Warner Music is Tracking You!

A piece in Hypebot alerts us to a lawsuit filed in federal court contended that Warner Bros Records website, among other  well-known media properties, including Disney and their music site Playlist.com, have been secretly tracking online users, as well as children, by installing ‘Flash cookies’ on their computers, which quicky respawn after their deletion.

Didn't anyone learn anything from the Sony/DRM debacle?  Would be curious to know how many people actually visit the Warner Bros Records site. 

Friday Morning Music: Semi Live

Friday means live music on all the morning shows.  Today it appeared that during a dance number on Good Morning America, Demi Levato lip synced in Central Park. She danced her heart out, but unless there was some weird tape delay and audio problems, the vocal was off from what was coming out of her mouth.  Same goes for Ke$ha on the Today Show.  There were not many close ups of her singing.  You didn't hear one breath from either performer, whether she was dancing with an Indian headdress on or doing Pete Townsend like windmills.  Later on GMA Demi did sing live with the Jonas Brothers.  The Brothers were live for all their performances.  On CBS Train performed and they were live. 

The girls in the audience were have a great time at both Ke$ha and the Jonas Brothers. The crowd was a bit older at Train and there were a lot more males in attendance.   The take away from this:  these women can't sing and dance at the same time and the men don't even try it. 

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Elektra Records Turns 60

To celebrate 60 years of music, Elektra Records has put together a special website presentation, timeline.  It looks back at the folk roots on into day.  It's audio, video and lots of text.  Founder Jac Holzman had a hand in putting it together. It's worth a look. I have a feeling once you start poking around, you'll spend more time there than you thought you would.

Things I discovered (there is way more than this and I don't even touch on Folk):

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band's first record was recorded three times before Paul Rothchild, the producer thought it captured the band at it's best.

In 1966 Judy Collins was the first person to record a Leonard Cohen song.

In 1967 with the release of the Doors, Elektra is changed forever. It's the big time. 

It reminded me what a great song Alone Again Or by Love is.


The Stooges first record was recorded in a studio apartment in New York City.  It was released during the weekend of Woodstock.


Joel Brodsky photographed a lot of the musicians on the label.

Stewardesses were a core constituency of their fan base.  Referring to the band Bread.

Jim Morrison's idol was Frank Sinatra.

In 1972, Jac Holzman wrote an internal memo to his staff: “I have seen the future of pop music, and it is a band called Queen.”


At one point in the late 70's their releases were as diverse as the Dictators, Television vs the Eagles, and Jackson Browne.

In continued into the 80's with Motley Crue, X, The Cars and Peabo Bryson.

Fast Forward to 2010 the label releases Charlotte Gainsbourg, after a few year sabbatical.



A diverse and storied history. Our ears owe a lot to Jac.

Rosanne Cash Composed At Barnes and Noble

When I was working in management, I was in awe of two of artists I worked with. I would accompany them on a press day, which essentially meant traveling from interview to interview to performance.    After a day of being asked, mostly the same questions, they were still so eloquent and interesting. They could take a mundane question and transform the answer into not only great sound bites, but also captivating answers.  Both of these artists are artists in the true sense of the word:  they write and perform music (their mainstay), they write prose and essays, they paint.  They are culturally well rounded. They are Louie Perez and Rosanne Cash.  Both have put out new material in the past two weeks.  Louie’s band Los Lobos released Tin Can Trust last week and Rosanne Cash released her memoir Composed yesterday.

 

Rosanne was at Barnes & Noble yesterday as part of their series Upstairs at the Square.  In an interview she talked about the difference between writing music (she uses poetic license) and writing a memoir (it has to be her “truth”).  She read an excerpt from her book about getting an assignment in the seventh grade to write a piece on metaphor and it excited her.  At the time she was writing music for The Wheel, her mother sent her a folder of her artwork and writings from her school days.  In it was this essay on metaphors in which she wrote the line The lonely road is a body guard, which made it’s way into the song Sleeping In Paris, which appears on The Wheel.  She always wanted to be a writer and then she wanted to be a songwriter, not necessarily a performer.  Her love of performing live came later. 

According to Rosanne, the book is organized thematically.  One recollection let to another in ways she wouldn’t have connected the events had she not been writing a memoir.  She talked about The List her father made for her of the 100 essential American songs she should know. This became the inspiration for her latest record The List. Her daughter Chelsea Crowell, a musician, asked her mom to make her a list. Rosanne said she’s still working on it’s as it’s a big responsibility. 

The icing on the cake of an enlightening evening was her performance of Seven Year Ache and two from The List which she performed with the accomplished musician/producer John Leventhal :  Sea of Heartbreak and Girl From the North Country. 

I’m looking forward to starting her book today.  She has an amazing command of the English language and I’m sure this book is sheer poetry.

 

Incorporating Music Into Advertising

One of my first memories of hearing current music in a commercial was for Teaberry Gum. The soundtrack was Herb Alpert and the Tijuanna Brass' Mexican Shuffle, which became the Teaberry Shuffle for the ads.  Put a piece of gum in your mouth and you'll be doing the Teaberry  Shuffle.  Have a little fun, with Teaberry Gum.   The ad integrated the song so well. It was an instrumental. 

In their current campaign, Target has been smart to use just the instrumental intro to songs in their ads.  The songs such as Tenderness by General Public are not exactly current (it was released over 20 years ago, but still sounds fresh today- nudge, nudge, wink, wink).  Using just the musical intro alleviates the pain of hearing a song with lyrics that are so opposed to what the product is selling, making the song choice inappropriate. 

I'm Defending Katie Couric

There has been so much media time given to the raw footage of Katie Couric from 2008, that you think she said that Sarah Palin's kids are Hitler, Satan and John Wayne Gacy all rolled up in one. She made a statement that I think 99.9% of this country agree with. Where did she come up with names like Trig and Track for her kids? Isn't Sarah the one who should be chastised for saddling her kids with those names? No matter who the parents are, no kids are shielded from other kids making fun of them. Why give kids more ammunition?

