Some Notable Quotes

I've come across two quotes that are worthy of reprint, at least in my world.

Joni Mitchell, New York Magazine:
"All my battles were with male egos.  I'm just looking for equality, not to dominate.  But I want to control my vision."   

Being a female and working in the music industry, I know exactly where she is coming from.  It seems to me that it's still this way.  No matter how many females are at the top of the charts or working behind the scenes, we still haven't made significant inroads. The music biz is still a good old boys network.  You couldn't imagine how sickening it was to hear male radio promotion people tell me, we can't get your your artist (who was female) added to radio station playlists because there are already 2 female artists on the charts.  What???  In their little scope of the world, two female artists was enough in the top 10.  They couldn't handle having a few more.   What would happen?  Would radios start exploding?

Howard Stern this week on Sirius:
(This might not be verbatim, but it's close)
"The one thing I'm going to miss when I die is listening to this song."

I've been a huge fan of Cheap Trick since their second album.  If You Want My Love is another in their string of perfectly written and executed songs.  Rick Nielsen is a songwriting genius.  Robin Zander has one of the best rock voices. This song was recorded without bassist Tom Petersson, who was on hiatus from the band.  

America's Got Howard Stern

Howard Stern announced on his radio show that he will be a judge on next season's America's Got Talent. The live shows will take place in New York. He will go on the road for the tryouts, but it will not interfere with the radio show, although Robin was all set to move to LA. His involvement starts in February 2012.

Howard who takes judging siriusly (spelling intended) said, "There will be no goofy acts". I'm going to be a no nonsense judge."

As for his appearance on the show, he plans on wearing a suit with no tie. His hair will be "neat and coiffed."

"It's going to be something else. I am prepared."

Phoebe Snow RIP

Just listening to the Wrap Up Show on Howard 100 and was sad to learn that Phoebe Snow passed away.  According to ABC News, she died from complications of a brain hemorrhage she suffered in January 2010.  As her manager Sue Cameron put so well, "The loss of this unique and untouchable voice is incalculable."  Gary Dell'Abate said he loved having her on the show. She always came on reluctantly, but loved the feedback she received.  She was a devoted mom to her daughter, who was brain damaged and died at age 31. 

BIlly Joel on Howard Stern

Although he complained about the early hour's effect on his voice, Billy Joel was charming, frank and informative in his interview today with Howard Stern.  Howard warmed up the piano early in the show by playing Twilight Zone.  Billy wanted to take a bathroom break midway through his interview.  Howard was fearing that Billy would leave and not come back, so he instructed Gary to lock all the exits. Not only did Billy return, but it sounded like he was willing to stay all day. He'd love to come back as long as it was after 5pm.   What is Billy up to these days? He is the owner of a motorcycle shop that he does not expect to make any money.  20th Century Motorcycles opened this week in Oyster Bay, LI. 

Here are some interesting tidbits from the interview:

"Laziness can be a terrific ingenuity."  Billy was talking about how Scenes From An Italian Restaurant came about.  He referred to the B Side of Abbey Road.  George Martin took three unfinished songs and pieced them together as one. Billy said he spoke to Paul McCartney about this and that's exactly how that happened.  He also had three unfinished songs and pieced them together for Italian Restaurant. 

Billy dissected and later played Summer, Highland Falls.  He wanted the music to reflect his ups and downs, his sadness and euphoria.  He played the basic outline of the song which was musical ups and downs and then filled it in to what we now know as that wonderful song. 

Bob Dylan, always protective or over the top, depending on how you look at it, had a guy deliver a tape of the song To Make You Feel My Love that he wanted Billy to cover.  Billy said Bob sent the guy so he could take the tape back.  The song appears on his Greatest Hits Volume lll. 

There was a brief conversation about forming a one time super group with Sting and Don Henley.  It never got past the talking stage.

Allentown was originally going to be called Levittown, but the lyrics were so boring, he decided to change locales. 

Big Shot was written as if Mick Jagger were singing to his then wife, Bianca.  Billy went to dinner with the both of them and it seemed to him that Mick was over Bianca and her lifestyle. 

A little insight into a prolific career. 

