products of jazz programs, as are a huge number of studio musicians. In a sense, jazz programs have become, for popular music, what the conservatory system has been for classical.

"There has been a bit of a revolution, but I think of it more as an expansion," Read says. "Occasionally, you still hear the argument that you must play classical before you play jazz, but that notion is really an anachronism. You do have to learn the discipline of playing an instrument and often classical music offers that to a student."

Jazz also draws on many of the creative devices and analytical tools used by classical composers. "I remember when I was in school, we analyzed a Charlie Parker solo for species counterpoint," McFarlin says. (Parker’s counterpoint, he adds, "was perfect.")

Knowing how to create music as well as play it is, perhaps, the greatest difference between the jazz curriculum and its classical counterpart. After all, in order to get a job with a symphony orchestra, a violinist need only play - albeit incredibly well. But, as McFarlin points out, "jazz musicians have to be spontaneous composers, and it’s that spontaneous composition - a.k.a. improvisation - that certainly strengthens our musicianship as players."

Thanks to the phenomenal growth of jazz programs since the IAJE began its advocacy for jazz education in 1968, some have joked that jazz education has become more popular than jazz itself - a notion that took on the weight of actual news after a New York Times article last year suggested that jazz education was growing even as the music itself was dying.

Although flattered by the argument, neither Read nor McFarlin believes that jazz is anywhere near death’s door. "The music has never been a pop music, except maybe in the thirties, when it found its way into the dance halls," Read says. "So I would say that it’s not as popular as it once was, but it’s as strong as it’s ever been.

"The reason I say that is that recording the music has just exploded. There are so many people who are putting recordings out and just distributing them worldwide - that just never would have been imagined in the days of Charlie Parker."

True, that hasn’t translated into the sort of sales figures that would make a record executive drool, but that doesn’t mean the audience isn’t there. "I truly believe more people are listening to jazz today than 10 years ago, because of satellite radio and iPods and these other things," McFarlin says. "I just don’t think it’s being properly measured."

*****

The IAJE will bring thousands of jazz musicians and educators to Toronto for its annual convention, which runs from tomorrow through Saturday. Naturally, there will be panel discussions and workshops, on topics ranging from The Jazz Trio to Reducing Unnecessary Tension in Performance. But there will also be performances. Some highlights open to the public:

Jazz Masters Gala

Originally, the biggest and most prestigious event - Friday’s concert and awards ceremony that will honour the late Oscar Peterson - was to be open to the public. But the IAJE decided late last week that the event will be open to conference attendees only. Still, those who will attend will see pianist Oliver Jones paying tribute to Peterson as a soloist with the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra. Weekday highlights

Things start tomorrow with an 8 p.m. performance at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre’s Constitution Hall featuring New York Voices with saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera, as well as guitarist (and Herbie Hancock sideman) Lionel Loueke. At 11 p.m., the Scandinavian-inspired combo Nordic Connect plays the Convention Centre’s John Bassett Theatre.

On Thursday, saxophonist Courtney Pine hosts an evening of English jazz, with Martin Taylor, Dennis Rollins and others, starting at 8 p.m. in Constitution Hall.

At 11, pianist Kenny Werner will lead the Delirium Blues Project at John Bassett Theatre.

Weekend highlights

Saturday sees Constitution Hall filling with the sound of Canadian jazz, thanks to a showcase featuring clarinetist François Houle, Barry Romberg’s Random Access Large Ensemble, plus an all-star quintet with saxophonist Rich Wilkins, trumpeter Guido Basso, pianist Don Thompson, bassist Dave Young and drummer Terry Clarke. It starts at 8 p.m.; tickets are available through Ticketmaster, 416-870-8000 or http://www.ticketmaster.ca.

Finally, although Darcy James Argue’s experimental big band Secret Society North, featuring such stalwarts as Christine Jensen, Kevin Turcotte, Tim Hagans and Linda Allemano, is playing at IAJE, the public won’t have access to the show. Fortunately, the group is also playing at the Tranzac (292 Brunswick, Ave.) at 8 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $15, and available at the door.

