Friday, August 22, 2003

Too much to do today-- i'll be back Monday afternoon.

In the meantime-- a little political break:




posted by Randy on 7:25 PM | permanent link to this entry

Thursday, August 21, 2003

• Baby & R. Kelly On "Best Of Both Worlds 2," New Juvenile Album
  And you thought the first edition was bad. I suppose with Baby rockin' the mic (and I use that term loosley), it can't suffer from raised expectations.
  
  
• Jesse Johnson confirmed for "Family Jamm!"
  Jesse Johnson, the reclusive original guitarist for The Time, has joined the long list of artists who will be appearing at The First Annual Family Jammm, a charity concert featuirng a litany of former Prince protoges. The concert marks Johnson's return to the stage for the first time in nearly 10 years.
  
  
• Rhode Island Club Owners, Band Fined $100K
  By the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. They both have 15 days to appeal. Between the appeals and the coming lawsuits, this is just a baby step in the long journey to come.
  
  
• Alan Jackson "Hits" the Top
  Lord have mercy, Dashboard Confessional's A Mark, A Mission, a Brand, a Scar is the #2 album in the country.
  
  
• Universal Records' NY Office Receives $1 Million Worth Of Weed
  Talk about a reason to have a company policy against having personal packages delivered at work!
  
  
• 'Rat Pack' Remembered On CD, DVD
  Live & Swingin': The Ultimate Rat Pack Collection will contain a CD culled from the Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. 1962 series of shows at Villa Venice in Chicago while the DVD captures a 90-minute 1965 black-tie charity performance at St. Louis' Kiel Opera House that was broadcast via closed circuit to U.S. movie theaters. No pre-order link yet, daddy-o, but you can check out The Rat Pack Live at the Sands to get a little taste of what it will be like. The CD portion of this package was actually already released once as The Summit: In Concert, but that doesn't seem to be in print anymore.
  
  Bone Thugs Join Insane Clown Posse On "Wicked Wonka" Tour
  Peep this line-up:
  
  Insane Clown Posse
  Bone Thugs-n-Harmony
  Kottonmouth Kings
  Tech N9ne
  
  For a certain crowd, that's a damn good line-up. Tour starts Sept. 17th in Ohio and crosses the U.S. before winding up in (of course) Detroit on Holloween.
  
  
• Bushwick Bill Releases New LP, Possible Geto Boys Reunion
  BDK Present Different Style Organizations(DSO) comes out on Aug. 26. But I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for a Geto Boys reunion album. Bushwick says the money has to be right-- and in the music industry it never is.
  
  
• Drive-in movies are coming to Silverdome
  This is like a crazy miracle-- in an era where the limited amount of surviving drive-in movie theatres are hanging on by a string, some crazy bastards in Michigan are actually opening up a new one in the gigantic parking lot of the now closed Pontiac Silverdome. More power to 'em. Of course, they'll be showing first run movies-- instead of cheap horror flicks and pornography as God intended.
  
  
• What Pixies Song Are You? (via donewaiting.com)
  I was "Monkey's Gone To Heaven."
  

posted by Randy on 12:30 PM | permanent link to this entry

Wednesday, August 20, 2003

• FCC Launches Media Ownership Initiative
  Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell announced Wednesday that the FCC will form a task force that will make recommendations to the commission within a year on promoting localism in broadcasting. He also announced that the FCC will speed up the licensing of hundreds of low-powered radio stations and will start soliciting public comment about how to promote localism in the media.
  
  
• Cure, Duran Duran, Violent Femmes to Invade L.A.
  Get your VH1-Classic on! The Cure, Duran Duran, Violent Femmes, Echo & the Bunnymen, The Psychedelic Furs, Bow Wow Wow, Soft Cell, General Public and Berlin will play the third annual KROQ-FM Inland Invasion concert on Sept. 20 at the Glen Helen Hyundai Pavilion in Devore, Calif. For the kids, they've got Hot Hot Heat, Dashboard Confessional, Interpol and Fountains Of Wayne. Dramarama isn't really an 80s band, nor or they current-- but they're also on the bill. Tix go on sale on Saturday.
  
  
• Sheryl Crow Greatest Hits Due Out In October
  Isn't she still ubquitious enough on the radio to make this collection not quite worth the purchase?
  
  
• Has Eminem's 'Girls Gone Wild' Gone Away?
  Surprise, surprise-- the Eminem hosted edition of "Girls Gone Wild" is set to come out... never. At least officially. Dollars to donuts says it'll somehow sneak out in bootleg form one of these days.
  
