Jim Boggia @ Joe's Pub

7:30pm on Tuesday August 12th see Jim Boggia @ Joe's Pub-There will be a lot on the small stage. He's playing with a large band to celebrate the release of Misadventures In Stero.

The Pretenders Free Each Week

The new Pretenders album will be given away track by track each week. It kicks off this week with spinner.com releasing Boots of Chinese Plastic. Each week the band's website will list the next web space to find a new track. Break Up The Concrete has Chrissie working with guitarist James Walbourne, pedal steel from Eric Heywood, and the rhythm section of bassist Nick Wilkinson and drummer Jim Keltner.

Wrigley's Gum - The Hitmaker

It's nothing new for an advertisement to contain a pop song. It is usual when an artist, in this case Chris Brown, records a new song, Forever, which incorporates the tag line to the ad campaign: Double your pleasure, double your fun. It's the right one, Doublemint gum and the song charts in the Billboard Top 100, even before it's released in an ad. Wrigley's did not disclose how much they paid Mr Brown for his service, but they additionally picked up all the recording costs. His record label Jive, was at first reluctant to release the single. Why would they hesitate? Another company is paying recording costs? Seems like a no-brainier. Was the label afraid of selling out? There are different versions of the song for radio ads, etc, but they are pretty close to the original. Translation Advertising created the campaign. Also recording songs which will remain as spots are Julianne Hough and Ne-Yo. I would love to know how much influence this song will have on the consumer and will it sell more gum? I can't imagine this is a low budget campaign. How much gum will they have to sell to break even? Here's the link to the WSJ article.

For years I've been surprised that advertisers don't sponsor a whole album, much the same way BMW was the sole sponsor on the premier episode of Mad Men last night. Recording costs can be relatively inexpensive and they can throw in producing a video. Maybe the video features the sponsor's item. The sponsor can promote the album through their regular advertising channels. They have all the music they need to promote their product, the artists gets the recognition they need and everyone is happy.

The New Wave of Music Reminds Me of the Old

I'm not sure if listening to music for so many years has given me a very broad music reference library in my head. Why do 4 out of 5 songs I hear on Record of the Day sound exactly like something that could have been recorded more than 20 years ago? Is it a younger group of musicians discovering music I grew up with and having it seep into their subconscious psyche?
Here are a few examples. These references came to mind within a few seconds of hearing the song:

Maybe I'm Crazy is a demo by two musicians called Mike. This could be a Nick Gilder song. He recorded Hot Child In The City. Surprised no one had a hit with that again. There was something pleasantly pop and sleazy going on in that song.

Avenue is a pop band out of the UK. They are being touted as the next boy band. Their song Last Goodbye is Rick Springfield without the 80's production and keyboards. It's actually a good song if you don't watch the video, which drags the track down. Rick Springfield had tons of energy in his live show. From the video I've seen, they do not share that same energy. The track is full of it, but the lads aren't translating that. They do pogo though.

VV Brown another Brit, wants to be the modern Ruth Brown. You can hear the influence in Crying Blood. The R&B/pop revival coming from the UK, initiated by Amy Winehouse is in full swing. This is one from left field, but even with the remixes, this song reminds me of Freddy Cannon: He of Palisades Park and Action fame. View his performance of Action on YouTube. Avenue must have been studying his moves. Action was the theme song to Where the Action Is, penned by Boyce and Hart. The show's hosts were Paul Revere and the Raiders and it took musicians to a different location each week. It's not that Crying Blood specifically sounds like one of Freddy's songs, it reminds me of all of his songs.

Both Avenue and VV are on Island Records.

Is there anything worse than a Blown Save?

Is there any worse than a Blown Save, when it's your team that is blowing the save? Mark called at 2pm to say he had 4 tickets for me for the game: Phillies and Santana! I'm there. At 9:30 the game at Shea was moving along nicely with the Mets ahead 5-2. The Shea air was stagnant, with the threat of a storm but it held off. Never feeling like I can breath a sigh of relief no matter how many runs are on the board, I was ready for the top of the 9th. The guy seated behind me had yelled a few innings earlier that he knew the game would be tied. He underestimated things. The Mets needed 3 outs to be in sole possession of first place - something that has eluded the team this year. The Philles pounded on Sanchez. Joe Smith got the ground ball, but Reyes had a problem figuring out what to do with it. The rest is depressing. Maybe the bigger question here is WHY AREN'T STARTING PITCHERS ALLOWED TO PITCH THE 9TH INNING ANYMORE?????

Concert Going Can Be Fatal To Your Eyesight

Dozens Blinded By Lasers At Russian Festival

MOSCOW (AP) - A laser show at an outdoor music festival near Moscow burned the retinas of more than 30 people and some may lose their sight, Russian news reports said Monday.

Some concertgoers lost up to 80 percent of their vision after attending the Aquamarine Music Festival on July 5, the newspaper Kommersant reported. According to the reports, concertgoers said the festival's dance floor was covered by a canopy because it was raining. The lasers were pointed horizontally under the tent instead of into the sky, which led to the injuries, the reports said.

Statues, All Stars and Omnipresent Jerseys

Between yesterday and today, I photographed all the major league team-represented Statues of Liberty. If you remember the cows that were painted and placed all over the city years ago, or the angels in LA, this is that sort of thing. One difference is all of these were done by the same company with one exception. There are 42 statues. I captured the 30 teams and Shea Stadium, which was my favorite. It would have made for a more interesting trek if each was unique and I would have spent more than about 30 second at each statue. Even with a 30 second stop time, I think I spent about 7-8 hours in total getting from place to place. An unlimited Metrocard made it easier.


The Astros statue seemed to be deep in thought or maybe just pondering Madonna's next visit to the Reebok gym which it is poised in front of.
This was the closest I could get to Ms Cubs. The area is near the Stock Exchange which is closely guarded.

Whenever there is an event in New York, the city is nicer, happier and more polite. People wanted to know how many photos you got so far, do you want me to take your photo with the statue, etc. The ironic thing is everyone I encountered was a Mets or Yankee fan. I'm sure there are plenty out-of-towners here for the game (I've witnessed many a Boston Jersey), but I didn't see them taking photos or chatting. Maybe New Yorkers are just as crazy as the town we live in and what makes us tick are enjoying the unique things our home has to offer.

Parade of All Stars

The parade of All Stars is going on now on 6th Ave. This is what it looked like at 9:30am.

Playing the Building

"Buildings make noises: radiators, pipes, creaks and rattles. I sensed that this could be a little more organized and maybe even musical." -David Byrne as quoted in the Wall St Journal.

In a collaboration with Creative Time, David has devised a musical installation in the Battery Maritime Building, which is next to the Staten Island Ferry. For anyone who lives in NYC, the above quote describes everyday life. This past weekend I stopped by the exhibit to experience the music a building can create. The small organ that sits to the front of the room is connected with wires to different parts of the building: pipes, radiators, columns. Hitting an organ key can initiate a response from a hammer-like object that thumps on the radiator- a sound I am all too familiar with. I enjoyed watching people create the sounds, which resonate differently depending on where you are in the room. This is a 9000 sq ft empty space, so the sky is almost the limit on where it can go. Taking in each section of the room, I felt a sort of calm and meditative state take over, not was I was expecting from the daily noises that bug me.

David has created a little oasis in NY, using the music that surrounds our everyday life.

