Friday, July 11, 2003

No Amazon links today, I'm too lazy.

• Rakim Says Wait Is Almost Over: Dr. Dre-Produced LP To Drop Soon
  By the end of the year. Allegedly.
  
  
• Pixies Reunion In The Cards?
  Frank Black says he thinks about it sometimes but is worried about failure. He does note, however that he jams occasionally with bassist Kim Deal, drummer David Lovering and guitarist Joey Santiago.
  
  
• KUSC sees no evil in Clear Channel alliance
  Los Angeles public radio station KUSC is allowing radio-monolith Clear Channel to sell their advertising space in exchange for a small piece of the profits and more if it is a new advertiser. Memo to KUSC-- The first taste is always free. When this agreement somehow burns you down the road, remember that you knew Clear Channel was a snake when you first adopted it and you're not allowed to act surprised when it bites you.
  
  
• FCC: Cable TV Rates Outpaced Inflation
  But it wasn't so bad in markets where there was actual competition for customers. Surprise, surprise.
  
  
• Eminem Joins The Tribe On New Boo Yaa Record
  Eminem isn't the only guest on Boo Yaa Tribe's West Koasta Nostra, wich is due on October 7. Other MCs blessing the mic with the Samoan rappers include Cypress Hill's B-Real, Mack 10, WC, Kurupt, Knoc'TurnAl, Crooked I, Kokane and Short Khop. Aside from the Eminem produced "911," the rest of the tracks were produced by unsung g-funk producer Battlecat.
  
  
• Cracker Explores Its 'Countrysides'
  Coming July 18 in the U.K. and Oct. 14 in the U.S. is Countrysides , a Cracker album that more fully explores the group's country leanings. It will also include a documentary following the group's recent tour of truck stops and honky tonks under the moniker Ironic Mullet. I heard a few of these new tracks earlier this year when they were available for download on Cracker's site. You may be able to get them in the Mp3 section, but I'd need to register with the site to find out and I'm too lazy for that right now. Anyway, "It Ain't Gonna Suck Itself" was pretty good and it looks like they couldn't get the clearnace for their cover of "Okie From Meskogee."
  
  
• Aerosmith Leaders Record Song With Chuck D And Busta Rhymes
  "Let's Get Loud" is intended to sweep arenas like "We Will Rock You" or "Rock and Roll Pt. 2." Set to debut on the upcoming ESPY Awards, the song also features Busta Rhymes, Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest, MC Lyte, and (of course) Flavor Flav.
  
  
• More Stars Slated for Celine's Vegas Colosseum
  The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, the arena built to Celine Dion's specifications will have some new tenants: Gloria Estefan Oct. 10-19 and one shot performances by Mariah Carey and Tim McGraw. Elton John is currently in talks to take up a three year residence there starting next year.
  
  
• Canibus Joins The Army
  He had lyrics about wanting to do it on his last album, so I gotta give him kudos for actually following through. His next album, Rip The Jacker, is due in stores on July 22. You can pre-order it here
  
  
• 100 Reasons Why "Ignition - Remix" Is So Damned Great
  High up there on my list of the best songs this year. Last Plane to Jakarta agrees.
  

posted by Randy on 12:28 PM | permanent link to this entry

Thursday, July 10, 2003

• Buy and Download News, The New Prince Album
  Just 7 bucks! 4 songs, each 15 minutes long. All instrumentals in a funk-jazz vein. I got mine the other day from The NPG Music Club and think it is pretty dandy for a collection of 15 minute funk jazz songs.
  
  
• VH1 Turns Zevon 'Inside Out'
  "Inside Out: Warren Zevon" will chronicle the famed singer/songwriter's struggle to complete The Wind while battling cancer. Hosted by Billy Bob Thornton, it will also feature appearances by Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood. The special will air on Aug. 24 and The Wind is due in stores on Aug. 26.
  
  
• Documentary On Too Short's Life On The Way
  Why can't we get this on VH-1? How about BET? *Sigh* Anyway, the doc about Too $hort, entitled "Life I$," hits stores on July 29. No pre-order link yet, sorry.
  
  
• Bushman N!xau Dies; Starred in 1980 Movie 'Gods Must Be Crazy'
  I think I saw "The Goids Must Be Crazy" like four or five times when I was a kid. I wonder why this one issn't broadcast on cable more often-- I remeber it as fun for the entire family and pretty funny, to boot. Anyway, R.I.P. from all of us here at Rocktober.com. If you're a young whippersnapper and don't know what "The God's Must Be Crazy" is, do yourself a favor and check it out. It's not available on DVD, but you can pick it up on video. You have the Rocktober Word of Honor that it is worth your cash.
  
  
• Clash, Then Synthesis: Joys of a Laptop Jam (N.Y. Times registration required)
  An old fashioned jam session, updated for laptop musicians. Not exactly my scene, but I do salute the idea.
  
