I am not going to take sides in this debate, but I do think it is awkward for T.I. to have a snitch hotline and be one of the biggest rap icons in the world.
In closing, Pimpin Ken (Who gets a lot of respect in the hip hop world) is basically taking shots at T.I. because T.I. and his group of friends call themselves the Pimp Squad Click but do not literally speak about how they are pimps/ do not actually act like pimps.
The most awkward part is that T.I. is being hated on for doing the right/legal thing!
Actors do some pretty crazy things and it's not really a secret. Some like drugs, some like to party, and others like music, which is cool, it's when they start trying to make music that the problem arises. I won't lie, I owned Big Willie Style, Willenium, AND the "Wild Wild West" single when I was younger, and some people, although I'm not one of them, like Jared Leto's band 30 Seconds to Mars. But for every success story there is Bruce Willis putting out "The Return of Bruno," or Eddie Murphy singing "Party All The Time."
What got me thinking about this was Jason Schwartzman, of the movie "Rushmore" fame, recently released his second album, titled "Davy," with his musical project Coconut Records. Schwartzman isn't a musical rookie, he was the drummer of Phantom Planet for a long time. I bought this album completely oblivious to the fact that this was in fact an actor making music and making it really well. Zooey Deschanel, from "Yes Man," was the front-woman for She & Him and their release last year received a lot of critical acclaim as well so it's not impossible for an actor to be a successful musician.
With the advent of Auto-Tune, I can just imagine more people in show business making their way into the musical world. Hell, if T-Pain can make a career out of Auto-Tune couldn't anyone else? If Kanye West can make "great art," (his words, not mine) with Auto-Tune what's stopping someone like Nicolas Cage or Julia Roberts from trying the same thing?
Point is, how do you feel about actors making music? Is it a gimmick and they're just using their names to fulfill some farfetched dream of theirs? Or is it something you support, regardless of the outcome? Personally, I'm against it in most cases. When it's obviously a gimmick, like Bruce Willis and Eddie Murphy, then I can't support someone who is obviously not musically talented taking the spot of someone who has dedicated their whole lives to music.
With the Grammys looming, I printed off the nominees and chose my winers and also who I think the winner will be in each category. In the time since the nominations were made public, I'd almost forgotten how many nominations Lil' Wayne pulled in for Tha Carter III. One of few artists who sold 2,000,000+ records or more in 2008 (especially notable in this economic times), Weezy F. Baby successfully completed his mainstream crossover.
Wayne-heads have been following Weezy obsessively via mixtapes and features since Tha Carter III. Knowing this, when Tha Carter III dropped and I saw the tracklisting, I didn't forsee such a huge commotion. Half the songs that made it onto the album have been circulating the internet and showing up on mixtapes for the last 2+ years. I could sing most of them word for word, hence I was not inclined to rush out and buy the album the second it dropped.
Was it loyalty that made people go out and buy Tha Carter III? Or was the material legitimately new to them? Or was it the annoucement of the I Am Music Tour? It was amazing if you didn't catch it. This man has done everything from killing the stage at Hot 97's Summer Jam to performing at the Country Music Awards with Kid Rock in 2008. How does he do it?! More importantly, will he do it again?
I came across this article the other day on Kings of A&R (somewhat similar to the velvet rope, but not updated as frequently; also not a forum).
The article talks about how Quincy Jones (legendary, Grammy winning producer) is yet another musician turned journalist. The article goes on to talk about how is the current slump of the newspaper world, more and more people are getting their news elsewhere before reading it in the newspaper.
Basically, the "entertain"-ment columnists (not literally though) are starting to write columns for very notable & successful papers like the Chicago Tribune, about topics that transcend their musical endeavors. Also as a way to spark interest once again (kind of stirring the pot if you will). Check out the original article from Reuters and the topic link for Kings of A&R.
I think it's interesting to see guest writers like this. Actually, its not that too old of a practice to see guest columnists from a different media background venture into the journalist/columnist world. I often remember reading "Ask Vinnie" in revolver, where readers could send in their questions for advice, or reading about a musician or actor's favorite recipe in a local paper or magazine.
I understand that Guitar Hero has become a staple in gaming world. It gives bands with great rock musicianship a new outlet (i.e. Dragon Force) for exposure. It also provides established bands a chance to gain respect with a much younger generation. As a matter of fact, I feel it’s quite an entertaining game. This game has become such a source of passing time that it shows up at parties, bars, school functions, even art gallery openings. International competitions are being held as we speak. Our age group is beginning to become known as the guitar hero generation. However, I have some major complaints that I would like to share regarding the game itself, as well as some of the major ideas it instills.
