What was previously sparse blogging has become practically non-existent. I shall try harder, friends.
One reason for inactivity is that I've been devoting my blogging energy to Popblerd, an excellent collaborative music/pop culture blog. Lots of content, kept up to date (which is a hell of a lot more than I can say for the Music-O-Rama as of late!). Check it out! For the time being, I'll continue to focus my blogging there, but will also try to revive this blog a bit.
I've also stopped posting my radio playlists, mostly out of pure laziness. On that note, dear readers I regret to inform you that my show on WIUP will cease at the end of July (exact date TBD). Time for a break, that's all. Keep on listening though, the station continues to improve - and I think this will continue in the coming academic year (we've already had some great show proposals).
As announced via the band's official website, The White Stripes are calling it quits. I don't find this new particularly surprising, and although they're one of my favorite bands of the last decade, I'm kind of glad they broke up before allowing the quality of their material to deteriorate. Get while the gettin's good, as they say. Plus, it's become increasingly clear that while the White Stripes were once Jack White's primary musical outlet, the band has in essence become a side project, or one of many side projects (the Dead Weather, the Raconteurs, the production work, the Third Man label/shop, etc.). As much as I love the White Stripes, in a way it seems like Jack is at the top of his game when his hands are in various creative pots. At the very least, it's a more interesting situation.
I admittedly came to the White Stripes party a little bit late. It wasn't until my time in Iowa that I got heavily into their music. Ergo, that time and place in my life will probably be my dominant memory association with their music. At any rate, I think it was my growing interest in garage rock (and devouring the Directors' Label Series of video compilations)that led me to look beyond the White Stripes' singles, digging into their first three albums in late 2004. The following summer they released what I still argue is their best album Get Behind Me Satan. Man, I listened to that album at least twice a day every day in the summer of 2005. I was even more stoked when I secured tickets to see them in action at Minneapolis' Orpheum Theater that fall. I remember being incredibly impressed by (mainly Jack's) ability to utilize effects and playing style to make up for the obvious lack of overdubs - and it worked.
I'm sure Jack White will continue to not sleep and compete with ?uestlove for busiest man in the music business, and I'm sure his work will continue to be interesting. End of an era for sure, though!
Someday the band will inevitably release a compilation of music videos, and they've had some great ones. Here's one of my favorites:
I hate video game trailers that barely show the game. I also doubt that this game will "electrify the world," but I'm still curious. I hope the actual on-screen graphic can be MJ though (what's up with that?).
Those of you who are connected to me on Facebook, Twitter or real life know that one of my biggest pet issues in the last year or two has been Net Neutrality. I haven't said much on this blog, but it does merit attention on this forum for a number of reasons. In short, the fate of net neutrality affects: 1. Me as a blogger 2. You as a reader 3. The future of online music distribution, sale and consumption 4. The future of other related online music content: streaming, downloading, YouTube videos, etc. 4. All of us as users of the Internet
If you haven't been paying attention to this issue, you should. Net Neutrality is getting more press attention these days, which is a good thing. One of my favorite resources on the issue is SavetheInternet.com a sister site of media activists/watchdogs Free Press.
Prefatory remarks aside, OK Go frontman Damian Kulash penned a clear, concise and smart piece on the matter that will run in tomorrow's Washington Post. Read on, and I urge you to take action via FCC Comments (though I believe the filing period is closed), communicating with your legislators, etc. (SavetheInternet.com makes this very easy under their "Take Action!" page.)
Without further adieu, Kulash's editorial:
(You can also go to the original Washington Post page here.)
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On the Internet, when I send my ones and zeros somewhere, they shouldn't have to wait in line behind the ones and zeros of wealthier people or corporations. That's the way the Net was designed, and it's central to a concept called "net neutrality," which ensures that Internet service providers can't pick favorites.
Recently, though, big telecommunications companies have argued that their investment in the Net's infrastructure should allow them more control over how it's used. The concerned nerds of the world are up in arms, and there's been a long, loud public debate, during which the Federal Communications Commission appeared to develop a plan to preserve net neutrality.
The FCC's latest action on the question came partly in response to a federal appeals court ruling in April that appeared to limit the agency's authority over Internet service providers. In May, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski issued a plan to classify the Internet under Title II of the 1934 Communications Act. In English, that means the agency would be legally recognizing a fact so obvious that I feel silly even typing it: We use the Internet to communicate. With that radical notion established, the FCC would have jurisdiction to protect the public interest on the Net, including enforcing neutrality. Since announcing its intent, though, the FCC hasn't followed through, and the corporations involved are trying to take the reins before the public servants do.
