(Note: I neglected to include my Dukes Of September Spotify playlist with the last missive, you have to click through, you have to hear Boz's version of "Love T.K.O.": http://spoti.fi/LWIyEW)
_________________
"Sweet Freedom"
Did you see that Billy Crystal/Gregory Hines flick? You know, the one from '86, entitled "Running Scared", from when we still believed movies could change the course of culture but didn't mind mindless diversions like this, before it became all about the mindless diversions?
I miss Gregory Hines. I used to see him on "Ed Sullivan" with his brother and dad, long before he became an actor. As for Billy Crystal... His peak was "City Slickers", even more than "When Harry Met Sally", even though the latter is a better flick. This was in that period between being a standup and becoming a national treasure the oldsters embrace but the little kids disdain.
And I could recite the entire plot, but let me just say Billy and Gregory are Chicago cops and they're sent to Key West... Don't ask.
And when they're down there, there's a time-honored montage, of the good life, that will make you want to stop reading this and immediately fly to Florida. That's what movies do so well, make us want to live another, better life.
And the music playing during this extended sequence is... Michael McDonald's "Sweet Freedom".
And this was totally unexpected. In the theatre was the first time I heard this. There was no Internet, no plethora of information. And I became enraptured. I'm still enraptured. And you cannot listen to this on Spotify, but you can listen to a zillion covers. That's what you don't realize, if you're not on Spotify, your imitators are. So you might as well be.
All the little extras will entrance you. Even before Michael starts to sing, you're hooked...
"No more runnin' down the wrong road
Dancin' to a different drum"
Yes, listening to this track you're on the right road, you're free and easy.
Cowritten by Rod Temperton, "Sweet Freedom" sounds like it's straight off of "Thriller", heavily produced and just right. Listen.
YouTube clip from movie: http://bit.ly/eEodxz
Official music video: http://bit.ly/IDzCDD
"I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)"
It may be hard to believe, but once upon a time, Michael McDonald was one of the biggest stars in the business. It was his turn in the Doobie Brothers, more specifically "Minute By Minute", his work on the multiple hits from that album. But my favorite McDonald cut is from the uneven follow-up, "One Step Closer", "Real Love". From the crunchy keyboard intro that sounds like munching cereal to the second keyboard to the changes to McDonald's vocals to the lyrics, "Real Love" is a forgotten masterpiece. And that's what we're all searching for, just one minute of real love.
"I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)" was the follow-up to "Real Love", it was the first single off of "If That's What It Takes". And it delivered. Even if the album didn't completely...
"I keep forgettin' we're not in love anymore"
I'd just broken up with my live-in girlfriend. We got together numerous times after we stopped living together, had conversation, had sex, but I knew it was not forever, even though so much of it was so right. This record came out after we'd pretty much permanently disconnected, even though we did hook up again and try a couple of times thereafter, and by this point most of the pain was gone, but memories don't fade that fast, you wonder...what have I lost, have I missed out, should I go back?
Meanwhile, this song was cowritten by Ed Sanford, who had a hit in the midseventies with his partner Johnny Townsend entitled "Some From A Distant Fire". And ultimately Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller were given credit too, because of the similarity to their hit "I Keep Forgettin'", which I'm gonna include in this playlist. You'll hear the similarity, but many have skated on less resemblance. And however parallel the songs might be, only one had the vocal of Michael McDonald...which makes this track unique.
"I Gotta Try"
This is the other killer cut on "If That's What It Takes".
"Maybe it's true what they say about it
Maybe we can't make the ends meet
Maybe we'll all have to do without it
Maybe this world's just incomplete"
Life is about fighting the conventional wisdom, doing what they say can't be done. And this song is an inspiration, it goes through my brain decades later, it makes me believe I can do what can't be done, that I can make it.
"Some see the road as clear
Some say the end is here
They say it's a hopeless fight
But I say I gotta try
Oh, I gotta try baby"
Ain't that the way it is.
Meanwhile, there are so many good verses and changes here. And don't miss the backup vocals of Kenny Loggins, who cowrote it and included his take on his own album "High Adventure", kind of like Cary Simon put her take of her cowritten with McDonald song "You Belong To Me", which appeared first on the Doobies' "Livin' On The Fault Line", on her album "Boys In The Trees".
Unfortunately, Kenny saps it up, Jim Messina always kept this side of him in check. Still, you can't deny the magic of a great song. And this is one.
"I Heard It Through The Grapevine"
McDonald put out a stiff second solo album, had a hit duet with James Ingram on "Yah Mo B There", and then faded away. This one-time backup singer for Steely Dan seemed to function best as a member of a troupe, put him out front and he just can't seem to shoulder the responsibility. But as part of an ensemble, he kills, as he is doing right now with the Dukes Of September. And at his nadir, about a decade ago, he reinvented himself as a Motown soul singer, and did it quite well, listen to this as evidence. You'll love listening to his Motown albums, but I'd be lying if I said they were necessary.
"I'll Wait"
To say "1984" was a smash would be to underestimate it, to understate the facts. It was a Van Halen victory lap that was unforeseen that lasted for longer than the year that titled the album. And sure, "Jump" was the single that wouldn't die, but "Hot For Teacher" was nearly as big, because of the MTV video if nothing else. And "Panama" was huge. But my second favorite cut on the album, the one no one ever talks about, but is so damn right, is "I'll Wait".
It was cowritten by Michael McDonald... How do you like that!!
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/sSUWRB
Previous Rhinofy playlists: http://www.rhinofy.com/lefsetz
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Friday, 29 June 2012
Dukes Of September At The Gibson
Boz Scaggs hit it so far out of the park with Teddy Pendergrass's "Love T.K.O." I could not help but swoon, even though I don't think I've ever heard the song before.
I had to ask the African-American woman sitting next to me the title, she was writing everything down. She said it was by Teddy Pendergrass. Maybe I was on one of my backwoods sojourns when this was a hit, but Boz's version was so right, so special, it was the highlight of the show in one packed with fireworks, and I don't even like Boz that much.
Oh, he did "Lowdown"... When Freddy Washington picked out those bass notes the crowd went berserk. It'd be hard for the young 'uns to understand, that a track we all loved and adored and knew by heart was not an evanescent piece of shit. And you could hear the amount of money spent on the original, it'd be hard to cut in your bedroom, but this was back when music ruled the world, when a musician was richer and more powerful with a better life than anybody else. Hell, it wasn't only about the money, you could get laid every night of the week, sometimes multiple times a day, and you might get the clap, but never AIDS. And the soundtrack was oftentimes Boz's "Silk Degrees", with the sleek cover photographed by my old buddy Moshe Brakha, who I haven't seen in decades.
This show was so good, so special, so right, if Donald Fagen wasn't lost in the past and embraced social media his fans might be aware of it and it would eclipse the Steely Dan tours, because it's a celebration of everything that once was, it's our DNA on stage.
Whether it be "Sweet Soul Music", the individual hits or "Summer In The City".
Do you like to dance, do you like to sing along? One of the encores was Sly's "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"... They funked it up good. I couldn't help but stand and shake my body. To this song with references to previous Sly and the Family Stone hits, like "Sing A Simple Song", remember when acts had more than one hit, when they had careers?
The second highlight, even though Michael McDonald was the anchor of the show, was "Pretzel Logic"...
Ooh, you know, the keyboard swagger, that intro, and then...
"I would love to tour the southland in a traveling minstrel show"
That's what we all desired. More than flying on a private jet, lying on the beach, we wanted to be backstage, we wanted to get closer to the musicians, we wanted to hang. And this troupe might not be rich...but boy were they having fun! That's one thing they don't tell you about being a banker, YOU'VE GOT TO DO THE JOB! As boring as playing chess with someone catatonic, the only benefit is the money. But playing music is its own satisfaction.
"Pretzel Logic"'s not even close to forty minutes long, but it's superior to all of those hour plus statements released today. The hit was "Rikki Don't Lose That Number", but every track was solid, every number resonated in its own special way. Whether it be "Barrytown", "Any Major Dude Will Tell You", "Monkey In Your Soul" or the title cut. I spent that summer spinning it incessantly. It's burned into my brain. Just the initial notes of "Pretzel Logic" perk me up and brighten my day.
And Michael McDonald sang the background vocals on "Peg", just like on the original! And sure, he did "I Keep Forgettin'", but even better received was "Takin' It To The Streets".
"You don't know me but I'm your brother"
There was no income gap, not one any of us could see, we were all in it together, bonded by the music.
And last night it was the same all over again. Decades later. We may not have looked that good, but inside we were young once again.
And one of the encores was Buddy Miles's "Them Changes".
Talk about forgotten...
My mind's been going through them changes. I live in a world where music is a second class citizen, where all the innovation and excitement is in tech, where the musicians just want to sell out to the corporations which were never on our side. Then I go to a show like this and I'm reminded of the power of a band, of a song, of music.
"And we were havin' a lot of fun"
Yes, we were. Singing, dancing, forgetting all our troubles, locked on to the sound.
It was the same as it ever was.
And it was GREAT!
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I had to ask the African-American woman sitting next to me the title, she was writing everything down. She said it was by Teddy Pendergrass. Maybe I was on one of my backwoods sojourns when this was a hit, but Boz's version was so right, so special, it was the highlight of the show in one packed with fireworks, and I don't even like Boz that much.