J.D.C.

Whether it’s Toby Keith claiming he’ll “never smoke weed with Willie again,” or Snoop Dogg waxing poetic about sipping on “Gin and Juice,” popular music and its association with certain indulgences has been a parental point of concern for many years.

But can popular music really lead kids to drug and alcohol use?

According to a recent national study, out of the 279 most popular songs of 2005, one in three songs contained one or more references to substance abuse.

While rock ‘n’ roll has long been a target of contention, according to the study only 14 percent of rock songs contained any reference to drinking or drug use. Rap music, researchers said, is by far the biggest offender - with 86 percent of the songs containing some reference to drugs or alcohol.

Country music comes in second in the survey, with 37 percent of songs referencing drinking or drugs. Pop music came in last, with only eight percent of songs containing such references.

But do these lyrics actually have an effect on human behavior - more specifically, the young people who are doing most of the listening?

“We don’t know if it really makes a difference,” said study author and University of Pittsburgh Assistant Professor of Medicine Dr. Brian Primack. “Maybe kids listen to songs with alcohol, and it doesn’t affect them one way or another. Maybe it affects them a great deal. It’s good for us to know that this exposure is there so that we can go the next step. We can talk to kids about it and say what we think is correct, and what is not.”

For Tahlequah musician Matt Gurley, the problem isn’t the music. It’s something much larger.

“I don’t think music is the cause. I think it’s alienation, loneliness, boredom, and the shock of societal indoctrination,” Gurley said. “People want to take risks, harbor secrets, and most of all, escape the drudgery of everyday life, so they develop addictions, whether they resort to bingo, infomercials, religion, marijuana, shopping, sports, or music - which is very much an addiction all its own.”

Human nature, said Gurley, will lead people to drugs or alcohol much faster than any lyric.

“People also get into drugs and alcohol because of repression - tell them not to do it, and they think, ‘Man, this must really be fun if all of these uptight conservatives want so badly to keep me away from it!”’ Gurley said. “It’s human nature. Put a sign on a wall that says, ‘Do not look over this wall,’ and everyone will scramble to get a good view.

“If the people in control really wanted to quell drug popularity, they would start a big ‘Drugs are Cool’ campaign. When will they learn?”

Garron Marsh writes for Tahlequah (Okla.) Daily Press.

Kate Nash: Meet the new queen of effortless, effervescent British pop. With Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen out of the way, America is hers for the taking. Jan. 12 at Popscene, 330 Ritch St., San Francisco. For a preview, go to www.myspace.com/katenashmusic.

Cat Power: “Jukebox” is another collection of lazy, calm covers of classics from Chan Marshall. This time she lends her starry-eyed magic to songs made famous by James Brown, Frank Sinatra and, in at least one instance, herself. Jan. 22. For a preview, go to www.myspace.com/catpower.

Shelby Lynne: On her latest album, “Just a Little Lovin’,” the insolent country singer takes on nine choice tunes from the Dusty Springfield catalog, including “The Look of Love” and “I Only Want to Be With You.” That loud bang? Heaven just inched a little closer to Earth. Jan. 29. For a preview, go to www.myspace.com/shelbylynne.

Natasha Bedingfield: Known best as the girl who sings the “Hills” theme song, this British Top 10 mainstay returns with “Pocket Full of Sunshine,” a second album of crispy, clear vocals, billion-dollar beats and, on the single “Love Like This,” a duet with Sean Kingston. Jan. 22. For a preview, go to www.myspace.com/natashabedingfield.

Kylie Minogue: She walloped breast cancer. Now the petite Australian sensation gets back to business with “X,” an album of unapologetically frothy disco music from the future, as envisaged by Daft Punk and mad Sony engineers. Collaborators include Groove Armada, Scissor Sisters and Boy George. Feb 12. For a preview, go to www.myspace.com/kylieminogue.

