Buskers! Radiohead! Thom Yorke! David Byrne! - A Stream of Consciousness Rave-Fest

First, hats off for the busking adventures!

This new addition to ER is really exciting and just goes to show that when Dr. Confusion brings it, he brings it raw! That's right, honeys- smarts, a fine storyteller, and one hell of a looker (if I do say so myself). These little tales of magic and woe, of singing into the cold alone and with strangers, have touched my inner troubadour right where he lives....

So what else has got me excited? The new Radiohead album!! It's affirmative, chilluns, that In Rainbows is already out in the land o' the rising sun and will be available on CD stateside January 1st!

In case you've been living under a mossy stone in some forgotten forest somewhere, Radiohead's long awaited follow up to 2003's Hail to the Thief is a double-disc extravaganza that's been getting stellar reviews left, right and center. Many worldwide have already snatched up the album online, as it was originally made available back in October from Radiohead's website where you could choose your own price to download the album!

Speaking of Radiohead:

Thom Yorke announced that Radiohead will be "broadcasting a pre-recording of some songs and other bits on New Years Eve.." over at Radiohead.tv.

It starts at midnight GMT on December 31, which is in the early evening here in America, leaving plenty of time to go get ready to see Spoon or the Black Lips or R. Kelly or whoever.

-according to Pitchfork.

Mmmm. A pretty sweet way to spend New Years if you're going to be staying in....

And by the way, if you like Thom Yorke and Radiohead, then you might (and by "might" I mean damn well should) check out the recent interview that Mr. Yorke did for Wired Magazine. It gives some nice insights AND (!!!) his interviewer is none other than mega geek and music legend David Byrne! Talk about givin' the peoples what they want....

LINK to the Pitchfork article for more details on the Radiohead New Year's broadcast.
LINK to David Byrne and Thom Yorke on the Real Value of Music at Wired Magazine

Busking: Victory is thrilling and the taste lingers

What up. w00t! for 100th posting down below. that video is indeed thrilling. Don't say yes to the man. mang.

After some terrible weather that kept me from playing at the market (woe is me?) - i ventured out yesterday. It was cold so my fingers were all kinds of stiff and clumsy and kept me from being any kind of nimble. But I played anyway and there was some great positive feedback. And for some reason yesterday was like "music community day". and it was great. some examples:

• I was mid way into my fahey-ed up bron-yr-aur, and a couple folks lingered to listen. When I was done the Gent asked if he could strum a bit with me so I said "Hellz yeah!" and tuned up in to standard tuning as he fetched his guitar. Turned out he knew "lonesome Whistle" and was familiar with "I'll be your baby tonight", and he played some excellent lead AND sang high-harmony while I tried to keep steady time with some choruses so he could move around on his guitar. A most excellent player - he played me one of his songs and showed me the changes - i tried to keep up. Then his sister came up and said "We gotta go mang!" so I learned his name was scott and he was visiting from main and had to bail to go to another market. Well met and done scott.
• Then there was robert who heard my corcovado, and let me know he was a busker too - and asked to play me one of his songs. I handed the guitar over and was treated to a easy-going song with loads of Major Sevenths and lyrics involving people coming to gether and Mother Goose Nursery rhymes. He told me he was a flautist as well, and would I be interested to play guitar and back him on flute up around town. I told him i'd consider it....i may not have the mental energy to add that to the pile.
• Lastly there was Mike. He hung out behind his table (the fay farm), untill he heard "corcovado" and then he JUMPED over the table to confirm it - and started singing along IN PORTUGUESE! I said I knew Ipanema, and he sang it and asked to repeat the verse so he could scat and inverted "take the A-train" melody over the top. Apparently Jobim did the same thing. He then tells me he cried for a week when he heard the news of Jobim's death. Tip out a glass indeed. Turns out, that Mike is a Jazz bassist and toured around with the likes of Doc Serverinson. And he's a songwriter that wins contests when he's not making skin care products. He saw my hands and tipped me a jar of his hand-salve and a fin. (!) He said he dug the scene and I should come back and stand right across from his stand so he could hear. I said, "i'll be there".

Damn right i will.

On to learning "Manha de carneval", "O Pato", "reynardine" and "beeswing". wish me luck, and thanks so Scott from main, Robert, and Mike.
-Dr. Confusion

100th Post!

Yay!

This, my babies, is our 100th post here at the luscious Effect Return and I've decided to celebrate it with a little Bobby Conn, who is in fact my new idol. I believe this clip is from 'Chic-a-go-go,' a public access dance show for kids and adults out of Chicago.

P.S.- Please, don't say "yes" to the man....



Awe, hell. I wasn't going to do this, but how could I only pick one when both these videos are so frickin' cool?? 'Home Sweet Home' may actually be my current favorite song....

This is How We Go Out

Leslie Hall. Nuff said....

Santana Shreds

I just wet myself laughing at these. hand to god - the funniest thing on the internet since some guy did a face plant on his bmx bike.

http://youtube.com/user/StSanders

they are ALL funny.

especially this one.

(shame they won't let us embed them)
Via Questionable Content.
-Dr. Confusion

Pack-Rat Confessions, Part 1

About a week ago, I had all of these boss ideas for posts for the ER. But then, school happened, life happened, and I forgot what I wanted to say. eek.

One thing I've been noticing lately, though, is that I seem to have acquired an inability to get rid of music in my collection. I think I'm a musical pack-rat. There's loads of full albums that need to be purged from my music vault, but that I simply don't have the heart to toss out. Even worse, I don't seem to have the ability to break up albums either. For me, everything is digital now, so it would be so easy to simply keep the one or two good songs on an album and ditch the rest... but I can't. I simply can't bring myself to do it. There seems to be this issue of posterity that keeps coming up with me- that I want to keep everything that I can because it's all important somehow. This leads me to question: Am I building a music collection or a music library?

Maybe it's a library until I run out of space on the hard-drive, then it will become a collection...

Beach Party Tonight

Tonight La Tostada and I get to see Yo La Tengo again.
I'm so excited.
Actually i'm a little sick, so I'm not as excited as I wanna be.


This will be the 3rd time I've seen them and they say that this tour is the "Behind the storyteller's music" tour or something. They say it'll mostly be acoustic with some stand-up mixed in, or something. La Tostada is thrilled cause she loves YLT's more quiet side - where as I can dig the skronky noise for a bit longer. Either way it's a win/win.

After I saw them the first time (not too long ago, acutally) i was inspired to add in more YLT to the GoA's songs. This song in particular cribs directly from Ira's use of Drop-D tuning and smacking the back of the neck just so to make that super sweet ambient chord that you hear a lot in their songs. Ira is a freaking genius with the way he twists and turns his electric all around to make all these textures.