The first volley, earlier this month, was a proposal from Google and Verizon. The part they'd like us to notice, and the part I was thrilled by, is where they say there shouldn't be paid priority for the transmission of Internet content, meaning all legal data should be treated equally. Hear, hear, Googrizon! We, the stuff-making, freedom-loving, innovation-crazed citizens of the Internet, could not agree more.
Unfortunately, a couple of parts of the proposal radically contradict the noble principle outlined above. ad_icon
First, Google and Verizon would like to exempt wireless Internet, which leads one to wonder just how dumb they think we are. Everyone's heard that the future of the Web is all wireless, but in truth, the present of the Web is all wireless. We are already deep in the iPad/BlackBerry/Android era, and there's no going back. So limiting equality and fair play to wired territory would be kind of like civil rights legislation that dealt with bus seating but exempted schools, the workplace and the voting booth.
Second, the companies slipped in a doozy of an idea for what seems like a hypothetical "fast lane" apart from the "public" Internet. Big bucks could gain access to this separate, specialized service, guaranteeing faster delivery of corporate ones and zeros. Essentially they are saying: Don't worry, there would be no "paid priority," except in the instances where you could pay for priority. Words fail to convey my incredulousness.
Let me tell you why I take this so seriously, and so personally. I've spent a decade working in the music industry, a business in which the big guys block out the rest of us. Creativity and innovation take a distant back seat to money, and everyone loses, even the big guys themselves. They have insulated themselves from change for so long, they've dug their own grave.
Both as a musician and as a music fan, I've always wanted to see the best and most exciting musical ideas rise to the top. But we all know the story of the music business: Success is bought more often than earned. Smart money looks for low risks, so the safest, blandest music attracts the most investment, and only the safest, blandest music makes it to the airwaves and the shelves at Wal-Mart. Creative, innovative artists toil in obscurity, the public is fed rubbish, and, for decades, the industry contentedly made its way to the bank.
Music is subjective, of course, so you don't have to agree with my assessment of what's innovative and what's trash. But business is less so, and the past decade of the music industry is as clear an example as you can find of what happens when the depth of pockets, not the quality of ideas, is the arbiter of success. It's been like a corporate version of the Three Stooges: absurd flailing, spectacular myopia and willful ignorance of reality. Now that the big record companies have made themselves obsolete, bands such as mine can make a better living without their help than we can with it.
The lesson is that insider's clubs don't nurture the best ideas, which is the whole point of markets: Competition is supposed to keep everyone on their toes. Sure, it's a drag that the radio plays such bad music, but it won't sink our economy. Can you imagine, though, what would happen if we let the same thing happen to ideas themselves?
The Internet is the purest marketplace for ideas that the world has ever seen, and the amazing power of such a level playing field has revolutionized everything. Google knows this better than anyone. It started in a garage and became an industry leader by having great ideas, not mountains of cash. And it's wonderful: The Internet works! It rewards innovators such as Google, and it relegates protectionist, defensive, idea-squashing fogies such as record companies to the dustbin of history.
Now that the Internet has been around long enough to have developed its own giants, though, we need to make sure they don't ruin what's great about the technology that made them. We need to make sure they don't crush the idea industry the way the music giants crushed the music industry. I hope Google keeps succeeding (seriously, I'm a stockholder), but it must be because of the power of its ideas, not its power to tilt the playing field.
The Google and Verizon statement, which was roundly criticized when it was released, is unlikely to be the only proposal we'll see from the big boys. A week and a half ago, AT&T, Verizon, Microsoft, Cisco Systems and a trade group called the National Cable & Telecommunications Association met for closed-door negotiations on managing online traffic that didn't include the FCC or the public.
The good news is that the Obama administration has repeatedly promised that it supports net neutrality. Right now the FCC can lastingly protect freedom and equality on the Net. To establish that authority, the agency needs the support of three of its five commissioners. Two commissioners, Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn, Democratic appointees, have loudly backed the effort. What we need is for the chairman to join them and follow through on the plans he laid out months ago. Mr. Genachowski, we, the citizens of the Internet, are with you.
We've lost another great. According to a number of sources including the New York Times, Alex Chilton died of a heart attack today at 59.