Oh, he did "Lowdown"... When Freddy Washington picked out those bass notes the crowd went berserk. It'd be hard for the young 'uns to understand, that a track we all loved and adored and knew by heart was not an evanescent piece of shit. And you could hear the amount of money spent on the original, it'd be hard to cut in your bedroom, but this was back when music ruled the world, when a musician was richer and more powerful with a better life than anybody else. Hell, it wasn't only about the money, you could get laid every night of the week, sometimes multiple times a day, and you might get the clap, but never AIDS. And the soundtrack was oftentimes Boz's "Silk Degrees", with the sleek cover photographed by my old buddy Moshe Brakha, who I haven't seen in decades.
This show was so good, so special, so right, if Donald Fagen wasn't lost in the past and embraced social media his fans might be aware of it and it would eclipse the Steely Dan tours, because it's a celebration of everything that once was, it's our DNA on stage.
Whether it be "Sweet Soul Music", the individual hits or "Summer In The City".
Do you like to dance, do you like to sing along? One of the encores was Sly's "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"... They funked it up good. I couldn't help but stand and shake my body. To this song with references to previous Sly and the Family Stone hits, like "Sing A Simple Song", remember when acts had more than one hit, when they had careers?
The second highlight, even though Michael McDonald was the anchor of the show, was "Pretzel Logic"...
Ooh, you know, the keyboard swagger, that intro, and then...
"I would love to tour the southland in a traveling minstrel show"
That's what we all desired. More than flying on a private jet, lying on the beach, we wanted to be backstage, we wanted to get closer to the musicians, we wanted to hang. And this troupe might not be rich...but boy were they having fun! That's one thing they don't tell you about being a banker, YOU'VE GOT TO DO THE JOB! As boring as playing chess with someone catatonic, the only benefit is the money. But playing music is its own satisfaction.
"Pretzel Logic"'s not even close to forty minutes long, but it's superior to all of those hour plus statements released today. The hit was "Rikki Don't Lose That Number", but every track was solid, every number resonated in its own special way. Whether it be "Barrytown", "Any Major Dude Will Tell You", "Monkey In Your Soul" or the title cut. I spent that summer spinning it incessantly. It's burned into my brain. Just the initial notes of "Pretzel Logic" perk me up and brighten my day.
And Michael McDonald sang the background vocals on "Peg", just like on the original! And sure, he did "I Keep Forgettin'", but even better received was "Takin' It To The Streets".
"You don't know me but I'm your brother"
There was no income gap, not one any of us could see, we were all in it together, bonded by the music.
And last night it was the same all over again. Decades later. We may not have looked that good, but inside we were young once again.
And one of the encores was Buddy Miles's "Them Changes".
Talk about forgotten...
My mind's been going through them changes. I live in a world where music is a second class citizen, where all the innovation and excitement is in tech, where the musicians just want to sell out to the corporations which were never on our side. Then I go to a show like this and I'm reminded of the power of a band, of a song, of music.
"And we were havin' a lot of fun"
Yes, we were. Singing, dancing, forgetting all our troubles, locked on to the sound.
It was the same as it ever was.
And it was GREAT!
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Thursday, 28 June 2012
Independent Album Chart-Week Ending 6/24/12
1. Smashing Pumpkins "Oceania"
Sales this week: 53,396
Debut
Overall rank: 4
He's not warm and fuzzy. But his generation, which came of age in the nineties, respects him.
Considered to be a return to form, it appears Billy Corgan is here to stay. Furthermore, this shows the power of brand names. Doesn't matter who's in the band, people are interested in "Smashing Pumpkins" a lot more than "Billy Corgan".
2. "Rock Of Ages" Original Soundtrack
Sales this week: 48,767
Percentage change: +34
Cume: 103,194
Overall rank: 5
Whew, pretty good for a stiff movie. But nothing compared to the soundtracks of yore. I guess this is the music/movie business in a nutshell. Movies are made for everyone, and have to sell millions. Most music is a niche product.
4. Glen Hansard "Rhythm And Repose"
Sales this week: 16,064
Debut
Overall rank: 21
You've got to take a risk. Glen Hansard was a journeyman musician essentially unknown in the U.S. until "Once". Now many people are champing at the bit to do movies, but more credible artists tend to say no to opportunities instead of yes. But if you say yes, you've got no idea of the end result. The end result of "Once" is that Glen Hansard has a solo career. If only he'd change his name to "Once"... Ha!
6. Lumineers
Sales this week: 10,662
Percentage change: +1
Cume: 87,836
Overall rank: 38
The buzz is deafening. If you're listening. This is kind of like the Civil Wars. Insiders know, and they're spreading the word. People are hungry for authenticity. That's how they see the Lumineers.
Real songs, real instruments, Mumford & Sons was the first, people want this sound, especially in this phony high tech world that dominates our lives.
9. Alabama Shakes "Boys & Girls"
Sales this week: 9,403
Percentage change: 0
Cume: 196,933
Overall rank: 45
In the old days, the seventies, a band like this would have gotten press buzz and not even cracked 100,000 in the life of the record, like Little Feat. But in the new connected world, if you're lucky enough to get buzz, and it's strong, it can seep into nooks and crannies and permeate in a way unheard of previously. In other words, if they didn't play your track on the radio in the seventies, you were screwed. But today, assuming you don't make Top Forty stuff, you can do just fine without radio play. Online is the counterculture. And it's strong.
12. Mumford & Sons "Sigh No More"
Sales this week: 7,659
Percentage change: -16
Cume: 2,308,052
Overall rank: 61
This is the new "Tapestry". Well, not exactly. But what I mean is this album has been on the charts for an amazing 123 weeks. Used to be only "Tapestry" and "Dark Side Of The Moon" sustained. Furthermore, this is Mumford & Sons' debut.
You can lament the passing of the MTV era, with its saturation marketing supercharged by Top Forty radio, but come on, Mumford never would have sold this amount back then. Of course it would be different if MTV played it, but they never would. Folk music? Maybe electronic and Tony Bennett, but they didn't stray far from their mainstream genres. But today, you can grow outside the system, you can triumph.
And Mumford is just beginning. There's the imminent movie, this meshuggeneh tour and eventually a new album. Mumford is shaking it up, breaking all the rules, following their own muse, and it's all about the music. WHAT A CONCEPT!
13. Bonnie Raitt "Slipstream"
Sales this week: 7,480
Percentage change: -8
Cume: 201,156
Overall rank: 62
This is a positively staggering story. On Capitol, she was a faded has-been who spent a lot to record albums that underperformed. But as an indie, she's shattering the glass ceiling, doing better than she'd have done on a major, because to them she's not a priority, they don't know how to sell her.
Most consumers have no idea this is an indie production. It is cheap and underfunded not a whit. Print sold it. Oldsters still read. And credit must be given to the distributor, RED.
But think about it, Bonnie not only makes all the money, she owns the album!
Other than the Wal-Mart sellers, and that paradigm is now dead, no boomer act has done better as an indie than Bonnie Raitt. Credit a loyal fan base who cares, Bonnie has always been authentic, and flawless execution.
Utterly amazing.
40. Joe Bonamassa "Driving Towards The Daylight"
Sales this week: 2,593
Percentage change: -29
Cume: 34,083
Overall rank: 215
Someone is doing a bad job. Because most people still have no idea who Bonamassa is. He's got a loyal fan base, he sells a few records, but anyone who wants to make it as a hot guitarist has to be visible, people have to see him execute his chops, it's even more important than making a great record.
Case in point, Jeff Beck. Beck is no better than he ever was, which in my mind is the best ever, but Harvey Goldsmith has made him visible, and now I'm not the only person who believes Beck is best, now everybody has seen him.
They need to see Bonamassa.
Doesn't matter if it's culture clash, whether he's playing a cheesy July 4th event, cultural dissonance is not a factor, the public just has to see him WAIL!
41. Lit "View From The Bottom"
Sales this week: 2,542
Debut
Overall rank: 221
Too early for early 2000s nostalgia. Also, Lit succeeded in an era where people didn't believe in bands, didn't believe in credibility, didn't savor albums as statements. Today hits will gain you momentary audiences. But to last, you've got to do it Mumford's way, you've got to create, embrace and sell an entire culture.
51. Bon Iver
Sales this week: 2,161
Percentage change: +7
Cume: 457,472
Overall rank: 283
Image isn't everything.
We're hungry for great music. If the cognoscenti find anything worth trumpeting, they do. Ergo the success of Bon Iver and Alabama Shakes.
It's a thin layer of acts who can make it on music alone. Bon Iver is one of them.
73. Best Coast "Only Place"
Sales this week: 1,567
Percentage change: -14
Cume: 27,598
Overall rank: 449
If the press had power amongst the younger generation, Best Coast would be Top Ten. But despite unending accolades and a photogenic lead singer, people are not buying.
In other words, just because you see it in the paper, don't think it's real.
81. Cult "Choice Of Weapon"
Sales this week: 1,381
Percentage change: -24
Cume: 20,435
Overall rank: 538
Come on. If all you knew was the publicity, you'd think the Cult would be alongside Best Coast in the Top Ten, you'd believe they're on an extremely profitable victory lap.
But they're not.
They're a band with some great tracks whose singer has done his best to eviscerate his credibility.
What's next?
Who knows.
86. Chris Robinson Brotherhood "Big Moon Ritual"
Sales this week: 1,310
Percentage change: -41
Cume: 10,383
Overall rank: 574
Does anybody even know this album is out?
Chris needs to take instruction from Billy Corgan. The only chance of people caring is if he calls it "Black Crowes".
Chris did some good solo work for Best Buy...