10 South Street, New York, NY
31 May – 24 August 2008
Open Friday, Saturday, Sunday: Noon – 6PM (Free)

Vinyl Will Not Be Saving the Music Industry Anytime Soon

There has been so much written and much buzzed about vinyl albums making a huge comeback. According to this posting on triplearadio.com :

Nielsen Soundscan last week said that CD sales are down 16% in the past 12 months, while downloads have gone up 34% in the same time frame. What was really interesting is that vinyl sales have almost doubled this year so far, from 454,000 in 2007 to 803,000 so far in 2008.

Not even a million new vinyl records sold in the past 12 months. Even though it's double what it was the prior 12 months, that number is not enough for all albums sold to qualify as a platinum record. It's an interesting point, but until that number is in multiple millions, it doesn't mean much as a statistic.

Ozzy and Family: The Variety Show

TV Week announced that the Osbournes will be back with a variety show on Fox produced by FremantleMedia North America, the people that bring you American Idol.

The article states: Mr. Osbourne, wife Sharon and offspring Jack and Kelly all will participate in the show, which will resemble modern-day European variety shows that mix elements of competition, stunts and performances. One person familiar with the pitch compared it to a combination of the popular Spanish-language series "Sabado Gigante," "Saturday Night Takeaway" and the German game-show format "Wetten, dass?" (Wanna Bet?).

The New Wham!

This song lead me to believe this is the new Wham!: "Learnalilgivinanlovin" by Gotye. Some of the other stuff does toe the Wham! line.

The Nick Hornby Influence

I've been noticing a trend in books by male authors about their work experience: they all must must be faithful fans of High Fidelity. I can site two recent reads: Then We Came To The End and Rock On. One tackles working in the high tech sector as the Internet bubble is bursting, the other captures the end of big spending at a major record label. Both try to inject the humor that Nick Hornby does so well, but it seems forced in both books. Rock On depicts Dan Kennedy's year and a half in the marketing department at Atlantic Records circa 2003. Although the names have been changed to monikers like Ms Chocolate Chip or Rush Hair, I recognized some of these people from my time managing Athenaeum. His depiction of a label marketing meeting seems pretty accurate. An executive tried to pump everyone up on the latest signing who is there to perform for the staff. Everyone has to look interested and excited, whether they like the band or not. Granted everyone is not going to like every act, but it did seem like too many artists were getting signed on the strength of one and only one song, therefore, lacking substance. It's hard to rally behind that. I remember going into meetings at Warner Brothers around 1992 when the people that worked there couldn't wait to tell you what was coming out and how you had to have an advance of this record and pay attention to this new artist. At this time they released: Kiko by Los Lobos, Automatic for the People by REM, Blood Sugar Sex Magik by the Red Hot Chili Peppers to name a few. Warners was THE place to be if you were a musician. That creative spirit was slowly squashed.

The author does a good job of pointing out the absurdity of the Jewel video Intuition. I hadn't seen the video, but of course it's on YouTube and he's right, it's absurd. There is a lot of truth in his book about what when on at the labels and it held my interest as I knew the players. I felt that Dan Kennedy tried a little to hard to add his Nick Hornby to this book-there are plenty of lists- and it just didn't connect the way High Fidelity did. If you want insight into a microcosm of the influence of last days of the major labels, this might be the book for you.

30 Days

Prior to last night, I had only seen Morgan Spurlock's FX show 30 Days once before. I never know when it's on. It's a well-crafted, educational, entertaining show and FX should be spreading the word. I think everyone has seen Super Size Me, Morgan's documentary on the dangers of a fast food diet. I stumbled upon 30 Days last night after watching a minisode of Rescue Me, which is probably not returning to TV until next March. This is just enough time for me to forget last season, which was disappointing. A minisode is 4 minutes of I'm guessing outtake scenes from the show to keep viewer interested, as the show won't be on in it's usual summer slot. At 10:06 30 Days came on. The episode involved a married Mormon woman who had two adopted boys spending 30 days with a gay couple who have 4 adopted boys. She does not believe that same sex partners should be allowed to have children. Watching these two camps try to understand each other was painful. The woman was sticking to her beliefs which she stated came to her from God. The men were trying to explain that they also heard from God and were doing his will. The men had a loving household, took 4 children from foster care and gave them a good home, which the woman witnessed, but still could not come to terms with. After viewing the living condition of foster children in that area, her conviction still held true and she would not say that it's better to be in a gay household then be left in a group home. Morgan views both sides of the story and you hear from kids who were raised by gays, gays who are fighting for parental rights and the actual birth mother of one the the adopted boys. The show is not judgmental and does not lead to a conclusion, which is more fair than many investigative news programs on the networks. If you haven't seen it yet, put it on your to do list. I think it's safe to say that the show airs at 10 or 10:06pm Tuesday nights.

Lefsetz on Carlin

I think Bob Lefsetz summed up George Carlin the best by saying...

If you look at Carlin's track record, it's akin to the Beatles'. He was more consistent than the Stones, even though he worked just as long. And even though we loved his greatest hits, we always wanted to hear his new stuff. Carlin wasn't calcified, he was positively alive.

Live Nation: Spend? Wait? Exit the Chairman?

Is the buying spree at Live Nation coming to an end or just starting? Michael Cohl who sold his concert promotion company to Live Nation and then became it's Chairman thinks the deals need to cease until they can prove the formula a winner. Chief Executive Michael Rapino thinks more 360 deals should be happening. 360 deals are those in which an artists puts all his/her eggs in one basket. In most cases the company that makes the deal with you gets a piece of record royalties, touring, merchandise, etc. essentially anything that you make money from, possibly publishing being the only exception. Live Nation has taken a financial leap by signing Madonna and Jay-Z to deals totaling $270 million in guaranteed money to those artists. These seem like two crazy deals in the current music atmosphere. Since Live Nation announced the Madonna deal, their stock has fallen 44% and that of course is the number everyone looks to. Give me the days when Warner Brothers signed an act they liked and took two to three album cycles to develop the act. Careers were made, the acts had fans and fans could afford to attend numerous shows. I heard somebody say the other day that Madonna tickets were $400 a piece. I guess Live Nation has to try and make the money back somehow and justify the signing to their shareholders. Younger people can't afford those prices! Most people can't afford that number! If she had a faithful audience, this is a great way to lose them. Randy Meisner, one of the original Eagles and the author of their classic, Take It To The Limit, was quoted in Rolling Stone last month as saying how much money do you really need?

Attic Lights & the Beach Boys' Drummer

Last night my friend and producer Craig Levy and I toasted to the reissue of Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blue. (This link will bring you to Amazon where there is a short video about the record.) The one and only solo album from the Beach Boys drummer. I still have it on vinyl and love this record. It's great to have it back. In a coincidence, I was looking at the myspace site of Attic Lights, a Glasgow band, who have a Beach Boys related sound. Their debut record comes out this August, produced by Francis MacDonald (Teenage Fanclub, Camera Obscura and Shoeshine Records). Bring You Down which is from the soon to be released record has Beach Boys harmonies and production all over it. There on their Myspace blog is a reference to purchasing the Dennis Wilson album. It always puts a smile on my face (as well as makes me seek out their music) when young musicians revere and reference the music that I hold dear and sacred.

Disney Tween Machine Moves On

Disney is grooming Demi Lovato to be the heir apparent to Miley Cyrus' Hannah Montana. Demi is 15, slated to open on the sold out Jonas Brothers tour and has the lead in the new Disney Channel movie "Camp Rock". The movie premiers this Friday. As is usual with Disney deals, she is also signed to Hollywood Records, Disney's label. She's enlisted the Jonas Brothers as co-writers and co-producers on the album. She refers to her own writing as dark and said "I'm more of a writer whose stuff wouldn't make it on a Disney album," therefore Jonas inc, will help pop things up. The record comes out in November. I'll be curious to hear this album. It seems to me a big leap of faith on Disney's part to let the 15 year old participate in the creative process, which is usually tightly controlled by Disney.

