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Friday, March 14, 2003

On Saturday, March 15, this blog will turn one-year-old. If you're a regular reader, please send in a happy birthday notice and let me know how awesome this blog has become in just a year (or how much it continues to suck, as the case may be.) Those of you with deeper pockets can hit me up with something from My Amazon Wish List if you so desire.

Dixie Chicks Remark Irks Country Fans
During a performance in London earlier this week, Dixe Chick Natalie Maines told the audience "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas." A country star expressing less-than-support-for-a-war-time president is like a HUGE no-no. The Nashville community is now up in arms, but the Dixie Chicks are sticking to their guns.
Eminem Doesn't Give A Damn About An Oscar, Either
Eminem won't be performing "Lose Yourself" at the Oscars. I'm sort of frightened as to what the show's producers will do in his place. What legtimate rapper in his right mind is gonna cover it? Worst Case Scenario-- Oscar nominnee Will Smith. Eeek. Maybe they'll just show a music video.
Wes Borland's Eat The Day Still Hungry For A Singer
Former Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland is still on the hunt for a singer for his band Eat The Day. Meanwhile, Limp Bizkit is still in search of new guitarist. It may take a decade or so, but my guess is the two camps will begrudgingly come together in the name of...cash. Thought I was gonna say art, didn'tja? Anyway, you can peep the Eat The Day instrumental demos on their website, record your own vocals and send 'em in to see if you (yes you!) can be ETD's new singer.
Verizon, RIAA Spar Over Second Subpoena
Verizon Communications /a> and the R.I.A.A. will face off again in front U.S. District Judge John Bates over a second subpoena the Recording Industry Association of America sent to Verizon under the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Bates was the judge i n the first such case, ruling the first subpoena seeking the identity of a Kazaa user was valid, but Verizon has appealed.
Natalie Merchant, No Strings Attached
After 17 years with Elektra Records, first as part of 10,000 Maniacs and then as a solo artist, Natalie Merchant will be releasing her next album independently. She might not sell as much without a big label backing, but she'll probably make more money selling fewer albums to her die hard fans by cutting out the middle man. The House Carpenter's Daughter (a collection of covers of public domain folk songs in the vein of the O Brother Where Art Thou Soundtrack) needs to sell only 50,000 copies to break even, less than 15 percent of what Motherland her last album for Elektra, sold. It's doubtful her new album would've sold enough to make the bean counters at a major label happy, so everyone is a winner. Audio clips of The House Carpenter's Daughter can be heard here, but no pre-order is available yet.
ZZ Top, Nugent Crack Open A Cold One
Yeeeeeeeeeee-hhawwwwwww!! Comin' this summer to an ampitheatre near you-- The Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers Rour: Ted Nugent, ZZ Top and Kenny Wayne Shepherd with Double Trouble.
Andrew W.K. To Release 'Blow Your Bone'?
Andrew W.K is releasing a new album in September and wants to call it Blow Your Bone. Though he claims that the title refers to blowing up an animal bone with some dynamite, some retailers seem to be indicating that they won't carry an album with that title.
Earth Day Rocks With Raitt, Cake, De La Soul
The We The Planet Music And Activism Festival will take place on April 20, 2003 in Golden Gate Park. Here is the line-up thus far, with more artists allegedly to come:
Alanis Morissette
Bonnie Raitt (acoustic performance)
Cake
Concrete Blonde
The Coup
De La Soul

That seems to be in alphabetical order-- I imagine The Coup will come before De La Soul. Peep the We The Planet web site for lots more details.

posted by Randy on 12:18 PM | permanent link to this entry

Thursday, March 13, 2003

P. Diddy Working On New Nightclub, Alcoholic Beverage & Boutique Hotel Chain
Blah blah blah. The buried lead in the above linked story: P. Diddy's next release will be a dance album. It was was recorded last summer in Ibiza with Felix da Housecat and Nellee Hooper (producer of Massive Attack's Protection, Bjork's Post, and Madonna's Bedtime Stores, among others). Verrrry interrresting.
Consumers Who Registered for CD Settlement should get $12.60
Roughly 3.5 million U.S. residents who purchased music between 1995 and 2000 registered for claims by last Wednesday's deadline and it look like they'll each get $12.50. This is actually great news-- the record industry will actually have to pay for price fixing. If too many people signed up for the settlement, the industry could've gotten off with donating left over product to libraries, schools and community centers across the United States. You're too late to sign up for the settlement, but you can read about what could've been yours at the official Compact Disc Minimum Advertised
Price Antitrust Litigation Settlement site
'All in the Family' producer to co-write episodes of 'South Park'
Norman Lear, the Emmy-winning producer of TV's "All in the Family," said Wednesday he will collaborate on several episodes "South Park." What's really interesting to me about this development is how Trey & Matt railed against sit-coms when they were making "That's My Bush", but now they're cozying up to a master of the, uh, art form. For those not in the know, Lear is the man behind "All in the Family," "Sanford and Son," "Maude" and "The Jeffersons"-- all of which had political bents like "South Park," bt all of which also laid the ground work for so many bad sit-coms that dominate the airwaves in their wake.

