tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53070869013241016182024-03-14T02:03:25.583-05:00Marc Hoganwriter, critic, reporter, editorUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1005125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5307086901324101618.post-69383001901068893702014-08-23T12:22:00.003-05:002014-08-23T12:22:56.872-05:00<br />
Thank you for visiting. A more updated site with my recent articles is here:<br />
<a href="http://marchogan.flavors.me/">marchogan.flavors.me</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5307086901324101618.post-53446402216012399782014-08-22T12:50:00.000-05:002014-12-22T12:55:58.201-06:00Show 470: The Turtles vs. SiriusXM<b>Audio/Interview</b><br />
<b>Sound Opinions</b><br />
<a href="http://www.soundopinions.org/show/470"><b>Link</b></a><br />
<b>November 28, 2014</b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5307086901324101618.post-70220632342719783042012-12-22T12:54:00.000-06:002014-12-22T12:55:38.886-06:00Rolling Stones: Still making money after 50 years<b>Audio / Interview</b><br />
<b>BBC World Service</b><br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/business-20499742"><b>Link</b></a><br />
<b>November 28, 2012</b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5307086901324101618.post-68551184976503523582012-03-12T16:15:00.001-05:002012-03-12T16:21:20.692-05:00Programming NoteA busy workload and being a new father have taken a rather obvious toll on posting here in the past few months. There's so much more work to put up, and so much else I'd rather do away from work, that it's becoming increasingly tough to justify spending time on what amounts to a vanity data-entry project.<br />
<br />
Please know that yes, I am still writing, and most of my new work can be found either linked in the right-hand column of my similarly stalled <a href="http://www.desnoise.com/">Des Noise blog</a> or else, to subscribers, over at <a href="http://agendaweek.com/">Agenda</a>, a Financial Times service. Or follow my daily SPIN blog posts <a href="http://www.spin.com/writers/marc-hogan">here</a>. (If you're into Twitter, my music writing can usually be found <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/desnoise">there</a>, too.)<br />
<br />
I hope to revive this archive at some indeterminate date, if only because the last time I failed to copy and paste my work, back when I was writing for Pitchfork's old Forkcast blog, the content mostly vanished from the Web following a site redesign. "Self-curate or disappear," right? But I wouldn't hold my breath. Actually, I think I might go get some fresh air...<br />
<br />
Thanks for reading,<br />
MarcUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5307086901324101618.post-65868927047243580572011-12-01T14:52:00.000-06:002011-12-01T14:52:51.914-06:0050 Cent Posts New Track, Boasts, Types 'LOL'<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>News Article</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>SPIN.com</b><br />
<b>November 29, 2011</b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/50-cent-posts-new-track-boasts-types-lol" style="color: #5588aa; text-decoration: none;">Link</a></b></span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br />
</span></div>It's been a second since rapper 50 Cent actually, you know, rapped. The <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1265067/filmoyear" target="_new">actor</a>, <a href="http://shelf-life.ew.com/2011/10/03/50-cent-playground-exclusive-excerpt/" target="_new">author</a>, and G-Unit leader picks up where he left off on "Stop Crying," the first track to surface from his upcoming <i>Big 10</i> mixtape (via <a href="http://illroots.com/2011/11/29/50-cent-stop-crying/" target="_new">Illroots</a>). And that's OK.<br />
<br />
Fiddy's last album, 2009's <i><a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/sonic-youths-musical-love-story" target="blank">Before I Self Destruct</a></i>, saw him teaming up with then-hot collaborators. While the eerily squiggling synth-rap production here isn't as obviously <i>au courant</i>, it's a logical progression — no more, no less. Fiddy's guttural, menacing boasts, meanwhile, are pretty typical gangsta-rap mixtape fodder. Curtis wisely keeps them out of the way, so you can chant along as he warns us to "get it through your bloodclot head" and not get too distracted each time he lazily rhymes "crying" with "dying" ("no lying"!).<br />
<br />
Just in time for the 10-year anniversary of 50 Cent's still-great 2002 mixtape, <i>50 Cent Is the Future</i>, the new <i>Big 10</i> mixtape "is gonna be crazy better then most albums this year," he <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/50cent/status/141044474162851840" target="_new">tweeted</a> (via <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2011/11/50-cent-rapper-again.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nymag%2Fvulture+%28Vulture+-+nymag.com%27s+Entertainment+and+Culture+Blog%29" target="_new">Vulture</a>), adding, "trust me lol."<br />
<br />
<div class="spinconnect_replace"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="399" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/aXm5qwprjbk?feature=player_embedded" width="600"></iframe></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5307086901324101618.post-60855207260060471302011-12-01T14:50:00.000-06:002011-12-01T14:50:49.892-06:00Sonic Youth's Future Still Unclear<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>News Article</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>SPIN.com</b><br />