This leads me to another TV creation, the Monkees. Why do I find myself revisiting those old albums as much as I do "Pet Sounds" or "London Calling"? It's all about the songs. How can you go wrong when you have Carole King, Neil Diamond and Boyce & Hart penning tunes for you. Eventually the band members were able to share in the songwriting, although Mike Nesmith always got a tune in there. Papa Gene's Blues from the debut is a standout. I wonder if Demi can have a hit, without proven songwriters behind her.

The Police and New York Public Television

Both WNET and WLIW, New York public television stations will be the beneficiary of proceeds from the final Police date August 7th at Madison Square Garden. The only way to get tickets is through a pledge to the stations. Tickets will be available beginning Saturday, June 14 at 7:30pm. There will be a broadcast of a Police special at that time on both channels. Pledges start at $150 for a pair and go as high as $750 a pair. There are also higher priced VIP tickets. As expected, the higher the donation, the better the seats. There will be an additional Ticketmaster and facility charge. It did note this: *Ticketmaster is donating their event service charges to New York Public Television. This is a very creative way to help public television, whose funding seems to dwindle each year. I applaud the Police's commitment. The B52's will be opening the show. It's 1979 all over again.

A Musican can be an Actor, but An Actor Cannot be a Musician

If there is a successful actor who has made the transition to successful musician, I'd like to know who it is. I'm talking about the actor whose first career is acting. This eliminates Rick Springfield who I know a lot of people think started on General Hospital. Long before he was a doctor on that show, he had a top 40 hit with Speak To The Sky. Sure John Travolta and David Soul had hits, (Can you name them?*) so did Shelley Fabares and Leif Garrett. But did they ever have a follow up hit? Remember Eddie Murphy's My Girl Like To Party All The Time? Most people don't.

It is with great interest, that I wanted to hear Scarlet Johansson's new album which is mostly Tom Waits covers. Yesterday they previewed a few tracks on the Howard Stern show. While I only heard about a minute each of a few songs, I am stumped by it. It is over, over produced by TV On The Radio's David Andrew Sitek. Was that done to mask her vocals? The vocals sound like they were recorded at 45 and played back at 331/3, backwards.

There are many musician who have had successful film careers, but never the other way around and it looks like that spell won't be broken with Scarlet's latest.

* Let Her In and Don't Give Up On Us

Another Music Exec Bites the Dust

Jason Flom who is for the moment Chairman of the Capitol Music Group, seems to be headed the way of Tony Wadsworth and company. He might be the last of the execs who actually listened to music. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that EMI is negotiating his exit. My one and only record company job was at Atlantic Records, when I was just out of college. Jason was there also and had just signed Zebra. His enthusiasm was over the top for that band. That was also the time when Yes had just completed Owner Of a Lonely Heart. Everyone was playing that song at 11. It's all you heard at Atlantic for weeks. I'm sure now at Atlantic or Capitol you can hear a pin drop.

AC/DC Coming to a Wal-Mart Near You

So AC/DC is going the way of the Eagles, in this case with the blessing of their record company, Sony BMG who brokered the deal. According to today's Wall St Journal, their next album of new material will be sold exclusively by Wal-Mart; therefore, excluding the remaining record retailers who have supported the band for years. Being that I work with Amoeba (3 record stores in CA, including the record store of all record stores in LA), I find this to be disheartening to say the least. Here's another artist that relied on these same stores in the past to get their music out there. I guess they feel that by putting the album exclusively in Wal-Mart, they'll be in front of more eyes and therefore, generate more impulse buying. Granted there are fewer and fewer record stores, but the ones that remain are dedicated to music. Can you say that about Wal-Mart? The article also mentioned that Wal-Mart is cutting back on CD shelf space in the stores. When Wal-Mart eliminates CD's where will these artists turn to? I'm surprised that AC/DC is taking this tactic. I felt they were a band of their fans. I'm sure their touring brings in plenty of dollars and CD sales are a slim margin of their profits, then again they did do a huge deal with Epic Records, which may be the reason for the sell out. How far will artists move away from the core of what made their careers? How important is it to alienate the believers to sell a few more units?

Copyright Holder Vs Performer

In an interesting twist in the world of copyright, Radiohead the writers of the song Creep are telling YouTubers to repost Prince's version of their song. Prince performed it at the Coachella Music Festival, fans recorded it and posted it. Prince is holding dear his own copyrights by asking everyone to cease posting unauthorized video of him, including his performance of Creep. In this case, he doesn't own the copyright. Lead singer of Radiohead Tom Yorke was quoted by the AP as saying "Tell him to unblock it. It's our ... song."

Brandi Shearer in Austin at ME Television

As part of the Amoeba Presents Tour, Brandi Shearer along with tour mates Quincy Coleman and Kate Walsh, paid Austin a visit. Is Is it possible to have a bad show in Austin? i think the same thing about Chicago. Two great music towns. Brandi stopped by ME-TV studios to chat with Josh Shepherd and play 4 songs. Here's Heaven. I wish more cities had ME TV!

Suzanne Vega on Songwriting

There is a nice piece Suzanne Vega wrote about her song Pale Cowboy in the NY Times and how she pondered over the lyrics.

If your friend is an orchid then you are a rose.
Upright and thorny against your horizon.
Still solitary with all petals closed.
In the heat when the heart’s desert sun is arising.

In the song she refers to men as a rose and an orchid. It's a delve into a songwriter's psyche and an enlightening read.

JIM BOGGIA

Seeing Jim Boggia live is always a treat. You're never quite sure the turn the show will take, but you will be entertained, the banter will be lively and you may even hear a reference to Pete Barbutti. During his set Monday night at the Living Room he played a few new songs from Misadventures In Stereo which is coming out this August. More about that later. He started the show off with his take on Meatloaf, took requests from the audience, covered the Kinks, Waterloo Sunset and then proceeded to do something which seemed old school and refreshing. He told a story about opening a show that Jill Sobule headlined. Before her set, he met up with her, said he was a big fan and he performed her songs live. She invited him on stage with her that night, warning the audience that I've never heard this guy, so he may suck. On Monday night while getting to the gig, Jim sat next to a woman named Kate on the bus. She told him she played, they talked about Laura Nyro and he invited her to perform with him that night, also warning the audience, she may suck. They turned Stoned Soul Picnic into a smilefest. Kate at the piano tackling lead vocals and Jim on guitar and harmonies. It was a lovely, spontaneous jam. She left the stage and he immediately brought her back to add a lamentable keyboard riff to No Way Out.

Boggia's album comes out on bluehammock August 5th. I think it's his Something/Anything. It's a mix of styles, all songs are well crafted, it has some needed talking in between tracks and there are jump out pop tunes. He worked with some great people on this record. Al Anderson lends his guitar to Listening to NRBQ and he co-wrote Chalk Up One For Albert's Side with Tony Asher - Yes that Tony Asher from Pet Sounds! There is a hint of homage to Brian Wilson's production. The album, which was mastered at Abby Road, closes with the epic Three Weeks Shy. If radio stations programed like the old WNEW-FM, this album would be in heavy rotation. Vinyl is making a comeback, maybe FM radio will too and more people will be turned on to a talent like Jim.

