Mega-producer Don Was (Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Iggy Pop, Bonnie Raitt, Ziggy Marley ... ) has launched a new online portal, "Wasmopolitan," featuring free, ad-supported downloads, video concerts and a loose, free-for-all atmosphere that rock music fans should appreciate. "The closest thing I can come to (describing it) is art galleries online," Was told Billboard. "I thought, 'This is what I want to do with music.' " Check it out for video of underappreciated artists such as soul singer Sweet Pea Atkinson as well as interviews with such hard-rock heavyweights as Slash, right, of Velvet Revolver at www.mydamnchannel.com.

— Advertiser Staff

BOOK WATCH

NEW BOOK ABOUT OLD WAIKIKI

We never get tired of photos of old Hawai'i. Arcadia Publishing, which specializes in regional U.S. history books, has released "Waikiki" ($19.99), part of its "Images of America" series. The publisher tapped O'ahu's Kai White, an American studies graduate student at the University of Hawai'i, and Chaminade University English professor Jim Kraus. From "Foreign Diseases and Foreign Gods" to "World War II and Statehood," the book follows Waikiki's cultural and architectural history. Photos of Princess Ka'iulani's 'Ainahau estate, rare shots of Duke Kahanamoku and the old "Crossroads of the Pacific" sign that stood where Hard Rock Cafe now sits revive the past.

— Lesa Griffith

FINAL WORD

"A huge key is having a (record) label that will include crystals in your budget. ... For those who hate the record, blame the crystals. For those who love it, seek them."

New-age indie musician Devendra Banhart | in Billboard. His new CD is "Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon" (XL Recordings), released Tuesday.