<b>November 29, 2011</b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/sonic-youths-future-still-unclear" style="color: #5588aa; text-decoration: none;">Link</a></b></span><br />
<br />
The outlook for Sonic Youth's future is no brighter following a fascinating <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/lee-ranaldo-on-the-future-of-sonic-youth-20111128" target="_new">Rolling Stone</a> interview with guitarist Lee Ranaldo. "I'm feeling optimistic about the future no matter what happens at this point," Ranaldo said. Unfortunately, the question was about "the future of the band" — a phrase Ranaldo drops from his answer, which could be telling or could just be a coincidence, but either way doesn't sound entirely optimistic. Especially not for anyone still hoping for a follow-up to 2009's <i>The Eternal</i>, or at least more SY live shows.<br />
<br />
Ranaldo went on to say, "I mean, every band runs its course. We've been together way longer than any of us ever imagined would happen and it's been for the most part an incredibly pleasurable ride. There's still a lot of stuff we're going to continue to do. There's tons and tons of archival projects and things like that that are still going on, so there are so many ways in which we are tied to each other for the future both musically and in other ways. I'm just happy right now to let the future take its course and I guess I'm kind of thankful that I've got this other project that kind of came about on its own."<br />
<br />
That "other project" is Ranaldo's first proper solo album, <i>Between the Times and the Tides</i> due on March 20, 2012, via Matador. "Over the last couple years Sonic Youth has slowed down markedly, just because we've all been working on our own projects," Ranaldo told Rolling Stone, "and I guess I was just starting to feel a little bit antsy or something." As <a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/kim-gordon-and-thurston-moore-announce-split" target="blank">previously reported</a>, Sonic Youth's lead couple Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon are going their separate ways after 21 years of marriage; Moore released his third solo album, the Beck-produced <i><a href="http://www.spin.com/reviews/thurston-moore-demolished-thoughts-matador">Demolished Thoughts</a></i>, earlier this year.<br />
<br />
Look at Moore and Gordon's relationship in pictures <a href="http://www.spin.com/gallery/kim-gordon-and-thurston-moores-evol-ution" target="blank">here</a>, and check out SPIN's examination of their relationship in song <a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/sonic-youths-musical-love-story" target="blank">here</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5307086901324101618.post-26567702647909248112011-12-01T14:49:00.000-06:002011-12-01T14:49:30.122-06:00The Killers Go Country, Kind Of, for Holiday Single<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>News Article</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>SPIN.com</b><br />
<b>November 29, 2011</b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/killers-go-country-kind-holiday-single" style="color: #5588aa; text-decoration: none;">Link</a></b></span><br />
<br />
What do you give the band that's done everything, at least when it comes to annual holiday singles? Cowboy hats, of course! Every year around this time, Las Vegas pomp-rockers the Killers release a new single benefiting AIDS-fighting charity RED. And every year, they come up with something suitably grandiose: 2008's <a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/listen-killers-and-elton-johns-new-song" target="blank">collaboration</a> with Elton John <i>and</i> Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant, 2009's Spanish-flavored <a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/listen-killers-release-christmas-song" target="blank">team-up with Wild Light and Mariachi El Bronx</a>, or last year's <i>It's a Wonderful Life</i>-themed <a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/watch-killers-christmas-video" target="blank">video</a> directed by <i>Napoleon Dynamite</i>'s Jared Hess, to name a few examples.<br />
<br />
This year, the Killers have gone country-western — relatively speaking, anyway. They've reunited for a new holiday single that fan communities are alternately calling "Cowboy Christmas" or "The Cowboy's Christmas Ball," with a digital release apparently due on Thursday, according to the blog <a href="http://www.arjanwrites.com/arjanwrites/2011/11/news-the-killers-return-to-release-holiday-single-to-benefit-charity-and-scene-of-new-video.html">Arjan Writes</a>. Hear an unofficial stream <a href="http://burningbelief.tumblr.com/post/13497989911/new-xmas-single-the-cowboys-christmas-ball-from" target="_new">here</a>, via <a href="http://theaudioperv.com/2011/11/29/the-killers-new-christmas-single-the-cowboys-christmas-ball/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-killers-new-christmas-single-the-cowboys-christmas-ball">the Audio Perv</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