Amoeba Presents Tour Kicks Off Tonight!

The tour starts tonight in the Northwest. Get out to see Brandi Shearer, Kate Walsh and Quincy Coleman. The fun begins in Portland, OR: In-Store at Music Millennium tonight at 5pm, followed by a show at The Doug Fir.
Amoeba Presents three amazing artists. They cover the country, so they're probably in a city close to you.

5/12 - Douglas Fir - Portland, OR
5/13 - Tractor Tavern - Seattle, WA
5/15 - Café Du Nord - San Francisco, CA
5/16 - Roxy - Los Angeles, CA
5/20 - Lamberts - Austin, TX
5/22 - Eddies Attic - Decatur, GA
5/24 - Iota - Arlington, VA
5/25 - Johnny Brendas - Philadelphia, PA
5/26 - Mercury Lounge - New York, NY
5/27 - Middle East - Cambridge, MA
5/29 - Club Café - Pittsburgh, PA
5/30 - Schubas - Chicago, IL
5/31 - Café Montmarte - Madison, WI
6/01 - Duck Room - St. Louis, MO
6/03 - Soiled Dove - Denver, CO

StubHub and Madonna Deal to Resell Tix

I guess any news that is music business related should not surprise me, but it still does. Years ago you would not see the artist getting into bed with the scalpers, but I guess Madonna feels if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

According to an article in today's Wall St Journal, Madonna will get a a percentage of sales as well as a flat fee from StubHub. This is her first tour under her new $120 million deal with Live Nation. She is doing 18 dates in the US this fall. Several of them will be stadium shows including Dodger Stadium. I've only seen Madonna once and it was at Radio City. It might have been the Like A Virgin tour. I can't image her show translating to a big stadium where she has to connect with at least 45,000 people. Even though Madison Square Garden isn't intimate by any means, you can still see the dancers. I could be wrong, but I have a feeling her fans will not want to see her in a major league ballpark. So Madonna plays bigger venues than ever, gets into the scalping business and is releasing her last record on Warner Brothers. It was also reported in the Journal that the Warner Music Group's losses widened. Some things will still surprise me, others won't.

Sam Beeton

Sometimes I pay attention to the Record Of The Day, sometimes I'm too busy to click on it or I don't have my headphones handy. Sam Beeton was featured today. His record comes out this summer. I scoured his website and was pleasantly surprised that I like all the songs I heard. I'm assuming he's written the songs. It is hooky well-constructed pop. I'm a sucker for a good pop song. Note my enduring love for Nick Lowe. Nice production. He is 19 and from what I've seen on his videos, he's charming. Just from his blogs I can tell the record label is spending some solid money. A New York photo shoot with the master, Danny Clinch, an LA video shoot with Tony Petrossian and another photo shoot in Malibu.
Talent and charisma: I have a feeling this guy will do very, very well.

Does your shoe have a boy inside? What a funny place for a boy to hide! Does your shoe have a dog there too? A boy and a dog and a foot in a shoe. Well, the boy is Buster Brown. And the dog is Tige, his friend. And they're really just a picture but it's fun to play pretend. So look look look in the telephone book for the store that sells the shoe, with the picture of the boy and the dog inside so you can put your foot in too. Buster Brown Shoes!

I'm not quite sure what precipitated the conversation, but my mother and I were trying to figure out the Buster Brown song. It was used by the shoe company as I remember in the early 60's. Apparently in 1902 Buster Brown and his dog Tige made their debut in a Sunday comic strip in the New York Herald, so I'm sure they made their way into the shoes long before the 60's.

The internet is either a great source of reference for people like me with pop trivia on the brain or takes us away from the matter at hand. I found the lyrics to Buster Brown in seconds and also stumbled upon another pop culture website where you can waste away hours. TV Land has posted trailers for 1000 movies from the 50's to the 90's. I of course couldn't stay away from Beach Party with that wonderfully joyous song Beach Party Tonight sung by Annette and Frankie. Here's the link and happy clicking.

Passing Strange

REFRESHING is the word that keeps coming to mind when I think of Passing Strange, the new Broadway musical I saw this week. This production was originally developed at The Public Theater. It's a collaboration of Stew: the Narrator, book, lyrics and co-composer, Heidi Rodewald: co-composer, bass, vocals and Annie Dorsen: director. I had heard about this play during it's inception as Bill Bragin, who at the time was Joe's Pub's beating heart, was also involved. Because of his persistence in getting the word out, I bought tickets. Passing Strange is a powerhouse of a performance. The four piece band act as a guardian surrounding the actors on stage. I use the term actors loosely as their performance goes way beyond just acting. They dance, sing, gyrate, jump, pontificate-it's all there. It was the Broadway debut for Rebecca Naomi Jones. She's amazing. Also outstanding were Daniel Breaker as the young Stew and De'Adre Aziza. The music is so finely integrated with the show that you don't realize the musicians have been playing for about 90% of the time.

Stew discovered the phrase "Passing Strange" while reading a comic book version of Othello. It has come to mean stranger than strange. Strange can be good. Great show, great energy, refreshing !

Record Store Day a Success?

Looking at the week ending 4/20 Soundscan, I was realizing that it included Saturday's Records Store Day sales. The number of physical music purchased was up slightly from last week, but continues to take a dive from the abysmal numbers of last year. Overall albums were up 1.9% (+ 141K units) vs. last week and down 8.1% (- 659K units) vs. week 16 of 2007.

Digital albums were up 1.6% (+ 19K units) vs. last week and up 33.9% (+ 306K units) vs. week 16 of 2007. Not sure that digital units being up 34% from this week last year is reason to open the champagne, as last years numbers were not exactly overwhelming. It does show there is some willingness to still purchase digital albums. Digital tracks on the other hand, were down 3.6% (- 731K units) vs. last week and up 30.4% (+ 4.5MM units) vs. week 16 of 2007.

Mariah Carey came in with impressive numbers: 464,000 units sold. 10 years ago, first week sales probably would have translated to an easy platinum record. The surprise has to be the Juno Soundtrack. Still holding it's own at #12 with close to 12,000 units sold. Rounding out the #19 and #20 spots on the album charts are American Idol loser and winner, Daughtry and Jordan Sparks. Daughtry is closing in on 4 million records sold. WOW!

WNEW Where Rock Lives Again

This weekend I found an old T-shirt that had the WNEW-FM logo on the front and on the back, David Johansen live at the Bottom Line. Two great (New York) music institutions of the 70's, 80's and 90's: WNEW and the Bottom Line. WNEW has been revived on HD radio as well on online. Norm Winer, the longstanding Chicago radio guru is the "ringleader" of this revival.

For those of you who grew up listening to WNEW and having it be a big part of your life, you'll have fun navigating the site. Right now there's Led Zeppelin interviewed by Scott "Things from England, English Things" Muni. The DJs were knowledgeable, had the inside track and were there to let you in on it. I felt like part of a community. I even participated in a few bike-a-thons in Central Park they sponsored. It's nice that I can still listen to Dennis Elsas, Pete Fornatale and Vin Scelsa on WFUV and Meg Griffin on Sirius (as well as Vin there too). You never know if you're recollections are accurate, but in my mind, I recall a few defining moments: Pete Fornatale playing the entire Pet Sounds album one Easter, Scott Muni announcing that Elivs Presley had just died, filming in Super 8 a portion of the Central Park Beach Boys shows with Brian Wilson. There were countless times I relied on WNEW to find out anything about music, whether it be upcoming shows going on sale, a new release date, why Randy Meisner left the Eagles.... It was a big part of my life and my love for music. It's nice to have an old friend back.