The first major issue that needs to be addressed about this game is simple. In many cases, you are not hearing the actual artist play the song itself. After doing some research, it was brought to my attention that this was done because of the difficulty of programming the games guitar mechanism to sync up with certain recordings. In other cases, it was a copyright issue. This is quite a conundrum. There are some individuals who are learning about classic staples of the rock world through what is essentially a karaoke track. Some people may say that this is not a big issue. I tend to disagree. Can you imagine hearing a MIDI version of Stairway to Heaven several hundred times before actually hearing the original? What could potentially have been a mind blowing experience would be lost forever. This has major long term implications. Listening to music requires a great sense of refinement. Developing this sense requires years of choosing the music you think is of a high caliber. By having long exposure to these “cover” tracks will greatly affect those who have yet to develop that sense. I am not talking about people who are approaching their twenties and beyond, but the group of 8 and up who play this game at near obsessive levels.
Secondly, I am going to speak about what I like to call the “Tony Hawk” effect. Skateboard culture is a wonderful thing. However, learning how to skateboard takes years of hard work and lots of scrapes and broken bones. After Tony Hawk hit stores, many were introduced to this type of culture for the first time. Everyone became very enthusiastic about the skateboard. The only issue was that this game was highly unrealistic. It is physically impossible to do nearly all of the things executed in the game in real life. Many people who loved the game picked up a board, and were amazed to find themselves not being able to kickflip within first few days of riding. Thus discouraged, went back to living their dream through fantasy. The same type of effect is happening with guitar hero. I am a guitarist of 12 years. I cannot play guitar because I am so used to playing the actual instrument itself. What is going to happen to all of the younger individuals immersed in guitar culture who have no idea the amount of time and dedication it takes to master a real instrument? By living through fantasy, you are condemning a potential reality.
I by no means am trying to completely bash guitar hero. I would just rather see more people striving for musical excellence, rather than opting out.
They are not teaming up otherwise the world will end immediately.
This is follow up to the amazing auto tuned voice blog!
Yes, auto tune is being used to the extreme lately (I've been on the other side of this argument before). Many artists use some sort of pitch correction to fix everything from intonation to a wrong note when the perfect tone and emotion was present in a take. Moving on.
What I am not understanding is the Jonas Brothers. At least in regards to how the record sounds. I constantly question if those are real instruments, but that's besides the point. When have you ever heard a drum kit sound like that in person? (let me know if you have, I've been trying for years). There are no dynamics other than the fade ins and outs. No emotion. Everything is too perfect. To a person with ocd, the CD is a dream come true... or not.
Now lets move over to the same year... Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. They recorded in a top studio (Sage And Sound). Plant could've gotten ANY sound he wanted. Even the same sound that the Jonas Brothers achieved (my apologies Mr. Plant). BUT, he chose the natural sound of the instruments. 'Earthy' could be the term used, only because we have to come up with something to describe natural sound because we've forgotten what that is.
Maybe it's not all about slamming the audio file through the roof the produce the loudest, hottest, hippest, *_____* record. Maybe it's about the music, the sounds, the message and the heart (not the kind of jeans they're wearing or the instruments they are endorsing).
I have friend who was a successful recording engineer in the "pop" world (Eric Clapton, B-52's, P-Diddy, REM, Frank Zappa, Mary J Blige, Notorious BIG, to name only a few). One of his reasons for leaving that world was because of the lack of dynamics and musicality.
Maybe I'm a sarcastic person who watched a little too much Lewis Black growing up, but which artist has more emotion? Which one evokes more emotion from the listener? Who is nominated for Album of The Year and Record of The Year?
There's a reason for that. (take a listen to Herbie Hancock's album, River - The Joni Letters)
I could go on forever about this duo and the show (and I hope someone does at some point... dibs?), but this is just a quick post about the upcoming premiere of the show's second season.
Last night, I went to a free screening of the premiere episode, which shows on HBO this Sunday, January 18th. Highly highly recommend it. I went to the screening with several friends, some who were huge fans and some who had never seen or heard of the show/them, and everyone loved it. Worth checking it out if you haven't, and definitely worth watching if you're a fan.
Also, they're running a promotion right now where you can submit a video online of you lip syncing to "Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros," and the best ones will be shown on HBO. We tried it at the premiere but I'm pretty sure we failed horribly. Check it out: http://www.flightlipdub.com/
Music is, and always has been, a very social experience.I know I’ve made several friends by bonding over music at concerts, at parties, in dorms; hell, I had a whole conversation with a woman over elevator music once when we got stuck (the music, thankfully, had turned off).With the internet a secure part of our daily lives, it was only a matter of time before those social connections through music made it to the web.While most of the attention has focused on the uproar around illegal downloading sites, what interests me is the legal stuff- the sites like last.fm, Lala, and Pandora where users can stream music, share what they’re listening to, and browse the selections and recommendations of other users.