Rosanne Cash Composed

Rosanne Cash is an artistic treasure.  She's an accomplished singer/songwriter. She has tackled the book publishing world with a few titles to her credit. She's also written insightful pieces for the NY Times' Measure For Measure blog.  August 10th she releases Composed, her autobiography.  If you are in NY this Tuesday, the 10th, go see her at Barnes & Noble at Union Square.  (sorry B&N, but you don't have a associates program that I'm aware of).  She'll be interviewed and perform a few songs.  Whether you are familiar with her music or not, make it a point to go.  It will be an enlightening evening.

Mitch Miller

Sing Along With Mitch was my introduction to Mitch Miller, the record producer, recording artists, record label executive and TV host. He passed away at age 99.   "Follow the bouncing ball" was the catch phrase on his TV show.  The ball tracked the lyrics, so you could sing along with his orchestra.  We even had some of those records in our house.  The Yellow Rose Of Texas comes to mind as one of those songs I heard  a lot of in the early 60's. This was family entertainment in the 60's sponsored by Ballantine Beer. 

Later on I was surprised to learn that he was an executive at Columbia Records.  People like Rosemary Clooney and Tony Bennett credit him with starting or jump starting their career into stardom.  Mitch was not as welcoming to rock as he was to popular music.  According to Wikipedia, he signed Aretha Franklin, who left Columbia for Atlantic Records where she would score her hits.

Mitch Miller was one of my first music memories.  

Tom Petty's Perfect Song

American Girl is a perfect song, musically and lyrically.  As always, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers closed last night's show at the Garden with it.  From the guitar intro into the first line "She was an American Girl/Raised on promises", the song grabs you.  The chorus just invites the listener to sing along.  Petty closes his shows with the rockers.  The first song of the encore was Runnin' Down a Dream. 

The show opened with Listen to Her Heart and flowed into You Don't Know How It Feels.  Tom is a man of few words. To quote a cliche, he lets the music speak for itself.   He thanked the audience profusely throughout the show.  He referred to the Garden as the Temple of Rock and Roll.  The band gave a first rate performance for the next two hours, which would make them the high priests of the temple.

They are truly a unit.  Understated, each musician contributed to the performance.  Mike Campbell has always been a glue in the band.  Petty introduced him as the co-captain.  As a guitarist, he's probably one of the most underrated.  He could go up against anyone.  Benmont Tench's keyboards really struck me.  They were evident and added a perfect layer(s) to the sound.  Scott Thurston went from keyboards to guitar to harmonica and vocals.  Ron Blair and Steve Ferrone were the steady backbone.  They all raise the bar for Petty. 

The band performed a few songs from the new album Mojo grouped in the middle of the show. It lead off with the jaunty Jefferson Jericho Blues.  Good Enough is a down and dirty, dark guitar blast of music.  I loved it.  What stood out on the new songs was Mike Campbell's guitar work.  It was smooth, bleak, melodic and blue. 

The hits just kept on coming in this show: Learning to Fly,  Refugee,  Mary Jane's Last Dance, Free Fallin', I Won't Back Down..... Don't Come Around Here No More was the highlight for me.  Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers never disappoint. The set was solid rock and roll. It's good to be Tom Petty.

Noise Annoys

It started before 8am and the  jackhammering across the street continues.  Between that and the a/c, there's a cacophony in my apartment.  The soundtrack to my morning is Noise Annoys.  The Buzzcocks wrote a song that conveys  the frustration and anger at noise.  The play of guitars sounds like a traffic jam.

There is only one set of lyrics:
Pretty Girls Pretty Boys
Have you ever heard your mother say
Noise Annoys

The only word that changes is Say which becomes Shout and then Scream.  The song builds, the anger surfaces.  We can all relate.

Live Nation Gone To The Birds

As if Live Nation isn't having enough problems, now they have to refund tickets to the Kings of Leon show that took place on July 23rd in St Louis.  The band played 3 songs and left the stage.  There was an announcement that due to the band's safety, the show had been canceled.  Kings "safety" was compromised by a pooping pigeon that apparently landed it's goods in the mouth of the bass player.

Guster New Music

New music from Guster.  New album Easy Wonderful comes out on October 5th.  You can download the song Bad, Bad World from their website and/or listen here. 

Bad Bad World by guster

Liggers and Banarama

A few days ago, the discussion between T'Boo and I turned to liggers. The British press referred quite often to the ladies of Bananarama as being the ultimate liggers. After this discussion, I heard Robert DeNiro's Waiting.  I don't think I've heard that song since it was released. What made this band so successful? They aren't immensely talented. They had great style (let's wear hats, burlap sacks and vests and make it look good).  They were not coordinated.  They had a string of big hits.   I liked the early Bananarama when they worked with Fun Boy Three and did songs like It Ain"t What You Do and Really Saying Something.  I'm waiting for the cast of Glee to perform Cruel Summer. 

Idol Judge

According to Hits, both Chris Isaak and Harry Connick Jr have spoken to American Idol producers twice about filling Simon Cowell's empty seat. They also noted that Donald Trump was promoting himself for the position, but it looks like he wasn't considered a serious candidate.

A Towering Presence Retires

Russ Solomon the founder of Tower Records retired from the music business this weekend at age 84. He started selling used records out of his family's drug store. He went on to build a retail empire.

Sacrament Press has the full story.

Shortsightedness & Greed Killing Part of the Music Business?

It seems like issues that have plagued the music industry leaders, keep coming back to haunt them. Two financial revealings this week point to just that.