  
• Irv Gotti Busted For Drug Possession At R. Kelly Concert
  He had one tab of ectasy. And two Viagra pills. Guess he was planning on having some fun.
  
  
• Searchers Bassist Tony Jackson Dies
  R.I.P. and thanks for the memories from all of us here at The Rocktober.com Blog. Click here to get yourself a 3-CD set for just 30 bucks. If you're not that into it then I reccommend you at least click on the link and listen to the sample at the bottom of the page of "Sweets For My Sweet." Jackson sure could play.
  
  
• The life span of a zine is about a minute. So how has XLR8R hung around for 10 years? By keeping its feet on the underground.
  Very nice piece in the SF Chrionicle about electronica magazine XLR8R and how they've managed to survive for 10 years. Best quote: "At one point, we decided to stop covering trance because everyone in the office hated it." -- Associate Editor Vivian Host.
  
  Need some cool vintage T-Shirts? Peep the selection at Simply Vintage. Lotsa clasic stuff. A hipster could lose a whole paycheck theire real easy. I found it a via one of my own Google ads.
  

posted by Randy on 11:51 AM | permanent link to this entry

Tuesday, August 19, 2003

This Week's Releases Of Note

• Earthquake Glue- Guided by Voices
  
• Gettin' Wise - Brassy
  
• Welcome To The Monkey House [ENHANCED] - The Dandy Warhols
  
• Greendale (w/ Bonus DVD)- Neil Young
  
• On the Beach[ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]- Neil Young
  
• American Stars N Bars [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] - Neil Young
  
• Hawks & Doves [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] - Neil Young
  
• Re-ac-tor [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] - Neil Young
  
• The Neptunes Presents: Clones- Various Artists
  
• Tour De France Soundtracks- Kraftwerk
  
• Unleashed- Bow Wow
  
• Or Stay Tuned- People Under The Stairs
  
• From Me to U - Juelz Santana
  
• Everyone Deserves Music- Michael Franti & Spearhead
  
• Indestructible - Rancid
  

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

• The Wind- Waren Zevon (probably the last album from this great signer/songwriter before he dies. Features appearances by Ry Cooder, David Lindley, Bruce Springsteen, Don Henley, Tom Petty, Jackson Browne, and Dwight Yoakam.)
  
• Love & Life (Bonus Dvd) [LIMITED EDITION]- Mary J. Blige
  
• Wooden Leather- Nappy Roots
  
• Exile On Blues Street- Various Artists (Blues artists like Tommy Castro, Joe Louis Walker and Otis Taylor-- among others-- cover The Rolling Stones' Exile On Mainstreet.)
  
• Stronger Than Time- Lee Greenwood (surprise, surprise-- it includes a new version of "God Bless The U.S.A."
  
• Visions of Ghandi- Jedi Mind Tricks (w/ appearances by Canibus, Kool G. Rapand Ras Kass, among others.)
  
• Music Magic Myth (w/ Bonus CD) - Last Emperor (He's been kicking round the rap scene since the mid 90s, but this is his forst full length album)
  
• Anchors Aweigh- Bouncing Souls
  

And Now, The News:

• Lost in the Music (NY Times free registration required)
  Very nice New York Times profile of Jon Brion, producer of artists like Fiona Apple and Aimee Mann. Perhaphs the greatest part of this piece is in the first few paragraphs, where Brion calls the kind of music he makes "unpopular pop." And thus, a genre is born. Fountains of Wayne, Big Star, Randy Neuman, Beulah, Aimee Mann, Michael Penn, Fiona Apple-- they all fit.
  
  
• RIAA says it doesn't target small downloaders
  Of course, they do not ever define how many songs being shared makes one a large distributor of files vs. small. Here is a .PDF of the R.I.A.A.'s response to Senator Norm Coleman regrading their crackoing down on file sharers.
  
  Related personal note: I had a dream last night that I was one of the R.I.A.A.'s tragets. It was kinda scary-- especially since the only thing I'm sharing these days is public domain material or stuff that doesn't fall under the R.I.A.A.'s domain. It turned out I was on the R.I.A.A. hit list becuase of stuff I had written here about the music industry. Remember, this was a dream. But how far off could I actually be? It was a head scratcher to wake up to, that's for sure.
  
  
• FCC Chief Denies Leaving, Previews Agenda
  FCC chair Michael Powell says he ain't going nowhere and called on Congress to come up with specific guidelines for preventing a company from dominating a market, instead of simply undoing recent rules that relaxed restrictions on ownership.
  