A recent article from CNN looks at the newest surge of music sharing as it spreads around the internet.The article mentions several ways users can now broadcast their music interests, like the “now listening” feature on Skype or status updates on Facebook, Twitter, and the music-oriented Blip.fm. What caught my eye was the mention towards the end of the article about a new company called Jook.
(Random sidenote: I don’t know how familiar you are with Asian cuisine, but “jook,” also known as “congee,” is a common kind of rice porridge: an odd association, and probably the first reason why this company caught my eye.)
Jook has created technology for headphones and music players that allows a listener to broadcast what they’re playing and allows others near them to listen in.You can change the mode that your headphones are in from “Me” mode (normal headphones setting, completely private) to “Us” mode (you are broadcasting whatever song you’re listening to) to “U” mode (you are listening to someone else’s music).A light on the headphones changes color to indicate what mode a listener is in.
The company explains on their website that they are trying to bring back the social aspect of music, as personal MP3 players are rather solitary experiences.Their intent was to allow the social sharing of music in an easier and more universal way than speakers or splitting a pair of ear buds.
I still haven’t fully processed my reaction to this.At the very least, it will be interesting to see if the idea can gain popularity in the future.I think I’m mostly curious to see how much this technology will cost the consumer. And hoping I won't be broadcasting to others when shuffle pulls up some of the more embarrassing songs in my collection.
With the creation of the DVR, I now have the ability to watch any TV show I want at anytime. Let me say this to you all now, "Hi, My name is Amanda Cox and I am a TV-aholic." I admit, I probably watch about 15 different television shows with my roommates while we do homework, hang out, or even just have shows running when people are over.
Something I have noticed that really has drawn me into television series lately is how great all of the background soundtracks are. There are a few shows that come into mind that have interesting artists on their episodes. Some shows include Gossip Girl, Chuck, 90210, Grey's Anatomy, and Cold Case among many others. I found this website a while back called Tune Find. (http://www.tunefind.com/) If you have ever wondered what track had played on what episode of the show you were watching, check out this site.
I know I have personally found artists because of my excessive TV habit and it makes me happy to hear WEA artists being played on primetime spots. Gossip Girl alone has played Bloc Party, Death Cab for Cutie, Jenny Lewis, and Phantom Planet during their current season. Chuck (produced by Josh Swartz) plays a variety of independent and upcoming artists, and 90210 has played The Raconteurs, Death Cab for Cutie, Cute is What We Aim For, The Virgins, Jason Mraz, and Carolina Liar.
Though some of the shows might not be something you enjoy to watch, pay attention to what music is being played in the background. Sometimes I feel that the music really gives the scene a whole new light and really adds so much emphasis to the storyline. I am no critic when it comes to television, but I really enjoy the new emergence of background soundtracks to all of my shows.
I wanted to share this blog series on Velvet Rope(if you haven't checked out this site, just read a couple forum posts and you'll see some of the funniest view points on pop culture and the music industry.) entitled Belly of the Beast that recounts Jack Ponti's life in the music biz.
In between anecdotes involving his regular encounters with "A Night At the Opera" producer Roy Thomas Baker, Ahmet Ertegun, and his former bandmate Jon Bon Jovi, Ponti creates a personal narrative that really puts you in every situation he brings up as his career evolves.
It's chronological so start from the beginning with a preface.
I know I'm not the only one who is tired of this but I'll say it so other's don't have to, enough with the Auto-tuner...please! Considering the alarming rate that artists such as T-pain, Lil' Wayne and even Kanye are played on the radio, it is hard to be listening to you're local hip hop radio station and not hear an artists whining or mumbling into a microphone with the auto-tuner effect over it. It might have sounded cool and fresh the first 10 thousand times T-pain did it, but it's time to give it a rest.
I've become so annoyed with the auto-tuner sound I have to turn the station every time I hear a song that features this "new effect" and pray that it hasn't yet crossed over to other genres (can you imagine Metallica with auto-tuner? The thought sends chills down my spine, and not in a good way). I am increasingly convinced with every new song that I hear with this effect that it is now just being used to give the illusion of singing talent. You've heard the in-audible mumbles of both Kanye and Lil' Wayne on their newest albums.It's a good thing lyrics are included in the cd jackets or we may never had known what they are saying (gives incentive to buy the physical copy instead of the single off of iTunes).