Records Store Day April 19th

Tomorrow is Records Store Day. Hundreds of independently owned music stores across the country will celebrate “Record Store Day.” Please visit a record store and buy something.

To quote Paul McCartney
There’s nothing as glamorous to me as a record store. When I recently played Amoeba in LA, I realised what fantastic memories such a collection of music brings back when you see it all in one place. This is why I’m more than happy to support Record Store Day and I hope that these kinds of stores will be there for us all for many years to come. Cheers!

The End of Music As We Know It?

3 events have occurred in past few weeks that make me think it might be the end of music as we know it.

1. Bob Dylan wins a Pulitzer Prize
2. Keith Richards appears in a Louis Vuitton Ad
3. Led Zeppelin: The Ride is unveiled at the new Hard Rock amusement park in South Carolina.

This is a roller coaster and it's movements are choreographed to Whole Lotta Love. It takes some clicks to find the rides, but photos of it are there in all it's glory. There is mention that it begins as you enter a huge silver starship that takes you right into the cover of the first Led Zeppelin record. I couldn't read any further.

To ape REM: Is this the end of the world as we know it? It might be a prophesy. Their latest record debuted @ No. 2 with sales of 115,000 copies of its ''Accelerate''.

Another Reality Show-Another Teen Idol

Don't know how much more the American public can take of the reality show barrage. Just read about casting for MTV's latest bid: Teen Dream from the executive producers of America's Next Top Model. They are looking for the next female superstar, if the market hasn't already been exhausted. Not only do they want the daughters, but they want the mothers too. I think Howard Stern hit the nail on the head when he said people love American Idol not to hear people sing, but for the humiliation factor. What could be more humiliating than a teen girl being followed by camera with her stage mom omnipresent? If you fit the bill and want to be the next Teen Dream (what an archaic title-Is it 1955?) or have your daughter wear the crown, details are below.

Producers are seeking talented young women and their mothers who are looking forward to showing off their daughter's talents. Open casting calls where mothers and daughters must appear together will happen in Los Angeles on April 18-19; Orlando on April 25-26; Miami on April 27; and New York on May 3-4. For complete information regarding these casting calls and what is required to bring, send an email to teendreamcasting@gmail.com.

Artie update

According to the blog Siriusbuzz.com Artie did make it to Amesterdam on the same flight as Teddy.

In case you were not aware, there is now a great show on Stern 101 Friday mornings. Jay Thomas has become the defacto Friday morning host, and will now carry a regular show on the Stern network. In his first show as a permanent Friday host, Jay Thomas had the good fortune of being able to deliver some additional news regarding the Artie Lange saga that unfolded yesterday.

Artie is indeed in Amsterdam. The news was confirmed with a live call from Jason Kaplan of the Strern Show as he sat at an Amsterdam cafe. Kaplan confirmed that both Artie Lange and Teddy made the trip. Kaplan has not yet seen Artie but has placed a couple of phone calls to him.

Robin Quivers, a Stern how staple, called into the live segment of Jay Thomas’ show and offered additional insight, and is in fact on the air as I write this piece. Shuli, also a member of the Stern Show staff, and frequent participant with Jay Thomas added a bit more information on Artie. In a text message, it was confirmed that Artie was on the same plane with Teddy. At one tense moment as Teddy boarded the plane, he had to pass by Artie who was seated in First Class. The pair exchanged glances. Teddy says that he and Artie have not spoken, and Teddy stated that he is making it a point to avoid Artie during the trip.

So, we have some news on Artie, and the news that the Friday morning dilemma for Stern fans has been solved. Jay Thomas is a wonderful talent who hosts a regular afternoon drive show on Sirius Stars 102. His regular afternoon show will continue, and now he will entertain listeners on Friday mornings. With the addition of Jay Thomas on Fridays, and Vinnie Politan having a regular morning show, the morning drive situation at Sirius is far better today than it was a month ago.

Kudos to Sirius for addressing the morning drive issues in the programming line-up, and we all hope that the Artie situation comes to a reasonable conclusion that addresses Arties issues, maintains the show people love, and lets fans get back to great radio.

Artie Leaves Stern Show - No replays

We've all heard Artie threaten to leave the show before. Yesterday a fight with his assistant escalated into a brawl. Artie closed with I love you, but I'm out of here. Those Sirius fans wanted to catch the replay couldn't. Sirius always replays that days show for the duration of the day: not so yesterday. We heard a show from 4/7. Stern is not live on Fridays and they are on vacation next week. By the time they get back, it will be not be fresh in anyone's mind. A lot of fans speculating that the incident was scripted, mostly because of when it occurred-right before a break. Jason Reitman, the director of Juno had the unfortunate timing of being the guest to come on right after this. He even offered to come back another time. Everyone seemed shaken. In fact it took Robin screaming at the top of her lungs to get the fight to break and she's in another room. I was going to direct you to YouTube to listen, but the clips have just been pulled.
Something's happening here, what it is ain't exactly clear.....

Live Nation Scooping It Up

According to the NY Times, Live Nation is now signing Jay-Z for a $150 million dollar deal. He was president of the record label he was on. He now signs with a tour promoter. JayZ is not know as a road warrior.

The deal includes financing for his own entertainment venture, in addition to recordings and tours for the next decade. The pact, expected to be finalized this week, is the most expansive deal yet from Live Nation, which has angled to compete directly with the industry’s established music labels in a scrum over the rights to distribute recordings, sell concert tickets, market merchandise and control other aspects of artists’ careers.

As it's been stated, it appears Live Nation is just bulking up the assets to sell it again. Nothing like regifting. As Bob Lefsetz said, who do you want to be in with Michael Jordan or the hottest young basketball player. He also points out that when David Geffen started his own label he signed Elton John, John Lennon and Donna Summer. Not until he signed a new act, Guns N Roses, did he start printing money. Three veterans now signed to 10 year deals with Live Nation. Jay-Z wil be 49/50 years old when the deal expires. Madonna will be 60/61 and U2 will be close to Madonna. I'm not throwing stones as I could have gone to school with Bono. I just know that touring is not for the faint of heart. The older you get, the less important it is prove yourself or take on the road. We'll see if Live Nation gets the big payday. We'll see if it's worth the money to these acts.

South Pacific @ Lincoln Center

I don't know how you can go wrong with the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein. Last night's performance of South Pacific at Lincoln Center was a completely enjoyable evening. The play hasn't been revived on Broadway since it's debut in 1949, when it ran for 5 years. Kelli O'Hara was sensational as Ensign Nellie Forbush. She brought a nice sensitivity to the character without making her sappy. Her voice is outstanding. I also saw her in The Light in the Piazza (written by Richard Rodgers grandson). Matthew Morrison, who was also in Piazza, portrayed the conflicted Lt Cable. Matthew seems to be popping up in everything from TV-As The World Turns to movies-Music and Lyrics to theater. He and Kelli team up on the song My Girl Back Home. The song was originally written for the play, but was cut as Mary Martin did not want to duet with Ezio Pinza, the original Emile. She was afraid he would overpower her. It's a beautiful addition to the play. Last but not least, Brazilian opera singer Paulo Szot, Emile, has credits stacked high in the opera world. How does one get a voice like that? Some Enhantent Evening took on a new poignantcy. There are a few YouTube postings on him.