He really gets me to thinking about the physical form of the person and their vocal/non-verbal epxression and the very well developed expression or avatar that some guitarists conjure up when they play. Like Keith for example. I keep saying I want to make a post/essay about this issue and Ira and Keith are perfect examples. You'd think Ira was narcoleptic on stage, he barely opens his eyes, and his vocals are very soft and gentle - but then he makes with these 15 minute long (or longer) skronk-anallias of roaring chords and squealing amps...it's quite something to see. and in general James is very tall and seems super gentle and sweet and Georgia seems like the shyest drummer ever - but then they can be the loudest, most abrasive band since White Light/White Heat. It is a marvel. And i'm lucky to get to see them again! yay US!

Analogies

Amy Ray : Driver Education :: James Joyce : Ulysses :: The Existence : Life all at once

------

That is all.

(Mp3, Lyric) for the song

Is this what Deaner was talking about?

As announced here, Ween have a new record out. And i'm stoked for it. A little bit of history of me and ween.

Geaner and Deaner are like two slightly older brothers to me. My cousin made me a tape at the beginning of 10th grade of some newer music, as i'd been on a steady diet of Zeppelin, Stones and AC/DC - i'd gotten my mind blown recently with The Velvet Underground and I knew from liner notes and other stuff that there were all these other bands that took the VU thing and ran. I knew about R.E.M. of course, but the Clemson radio station only came in when it was cloudy so i didn't have money to buy a bunch of records, so my Cousin made me a tape. Of all the stuff that was on that tape, They Might Be Giants (what evs), Chickasaw Mudpuppies (eh...), Jane's Addiction (now were talking!, but all their fans are so DRAMA-ey) Ween leapt out at me, shook my hand, and whispered in my huge ear "You can do this". SO funny, and SO lo-fi and so confident. So perfect.

So, I've seen Ween 5 or 6 times - and In 96 I think, i got to interview Deaner on the Mollusk tour for a local paper. That was difficult, it was my first interview - it was during soundcheck so we couldn't hear each other - and Deaner was very foggy after a nap and needed some coffee. Any way - it was a real treat to meet him and talk to a real hero of mine.

Deaner is an amazing guitarist - and being somewhat of a guitarist myself i have definite likes and dislikes - i don't as a rule like guitar solos. and I have walked Swiftly away from any concert that sounded like a "Jam Band" - Not saying that Ween are - they are not. But I have seen Ween do a, i'm not kidding here: i timed it, 45 minute version of LMLYP - which you could assert was a "Jam" of the "Wicked" variety. I think it is all to easy to fall into cliche and self indulgence when soloing on guitar. Having said all that

Here, watch Deaner rip something alive from the depths of the earth with his bare hands. This clip is long and it's mostly a guitar solo but not many people on earth get a chance to see this -

Microtonal Van Halen

Oh man.

Ouch.

Head over to Create Digital Music and see some painful tech trouble. Both the Bass and Eddie Van Halen's guitar are playing a few microtones below their synth backing track. oof.

The Moby Equation

Magnificent.

Only - they left out the most galling part of the whole Moby/Play phenomena - He was literally STEALING the good parts of his songs from unpaid african american folk artists. His offence goes WAY beyond the justified criticism that Elvis and most other white artists need to own up to, in terms of appropriating black music to a white audience. With Moby, its worse, because - he's not even copping the style of Big Boy Crudup - he's using the recordings of Bessie Jones and others and putting shitty, simple, Theory I first week re-harmonies under them with soft synths. big whoop.

And one more knife twist in this pointless post. He has this screed about being a Vegan in the sacred space of liner notes for this record. and on the cover, what do we see on his super-cool feet? Some nikes. some leather sneaks made by nike. Way to live in a glass house doood. here, take this rock and nail it to the wall.

(is she not amazing looking? and she knew *all* these songs. I wish i could have learned from her directly, not just from Lomax's tape recordings - but thank god for those)

Busking: Rounds 4 & 5 (ding! ding!)

Not to turn this into a busking blog but:

That's been the biggest musical whatever happnin' in Dr. Confusion's world so - here's a collection of observations and anecdotes from rounds 4 & 5 of the great Busking Adventure of the Naughties.

• I'm starting to really dig it, and I start looking forward to my sundays playing at the Ballard farmer's market all week.
• So many kids
• so many dogs!
  
• every dog wants to sniff and maybe pee on the hat.
• 95% white men (who are not dads who have their kids with them) in their 20's are too cool for school and never smile, stop and listen, or toss coins. I think they must all be guitarists too.
• Kids are the secret to steady change - they stop and stare, and the 'rents give them a quarter to drop in...it's a whole procedure...it's fun...i'm going to be learnign some Leadbelly kids songs (the good ones) to tailor to the wee beasties.
  
• Round 4:
• was total fun.
• I got dressed up with a tie and my granddad's jacket
• Right off the bat a guy comes up and says (seriously): " you have the air of the british isles about you. What part are you from?" I replied " I'm from Easley, South Carolina" and he seemed surprised. what fun! - song I was playing one of my new work's in progress which is a John Fahey'd up version of Zeppelin's Bron-Yr-Aur.
• I hit a particularly good stretch on John Hurt's Big Leg Blues and a bunch of young kids started gathering around and actually dancing. that was crazy.
• the one wee wee toddler went up to the hat and lifted it - he found out it jingled onnacounta the change in there and jiggled it once or twice and then full on slung the hat as far up as he could so all the change could clang down and the bills drifted back to earth.
• The poor mom - she was worried and asked the kid to help her put the money back, but the kid was totally pre-verbal and just was looking around. she was all "i'm sorry" and i answered - "don't worry, that was HILARIOUS."
• A nice couple stopped by and said they like the playing and I was extra thrilled at that cause i was doing a stretch of GoA songs. w00t!
  
• The empire ice cream guys across the street from me dropped a dollar in and said they liked the set list (sweet!). So after I packed up I asked them what they liked (costello, Nashville skyline era dylan, maybe some more BRUUUUUUCE!) and didn't (not much, just don't play all along the watchtower 7 times in a row, like some people do {check!})
• Then they gave me a free pint of Peach Sorbet. SCORE!
• It rained most of the day and the strings got hard to play - but it was fun...i wondered if I felt like the Edge felt when they made Live at Red Rocks. god that video was awesome.
• Round 5 (ding! ding!)
• Got there late.
• totally lost my voice and steam like, an hour into it (drag)
• Just not on my A-game.
• Started with my new fully learned "Prodigal Son" which i've been wanting to learn how to play for ummm....20 years. (yep. since i was 10 at least)
• (shout out to Rev. Wilkins for being such a genius!)
  
• Right off the bat got into a discussion with a nice new mom about Mississippi John Hurt and she recommended that tribute album that i want to listen to. I asked her if she wanted to hear "big Leg Blues" again, and she said yes...so I played it again, and she left (husband/partner stopped by and dropped some change, thanks!) and as she was leaving said in what seemed to be honesty: "You play very well, you're very talented" and I was just beaming.
  