Siouxsie: Having disposed of her husband, band and redundant last name, the former leader of the Banshees returns to malevolent form on her solo debut, “Mantaray.” The single “Into a Swan” is not just an amazing tune but also a statement of intent: “I’m on the verge of an awakening.” Feb. 13 at the Fillmore, 1805 Geary Blvd., San Francisco. For a preview, go to www.myspace.com/sioux siemantaray.

k.d. lang: Touring behind her first album of original material in eight years, “Watershed,” the Canadian singer is set to confirm she’s in possession of the most sweeping, romantic, lovely voice in all of pop. March 25-26 at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, 3301 Lyon St., San Francisco. For a preview, go to www.myspace.com/kdlangmusic.

The Breeders: With the Pixies reunion having run so far it ultimately ran into the ground, Kim Deal returns to doing what she does best: making offbeat, quietly intense music with her greasy-haired twin sister, Kelley. Our goose bumps are trembling in anticipation of the Steve Albini-produced “Mountain Battles.” April 8. For a preview, go to www.myspace.com/thebreeders.

E-mail Aidin Vaziri at avaziri@sfchronicle.com.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - “Somebody Scream! Rap Music’s Rise to Prominence in the Aftershock of Black Power” is the story of this powerfully influential and yet surprisingly little-understood American musical genre.

The story has been told several times in the past few years; there would seem little need for yet one more account. Journalist Marcus Reeves’ first book more than makes the case for its necessity, however, even if the going is rocky at times. Couched in the lively prose of a cultural reporter, his thesis is that generations with little direct connection to the civil-rights or black-power eras find in rap culture “the popular voice of America’s black, brown and white underclass. (Those huddled masses yearning to breathe free and, one day, be rich enough to drive off in a Bentley.)”

To illustrate this idea, Reeves takes readers through a muscular narrative of rap music that gets more done by leapfrogging from one milestone to the next, avoiding the risk of spreading itself thin by attempting to be definitive. Each chapter places a particular artist or group in the context of what was happening simultaneously in racial politics, whether it was the assault on black teenagers at Howard Beach that inspired Run-DMC or the Million Man March with Tupac Shakur.

This format forces Reeves to make some rather abrupt transitions, segueing from a vibrant take on the factors that contributed to the rise and fall of a particular rap icon to a racially tinged news development that doesn’t always relate. He clearly has done more research on the music side; his chapter on the psychology of Public Enemy is especially on-target.