Straight into the dumper...
Chris needs to sit down with Bonnie Raitt and see how it's done. He's got fans, but somehow he is not reaching them.
112. Lita Ford "Living Like A Runaway"
Sales this week: 911
Debut
Overall rank: 868
Positively pitiful.
And I'd leave it at that, but Lita's problem is her fans don't know this is out and she doesn't know who her fans are. If you're a faded has-been, and she is, first and foremost you must consolidate your tribe, know who its members are and super-serve them.
Saw an article in the L.A. "Times", but does her audience really read the paper?
Then again, how many Lita Ford fans are there...
169. L.A. Guns "Hollywood Forever"
Sales this week: 609
Percentage change: -23
Cume: 2,976
See Lita Ford above.
175. Joey Ramone "Ya Know?"
Sales this week: 596
Percentage change: -42
Cume: 7,164
Makes you reconsider the mainstream press, doesn't it? If ink automatically translated into sales... But it doesn't, and nobody really cares. It seems posthumous albums are only successful if you've died very recently. Then people are hungering for more. But as time goes by, the classics are good enough.
Then again, maybe in twenty five years this will be seen as classic, just like the Ramones' output... Ha!
___________________________________
Indie does not always equate with success. Just because you're in control and own all the rights, that does not mean you're gonna make a ton of dough.
Therefore, you have to reevaluate, redefine success.
If success is income, raw dollars, dive deeply into your tribe's wallet. This is what Topspin was built for. Create special projects. Better yet, tap fans on Kickstarter, not only raising funds for production, but charging them for the up close and personal feel fans love.
But if you're paying the rent but not happy being a has-been or relatively unknown, you've got to first and foremost consolidate your tribe, if you've even got one, and then build upon it. Top down marketing only seems to work if you're exceptionally good, or you're a boomer act. Otherwise you're scratching out a career. And if you're not as good as the Alabama Shakes or Bon Iver, almost no one is gonna know your name.
The promise of the Internet was you could reach everybody.
But the reality of the Internet is that you're competing against so many more than before.
Yes, the Net allows niches to flourish and an occasional one to rear up, but if ubiquity is your game, it's tougher than ever.
And if you're happy being known by only a few...
You're probably not an artist, you should probably give up.
Because true artists want one thing more than money, even more than fame, they want listeners. They want consumers of their art. If you're not driven by this, please stop.
(O.K. Now I've pissed you off. I got a question from the audience at Folk Alliance, this person asked if he was unsuccessful because in some years he eked into the five figures. For those math-challenged, that's $10,000. You can make that much on a bake sale. I'm not saying you should be unhappy, but I will say you're a hobbyist. Nothing wrong with that, but it's no different from winning the local softball championship as opposed to playing for the Yankees.)
(O.K. Again. Oh, that's right, we live in a country where you can never rain on someone's parade, where you must always instill hope. Yes, you can run Morgan Stanley, even though you dropped out of high school. And you can be CEO of Apple even though you can't even touch type. Why in this world do we hate harsh reality? Why in this world do we rip off and encourage people who are never going to make it? Our whole damn nation can't handle the truth. Not everybody is great, not everybody can make it, you can convince yourself, but convincing the rest of us is something completely different.)
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Sales this week: 53,396
Debut
Overall rank: 4
He's not warm and fuzzy. But his generation, which came of age in the nineties, respects him.
Considered to be a return to form, it appears Billy Corgan is here to stay. Furthermore, this shows the power of brand names. Doesn't matter who's in the band, people are interested in "Smashing Pumpkins" a lot more than "Billy Corgan".
2. "Rock Of Ages" Original Soundtrack
Sales this week: 48,767
Percentage change: +34
Cume: 103,194
Overall rank: 5
Whew, pretty good for a stiff movie. But nothing compared to the soundtracks of yore. I guess this is the music/movie business in a nutshell. Movies are made for everyone, and have to sell millions. Most music is a niche product.
4. Glen Hansard "Rhythm And Repose"
Sales this week: 16,064
Debut
Overall rank: 21
You've got to take a risk. Glen Hansard was a journeyman musician essentially unknown in the U.S. until "Once". Now many people are champing at the bit to do movies, but more credible artists tend to say no to opportunities instead of yes. But if you say yes, you've got no idea of the end result. The end result of "Once" is that Glen Hansard has a solo career. If only he'd change his name to "Once"... Ha!
6. Lumineers
Sales this week: 10,662
Percentage change: +1
Cume: 87,836
Overall rank: 38
The buzz is deafening. If you're listening. This is kind of like the Civil Wars. Insiders know, and they're spreading the word. People are hungry for authenticity. That's how they see the Lumineers.
Real songs, real instruments, Mumford & Sons was the first, people want this sound, especially in this phony high tech world that dominates our lives.
9. Alabama Shakes "Boys & Girls"
Sales this week: 9,403
Percentage change: 0
Cume: 196,933
Overall rank: 45
In the old days, the seventies, a band like this would have gotten press buzz and not even cracked 100,000 in the life of the record, like Little Feat. But in the new connected world, if you're lucky enough to get buzz, and it's strong, it can seep into nooks and crannies and permeate in a way unheard of previously. In other words, if they didn't play your track on the radio in the seventies, you were screwed. But today, assuming you don't make Top Forty stuff, you can do just fine without radio play. Online is the counterculture. And it's strong.
12. Mumford & Sons "Sigh No More"
Sales this week: 7,659
Percentage change: -16
Cume: 2,308,052
Overall rank: 61
This is the new "Tapestry". Well, not exactly. But what I mean is this album has been on the charts for an amazing 123 weeks. Used to be only "Tapestry" and "Dark Side Of The Moon" sustained. Furthermore, this is Mumford & Sons' debut.
You can lament the passing of the MTV era, with its saturation marketing supercharged by Top Forty radio, but come on, Mumford never would have sold this amount back then. Of course it would be different if MTV played it, but they never would. Folk music? Maybe electronic and Tony Bennett, but they didn't stray far from their mainstream genres. But today, you can grow outside the system, you can triumph.
And Mumford is just beginning. There's the imminent movie, this meshuggeneh tour and eventually a new album. Mumford is shaking it up, breaking all the rules, following their own muse, and it's all about the music. WHAT A CONCEPT!
13. Bonnie Raitt "Slipstream"
Sales this week: 7,480
Percentage change: -8
Cume: 201,156
Overall rank: 62
This is a positively staggering story. On Capitol, she was a faded has-been who spent a lot to record albums that underperformed. But as an indie, she's shattering the glass ceiling, doing better than she'd have done on a major, because to them she's not a priority, they don't know how to sell her.
Most consumers have no idea this is an indie production. It is cheap and underfunded not a whit. Print sold it. Oldsters still read. And credit must be given to the distributor, RED.
But think about it, Bonnie not only makes all the money, she owns the album!
Other than the Wal-Mart sellers, and that paradigm is now dead, no boomer act has done better as an indie than Bonnie Raitt. Credit a loyal fan base who cares, Bonnie has always been authentic, and flawless execution.
Utterly amazing.
40. Joe Bonamassa "Driving Towards The Daylight"
Sales this week: 2,593
Percentage change: -29
Cume: 34,083
Overall rank: 215
Someone is doing a bad job. Because most people still have no idea who Bonamassa is. He's got a loyal fan base, he sells a few records, but anyone who wants to make it as a hot guitarist has to be visible, people have to see him execute his chops, it's even more important than making a great record.
Case in point, Jeff Beck. Beck is no better than he ever was, which in my mind is the best ever, but Harvey Goldsmith has made him visible, and now I'm not the only person who believes Beck is best, now everybody has seen him.
They need to see Bonamassa.
Doesn't matter if it's culture clash, whether he's playing a cheesy July 4th event, cultural dissonance is not a factor, the public just has to see him WAIL!
41. Lit "View From The Bottom"
Sales this week: 2,542
Debut
Overall rank: 221
Too early for early 2000s nostalgia. Also, Lit succeeded in an era where people didn't believe in bands, didn't believe in credibility, didn't savor albums as statements. Today hits will gain you momentary audiences. But to last, you've got to do it Mumford's way, you've got to create, embrace and sell an entire culture.
51. Bon Iver
Sales this week: 2,161
Percentage change: +7
Cume: 457,472
Overall rank: 283
Image isn't everything.
We're hungry for great music. If the cognoscenti find anything worth trumpeting, they do. Ergo the success of Bon Iver and Alabama Shakes.
It's a thin layer of acts who can make it on music alone. Bon Iver is one of them.
73. Best Coast "Only Place"
Sales this week: 1,567
Percentage change: -14
Cume: 27,598
Overall rank: 449
If the press had power amongst the younger generation, Best Coast would be Top Ten. But despite unending accolades and a photogenic lead singer, people are not buying.
In other words, just because you see it in the paper, don't think it's real.
81. Cult "Choice Of Weapon"
Sales this week: 1,381
Percentage change: -24
Cume: 20,435
Overall rank: 538
Come on. If all you knew was the publicity, you'd think the Cult would be alongside Best Coast in the Top Ten, you'd believe they're on an extremely profitable victory lap.
But they're not.
They're a band with some great tracks whose singer has done his best to eviscerate his credibility.
What's next?
Who knows.
86. Chris Robinson Brotherhood "Big Moon Ritual"
Sales this week: 1,310
Percentage change: -41
Cume: 10,383
Overall rank: 574
Does anybody even know this album is out?
Chris needs to take instruction from Billy Corgan. The only chance of people caring is if he calls it "Black Crowes".