Two concurrent events in college introduced me to Alex Chilton: a friend of mine turning me on to The Replacements, and another friend putting Big Star's "The Battle of El Goodo" on a mix. These two events happened relatively close to each other - just as I was getting deep into the Replacements, I started to explore Big Star. The former of course immortalized the latter in the song "Alex Chilton" - never travel far / without a little Big Star (Chilton actually produced the song and its parent album, Pleased to Meet Me).
I eventually bought #1 Record/Radio City based purely on the strength of "El Goodo," and was not disappointed at all. Big Star's approach to rock sounded very 1970s, but managed not to fall into the stylistic traps of their peers. That is to say, while the sound of Big Star is identifiably 1970s, in listening to them you never doubted that their hearts were in it. The very same characteristic attracted me to The Replacements, actually. Muscially, the Replacements aren't exceptional. But the combination of Westerburg's lyric's and the band's overall delivery makes it work, and effectively emotes the tone of any given track to the audience. Big Star accomplished the same feat a decade earlier - they simply made you feel.
"The Ballad of El Goodo" remains the best example of this. No matter how many times I hear it or what my listening context may be, the song just makes you stop and absorb its melodic beauty and persevering lyrics.
As Westerburg sang in "Alex Chilton," "I'm in love / with that song."
Shortly after arriving in Pittsburgh this afternoon, I received a text message from a friend: "Is MJ dead?" I admit I shrugged it off, especially when I found out that TMZ was the source. Then I started getting more calls and texts, with no real certaintly. Then I switched on KDKA where Mike Pintek confirmed that MJ was taken to the hospital following a heart attack (and proceeded to make an off color joke).
Shortly thereafter, friends and I were glued to CNN. After 15 or 20 minutes, the LA Times confirmed his death, followed by CBS News and then NBC.
I was shocked, and remain so. As with many of us, I've been critical of MJ's post-1980s work, particularly his two most recent albums. And of course, his personal life (or at least how he projected it) became even more surreal over the last two decades than it had been even in the 1980s.
But none of that changes those classic records, my personal associations with them, and the global pop cultural impact that Michael Jackson had for over a decade. Music, video, fashion, dance - MJs impact was arguably matched only by the Beatles in its variance and reach.
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There are ways in which Michael Jackson is incredibly important to me as an artist, performer and cultural icon. You all know that I'm a self-professed music geek. Michael Jackson and Thriller marked the first moment at which I was conscious of an artist. Until that point, I had only digested songs. With Thriller, I understood the concept of an album; I understood the notion of an artist's ouvre (though certainly not the term "ouvre!"); I understood (as much as a toddler can) an artist as a multimedia enterprise. With Thriller, it wasn't just about songs. It was about the ubiquity of those songs. It was about videos and image. It was about fashion (many a mother laboring over crafting sequined gloves for their kids in the pre-Bedazzler era). It was about performance. It was about dance. It was in short, about an all encompassing pop cultural phenomenon, the likes of which I truly don't think that we've seen since, and given the state of media and the music industry, may never see again.
One of things that most strikes me is that like many, he was such a part of my childhood, my enculturation, my awareness of popular music and culture. Then I pause and think of my parents, who are mere years older than MJ - the generation who *truly* grew up with Michael Jackson, practically alongside him. It blows my mind a bit.
Without a doubt, Michael Jackson stands as my earliest memory of popular music. My mother had a copy of Thriller that seemed in constant rotation on the family turntable. I remember listening to that record while she did housework and exploring the packaging. The sketches on the inner sleeve. The cover photograph. The gatefold with that baby tiger. Of course my sister and I both taped the LP so that we could listen to it even more frequently and have the increasingly important portability. While the Thriller LP is worth nothing financially because everybody and their mother (literally) has a copy, I'd venture to say that my mom's copy of the album is perhaps the most prized item in my personal collection. My lifelong obsession with popular music can honestly be traced back to that single LP.
And this is what I think is throwing me for a bit of a loop in all of this - that there are so many personal memories attached to those songs. For example:
-dancing to "Thriller" with my sister in our basement and cracking my head open on the brick hearth.
-"We Are the World" (on 45) being the first piece of recorded popular music that was MINE. [Purchased at Century III mall, for you Pittsburghers.]
-Standing on my desk chair trying to mimic the "Smooth Criminal" video (it was the privacy of my bedroom, and the only slick surface available).