While the irony of the statement was probably lost on the former football star, we could probably all learn a thing or two from it - predictions are notoriously tricky.Last year, for example, while most critics rightly agreed Mika was going to be a big star, few saw Leona Lewis returning from her American break to become the year’s real success story.But difficult or not, it’s not going to stop us having a crack at this forecasting lark ourselves.Over the next 12 months, some of the biggest artists in the world are going to be releasing albums. If 2007 was the year of new acts - Klaxons, The View, Jamie T, The Enemy, Kate Nash - 2008 will be the year the likes of Madonna, REM, Coldplay and Oasis remind us all why they’re so well known.Perhaps the biggest band of them all, U2, will be giving us their 12th album. Little is known about the as-yet-untitled record, but as the band have recalled producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, the men who helped craft The Joshua Tree, we should expect something very special indeed.We can also expect albums from Portishead, who haven’t released anything since their self-titled second album in 1997, The Kooks, who have now sold around two millions copies of their 2006 debut Inside In/Inside Out, and Eminem - who should have collected plenty of material to rap about in the four years since his last record.Late last year, Radiohead shocked the music industry by releasing album In Rainbows on their own website, allowing fans to pay what they wanted for the download. The move from the Oxford quartet came after Prince gave his last album away with the Mail On Sunday and since then the likes of The Charlatans and Ray Davies have also joined in, giving their music away with newspapers. So is this the way the industry is going? Up until a few years ago, artists would tour to promote sales of their records, but there’s been a reversal of that tradition - now albums are released to promote live shows. For example, The Police, who reformed last year, grossed almost £70m from the US leg of their tour alone. Record labels are getting fed up with this situation, however, as they get no revenue from gigs. Over the next year or so, expect to see labels getting into concert booking and promoting, and artists signing new types of contracts with their employers.Typically one step ahead of the competition, Madonna has already made her move and lined up alongside Live Nation. Traditionally a tour company, it’s now venturing into the record industry. The deal Live Nation has with ‘Madge’ is worth an estimated £120m and entitles it to a slice of all the superstar’s forthcoming earnings from albums, tours and merchandising. It was an unprecedented move at the time, but rest assured this time next year Madonna won’t be the only artist involved in such a deal.Downloads can only increase in popularity too. Around 95% of all singles in the charts are now bought online, and it won’t be long until the figure for album sales catches up, although it’s highly unlikely the CD will die out this year, or even by the end of the decade. The death knell was sounded for vinyl years ago, yet it’s still a popular format for music lovers.So which new artists should we be looking out for?As previously mentioned, Leona Lewis was 2007’s runaway success. She released both the biggest selling single of the year in Bleeding Love, and the fastest-selling debut album in UK history, but don’t expect the most recent X Factor winner Leon Jackson to have similar success. It’s a safe bet the young Scot’s fame will vanish almost as quickly as it arrived.Duffy, however, is a different story. The beautiful North Walian is being touted as ‘the next Amy Winehouse’, although we should point out that’s merely a reference to her classic-sounding voice and epic songs, not her lifestyle. Two performances on Later… With Jools Holland have exposed her to a wide audience, and with songs that can appeal to both Radio 1 and Radio 2 listeners, she’ll have no trouble finding fans of all ages.The same can also be said of Adele and the more folk-based Laura Marling, who have fast become the names to drop of late. They’ll both release debut albums soon.Hailing from Manchester and with an outspoken singer called Liam, there’s something very familiar about The Courteeners. Thankfully, they are distinctive, and have the songs - namely What Took You So Long? and Acrylic - to make them a massive success in 2008. Also set for big things are Joe Lean And The Jing Jang Jong, The Troubadours, These New Puritans, Cajun Dance Party and Glasvegas.Ploughing a different furrow, Royworld are also worth your attention. Recalling the likes of Keane and The Feeling, their lush pop will be all over the radio later on in the year. Check out Elasticity on their MySpace page if you need proof.So there you have our predictions for 2008. Listen up, it’s going to be an amazing 12 months.

Celine and Rene, Paul and Heather, John and Yoko - Yulia and Glyn?

Popular Christchurch classical and pop singer Yulia Townsend has announced her engagement to Glyn MacLean, her manager and pianist.

In a press statement charged with all the ardour of new love, Mr MacLean drew attention to the celebrity engagement.

"Isn't it funny that you can think: 'I'm her manager, I must be professional … only to find that the real integrity lies in finding your true feelings and testing them?" he wrote.

In the end, "to not love Yulia would be the greater crime", he wrote.

Meeting in person yesterday, he was equally passionate.

"I shoot from the hip as a writer. It's how I feel."

The pair met in the middle of last year before moving to Wellington and declaring their love in an internet conversation at Christmas.

"That's when we first confessed our love to each other," Yulia said.

Age is one issue the couple have overcome - Mr MacLean is 39, and Yulia is 22.

"I guess you could draw parallels to Celine Dion and her husband Rene, in that there is an age difference," he wrote.

The age gap between the Canadians is 26 years.

"Wisdom knows no such boundaries, and Yulia's own life path has been remarkably similar to mine."

The wedding was likely to be in next month, though they would just as happily get married next week, Mr MacLean said.

Yulia moved from Russia to New Zealand in 2002 after Kiwi Bill Townsend and her mother wed.

Rock-classical fusions rarely float, but the Dallas Symphony Orchestra meshed well with Zebra singer Randy Jackson and his taut four-piece band on epics like “The Rain Song” and “Kashmir.” The orchestra charged with gusto through “The Song Remains the Same,” but the best surprise was “Since I’ve Been Loving You”: Newly added violins made the song weep like B.B. King’s “The Thrill Is Gone.”