• After I tried to play "beulah land" but I had the I IV V right, but not the right capo/chords - oh well.
  
• Empire Ice cream guy dropped a dollar after "Tonight, I'll be Staying here with you" and said "That is the greatest love song in the world" Fucking right it is.
• My hat was pretty anemic on the money front till this guy wandered over as I was finishing up a song. He wanted to see what kind of guitar. I showed him, and he was like, "Humph! well...." as if that was a super fancy guitar. It is. And it was a gift (and the gifter didn't pay the list price, that's for sure). and I treasure it. and play the shit out of it. So i said "Yep. It's a martin, I want these songs to sound good to y'all, y'know?" and he did the head tilt/shrug thing that means "good point" in american non-verbal language. and I asked did he want to hear something in particular. He said "No, but how about a ballad? from the 70's or 60's?" I said how about one from the mid 50's? Cause I was just about to play "Long Black Veil". He stepped EVEN closer to hear it and i was getting nervous...so i just tried to keep as steady a beat as I could and sing it solid. I do it basically the Lefty Frizelle version but try to incorporate some of the Welch and Rawling's bits too. He dug it and when it got to the 3rd verse and it's clear what's going on he gave a little "woo" when he understood the action. and then he pulled out a five and made sure I saw it go into the hat. He said "Good job, learn some Eric Clapton" - I'm thinking he wanted to hear "Wonderful Tonight" but i don't think I'm going to learn that.
• I think the market folks like that I stick around and play while they are packing up - rather than bailing as soon as the market's over and the customers leave. I like that too and want to keep doing that...I hope they like it...they don't really talk to me...but i overheard two workers talking and they looked my way and one said "I know, I love it" to the other one...and I THINK they were talking about me...but who knows.
• I want to learn SO many more songs now... and really really really KNOW them...
• I still need to keep working on my game...there's a lot more guitaring i could be doing, and my singing STILL needs a year or two's study and work 40 hours a week. ooohhh it's a fickle thing, my voice...it needs a LOT of work.

So that's what's happening - i'm still scouring my record collection to find songs I want to do and learn. This has been a great adventure and I really hope to continue to get better and better.

whew!

Talking Heads Live in Rome

Boing Boing reported a few days ago that someone had posted an entire concert video of the Talking Heads live in Rome (circa 1980!!) to You Tube. Holy Crap.

I am and have always been a fanatical follower of this incredible band, who (along with Television) totally redefined the way I think about the interplay of the instruments in a band.

This show reveals why the great Talking Heads remain the stuff of legend, and the rich vibrant energy that they emit on-stage is intoxicating to say the least. In a word, this is a-w-e-s-o-m-e.

So grab a drink, get comfortable, unplug the phone, and put your rawk goggles on!

The Songs:

* Psycho Killer
* Stay Hungry
* Cities
* I Zimbra
* Drugs
* Take Me to the River
* Crosseyed and Painless
* Life During Wartime
* Houses in Motion
* Born under Punches

Live! James Brown, Michael Jackson, and Prince in Supersoul Throwdown!

In keeping with the recent burst of video love, I just had to drop this clip of an old James Brown show where Michael Jackson and Prince both get called to step up from the crowd and onto the stage to add a little spice to the Godfather's mega-jive. Holy crack-rabbits, this is some cool sh*t....

She Wakes Up Just Long Enough to Rawk!

This video I found at haha.nu is awesome. This little girl rocks like nobody's bid-ness!
I wonder how long till she can quit her day job?

Maple Practice Amp!

Something cool featured on Make, is this swigity-sweet little practice amp that came from a personal website called nonentity. Really lovely work indeed! Check out a step-by-step (with pictures!) of how this hand-crafted beauty was made.

Guitarist Zack Kim Shreds Mario Bros.

For all us tragically nostalgic kids who owned one of the first Nintendo game systems and who's voices changed not because of puberty but from blowing into game cartridges and screaming endless hours at the Koopa Troopas, here's a guitar virtuoso who feels our pain.

This is a priceless video clip I caught over at haha.nu of an Australian guy named Zack Kim playing the original Super Mario Brothers Theme on two guitars simultaneously using a finger-tapping technique that would make Eddie VanHalen proud as a pickled herring.

Check out his site for loads of links to similar videos he's made (including other video game themes!).

***Edit!***

Awe, screw it. Here's a few more unique samples of the Mario theme I found on YouTube after posting Zack Kim's. Enjoy!

Classical Guitar:

11 String Bass:

Drums and Bass:

Major League Soccer Gets Adidas-Sponsored Anthems

Look out, soccer fans!

Adidas has teamed up with a number of artists under a new promotion they're calling "Represent" which enlists well-known musical talents to 'Represent' their home towns by penning and performing original fight songs for their local Major League Soccer Teams. This is a great idea in that it's wicked fun for soccer enthusiasts and music lovers alike, and allows a closer sense of that pride and community that our European counterparts enjoy with the sport.

Visit THIS site set up by Adidas, click through their landing page, and select your favorite MLS team to listen to and/or download their new fight song for free! To save time, here's a run-down of the line-up you'll find:

• Chivas USA - "Chivas Explosivas!" by Akwid


• New York Red Bulls - "Woo, Alright, Yeah... Uh Huh" by The Rapture


• Real Salt Lake - "The Mighty R-E-A-L" by Meg and Dia


• Colorado Rapids - "Goal!" by Rose Hill Drive


• Houston Dynamo - "Houston Dynamo (Don't Play)" by Mike Jones


• FC Dallas - "H-O-O-P-S Yes!" by The Polyphonic Spree


• Los Angeles Galaxy - "We Are the Galaxy" by Kinky


• Kansas City Wizards - "Ain't Nobody Gonna Stop Us Now" by Blackpool Lights


• Chicago Fire - "Here Comes the Fire" by Ok Go


• Columbus Crew - "It's Your Crew" by RJD2


• Toronto FC - "TFC" by Barenaked Ladies


• D.C. United - "DC United" by Bad Brains


• New England Revolution - "Revolution" by Damone

iTunes Stops Playing Those Mind Games, Sells Lennon Solo Stuff

I remember back when I was just out of high school I applied for a job at a record store. On the application was a question: What are ten bands/artists that you think deserve more recognition? I tried my best to fill the list with obscure, intelligent choices to show my prowess as a discerning audiophile, but I was laughed at when I went in for my interview because riding atop my A-list of brilliant underground jazz artists and indie-sceners was the Beatles. I remember the guy's face now- "you think the Beatles should be more popular?!" Um, yeah, why shouldn't they be? Looking back at the decades of legal disputes that have kept a new generation from exposure to the Beatles and their solo work, I still feel the same.