  
• Warner Music, BMG in Struggle for Control
  Can this marriage be saved? Let's hope not.
  
  
• What Is With The Hoodoo Gurus Reformation Rumours?
  Not much, actually. The re-recorded an old song for a soccer league ("That's My Scene" became "That's My Team") and will perform it in a one off concert. Interestly engough, the bulk of Persian Rugs is made up of ex-HG members, but they say the won't be playing old songs on tour-- becuase the new bassist doesn't know any of 'em.
  
  
• 2Pac Gets Remixed
  If they had some cool artists involved, it could've been really cool. Instead, Death Row Presents 2Pac Nu-Mixx Klazzics will feature the work of Death Row's Tha Row Hitters. The 10 song collection is due in stores on Oct. 7th.
  
  
• Music Videos That Show Everything but Performance (NY Times free registration required)
  Very interesting roundtablke discussion with music video directors Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry and Chris Cunningham
  

posted by Randy on 12:10 PM | permanent link to this entry

Monday, August 18, 2003

Hey, I'm back and one year older. But I've still got "it." Now, you whippersanppers get off my lawn!

• Blackout Cancels Mich. Iggy Pop Concert
  And not just any Iggy Pop concert in Michigan-- it was The Stooges reunion show in front of their hometown fans! The concert has been rescheduled for Aug. 25
  
  
• Exclusive: Cash's 'American' Outtakes 'Unearthed'
  Holy Moses! A 5 CD set largely consisting of unreleased Johnny Cash recordings from the past decade (his American Recordings/Rick Rubin phase) is being prepared for a possible release 'round the holiday shopping season. Four discs of unreleased material, (including one gospel disc) and one disc of The Man In Black's best suff on American. Read the whole article, it sounds like an incredible collection.
  
  In a related story (Johnny Cash And June Carter Cash's Early Recordings To Be Released, to be percise), Johnny Cash- Live Recordings From The Louisiana Hayride and June Carter - Live Recordings From The Louisiana Hayride will hit store shelves on September 23 and will feature performances from both artists on the famed radio show from the mid 1950s through the 1960s. No pre-order links yet, sorry.
  
  
• Finalists Line Up for Vivendi Auction
  The final contestants: A merger with NBC, selling off a few channels to Viacom and straight take-over bids from Liberty Media or a team led by Edgar Bronfman Jr.
  
  
• 'Let's Get It On' Writer Townsend Dies
  Ed Townsend, who wrote or co-wrote over 200 songs including Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On," died of heart failure last Wedneday at the age of 74. The worlds of slow dancing and seduction would never be what they are today without his work. Kudos and R.I.P. from all of us here at Rocktober.com
  
  
• Beatles' Ed Sullivan Gigs Captured on DVD
  "The Ed Sullivan Show Featuring the Beatles" will hit store shelves (and baby boomer xmas lists) on Oct. 28. The four-hour collection will feature 20 live performances by The Beatles spread over four episodes of "The Ed Sullivan Show." It marks the first time the performances have been available in their entirety since the episodes originally aired in 1964-65. No pre-order link yet, sorry.
  
  
  
• Rolling Stones Catalog Hits Web
  Sort of. For a two-week exclusive period, the Rhapsody online subscription service and Best Buy will offer the entire post-1971 Rolling Stones catalog (starting with Sticky Fingers and moving forward until 40 Licks) as part of a deal with Virgin/EMI, and the pre-1971 Stones material in an agreement with ABKCO. On Aug. 31, only the EMI material will be made available for download through all legitimate services, including Apple's iTunes Music Storeand MusicNet
  
  
• Scott Weiland Gets Probation; Velvet Revolver Scrap EP
  The Guns n' Roses splinter group will instead release a full album later on down the road.
  
  
• Bobby Brown A Wanted Man Again
  A judge in Georgia's DeKalb County has issued a misdemeanor arrest warrant for Bobby Brown, citing the singer's failure to meet any of the conditions of his probation following a drunk driving conviction. This means he has not participated in a risk-reduction program, completed 240 hours of community service, attended six months of twice-weekly Alcoholics Anonymous meetings or given samples for random alcohol and drug screenings.
  
  
• Grade 8 And Depswa Off Ozzfest
  Both bands, apparently, have run out of money to support themselves on tour.
  

posted by Randy on 2:24 PM | permanent link to this entry