Baba Booey and Casey Kasem

Two media greats Baba Booey (Gary Dell'Abate) and Casey Kasem come together for this trailer for Gary's autobiography,  They Call Me Baba Booey.  Casey narrates the ad for the book which comes out November 2nd. Gary follows in the footsteps of boss Howard Stern and his co-workers who also penned books, Robin Quivers and Artie Lange.  Some of the funniest Stern moments were Jackie Martling's readings of Robin's book.  It would be great to bring him back to take on Baba Booey.  Fred Norris is the last hold out. He is also the least vocal of the group, except when getting fired up over whether Carol Alt is a supermodel or not.  Will he be the next to pen his life story?

Last Play At Shea: Billy Joel's Candid Interview with Howard Stern

'THE LAST PLAY AT SHEA' Theatrical Trailer from D&E Entertainment on Vimeo.

Howard Stern has once again proved to be the best interviewer in media.  He engaged Billy Joel in a phone interview today that was revealing, passionate and funny.  Joel was on to promote the one night (October 21st)  in theaters only showing of Last Play At Shea, which is a documentary he financed about not only his last concert at Shea Stadium, but also takes a look at the history of Shea.  As Darryl Strawberry says so eloquently in the trailer, "Yeah it was a dump, but it was our dump."

It in his interview Billy said Shea Stadium is basically the point where Long Island meets New York City. He grew up a Dodger fan and moved over to the Yankees when the Dodgers abandoned NY.  When The Mets appeared on the scene, he was happy to have National League baseball back.  He's a New York baseball fan. 

When Billy saw the Beatles, he decided he wanted to be a musician.  He even wore a Wells Fargo badge during his performances as Shea, just as the Beatles had done in the 60's.  He said The Beatles were driven in a Well Fargo truck to Shea and the driver gave them the badges which they wore.  Billy describes driving to Shea for the last performance and gets a call from Paul McCartney saying "I'm not sure my flight will land on time to make it to the show."  Billy explained that air traffic control gave Paul's flight clearance to land before others, so Paul could make it to Shea for the show.  The thrill must have been unbelievable for Joel.  It all came full circle. 

It seems that every detail has been covered in this documentary.  Pete Flynn deservedly gets his due.  If you're a Mets fan, I don't have to tell you who he is.

On the non-baseball side, Billy talked about his father who was from Germany and left the family when he was 8.  His father's family lost a profitable business to the Nazis. His dad was a frustrated musician, although Billy said he loved hearing his father play the piano.  He has a half brother who is a musical conductor. 

Howard asked him about his favorite song from his catalog.   He named a few including  Lullabye,  New York State of Mind and Summer Highland Falls, which is probably my favorite Billy Joel song.   Surprising, Billy said his favorite albums are the later ones, from Glass Houses on.  Was his mother mad that he decided to be a musician and skip school?  He said she just wanted him to be fulfilled and happy.  Here is the money point:  Billy said, "I had the fire" which is probably why he was so successful after many pitfalls, including having the Cold Spring Harbor album incorrectly mastered. The whole album was sped up, making him sound like a chipmunk.  Of course no interview of Howard's would be complete without asking about groupies.  Joel said they didn't have those kind of groupies.  The Billy Joel groupies wanted to be the band's friends. 

"Don't take shit from anyone." Howard said the last line he utters to the audience must have been calculated.  Billy was happy that the bullying issue is being addressed. He hates bullies.  To counter the bullies that would torment him on his way to piano lessons, he took up boxing.  His distaste of bullies probably led to him closing the show with that line. 

Howard mentioned he only has 29 shows left on Sirius (I guess the talks to keep him there have ceased) and he wants Billy to come back.   They'll bring in a piano and he'll talk about his songwriting (he writes the music first and the lyrics come later).  I agree with Howard, I could have listened to Billy talk all day. Can't wait for him to return to the show. 

Interesting Reads on Music & Broadcasting

The Wall Street Journal had a few interesting reads over the past week:

The touring business is in a slump. Could be high ticket prices/fluctuating ticket prices, high service fees/no service fees that have the consumers confused and waiting before they purchase tickets. Read

Fortune's Fool is a new book by Fred Goodman (Mansion On The Hill) that profiles Edgar Bronfman Jr. He is currently chief executive of The Warner Music Group. The book takes a look at the history of the Bronfman family and Edgar's foray into the music business. Read Review.