That's why I was happy to come upon an article in the Journal Star today reporting that iTunes, which has been slowly but surely warming itself up to the release of Beatle's material owned by the EMI label and Capitol records, has just made available 16 of John Lennon's post-Beatles solo albums. I for one am happy to see it- even though my Lennon/Beatles collection already overfloweth, to say the least- and think it's really about time. It's a shame that the work of one of the most influential and prolific artists of the last century, one of those few individuals who actually had a hand on the hammer that hewed out the genre that is now modern popular music and helped it to be regarded as a serious art form, has been plagued with such difficulty in the release of his music (with the Beatles and solo) through any legitimate, legal digital music provider. I guess there's also a certain amount of sentimentality too, thinking that John Lennon is not alive to negotiate his music's release on his own terms.

It should be said though, that despite the catchy title of this post, EMI has surely had a healthy hand in keeping the Fab 4 from the ears of a new generation who listen and live online, and so have the Beatles for that matter. It took decades for the royalty disputes between EMI and the remaining members of the band + Yoko (via Apple Corps) to be resolved (a $59 million resolution, from what I understand) and the feud between Apple Corps and Apple Inc. over trademark infringement has only recently come to an end. All friends now? Who knows, but all this law-suiting has kept many music lovers literally licking their lips for nearly two decades anticipating this turn.

I guess to many, of course, the real news was when Steve Jobs announced that iTunes would carry music by the Beatles earlier this year. I realize too that Yoko Ono already released a remastered collection of John Lennon's work to many online music stores like Napster and MSN Music, but that too was a long time coming. Anyway, iTunes is the largest online music store and they should be carrying the work of music giants like the Beatles and John Lennon. So, this is indeed news.

Oh yeah, and just for good measure, here's "Mind Games" from Lennon's "Walls and Bridges" album to help you celebrate!

Busking, Round 2

I jumped up and act a fool and did it again.
I went back to what I learned is called a "pitch" back on Queen Anne and tried my fingers and throat again at busking.
I went a little earlier in the day this time, and wasn't as thorough with the sun screen, so i have odd burned patches on my right tricep and neck. I was there not quite as long - about 1.5 hours (i had some time constraints) and i earned nine dollars sixteen pence in tips. Not bad!

I gave one dollar away to a homeless dood who boozily wobbled up to me and said he played guitar, and that he'd had 7 guitars stolen from him down town (indeed sad), asked if i thought the pizza shop would give him a slice if he asked - I said "take a shot, who knows?" he came swaying back with a hot slice of cheezy goodness and then asked me for a dollar out of my hat. Well, friends - it's hard to say no to somebody who had such a story and seing as how we were both looking down at the hat with it's couple bills and shiny coins all arrayed just so I said, sure - take a dollar. Small price to pay for some karma i suppose. I got blessed by the cheese filled slightly yeasty smelling fella who then headed off to more adventure no doubt.

No dog pee this time. that's a plus.

I worry i'm getting greedy...I spent some of my pay pretty quickly down at the Arab Festival going on at the Seattle Center - and it sort of stung! I either need to not spend my take or maybe move to a higher traffic area - I don't want to get locked in to thinking "busking = that one pitch on queen anne" y'know?

Musically i had a good time - i need a broader collection of songs and instrumentals to shake it up for me, but I, on the spot, figured out two Dylan "licks" that I'd been wondering about forever. one is that quick hammer-on pull-off thing he does in in "Hollis Brown" and the other is the G variant chord in "Billy 1 - 4" . I was thinking he did it with an open tuning, but it turns out its the same chord/lick trick that's used in "Girl from the North Country", "Spanish Boots..." and Tom Paxton's "last thing on my mind" where you've got the G chord and you move your fingers into a C with your 1st and 4th fingers on the G on the high and low E strings...you know what i'm talking about. {jguitar lists it as possibly a G 6th, suspended 4th - which makes sense harmonically - i'm in love with Jguitar.com}

Also - I'm working on my own version of this song below. I can't top this - ever, but i can try and that second chord is such a pleasure to play. I could play that second chord ALL day. RT does it here with thumb and 2 or 3 fingers and that gives it a very "English" sound. Since i'm still learning the American country blues finger picking style I'm doing it with thumb and index finger. but anyone whose heard Rev. Gary Davis knows that those two fingers can bring on a FLURRY of notes.

Richard Thompson, man. I used to think that Jimi Hendrix was the most creative and possibly the greatest guitarist to have lived - I don't think that as much anymore.

Last thought - whose living room is that? How do I get Richard Thompson to come to *MY* living room and play one of the best songs in the universe?

Willie Nelson on Vinyl

There is just not much more pleasant than opening up the doors and windows, when the air is still bright and morning like. And dropping a needle on to the grooves of some Willie on vinyl. Sure, there are some instrumental tracks that don't really move the story along, and the story kinda doesn't make sense - but then really does make sense. But there is such magic in this record and listening to it in two halves and watching that black disc circle round and round - it's just special.

Just good and pure and sad and happy and tragic and fun, simple and difficult, joyous. In a way few pieces of art in any medium
succeeed this record (played on lovingly preserved vinyl) is pure, muddied, Art.

(p.s. - Thanks to Sonny and Margaret for letting me have this when they downsized their vinyl collection)

Beyoncé Battles Stairs, YouTube, and Aliens

Has anybody seen the footage of Beyoncé's recent fall in Orlando?

Apparently, she took a face-firster down 12 stairs during a concert then got up, dusted herself off, and kept workin' it! Some concert-goers reported that Miss Knowles even appeared to be bleeding. The show must go on, I suppose- bravo, Queen Bee!

After the show, Beyoné requested that no one release any video footage of the fall on the internet, but it surfaced quickly on YouTube anyway. Sony music yanked it, though, by the time I got there. Doesn't matter anywho because I managed to find some stills of the video that was released to Fox News and the quality is so bad you've got no clue what you're even looking at- could be Beyoncé falling down a flight of stairs, could also be a fuzzy bootlegged scene from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."

Probably the second, I think.

*Edit* Maybe, it's both....

Where You Been?

To anyone who might have thought that I'd been devoured by dinosaurs or pushed off a cliff for insurance money, I apologize for my glaring absence from the Effect Return over the past couple of months. School and work have been alternating, taking bites out of my pearly-white seat cushion, and I'm just now getting my head above water. Fortunately, our man on the scene, Dr. Confusion, has stepped up and been posting overtime with a fury that would make even the 300 Spartans proud.

Thanks, Dr. C, for keeping ER alive!

Starbucks Label on the Move with Mitchell

So, there's been a little debate here at the ER over the new Starbucks record label, and new developments are abound. We mentioned before that Paul McCartney had signed to them, which he did, and his album "Memory Almost Full" has already sold 447,000 copies, 45 percent of them in Starbucks stores, according to the Sun-Sentinel.com.

Now Joni Mitchell has signed on with the Hear Music label to release "Shine," her first album of new compositions since 1998. Very interesting, indeed. The label is apparently planning to sign one more artist this year and another eight more in 2008. Considering who's already on board, it will be exciting to see who will be the next to get snared into Starbucks' silky web of ingenuity.