-Getting the Bad LP out of the library, taping it, and then playing the title track for show and tell the next day.
-Having nightmares about the Vincent Price rap in "Thriller"
-Captain EO being the highlight of my first trip to Disney World.
-Bad being the first tape that I ever owned
-Constantly watching Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues, a documentary which my grandparents taped off of Showtime.
-Buying Dangerous on Thanksgiving day. Watching the premiere of "Black and White" after the Simpsons; that 'controversial' end sequence
I could go on. And I'm sure you could add many of your personal memories to the list.
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Admittedly, his work fell off beginning in the 1990s. And again, his personal life, or what can be labeled the celebrity freak show, took over. This is when it began to become clear that Michael Jackson was perhaps the most tragic soul in popular music.
Despite his personal and artistic fall from grace, Michael Jackson never really lost relevance. Though I'm not much a fan, his influence is apparent in the pop stars produced in the last decade (most explicitly in Usher, Timberlake). But perhaps his continuing relevance is most clear in the music. The proof is in the pudding, as they say. Throw on "P.Y.T." at any dance night or house party. Or "Billie Jean." Or "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'." Or "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough." And on down the line. See if the dance floor doesn't fill up immediately and vibrantly come to life in a celebration of bodies and/in rhythm.
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Tonight some friends and I went to an '80s night. The DJ wisely played a great deal of MJ, the first of which was "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'." The floor shook. In unison we all danced, clapped, and chanted the "mama se, mama sa, mama cu sa" breakdown. I couldn't help but think that we the crowd (many no doubt children of the '80s) were paying tribute in the best way that we knew how.
While his post-Dangerous music has failed to move me he never left my (our culturally, our) consciousness. I think we always assumed Michael Jackson would be around, even if only as a pop cultural curiosity. His life story (the good and the bad, the bland and the bizarre) were all so surreal that his death seems very unreal, very strange, and very unexpected.
I'm not at all a fan of John Mayer, but his twitter posts sum it up rather well"
I think we'll mourn his loss as well as the loss of ourselves as children listening to Thriller on the record player. - Dazed in the studio. A major strand of our cultural DNA has left us. RIP MJ.
It's 4:25am. Tomorrow will be a big day. I'll end it here, and with what else but a video. RIP, MJ.
I'd already resigned myself to buying the Beatles Rock Band the day it came out. This makes me wish that day was tomorrow:
The game will include 45 songs, although Abbey Road will be available in its entirety as a download. Really, if only one of the albums were to be available in full, they made the best choice there. No word on if further songs/albums will be made available for download. Also of note, I read an interview with Dhani Harrison that mentioned an unreleased song (or songs?) will be included. Hmmm.
I'll pass on the custom instruments, however cool they may look. I can't justify having more than one set of Rock Band instruments (yet).
What's really interesting to me is that unlike previous Rock Band incarnations, the Beatles game will have the capability for three-part harmonies. I imagine that requires purchasing two more microphones, but a nifty feature nonetheless.
Friends - head on over to Ick Music to check out my review of the New York Dolls' new disc 'Cause I Sez So, which streets today.
In addition to all of the other goodies Pete, Michael and all of the other Ickies have for you, you should definitely check out Pete's Springsteen Tour Debut Tracker, to see what surprises the Boss is dusting off at each show as they happen - including links to listen to some of the selections from the "Stump the E Street Band" portion of th shows, which recently have turned up "96 Tears," "I Wanna Be Sedated" and "London Calling!!!!!" Only 2 weeks until the Pittsburgh show!
This comes last minute, sorry. But tomorrow is Record Store Day. Lots of independent stores across the country are holding special events, giveaways, etc. Check out the official website. Coincidentally, I was already planning an afternoon of record shopping, so this is rather serendipitous. Music geeks: we're in synch.
I'll start with an anecdote, then get to the news.
While at Iowa, one of my closest pals and fellow musical geeks was a chap named James. We were also neighbors, and countless nights were spent at my apartment getting sloshed and listening to oodles of music. From the getgo, we bonded over garage rock, the Talking Heads, Gary Numan, Zappa, etc.
One night [after a sweltering summer day, and I had no a/c at the time], James and I watched Frank Zappa's Baby Snakes. After enjoying that and downing quite a few mojitos, James pulled out a VHS tape of Siouxsie and the Banshees, the visual companion to their first singles collection, Once Upon a Time.
