Posted by Joel Weiss on Jun. 16, 2009, at 10:28 am
“Doing a Radiohead.” Big-box exclusivity deals. “360″ contracts. These and other new business models are side effects of the digital media revolution — a paradigm shift caused by the MP3. The days of $15 CDs are all but dead. Long live the $10 digital album and the 99-cent single, both still dwarfed by everyone’s favorite method of acquiring music: illegal downloading. I think in hindsight, considering the events of the past decade, the recording industry would have been happy for a fractional dip in revenue built into the transition from brick-and-mortar stores to iTunes, but factor in music piracy and the numbers aren’t even close.
This recording is an excerpt from a half-hour session the band recorded using drums, bass, guitar, saxophone, percussion and various analog sound effects (including assorted balloons and toys). No word yet on whether the entire session will be released, but it’s likely. No word yet if this means more performances from the group, but keep checking their site and this blog for updates.
For session five, Stephen and Joran talk with the foursome about touring, knife play and a newer sound, plus, the band performs three songs: Lips, Pretty in Pale and Whipsering Sin. Download.
On February 18th, both the Chicago Tribune and Pitchfork ran stories that put a knife through the heart of the punk/indie world. Venerable Chicago label, Touch and Go Records would be closing it’s distribution wing and massively scaling back it’s own output. This decision, that I’m sure was made after all other options were exhausted, effects more than just T&G’s roster. They provided distribution for 23 other labels Read the rest of this entry »
Among the 17 songs is a Beatles cover for the song I’ll Be Back.
Considering how much material has been uncovered, we’d expect to be hearing really rough and diluted material at this point, but these recordings are anything but.
Posted by Leilani Polk on Feb. 13, 2009, at 10:47 am
Was there ever any question the trio’s collaboration would be anything but golden? The proof is in the 418,000 download sales for its opening week, which surpasses T.I. and Rihanna’s record of 335,000 for their single, “Live Your Life.” For details, numbers and more info, click here.
So, is “Crack a Bottle” fantastic or what? I’d post a video but there isn’t one yet. Just alot of YouTube amateurs pairing pictures with the song. But I’m curious to hear what other people think about it. To hear the song in its entirety, check out Eminem’s MySpace. I’ve listened to it a few times and I’m digging it a little, but I’m not sure the lyrics are up to Eminem’s usual clever standard. Here’s the chorus:
“So crack a bottle, let your body waddle / Don’t act like a snobby model, you just hit the lotto / O-oh o-oh, bitches hopping in my Tahoe / Got one riding shotgun, and no not one of them got gloves / Now wheres the rubbers? Whose got the rubbers? / I noticed theres so many of them, and theres really not that many of us / and ladies love us and my posses kicking up dust / Its on till the break of dawn/ and were starting this party from dus”
Over the last decade, there has been much talk and figures to support the fact that the heyday of the music industry has passed, or at least shrunk.
For example, the Top 10 selling albums of 2008 totaled 19 million units, including digital sales. In 1988, the 5 top-selling album alone sold over 26 million units (George Michael’s Faith, Dirty Dancing Soundtrack, Def Leppard’s Hysteria, INXS’ Kick and Michael Jackson’s Bad).
Did music lose its appeal? Does Lil Weezy not hold a candle to the King of Pop? Do bands today suck more than those of the 80s? What gives? I am sure there has been some kind of “lack of quality” perception from some old timers and music critics, but for the most part I think its about greed and lack of following supply and demand.
New World Brewery on a Saturday night boasts a healthy built in-crowd of conversationalists and music lovers. Even with the threatening cold snap on the horizon and very little local media coverage, quite a few people made it out to support the local post-punk rock bandDumbwaiters and show promoter New Granada Presents.
With the audience drinking cold beer while huddling, humping or gyrating near conveniently located space heaters on the New World patio, I wondered how many people got drawn away from this local show to see the moldy blues rock of Johnny “I played at Woodstock” Winter at Jannus Landing or Guns N’ Roses’ heroes Nazareth crust rocking at the Largo Cultural Center. Probably none, but our continued cultural emphasis on these old bohemoths roaming the lands and garnering top dollar for performances of contrived, dated music marketed for the sake of nostalgia gets under my skin…
WILLIE NELSON: “Angel Flying Too Close to the Groundâ€
Willie Nelson has become such an American icon that people tend to forget his sublime artistry. A distinctive singer with a jazz vocalist’s sense of timing, he’s also one of country music all-time great guitarists and songwriters (he’s penned “Crazy,†“Hello Walls,†and “Funny How Time Slips Away,†among others.) This clip finds Nelson at a concert in ‘92 performing another original, “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground,†in which he expresses bitterness better than perhaps any pop scribe around.
“Doing a Radiohead.” Big-box exclusivity deals. “360″ contracts. These and other new business models are side effects of the digital media revolution — a paradigm shift caused by the MP3. The days of $15 CDs are all but dead. Long live the $10 digital album and the 99-cent single, both still dwarfed by everyone’s favorite method of acquiring music: illegal downloading. I think in hindsight, considering the events of the past decade, the recording industry would have been happy for a fractional dip in revenue built into the transition from brick-and-mortar stores to iTunes, but factor in music piracy and the numbers aren’t even close.
Over the last decade, there has been much talk and figures to support the fact that the heyday of the music industry has passed, or at least shrunk.