First Busking Experience

This Sunday (that just happened) - I took the advice of my very lovely and brilliant Wife. She said "you've been talking about playing on the street forever, so here's my idea.

• I'm going away for a couple days - so practice your favorites
• Then go to a neighborhood where no one knows you
• don't tell nobody
• Play 10 songs, and if its a terrible time - you can bail and noone's the wiser.

So, I did exactly that. I practiced a couple songs, and made a list of more than 10 songs to maybe do. and I fiddled, I faddled , I dawlded, and I procrastinated harder than ever - until sunday afternoon, after doing all the laundry, cleaning the floors and doing the dishes like 3 times. So I was at my computer listening to the Great Rev. Gary Davis, and reading about his life. And how he played on the street for more than 35 years. and I just felt "If I don't go now, i'm never going to do it"

So I jumped up and ran out the door and immediately caught the bus going downtown, I hopped off in Lower Queen Anne, and walked up the Hill - To work off some of my nerves. At the top, i stopped across from a safeway, where the food traffic would be heavy-ish, but I could be set back from the sidewalk.

I was pretty nervous so I started with Corcovado and played that a million times so I wouldn't have to actually sing. And then, i tried "lonesome whistle" - But it took me a million tries to find the right note and the right first chord...

I was playing a bunch of country songs, and San Andreas (which I could play forEVER) - but generally the stuff that seemed to put the strollers by at ease and enhance the pleasant ness of their day were the instrumental stuff. To maximize money from that crowd it's definitley less John Cale and more John Fahey.

I did make some money - the first in my life that I've ever made from music. I made eight dollars fifty cents. The first dollar was from a lady what that walked by her dog wanted to pee on my guitar case. She was successful in diverting the pungent amarillo stream away from my trusty case - to which i'm eternally grateful. After securing the incontinent beast she scurried over and dropped the first dollar in to my hat. Thanks much Lady.

I ended up playing about two hours...I included some GoA stuff, and just going until my fingers hurt, and my voice was blown out, and then I left. Feeling pretty triumphant.

More later!

Nercore Undercover

My homie, Z - from Hipster, Please! has put out his very own compilation record of Nerdcore and semi-quasi-demi-tasse nerdy musicians. That's RAD. and he gave me a shout out... so right back atcha Z!

Go Steve!

Let it be known that I agree with Steve Albini in just about every way he illustrates. He's a super smart dude and had brought a lot of good music into this world. I wish I was more like Steve. Right Now.

Merlin Mann and John Roderick

Here's two WAY too smart guys being way to funny talking about playing guitar.

It is.

Elucidating.


(and part 3 of 4 total parts so there's lots more.)

Ravi Shankar Compresses Time Because He Loves You

The Hindustani art music version of playing a Beethoven symphony in 3 minutes.

This. Is. So. Punk.



it's one minute of the Alaap, one minute of Jhorl and Jhala - then it's on to the medium and fast Ghats for the remaining minute. when it was done I cheered. out loud. at work.

Poseidon's Harmonica

This is one of the most awesome things i've ever heard of:

The Sea Organ in Zadar, Croatia.

It's like John Cage and Poseidon and Brian Eno all made love to the same idea at once!

There's video!

found via metafilter.

{update: Just hold the phone, This website is giving me a case of the thrills!}

Dancing, Mashups, and Missy Elliot's Unstoppable Kung-Fu

Last Saturday night was off the chain.

Turns out, one of my favorite Mash-up Dj's (assemblers?, synthers?, Grafters? - what is the term for someone who makes a mash-up?) DJ Freddy, The King of Pants lives in Seattle and hosts a mashup and illegal music dance party at my favorite places to go out - the Re-bar - every 3rd Saturday. This is sort of like being a new convert to catholicism, who lives in Rome, and is thinking about joining the priest-hood being informed that the Pope, in fact, lives down the street.

Dj Freddy is a a super nice sweet-heart! We got there sort of early and I went straight to the booth and let him know I was so excited and I had just put his "Badd To Me" on my latest Ugata disc, before I knew he was from here - and he immediately added it to the mix...DOPE!

So we and the crew went and danced for Approx 2 and 75/100ths of an hour. It was fantastic. But the mash-up dance party has a inherent - i don't wanna say flaw - but you know how to fly a plane has to over come the drag that the atmosphere produces? that same atmosphere that allows the plane to fly? it's kind've like that.

Mash-ups are great cause they re-contexualize the familiar, and the juxtaposition factor can be thrilling - but it can also distance from the core initial response we have to it. For example, i was struck by how well the underlying rythmn of "Come as you Are" works as a dance beat - but doesn't sound like a traditional dance rythmn. And I was boogie-ing away - but then, i realized I was thinking about the music too - so not really lost in the dance sort of vibe.

That to me indicates that, at least for me, a Mashup can be much more cerebral than kinetic, in a sense. Of course, the more seamless and alarming the juxtaposition - that is, the more skill fully the mashup is executed - the less this is an issue. But it does mean that a mashup dj needs to be on point, in a way that a regular dance music creator doesn't.

Also - sometimes it seems the juxtaposition can be a hindrance to "getting the party started" We might all be philistines, but there was a palpable surge of energy on the dance floor when a mashup had a section of song that was just a pure source from one track. There was a sense of releif and of "HEY! this is what i recognize!" feeling - when the both lobes of our brains had been furiously listening, dancing, investigating, remembering, and processing flipped over to - "YAY! this is the music AND the chorus to the same Madonna song! WOOO! let's boogie a little harder!"

Don't let this make you think that mashups aren't good to dance to. We're going back next time frankenboot drops at the rebar. It was mad fun and the experience needs to be repeated over and over again.

Seriously. It was fun and we'll be back. More to come!

Also - Missy Elliot sounds incredible rapping over Any, and Everything.

The Masterclass

This, my fellows. Is how it's done.

May The Lord Bless You, and Keep You, Mr. Rooksby

My good friend Thom hipped me to the author from britain, Rikky Rooksby.

He said he wrote some neat books about guitar. So I checked one out from the library, "How to write songs on guitar". At first I was very skeptical. But in the introduction, Mr. Rooksby got right to the heart of the matter. The gist was, you can muddle through and write some good stuff - don't forget to do that, but if you have knowledge of whats happening in rock/pop music - you can create good stuff (with YOUR distinct spin) on it faster, and easier.

I was hooked. And now I own nearly his complete bibliography. and i'm scared to give him shout outs, cause if somebody knew how much of my new songs were handed, handed to me from the good prof. rooksby - well i'd be ashamed. But while rooksby is giving me the knowlege, i'm still putting stuff together and it still sounds like a "Dr. Confusion original". I've been given our bought these books:

• How to write songs on guitar
• the songwriting sourcebook
• Melody
• Chord Master
• The Beatles Chord Songbook
  

I'm still on the fence about buying the Riff book, and the Arranging book. But If I get a fraction of the knowledge from those two as I have from the other books - that'll be money well spent.