posted by Randy on 11:37 AM | permanent link to this entry

Wednesday, March 12, 2003

It's almost this blog's birthday! On Saturday, March 15, this blog will turn one-year-old. If you're a regular reader, please send in a happy birthday notice and let me know how awesome this blog has become in just a year (or how much it continues to suck, as the case may be.) Those of you with deeper pockets can hit me up with something from My Amazon Wish List if you so desire.

Phil Spector Says in E-Mail He Is Cleared in a Killing (NYTimes registration required)
She shot herself, Phil Spector sez. Perhaps accidently. Police are not commenting.
China Orders Rolling Stones to Ax Songs
The Rolling Stones, scheduled to perform in Shanghai April 1 and in Beijing April 4, will not be allowed to play "Brown Sugar," "Honky Tonk Women," "Beast of Burden," or "Let's Spend the Night Together." They will only be allowed to perform songs on that appear on their recent 40 Licks compilation-- and those songs were not included in the Chinese editon due to governement censiorship. My question that was not answered in any article I could find-- Are there four songs that appear on the Chinese version of Forty Licks which don't appear on other versions? Or is the Chinese version known as 36 Licks?
Anti-War Songs Start Hitting The Streets
The Beastie Boys have released an anti-war song called "In A World Gone Mad" that you can download a MP3 of at this site right here. It is perhaps the worst Beastie Boys song ever-- and I'm a huge fan who agrees with the message of the song. But it sucks. As does Paula Cole's "My Hero Mr. President", which you can download at this site (scroll down to the 1/30/03 entry). At least they're saying something-- but both songs are pretty bad. You've been warned.
R&B Award Winners Are Left Waiting for Their Prize Money
Each year, The Rhythm and Blues Foundation gives out cash awards to R&B pioneers to honor them and make up for some of the royalty payments they signed away when they were young and naive. This year, the group honored The Dixie Cups, The Supremes, The Del Vikings, Koko Taylor, Johnny Nash, Clarence "Frogman" Henry, Maceo Parker and George Clinton. In the past individual acts have received $15,000 and groups $20,000, but this year the R&B Foundation has significantly altered the size of the awards and the way they are paid because of lagging fund-raising and a decrease in donations from record companies and individuals. None of the honorees have gotten the cash yet and the foundation is now saying they'll get the money, but it won't be such a princely sum.
SXSW Tough Love: The truth, the whole truth
It's funny 'cos it's true. Reccommended reading.
Mary J. Blige Takes A Beat From 50 Cent
There's a new Mary J. Blige song (with a rap by P. Diddy) called "Hooked" that uses the beat to 50 Cent's "In Da Club." This should not be mistaken for the Beyonce Knowles "cover" of "In Da Club". Neither song has any plans for official release. Listen to your fave radio mix show or hit the P2P networks to get a taste. There's also a parody by a guy calling himself 50 Pence called "In Da Pub"-- "I'm into playing darts, I'm not into making love"-- soemthing like that. Jolly good, all three of 'em.
Ryan Adams New Album Update
Ryan Adams apparently makes semi-regular posts to the message boards on his web site. In one of his latest misseves, he reports the album is done and offers up a list of songs that are done, but not really a tracklisting. In additon to the followowing tracks, there are apparently 6 more in the can that will be used as B-sides and that kind of thing, including a cover of Sonic Youth's "Mildred Pierce"

1.The Shadowlands.
2. Black Clouds
3. Please Do Not Let Me Go
4. World War 24 ....
5.Political Scientist
6. Afraid Not Scared
7. This House is Not For Sale
8. Avalanche
9. I see Monsters
10.Thank you Louise
11. Anybody Wanna Take Me Home?
12.Wonderwall
13. My Blue Manhattan
14. Chelsea Nights

posted by Randy on 1:19 PM | permanent link to this entry

Tuesday, March 11, 2003

First of all-- happy brithday to my beautiful wife Margaret Kranyak! Woo-hoo!