I know at this point it will still sell records and there are people out there who aren't as annoyed with it yet as much I am. That being said, I can't be too mad at the artist for "striking while the iron is hot" so to speak. However, I will be heavily anticipating the day that rappers stop trying to sing and put that twangy effect over their voices. I know I'm not alone in this anticipation, so while we wait check out this SNL sketch with Andy Sandburg ft. Ludacris and T-pain. Apparently they even know auto-tuner is rediculous.
Cheers, Roon
Because NBC doesn't allow their videos to be shared I had to use a you tube video. If you want to just see the regular sketch use this link(http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/blizzard-man/848723/). Otherwise, this is an interview done my MC Search formerly of the 1990's rap group 3rd Base. He ask's Ludacris about Sandburg's skills.
The inductees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame were announced. Metallica and Run-D.M.C are two of the acts that will be inducted in April. Both of these groups are extremely talented and deserve to be recognized. What artists that have come on the music scene since 2006 do you feel will be future nominees?
I had the chance to be interviewed for the local paper about the resurgence in vinyl just recently. Talking about why and what customers are buying, future of, etc. (this was apart of my job working at the indie record store).
It was an interesting discussion about how over the holiday it was a huge seller for the store where I work at. Not like a few pieces over the course of the week, but a dozen a day going out the door. Watching people dig through the bins for that lost album they had as a kid or discovering something completely new like the "Figure 8" 180 gram repressing from Elliott Smith, a picture disc for "Sgt. Pepper" by the Beatles, or that super deluxe Metallica "Death Magnetic" 5 LP set with CD combination...oh heaven.
What's even better was noticing more and more younger kids/adults buying vinyl this year. And I'm not talking like teenagers or 20 somethings picking up a stack here and there but 8 & 10 year old kids walking up to the counter with stack of gems like Marvin Gaye, the Smiths, Toby Redd and others. It' simple sets me back in awe. Sure, some are buying to collect them, others to play. Whatever the case, it's just amazing to see the pickup in vinyl increase steady every year.
Me, I love vinyl. Everything about it. I collect it. I play it. I marvel at the shear greatness and sound that simple piece of plastic-vinyl material produces every time I drop the needle down. Playing vinyl is a zen moment for me. With a CD, you just pop it in and press play & then forget about it. But vinyl is such a tediously loving project of flipping from side to side, placing the needle down on the track you want to hear, and protecting the record with plastic dust sleeves and shelves. It's become something to respect and love for me.
I find it great reading articles and see stories about vinyl. Watching all the attention that this once forgotten medium is getting now. Seeing how vinyl sales were huge this year, up 50% from reports I read, it doesn't look like it's going away any time soon. If anything, I only hope that it can continue the trend of people going out and buying a record pressing of the favorite artist or album.
My favorite quote that I've read about vinyl sums it up best: "You can't roll a joint on a download".
For young music enthusiasts, it is easy to spend hours online checking out bands and albums. Lala, Myspace, Pandora, Last FM, take your pick, they all offer more music than you could ever listen to, right at your fingertips.
I had to spend hours on the phone though. For the same reason, to hear new bands and records. The high-speed Internet boom hadn't emerged, and I was too young to drive to record stores. If I was lucky, I might hear a few new bands on the radio each week, or catch a new MTV Buzz Bin act. That was until 1-800-Music-Now hit the market.
What more could I ask for? An automated music store with samples of every album imaginable. My friends and I were hooked, we would call almost every day. We would listen to every band we were curious about in the BMG Record Club catalog, then listen to the opening acts for every band coming to town. 1-800-Music-Now was an audio encyclopedia of music for us.
I never bought a record from them though, and I don't think many people did, they were gone within a year or so. Recently, it really hit me that they were a little bit ahead of their time. If they started a few years later and sold ringtones and digital files delivered directly to handsets, I think they may have really had chance.
These days, there are a flood of new ideas, and nobody is certain what direction formats and distribution will go. Maybe the answer isn't that far off from where things are now though. 1-800-Music-Now was an attempt at selling music in a new way before it was a necessity, but maybe if they stuck it out the mp3/ringtone revolution would have caught up.
I knew that it was only a matter of time before the supposed physical "replacement" to the CD would come, but will it be enough to overcome the ground that digital downloads have gained in the last couple of years? Like any new technology, only time will be able to tell whether the idea of HD Sound recordings will catch on with the general public.
For many of us, I think its fairly easy to appreciate what superior sound quality can do for any listening experience, but until I hear what one is like, I won't be placing any bets on it (this coming from the kid who thought that Mini Disc's were the next "it" thing haha) I definitely feel that with time, like Blu-Ray, there could be a market for it, the question is whether it will be large enough to make a difference.