I might break down each of these books and their strengths here. But for starters I wanted to give a hearty shout out to my new long-distance mentor. And thank him for the doors he's opened up for me in my songwriting.

Wurster on Random Rules

Jon Wurster is funny. and he plays the heck out of the drums for my favorite band. Here he is talking about what's on his iPod. I'm stunned that I care about this so much. No.

No i'm not.

Ugata Heardis update,

Y'all know about the Ugata Heardis Project right? Right.

We'll i sent off my recent discs and posted my tracklist and some thoughts about the songs here.

Build High For Happiness!
-Dr. Confusion

Music Saves Lives

Seriously.

This soldier's iPod helped slow down an AK-47 round enough to not pierce his body armor. Thanks iPod!


Ooops. Looks like this story could be a fake. Boo! if it's a fake! BOOOO!!!

MS to ditch some DRM too.

blip!

As is their wont - Microsoft saw what Apple did and thought to themselves: "well, we'd better hop on that ship before she sails!"

Still, encouraging news all around!

BTW: I've hefted and messed around with the Zune. Give it a pass. I found it to be slow, and you had to click the up and down buttons a quarzillion times to do anything. I know Apple has got the hottness locked down with their patented Click-wheel, but still - My Neuros was similar, but it had a smarter layout and you could skip ahead in the alphabet, which I couldn't figure out with the Zune. Maybe i'm dumb.

Apple Get's its Sh*t Together and Dumps DRM

Boom!

Here's some pretty sweet news:

Mr. Steve Jobs has just announced that Apple will join up with EMI to offer the entire EMI catalog on iTunes music store....

DRM free!

The announcement was made today and the new 'free tunes' will be available for download in May. The new music prices will increase 30% to $1.29 per song, but the quality offered will be upped to 256 kbs in AAC format. Interestingly, iTunes will continue to offer the DRM music as well at $.99 per track, giving music listeners a choice. (not sure about the thinking on this, but whatever...)

So the price goes up, but the quality's better and there's no DRM to contend with. The hike in coinage that it will take to buy the DRM-free music from iTunes has another benefit too, as it will give a more even advantage to smaller distributors.

Another cool little tidbit is that (as near as I can tell) full albums will remain the same price (!) and you can 'upgrade' any previously purchased iTunes DRM music in your library by simply paying the $.30 difference. That's cool. Also from what I understand DRM videos can be stripped of their DRM for free.

Apparently, back in February, Steve Jobs actually sent out an open letter to record companies encouraging them to dump DRM restrictions. Mr. Jobs stated in the letter that the only reason iTunes implemented DRM in the first place was because the major music labels wouldn't distribute music through iTunes Music Store without the DRM restrictions in place.

I know that this won't mean anything at all to many people who get their music from eMusic or elsewhere, but the fact is that this is a huge (although inevitable) step forward for the world of music. As long as the concept doesn't bomb (and why would it?), then everyone else will very quickly jump on-board and the DRM monster will be effectively slain.

Great work, Apple!

P.S.- In case you're wondering (and why wouldn't you be?) The Beatles' music, which EMI owns the rights to, will still not be released along with the rest of their catalog as of yet.

***********Dr. Confusion jumping in here********
I think this is great news. But, I worry. I'm worried that, in pricing the DRM free tracks higher, the sales will be lower. So, in the future both Apple and EMI can say "Look at the figures...there's no demand for DRM-free music." If they priced the non and the with DRM tracks the same, the ideological argument would trounce the economic for doing away with DRM. If feels weird, a a little bit galling to have to pay to remove the noose you didn't ask for. Like, how unrefined brown rice costs more than processed rice. Knamean? There's less labor involved in the process so why do I have to pay more? On the whole, this is a very encouraging sign!


****a Myku Update*****
Yes, indeed, it is a backwards way of doing things. I can only imagine that it's because they're (for some reason) trying to "phase out" DRM instead of doing away with it altogether. I truly hope that it doesn't backfire, but for some reason, I don't think it will. Maybe because there's such an overwhelming populace of people who want DRM to die. We'll see what happens. I think, though, that the new DRM-free tunes are of a higher bit-rate than those currently available on iTunes Music Store.

Another Apple update here too: I just read that iTunes Music Store will now give you credit towards the purchase of a full album if you've previously purchased tracks from that album. They'll just subtract what you've already paid from the album cost. I think that's really sweet.

Some Amusing (and Not-So Amusing) RIAA Updates

I recently ran across these few links regarding the RIAA that I found funny and/or disturbing:

1. Here's a story on Techdirt about a few universities finally getting a little backbone and standing up to the RIAA's scare tactics. The RIAA has been putting pressure on colleges to 'rat out' it's students by way of handing over IP addresses from university networks and the like. It's nice to see that at least some of the houses of higher education have decided not to cave under the unscrupulous extortions of the RIAA.
2. On a more pathetic note, the kind-hearted souls at the RIAA recently attempted to sink their talons into a 10 year old girl (who was actually 7 at the time of the alleged illicit downloading activity) in Oregon. The girl's mother, 42 and living on Social Security Disability Assistance, insists on the girl's innocence.
   
3. Here's a funny little diagram of the RIAA's lawsuit decision making process called the RIAA Lawsuit Decision Matrix, posted on BBspot. The author gives a link to larger jpeg and pdf versions of the image that can be printed out and circulated at your office or where ever.
   
4. Finally, here's a nice blog run by two NYC lawyers called "Recording Industry vs The People," which is 'devoted to the RIAA's lawsuits of intimidation brought against ordinary working people' and is ripe with stories like the ones above. A good resource for tracking the madness....
   

Mac on the record industry

Continuing the theme of music industry pondering. Here is Mac from Merge interviewed about the state of the plastic disc manufacturing and distribution industry. They Play a little arcade fire, and a little Spoon, Lambchop and such.

It's fun.

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/soundcheck/episodes/2007/03/27

Clemens Kogler Creates Crazy Video Collage for Clark

Illustrator/digital animator Clemens Kogler has come up with an absolutely gorgeous music video for UK musician Clark's song "Herr Bar". The vid, which is an animation created from photos of the human body arranged to form animals, landscapes and plants, is really quite beyond description. Clark's music is very nice as well, although a bit reminiscent of some of Richard D. James' more ambient, less drill-n-bass, stuff. Regardless, the music and images are married perfectly, and it is a lovely way to spend a few minutes.

Enjoy....

Snoop, Not Britian's Cup of Tea

According to an article over ta CNN, Calvin Broadus, AKA Snoop Dogg, Mr. Shizzolator himself, has been refused a visa to perform a series of concerts in the UK. Mr. Dogg, who is co-headlining a European tour with Sean P. Diddy Combs will now, apparently, be unable to perform at the tour's five dates in Britain.