The first comes from the RIAA, which is essentially a lobbyist for the major record labels. It's no secret that they've been suing people who shared music over the Internet. Now it's no secret how much they spent on lawyers to do it in 2008. There's a document circulating that the sum is $16 million. TorrentFreak has an article on why the RIAA think it was worth the money even though they only received about $391,000 as a result of their lawsuits. Go figure. I see it as $16 million dollars to alienate your audience/consumers. Give them something they want, at a price point that makes sense and they will pay for it.

The other piece of news is concert promoter Live Nation announcing yesterday that tickets sales for the top 100 touring acts are down 12% in the first half of the year and they expect the numbers to be worse in the second half of this year. Per Encore: Executive Chairman Irving Azoff, who presented via video conference, chided investors for the sell-off.
"I'm hoping that what I'm seeing as all you guys e-mail back to your offices to dump the stock isn't indicative of the fact that we have a group of investors that are so shortsighted," Irving said.

In this case not only have ticket prices confused and angered ticket buyers, but now the chairman is chastising investors. Is this a house of cards waiting to fall? I don't think that will happen, but in order to prevent it, it seems like some serious rethinking/restructuring needs to take place.

They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks. There has got to be a trainer out there who will come in and show them how it's done.

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.

My One George Steinbrenner Story

I'm a Mets fan so I can't say I had strong feelings about the way George Steinbrenner ran his team. George passed away today, leaving a winning Yankee legacy behind him.

Phil reminded me today of the time he, myself and Mike Breen went to taping of Late Night with David Letterman. It's something we did frequently. When you're in college and the entertainment is free, you go for it. Mike was selected to talk about his brush with greatness. Before he became a nationally respected sportscaster, he parked cars at a golf club in Westchester during his Fordham days. Letterman asked him how the celebrities tipped. Mike said that most gave a deuce. Letterman than asked about Steinbrenner, who Mike had previously mentioned. Mike said he would give a $5. Letterman was taken aback by The Boss' generosity.

Give It Up Love

TechDirt points out that Mike Love was at it again suing his cousin Brian Wilson. The guy never stops. For someone who was soooo into meditation and being zen, he seems to be the most high strung and vindictive with a lot of time on his hands. Wonder why an attorney would even give credit to his ridiculous claims by taking on his case.

Summer In The City

When the temperature hits 100 in NYC, the soundtrack is the Mark Sebastian (John's brother) and Steve Boone song. Mark originally wrote it as a poem and his brother adapted it for the Lovin' Spoonful.

Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty... Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city.

Happy Birthday Ringo

Ringo (do I need to use his last name?) turns 70 today. He's celebrating at Radio City Music Hall with his All Starr Band. In honor of his birthday I thought I'd post a copy of my Help album. His "ring" is circled. The ring of course was a plot in the film. What possesses a four year old to alter album covers? It was done all the time back then. Unfortunately it's a pleasure that is not available to kids today. Happy Birthday Ringo!


Piece of trivia: Originally the Beatles were suppose to be spelling out HELP in semaphore for the cover. This turned out to look esthetically unpleasing to the eye, so the photographer Robert Freeman decided to place them as he thought would look best. There are many theories about them spelling out NVUJ or LPUS (lp record by us). It seems those theories are as baseless as Paul being dead.

When A Crocodile Eats The Sun

Living in this country, it’s hard to relate to the family life of Peter Godwin as portrayed in his 2007 memoir When A Crocodile Eats The Sun (a reference to a total eclipse), which is why I found this book to be a must read. The son of a British mother (a doctor) and a Polish/British father, he grew up in Rhodesia, which became Zimbabwe. In his second memoir, he chronicles the plight of not only the whites in Zimbabwe (most of whom were farmers), but the black middle class as well. Both are nearly eradicated with the rise in power of President Robert Mugabe, who might be better termed as a liberator turned dictator. A bloody and terrifying period began with his “land reform” program in 2000.

Peter uses his previous works as a journalist for National Geographic, etc to form the political and personal skeleton of this well written, coherent account of life in his Africa. Most Americans, myself included, have little knowledge of Africa. Crocodile is enlightening. Peter captures the political history along with citizen’s accounts of daily life, which makes for a captivating read. Following these realities will also sicken your stomach.

At the center of this book are Peter’s parents and family, specifically his father. Without giving anything away, Peter learns of his father’s well-kept secret, only after Peter himself becomes a father and is residing in New York. The story of his father’s survival is riveting and at times heartbreaking.

As a journalist, Peter digs deeper and as a reader I benefited. This book is not for the faint of heart. In 2008 I read an article in the New Yorker profiling Robert Mugabe and his nephew Leo written by Jon Lee Anderson, another journalist who embeds himself for the profound story. Leo is privileged by his uncle’s connections, was given the contract to build a new airport, has amassed wealth and was arrested for contraband export among other things but charges were dropped for lack of evidence. At the time this article was written, inflation was accessed to be around 230 million per cent! 80% of Zimbabweans were out of work and a bottle of water cost the equivalent of $19. No better way to cripple a country.

Peter himself seemed crippled in dealing with his past at the price of ignoring his present. He is able to get himself assigned to news pieces that will bring him back to Zimbabwe to frequently check on his parents and friends. Funerals and sick visits become the norm. His children know him more from his phone calls than his presence. By his writings, he is opening the eyes of an otherwise oblivious sector and I’m sure takes pride in knowing that he is affecting change.

At one point, Peter is listening to the music of local musicians Thomas Mapfumo and Oliver Mtukudzi. Both are political, speaking out against oppression, aids, etc. Mapfumo left Zimbabwe and resides in Oregon. Mtukudzi still lives in the country. Both write songs whose upbeat melodies probably (I say probably as most of the music is not in English) disguise their real lyrical story. In listening to their music, I can’t help but think of The Specials, especially their song Free Nelson Mandela, which might be heavily influenced by these two musicians. All these artists are striving to make us aware.