Visiting stores since the holidays has been a pretty depressing activity. With all the leftover Cd's and vinyl who weren't chosen as a holiday gift this year as well as the both jaded and bored employees waiting for someone to walk through their store's door, man January sucks. Does it have to though?
I have talked to several employees over the last week and a half, and they all seem agitated that record labels don't release substantially exciting records over the weeks following the holidays. They feel that a big release will bring in more traffic and people might be looking to use their gift cards or holiday money at their stores. Apparently, the stores have been making their feelings known about this issue for years, but to no success. How big of a risk would it be for a major label to release one of their bigger releases of the year during this time, when the other labels are quiet? It is true that many kids have iTunes gift cards, store gift cards, money from grandma and grandpa, all waiting to be used on the first thing that hits them after the holiday. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to make a big splash during a quiet time?
I should preface this by saying that as a decidedly suburban black kid from Detroit I should have had more knowledge and interest in Metallica than Idid prior to last night's concert. With that said Metallica thoroughly rocked my face off last night. My no means do I consider myself a heavy metal fan (nee Disturbed) but the concert showed me a new side of music that i didn't think I would like. It was loud as fuck, there were lasers, mosh pits broke out, people threw shoes (once at James), people got drunk and just like a good session of "vertical monster mashing" left me tired, sore, sweaty and ready for more after a nap. It really was pretty amazing.
Oh, and music is my bitch because I put it out on the street and it makes me money...nuff said -Jordan (Ann Arbor, MI)
In the music business, as noted in Allie’s last post, we rely heavily upon Billboard data for our statistics and industry news. We assume that the generation, distribution, and interpretation of all this data is accurate, reliable, and reflective of actual market conditions. One of the thrusts of the music industry is to relieve the ambiguity and uncertainty surrounding the market, that is, crunch numbers, research blogs and print media, keep an eye on trends, etc. As of now, Billboard is quite a reliable source for accurate POS information and industry news (we all get the daily emails and for me, it’s become like reading the newspaper everyday). But, it hasn’t always been this easy and we now take the accuracy of the Billboard charts for granted.
The American commercial music field really has its roots in the 1880s, developing around printed sheet music publishers, touring theatrical shows (minstrel shows), and early vaudeville acts. As the business grew, it became necessary to develop new copyright laws to accommodate new technology. As many writers note, our current dilemma with digital music copyrights is nothing new. Needless to say, amidst all the new technology in the first half of the 20th century (the microphone, phonograph, expanded radio reach, etc) Billboard emerged in Cincinnati in 1894 as “Billboard Advertising”. At this point, it was mainly a method of discovering talent for booking agencies across the United States. From 1894 to 1913, the magazine ran articles, not statistics, on vaudeville, burlesques, circuses, Wild West shows, and all things entertaining. From then until 1948, Billboard focused on generating the “most popular songs” from a combination of radio, record stores and publishing and licensing companies to supplement their articles on industry news.
On August 4th, 1958 Billboard split its song charts into three categories: “Best Sellers in the Stores”, “Most Played by Jockeys, and “Most Played in Juke Boxes”. This move towards removing the ambiguity of the market enabled accounts to start trusting Billboard as a source of dependable, accurate information. The “Hot 100” category was implemented in 1958 as a reliable predictor of future sales, mainly for singles.
However, from 1948 to 1991 all of the information gathered on Billboard’s statistical charts was sales information from a “sample” of records stores and radio stations in the United States. Stores would report the estimates of their weekly sales of a record and Billboard’s research teams to tabulate the charts and interpolate the information. The data went directly to the Billboard offices, making it nearly impossible to independently verify. Also, there were several reports throughout the period of “buying chart position” that are better represented in the payola scandals of the time. For example, buying advertising in the magazine for better positioning and directly influencing personnel on the Billboard team is well documented in several reports (see Karshner 1971, Denisoff 1986, Dannen 1990, Negus 1993, and Peterson 2000).
In the 1980s, Mike Fine and Mike Shallet developed SoundScan Inc, a company that was implemented in 1987 to accurately pinpoint point of sale purchases based on the number of scans, not an arbitrary report from record stores. Soundscan threatened Billboard’s ability to influence the industry with their quick movement to sign exclusive agreements with labels and record store chains to hoard all of the new information, effectively keeping Billboards older and less effective methods out of the market. Billboard was outraged, reportedly because chart positions could not be manufactured or manipulated anymore due to the development of true POS data, although this was denied fervently by Billboard execs. Finally, on May 25, 1991, Billboard, in desperation, signed an agreement with SoundScan and the first POS based chart appeared in Billboard Magazine courtesy of Fine and Shallet’s SoundScan.