The play is set in the South Pacific during WWll. Old prejudices dies hard. War is surrounding them. Love is in the air. Even with lyrics like "I'm as corny as Kansas in August, I'm as normal as blueberry pie", the songs are not dated. Later on in I'm In Love With a Wonderful Guy, the lyrics bring it to a place anyone can relate to "And you will note there's a lump in my throat, When I speak of that wonderful guy!" The show opens tonight. Go see it and be prepared to be humming the songs in your head for days.

Trivia: James Michener who wrote the book the play is based on won the Pulitzer Prize. This was his first book and was written at age 40.

Apple to sell tracks for 15 cents a piece

As reported in today's Lefsetz letter:

And starting April 15th, all Universal tracks at the iTunes Store will
be fifteen cents. Steve (Jobs) wanted the price to be lower, rumor has it as
low as nine cents, but he couldn't convince Marty Bandier and the rest
of the publishers to lower their share, so fifteen cents it is.

Keep reading his post today.... but remember it's 4/1!!!

U2 latest to sign on with Live Nation

U2 is one of the rare acts today that doesn't need the music industry to survive. They might not sell as many records as they used to (no one does), but they can sell out any tour they put on sale. They must sell lots of merchandise. In other words, they do not lack for financial resources. An article in the WSJ yesterday laid out the terms of what Live Nation will be handling for U2. The monetary compensation was not announced.

Live Nation will not have a stake in the band's recorded music or publishing. They will be promoter of record for tours for the next 10 years, handle merchandise and the band's website. For the same portion of her deal, apparently Madonna was paid $70 million by Live Nation. As WSJ points out, this deal keeps the status quo. Live Nation or it's predecessors have produced and promoted every U2 tours since 1997, a subsidiary, already manages their website and deals with their merch.

I scratch my head as to why U2 made this deal. Is it a monetary windfall? Does that even matter to them? The ability to control your own destiny, the ability to go where you want, when you want seems to be synonymous with U2. After the debacle of their fan club members, who paid a minimum of $40, not being able to buy choice seats for their tour, you think they would want to rethink the whole thing, not make a 10 year deal. Do they want want to be beholden to a behemoth?

Live Nation is acquiring at break neck speed. They own merch companies, website/fan club administers, recording contracts (Madonna)-but no label, as well as being promoters. They are starting an in-house Ticketmaster type service. Is Live Nation becoming an otopus with a few too many arms? Are they spreading themselves too thin? Are they the future of the music business?

The Beach Boys-more legal dealings settled

Having been a Beach Boys fan since Wouldn't It Be Nice, I've kept up on their history. The number of lawsuits this band has been in, most of them between the band members, could fill up a nice coffee table size book. It looks like another one, over name infringement has been settled according to Hits Magazine. I'd be surprised if Brian would give up his successful solo touring career to join forces again with Love and Jardine. I believe he was quoted as saying the Beach Boys died with the death of Carl.

BEACH BOYS REUNITED? A settlement over the disputed rights to the Beach Boys' name has made possible a long-awaited reunion among the three surviving members, Brian Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine. The agreement, reached last week in L.A. Superior Court, puts to rest years of litigation that grew out of Jardine’s use of the band’s name, “Beach Boys Family & Friends,” until a federal judge ruled in 2000 he was engaging in trademark infringement. That decision affirmed Love’s claim as the sole licensee of the name under a deal he negotiated with Brother Records in 1998, a ruling upheld by a U.S. appeals court in 2003, again siding against Jardine in the case brought by Love, Wilson and the estate of his late brother, Carl. Love and the Carl Wilson estate sued Jardine again in 2004 seeking $2.2 million in legal fees. It was that case, set for trial next month, which was settled last week

Hillary and Madonna? Obama and Pitt? Family ties

As seen in NewYorker.com

When did genealogy become the silliest science? This week, researchers at the New England Historic Genealogical Society climbed up into the family trees of the leading contenders for President, and what they found was surprising—and risible. Hillary Clinton, whose mother is of French-Canadian extraction, is distantly related to such luminaries as Angelina Jolie (ninth cousin, twice removed), Madonna, Celine Dion, and Alanis Morissette. Obama, through his white Kansan mother, is related to six U.S. Presidents, including George W. Bush, and Brad Pitt (ninth cousin). McCain’s origins are less well known, but he is a sixth cousin of First Lady Laura Bush. Below is a classic skit about family trees from 1965, starring Julie Andrews and Gene Kelly, either of whom may well be related to the candidates.—Ben Greenman

Smashing Pumpkins Sue Virgin Records

From today's NY Times. There doesn't seem to be more info on the story. Traditionally (depending on your contract) the use of a track from a record album (master use) would require the artist as well as the writer of the song (sync use) to approve any promotional uses.

The Smashing Pumpkins filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Virgin Records, accusing the company of using the band’s name and music in promotional deals that injured its credibility with fans, The Associated Press reported. In Los Angeles County Superior Court on Monday, the members contended that Virgin’s use of the band in a promotion with Amazon.com and PepsiCo threatens their “artistic integrity.” The Pumpkins lawsuit argues that Virgin, which released the band’s music for 17 years, had no contractual right to use it in campaigns to sell other products. The band asked to be compensated with Virgin’s profits from the promotion, and also requested an injunction to bar use of its name and music. Virgin did not immediately respond to a call for comment.

Joseph Arthur curator

You have to love this:
From the NY Times

The Man, the Museum, the (Self-Created) Legend
Joseph Arthur is not just a singer-songwriter in the Nick Drake/Leonard Cohen/romantic-depressive mode. He’s also the proprietor of a gallery dedicated to himself. The Museum of Modern Arthur, in the Dumbo section of Brooklyn , features his artwork and promotes his philosophy: “MOMAR can, and will, party.” On Friday night he makes good on it, at a show and party celebrating his new EP and the three more that he plans to release this year.

SXSW in Photos

Brandi Shearer and Quincy Coleman perform at a party at SXSW. Unfortunately by the time Kate Walsh came on, night fell and it was too dark to take photos. Her set was lovely.

SXSW Time Again

So tomorrow I'm off to SXSW. Brandi Shearer along with future touring mates, Kate Walsh and Qunicy Coleman will playing the Cosmic America Music Party on 3/13. The ladies will be touring across the country this May/June. Other artists I plan to check out are Andy Davis, Liam Finn and Jim Boggia.

Wired: The Economics of Zero

Wired Magazine's editor Chris Anderson (the author of the Long Tail) has a sneak preview of his new book Free on Wired.com. He's examining the theory of free being the new economic paradigm. The music business plays well into his thinking, starting with free downloading of music. It's great food for thought.

Apple Record Retailer

iTunes climbed into second place among music retailers in 2007, behind only Wal-Mart according to the latest NDP Group research. Apple has sold over 4 billion songs to date.

Could this Warner Bros Records rumor be true?

Celeb blogger Perez Hilton is talks with Warner Bros. Records to become a music talent agent for the label, according to The New York Times. -Cynopsis: DIGITAL

I'd like to think I could pass that info off, but there is probably some substance to it. Shouldn't Warner Bros be looking in clubs, talking to music publishers, listening to music to find talent? It's out there. I can't imagine it's on a gossip blog. It's hard for me to hear this having worked with so many great people that are part of or have been part of the label. This place was all about putting out records that you had to pay attention to.

Rosanne Cash on John Stewart

When I worked with Rosanne Cash she co-wrote with John Stewart, the result was Dance with the Tiger. I loved that he was the guy that wrote Daydream Believer. Always a huge Monkees fan, it impressed me immensely. He also wrote her hit Runaway Train. Rosanne fostered a lifelong friendship with John.