I admit I was hesitant. As far as I knew, this was "goth" music. I didn't like "goth" music. My college roommate listened to that stuff constantly. But I humored James, and we popped it in.
And I was shocked.
First of all, as later conversations with he and other folks brought out, Siouxsie and the Banshees are really not a "goth" band. They're heavily influenced by punk (see The Scream LP) and new wave, so-called alternative, and a number of other styles. However, Siouxsie's persona is decidedly of the goth ilk, and her persona has superseded their music in popular culture. So I was pleasantly surprised in hearing songs like "Hong Kong Garden," "Christine" and this, which is probably my favorite Siouxsie track:
I'm not even sure why (but I'm guessing it was based on my reaction to the Siouxsie video), but at some point James made me a tape (yes a tape!) of what can broadly be labeled as British alternative of the 1970s-1980s.
As a genre, I admit that this is something I've come to with age. Earlier, I couldn't get much into bands like The Cure. Too whiny for me at the time, I think. But in late college I very superficially revisited some of that material, and warmed up to it quite a bit.
But anyway, this tape (and the volumes that followed) did much to reintroduce to this music, as well as introducing me for the first time. Siouxsie, Simple Minds (pre-Breakfast Club), Chris & Cosey, etc. I was definitely most taken with Siouxsie, and bought most of the reissues that were available.
I threw on the Once Upon a Time album tonight while doing some work, and thought "will they ever reissue the rest of the Siouxsie albums? Is this going to be another Madonna situation where the first three discs get reissued, but the rest of the catalog sits idle?"
The next set of Siouxsie & The Banshees albums to be remastered, 'A Kiss In The Dreamhouse', 'Nocturne', 'Hyaena' and 'Tinderbox' are set to be released on 6th April 2009. Watch this space.
Score! And another post indicated that the band is in talks with Universal to put out a DVD of their videos (finally!).
So I'm pretty excited for these reissues, so that I may explore the Banshees' catalog further. I'm particularly looking forward to Hyaena, purely for "Dazzle," which is one of the most gorgeous songs I've ever heard:
INDIANAPOLIS - USA Track & Field has amended Rule 144.3, which pertains to the use of headphones and other electronic devices, to enable race directors to choose to allow the use of headphones by runners in non-championship races.
Approved at USATF's 2008 Annual Meeting held earlier this month in Reno, the rule now reads:"The following shall be considered assistance and therefore not allowed:
"(f) The visible possession or use by athletes of video, audio, or communications devices in the competition area. The Games Committee for an LDR event may allow the use of portable listening devices not capable of receiving communication; however, those competing in Championships for awards, medals, or prize money may not use such devices."
The rule previously had banned the use of headphones by all runners. While headphones remain banned for any athlete competing in a USA Championship, they may be allowed by race directors in other circumstances, at the discretion of each race director.
Enforcement of the previous ban was in the hands of race directors, with some enforcing the ban, some simply urging runners not to use headphones and others not enforcing it. Rooted in a concern for athlete and volunteer safety, the rule had drawn passionate feedback from all sides, including from runners who hated the rule and runners who loved it; from volunteers who had seen the logistical difficulties of having participants wearing headphones; and from race directors who supported it and others who had had encountered logistical difficulties enforcing it.
"The difficulty in enforcement was part of the reasoning," USATF Rules Committee chair John Blackburn said. "However, several good-sized races have demonstrated that they were able to enforce the rule. There were strong opinions on all sides of this discussion, both understanding the issues related to athlete safety, race organization, difficulty of enforcement. This resolution appeared to be the best position for USATF overall." Original press release here.
I'm glad that the USATF put some logic into amending this rule rather than the inherently flawed logic that dictated it in the first place. It will be interesting to see how this pans out, though I think it's pretty clear what will happen - the majority of races won't take it upon themselves to ban headphones. As was the case with most races while it was enacted, I imagine most organizers will see posting and enforcing such a rule a logistical nightmare, and will simply let runners make the call. No word on the situation for the Pittsburgh Marathon yet (for which I am now officially registered!), but I'd be shocked if they took up the rule. Yinzers love them some R n' R.
Guns N’ Roses Bring A Free Dr Pepper To All Americans: Here’s How To Get Yours! Published by Chris Harris on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 at 6:00 pm. Now that the November 23 release date for Guns N’ Roses’ oft-delayed, more-than-a-decade-in-the-making album, Chinese Democracy, seems to be a reality, Dr Pepper owes every American a can of soda.
