Looks like roots reggae icon Jimmy Cliff is among this year's batch of -- um -- whimsical inductee choices for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Jimmy Cliff fan, and he most definitely rocks (about thirty times harder than fellow Class of '10 inductees ABBA, and often, for that matter, inductees The Hollies and even Genesis, if we're being honest with ourselves... Peter Gabriel's flute being a substantial argument against the latter), but does Cliff's music actually qualify as rock music?

I could go either way on the issue. There's a dirty hippie deep down inside of me who just wants to, like, totally get rid of labels on music, man, because who are we to suppress creativity? There's another part of me that thinks it's tremendously convenient to be able to at least roughly sort out genres, and certainly major acts within those genres. Jimmy Cliff is a reggae star, no doubt about it. But Jimmy Cliff (alongside Bob Marley, who is also in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, among others) was hugely influential on rock music, as we know it today. And indeed, many members of the Hall of Fame are not actually rock-and-rollers. From blues legend Little Walter and king of Western Swing Bob Wills to folkie Pete Seeger and first lady of gospel Mahalia Jackson, the inductees are clearly a diverse bunch, and when combined into a clear unit, really tell the story of not only rock music, but all of those musics and musicians that combined to make rock what it is today.

So I say why not include Jimmy Cliff. Nope, I don't think his music qualifies as rock and roll, but I also don't think that in this instance, that tiny tidbit really matters very much. Care to argue with me? (Please do, it gives me something to do on these long winter nights.) Leave a comment and give it a shot!

Image (c) Hip-O Records, 1993

Confession: I haven't been bored since the day I bought my iPhone. Seriously... Doctor's offices and traffic lights and the loooong line at the grocery store have become about a kajillion times more tolerable since I can just check my email and get some work done... or, more likely, play one of the half-dozen free Boggle-like games available and/or check to see if anyone has RTed my latest Twitter update. I'm easy to please.

What I haven't done, however, is keep tremendously current on the new fancy schmancy apps that are being delivered every minute. I sort of stocked up early, and haven't gotten much new stuff lately. That might have to change, though, with the new Ziggy Marley app that has just been released by developer Heavenspot. The app allows you to play deejay, mixing and matching and overdubbing five exclusively-created Ziggy Marley tracks to your heart's content. It can be found simply by searching "Ziggy Marley" in the App store on iTunes. At only 99 cents, it seems like a deal to me. Have you tried it? Is it any fun? Leave a comment and let us know!

Image (c) James Green/Getty Images, 2007

Got a reggae fan in your life? (Yes, you do... even if you don't know it. It's a more common affliction than you might think.) Working your way too slowly through your holiday gift purchases? (Aren't we all? Paycheck by measly paycheck...) Stumped as to what you might buy certain folks? (The story of my life.) I might have some answers for you if these three questions happen to be lining up around the same person. I sat down, thought it out, and made a list of some holiday gift ideas for reggae fans. Let me know if it works for you, or if you're still stumped!

All righty, folks, the nominees for this year's round of Grammy Awards are in, and we're looking at a huge range of nominees across the various and sundry world music and ethnic folk categories. The two "big guns" in the world music scene are the Best Traditional and Best Contemporary World Music categories, which is where the highest-profile artists tend to end up. This year is no different, but it is one of the more wild and diverse years in recent memory. The Best Traditional World Music category, for example, contains an oud-sarod fusion pairing, a traditional Irish fiddle and guitar duo, a kora player, an Afro-Cuban choral ensemble, and a Taiwanese percussion group. It's a judicious group, to be sure, with as many cultures as possible being represented, but I don't envy the job of Grammy voters, having to choose between them.

What are your thoughts on these two categories' nominees this year? Feel free to leave a comment and let us know!