A Twisted Reality

Dee Snider and his family are following in the footsteps of the Osbournes and Simmons with their own reality show, Growing Up Twisted which debuts on July 27 at 10pm on A&E. Dee is most famously known as the front man for the band Twisted Sister. He's a great guest on Howard Stern, has a radio show, House of Hair and is the national spokesperson for the March of Dimes Bikers for Babies. The show takes place at the Long Island Snider home. When I was in high school, I used to see Twisted Sister live at a club called Speaks in Island Park. Along with Twisted Sister, Zebra, The Good Rats and Blue Angel, (which was Cyndi Lauper's first act) seemed to be performing there at any given night. Dee is staying close to his roots with this show.

Bill Aucoin Managed Kiss, Idol, Squire

Bill Aucoin who was best known for discovering and managing Kiss, died this week at the age of 66 from complications from cancer surgery. Peter Criss, the drummer for Kiss said in an AP interview , "He was the fifth Kiss. If it wasn't for Bill, there would be no Kiss." Bill served as Criss' best man for his second marriage. Bill believed in Kiss when people were passing them off as a crazy makeup group.

Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, the remaining members of Kiss are quoted on their website: "He was instrumental in guiding us from the beginning and without his vision, leadership and unending dedication, we could never have scaled the heights we have reached...Over all the years, he never missed an opportunity to be with us at our shows near his home or fly in for special concerts, including our most recent Madison Square Garden show. He had hoped to attend our London show earlier this month but his illness prevented it. He still planned to visit us upon the start of our upcoming US tour.
We loved him, told him and have peace that he knew it.
We will grieve and celebrate all he was and did.
We have lost a part of us."

Bill loved life and lived it to the fullest. Words can never convey his impact on us or those close to him.

Aucoin also managed Billy Idol and Billy Squire. Squire paid tribute to Aucoin on his website saying "Thank you friend, for the years of unwavering support...and for never letting me forget what it is that I do best."

Rescue Me Tonight

The show is back for it's final (2 part) season.

Google Music

Surprised that it's taken Google this long to venture into music? According to the Wall St Journal, Google is planning to launch their own music store later this year and then sometime in 2011 launch a subscription service, which is also referred to as music in the cloud. Will Google be able to penetrate Apple's stronghold? Can Google get people to start paying for music again?

Mystery Track #1

Ri who runs the site Music Savvy Mom (click on icon below) posts music without info on Fridays and a few days later reveals who the artists are after the comments come in. My disclaimer: I have a stake in this, but I'm suggesting you listen to Mystery Track #1. That's all I'll say. More to come...

David Bowie & Cher

I have no idea how to describe this 1975 performance from The Cher Show, so I've embedded it. David Bowie and Cher are singing Young Americans and halfway through they burst into Song Sung Blue. a few more songs, Wedding Bell Blues a few more songs then Young Blood and back to Young Americans. You have to watch it all the through. Who came up with this medley?

Tommy James: A Great Read, A Wild Ride

Since the beginning of recorded music, record companies have been cheating their artists out of royalties, none have been so blatant as Morris Levy owner of Roulette Records. Tommy James was the biggest selling artist on Roulette. He had 23 gold singles and nine gold and platinum records. He never saw a dime until Rhino Records reissued his catalog years later. Tommy to this day says there would be no Tommy James (real last name Jackson) without Morris. He was a tireless promoter who left Tommy to his own creative devices to make the records he wanted to make. No creative interference = no royalties. As an outsider looking in, it seems like Tommy's success stemmed from the way business was done at Roulette. Tommy mentions that he dealt directly with Morris and the label staff was very small. Things got done immediately. He didn't have days of meetings and decisions by committee which may have watered down his creative juices and delayed recordings. He let him record with the players he wanted and write with the writers he wanted. He would of course make sure that he got a piece, if not all of the publishing.

Morris was tied in with the Genovese crime family and it's the underlying, hushed reason why Morris got what he wanted, including Tommy James signed to his label, keeping the publishing when it wasn't his and never paying royalties. Morris is a main character in Tommy James' candid biography Me, The Mob and The Music. It covers his life in the music business and was written with Martin Fitzpatrick. The tales of Morris alone are worth the read. He started off by running concessions and coat checks at famous NY clubs and then transformed that into buying the clubs. He owned Birdland.

For me, the little facts that pop up here and there were of great interest.

- Whitey Ford (yes the Yankee HOF pitcher) was a co-owner of a recording studio called Broadway Sound that had one of the first Moog synthesizes, which James uses.

-The first band Linda Eastman McCartney photographed was TJ and The Shondells

-A Flamenco guitar can be found on Crystal Blue Persuasion

-Hubert Humphrey wrote the liner notes for the Crimson and Clover album. (I still have the single, but did not buy the album. It turns out that I was not alone in thinking the lyrics were Christmas is Over. The single was released in November. The timing was there.)

-Crimson and Clover had to be released in it's rough mix version. The story is classic.

-Hanky Panky, James' first single was found by a DJ in Pittsburgh who proceeded to burn his own copies and release it after it started getting local airplay. He sold 80,000 copies on his own label without James' blessing.

-Trade magazines such as Cash Box and Billboard all reported sales and airplay differently. Before Soundscan, a label could manipulate the charts to some extent.

-Shelly Winters was a drunk

James seemed to be ok with Morris guiding his career. He hated that he had to grovel to get money to pay his musicians, but there was a level of safety in knowing Morris would take care of everything. Morris would send him off with a $10,000 check after some office visits. Tommy does not shy away from his drug and infidelity problems (married at 17 with a son on the way-early in the book we lose track of these two, only to hear about his divorce or infrequent visits).