Second of all-- it's almost this blog's birthday! On Saturday, March 15, this blog will turn one-year-old. If you're a regular reader, please send in a happy birthday notice and let me know how awesome this blog has become in just a year (or how much it continues to suck, as the case may be.) Those of you with deeper pockets can hit me up with something from My Amazon Wish List if you so desire.

Clyde Stubblefield (James Brown's Drummer) Has Cancer, Has No Health Insurance, Needs Donations
Clyde Stubblefield, who played the drums for James Brown from 1967-1971 and hit the skins on such classics as "Mother Popcorn," "Cold Sweat," "Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)," "I Got The Feelin'," and "Funky Drummer" has been diagnosed with cancer and is currently without health insurance. This is a tragedy, considering that his work alone on "Funky Drummer" basically makes him the world's most sampled drummer. If you can help at all, here's where to send checks:

The Clyde Stubblefield Medical Fund
First Federal Savings
P.O. Box 1868
(605 State Street)
LaCrosse WI
54602-9962

If you would prefer to send Clyde a gift, a care-package, or something other than money, please mail it to the following address:
Clyde Stubblefield
c/o Maximum Ink
P.O. Box 3245
Madison, WI 53704-0245

I strongly encourage you to pick up Brown's In The Jungle Groove to get a good taste of Stubblefield's work and from there move onto the Star Time boxed set and The J.B.'s Funky Good Time: The Anthology. Those are suggestions for educational purposes only. He doesn't get any royalties off of thsoe records, so you'll need to send checks to help pay for his treatments. Please give what you can.
The Clash, Police Join Rock Hall of Fame
What I most love about The Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame Ceremonies is the chance for estranged band members to fail to put their differences behind them in a very public situation. This year's ceremony did not disapoint-- Sting said Stewart Copeland grumbled about the song selection for The Police reunion because there wasn't enough drumming in them. Later, estranged Elvis Costello & The Attractions bassist Bruce Thomas accepted his award, said thanks for the memories. That's it," and walked off stage and out the door. "Costello marked his departure with a lewd gesture" says the above linked article.
Sum 41 Added To Warped Tour, Turned Down Summer Sanitarium
They won't be playing the whole Warped Tour, but they probably made the right decision in staying off Metallica summer journey with Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, Mudvayne, and The Deftones. I can't imagine they'd do well in front of that crowd, but maybe I am just too sentimental for Metallica fans of yore who liked speed metal and nothing else.
Boston Bans Pyro In Clubs, Other Cities Toughen Inspection
Interesting MTV News article about how cites are conducting more fire code inspections on clubs and toughening up laws
in resposne to the tragedies in Rhode ISland and Chicago. When I saw Macy Gray recently at The Fillmore, before the show started they announced where all the exits were-- something I had never heard them do before.
Digital Decoys Are Making Frustrated Pirates Say 'Arrr'
More and more, the major labels are flooding the P2P file trading networks with "spoofed" files (files that are blank, gibberish, or a 30 sec. loop repeated for 3 minutes) in an effort to fight piracy. The above linked article notes that the industry leader in this effort is Overpeer, but an up and comer is Covenant, who gives users a chance to win prizes and money if they share mis-labeled promo files on P2P services.
Fountains Of Wayne Ink With S-Curve
Power-poppers Fountains Of Waynehas signed a new deal with EMI's S-Curve Records, after having parted ways with Warner Bros. Records a few years back. A new album entitled Welcome Interstate Managers is due to hit stores on June 3. And speaking of Warner Bros....
Warner Bros. Selling MP3 of Madonna's "American Life" for $1.49
On Mar. 24, Warner Bros. Records will send you a link where you can download an unrestricted MP3 copy of Madonna's "American Life"-- the first single from the forthcoming album of the same name in exchange for $1.49 sent to them via PayPal. You can pay now at this link and they'll send it to you on the 24th or earlier if the track is leaked on the internet.
This Pop Music To Broadway Madness Has Gone Too Far!
Did you know that there's now an award winning musical in England based on the music of 80s pop-sks legends Madness? It's called (of course) "Our House" and now features original band member Suggs. Please, someone, stop the madness (pun intended)! The Who's Tommy, Mamma Mia! and Movin' Out are all to blame for this tragedy.
New Shane McGowan DVD Coming On April 22
You don't have to be a marketing genius to see that this should've been released on St. Patrick's Day, but oh well. The DVD contains 17 live performances and interviews with the ex-Pogues frontman. You can pre-order "If I Should Fall From Grace � The Shane MacGowan Story'" here.