I just read the heartfelt piece Rosanne posted on her website as a tribute to him. He died last month . This piece was so beautifully written and self humiliating on her part that it was worth sharing with you. He was another unsung, yet highly influential part of music history. Click here to read.

Grammy Comment

I saw this comment on the Lefsetz Letter and I hope Julie doesn't mind that I'm posting it here. She summed up the telecast so well.......

From: Julie Ann May
Subject: Grammys Golden-Grey

What a great 50-years-ago show! If it had aired in Black & White it
really would have connected with its audience - then again maybe not all
of them back here in the east who were probably asleep by 10...

URBAN RENEWAL

Seeing Keith Urban last night at the Garden was a jolt to the system. It reminded me that rock is not dead; that there are still arena-filling musicians who are in it for the music and are appreciative for their audience, their band and crew. He could have played it safe, but didn’t and that’s what made it great performance.

He opened with Once In A Lifetime, which happens to be my favorite of his. That of course made me think ok, is it over for me? It actually signaled to tighten the seat belt, I’m in for a ride. He came out like gangbusters and never let up. He had sweat pouring down his face by song two.

Phil Spector has his wall of sound, Keith has a wall of guitars, 4 + him to be exact. The configurations were numerous. His band traded off on guitar (acoustic and electric), banjo, mandolin, bass and keyboards. Keith, unlike most artists afraid to let their band outshine them, embraced their talent and let them have as much fun as him. Yes, everyone on that stage was having a blast, which infected the audience.

Midway through the set, the band went to the base of the runway that dissected the floor of the Garden and did an acoustic set which was anchored with You’ll Think of Me. Musicians in the round, showing off their stuff in a more intimate way always struck me as country music getting it right. This part of the show came as close to bringing a little bit of Nashville to NYC and bringing the audience closer to the band. Speaking of bringing the audience closer, at one point, Keith made his way from the stage into the audience about 10 seats to my left. With a roadie holding the mic stand above his head, Keith played and sang being devoured by the fans.

A colossal HD screen behind the band was a bit unnerving. It was a little like King Kong devouring the city. The band was just TOO big. HD made it seem even more real. Note: See my iPhone photos above to get an idea of what it was like.

The most endearing touch of the night was his appreciation of not only the fans (he stayed after his band left stage to low five the crowd, hitting every corner of the venue to show his thanks), but his crew also. He gave them a big shout out while the HD screen was filled with a photo of them. No one has any idea what goes into putting on a show like that, unless you’ve actually done it. Those people are usually the unsung heroes, but not last night. Whoever was handling microphone duty deserves a big applause. They were popping up all over the stage and its many arms.

Strong guitar solos, sing-a-longs and just plain rock and roll made last night a music renewal.

With Keith’s show being so strong, it still leaves me scratching my head the Carrie Underwood was the chosen opener. It was like two different shows: The Vegas Review and the Arena Rock Show. Carrie has a nice voice, looks great (please take off those 5” heels so you can move and enjoy yourself), but lacks the soul to make her performance more than the safe show it was. She has not left American Idol behind her.

There were two stagings that unfortunately are embedded in my head for their inconceivability. One she is wearing what looks like a blue wedding dress gone awry with a very long train. (see bad photo above) Perched on two round tiers, she looked the blueberry bride on a wedding cake. I can only guess that with so much fabric surrounding her, she was immobile. She stayed that way for two songs. After she changed into a more appropriate jeans and tank top, she was atop the circles again. This time the lights lay low, so low she was only visible to about the first 10 rows. Attached to the lights were very big white sheets, which were affixed to the waist of her jeans. The only way to describe this is it looked like she had huge rolls of toilet paper rising from the air, as the lights lifted and they were attached to her pants! These elements were so distracting that I couldn’t even tell you what she was singing about. The sound was not the best. She closed with the very likable hit, Before He Cheats, which reminds me of Aerosmith. Recipe for Carrie: Be yourself. Wear Jeans. Take it down a notch. Have fun. Watch a Keith Urban show. Take notes.

Who Is The Grammy Audience?

Who do the producers of the Grammys think their audience is? Last night’s performance started off like a Lawrence Welk revue. If you don’t know who he is, this mash up clip from his TV show sums up last night’s Grammys. Lawrence meets the Velvet Underground.

These Grammys could have stood out as a way for the industry to shine, try and bring back music lovers, its former glory, celebrate 50 years of the awards and show that they are not out of touch. No time like the present, right? They missed the mark. I barely watched anything after the first hour, but my perception is it looked like a second rate high school production. How to lose the kids in 30 minutes: Love b/w Across the Universe. Tell them to go online and choose the best violinist to play with the violin orchestra backing the Foo Fighters. Hype Alicia Keys 29 performances during the show.

The most enjoyable moment for me was when Kid Rock sang with Keely Smith who was the first recipient of a Grammy. It was entertaining. She can still sing and exudes cool. Kid Rock was charming and held his own.

I believe John Mayer to be talented. I also believe Sheryl Crow is talented. I’m convinced both will go to the opening of an envelope if asked. What was that mess with Alicia Keys & Mayer? Amy Winehouse, who along with Feist were the minority of young musicians this special was sorely lacking.

Yes indeed, they missed the mark.

From Bob Lefsetz:
If you think this awards show is important, then you must have a
financial interest. It's everything wrong with the music business. It's
something for everybody, whereas we used to specialize in the exact thing
the individual needed right now. Play to the front row, not the upper
deck. Play to those who care. Ubiquity is history, niche is king.
Everybody knows this but NARAS, which probably doesn't even know that you
can use Google to search hard drives, not to steal music, but to get
what you need, to keep you alive. Whereas this show will put you to
sleep.

Parades, Super Fat Tuesday

There is a lot going on in NY today. For those who want to feast before the beginning of Lent, there is much reason to celebrate: It's Fat Tuesday! The Giants are the Super Bowl Champs! People are coming out in droves to vote!

The Giants were hailed as the kings of NY in a parade downtown. I've been to two of these parades. Unfortunately I didn't make it today, but Fred did. Check out his blog, Otillus, which pays photographic homage to the NY Nitty Gritty.

In 1986 Lucia and I ventured downtown to pay tribute to the lovable 1986 Mets. They were lovable to those of us who were fans. As we now know, most of the team almost didn't make it. Partying way too hard the night before will do that. These Giants had a day of rest. We were so far back, that what I remember is Mookie must be passing by as we heard the low howl of MOOOOOOOKKKKKKKK. We also were able to glimpse the top of Darryl Strawberry's head.

In 1998, Danny Clinch took Luscious Jackson downtown for a photo shoot among the parade goers and police. All I have on file from that day is the subway shot, which will have to suffice. They did take a subway to get down there.

Lots of paper, lots of face painting, lots of cheering. Did you vote yet?

Free Music from The NY Daily News

It started with Prince giving away his album in England with the Sunday paper, now the NY Daily News will be giving away free downloads in conjunction with EMI. It's almost impossible to find info on the Daily New's website, but it's being reported that anyone who buys a Sunday paper on Super Bowl Sunday or Grammy Sunday, will receive a code good for 3 free downloads. Not sure why the paper isn't announcing it all over their website.

ANDY DAVIS

If Mitchell Froom endorses someone, I pay attention. This summer he played me Andy Davis, who he just finished producing. He said this guy has it all musicially and he's super organized. Not to generalized, but organized is not a term generally associated with musicians. On first hearing his music, early Todd Rundgren (We Gotta Get You A Woman-Something/Anything period) and Elton John came to mind. I think the piano had something to do with my immediate association, but he tells stories, much like both of the above mentioned. Listen to Let the Woman I Love.