Federal courts threw out the FCC's ruling on indecency. As per the WSJ article: A three-judge panel of the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York said the Federal Communications Commission's indecency policies violate the First Amendment and are "unconstitutionally vague, creating a chilling effect that goes far beyond the fleeting expletives at issue here." Read article. As Howard Stern said this morning, don't get too crazy over this. He's sure the FCC will have something up their sleeve to counter this. His fights with the FCC have been well documented.

Howard Stern Rumors

The Wall St Journal has a well-thought out piece on Howard Stern and his next career move. There is much speculation on him taking over for Simon Cowell as a judge on American Idol. This would be a very welcome addition. With the subtraction of Simon, who is the star of the show, there are few people that could slip into the role, make it his own and keep the ratings alive. Howard has said on his Sirius/XM show if they want to offer him $100 million dollars to judge a karaoke contest, he's all for it.

Speaking of American Idol, the show has really lost a lot of it's charm this year. The loss of Paula Abdul as a judge is significant. She made the contestants feel at ease. Her comments were coming from the heart and her occasional wackiness made the show great. You don't see Simon and Kara getting into scuffles. Simon seems like he's checked out of the show already. His comments are short. There is a glaring hole where his critiques used to be. Did Kara really think that Andrew Garcia's cover of Paula's Straight Up was genius as she exclaimed on TV? It's a great song and it was a nice cover. Led Zeppelin ll, Pet Sounds, London Calling, Rubber Soul-ok, there is genius, but a cover of Straight Up, not sure it lives up to her hype.

Dane Cook

I knew nothing about Dane Cook, except that he was a comedian, until I heard him on Howard Stern this morning. Musicians trying to make a name for themselves could take a page from his book. When his career was stalled at age 27, he decided to post video of himself whether it be from a club gig or a unfinished joke on his website and MySpace page. He said he originally had 9 followers and he knew their names. He kept adding to that 9 and at the height of MySpace, he had 2.5 million followers. He's hosting a show at Madison Square Garden tonight and he's made several movies. If you keep at your craft and you're dedicated and consistent, it will happen.

He also talked about his half-brother who is in jail for allegedly stealing what Dane estimates to be $11 million from him while his brother served as his manager. The brother is awaiting trial. Dane's career continues to pick up steam.

I Cancelled My Sirius Subscription

After months of contemplating canceling Sirius, I finally did it.
Reasons for doing so:

• Reception has not improved since I've had the service, which was close to 4 years. In a one hour time frame, I would have a minimum of 3 reception interruptions.
• My two favorite channels: Disorder and Jazz were axed. They kept the XM jazz channel which leans middle of the road jazz.
• I was solely listening to Howard Stern and he's into the second week of his vacation. I will miss Howard, but for the 3 hours a week I got to listen, it wasn't worth it. At least they got over focusing non-stop on Artie's addiction problem.

Sirius raised their rates this month and took away Internet access. There is an additional fee for that service now. I've read that people who tried to cancel had their subscription had it extended for a few month gratis. I was not offered that, but was asked why I was canceling.

It was a great idea when it launched, but like most things music industry, it lost its focus or became too focused, rendering it useless.

Young Girls Crown A New American Idol

The NY Times takes an analytical look at American Idol, discussing the well run machine that it is. The author states that America voting Kris Allen as the winner, reflects the mood of the country in selecting the more down home choice. I think he won because the young girls love him and with the exception of Howard Stern, they are probably the ones who voted and voted more than once. With close to 100 million votes cast, American Idol is the one place in the media that can draw the same numbers that a show like The Ed Sullivan Show used to.

