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.