Andy played the Living Room last Friday so I decided to head over there. It was just him, his guitar or piano. Now I can say I also endorse Andy Davis, not that he's running for anything. His show was about the music. His love for music emanates from him. Not taking himself too seriously, he used miscues to his advantage- a charming touch. He knows how to work an audience. His unassuming way of involving the crowd as an additional musician is such a simple but effective additive to the show. Whether clapping hands or signing along to Mariah Carey, the audience was part of this show.

Andy is a Baton Rogue native who now makes Nashville his home. Nashville could be where he developed his storytelling chops. He said when he was studying music he came across Irving Berlin who composed most of his music on the black keys of the piano, which inspired the song Black Keys. Note: In a 1962 interview, Berlin said, "The black keys are right there, under your fingers. The key of C is for people who study music." Irving couldn't read or write music, neither can John Hiatt and I'd be hard pressed to find better songwriters.
Brown Eyes closed his set. It's a perfect pop song. The stuff I love.
"She had brown eyes, I know she's about my height....
I don't even know her, but I know I have to see her again:"
How many people can relate to meeting someone, being smitten, this person leaves the bar, you may never see him/her again, but you're obsessed?

Believable Doubt began as a love song, but took a sinister turn. Andy's vocals suck you in and make you believe.

The album can only be purchased at Barnes & Noble now, but it's worth walking the 3 blocks in NYC to purchase (there is a Barnes & Noble within three blocks of everyone-I have 2 within 5 blocks of my home). It's impeccably produced by Mitchell Froom. Listen to songs from the album on Andy's website, other tracks can be heard at myspace. If he comes to your town, go see him and be entertained: think Elton John without the costumes. There wasn't enough ceiling clearance for him to jump on a piano, but in the back of my head there was always a thought that he could do it and get right back to serenading without missing a beat.

Soundtracks Making a Comeback

Soundscan for the week ending January 20th:

#2 Juno soundtrack -only being bested by Alicia Keys. Why does the Velvet Underground show up everywhere?
#13 Alvin & the Chipmunks soundtrack - holding steady for a second week at this position. It actually ranked as high at #7 a few weeks ago. It's an album of sped up vocals.
#18 High School Music soundtrack - this has surpassed the 3 million sold mark. This brings me to kids TV. While in FL with my niece, she had the TV tuned to Nick and Disney. No matter what the show, someone was breaking out in song. It could be a video or a band performance. I can only compare this programming to Dream Girls meets MTV.

The music business never ceases to surprise.

EMI: Hands On

A lot is being written about Guy Hands who engineered the buying of EMI. He made a mistake in letting Tony Wadsworth go. With that exception, much of what he is saying and being chastised for is basically true. I read the article in today's WSJ. Most of the press involving EMI include a big photo of the Rolling Stones and claim that the band no longer wants to be at EMI and they are doing a one-off soundtrack for Universal. If Guy is smart and wants to turn around a company that has been in financial disarray for many many years now, signing the Stones would not make sense. I'm assuming the Stones would require large sums of money upfront. The Stones no longer sell enough record to warrant a large advance. EMI would never recoup. I don't think that having the Stones on the label will entice younger, prominent acts to sign with the label. I did read that the Stones have the rights to all their music post 1970. That is a carrot, but still not enough for a failing company to invest in.

In a meeting with band managers Hands sited Terra Firma's (his company) successful track record in his stewardship of UK movie theater chain Odeon Cinemas. "The cinema business isn't the movie business - it's the popcorn business." This did not sit well with the managers, but let's face the state of things: I'm sure theater chains make way more money on popcorn than they do on selling tickets. What other avenue is there for record companies to make money beside the selling of music? The music business doesn't have a "popcorn".

When Jack Welch took over NBC/Universal, the first thing he did was let go of the music arm. One look at the books and he knew the old model from 50 years ago wouldn't work and it would take too long to change things. I don't know how long it will take Guy Hands to re-engineer EMI and turn it into a profit center, or if he ever will, but I will enjoy following his travails.

Tom Stoppard's Rock 'N' Roll

There are things I've taken for granted which have been part of my birthright: the freedom to listen to whatever music I want. whenever I want and see it performed live. Tom Stoppard's engrossing play Rock 'N' Roll drives home the theory or reality depending on how you look at it, that culture cannot thrive in a communist/dictatorship society. The play is set in a span from 1968 (we are being clobbered over the head with references to the summer of love), when Czechoslovakia had a few months of uncensored creativity under the leadership of Alexander Dubcek to 1990 when the Rolling Stone performed in Prague.

The play revolves around a student, Jan, who leaves Cambridge, England where is he studying with a Marxist professor, to return to his hometown of Prague, even though the Czech government has asked him to stay in England. As an avid music lover, he discovers the band the Plastic People of the Universe and believes they will be the shining light to bring artistic freedom back to the people of Prague.

Milan Hlavsa, who died in 2001, formed the Plastic People of the Universe in September 1968 when he was 19. The fact that the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia had occurred in August was not immediately relevant: ‘We just loved rock’n’roll and wanted to be famous…rock’n’roll wasn’t just music to us, it was kind o ife itself.’ The band was not interested in bringing down communism, only in nding a free space for itsel nside the communist society. But of course there was no such space, and the story that Rock’n’Roll is telling is that, in the logic of communism, what the band wasn’t interested in and what the band wanted could not in the end be separated. The Plastics were among a small number of musicians and artists who wouldn’t compromise at all, so the space for POLITICS, ROCK’N’ROLL AND LIFE ITSELF their music and for ‘life itself’ became harder and harder to nd until it was eradicated. -Tom Stoppard

The clever use of graphics and music help to bridge the segments of this 3 hour play. There is more than one reference to Syd Barrett, the troubled founder of Pink Floyd. Was Stoppard a friend of his? Syd hailed from Cambridge. Pink Floyd's first album was titled The Piper At the Gates of Dawn, which is a reference to Pan and Wind in The Willows. All of this ties into the play. By 1968, he was no longer a member of Floyd. As Jan says, can you imagine getting kicked out of Pink Floyd for taking too many drugs? A key moment for me came when Jan finds his record collection has been destroyed and the only remaining album is the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, which a friend had borrowed and returned. Pet Sounds is the greatest album ever recorded in my humble opinion. Music interwoven throughout the play includes, The Velvet Underground, Sid, Pink, The Plastic People of the Universe (read their history), The Cure, The Beach Boys and the play ends with the Rolling Stones performance in Prague. Having been to the wonderful city of Prague, this lesson in a period of it's life was fascinating.

Another Industy Legend Leaving Label

TONY WADSWORTH STEPS DOWN FROM EMI GROUP
EMI Press Release: EMI Group announces that Tony Wadsworth is stepping down from his post as Chairman and CEO of EMI Music UK & Ireland.

I only had a few dealings with Tony when I managed Luscious Jackson, but he was always respectful, available and shared his love of music. He was one of the last great music people to hold a prominent post at a major label. Let's hope he finds a better way to share his legacy and continue to bring good music to the masses.

Just when you think the RIAA couldn't go any further....

Can this really be true? I want to believe it's a misprint.

The Recording Industry of America has drawn a new line in the sand for digital music users claiming that the act of ripping a purchased CD onto a PC is illegal, according to lawsuit covered in The Washington Post. The RIAA is seeking legal fees from an Arizona man who simply transferred a collection of 2,000 CDs onto his computer.