So, in preparation for what I (and others?) can only pray will be the utter failure of commerical music as we know it; I just want to throw out some bands. I love the hell out of 'em; some are new, some are old; but they're all designed to, I don't know...NOT BLOW DONKEYS!

(JJ Grey) and Mofro: Imagine a band; musically inspired by southern rock, the blues, and their own southern jazz roots. Take that band and give it a lyricist who channels James Brown, Ray Charles, and the blackwater region of Florida where he was raised in a way that makes you wish you were from there. Their most recent CD just came out, their sophmore release still goes for over $35, and their first was listed on Amazon as one of the best CD's out there. When I was looking for their sophmore disc a month ago, it was going for well over $75. Limited edition - apparently there are just...more copies now (ahem). If someone can get me a copy of Lochloosa for free, I'll gladly trade my posting priviledges at this illustrious website. For most of you, this would be tallied in the 'plus' column.

Jamie Lidell - If Timbaland, Jack Johnson, and modern funk had a love child; it would be Jamie Lidell. His 'Multiply' disc has it all: bluesy tunes, rappy tunes, neo-funk. Now we know where Justin Timberlake bit his entire music career from. Top secret info? I love listening to music that sounds like it comes form someone, or some time, that you don't expect it to. Like, for instance, this CD. I mean, isn't that what makes music so wonderful?

The standards: Never forget that your old music still stands up: Sublime, Goldfinger, Green Day, Live, Nirvana, ('scuse me if my chronology gets whacked here), Clapton, Creedence, the Stones (the old ones, not the touring ones), Zep, Hendrix, McCartney&Lennon, Ray Charles, Ellington&Parker, and from here the music becomes so intrinsic that the actual artists disappear. You know those songs: The Girl From Ipanema, etc. Those songs that existed only in the moment that you saw them performed, because after that, they were never performed the same.

God rest music.

Posted by: shank at 01:13 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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HereÂ’s another bonehead move from the wonderful people who have brought good music to a grinding halt by signing and encouraging the shitiest of artists over the last fifteen years.

These idiots are the ones responsible for the demise of the music industry. CD sales are down, I donÂ’t remember the number exactly, but A LOT this year. For about the fifth year in a row. For a good reason, of course; the music being out sucks. And when I say sucks, I mean like a Vegas hooker in the penthouse suite at the Wynn.

And now this.

I donÂ’t think IÂ’ve ever laughed so hard. I guess if you canÂ’t sell music, you may as well litigate for it.

The crux of the matter is that bars and restaurants are supposed to pay for music that is played in the establishment. I know from experience that most places subscribe to one or more music subscription thingies that cover this or are supposed to. However, The good folks in the music industry are now suing the shit out of everybody.

“ASCAP says that besides broadcasting songs over the radio, television and Internet, the definition of performing copyrighted music includes playing it "any place where people gather," with the exception of small private groups.
For restaurants, that includes playing songs as background music, by a DJ and even music-on-hold over phone lines, according to ASCAP's Web site.

"As long as it's [played] outside a direct circle of friends and family, it is considered a public performance," Candilora said. "A musical composition is somebody's property."

Basically, what they are saying is that if you hire a band to play at your bar, and that band plays a cover song, they want their $.08 or whatever it is nowadays. See, back in the dinosaur days when I was young, the industry wanted everybody playing these songs in bars. They wanted cover bands because they got songs out there and then people who liked them often bought the album. But those days are over folks. ItÂ’s easier to sue people, since no oneÂ’s buying the shit on the shelves these days anyway.

“ASCAP alleged that a DJ at Ibiza played three copyrighted pop songs without paying a licensing fee, which Candilora calculated would have cost Ibiza $979 a year, considering the size of the venue and the type of performance.

"I think it's absurd," said Eshagi. "Not only DJs have bought that music, I also subscribe to an online music-use service, and I'm also paying the cable company for the same thing. I don't know how many times we have to pay for a song."”

The answer is, you shall pay until blood runs from your ears! Or until the industry starts putting out some decent shit and sales pick up. DonÂ’t hold your breath.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 06:36 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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