Chris did some good solo work for Best Buy...
Straight into the dumper...
Chris needs to sit down with Bonnie Raitt and see how it's done. He's got fans, but somehow he is not reaching them.
112. Lita Ford "Living Like A Runaway"
Sales this week: 911
Debut
Overall rank: 868
Positively pitiful.
And I'd leave it at that, but Lita's problem is her fans don't know this is out and she doesn't know who her fans are. If you're a faded has-been, and she is, first and foremost you must consolidate your tribe, know who its members are and super-serve them.
Saw an article in the L.A. "Times", but does her audience really read the paper?
Then again, how many Lita Ford fans are there...
169. L.A. Guns "Hollywood Forever"
Sales this week: 609
Percentage change: -23
Cume: 2,976
See Lita Ford above.
175. Joey Ramone "Ya Know?"
Sales this week: 596
Percentage change: -42
Cume: 7,164
Makes you reconsider the mainstream press, doesn't it? If ink automatically translated into sales... But it doesn't, and nobody really cares. It seems posthumous albums are only successful if you've died very recently. Then people are hungering for more. But as time goes by, the classics are good enough.
Then again, maybe in twenty five years this will be seen as classic, just like the Ramones' output... Ha!
___________________________________
Indie does not always equate with success. Just because you're in control and own all the rights, that does not mean you're gonna make a ton of dough.
Therefore, you have to reevaluate, redefine success.
If success is income, raw dollars, dive deeply into your tribe's wallet. This is what Topspin was built for. Create special projects. Better yet, tap fans on Kickstarter, not only raising funds for production, but charging them for the up close and personal feel fans love.
But if you're paying the rent but not happy being a has-been or relatively unknown, you've got to first and foremost consolidate your tribe, if you've even got one, and then build upon it. Top down marketing only seems to work if you're exceptionally good, or you're a boomer act. Otherwise you're scratching out a career. And if you're not as good as the Alabama Shakes or Bon Iver, almost no one is gonna know your name.
The promise of the Internet was you could reach everybody.
But the reality of the Internet is that you're competing against so many more than before.
Yes, the Net allows niches to flourish and an occasional one to rear up, but if ubiquity is your game, it's tougher than ever.
And if you're happy being known by only a few...
You're probably not an artist, you should probably give up.
Because true artists want one thing more than money, even more than fame, they want listeners. They want consumers of their art. If you're not driven by this, please stop.
(O.K. Now I've pissed you off. I got a question from the audience at Folk Alliance, this person asked if he was unsuccessful because in some years he eked into the five figures. For those math-challenged, that's $10,000. You can make that much on a bake sale. I'm not saying you should be unhappy, but I will say you're a hobbyist. Nothing wrong with that, but it's no different from winning the local softball championship as opposed to playing for the Yankees.)
(O.K. Again. Oh, that's right, we live in a country where you can never rain on someone's parade, where you must always instill hope. Yes, you can run Morgan Stanley, even though you dropped out of high school. And you can be CEO of Apple even though you can't even touch type. Why in this world do we hate harsh reality? Why in this world do we rip off and encourage people who are never going to make it? Our whole damn nation can't handle the truth. Not everybody is great, not everybody can make it, you can convince yourself, but convincing the rest of us is something completely different.)
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Wednesday, 27 June 2012
Wide Awake
The best thing that ever happened to Katy Perry was she got divorced.
Have you read David Brooks's essay "The Power Of The Particular" in the "New York Times"? I recommend it, even if you're not a Springsteen fan.
That's what it's about. Flying to Europe to see the Boss. Brooks marvels at all the young people singing "Born In The U.S.A." when they most clearly were not. But they embrace Bruce's myth, the full-blown story, which has so many twists and turns, from shunned schoolboy to star to divorce to marriage and family, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Springsteen delineated his journey, and that's what attaches us to him.
We're unattached to so many celebrities. As soon as the buzz moves on, we're going to forget them. Because there's no story. That's what the Kardashians have done so well, create an entire world, however phony. We're intrigued by the story.
Brooks posits if you want to succeed you should stop being everyman and just be yourself. Romney should can the jeans and stop talking about loving to hunt. Hell, despite the right wing hysteria, whenever Obama cites Jay-Z or references another hip-hop artist it actually benefits him, it humanizes him, he's a human being with tastes.
Not that my goal here is to politicize the discussion. I just want to say prior to "Wide Awake" Katy Perry was just a girl with big tits singing songs written by committee. But now there's a thorn in the fairy tale. They had his and hers tattoos, and now he's gone?
"Wide Awake" is similar to Gloria Estefan's "Coming Out Of The Dark", which referenced her bus accident. A good track, the overly sappy "Coming Out Of The Dark" was a smash because the public rallied around Ms. Estefan.
And they're rallying around Katy Perry right now.
Forget the hype, the endless stunts, the ridiculous outfits, suddenly she's just another girl who's been hurt. And in case you didn't know, girls stick together.
"I'm wide awake
Yeah, I was in the dark
I was falling hard
With an open heart
I'm wide awake
How did I read the stars so wrong"
You see, that's how we all feel. How did we not see the warning signs? How did we allow ourselves to get so hurt? And the lyrics might not be groundbreaking, but the sound of the track is similar to nothing so much as Madonna's "Live To Tell". The latter is a classic, but "Wide Awake" has a chance of surviving, unlike so much of the drivel populating the Top Forty today.
She's wide awake. Isn't that how it always is after heartbreak? You can't sleep. You can't eat. You can't shut your brain off. You can call your friends but it doesn't soothe the pain. The male rappers talk about kicking their exes to the curb and crawling from the wreckage into a brand new car, but that's not how it happens at all. You can try to be Jerry Maguire, keep trying to move forward, but that eventually stops working for everybody.
"I wish I knew then
What I know now
Wouldn't dive in
Wouldn't bow down
Gravity hurts
You made it so sweet
Till I woke up on
On the concrete"
You've got to hear Katy sing it, from deep in her heart, belting "on the concrete", as if she sings loud enough all her troubles will disappear, they'll be blotted out.
"Thunder rumbling
Castles crumbling
I am trying to hold on
God knows that I tried
Seeing the bright side
But I'm not blind anymore"
Trying to hold on... I sat almost right next to Katy a couple of months back, at the MusiCares dinner. She had her purple wig on, and a bunch of makeup. She was surrounded by old men who were really not her friends. They were business people, responsible for her career, but they don't keep you warm at night, because you're not number one, they are, they're protecting their jobs. That's what we hope for in love, someone who'll put us first, who'll sacrifice their job, be there when we need them.
You can't be so set in your ways that you can't admit you were wrong, that you can't change course, do a one eighty and embrace that which you detested.
I used to keep Katy Perry at arm's length. For multiple reasons. The rip-off of Jill Sobule's song title with a far inferior song. The bright, sunny disposition, the duplicitous interviews. She was just another manufactured product. Here today, gone tomorrow, like New Kids On The Block and so many before.
But if "Wide Awake" doesn't touch you, you're dead inside. Sure, it was written by committee, it's not quite personal enough, but the pain of her breakup informs the track. She's laying down the vocal of her life. It's important. In a pop music world where not much is.
"Yeah I'm falling from cloud 9
Crashing from the high
You know I'm letting go tonight"
Letting go. There's so much pain in giving up hope. You never recover from a divorce. You stood up in front of friends and family, the clergy, and declared it was forever. But it was not. So what else isn't? You've got to readjust your whole perspective.
But at least you made a commitment. Too many are afraid to dive in. Or serially date and ultimately keep their loves at arm's length, for fear of being hurt. But hurt is part of life. It does make you stronger. But it's hell to go through.
Which is what the endless repetition of "wide awake" is all about. It's like there's a chorus in your brain, constantly repeating the refrain, you keep reworking the details in your mind, you can't forget them, if only you did this, if only they did that.
I can't stop playing "Wide Awake". It's got an emotion that they just can't get in right in movies or TV, the human condition. That's what Katy Perry's talking about here. She nailed it.
Spotify: http://spoti.fi/Hh37vD
YouTube: http://bit.ly/MpaAWA
David Brooks, "The Power of the Particular": http://nyti.ms/LDyNz3
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Have you read David Brooks's essay "The Power Of The Particular" in the "New York Times"? I recommend it, even if you're not a Springsteen fan.
That's what it's about. Flying to Europe to see the Boss. Brooks marvels at all the young people singing "Born In The U.S.A." when they most clearly were not. But they embrace Bruce's myth, the full-blown story, which has so many twists and turns, from shunned schoolboy to star to divorce to marriage and family, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Springsteen delineated his journey, and that's what attaches us to him.
We're unattached to so many celebrities. As soon as the buzz moves on, we're going to forget them. Because there's no story. That's what the Kardashians have done so well, create an entire world, however phony. We're intrigued by the story.
Brooks posits if you want to succeed you should stop being everyman and just be yourself. Romney should can the jeans and stop talking about loving to hunt. Hell, despite the right wing hysteria, whenever Obama cites Jay-Z or references another hip-hop artist it actually benefits him, it humanizes him, he's a human being with tastes.
Not that my goal here is to politicize the discussion. I just want to say prior to "Wide Awake" Katy Perry was just a girl with big tits singing songs written by committee. But now there's a thorn in the fairy tale. They had his and hers tattoos, and now he's gone?
"Wide Awake" is similar to Gloria Estefan's "Coming Out Of The Dark", which referenced her bus accident. A good track, the overly sappy "Coming Out Of The Dark" was a smash because the public rallied around Ms. Estefan.
