PREDICTIONS FOR 2007

With 2006 coming to a close, here's a look into music's future:

* Taking his cue from Bruce Springsteen's We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, Kid Rock will pay tribute to one of his music heroes with an all-covers album called Turn the Page: The (Bob) Seger Sessions.

* With The Sopranos coming to an end, Steven Van Zandt will keep his TV career and his mobster persona alive in Silvio Dante's Streetcorner Serenade, a reality show in which he scours the nation's biggest cities in search of a great undiscovered doo-wop group.

* Fed up with every wailing waif being deemed a diva no matter what her track record may be, Aretha Franklin has the word "diva" trademarked.

* Apple will release its Itty-Bitty iPod. It's the same size as a Tic Tac and is able to store 1 million songs. But when accidentally consumed, it doesn't provide fresh breath.

* The Recording Academy will enact a law forbidding artists from qualifying any song that's included on an all-new album released only in the CD format as a "bonus track."

WHEN NICE IS NECESSARY

Some of his fellow American Idol winners have racked up Grammy nominations and wins.

Down the road, the same might happen for Taylor Hicks. But for now, call him Mr. Manners.

Hicks finished No. 1 on the National League of Junior Cotillions' 2006 list of the 10 best-mannered people. According to NLJC executive director Anne Colvin Winters, Hicks was picked for "the courteous manner in which he treats his fellow performers and fans."

While it seems like a no-brainer for any entertainer to be nice to his or her fans, it probably is even more important for a TV talent show winner. With that fast rise to the top comes a fickle audience, so any grouchy or egotistical behavior could lead to a rapid return to obscurity.

Were Hicks not on American Idol, would he have had the same opportunities in music at this point in his career? No.

Did the American Idol fans put Hicks where he is now? Yes.

Granted, Hicks has come across as friendly and respectful during interviews, and only those close to him know if he's the same out of the spotlight. Given the method in which he became a star, displaying consistent good manners in public is not a choice, it's a requirement -- and a good marketing strategy.

*****

REST HIS SOUL

A music collection isn't complete without at least one album by James Brown, who died Dec. 25 at age 73 in an Atlanta hospital.

For those who need to fulfill this requirement, Live at the Apollo and 20 All Time Greatest Hits! are good starters. Then there's always the boxed set Star Time, which covers the gamut.

MUSIC CITATIONS, VOL. 1

Violations are committed all the time in the music industry.

Not the kind that involve the police, lawyers, out-of-court settlements or even time behind bars. These are common offenses -- namely extremely bad career decisions -- that often are forgivable, but usually not forgettable.

* THE OFFENDER: ROD STEWART

CITED FOR: Releasing too many all-covers albums in a row. First came his four Great American Songbook albums, which arguably was three too many. Now he's back with the pedestrian and pointless Still the Same . . . Great Rock Classics of Our Time.

RECORD WILL BE WIPED CLEAN IF: He locks himself in a room with former Faces bandmate Ron Wood and emerges a few days later with enough original material for a long overdue acoustic-based Stewart disc.

* THE OFFENDERS: RAY MANZAREK, ROBBY KRIEGER and JOHN DENSMORE

CITED FOR: Performing with Chester Bennington. On Nov. 8 in California, surviving Doors members Manzarek and Krieger jammed with Linkin Park "singer" Bennington as part of the kickoff to the Doors' 40th anniversary celebration. That same day, at a related event, the talent-deprived Bennington read some of Jim Morrison's poetry while Doors drummer Densmore played percussion.

RECORD WILL BE WIPED CLEAN IF: They steer clear of Bennington and others like him at future anniversary events. Legends should use better judgment and not slum when marking a milestone. If he were alive, Morrison would not approve.

* THE OFFENDERS: THE RECORDING ACADEMY, CBS and YAHOO.

CITED FOR: Making a mockery of the Grammy Awards ceremony. The aforementioned organizations have joined forces to hold a contest in which an unsigned artist will perform with Justin Timberlake at the Grammys on Feb. 11. American Idol is a big enough forum for unknowns to shortcut their way to fame. One needs to earn his or her way into the Grammy community.

RECORD WILL BE WIPED CLEAN IF: The contest is dropped immediately -- and if they want to score bonus points, they can take the lightweight Timberlake off the list of Grammy show performers, too.

*****

SHORE AUTHOR TO SIGN HIS BOOK

Tim English recalls hearing "Breaking Us in Two," a hit for Joe Jackson in the early 1980s, and noticing similarities to "Day After Day," a smash for Badfinger in 1972.

"Since then, I've always noted cases of apparent musical theft," says English, 45, of Ocean Township. "I've always been intrigued by the subject and I found that other music fans were, too."

English's interest in similar-sounding songs led him to write his first book, Sounds Like Teen Spirit: Stolen Melodies, Ripped-off Riffs, and the Secret History of Rock and Roll (iUniverse), which was released earlier this year.

He'll be signing copies from 1 to 3 p.m. Dec. 23 at the Waldenbooks store in the Ocean County Mall, 1205 Hooper Ave. in Toms River. For more information on this event, call (732) 240-5808.

GLANCING AT THE GRAMMYS

Every year without fail, the Recording Academy makes its share of obvious and ridiculous Grammy Award nominations, as well as a few pleasant (and deserving) surprises.