Snoop is not entirely innocent in Britain's decision, however. The bad-ass rapper was involved in a ruckus back in April of 2006, when he and five other men were arrested for violent disorder and starting a brawl.... at London's Heathrow International Airport??!!

Big up yourself, Snoop; few people can boast that.

Anyway, Snoop's people are hoping that the situation can be rectified (as the show must go on), but no news yet on that one. Good luck, Mr. Dogg....

-Check out Snoop Dogg's Official Web Site.

Deerhoof @ Rolling Stone

Deerhoof is so much fun. They were recently here in tha "C," but I was unable to attend.

*Sadness floods my drab southern room; the flowers wilt; goldfish hold their breath in sorrow; somewhere in the distance, a clown is crying.*

Oh well, I'll just have to console myself with the new video for "The Perfect Me" available at Rolling Stone's site. There's also a vid for "Dog on the Sidewalk" on the same page.... Off the chizzain.

Also, for more of Rolling Stone's Deerhoof coverage/support check out their Deerhoof Page, ripe with articles, album reviews, photos, videos, and a little audio player that lets you tune in to 'Deerhoof Radio' and/or listen to the 5 most popular Deerhoof tracks on Rhapsody.com.

Love ya, Deerhoof. Catch you next time around....

McCartney Due to Release Album on New Starbucks Label

Damn!

Well, Paul McCartney has just been the first major artist to sign with the newly formed Starbucks music label Hear Music. Apparently, big Paul, one of the most important musicians in the history of modern popular music, has been enticed by the coffee chain's new music venture because of its "commitment and passion" and "love of music."

Great news for Starbucks too, who are (obviously) hoping that other big-name artists will follow in Mr. McCartney's footsteps. Bad news, however, for me who emphatically expounded my rather un-optimistic opinion of the new Starbucks Hear Music label. *Searches for spatula, removes egg from face.*

It will be interesting to see who else climbs on board the new label that I previously likened to a "sinking ship." This doesn't change my view of the record industry in the least (and why would it?), but it is an interesting development in this story. And to Mr. Dr. Confusion, *tips hat* nice call- hindsight is 20/20, foresight rarely is.

Funky Robot,

Y'allz:

Check this squishy robot that dances (interactivly, not-preprogrammed) to Eric Bachmann and Spoon.

Make sure you choose the video link "keepon dancing to spoon".

Nerdcore show write-up @ hipster, please

What up!

My write-up, with video, of the Nerdcore show featuringThe Mediocre Tour is up now at Hipster, Please! Check it out if you wanna see me lose my metaphorical mind.

Word.

---A little "P.S." by Myku----

Wow! This is really first rate! I think anyone who hasn't really had any exposure to Nerdcore (like yours truly) can get some straight-schoolin' from Doc C's excellent write-up and video coverage. And, don't forget to hang around 'Hipster, Please!' for a few afterwards and dig deeper into the scene.

Thanks, Dr. Confusion!

OMG! OMG! the synergy!

I don't want to spill the beans but: I just completed my latest Ugata submissions and I opened with two different variants of the Dr. Who them on each disc.

I've been going through a bit of a Dr. Who renaissance lately and it just seemed fitting, do put them on and now look what i found posted today at the mostly entertaining and fun website Create Digital Music: a post with video on the re-recording of the Dr. Who them for the 1980 season. ROCK!

THEN! The next post is all about how Delia Derbyshire could beat match on MULTIPLE reel to reel systems. If I weren't already SO happily married I'd be on the next ferry cross the mersey to co-habitate with the genius that is Ms. Derbyshire.

Ah! the brilliant synergy of the internets! my neurons are singing a song of hope and recognition!

Byrne Speaks on the Future

Mr. Doctor Confusion sent me a LINK to this little snippet in Boing Boing about a presentation by David Byrne where the music icon muses that record labels will soon be obsolete and that he currently gets all of his music from eMusic or via illegal download. Mr. Byrne quotes issues with DRM for his not purchasing music online from distributors like iTunes. Very interesting indeed. I might try to dig up more on this, but thanks for now to Dr. C for catching this cool piece of info!

Starbucks Records?

So just gliding in on the tail-feathers of my last post about how the music industry is a 'declining empire,' is a story I found in USA Today reporting that Starbucks is on the cusp of launching its own record label. Um, ok.....

It is debatable whether this is a sound move for the monster coffee corporation or not, but I believe they're jumping onto a sinking ship while everyone else is scrambling for the life-boats....

*Open slot; insert 2 cents.*

************2007-03-15***********

A Dr. Confusion rebuttal:

Ah, but see. I think this the smart move and shows the necessity of working around the fractured system that's currently in place. I'm pretty sure that Starbucks records are ONLY going to be sold inside a starbucks - right there that eliminates the need for paying for end caps at a record store like EMI or sony do now, or working out deals with wal-mart AND ever independent record store in medium and large towns. Plus, they can distribute the new CDs on the same palates that they deliver the coffee and cups and junk - removing/absorbing lots of shipping costs.

And who cares about radio/payola to get radio airplay - if you play the record instore - you're probably targeting and HITTING more people than radio in some markets AND (watch me now) they've got disposable income a-plenty (they're already in the starbuck for their luxury item {coffee}) AND the unit to move is RIGHT THERE next to the register for the impulse buy. Game, Set and Match capitol records! And it is now in your face.

Plus, they just need to work up some TV spots to say "HEY! new Norah Jones starbucks special snoozy live performance, only at starbucks" to get folks jonesing for their coffee AND to pick up the cream of the lifestyle-music crop. It's all is the synergy of the coffee, the starbucks cafe "experience" (seriously - the Pottery Barn's inventory is just cribbed from any starbucks interior design) and now they're just providing the convenient at-home soundtrack to that "experience".

It's almost worked on me with that Dylan thing they had a couple years back.

Sounds like a pretty genius move for Starbucks and one more bell toll for the extortion racket that was the plastic disc manufacturing and distribution cartels. Over all, I think it's a good thing but i think that the heterogeneration of music and it's distribution is a good thing on the whole. We could write a book on that subject. Thanks for letting me step on your post!
Dr. Confusion

******* ...and later, the same day... *******

Dear Doc Confusion:

First, I'm so glad you did step on my post because I think you've made some awesome points. I still have some problems with this whole endeavor, however. Let's dive in and take a look....

First, Starbucks will not be selling their label's music exclusively in Starbucks stores. The USA Today article states that Starbucks' "Los Angeles-based Hear Music label will sign its own artists and sell records through Starbucks stores and other retailers." It goes on to quote Ken Lombard, president of Starbucks Entertainment who said, "We're not setting this up so that Starbucks stores would have any advantage over other retailers." This negates most of the advantages you've listed above I'm afraid, and turns the new Starbucks venture into just another record label.