posted by Randy on 12:49 PM | permanent link to this entry

Monday, March 10, 2003

Tracking The Downloading Revolution
Another interesting piece about BigChampagne, the company that monitors P2P file-trading services and sells the data to the major labels as market research. The whole thing is good reading, but I'll hit you up with the three parts that were most interesting to me:

"So, when you ask "is downloading responsible for the decline in CD sales?"...the answer is yes, no, and it depends on the record. Certainly you can cite shrinking playlists, the rise in spending on DVDs and video games. But if you ask about Eminem, well, I think he's clearly been affected. Maybe even his legacy is adversely affected, because The Eminem Show should have been Thriller. Sure, it's the biggest record we've got right now in terms of overall sales, but it should be bigger. If there were an online revenue event, Eminem would be a completely different story. Downloading of everything he records is in another league"

and

"Norah Jones was a tremendous grassroots phenomenon from the start, both online and at retail, due in part to great word of mouth. But was she a standout on our download charts before she had a radio story? Oh, yes, absolutely."

and

"Generally speaking, the biggest myth about music online is that people are stealing CDs on the Internet. The truth is, to me, more distressing. Statistically speaking, people almost never download albums. They download singles. Think about that: We're trying to sell a product for $17 that you can't give away for free! We, as listeners, respond to the songs that radio and MTV teach us to want. It's Pavlovian in that way. We do what we're taught."
Bonnaroo Adds Young, Lips, Emmylou
The Bonaroo Music Festival has just added some cool artists to an already stellar line-up. Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Alison Krauss & Union Station, The Flaming Lips, Emmylou Harris and The Funky Meters (among others) now join artists like Nickel Creek, G. Love and Special Sauce, The Dead, James Brown, The Roots and Sonic Youth (among many others) in playing the festival.. Click here to see the full list of artists performing at the 2003 Bonaroo Music Festival, June 13-15 in Manchester, Tennessee. If I was a stinky hippie, I'd be there in a heartbeat. If you are a stinky hippie, you can buy tickets here.
DMX Retiring From Hip-Hop, Plans To Read His Bible
Sure thing, DMX-- whatever you say. He plans to release It's Not a Game in the summer and then turn his attentions to running his label and starring in bad movies. Rememeber this Rocktober.Com Rule of Rock: Never Believe A Pop Artist When They Say They Are Retiring. They always come back. Retirement is thrust upon pop artists, not taken.
New Songs, Old Message: 'No War' (NYTimes registration required)
Very good piece in The New York Times about modern protest songs in the days leading up to a probable war with Iraq. "Contrary to some memories of the Vietnam era, there was no unanimity among musicians or listeners. For every "Eve of Destruction" (by Barry McGuire) or "Fortunate Son" (Creedence Clearwater Revival), there was also "Ballad of the Green Berets" (Sgt. Barry Sadler) and "Okie From Muskogee" (Merle Haggard). Often, politically tinged songs like Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" or Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" were laments and observations that stayed carefully nonpartisan." This L.A. Times article covers a lot of the same ground, but concentrates more on Musicians United to Win Without War
'Peace Train' Rolling Again
Yusuf Islam, better known by his former identity as singer/songwriter Cat Stevens, has re-recorded a new version of "Peace Train." You can pick up your copy at either yusufislam.org.uk or catstevens.com. It's in the Windows Media Audio format. He recorded it in Africa with local musicians, so it has a kinda cool World Beat sound to it.
Mr. Cheeks Remakes Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth's 'They Reminisce Over You'
Ack. He should really not have done that-- even if both Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth do appear on this new version. Some classics do not need to be re-done, but I suppose I should withold final judgement until I hear the new song. "Reminisce" will appear on Mr. Cheeks' Back Again, which comes out March 18.
John Mellencamp Working On Album Of Folk & Blues Covers
Mellencamp is holed up in his Bloomington, Indiana, studio working on what's said to be an album of traditional folk and blues songs by the likes of Woody Guthrie, Howlin' Wolf, and Robert Johnson. The album should be ready by the end of the year-- but Mellencamp is currently not signed to a label, so who knows how it will be released.
More Guest Hosts Help Letterman Recoup
David Letterman is still recovering from the shingles, so "The Late Show" will have guest hosts all this week. Monday, Whoopi Goldberg; Tuesday, Vince Vaughn; Wednesday, Elvis Costello; Thursday, Will Ferrelland Friday's host is TBA.

posted by Randy on 1:03 PM | permanent link to this entry