There are some details about the recordings of the records, but it would have been great to dig deep. In one sentence he mentions the teen magazine promotions. I would love to hear the details. Were those real? Teen Beat, etc would have cover headlines "Win a Date With Tommy James", "Your night with Davey Jones". I always wondered if anyone won those contests and if so, what happened. If James was ingesting prescription pills at the rates he writes about, I imagine it would be hard to recollect a lot of what when on. Many people are credited with helping him remember his stories.

Me, The Mob and The Music is a quick, interesting read. You don't have to be a Tommy James fan to enjoy this book. The stories will pull you in. It's already been optioned for a film.

Barbara Skydel RIP

Longtime booking agent Barbara Skydel passed away. She was beloved and a champion of the acts she represented. As Sebastian Bach said on this TwitLonger page, Over my 25 year career, Barbara was the only person who stuck with me through the whole thing, always believed In me, never left me. Until today. A very, very sad day. I loved you Barbara thanks for always being there for me & my family & fans. No one rocked harder than you. Skydel was an inspiration for women in the music business. She was the first female principal at a major agency. Among the many artists she represented were Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Who and The Clash.

What's A Sister Golden Hair To Do?

The band America has come up in several conversations in the past week. Just a few minutes ago I was on hold and heard Sister Golden Hair. America has written unforgettably, catchy songs. The music is always first. The lyrics had me perplexed. I spent many an hour with their liner notes pondering over the meaning of the lyrics.

I loved America. I had 1st row center seats at the Nassau Coliseum to see them and I took some very blurry photos. A girl I went to high school with was a scalper and scored the tickets.

Sister Golden Hair was the #1 hit from Hearts, which I played over and over until it had indelible scratches on it. Surprisingly this album is not available on CD in the US and if you want to buy it on iTunes it's an EP of three songs. Dissect Sister Golden Hair's lyrics and it sounds like Gerry Beckley wants to have his cake and eat it too, but I could be misinterpreting. America's lyrics, no matter who wrote them were always a challenge to decipher.



The song starts off with him feeling a little depressed on Sunday so he got himself undressed (which many people thought he was saying got himself on grass) and decides that Monday will be the day. He's not ready to commit to being married, but he thinks that he and the woman could be friends. Unwritten meaning: he'd like them to be friends with benefits. The story unfolds. He's been thinking about Sister Golden Hair (she has a name!) surprise. Does that mean he's surprised that he's thinking about her or that she's a surprise? He says he can't live without her and she should be able to see it in his eyes, although he's been too too hard to find. Hard to look someone in the eye if they are not around. After all his avoidance, she's still on his mind. Here's where it gets even more confusing, He wants her to meet him in the middle, in the air (I bet she's an angel). Could she love him a little just to show she cared? After asking all of this from her he says he tried to fake it and doesn't mind saying that he just can't make it. The music can't be anymore upbeat. Maybe that was his convoluted Dear John musical letter to someone. Would love to know if there was a person who was the inspiration. I bet she wasn't that into him in the first place. Regardless of the lyrics, it is a great song, which I'm sure was helped by a timeless George Martin production.

Jan & Dean & Gary Numan

Locnville, 20-year old twin brothers Andrew and Brian Chaplin from South Africa (although born in New York) have recorded a song, Sun In My Pocket. As far as I can tell, it's been released in South Africa and Sony have international rights with a release soon in the UK. The twins are distantly related to Charlie Chaplin (Charlie's brother is the guys great-grandfather).

I never thought these three names would be used to describe a song: Jan, Dean and Gary Numan. The chorus of Sun In My Pocket could have been taken from a Jan & Dean classic with Gary Numan producing the record. The verses have a hip hop edge, but when the chorus comes back to "I've got the sun in my pocket and the moon in my hand" it could fit right in with the Brian Wilson penned Surf City. I have a feeling they were not listening to Jan & Dean as they site influences Pink Floyd and Oasis, which their parents listen to. Then again, Oasis has written some great pop choruses and they may have listened to the Beach Boys and Jan & Dean. Sun In My Pocket would make a great summer hit. Video is below; it's not "Don't Come Around Here No More", but you get to see Locnville in action.

Irving Plaza It's Good To Have You Back

Live Nation, the owners of the music club that sits at 15th Street and Irving Place have finally come to their senses. They are restoring the name Irving Plaza to the club that they renamed: the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza in 2007. That's as catchy as the Los Angeles Angeles of Anaheim.

According to the NY Times, Kevin Morrow who is president of Live Nation's NY division said, “Since I’ve been here I haven’t had anyone say to me, ‘What a great idea that was,’ ” he said, referring to the Fillmore name. “Almost everybody I talk to in the New York music scene, one of their first experiences was at Irving Plaza. And I’m really excited to be able to bring back to the New York music scene what people have overwhelmingly desired.”

The Fillmore East was originally south of Irving Plaza at 2nd Ave and 6th Street. Both venues shared a tradition of housing Yiddish theater. The original Fillmore was only open for a few years, closing in 1971.

I have spent many a nights at Irving seeing a wide swath of wonderful shows: John Hiatt (this year), Radiohead, Los Lobos, INXS, The Ramones and on many many occasions David Johansen. I was a student at Fordham University in the late 70's/early 80's and used to D train it into Manhattan to see shows all the time. David let me in on the back staircase secret which allowed me to get into the club for free. Never remembering my name, David always referred to me as Fordham. He must have taken pity on a music loving college student. The first time he turned me on to the stairs was during his soundcheck. He said have a seat and put me at big table with Deborah Harry sitting directly opposite me. There are about 5 of us in the venue at that point, besides the band. Oh the rock gods were circling my head that night. Don't bother trying to find this stairwell. It's not accessible anymore.

Idol-The Simon Show

American Idol is on as I write this. The show brought me back to high school. It opened with a thinning white haired Barry Gibb and his brother Robin (when did he become the good looking one?) singing How Deep Is Your Love? The nostalgia continued with a portly Michael MacDonald singing Taking It To The Streets. Hall & Oates performed You Make My Dreams Come True. I was convinced it was minutes away from Eric Carmen's All By Myself or American performing Sister Golden Hair. I will admit that hearing either one of those would have been the highlight of the show.