Back in March, the beverage company said that it would give every man, woman, and a child in the U.S. a free can of Dr. Pepper should Guns N’ Roses release Chinese Democracy before the close of 2008. And now, the event no one — certainly not the folks at Dr Pepper — thought would happen is rapidly approaching.
“We never thought this day would come,” Tony Jacobs, vice president of marketing for Dr Pepper, said in a statement issued Wednesday. “But now that it’s here, all we can say is: The Dr Pepper’s on us.”
So, how does Dr Pepper plan on dispensing the free sodas? Well, on November 23 — and only on November 23 — thirsty Americans can log on to the official Dr Pepper Web site and register all of their vitals, so that the company can mail them a coupon for a free 20-ounce can of the drink. Once that coupon arrives in the mail, redeem it wherever Dr Pepper is sold. The last step in the process, according to the press release: “Drink your Dr Pepper slowly to experience all 23 flavors. Dr’s orders.”
As we said, registration for the free Dr Pepper coupons is available only for 24 hours, beginning at 12:01 a.m. ET on November 23, and the coupons will have an expiration date of February 28, 2009. Obviously, there is a coupon limit — one per person.
So get out your straws and chill those glasses, kids — the Dr will be in your fridge soon, all thanks to Mr. Axl Rose.
Buckling under the weight of the Internet radio royalty hike that SoundExchange pushed through last July, Pandora may pull its own plug soon. Despite being one of the most popular Internet radio services, the company still isn't making money, and its founder, Tim Westergren, says it can't last beyond its first payment of the higher royalties. Related Stories
SoundExchange offered a potential reprieve from the royalty hikes, but that turned out to be a red herring to sneak DRM onto web radio. In the end, SoundExchange was able to initiate a massive (and retroactive) royalty hike on Internet radio stations, imposing per-user fees for each song. Adding insult to injury, the royalties on Internet radio will double for big stations by 2010, to an estimated 2.91 cents per hour per listener—far higher than the 1.6 cents that satellite stations would pay. Radio stations don't pay fees like these yet, but don't worry. SoundExchange is working on fixing that problem.
Pandora, its peers, and many of their collective users have petitioned SoundExchange and politicians multiple times, but nothing has worked. According to the Washington Post, Representative Howard L. Berman (D-CA) is attempting one more last-minute deal between webcasters and SoundExchange, one that could lower the per-song rate set last year, but he isn't optimistic. "If [the negotiations don't] get much more dramatic quickly, I will extricate myself from the process," Berman said.
If Berman is unsuccessful, Pandora will have to pay 70 percent of its projected 2008 revenues of $25 million. "At the moment we think this problem in Washington is not going to get solved," Pandora's founder Tim Westergren told the Post, "we have to pull the plug because all we're doing is wasting money."
While it's true that SoundExchange has had DRM and radio broadcast flags on its agenda for some time now, representatives of the company have also justified its stance on higher royalties from revenue and profit standpoints. Stations like Pandora, SoundExchange argues, have a higher profit margin and more value because they can broadcast an unlimited number of songs to their users. This dynamic ability stands in contrast to traditional and even satellite radio stations that broadcast a single song on a finite number of channels.
SoundExchange also argues that Internet radio stations could do a lot more to increase their revenue, become profitable, and pay their (arguably high) fees. As much as it pains us to say it, there may be a point here.
There's no doubt that SoundExchange has been strong-arming the Internet radio industry into oblivion. But most Internet radio stations like Pandora offer their services for free, or they offer accounts with more features at incredibly cheap prices. While some stations display ads on their website, Pandora hasn't done itself any favors by offering desktop clients and a wildly popular iPhone application that rake in millions of users without so much as a single ad. Perhaps, for now, the "just build it and we'll figure out the business model later" approach won't be enough to save this experiment in new media.
-David Chartier -----
I'm not as huge a fan of Pandora as some other folks (my channels always seemed to get pretty repetitive), but I do like the service and think it's a cool concept. And free. I spent many of my office hours at Iowa with Pandora on in the background.
In a way I'm upset, because Pandora is caving to the industry. Yet I totally understand why, and I can't blame them. It's just another example of how ridiculous the attempts to regulate Internet radio have become, not to mention a gauge of the contemporary music industry's insatiable greed. Ultimately something else will pop up in Pandora's place and in fact, some alternatives already exist.