And they're rallying around Katy Perry right now.
Forget the hype, the endless stunts, the ridiculous outfits, suddenly she's just another girl who's been hurt. And in case you didn't know, girls stick together.
"I'm wide awake
Yeah, I was in the dark
I was falling hard
With an open heart
I'm wide awake
How did I read the stars so wrong"
You see, that's how we all feel. How did we not see the warning signs? How did we allow ourselves to get so hurt? And the lyrics might not be groundbreaking, but the sound of the track is similar to nothing so much as Madonna's "Live To Tell". The latter is a classic, but "Wide Awake" has a chance of surviving, unlike so much of the drivel populating the Top Forty today.
She's wide awake. Isn't that how it always is after heartbreak? You can't sleep. You can't eat. You can't shut your brain off. You can call your friends but it doesn't soothe the pain. The male rappers talk about kicking their exes to the curb and crawling from the wreckage into a brand new car, but that's not how it happens at all. You can try to be Jerry Maguire, keep trying to move forward, but that eventually stops working for everybody.
"I wish I knew then
What I know now
Wouldn't dive in
Wouldn't bow down
Gravity hurts
You made it so sweet
Till I woke up on
On the concrete"
You've got to hear Katy sing it, from deep in her heart, belting "on the concrete", as if she sings loud enough all her troubles will disappear, they'll be blotted out.
"Thunder rumbling
Castles crumbling
I am trying to hold on
God knows that I tried
Seeing the bright side
But I'm not blind anymore"
Trying to hold on... I sat almost right next to Katy a couple of months back, at the MusiCares dinner. She had her purple wig on, and a bunch of makeup. She was surrounded by old men who were really not her friends. They were business people, responsible for her career, but they don't keep you warm at night, because you're not number one, they are, they're protecting their jobs. That's what we hope for in love, someone who'll put us first, who'll sacrifice their job, be there when we need them.
You can't be so set in your ways that you can't admit you were wrong, that you can't change course, do a one eighty and embrace that which you detested.
I used to keep Katy Perry at arm's length. For multiple reasons. The rip-off of Jill Sobule's song title with a far inferior song. The bright, sunny disposition, the duplicitous interviews. She was just another manufactured product. Here today, gone tomorrow, like New Kids On The Block and so many before.
But if "Wide Awake" doesn't touch you, you're dead inside. Sure, it was written by committee, it's not quite personal enough, but the pain of her breakup informs the track. She's laying down the vocal of her life. It's important. In a pop music world where not much is.
"Yeah I'm falling from cloud 9
Crashing from the high
You know I'm letting go tonight"
Letting go. There's so much pain in giving up hope. You never recover from a divorce. You stood up in front of friends and family, the clergy, and declared it was forever. But it was not. So what else isn't? You've got to readjust your whole perspective.
But at least you made a commitment. Too many are afraid to dive in. Or serially date and ultimately keep their loves at arm's length, for fear of being hurt. But hurt is part of life. It does make you stronger. But it's hell to go through.
Which is what the endless repetition of "wide awake" is all about. It's like there's a chorus in your brain, constantly repeating the refrain, you keep reworking the details in your mind, you can't forget them, if only you did this, if only they did that.
I can't stop playing "Wide Awake". It's got an emotion that they just can't get in right in movies or TV, the human condition. That's what Katy Perry's talking about here. She nailed it.
Spotify: http://spoti.fi/Hh37vD
YouTube: http://bit.ly/MpaAWA
David Brooks, "The Power of the Particular": http://nyti.ms/LDyNz3
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Re-Top Forty
You've been sold a bill of goods. Chris Anderson wrote "The Long Tail" and now you've been hoodwinked into thinking there's a demand for your music, that the Internet has finally made your masterpiece available to the masses and recognition, money and fame will flow into your inbox momentarily. But as the Who so eloquently sang, "It don't really happen that way at all."
The Internet, along with five hundred channels of cable TV, has taken a hammer to our society and rendered a nation equivalent to the Tower of Babel. We're all here, but we all speak a different language, we watch different TV shows, we surf different sites, we can barely converse. And it feels positively awful. That's why so many go to see idiotic Hollywood movies, to belong. That's a big reason people listen to Top Forty music, because that's where everybody else is, they want to be a member of the tribe.
This is so different from the way it was in the sixties or nineties. Where there was a definite, overpowering mainstream, and it felt good to be alternative. But those alternative tracks got played on underground FM radio, ultimately even MTV, after being spun on college radio, which is a dying art form. Yes, did you know colleges are selling their stations? It's cheaper and easier to broadcast on the Internet.
And that's my point. Everybody can be a broadcaster now. And with so many options, we move towards professionalism, where everybody else is, and if you don't meet these criteria, professional and quality, you're going to have a very rough go of it. Sure, we can all be interested in momentary train-wreck, that's what viral videos are for, but they don't last.
The truly clueless are the classic rock acts, anybody who made it before the turn of the century. They think people are waiting for their new opus. They're not. They think if they just employ carpet bomb publicity, everybody will know and care, but at no time in history has so much expensive hype been ignored so much. We know why that article is in the newspaper. You paid for it. We get our information other places. And we don't care about you even if you've got great new music. Hell, if you're an oldie first and foremost you've got to find out who your tribe is, you've got to get their e-mail addresses, market directly to them, otherwise don't even bother to put out your new music. Unless you like to masturbate.
As for albums, we live in a playlist world. Maybe not the oldsters, but the youngsters. Yes, they don't expect the Top Forty tracks to last, they're here for today and barely remembered tomorrow. But this is what they're growing up with, this is what they know. Gen X felt ripped off by the boomers, who got to do everything first, sex without AIDS, classic rock, so much. But Gen Y cares not a whit about the past, that's their parents world, they're creating their own world, for themselves.
And a generation based on belonging gravitates to Top Forty radio because that's where all their friends are. And if you're not in this world, even if you're young, you have a hard time making it. Sure, Facebook and word of mouth helps. And at least it's faster than boomer word of mouth, which is positively moribund.
And these kids grew up in the era of "American Idol". They focus on singing more than writing. Just like Christina Aguilera and the melisma makers were influenced by and copied Mariah Carey.
Listen to your old records, play your albums, there's nothing wrong with that. But it's got very little to do with today's burgeoning music world. These kids are never going to come to your land. Instead, their land is gonna morph into something new. Top Forty today is like the early sixties. Who didn't love those Four Seasons songs. But the act did measly live business. Compared to what followed. Something is gonna follow this catchy, irrelevant, auto-tuned Top Forty stuff. And we know it's gonna be based on a tribe. Classic rock blew up as a result of the ascent of FM radio, after stations couldn't simulcast what was on the AM band. There will be another technological innovation, a new clubhouse, on some level that's what EDM is about. Hell, going and being there is even more important than the music. As for the music... It's gonna evolve.
Where we go next is not perfectly clear. But we're gonna go together. There's mainstream and then niches so tiny they live in an echo chamber. The "New York Times" wants to be hip and reviews albums no one is gonna listen to.
You want to know what's happening? Ask kids. Sure, some are loners, that's the nature of DNA, but most communicate with more people in one day than you did in years. They know every kid in town, still talk to their camp friends not only months later, but years later. They're all in it together. And if you want to blow up, you've got to penetrate their world. Good luck!
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The Internet, along with five hundred channels of cable TV, has taken a hammer to our society and rendered a nation equivalent to the Tower of Babel. We're all here, but we all speak a different language, we watch different TV shows, we surf different sites, we can barely converse. And it feels positively awful. That's why so many go to see idiotic Hollywood movies, to belong. That's a big reason people listen to Top Forty music, because that's where everybody else is, they want to be a member of the tribe.
This is so different from the way it was in the sixties or nineties. Where there was a definite, overpowering mainstream, and it felt good to be alternative. But those alternative tracks got played on underground FM radio, ultimately even MTV, after being spun on college radio, which is a dying art form. Yes, did you know colleges are selling their stations? It's cheaper and easier to broadcast on the Internet.
And that's my point. Everybody can be a broadcaster now. And with so many options, we move towards professionalism, where everybody else is, and if you don't meet these criteria, professional and quality, you're going to have a very rough go of it. Sure, we can all be interested in momentary train-wreck, that's what viral videos are for, but they don't last.
The truly clueless are the classic rock acts, anybody who made it before the turn of the century. They think people are waiting for their new opus. They're not. They think if they just employ carpet bomb publicity, everybody will know and care, but at no time in history has so much expensive hype been ignored so much. We know why that article is in the newspaper. You paid for it. We get our information other places. And we don't care about you even if you've got great new music. Hell, if you're an oldie first and foremost you've got to find out who your tribe is, you've got to get their e-mail addresses, market directly to them, otherwise don't even bother to put out your new music. Unless you like to masturbate.
As for albums, we live in a playlist world. Maybe not the oldsters, but the youngsters. Yes, they don't expect the Top Forty tracks to last, they're here for today and barely remembered tomorrow. But this is what they're growing up with, this is what they know. Gen X felt ripped off by the boomers, who got to do everything first, sex without AIDS, classic rock, so much. But Gen Y cares not a whit about the past, that's their parents world, they're creating their own world, for themselves.
And a generation based on belonging gravitates to Top Forty radio because that's where all their friends are. And if you're not in this world, even if you're young, you have a hard time making it. Sure, Facebook and word of mouth helps. And at least it's faster than boomer word of mouth, which is positively moribund.