Our business then, is based on the business and competitive market of other 3rd party statistics reporting companies. It’s an important lesson for us, in that we should never put all of our chips on the table for numbers that can’t be independently verified and expounded upon. But, the Billboard charts that we have now are by far more accurate and reliable due to the development of Fine and Shallet’s SoundScan POS system.
So thank you Mike and Mike. Even if I don’t feel as though “music is my bitch”, I can be certain that the Billboard charts are my bitch.
I've noticed alot of the new folks I'm meeting at USC (South Carolina) don't own TV's and if they do they don't even have cable and only use them to watch DVD's.
I read a comment where someone asserted that the economy can't handle physical merchandise. I believe this is true. The movie industry and video game industry need to pick up fast before their product is victimized by illegal downloading even more so than they already are. I can envision well a future with no need for racks or cases but only portable size hard drives each specified for a certain medium; music, movies, video games, etc. As a down home environmentalist (I do what I can and I'm not wasteful) I look forward to this day but am fearful for the job losses in the package manufacturing market.
The internet is the way of the future. Any attempts to fight it is folly. But while new technology is prevailing kids are also demonstrating a desire for vintage merchandise of all types, clothes and music especially. I know both my friends and I revel in our latest finds from thrift stores and used vinyl shops. This I believe is a defining characteristic of our generation and speaks volumes about our ideologies; embrace of the future and respect for the past.
Here's a consolidated version of an article that ran in the SC state paper about the record store where I work which is sadly going out of business. I saw a previous post about Virgin Mega store in time square going under. It saddens me that this is happening but hopefully the remaining record stores can find new ways to make money in the evolving market and other entrepreneurs can follow.
I found an interesting article today on billboard.com (our bible). It seems that Times Square Virgin Megastore is shutting down its doors! I think all those who have been to Times Square at Night will find that Virgin is by far one of the biggest and brightest stores making it an amazing sight. My first in-store in the music industry was 2 years ago at Virgin for ERASURE with Mute Records. It seems that as always in the end, it boils down to money. This case being no different.
Is Microsoft getting ready to walk away from its underperforming Zune? That was a question floating at CES, thanks to a Financial Times interview involving Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer. In the interview, Ballmer "seemed all but ready to throw in the towel on the Zune mobile device, which has failed to gain ground on Apple's iPod," according to the Times, though a direct quote was not offered.
Instead of the Zune and its rival iPod, Ballmer indicated that consumers are shifting towards a new class of smartphone, led by devices like the iPhone and Blackberry. But Ballmer also killed speculation of a Zune phone, telling the Times that consumers "should not anticipate that."
Elsewhere, in an interview with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Microsoft executive Robbie Bach also flatly dismissed the idea of a Zune phone. Separately, on the issue of the Zune, Bach also noted that the growth trajectory on dedicated MP3 players remains flat, though Microsoft would broaden development on media related software. "I don't think the portable media category goes away. I just think it's not going to be where most of the growth is," Bach said.
Last year two RIAA representatives came to BU to hold a Q&A session with students. Though they had logical explanations to nearly all of the questions they were asked, my classmates didn't seem to hear them. Throughout the entire hour and a half or so that the event went on, the reps were assailed by students who had never been sued themselves but had read or heard stories about lawsuits.
After witnessing the hostility towards the RIAA, I am glad to hear they are pursuing another method. According to a WSJ article, the group plans to work with ISPs to send a warning to those making music available for download. A second and possibly third warning, which may be accompanied with slower service, would be issued before service is cut completely.
I doubt this will help the RIAA improve its image, but if all ISPs are on board, I think it could dramatically decrease illegal downloading without further harming the RIAA's reputation. I can't wait to see what happens!!
Meanwhile, Bono is a columnist for the NY Times and Ryan Gosling sings in a band - neither are half bad.
I watched Pee-Wee's Big Adventure a few days ago and my friend commented on how appropriate the music was for the movie. Pee-Wee was the first major-release that Danny Elfman composed the soundtrack for, although now his name is ubiquitous with film. Since then (1985!), he's done a lot, but nothing as interesting as his latest work.
The soundtrack to the upcoming film Notorious has a little unexpected surprise in its track listing. After songs featuring Lil' Kim and Jay-Z is "The Notorious Theme", written by Elfman. When I think of his past work I think of The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Simpsons Theme, and Oingo Boingo. Never in a million years would I expect to see his name on the soundtrack to a biopic of a legendary rapper.