It was business as usual Dec. 7, when the contenders in the 49th annual Grammy Awards were announced.

* Somebody has some explaining to do about choosing the Pussycat Dolls' "Stickwitu" as one of the five nominees up for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal. Even the most cynical listener would have to admit the song is a tasty piece of ear candy, but Grammy worthy? What's next -- a lifetime achievement award for the Spice Girls?

* Love it or hate it, one thing's for sure about American Idol -- the Academy doesn't look down its collective nose at the show's winners. Carrie Underwood is in the running for Best New Artist, and her "Jesus, Take the Wheel" has been nominated in the Best Female Country Vocal Performance category. (At the last ceremony, first Idol winner Kelly Clarkson took home two Grammy Awards, and fellow Idol champ Fantasia Barrino was up for multiple honors.)

* Members of the hard-core country music community still may hold a grudge against the Dixie Chicks for Natalie Maines' infamous comment about President George W. Bush, but not the Academy. The group is nominated in three of the general field categories -- Record of the Year and Song of the Year (for "Not Ready to Make Nice"), plus Album of the Year (for Taking the Long Way). In country-specific categories, the Chicks are in the running for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal and Best Country Album.

* Sergio Mendes' lone Grammy win came in 1992 in the Best World Music Album category (for Brasileiro). Percentage-wise, Mendes has a pretty good shot at winning another -- two of his songs ("That Heat" featuring Erykah Badu and will.i.am and "Mas Que Nada" featuring the Black Eyed Peas) have been nominated for Best Urban/Alternative Performance. His competition in that category is Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy," OutKast's "Idlewild Blue (Don't Chu Worry 'Bout Me)" and Prince's "3121."

* The evergreen Dion, rock 'n' roll's answer to Tony Bennett, explored his roots with Bronx in Blue, and kudos to the Academy for nominating the under-the-radar CD in the Best Traditional Blues Album category. A victory will be hard-earned because it's up against James Hunter's U.S. breakthrough, People Gonna Talk, plus efforts by blues veterans Tab Benoit, Duke Robillard and Ike Turner.

* It wouldn't be the Grammys without Jimmy Sturr receiving a Best Polka Album nomination. In fact, a Sturr album has won this particular honor in five of the last six years.

The 49th annual Grammy Awards ceremony will air Feb. 11 on CBS.

NOTABLE LOCALS, VOL. 1

Here at the Jersey Shore, there are musicians of various ages with direct Bruce Springsteen lineage and/or no-doubt-about-it style similarities, and then there are those who have no Boss connections whatsoever.

No official poll has been conducted, but it's safe to say that the latter group dominates the Shore scene.

But public perception -- well, that's a different story, thanks to Springsteen's long shadow and influence, plus the lack of original Shore-bred acts to break nationally in the last 20 years.

That perception certainly will not change before Dec. 9. That's when a monument featuring Springsteen and the names of many of his 1960s/'70s contemporaries will be unveiled in Asbury Park, the Jersey Shore's unofficial music capital.

A companion concert featuring E Street Band veterans Garry Tallent and Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez, plus other monument-honored musicians, will take place that night at The Stone Pony.

Congratulations to the honorees. Enjoy your day of recognition. Now let's move on to the current crop of Shore artists.

Up-and-coming musicians everywhere often take a back seat in the mainstream press -- and for myriad reasons, including the lack of space on printed pages and being eclipsed by the familiar and famous.

But thanks to the Internet -- and especially MySpace.com -- tentative fans can learn some basics about unfamiliar bands and listen to their music for free before choosing to buy it or venturing to a club performance.

Surfing the Internet can be time-consuming, though, and with that in mind, below are three solid Shore-based acts worth checking out. (Look for more developing Shore artists to appear in the Sounding Off spotlight down the road.) After all, to ignore the present means there will be little hope for the future.

THE CHILLING DETAILS:

This rock trio, which started out in August 2005, has the chops to play rough ("Little Disaster"), radio-friendly smooth ("GoGo") or shift gears mid-song and stretch out a bit ("Bobby Jones"). Last summer, the band won the Underground Live competition presented by G Rock Radio.

MySpace page: www.myspace.com/thechillingdetails

Upcoming gigs:

Dec. 8: Future Starz Studio/Fairfield, N.J.
Dec. 12: The Court Tavern/New Brunswick, N.J.

MEETS WEST:

This band has a lot in common with the aforementioned Chilling Details: The trio, a fellow Underground Live competition finalist, isn't limited to three chords and by-the-numbers structures.

What's different about Meets West, though, is its shout-along choruses (particularly "That Girl" and "Addict") and punchier rhythm section. Look for the release of a full-length CD in early 2007.

MySpace page: www.myspace.com/meetswest

Upcoming gigs:
Dec. 9: Loop Lounge/Passaic, N.J.
Dec. 15: Knitting Factory/New York

THE PARLOR MOB:

A lot has happened in 2006 for the band formerly known as What About Frank?. In June, the quintet recorded a four-song EP for Capitol Records (due in early 2007) and a video shoot is planned for this month. Good ol' fashioned, '70s-styled riffery and rock-god singing are the band's thing (listen no further than "Bullet" for proof).

MySpace page: www.myspace.com/theparlormob

Upcoming gigs:
Dec. 10: Court Tavern/New Brunswick, N.J.
Dec. 11: North Star Bar/Philadelphia