And these kids grew up in the era of "American Idol". They focus on singing more than writing. Just like Christina Aguilera and the melisma makers were influenced by and copied Mariah Carey.
Listen to your old records, play your albums, there's nothing wrong with that. But it's got very little to do with today's burgeoning music world. These kids are never going to come to your land. Instead, their land is gonna morph into something new. Top Forty today is like the early sixties. Who didn't love those Four Seasons songs. But the act did measly live business. Compared to what followed. Something is gonna follow this catchy, irrelevant, auto-tuned Top Forty stuff. And we know it's gonna be based on a tribe. Classic rock blew up as a result of the ascent of FM radio, after stations couldn't simulcast what was on the AM band. There will be another technological innovation, a new clubhouse, on some level that's what EDM is about. Hell, going and being there is even more important than the music. As for the music... It's gonna evolve.
Where we go next is not perfectly clear. But we're gonna go together. There's mainstream and then niches so tiny they live in an echo chamber. The "New York Times" wants to be hip and reviews albums no one is gonna listen to.
You want to know what's happening? Ask kids. Sure, some are loners, that's the nature of DNA, but most communicate with more people in one day than you did in years. They know every kid in town, still talk to their camp friends not only months later, but years later. They're all in it together. And if you want to blow up, you've got to penetrate their world. Good luck!
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Tuesday, 26 June 2012
Around The Web
Louis C.K.
He's a COMEDIAN! He shows up with a microphone. Talk about expenses...THERE ARE NONE!
Not that I want to castigate Mr. Szekely, but you think the enemy here is Ticketmaster, no, the enemy is your favorite acts. Who won't go to the lengths Louie will, who won't leave all that money on the table. If you don't think the acts are the main driver of ticket fees you've got no understanding of the business. Did you read in Louie's email that he's absorbing costs? Just ask your favorite act to do this... Almost none of them will. They'd rather blame Ticketmaster.
So give Louie props. He's made it and now he's not only testing limits, he's looking out for his fans, his customers, building good will. But as for truly keeping out scalpers... Ask Nathan Hubbard, it's easier to talk about than to do. Whether it be throwaway credit cards or buying tickets and walking a posse in, it's hard to eliminate.
But, give Louie props for trying.
But the people who don't get tickets are still gonna bitch.
https://buy.louisck.net/news
____________________________________
Deadmau5/Paris Hilton
You've got to watch the video...
http://bit.ly/Liqsuc
If that ain't the most soulless white girl on the planet...
Meanwhile, the whole world has gone topsy-turvy. Those PR people telling you to hold back, to utter platitudes, that paradigm is gone along with the L.A. "Times" which is now so thin it might blow away in a storm.
Now you enter the fray. You say what have you have to say. Honesty is treasured.
Deadmau5 is fighting for the soul of electronic music. And he's enlisting his army against the poseurs, even admitting he pushes buttons on stage. Yet, he's illuminating the enterprise, saying it's all about the studio, building tracks, if only the celebrity phonies would admit that they got plastic surgery and couldn't sing.
I'd say Paris Hilton is killing electronic dance music, but at this point it's unkillable, the kids love to go and party.
But just like in the sixties, the artists are speaking truth to power. Since when has that happened? Deadmau5 attached Madonna, who has now lost touch to the point where she's flashing her tits and her ass, leaving nothing to the imagination, although she should. But that's what desperation will bring. The Web is the great equalizer. We're now all in it together, even you Madge. The best thing is to admit it and laugh at yourself.
But don't be above getting in the pit and defending your position.
"Deadmau5 On Paris Hilton's DJ'ing: 'The Mayans Saw This S**t Coming'": http://huff.to/OlUGCP
"We All Hit Play": http://bit.ly/Mfriv0
____________________________________
"Spotify Is Now The Second Biggest Source Of Revenue For Labels"
http://read.bi/MvVAYZ
That's what I love about the great unwashed, the hoi polloi, they're uneducated and can't see the future. Spotify works when it gains scale. And at that point, you make more money too.
Then again, you'd rather bitch.
____________________________________
More "Payphone"
It's CATCHY!
My inbox is filling up with people criticizing the Maroon 5 track.
I hate to tell you, but the first criterion of any successful music is that it be listenable, that it gain prominence in a person's headspace very quickly.
But too many would rather tell you to listen to something twenty times to get it. As if even a five year old has the time.
And too many would rather break the rules than adhere to them. Wow, let's do a focus group and play your music and have you endure all the thumbs-down. But you'll just say these people are ignorant. But then you're gonna rail against them stealing your music, say the system is stacked against you, that you just can't get paid. You're gonna do everything but look at yourself, look at your music. Hell, listen to the Beatles, talk about CATCHY! Oh, that's right, they sucked too.
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He's a COMEDIAN! He shows up with a microphone. Talk about expenses...THERE ARE NONE!
Not that I want to castigate Mr. Szekely, but you think the enemy here is Ticketmaster, no, the enemy is your favorite acts. Who won't go to the lengths Louie will, who won't leave all that money on the table. If you don't think the acts are the main driver of ticket fees you've got no understanding of the business. Did you read in Louie's email that he's absorbing costs? Just ask your favorite act to do this... Almost none of them will. They'd rather blame Ticketmaster.
So give Louie props. He's made it and now he's not only testing limits, he's looking out for his fans, his customers, building good will. But as for truly keeping out scalpers... Ask Nathan Hubbard, it's easier to talk about than to do. Whether it be throwaway credit cards or buying tickets and walking a posse in, it's hard to eliminate.
But, give Louie props for trying.
But the people who don't get tickets are still gonna bitch.
https://buy.louisck.net/news
____________________________________
Deadmau5/Paris Hilton
You've got to watch the video...
http://bit.ly/Liqsuc
If that ain't the most soulless white girl on the planet...
Meanwhile, the whole world has gone topsy-turvy. Those PR people telling you to hold back, to utter platitudes, that paradigm is gone along with the L.A. "Times" which is now so thin it might blow away in a storm.
Now you enter the fray. You say what have you have to say. Honesty is treasured.
Deadmau5 is fighting for the soul of electronic music. And he's enlisting his army against the poseurs, even admitting he pushes buttons on stage. Yet, he's illuminating the enterprise, saying it's all about the studio, building tracks, if only the celebrity phonies would admit that they got plastic surgery and couldn't sing.
I'd say Paris Hilton is killing electronic dance music, but at this point it's unkillable, the kids love to go and party.
But just like in the sixties, the artists are speaking truth to power. Since when has that happened? Deadmau5 attached Madonna, who has now lost touch to the point where she's flashing her tits and her ass, leaving nothing to the imagination, although she should. But that's what desperation will bring. The Web is the great equalizer. We're now all in it together, even you Madge. The best thing is to admit it and laugh at yourself.
But don't be above getting in the pit and defending your position.
"Deadmau5 On Paris Hilton's DJ'ing: 'The Mayans Saw This S**t Coming'": http://huff.to/OlUGCP
"We All Hit Play": http://bit.ly/Mfriv0
____________________________________
"Spotify Is Now The Second Biggest Source Of Revenue For Labels"
http://read.bi/MvVAYZ
That's what I love about the great unwashed, the hoi polloi, they're uneducated and can't see the future. Spotify works when it gains scale. And at that point, you make more money too.
Then again, you'd rather bitch.
____________________________________
More "Payphone"
It's CATCHY!
My inbox is filling up with people criticizing the Maroon 5 track.
I hate to tell you, but the first criterion of any successful music is that it be listenable, that it gain prominence in a person's headspace very quickly.
But too many would rather tell you to listen to something twenty times to get it. As if even a five year old has the time.
And too many would rather break the rules than adhere to them. Wow, let's do a focus group and play your music and have you endure all the thumbs-down. But you'll just say these people are ignorant. But then you're gonna rail against them stealing your music, say the system is stacked against you, that you just can't get paid. You're gonna do everything but look at yourself, look at your music. Hell, listen to the Beatles, talk about CATCHY! Oh, that's right, they sucked too.
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Payphone
How many ways do I hate Adam Levine?
First and foremost it's the tattoos. Not so much that he's got them, but that he has to constantly show them off, his sleeves are rolled up in every pic, even if the rest of his band are cuffed right down to the wrist. Hey, want to make a ton of money in the future? Run a tattoo removal or touch-up place, you're gonna make millions!
And then he went on that show "The Voice". What a piece of shit that is. You want to know the defining characteristic? Not a single act from any of the worldwide shows has broken through. Hell, they even had to cancel the U.K. tour last week. I mean where's your dignity man...
And you worked with Mutt Lange and ended up with a stiff album? I don't quite know who to blame here, used to be Mutt wouldn't let you out of the studio without a double platinum smash. Either he's lost his touch or you didn't bring the goods.
And then you come back with a mindless gutter ball called "Moves Like Jagger"? What comes next, "Emote like Bono"? Or "Dance Like Jackson"?
But no, Adam Levine and his bunch of pussies known as Maroon 5 didn't continue on that tip. Instead, they abandoned the credibility ship entirely and threw in with the hitmakers, the usual suspects, and they've come up with a track so good I think I'm gonna give up the credible crap and only listen to Top Forty from now on, because that's where all the good stuff is. The old farts may be self-satisfied, but the little girls understand.
In other words, "Payphone" is a stone cold smash.