Does the song work? Yeah, and you'd never know it was him. It's just too bad Biggie isn't rapping over it.
While listening to my daily NPR stories I head one that really caught my attention. The subject, the changing face of traditional media. It was only last year that such large battles occurred with television networks about their shows being placed on the internet on sites like YouTube, but as DVRs and Tivos began to threaten ad revenues, it finally occurred to them to embrace this new medium and new sites like Hulu (funded by NBC Universal) have networks voluntarily putting up their shows on the web and only using 15 sec ads once or twice for a 30 min show. But this is not the focus on this post. What caught my attention was an idea called a wovel.
In todays web based society, much of our time is spent reading websites, blogs, emails, with little time left to sit back and read a paper and ink book. But what makes this interesting to me is that embraces the user interaction of the internet. Every monday a chapter is posted on their website, but when you get done reading it you can then choose from a few options on how you would like to see the plot go. The one with the most votes wins and from Thurs - Sunday authors write a new chapter based on how the audience voted.
I am so happy to finally see all these industries that were once threatened by advancement in technology have now begun to get creative in the ways they offer their services.
It's always nice when you can find a band that when you hear the music for the first time you're hooked. This past November a close friend of mine passed away. He was an acoustic guitar player with a unique raspy voice. He had a personality that would make an angel jealous he turned every bad situation into an amazing moment. He had a dream of touring the country and playing his music for anyone and everyone he met. He was able to do it last year and made quite a few fans. Maybe you have heard of him, his stage name was Eyes Like Aster.
One of his favorite bands was this band from Washington called Paper Mache. Last year he was able to go on tour with them, which probably made him happier than anything else. I had heard of Paper Mache but never gave them a listen. When I went to the services for my friend Tim I noticed two guys that had that "band" look. During the end of the services one of my friends had asked the lead singer of this band to come up and play one of Tim's favorite songs. When the singer came to the front of the room he sat down and played a borrowed accoustic guitar. The song was beautiful, it must have been hard to play being that choked up. I asked my friend sitting next to me what band this was. He told me it was Paper Mache.
Ever since I saw them play in that old funeral home in Iowa I have been hooked. I later found out that they had drove from Washington to say good-bye to Tim. Give these bands a listen I think you all will enjoy.
My friend you may be gone, but your music still sounds just as good. Miss you Bro!
Since this blog is called Music is my Bitch, I thought I'd do a little research as to how music and bitches work. Why is music my bitch? What is music? Well, we all know music can have many different meanings. Depending on your tastes and what you may feel defines music, it can be a melody or the driving rhythm of a jack hammer in NYC. Like the definition of success, music has many variations and is very personal. Music holds a place in everyone's heart. Especially if Music is your Bitch. So the bitch must be in my heart. And how fun is it to say bitch. I don't mean any offense by it, especially when Hip hop artists use them all the time. It's 2009, and bitch has become a term of endearment. But what is a bitch? According to Wikipedia, the term Bitch comes from the Old English word "bicce" It was defined as "the most offensive appellation that can be given to an English woman, even more provoking than that of whore." Wow we sure came a long way.
Hip Hop has used the word Bitch to describe a young lady without regard of race, looks or personality. And, she doesn't have to be a whore. The term Bitch also engenders a state of ownership; generally towards a female. Don't get caught being called a Bitch if you're a male. Ouch. If you were in prison and were called a bitch you would be deemed as sexually passive. The word has many uses. You can sit "bitch" in a car, or on a motorcycle, you can get bitch slapped, or you can slam your finger with a hammer and say "ouch, son of a bitch!" Then there are people who just never stop 'bitching". At one point life was even a bitch. You can have the "bitch end" of a poker hand, and lose your money. So there are many uses for bitch.
Now that the bitch is out of the way, lets fit in music. If music is my bitch, music must have some importance to me. In this case bitch is possesive. I can't bitch slap music. Music can't ride bitch. I do own music, however. I own it physically as well as mentally. It's in my heart. I love music. I shower with music. I get drunk with music. I puke to music. I care for music and will go through turbulent times with music. Music is my burden, my love hate relationship. Many artists can do nothing else but express their art, and have found music to consume them. We all have music inside of us. It is a burden that creates inspiration. When we listen to music, when we perform music, we are transcended into servanthood. So i guess thats my definition of why music is my bitch. We serve it.
I've always wanted to be the dude who was in charge of booking bands for a tour and I've always tried to think what the perfect tour would be and what 4 bands I'd want to see the most if I could see anyone, past or present. I think I've narrowed it down but then again, this could change hourly based on what I'm into at the moment but here's my "perfect tour"-
- Black Flag would open, but the Black Flag from like 1981 so they aren't getting soft yet. I can't imagine anything much cooler than doing stage dives while Henry Rollins is singing "Rise Above." It'd be a good start to the night.