  
• Net Radio Group Threatens to Sue RIAA
  The Las Vegas-based Webcaster Alliance is threatening to sue the R.I.A.A. for violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act unless the group agrees to reopen negotiations over the royalty rates webcasters must fork over to artists and record labels. The Webcaster Alliance (who represent small webcasters with limitd audiences) feels the recent deals reached with major webcaster and college webcasters still is too expensive to save smaller webcasters from going under.
  
  
• McCartney Russian Concert to Air on A&E
  This fall, but no solid date announced yet. I spent seven months in Estonia many moons ago and had many chances to pick up McCartney's exclusive U.S.S.R. album on vinyl, but I never did. Yes, I am kicking myself now, even though it is widely availble on CD. It would've been a nice little keepsake.
  
  
• New Tracks To Bolster R. Kelly Hits Collection
  The 'R' In R&B Collection Volume 1 will hit store shelves on Sept. 9. Early editions of the album will also include a disc of unreleased re-mixes. No pre-order link yet, sorry.
  
  
• Wyclef Gets Down With Edge
  Wyclef Jean is working on a new album, currently scheduled to hit stores in October. Guest scheduled to appear on the album include The Edge from U2, Redman, Scarface, Mobb Deep's Prodigy, Trick Daddy and Timbaland. The above linked story points out that Masquerade failed to reach platinum or gold certification. Yo, that ain't right. It's a pretty good album if you like Wyclef-- pick that shit up if you haven't already. You have the Rocktober Word of Honor that it is worth your cash.
  
  
• More Fun And Games With Radio Consolidation
  Another hearing in front of The Senate Commerce Committee and once again the radio industry is sweating it out. This time, the subject was corporate wide bans of The Dixie Chicks and the price to advertise on radio vs. inflation.
  
  
• Timbaland Starts Construction
  Under Construction 2, a new album from Timbaland & Magoo is due in the fall. Missy Elliott (no surprise there)and the Neptunes' Pharrell Williams are set to make guest appearances.
  
  
• Sundance Spotlights American Roots Music
  "Keeping Time: New Music from America's Roots," a four part documentary about the artists and labels leading the new wave of American roots music, will debut on the Sundance Channel on Aug. 7. Each episode is a half-hour. Among the artists featured: Gillian Welch, Nickel Creek, The Black Keys, The Trachtenburg Family Slide Show Players and The Waco Brothers.
  
  
• Macy Gray Seeks to Re-Establish Career
  Most interesting part of the above article: Whne Macy Gray saw that The Id wasn't going to do as well as On How Life Is, she stop promoting it and began working on new material. Which to me seems the exact oppisite of what one should do, but oh well. The Id is every bit as great as On How Life Is, it is just a feel good album that had the unfortunate timing of coming out a week after 9/11. If you're one of the many who bought her first album but not her second, why not pick up The Id while you're buying The Trouble With Being Myself on July 15? You have the Rocktober Word of Honor that it is worth your cash.
  
  
• Lollapalooza Mash-Up Contest
  If you think you can make a cool remix using track from Jane's Addiction, Jurassic 5 and/or The Donnas, then by all means click the above link.
  

posted by Randy on 1:01 PM | permanent link to this entry

Wednesday, July 09, 2003

Real work is calling me away today, but I shall return here tomorrow. Sorry, dudes.
posted by Randy on 11:10 AM | permanent link to this entry

Tuesday, July 08, 2003

• Music Biz Seeking Profits at 99 Cents
  Oh, boo-hoo. The record industry is now belly-aching that it can't make money selling 99 cent singles online. Artists, please see this as a wake-up call: "On average, the label is taking home 47 cents per track before accounting for production, marketing, promotion and other costs; the service provider is grossing 34 cents per track before technology, processing and distribution costs; and the artist takes 10 cents before paying out to producers and other collaborators. The publisher/songwriter share is 8 cents."
  
  The more you own (publishing, distribution), the more you get. It's pretty simple. Do you really need a major label ganking you for 47 cents per track when you can just as easily distribute it yourself? If a few greasy promotions guys lose their gigs becuase of this, who is gonna cry?
  
  
• A musical stroll down Sesame Street
  All those cool musical cameos on "Sesame Street," finally come together on one compilation. On Sept. 2, look out for Songs From the Street, a 3 CD set featuring Tony Bennett singing "Little Things," Trisha Yearwood's "I'm Talking Love." The Spin Doctors's "Two Princes," Melissa Ethridge's "“Like the Way U Does," and oh so much more.
  
  
• "Noise" Fest!
  David Bowie is putting together a deluxe edition of his 1993 album Black Tie, White Noise (that's a link to the old version of the album). It will feature the original album, a disc of outtakes and a DVD of the home video he released at the same time. It is due the first week of August.
  
  
• Simon Signs Three-Year Deal With Idol
  By the time they get to the end of Simon's contract, I'm hoping fellow jusge Randy Jackson will have moved beyond calling everyone "dawg" and moved into the mid-90s by asking everyone "What the dilly-yo?"
  