Not that I'd even heard it until today. I've been avoiding this crap. Like so many in my age group, like so many holier-than-thou Gen-X'ers. But those with children... They've been inundated with this stuff. Like the TV agent I spoke with last week, his kids sing along in the car and ask him "Daddy, what's a payphone?"
But it doesn't really matter. Just like Wiz Khalifa's rap in the middle, a blundering blast of posturing that doesn't always make sense that fits not a whit the rest of the song... But his voice is like a musical instrument, it works that way.
And sure, the track's got the groove of the rest of the Top Forty, but when the music breaks down and you hear Adam emote it will kill you...
"You turned your back on tomorrow
'Cause you forgot yesterday
I gave you my love to borrow
But you just gave it away
You can't expect me to be fine
I don't expect you to care
I know I've said it before
But all of our bridges burned down"
Whew!
"You turned your back on tomorrow"... I've never heard it said quite that way. What a great concept, I can even see it visually, this is where music triumphs, these short turns of words, these aphorisms that enter our hearts and brains and never leave.
"I gave you my love to borrow"... Ain't that the way it always is. We live in a state of impermanence, but what we truly want is a guarantee...unfortunately those don't exist in love.
"You can't expect me to be fine"... Sung by a male! Fake macho posturing has infected not only the Top Forty but our entire culture. Sensitivity has gone out the window. But here it is, in this "mindless ditty"... Men hurt in breakups too. Oftentimes worse and far longer than women.
"I've wasted my nights
You turned out the lights
Now I'm paralyzed
Still stuck in that time when we called it love
But even the sun sets in paradise"
Don Henley asked the question best, was it all just wasted time? And why do we have to hurt so bad when it's over. And the concept of the sun setting in paradise... Sounds so simple, but I've never ever heard it put that way before!
"If happy ever after did exist
I would still be holding you like this
All those fairy tales are full of shit
One more fucking love song I'll be sick"
This is fantastic! The profanity and the concepts. The profanity adds an edge to the sappiness, adds some testosterone to the singer's story, brings the narrative right into the real world, where we all talk like this. And when you're down and depressed, paralyzed in a breakup, you can't listen to music at all, you're sick of upbeat optimism, all you want is to forget her...or get her back.
And the reason I'm focusing on the lyrics is I can't delineate the magic of the music quite so easily. That's the essence of music. You feel it, you can't describe it. But this song is bouncy and catchy and it makes you feel good and you can't wait to hear it all over again, which is why you buy it, the same way we bought 45s and played them until they turned gray.
Yes, we live in a singles world. The more we hear the old fogeys complain the more they fail to realize they're being left behind. Today there's a mainstream and everything else. And almost everything else is marginal. Sure, if you had success once upon a time, if you had traction in the classic rock era or the heyday of MTV, you can still do business. But if you're a new act not making Top Forty music today, your ascension is going to go so slow you could do an endorsement deal with molasses.
And the reason I got hooked is because I heard Adam and the boys on Howard Stern this morning. Howard kept pressing Adam about his love life, which he'd cough up very little about. But Adam did say times were different. NBA hotels are filled with groupies. Their hotels are empty. Because the NBA players have all the money and to a great extent they're more free than the musicians. This is canned music. But it's done so well.
We've become unmoored. Everything you think you know is wrong. Just like Live Nation missed EDM adults don't see we now live in a Top Forty world and what will come down the line is an outgrowth of it as opposed to the opposite. You see the outsiders are too often sour grapes. Hell, consider this a challenge. Make your music as catchy as "Payphone", then you'll have a chance, then you'll grow an audience.
So after a live rendition of the Beatles' "Yesterday", which I wanted to hate but Maroon 5 did so well, Howard spun the single.
It only took one listen. "Payphone" is a hit!
Spotify: http://spoti.fi/IFpgiC
YouTube: http://bit.ly/HDfxLQ
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First and foremost it's the tattoos. Not so much that he's got them, but that he has to constantly show them off, his sleeves are rolled up in every pic, even if the rest of his band are cuffed right down to the wrist. Hey, want to make a ton of money in the future? Run a tattoo removal or touch-up place, you're gonna make millions!
And then he went on that show "The Voice". What a piece of shit that is. You want to know the defining characteristic? Not a single act from any of the worldwide shows has broken through. Hell, they even had to cancel the U.K. tour last week. I mean where's your dignity man...
And you worked with Mutt Lange and ended up with a stiff album? I don't quite know who to blame here, used to be Mutt wouldn't let you out of the studio without a double platinum smash. Either he's lost his touch or you didn't bring the goods.
And then you come back with a mindless gutter ball called "Moves Like Jagger"? What comes next, "Emote like Bono"? Or "Dance Like Jackson"?
But no, Adam Levine and his bunch of pussies known as Maroon 5 didn't continue on that tip. Instead, they abandoned the credibility ship entirely and threw in with the hitmakers, the usual suspects, and they've come up with a track so good I think I'm gonna give up the credible crap and only listen to Top Forty from now on, because that's where all the good stuff is. The old farts may be self-satisfied, but the little girls understand.
In other words, "Payphone" is a stone cold smash.
Not that I'd even heard it until today. I've been avoiding this crap. Like so many in my age group, like so many holier-than-thou Gen-X'ers. But those with children... They've been inundated with this stuff. Like the TV agent I spoke with last week, his kids sing along in the car and ask him "Daddy, what's a payphone?"
But it doesn't really matter. Just like Wiz Khalifa's rap in the middle, a blundering blast of posturing that doesn't always make sense that fits not a whit the rest of the song... But his voice is like a musical instrument, it works that way.
And sure, the track's got the groove of the rest of the Top Forty, but when the music breaks down and you hear Adam emote it will kill you...
"You turned your back on tomorrow
'Cause you forgot yesterday
I gave you my love to borrow
But you just gave it away
You can't expect me to be fine
I don't expect you to care
I know I've said it before
But all of our bridges burned down"
Whew!
"You turned your back on tomorrow"... I've never heard it said quite that way. What a great concept, I can even see it visually, this is where music triumphs, these short turns of words, these aphorisms that enter our hearts and brains and never leave.
"I gave you my love to borrow"... Ain't that the way it always is. We live in a state of impermanence, but what we truly want is a guarantee...unfortunately those don't exist in love.
"You can't expect me to be fine"... Sung by a male! Fake macho posturing has infected not only the Top Forty but our entire culture. Sensitivity has gone out the window. But here it is, in this "mindless ditty"... Men hurt in breakups too. Oftentimes worse and far longer than women.
"I've wasted my nights
You turned out the lights
Now I'm paralyzed
Still stuck in that time when we called it love
But even the sun sets in paradise"
Don Henley asked the question best, was it all just wasted time? And why do we have to hurt so bad when it's over. And the concept of the sun setting in paradise... Sounds so simple, but I've never ever heard it put that way before!
"If happy ever after did exist
I would still be holding you like this
All those fairy tales are full of shit
One more fucking love song I'll be sick"
This is fantastic! The profanity and the concepts. The profanity adds an edge to the sappiness, adds some testosterone to the singer's story, brings the narrative right into the real world, where we all talk like this. And when you're down and depressed, paralyzed in a breakup, you can't listen to music at all, you're sick of upbeat optimism, all you want is to forget her...or get her back.
And the reason I'm focusing on the lyrics is I can't delineate the magic of the music quite so easily. That's the essence of music. You feel it, you can't describe it. But this song is bouncy and catchy and it makes you feel good and you can't wait to hear it all over again, which is why you buy it, the same way we bought 45s and played them until they turned gray.
Yes, we live in a singles world. The more we hear the old fogeys complain the more they fail to realize they're being left behind. Today there's a mainstream and everything else. And almost everything else is marginal. Sure, if you had success once upon a time, if you had traction in the classic rock era or the heyday of MTV, you can still do business. But if you're a new act not making Top Forty music today, your ascension is going to go so slow you could do an endorsement deal with molasses.
And the reason I got hooked is because I heard Adam and the boys on Howard Stern this morning. Howard kept pressing Adam about his love life, which he'd cough up very little about. But Adam did say times were different. NBA hotels are filled with groupies. Their hotels are empty. Because the NBA players have all the money and to a great extent they're more free than the musicians. This is canned music. But it's done so well.
We've become unmoored. Everything you think you know is wrong. Just like Live Nation missed EDM adults don't see we now live in a Top Forty world and what will come down the line is an outgrowth of it as opposed to the opposite. You see the outsiders are too often sour grapes. Hell, consider this a challenge. Make your music as catchy as "Payphone", then you'll have a chance, then you'll grow an audience.
So after a live rendition of the Beatles' "Yesterday", which I wanted to hate but Maroon 5 did so well, Howard spun the single.
It only took one listen. "Payphone" is a hit!
Spotify: http://spoti.fi/IFpgiC
YouTube: http://bit.ly/HDfxLQ
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Monday, 25 June 2012
The Newsroom
"Speaking truth to stupid."
I never watched "West Wing". I did religiously view "Sports Night", but it was never as good as the critics claimed. But then I went to see "Social Network" and I became an Aaron Sorkin fan. In a dumbed-down world where I have to spell out everything I say I could barely keep up with the dialogue. Sorkin was assuming I was smart. And no one's done that for a very long time.
The critics might kill "Newsroom". Along with the PR department of HBO. The problem is these old wave companies still think it's the nineties, that if they employ carpet bomb publicity we'll all pay attention and drink from the trough. As if we are as dumb as all the dialogue in "Newsroom" says we are. I almost didn't watch this show. Because every review said it was so-so.
It is.
But that's missing the point.