Paul McCartney on Howard Stern

It seems to be an all Beatles Blog Day at Kudos & Flowers. Howard Stern is the best celebrity interviewer there is. Today's Paul McCartney chat was too short. They just started to get the ball rolling and it was time for him to leave. Howard as expected touched on Paul's encounters with Christie Brinkley, Renee Zellweger and Rosanne Arquette. The first two he said were a Hampton's party and a lunch-nothing more. He didn't elaborate on Ms Arquette. Sir Paul talked briefly about his new album Electric Arguments released under the name The Firemen. He chose the name because his father was a fireman and he also loves to cut down brush and create trails with his chain saw. That must be why he is always in such a good mood. He lets it all out in the woods. He recorded the lyrics on the fly in the studio. The spontaneity works. Highway is a fun, melodic romp with the energy of the first Wings record. I hear a touch of Peter Gabriel in songs such as Lifelong Passion. The album doesn't sound like a bunch of songs that were sitting on a shelf waiting to be recorded. There is freshness to the work. The record was produced by Youth.

He loves being a dad to his youngest. He hangs out in the Hamptons in the summer so the paparazzi can invade his privacy. The Beatles were originally going to call Abbey Road, Everest. He gets along with Yoko. The biggest shock of the interview came from Robin Quivers, not Paul. She officially threw her hat in the ring and said she was available to date Paul. She cited being a vegan as a mutual bond. I think Paul thought Howard put her up to it.

Goodbye Sirius Disorder

There were three things keeping me at Sirius:

1. Howard Stern
2. Sirius Disorder
3. Pure Jazz

2/3 have vanished in the merger with XM. Pure Jazz is now Real Jazz which might be similar. I've threatened many times to cancel Sirius. The reception is awful. It constantly cuts in and out and it's usually right at the punch line of a story on Howard 100. I held on because of this trinity of channels. The Loft which is an XM channel will now take over for Disorder. The sound is more defined. I loved the chaos of Disorder. Having listened to Meg Griffin since she was part of the beloved WPIX in New York during my college days, I'm disheartened to see the station disappear. WPIX was a constant in my dorm room and inspired me when I DJed parties. Beach Party Tonight by Frankie and Annette would seque into Our Lips Are Sealed (where I first heard the original version) into What Do I Get. It was always a party, the DJs were knowledgeable and the music spanned the spectrum. I was a huge David Johansen fan at that time (still am). Must have seen him 40 times in four years. His Sirius Disorder show, Johansen's Mansion of Fun, was a hallucinogenic trip through the canals of his musical mind. An aria by Maria Callas, the first hit by the Cookies and the latest by the NY Dolls: all could be heard in the course of his show. I'm guessing this is gone too.

I thought the merger would be a good thing. I would finally get baseball. It looks like I'll have to get a new player and pay more to get it. I lost my music from XM. I'm enjoying the Loft today, but it's a completely different vibe. You never knew what was coming at you on Disorder and that spontaneity is sorely missing on today's dial.

The Rising

After President-elect Barack Obama left the stage at Grant Park, Bruce Springsteen's the Rising filled the air. It's been said many times over, but for me this election has truly been a unique experience. I watched more news on TV than I have in years. My sources of news come from the WSJ, The New Yorker and Howard Stern. Close to 11pm last night, Brian Williams said we'll have some important news when we come back from commercial break. When they did come back, there was a photo of Barack covering the TV screen with the words: The 44th President of the United States Barack Obama. Instantly cheers could be heard from York Avenue. I got chills. I don't remember ever seeing crowds gathered in Times Square for an election. This is a new era for our country. Barack is probably facing more hard issues than any other president in my lifetime. A Rising is what this country needs now.

Dave Stewart Reveals All

Dave Stewart, most prominently known as one half of Eurythmics, has a book out: The Dave Stewart Songbook: The Stories Behind The Songs - Volume One. He reveals the stories behind the songs he's written or co-written. His interview on Howard Stern this morning was very revealing, which makes me think his book is probably a fun read. He talked about his one night stand with Stevie Nicks. Early in his career he was playing LA and Stevie was at the gig. He approached her and said I want to be your boyfriend. Fast forward to later that night, he's in her house, people are in another room doing drugs, he has no idea where he is, finds a bedroom and falls asleep. Hours later Stevie enters his room and sex insues (with leather and chains, not lace). Unbeknownst to Stewart, Stevie has just broken up with Joe Walsh the day before. Who knew they were an item? Joe shows up at her house the next morning. Stewart is still there and Stevie tells Joe "Don't Come Around Here No More", hence the classic Tom Petty song was born.