- Fall Out Boy would come next. I'll admit it, I love Fall Out Boy. Since it's my tour, I'd want to them to play Take This To Your Grave front to back and that'd be their set. I love that album and I miss the days when they actually played songs from it live.
- Queen(including Freddie Mercury) would be the third band. Freddie Mercury is unarguably the best front man of all time. It's a fact, you can't even debate it. If you need proof watch the videos on YouTube of him playing to some insane number of people at Wembley Stadium in 1986 and totally owning it, especially during the Under Pressure performance.
- As the headliner I'd want Journey, with Steve Perry though and not the new guy they found off of YouTube. He may not be as much of a showman as Freddie Mercury but Steve Perry has the best voice I've ever heard. I'm not going to lie, I'd sing along to Don't Stop Believing so hard you'd think I was in the band.
I'd have to retire from concerts after this since nothing could ever beat this. If it you had the chance, who would you put on your favorite tour? For the sake of brevity, try to limit it to 4 bands since I know all of us could go on all day.
Yesterday morning on the ESPN2 talk show "First Take", Lil' Wayne appeared on the show's popular debate segment "1st and 10". Considering how unqualified he is to provide analysis on professional and college sports, he wasn't as terrible as I expected. (Besides saying. the Tennessee Titans were "not the same team since they lost that one game". Yeah that's me being nit picky but I digress...)
Anyone who normally watches "1st and 10" would be struck how less combative the show was with Wayne on it. Traditionally it's semi shouting from "1st" regular Skip Bayless and instead we got Bayless opening the first segment by telling Lil' Wayne how much he loved "The Carter III" and telling him it's his "Purple Rain". Absurd? Maybe. Should Kermit the Frog appear on "1st and 10" in the future? Absolutely.
It saddens my heart to hear people revolt against the word swag.
I love having Gucci Mane La Flare, Shawty Lo, Soulja Boy, OJ DA JUICE MAN, Yung Joc, and Young Dro spit various usages of the word swag into my ear. By various usages of the word swag I mean "Stupid Swag" "Fruity Swag" "Gucci Swag" etc.
The people who are revolting against the usage of the word swag are saying that it has been overused. That it has become an extremely mainstream word that no longer is fun/cool to say. They are claiming that not only is it being overused by southern rap artists, but that it is being used quite frequently in the media. (sports tv & radio, the local news, etc)
I heard Kurt Warner use the word swag in an interview after his Arizona Cardinals won their first NFL playoff game a few days ago. He was using the word to describe his team and how they came together during the game and "got their swag back."
In other news,
Doin Tha Stanky Leg could quite possibly be the most popular dance move since cranking dat Soulja Boy!
I have heard people talking about this dance in Boston, and Saint Louis radio stations are practically playing the song on repeat:
This Christmas I had one very special present waiting for me under the tree. Well not exactly under the tree, this present was much too large to actually fit under the tree. It was heavy, so big that I wasn't able to shake the present. I quickly opened the enormous box and I what I found in the box was a 4 in 1 music player. This stereo system can play Vinyl Records, Tape Cassettes, AM/FM stations, and CD's. It has a nice vintage look to it and the sound is not to shabby. Since opening this present I have gone out and purchased three albums so far.
Vampire Weekend
Against Me! - New Wave
Bright Eyes - Cassadaga
When I get bored I will head over to the local record shop and see what I can find. Even my local Best Buy here in Madison, WI is starting a Vinyl Section in the music department. The thing that I like the most about purchasing new vinyl is that all of the albums that I have purchased have either came with a free MP3 download of the entire album or a copy of the CD. So I can listen to the album at home on the turntable or throw it on my computer or iPod.
I love collecting music. It's one of those things that you can keep with you until the day you die and pass it on to the ones you love. The music you have in your collection helps paint a picture of who you are.
Throughout life we spend thousands and thousands of dollars on material things. Most of the purchases that we make are soon forgotten in a few years, maybe even months, winding up in the trash or the local goodwill. I hope that music is something that I am never willing to part with, regardless of how good or bad the album is.
I have a feeling a that Vinyl will be making a well deserved comeback. I Hope that Warner Music Group and all of the other record labels will notice this trend and continue to supply the music listeners with a new way to experience their favorite artist or albums.
If you are looking for a new way to experience music I would suggest digging through some relatives attic, basement, or closet and brushing the dust off of their old phonograph. If you are unable to find one head over to your local Target and pick up a 4 in 1 music player like mine.