I would be inclined to say, then, that Starbucks would do well to look at things from the perspective that you've just taken, except.... Well, there's something that bugged me from the start about this whole deal, but I couldn't put my finger on what my problems/concerns were until I read your addendum to my original post:

If, in fact, Starbucks was planning to distribute their label's music exclusively in Starbucks stores (which they aren't), why would any artist want to be on a label that would only sell their records at a Starbucks? The draw of the atmosphere and the loads of potential impulse buys would be great for the Starbucks company, but what artist would want their music delineated to an 'impulse buy?' Would 50-Cent have ever gone multi-platinum if his only venue was next to the register at Starbucks?

Not to mention the fact that the "luxury item," which is the coffee, that is drawing people in is substantially cheaper than a CD (which is the impulse item). Isn't the impulse item usually cheaper than what the customer originally came in to buy? I can understand if you're at a record store and go, "Hey, I was going to spend $15 on a CD, I don't mind dropping another $1 or $2 for this little peace-sign key chain with a skull in the middle." But, if you're at a coffee shop and are only there to spend maybe 3 or 4 bucks, you're not going to very nonchalantly decide to spend 3 to 5 times more (plus the price of the coffee) at the register than what you came in prepared to spend in the first place. And, that's if you only buy one CD. If, for example, you buy 2, you're already spending in the neighborhood of 10 times more than if you'd just bought your cup of coffee.

Plus, I can't see people lining up outside a coffee-shop to buy the new Norah Jones CD. But if they did, Starbucks (and people who like to go there for the coffee/atmosphere) would have a problem on their hands because Starbucks would have to totally rearrange all their stores to make room for the CDs and the CD shoppers, and Starbucks as we know it would become a retail store... bye bye atmosphere. And if, perhaps, you're thinking that it could turn into something as cool as the Starbucks/Barnes & Noble combo, think again. Why? Because at Barnes & Noble you can snatch up a copy of "Naked Lunch" and sit there reading it (for free) over an espresso.... Everybody wins. In contrast, I can walk into my local Starbucks right now, pick up the "John Lennon's Greatest Hits" CD from beside the register, sit down with it and my cup of coffee, but then what? All you can do with a CD (until you get it home, that is) is sit there and hold it, and what's the allure of that? It doesn't add to the experience at all.

Ok, so it seems that if we do write a book on the subject, this might be an entire chapter by itself! I realize I've been a bit long-winded here, but I'm excited by the discourse, to be honest. Holla back and let me know what you think- we've never done this kind of posting before, and I'm interested to see if it takes us anywhere weird.

P.S. After re-reading what you wrote above, I realize that we've both been really hurling rocks at what you termed "the plastic disc manufacturing and distribution cartels" recently. Rock on.

-Myku

Behold, the Declining Empire

If you haven't heard the hoopla regarding the newest bit of battling over musical content on the internet, check THIS out.

I am more or less outraged by the RIAA's push to suck internet radio stations dry by imposing ghastly royalty rates on them, but this post is not entirely about that; it is about the fact that I feel that this a pristine example, an uncomplicated omen, another point of light in a constellation spelling ultimate doom for the record industry as it has existed and been known to us in our lifetimes. There is a new direction on the horizon; a cultural revolution involving artists, society, and the corporations that have traditionally linked the two.

What, then, will the new direction be? I will not (and can not) offer speculation- I can only say that it's an exciting time. It is my hope that artists continue to push the envelop, inventing new means of circumventing the powers that be in order to see a more direct flow of revenue straight from the hands of the listeners into the pockets of the creators- middleman be damned. We need to realize as a society of music listeners and music makers that we exist at a point in time that is unique in the fact that we no longer need record companies to act as brokers in what could be an extremely beneficial relationship between artist and public; so, why don't we start dealing directly with the artists whose work we love instead of with the record companies and groups like the RIAA whose work is becoming an increasing intrusion, as well as an assault, on our personal sensibilities and listening liberties? We don't need anyone telling us what music we should or should not be listening to, what we should or should not be buying, and overtly attempting to corral us all into some sort of top-40 vacuum that profits only a few to the detriment of music as a whole.

I believe the problem, however, is that too much of what would be called the 'opposition' to the aforementioned Goliaths is comprised of a largely disjointed populace, yet without singular vision, not united and, therefore, still without the power to invoke necessary change. The internet, for sure, is full of independent music, but a large chunk of it is made by people like me. So? What's the problem? I think a lot of artists like myself are just looking to put their music out there and get heard. We've been making music for years at home, with friends, in private, and at drunken parties; we've been lucky to scrape together enough dough to dip into a studio and cut a demo of blandly produced snippets of our 'best stuff,' or to have a friend with a four-track we could use to record a few extremely questionable, quality challenged opuses that would largely be considered unlistenable to most people. We are the huddled masses finally breathing free via the conduit of affordable home-recording software and the ease of making digital media available on the web, the everyman (and woman) who once stood mute behind an invisible podium now handed an open-ended ticket for a center-spotlight performance and top billing at an online 'open-mic night' that at any given moment might play to one solitary listener or to an audience of thousands. Because we are basically 'weekend warriors' and so have minimal expectations and no power or pull within the 'industry,' the question of the future of music only lies with us as much as we can become united under one flag.

Likewise, a great deal of the responsibility for change rests on the shoulders of professional artists. It is for those intent on making a living in this crazy business to forge new means of contenting all of us who have been so accustomed to the ease of getting new music online (often, ahem, for free) while somehow simultaneously turning a profit. I am not trying to pass the buck here, either. I believe this is a natural progression that will inevitably be felt out anyway as artists seek to rectify the gross inconsistencies plaguing their profession of choice and attempt to take advantage of a changing marketplace that will not continue to play by the archaic rules of an obsolete game. How this will come about is not clear. Maybe it could be from artists using the internet for self-promotion (MySpacers do it all the time) and making the actual scratch from live shows and merchandising. Perhaps, the biggest hit and the scariest prospect to artists who decide to cut out the middle-man 'play ball' with internet users is not the lack of revenue from CD sales (since most of that goes to the record companies anyway), but it's the absence of that old cliche of getting 'discovered' and being offered a 'big record deal' and a gargantuan fistful of cash.

However, as times change, more and more brave souls will just wing it and work the system as best they can. Plus, a new generation of artists are emerging who have known little other than the market that now exists and will no doubt bring about innovations in the way that music is thought of and handled, innovations that for now are just barely beyond visibility out there on the horizon. I, for one, am hanging on the edge of my seat waiting to see who comes out and turns the industry (and the world) on its ear.

Bye bye, Evil Empire. It's only a matter of time.

Seuss Via Zimmerman!?!

God bless the internet for giving us all a voice and a venue.

I just stumbled upon something and had to share. It's a fun spoof album featuring a Bob Dylan impersonator singing entire Dr. Seuss books! If you're looking for something a bit different, spread your little wings over HERE and check out "Dylan Hears a Who!". It's a nice effort and all the tracks (as well as album art) are available free for download. Sweet.