With Mr. Jackson’s band playing at 110 decibels, the DSO couldn’t be heard half the time. Other times, it was totally unneeded. If any song in the history of music doesn’t require flutes, it’s “Black Dog.”

A good blend of hits (”Stairway” was the encore) and lesser-known tunes (”Four Sticks,” “Dancing Days”) won over a capacity crowd made up of graybeards and young-’uns who weren’t even alive when Zeppelin broke up.

Thor Christensen

Britney Spears got all the headlines. Miley Cyrus got all the complaints. And Radiohead got all the praise.

It was an eventful and pivotal year in popular music.

While CD sales declined big time (to no one’s surprise), the rules of the game began to change significantly. Radiohead became the most prominent act to let fans decide how much to pay to download an album (and a very good one, at that). MySpace.com launched hit singles by complete unknowns, including Colbie Caillat and Ingrid Michaelson. The Eagles gave Wal-Mart the exclusive rights to their first studio album in nearly 30 years. Prince distributed 2.8 million copies of his new CD free in a London newspaper. And Madonna signed a revolutionary new multi-purpose deal with concert promoter Live Nation to encompass recording, management and concerts.

The music-industry machine is broken. The visionary artists aren’t trying to fix it; they are merely trying to invent their own maverick models, which may not work for other artists.

Miley Cyrus, 15, who plays the uber-popular tween queen Hannah Montana on TV’s Disney Channel, proved that the current concert-ticketing system doesn’t work. The most in-demand tour ticket in history, Miley caused a massive controversy among moms this fall. It was a volatile combination of newbie concert-ticket buyers - who don’t hesitate to spoil their little Madelines - battling resourceful scalpers equipped with high-tech software. In the end, the Moms blamed Miley and her poorly run fan club and touring operation.

The only hotter ticket was Led Zeppelin’s one-day blockbuster reunion this month in London, which elicited a staggering 1 million requests for the 20,000 tickets.

Reunions ruled all year, with the Police, Van Halen, Genesis, Smashing Pumpkins and the Spice Girls (?) all hitting the road.

The decade’s biggest pop juggernaut, “American Idol” lost its Midas touch this year - thankfully - but former “Idol” finalist Chris Daughtry managed to score 2007’s best-selling disc (”Daughtry,” released in 2006). To show you how dreadful CD sales have been in 2007, the best-selling new title of the year, at 2.77 million, is a Christmas album, “Noel,” by Josh (Oprah Loves Me) Groban.

No pop figure garnered more attention in 2007 than Britney Spears - for all the wrong reasons. Bad parenting, bad hair, bad performance on the MTV Video Music Awards. Actually, her CD - remember she released “Blackout”? - wasn’t half-bad. But no one really cared.

Speaking of train wrecks, by year’s end Amy Winehouse was garnering more attention for bad behavior than for her music. That’s too bad, because she is my artist of the year. Her “Back to Black,” a forward-looking retro R&B collection with modern lyrics and seductive vocals by the unforgettable young woman with beehive hair, Cleopatra eyeliner and sailor tattoos, was my favorite album of 2007. Throw in the U.S. release of Winehouse’s 2003 U.K. debut, “Frank,” a jazzier but equally sharp-tongued effort, and she had a one-two knockout punch.

Runners-up for artist of the year are Arcade Fire, an original, visionary band that made a superb album and presented an even better concert, and Robert Plant, whose left-field collaboration with Alison Krauss proved to be as inspiringly understated and organic as his reuniting with Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham was inspiringly obvious and thrilling.

What do we have to look forward to in 2008? A Led Zeppelin reunion tour; trials for R. Kelly (for child porn) and Phil Spector (for murder, once again); Jersey Week in the Twin Cities (Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi and the Frankie Valli-inspired musical “Jersey Boys” will all be here in mid-March), and Britney’s 16-year-old baby sister, actress Jamie Lynn Spears, showing off her parenting skills.