As the show progressed it turned into a Simon Cowell tribute. A lovely looking Paula Abdul returned as well as a black and white clad cast of past contestants.

On the heels of all of this, Ellen DeGeneres announces she's starting a record label. Is she aware that it might never be the right time to start a record label. Couldn't find out if she's fronting it herself.

They haven't announced a winner yet, but either way, both Crystal or Lee have the talent to be successful.

Live Dates Cancelled, Injuries, Death and Propably Poor Ticket Sales

Bono had emergency back surgery and U2 is unable to play The Glastonbury Festival and has rescheduled the US tour for 2011.

Mastodon's guitarist Bill Kelliher has been diagnosed with Pancreatitis and will cancel a European tour.

Paul Gray bassist of Slipknot was found dead in his hotel room yesterday.

The Eagles have canceled two dates for Hershey and Philadelphia, PA June 14 & 15. Appearing on the bill with the Eagles were the Dixie Chicks and Keith Urban. The band's website does not give a reason for the cancellations. No one seems to be injured.

Female Mets Fans Are Happier

Yes, the Wall St Journal confirms that female Mets fans are happier than female Yankee fans. The subway series begins today and the WSJ polled 650 sports fans in NY. There seems to be a great divide between younger and older Yankee fans. Older women who follow the Yankees are less likely to be traveling this summer on vacation (26% versus 10%) and are bigger fans of public radio (18% versus 12%) and bowling (7% versus 2%). They're also far more likely than their younger counterparts to be Democrats (75% versus 59%). I think younger Yankee fans also think they are entitled to World Series wins. Let's face it, in their lifetime they have seen many.

Mets fans on the other hand didn't have an age divide. In general, "Ms. Met" falls into the statistical middle in most categories, with the younger and older Yankees fans touching either extreme. She is most likely to make between $50,000 and $150,000 (53% versus 44% of young Yankees fans and 38% of older Yankees fans) and you're more likely to see a tattoo creeping across her shoulder than you would with older Yankees fans (17% versus 6%), but less likely than with younger ones (24%). Could Lisbeth Salander be a Mets fan?

Mets women generally feel more enthusiastic in their daily lives..... Mets women are more likely to abstain from alcohol (25%) than older Yankees fans (18%) and younger Yankees fans (14%).

Since this isn't very scientific, I don't think you could say that female Yankee fans are miserable drunks. Being a female Mets fan, I feel (and this goes for the past few years) that taking each game as it comes is a good prescription for a healthy life. Yankee fans haven't had the kind of angst we live with.

American Idol Losing It's Inspiration

1. Simon chose the second song for Lee DeWyze to sing on Idol tonight. He picked the Leonard Cohen song Hallelujah, most notably sung by Jeff Buckley. Although everyone thought Lee did a wonderful job with the song, I thought it was an uninspired, lazy choice by Simon. The song has been covered way too much, including k.d. lang's version at the Olympics. I used to like the song, but feel like it's been shoved down my throat way too many times.



2. Could Randy have chosen a sleepier song for Casey James? Daughters by John Mayer is not a rock song, which is exactly what Casey needed this week. I don't think Casey wants to win. He's got a better chance at a long career if he doesn't win (see Daughtry) and I think he's aware of that. Kara said he needed to play to his audience which she said is females. Not sure that I agree with her. I think if he wins Idol, that would be his audience. If he's gone tomorrow, he has a good shot at leading a credible rock band that would have male fans. It's not all about the hair (see Greg Allman). Peter Frampton had the hair, played a great guitar wrote good songs, had a massive hit album and then fashioned himself an idol and played to the ladies. His career never recovered.



3. I never would have guessed that Ellen would have the best song choice of the night. Handing Crystal Bowersox Maybe I'm Amazed was an inspired choice and Crystal nailed it.



4. Have the Idols run their course? The hometown visits used to be big events. The Idols rode in open convertibles to cheering fans along a parade route and then played to a crowd of thousands. This year two of them stood in front of an AT&T store with very sparse crowds attending and got a text message letting them know what song they would be singing. One of them got the text on a plane, making you think he didn't even make it home. The producers should cut the home visit segment. I can only liken it to watching a Mets game on TV and all one sees are empty seats behind home plate.

EMI On Life Support, But Still Breathing

According to the Wall St Journal, Terra Firma (which ironically translates to solid earth), the private equity group that bought EMI a few years ago, has rallied another $150 million from investors to keep the entertainment company from defaulting (for the time being) to Citigroup. Who are these investors and isn't there something a little more stable or innovative they could be putting their money behind? The article goes on to say that the company will probably be split and they will sell off the different divisions, which seems about the only logical thing it can do besides slashing overpaid executive salaries.

Hey Mommy!

It's the day after Mother's Day, which is close enough for me to post this special Mother's Day video. It's a tribute to Kaja from her daughter Ariana. Ariana's Dad and Kaja's husband Adam is a great video editor. His specialty is music. I'm sure Adam and Ariana had a blast making it. Move over Toni Basil, it's Ariana!

Who Killed Bambi?

I'd heard about the "lost" Sex Pistols movie Who Killed Bambi? Production stopped after four days of filming. Creative differences were cited as the reason the film was never completed. Snippets were used in Malcolm McLaren's The Great Rock and Roll Swindle. I had no idea that Roger Ebert was the screenwriter. On his blog, Roger has reprinted the second draft of the screenplay. Russ Meyer was the director. He also directed the 1970, Roger Ebert penned Beyond the Valley Of The Dolls. According to an earlier interview with Ebert, he said the Sex Pistols were big fans of Beyond and wanted he and Russ to create a movie for them. The first three minutes of this video are an interview with Russ regarding the doomed movie.