Maybe if the music industry actually gave a damn about music, and maybe if they haven't been gouging consumers for the last 20 years, maybe if artists got more than a pittance of royalties from CD sales - maybe then I could *kind of* see where people like Sound Exchange and the RIAA are coming from. But I'm not telling you anything you haven't heard before.
This week, I'd like to remind you of two discs dropping on Tuesday.
First up (and mentioned previously here) is Jamie Lidell's Jim. I've abstained from listening to advance copies, but I'm told it's hot. Also, my pal Paul and I will be heading to the windy city to see Mr. Lidell in June - should be great!
Here's another one from the new disc, "Another Day":
And also on Tuesday, The Roots release their eighth studio album, Rising Down. As mentioned elsewhere on this blog, The Roots may be on their way to becoming my favorite hip hop act of all time, supplanting Public Enemy. And that's not just because they hail from my homestate of PA (albeit, the other side of the state).
I've missed so many opportunities to see The Roots live, it's ridiculous. And this summer is no exception. They're playing at Carnegie Mellon University, which I missed for being in Iowa. When I'm actually in Pittsburgh in a few weeks, they'll be playing Chicago with Erykah Badu. I look forward to living in a major city next year for many reasons, access to concerts among them.
Anyhow, from Rising Down, here's "Get Busy," featuring the one and only DJ Jazzy Jeff:
Jamie Lidell has a new disc coming out on 4/29. I first came across Lidell's 2005 disc Multiply a little over a year ago, and it's quickly become a favorite. I'm amped for the new disc, Jim, and am thusfar pleased with the tastes Warp has tossed our way, such as this Sly-esque jam:
Pitchfork is also streaming "Figured Me Out (LA Garage Mix)" here.
There will also be a tour following the release, which I will most likely miss out on, although Chicago is a possibility. Any how, check him out - solid.
So the story has been picked up pretty widely in the music press - according to Jermaine Jackson in a recent BBC interview, the Jackson Five, including Michael, are planning to tour in 2008.
Who knows if this will actually happen. They've been talking about it for the last twenty years. The rumor seems to surface every 5-7 years, most recently in 2001. Now, 20 years ago, this would have been a pop cultural dream come true. But in 2007, the question is 'Does anybody really care?'
I've already lost faith in MJ's performance abilities. Yes, I love Motown, yes I love the Jackson Five, and yes I love MJ (to a point). But I have little desire to pay through the nose for tickets to see what I imagine will be a caricature of J5. I could be wrong. It could be the tour of the decade. But I think that's pretty much a long shot.
Of course, this clip from a few years ago is decent, but I'm putting my money on lip synching here:
At any rate, here's an interesting moment: J5 covering Sly on Sullivan:
This Thursday (2/1), the New York Dolls will perform on the PBS program Soundstage (check local listings). Usually the show is geared more towards the VH1 crowd (Michael Macdonald, Fleetwood Mac, Sheryl Crow), so who knows how our beloved Dolls got their high heels in the door. I'm not sure when exactly the show was taped, but it was very recent.
The tragedy is of course, an abbreviated set list. Below is the full set, with asterisks indicating the songs that will be making the broadcast:
Looking For A Kiss* We’re All In Love* Puss ‘N Boots* Gotta Get Away From Tommy* Take A Good Look At My Good Looks* Gimmie Luv & Turn On The Light* Private World* Dance Like A Monkey* Plenty Of Music Pills Volcano Lonely/Arms Punishing World* Rainbow Store Trash* Jet Boy* Personality Crisis*
It still ends up being a pretty good looking set, but I would switch things around (i.e. Plenty of Music and Pills instead of Tommy and Gimmie Love). At any rate, I'm looking forward to it. PBS is one of the few stations I get!
I still haven't seen the newly reformed Dolls, though I've been wanting to from the time they reunited for the Meltdown festival a few years ago. Granted, only two of the real Dolls remain, but this group has inched its way into my top ten artists over the past few years, and I'll take them any way I can.
Visit their website (see sidebar). If you haven't picked up last year's One Day it Will Please Us to Remember Even This, I recommend it. Not stellar, but much better than I would have anticipated. More importantly, you should check out two documentaries, the bittersweet New York Doll and the incredibly entertaining All Dolled Up.