  
• How to Make a Sonic Purée From Pop Snippets (N.Y. Times registration required)
  The New York Times takes a gander at N.A.G. (Network Auralization for Gnutella), a piece of interactive software art for Mac OS X and Windows 2000/XP which turns the process of searching for and downloading MP3 files into a chaotic musical collage. Type in one or more search keywords, and N.A.G. looks for matches on the Gnutella peer-to-peer file sharing network. The software then downloads MP3 files which match the search keyword(s) and remixes these audio files in real time based on the structure of the Gnutella network itself. I haven't tried it yet myself, but it is on today's To Do List. Download N.A.G. here and get started with the experimental noise making!
  
  
• Ecast pulls the plug on its downloadable music operations
  Ecast bought Rioport last October thinking it could synergize their music-over-the-internet-to-bars device with selling music online to consumers. Then they saw how the major players were gonna wipe them out, so they have decided to just stick to the streaming music to bars thing.
  
  
• Spike Lee, Viacom Settle Name Dispute
  Spike, ya' shoulda took it to the hoop! I feel you had a case-- but I'm no legal scholar. Update: ""As an artists and a filmmaker, I feel that protection of freedom of expression is a critical value and I am concerned that my efforts to stop Viacom from using the Spike TV name could have the unintended consequence of threatening the First Amendment rights of Viacom and others."
  
  
• Elvis' Tooth, Hair for Sale on EBay
  The story says someone wanted to buy the set and extract DNA. Jurassic Park: The Elvis Years, anyone? If you want a piece of the king and have a spare couple hundred thousand, click here.
  

posted by Randy on 11:44 AM | permanent link to this entry

Monday, July 07, 2003

• Barry White, Velvet Voice Of Love
  R.I.P. and much respect from all of us here at Rocktober.com. Show your love and cop the Just For You boxed set.
  
  
• Remains not missing rock star
  And in the We're Not Sure If They're Dead or Not Dept.: missing Manic Street Preachers guitarist Richey Edwards is still unaccounted for after tests proved that bones of a man that were found in a riverside mud bed near Bristol on Tuesday evening were not his.
  
  
• File-Sharing Company Can't Sue on Antitrust (L.A. Times registration required)
  A federal judge ruled Thursday that Sharman Networks, distributors of Kazaa, can't sue the major record labels and movie studios for antitrust violations becuase Sharman is in the business of distributing software, not entertainment. However, this ruling will not prevent Sharman from trying to later prove that the entertainment giants acted in collusion to block its partner Altnet from obtaining licenses to their products.
  
  
• Legal Battle on Online Music File Swapping Enters New Phase
  At long last, a victory for file-traders! South Korean file traders, that is. The Seoul District Court on Thursday dismissed charges against the operators of Soribada, a file trading service. Though reading the article, it seems the case was lost due to a combination of the judge's misunderstanding of copyright law and some weak preperation by the prosecution.
  
  
• Musicians attack licensing laws
  It just became harder for small bands to find a place to play in the U.K., as the House of Lords passed a bill requiring venues catering to audiences of 200 or less to obtain a licence to stage concerts. The above story doesn't spell it out, but I'm guessing that the case used to be that only venues that had more than 200 patrons had to get entertainment liscences.
  
  
• Did McCartney's Yesterday get a nudge from Nat?
  Paul McCartney awoke in London in May of 1965 with "Yesterday" basically all mapped out in his head. He asked friends in relations if the song sounded familar to them and when they all said no, he went ahead and wrote the song. Now, some U.K. musicologists have identified the source material McCarteny accidently ripped-off: "Answer Me," as song that was a hit in the U.K. in 1953 for both Frankie Laine and David Whitfield, and was later covered by Nat King Cole. Says McCartney's spokesman: "To me the two songs are about as similar as 'Get Back' and 'God Save the Queen.'"
  
  
• Force on Music Charts, and in Court, Faces a Struggle (NY Times registration required)
  Very interesting NY Times article about the TVT Records vs. Def Jam Recordscase (over Ja Rule's early recordings with Cash Money Click). Thisis the first time I've read that Steven Gottlieb lost control of TVT to Prudential Securities, which took over in February after Mr. Gottlieb defaulted on loans totaling $23.5 million and is now looking for a buyer. It's a really interesting story-- take the time to read it.
  
  
• Napster Creator May Be Set for Comeback
  His new project lets people file trade, but does audio fingerprinting and charges downloaders so everyone can get paid. He's making the rounds at music labels. trying to get liscences and funding.
  
  
• Hanging by a string
  Is the bass player going the way of the dodo bird? The case for: awesome albums from The White Stripes, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Kills and The Black Keys. Says me: As long as there is funk, their will always be bass.
  
  
• Abba sing at private reunion
  Don't get too excited-- In 1999 they sang a Swedish "Happy Birthday"-type song to Gorel Hanser, one of ABBA's record execs back in the day.
  
  
• It's Hard, Being a Chinese DJ
  Really interesting story from Wired News about how downlaoding music from the Internet has changed the DJ scene in China. Basically-- the kid from the sticks have bigger collections of music becuase they download a lot since they don't have the access to the vinyl like big city Djs do.
  

posted by Randy on 1:18 PM | permanent link to this entry