John Irving Tells His Story at the 92Y

Plot is key in a John Irving novel. According to him, it’s key to any good novel. Any good writer has to feel frightened to make the reader believe the incident they are reading about is frightening. John Irving has made me suspend disbelief in every one of his novels, but somehow I buy into the storyline, because it’s riveting and the characters are so full of life.

John spoke at the 92nd Street Y last night and let us in on his story. He was the child of a theater person. His first love was acting. His mother worked at a local theater. He was 6 at the time and would hang out and watch rehearsals. His mother would tell him the plot of the play before it was produced, which he said may be why he always writes the last line or paragraph of the book first. And that line(s) has never changed. He read us the last part of his uncompleted book last night. The book has the working title In One Person, which he derived from a line in Shakespeare’s Richard ll. This is the tale of a bisexual boy who falls in love with a transgender, but he is unaware that she is a transgender. Although he didn’t reveal more than that, I’m sure there will be a bear or a child who never physically grows up somewhere in the mix.

The youngest of his children will be leaving the house next year to go to college. This is the first time in many years that he will not have a child living at home with him. In a moment of vulnerability, he confessed that being afraid for someone else informed his writing and changed his life.

He studied German in his early 20’s and had a jazz drummer as a roommate. The apartment was above a folk music hall, where the music played into the night. He read this story, which was a memoir of connecting. He asked that it not be recorded. Even though his friend, the writer Edmund White suggested he write his memoirs, he is not interested. He has written about portions of his life and in one instance he regretted it. He felt that story should have been saved and embellished, twisted or played with so that it would end up in one of his novels. John Irving tells a great story.

Promises, Promises

The opening staging during the overture for Promises, Promises sucks you right into the early 60's. Mad Men coutured dancers are spotlighted behind a late night working CC Baxter, played by Sean Hayes. He wants desperately to climb the corporate ladder and release himself from a dead end job. He has one thing his married superiors don't have: an apartment. The married men in his company are not shown in a favorable light and as with the show Mad Men, have no problem hopping into bed with much younger women. They sing about finding a place for 30 or 45 minutes. Nice date?! The younger women don't seem to mind giving out for a quick one in a stranger's apartment.

The story is based on the Billy Wilder movie The Apartment, which starred the always wonderful Jack Lemmon. The film seemed a lot lighter than the play, which has a hint of melancholy. Vocal powerhouse Kristin Chenoweth as Fran Kubelik evokes sadness. She's trying to be a tough cookie, but there is an underlying depression lurking in her soul. The black cloud is lifted in act two. The bar scene with Sean Hayes and Katie Finneran (she won the Drama Desk Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical) as Marge- the possibly still married, slightly inebriated women sitting next to him made me laugh harder than anything since The Producers. Not to give anything away, but she kills when she describes her attire. Sean plays a great drunk. In another scene he tries to position himself in a very mod chair in his superior's office and it seems like he's channeling Dick Van Dyke. His Tony nomination is well deserved.

The music was composed by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the original play which was set in the late 60's. The music feels more late than early 60's. The 60's was an explosive time for music with all genre being played on the radio. These arrangements sounded very true to the original soundtrack which featured Jerry Orbach. There is no mistaking the songs as being written by anyone else. The centerpiece of course is I'll Never Fall In Love Again. The acoustic duet between Kristin and Sean is very touching and a vulnerable turning point in the play. The week I saw the musical, Kristin was all over TV, singing two of the songs that were added to this production: A House Is Not A Home (Glee), which causes chills and Say A Little Prayer (on Regis and Kelly).



It's an enjoyable production, but it felt like there was a small piece of energy missing from it. I couldn't quite figure out what it was lacking. Maybe it should have been set in the swinging 60's rather than the early part of that era. Maybe the premise is just a bit dated no matter how you stage it.

Britain's Rich List

The Sunday Times unveiled it's rich list. Note: this is all in pounds. The dollar is worth about .65 per pound. Simon Cowell exponentially added to his wealth with the success of Susan Boyle's record. It was released on his label. The brothers Gibb, otherwise know as the Bee Gees round out the top 20. An article in the Times reveals that many rockers have not weathered the financial storm as well as some of the other. Elton John's wealth is down by 26% and Tom Jones down 24%. Does that even register on their radar? There is also an accompanying video that points out that wrinkle rockers rule the rich list. Trying saying that three times fast!

Below is the Sunday Times' full "Rich List":

1. Edgar Bronfman & family (1.64 billion pounds)
2. Clive Calder (1.3 billion pounds)
3. Andrew Lloyd-Webber (700 million pounds)
4. Cameron Mackintosh (635 million pounds)
5. Paul McCartney (475 million pounds)
6. Simon Fuller (350 million pounds)
7. Mick Jagger (190 million pounds)
8. Elton John (185 million pounds)
9. Sting (180 million pounds)
10. Keith Richards (175 million pounds)
11. Simon Cowell (165 million pounds)
12. Olivia & Dhani Harrison (160 million pounds)
13. Jamie Palumbo (150 million pounds)
14. David & Victoria Beckham (145 million pounds)
15. Tim Rice (140 million pounds)
16. Ringo Starr (140 million pounds)
17. Tom Jones (135 million pounds)
18. Eric Clapton (125 million pounds)
19. Roger Ames (120 million pounds)
20. Barry & Robin Gibb (110 million pounds)

Band Vs Promoter

This animated piece sums up what most musicians have to deal with to get a gig. I'd say it's a typical scenario about 80% of the time. On a completely different note, why was Mary J Blige singing Stairway to Heaven on American Idol last night?