Entertainment, when done right, is all about emotion. That's what's wrong with so much of the paint-by-numbers Top Forty. Yes, you can employ Max Martin and Dr. Luke, drop the rapper du jour in the middle, but that doesn't mean we'll feel anything. This perfect on paper production slides right off of us, doesn't even give us a paper cut. It's meaningless. For a meaningless society where everybody has to wear a helmet and if you speak the truth you get sued.
Meanwhile, blowhards pontificate on TV and radio all about our freedom. How we live in the greatest country in the world. And if you raise your voice and say something to the contrary you become a pariah, even your friends abandon you, because first and foremost you must be liked. It's like our whole country has become the Yankees, an overly ripe, overly rich team which tolerates no dissension and frequently plays well but never wins the big one. Because to win big, you've got to question, you've got to be an outlier, you've got to look for the little things that make a difference.
Like talent.
Aaron Sorkin's got it. Bristol Palin does not. Nor do the Kardashians. But we've come to believe our country is about gossip and food. That the highest art form is plating something made by a celebrity chef. We follow food trucks on Twitter, then again, at least we can line up and get fed, whereas the rich twats scarf up all the good concert tickets. We live in a two tier society. And nowhere is that more evident than with HBO. Either you subscribe or you don't.
But that's not really a problem. Because do something right with a small audience and it affects everything else. Sure, TV is populated by nitwit reality shows, but when outlets choose drama it's in HBO's image. It's about story. It's not conventional. Whether it be "Breaking Bad" or even "The Good Wife". Story is paramount on TV. And it's seemingly irrelevant in movies.
Movies are truly made for the ignorant. The twelve year old boys who'll overpay to get out from under their parents' hair. And we've got a whole industry of elder people beholden to these young 'uns. And it's no different in music. The kids rule. We don't want smart, but dumb.
And it's all about the penumbra. The sound in music, the visuals in film. Well, Woody Allen taught us long ago a flick could be shot fast and flat and still triumph if the story was good enough. The "Newsroom" story is good enough.
You see no one even watches the news anymore. For all the bloviating about it, the ratings are positively abysmal, especially on network. As for cable...that's just entrenched ideologues yelling at each other. We get our news from the Internet. And it's only the news that appeals to us. Drudge if we're right, Huffington Post if we're left.
Then again, if you trust Arianna Huffington you probably fall for that joke where someone steals your nose with their fingers. She's all about the money. Our whole country is about the money. What's right, what's smart, doubling down and fighting for change...that's for pussies.
I'm not gonna say "Newsroom" is fantastic. That it's the new "Sopranos", that you can't miss it. But I am going to say if truth, justice and the American way appeal to you, if you're a fan of Aaron Sorkin, if you like smart and thought-provoking as opposed to dumb and titillating, you should tune in it. For the moments.
That's all we're searching for. That's what happened with records. We used to like the rest of the album because we had nothing else to listen to. Now we only want the hits. That's all anybody ever wanted.
And a three minute pop song must be perfect to go over. It's got to be impeccable, whether it be "Satisfaction", "She Loves You" or "Billie Jean". Anything else and most people don't care.
But it's hard to get TV and film perfect. They're collaborative efforts. They're long. We settle for the moments.
And "Newsroom" has got them.
Ignore the hype. That's what's great about TV, a show can grow. Can find its way both creatively and in audience size. First episodes are rarely the best. It takes a while for a show to find its groove. The same way it takes an act a few years and what used to be albums to find its groove. Instead, the industry wants everything bulletproof from day one.
Are you bulletproof? Are you perfect?
Of course not!
And the more you get plastic surgery to try and achieve this, the more you miss the mark.
We're charitable people. We'll swallow the imperfections. If you watch "Newsroom" for the essence, for the message, for the repartee, for the emotion, you'll be rewarded. If you want to just sit there and say there aren't as many laughs as in "Two and a Half Men", you're a wastrel who's part of the problem as opposed to being part of the solution.
We've got to solve the problems of our country. We just can't keep arguing. What's worse is most of the arguing is done without facts. Because stupid's become the norm. Whether it be Justin Bieber claiming he's not going to get so many tattoos his body looks like the "Sixteenth Chapel" or politicos blaming Obama for turning people gay.
"Newsroom" is a start. You're gonna watch it. You just don't know it yet.
"The Newsroom": http://itsh.bo/Hj5bP5
(Don't blame me for how slow the site loads, that's TV, they're clueless. But you can watch the entire first episode at the above site.)
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I never watched "West Wing". I did religiously view "Sports Night", but it was never as good as the critics claimed. But then I went to see "Social Network" and I became an Aaron Sorkin fan. In a dumbed-down world where I have to spell out everything I say I could barely keep up with the dialogue. Sorkin was assuming I was smart. And no one's done that for a very long time.
The critics might kill "Newsroom". Along with the PR department of HBO. The problem is these old wave companies still think it's the nineties, that if they employ carpet bomb publicity we'll all pay attention and drink from the trough. As if we are as dumb as all the dialogue in "Newsroom" says we are. I almost didn't watch this show. Because every review said it was so-so.
It is.
But that's missing the point.
Entertainment, when done right, is all about emotion. That's what's wrong with so much of the paint-by-numbers Top Forty. Yes, you can employ Max Martin and Dr. Luke, drop the rapper du jour in the middle, but that doesn't mean we'll feel anything. This perfect on paper production slides right off of us, doesn't even give us a paper cut. It's meaningless. For a meaningless society where everybody has to wear a helmet and if you speak the truth you get sued.
Meanwhile, blowhards pontificate on TV and radio all about our freedom. How we live in the greatest country in the world. And if you raise your voice and say something to the contrary you become a pariah, even your friends abandon you, because first and foremost you must be liked. It's like our whole country has become the Yankees, an overly ripe, overly rich team which tolerates no dissension and frequently plays well but never wins the big one. Because to win big, you've got to question, you've got to be an outlier, you've got to look for the little things that make a difference.
Like talent.
Aaron Sorkin's got it. Bristol Palin does not. Nor do the Kardashians. But we've come to believe our country is about gossip and food. That the highest art form is plating something made by a celebrity chef. We follow food trucks on Twitter, then again, at least we can line up and get fed, whereas the rich twats scarf up all the good concert tickets. We live in a two tier society. And nowhere is that more evident than with HBO. Either you subscribe or you don't.
But that's not really a problem. Because do something right with a small audience and it affects everything else. Sure, TV is populated by nitwit reality shows, but when outlets choose drama it's in HBO's image. It's about story. It's not conventional. Whether it be "Breaking Bad" or even "The Good Wife". Story is paramount on TV. And it's seemingly irrelevant in movies.
Movies are truly made for the ignorant. The twelve year old boys who'll overpay to get out from under their parents' hair. And we've got a whole industry of elder people beholden to these young 'uns. And it's no different in music. The kids rule. We don't want smart, but dumb.
And it's all about the penumbra. The sound in music, the visuals in film. Well, Woody Allen taught us long ago a flick could be shot fast and flat and still triumph if the story was good enough. The "Newsroom" story is good enough.
You see no one even watches the news anymore. For all the bloviating about it, the ratings are positively abysmal, especially on network. As for cable...that's just entrenched ideologues yelling at each other. We get our news from the Internet. And it's only the news that appeals to us. Drudge if we're right, Huffington Post if we're left.
Then again, if you trust Arianna Huffington you probably fall for that joke where someone steals your nose with their fingers. She's all about the money. Our whole country is about the money. What's right, what's smart, doubling down and fighting for change...that's for pussies.
I'm not gonna say "Newsroom" is fantastic. That it's the new "Sopranos", that you can't miss it. But I am going to say if truth, justice and the American way appeal to you, if you're a fan of Aaron Sorkin, if you like smart and thought-provoking as opposed to dumb and titillating, you should tune in it. For the moments.
That's all we're searching for. That's what happened with records. We used to like the rest of the album because we had nothing else to listen to. Now we only want the hits. That's all anybody ever wanted.
And a three minute pop song must be perfect to go over. It's got to be impeccable, whether it be "Satisfaction", "She Loves You" or "Billie Jean". Anything else and most people don't care.
But it's hard to get TV and film perfect. They're collaborative efforts. They're long. We settle for the moments.
And "Newsroom" has got them.
Ignore the hype. That's what's great about TV, a show can grow. Can find its way both creatively and in audience size. First episodes are rarely the best. It takes a while for a show to find its groove. The same way it takes an act a few years and what used to be albums to find its groove. Instead, the industry wants everything bulletproof from day one.
Are you bulletproof? Are you perfect?
Of course not!
And the more you get plastic surgery to try and achieve this, the more you miss the mark.
We're charitable people. We'll swallow the imperfections. If you watch "Newsroom" for the essence, for the message, for the repartee, for the emotion, you'll be rewarded. If you want to just sit there and say there aren't as many laughs as in "Two and a Half Men", you're a wastrel who's part of the problem as opposed to being part of the solution.
We've got to solve the problems of our country. We just can't keep arguing. What's worse is most of the arguing is done without facts. Because stupid's become the norm. Whether it be Justin Bieber claiming he's not going to get so many tattoos his body looks like the "Sixteenth Chapel" or politicos blaming Obama for turning people gay.
"Newsroom" is a start. You're gonna watch it. You just don't know it yet.
"The Newsroom": http://itsh.bo/Hj5bP5
(Don't blame me for how slow the site loads, that's TV, they're clueless. But you can watch the entire first episode at the above site.)
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