Friday, August 01, 2003

As you may have guessed, the work project I talked about on Thursday is taking me a bit longer than I expected. I should be back up and running Monday afternoon, California time.

On the other hand-- you might not have known that today kicks off My Birthday Month! Aug. 17 is the big day, but I like to take the whole month to celebrate. Here is my Amazon Wish List, if you are wondering what kind of presents would bring a smile to my face.
posted by Randy on 11:46 AM | permanent link to this entry

Wednesday, July 30, 2003

Real work is calling me away today, but I may be able to update in the afternoon. If not, I should be back tomorrow.
posted by Randy on 10:48 AM | permanent link to this entry

Tuesday, July 29, 2003

This Week's Releases Of Note

• Banned in DC: Bad Brains Greatest Riffs- Bad Brains
  
• News- Prince (four 15 min. jazz-funk instrumentals. Pretty good, for jazz funk instrumentals.)
  
• Bad Girls (Deluxe Edition) [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]- Donna Summer
  
• I Want You (Deluxe Edition) [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] [EXTRA TRACKS]- Marvin Gaye
  
• Truly She Is None Other- Holly Golightly
  
• Shock & Awe- Bill Hicks (recorded live on stage in 1992 at Oxford Playhouse Theater)
  
• Play It Again Sham- The Saw Doctors
  

Next Week's Releases Of Note (Get Your Pre-Order On)

• D-D-Don't Don't Stop the Beat- Junior Senior
  
• Emotional Technology- BT
  
• Jeff- Jeff Beck
  
• Truth Be Told- Blues Traveler
  
• Quebec- Ween
  
• Doll Revolution- The Bangles
  
• On The Radio- BMX Bandits
  
• Get The Picture- Smash Mouth
  

And Now, The News:

• The Dismemberment Plan Finishes Where It Started
  You know the music press is in dire straits when I have to read The Washington Post to get a good profile of The Dismemberment Plan that does a good job of outling their history, the reasons they are breaking up and their future plans. A People's History of the Dismemberment Plan, a collection of fan remixes, is due in October.
  
  
• Rapper-Actor Heavy D Loses 135 Pounds
  What about "Overweight Lovers in the House"? "Chunky But Funky"? "Overweighter"? "Mr. Big Stuff"? (all from Living Large, natch.) Interestingly enough, he says he did it becuase he was losing roles in Hollywood, not for health reasons. He won't be changing his name, either-- "There's a lot of checks involved with 'Heavy D,' so that name stays," he said.
  
  
• Lyle Lovett Preps New 'Baby' for New Label
  My Baby Don't Tolerate, Lyle Lovett's first album of new material in 7 years, is due on Sept. 30.
  
  
• 'Iron Butterfly' Guitarist Erik Braunn Dies at 52
  R.I.P. and thanks for the memories... well, technically, memory (In A Gadda Da Vida)... from all of us here at Rocktober.com
  
  
• Metallica Mulling Over Winter Sanitarium
  At least that way all the bands would get to use some production elements aside from the sun. Perhaps, however, they should not book Limp Bizkit, who got booed off the stage in Chicago. I predicted this as soon as I learned Limp Bizkit was booked for the tour-- I'm surprisd this is the first time it happened. Die hard Metallica fans can be savages.
  
  
• Boxed Set Celebrates Diamond's 'Stages'
  On Sept. 30, Neil Diamond will release a six disc box set called Stages: Performances 1972-2002. That's five live CDs and one performance DVD, with all but one of the 83 tracks spread across the set being previously unreleased. A note to future marketing drones: when your client has a famous live album called Hot August Night and you are releasing a huge live boxed set, why not feature some sort of tie-in instead of releasing it at the end of Sept.? "Make all your August nights hot-- Stages: Performances 1972-2002. Something like that. Just a suggestion from your pals here at Rocktober.com
  
  
• Recording Industry Group Chooses New Lobbyist
  Music fans and artists, meet the new face of Satan: Mitch Bainwol, former chief of staff for Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and now chairman of the Recording Industry Association of America
  
  
• FTC Finds Conspiracy in Three Tenors Case
  The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Monday upheld charges that PolyGram and TimeWarner illegally fixed prices when both companies agreed not to discount or advertise the 1990 Three Tenors album/video and the 1994 Three Tenors album/video from Aug. 1, 1998, to Oct. 15, 1998. AOLTimeWarner has settled the case, VivendiUniversal (Polygram's parent company) vows to appeal again.
  
  
• New Rules, Old Rhetoric (N.Y. Times free registration required)
  F.C.C. chair Michael Powell writes an editorial in the N.Y. Times stating the reasons why he thinks the F.C.C. was right for lifiting media consolidation caps. Essentially, he is arguing that the broadcasting divisions of major media companies hould be allowed to catch up with the marketshare hegemony they enjoy in every other arena in which they are involved (newspapers, internet, cable). It's beyond me why he fails to realize that the companies' huge market share in those other fields is exactly the reason they shouldn't be allowed to own more tv stations and newspapers. Thankfully, a growing army of people and Congress-folk are realizing this is a bunch of double taking jive. (L.A. Times free registration required).
  
  
• Microsoft Considering Music Store
  Though from the sound of this article, they aren't wild about it. Worry not, though, since a legal Napster will be and running by Christmas and MusicMatch is planning a service.
  
  
• Subpoenas Sent to File-Sharers Prompt Anger and Remorse (N.Y. Timesfree registration required)
  As more and more folks are getting their subpoenas and telling their stories the question becomes-- What's more important to the members of the R.I.A.A. -- the money they are gonna spend on hooker, blow and lawyers or letting families keep the money so little Jane and Johnny can go to college? Are you in a panic yet? Use the Subpoena Username Query Form to see if you've been caught up in the R.I.A.A. dragnet. The odds are sort of still on your side, though, since it will take the R.I.A.A. will take 2191.78 years to sue everyone.
  

posted by Randy on 11:22 AM | permanent link to this entry