The Perils of 360 Deals

Bob Donnelly, music attorney, very cleanly explains 360 deals that major record labels are offering musicians. He cautions against them for a number of reasons. In these deals the labels not only take approximately 85% of your record sales, they also want a piece in some cases as high as 50% of the artist's other revenue streams such as merchandise, touring, publishing, etc. If record labels were set up to work these areas, it might make sense, but they are not. The labels staffs are dwindling by the day. The labels also want their % on the artist's gross, not the net! In that case, all touring costs such as crew salaries, per diems, hotel and travel costs would all be carried by the artist, the label would assume none of these costs, yet they could commission on those very costs. Even if the label offers tour support to a musician, they would still be commissioning on the money they "loan". Make sense? I don't see how it does for a musician.

Mr Donnelly noted in the Lefsetz letter that the first paragraph of his Billboard post was left off, so here it is.

A new type of record label contract has come to be known as a "360 deal" (as in "360 degrees in a circle") since it seeks to make the label a participant in revenue streams from every quarter of an artist's career. In his popular music industry blog, Bob Lefsetz wants to know why artists would consider such a contract. With typical humor, he writes: If you're contemplating a major label deal and your success is not based on terrestrial radio play, and you don't make pop music, YOU'RE A FUCKING IDIOT!... But where were the attorneys? Oh, I know they were afraid of pissing off the labels, not eating themselves. Are they interested in their clients or THEMSELVES?

Background

Record Store Days

Tomorrow is the annual Record Store Day. Go to your local record store, if you still have one and purchase some music. Record stores are a dying breed. Gary Calamar a DJ on L.A.'s KCRW as well as music supervisor for TV shows such as Dexter and music journalist Phil Gallo collaborated on a book, Record Store Days: From Vinyl to Digital and Back Again. USA Today has a nice piece on the writers and the book. Gary worked at Licorice Pizza a now defunct LA record store. He's lived the record store life. There is a forward from R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, who met bandmate Michael Stipe at a record store.

Saying Goodbye To Betty

This season of Ugly Betty was probably it's best. After ABC shuffled the show around in different time slots, it lost its audience and ABC canceled one of the better shows on TV, while renewing the painful to watch Cougar Town. I was a fan, but had no idea when Betty was on and missed it most of the time. I wound up watching some of those lost episodes online.

The series concluded last night with Betty being Betty. She's a positive, take charge, driven woman. She "glammed" up this season. She lost her braces, started wearing less flamboyant clothes (no ponchos), higher heels and straightened her hair. In the finale, Betty accepts a job in London with much trepidation. She's leaving her family and a job she knows.

Betty has always been about risk taking so it's fitting that she makes the move. She takes on London to Generation X's "Ready Steady Go". In the song, Billy Idol praises the presenter (Cathy McGowan) of TV show of the same name and points out icons of British pop. McGowan was a fashion trendsetter in the 60's. In some respects, Betty is a bit punk rocker/trendsetter. She moves to the beat of her own drummer. Her clothing is thought provoking and although working for a fashion magazine, she shuns trends, perhaps creates her own. She fights for what she believes in.



The last few minutes of the show beautifully closed out the series. She bumps into her ex-boss in what I think is Trafalgar Square. They make dinner plans. Macy Gray's "Beautiful In The World" is the soundtrack. The graphics read Ugly Betty. The Ugly fades leaving only the bold red of BETTY.

Malcolm MacLaren

Malcolm McLaren who managed the Sex Pistols and left a line of controversy in his wake, died at age 64 of cancer. His first endeavor to put him on the map was a clothing store he opened on the King's Road in London, with his then girlfriend Vivienne Westwood in 1971. The shop was frequented by people such as John Lydon otherwise known as Johnny Rotten.

The Guardian quoted Mr Lydon: "For me Malc was always entertaining, and I hope you remember that. Above all else he was an entertainer and I will miss him, and so should you." Comments on the web range from calling him an Entertainer to Rock & Roll Swindler to asshole. Interesting legacy to leave.

Gang Of Four For Sale

The latest band to fan finance their next musical endeavor is the Gang Of Four. They are offering many items stated on their pledge page: We’re offering weirder and more wonderful options to a limited number of GO4 aficionados. What about taking a helicopter trip to this summer’s Glastonbury Festival with us? Or you might enjoy a listen to our first ever gig (recorded in Leeds in May 1977), provided to you on a cassette inside a Walkman individually decorated by Andy and Jon. A private view of an exhibition of GO4 art combined with a gig in London’s ICA this June are just some of the other possibilities.

£950 will get you that one-way helicopter trip with the band. No tips on how to get home though.

Opening Day

The excitement of Opening Day! No matter who your team is, they are in it on Opening Day. It's a level playing field. Opening Day is like the start of a tour. The team/band is refreshed, rehearsed, ready for the crowds and feeling confident. The laundry is all washed, there is air in the tires and everyone is in a great mood.

The Mets won today behind great pitching from Santana and a big offense which started with David Wright's two-run homer in the first inning. As Bart Giamatti said "The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again....."

Dusty in Carl Schurz Park showing off her jersey.

Apple Buys EMI

This was the headline on today's Lefsetz letter. It took me a minute to ponder why Apple would want EMI, then I realized it's April 1st. EMI will probably end up a lot worse than having Apple take over. It makes no sense for Apple, but the move would probably save the hanging on by a thread music company.

EMI will sink (or be turned over to Citigroup) if it doesn't receive about $200 million by June 14. It's new executive chairman Charles Allen rejected offers from Sony and Universal yesterday for the right to license (not own) the music for 5 years. Read more at the Telegraph.

The Economics of Being A Gay Musician

Ricky Martin announced on his website that he was gay. He decided to write his memoirs a few months ago, which prompted some soul searching. He revealed "For many years, there has been only one place where I am in touch with my emotions fearlessly and that's the stage. " He ends the piece with this line, "I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am."

The Wall Street Journal took an economic approach to what this announcement may or may not mean to his economic bottom line. The same news certainly didn't hurt Elton John.