The Killers' latest effort is a whimsically upbeat, shuffling tune, with plenty of local color (the Truckee River, Carson City, bighorns "a-grazin' "), and enough of a country tinge to have more than a few fans of even the Killers' synthier material itching to don their cowboy boots. Lots of chiming, holiday-friendly instrumentation, too. A drinking song? "Woo!" cries frontman Brandon Flowers, like an old ranch hand, or just a Wild West pop star having a ton of fun. Think of it as <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrAwK9juhhY" target="_new">"Fairytale of Old Nevada,"</a> perhaps. Fa la-la-la-la, and a do-si-do.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5307086901324101618.post-47303431908418466622011-11-29T15:49:00.000-06:002011-11-29T15:49:48.706-06:00Watch She & Him, Das Racist, and Jimmy Cliff Hit Late-Night TV<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>News Article</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>SPIN.com</b><br />
<b>November 29, 2011</b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/watch-she-him-das-racist-and-jimmy-cliff-hit-late-night-tv" style="color: #5588aa; text-decoration: none;">Link</a></b></span><br />
<br />
'Twas the season on late-night TV last night, though given that it isn't even December yet, exactly <i>which</i> season isn't entirely clear.<br />
<br />
On <i>The Tonight Show With Jay Leno</i>, the indie-folk duo She & Him — whose quaintly dulcet music really needs to stop being used to smear the word <a href="http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/6176-twee-as-fuck/" target="_new">twee</a> by association — sang a song from new holiday album <i><a href="http://www.spin.com/reviews/she-him-very-she-him-christmas-merge" target="blank">A Very She & Him Christmas</a></i>. Both recently <a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/zooey-deschanel-and-ben-gibbard-split" target="blank">single</a> actress-singer Zooey Deschanel and finger-picking guitarist M. Ward were decked out as if for a holiday party, against a very yuletide-appropriate backdrop of Christmas trees and stockings hung by the chimney with care. Their delicate rendition of "The Christmas Waltz" (y'know, the one about "this song of mine, in three-quarter time") won't erase the most famous version, sung by Frank Sinatra. But you already know whether or not you'll want to spin it at your own seasonal gatherings, don't you? (Via <a href="http://theaudioperv.com/2011/11/29/she-him-the-christmas-waltz-1128-leno/" target="blank">the Audio Perv</a>.)<br />
<br />
<div class="spinconnect_replace"><embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="399" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid1089.photobucket.com/albums/i359/dg11469/November%2028%202011%20-%20December%203%202011/sheandhimleno.mp4" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="600" wmode="transparent"></embed></div><br />
When it came to smart-ass New York hip-hop outfit Das Racist's appearance on <i>Conan</i>, you could be forgiven for thinking it was Halloween again. Joined by additional percussionists, a neat upgrade from their DJ-backed touring sets, the guys performed <i><a href="http://www.spin.com/reviews/das-racist-relax-greedhead-music" target="blank">Relax</a></i> video selection <a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/das-racist-drop-clever-michael-jackson-clip" target="blank">"Michael Jackson"</a>. Though sadly forced to censor the song's signature "I'm fucking great at rapping" boast, DR pulled out plenty of stops in their TV debut: a ridiculous wig, a Nirvana T-shirt, and, of course, a revivified Michael Jackson. Consider the whole thing a late-November treat. Or trick? No, just tricking you guys, it was actually a treat. (<a href="https://twitter.com/#!/dasracist/status/140939820603150337" target="_new">Tweeted</a> the group: "<a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/das-racist-cover-story-these-colors-dont-run?page=0%2C0">Cover of Spin</a>. Conan OBrien tomorrow. No manager. No label. Third World Family. Greedhead Music. OTK. FSS. #QUEENS.")<br />
<br />
<div class="spinconnect_replace"><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" height="399" id="ep" width="600"><param name='allowfullscreen' value='true' /><param name='allowscriptaccess' value='always' /><param name='movie' value='http://i.cdn.turner.com/v5cache/TBS/cvp/teamcoco_drupal_embed.swf?context=teamcoco_embed_offsite&videoId=20685' /><param name='bgcolor' 'value='#000000' /><embed src='http://i.cdn.turner.com/v5cache/TBS/cvp/teamcoco_drupal_embed.swf?context=teamcoco_embed_offsite&videoId=20685' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' bgcolor='#000000' allowfullscreen='true' allowscriptaccess='always' width='600' height='399'></embed></object></div><br />
Meanwhile, over on <i>Late Night With Jimmy Fallon</i>, TV watchers might've found themselves thinking of warmer times, or at least warmer climes. Reggae icon Jimmy Cliff was on hand, giving a stirring rendition of his classic "The Harder They Come," backed by recent <a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/roots-welcome-michele-bachmann-fallon-lyin-ass-bitch" target="blank">controversy-generators</a> the Roots. With a backwards baseball cap and unbelievable silver jacket, Cliff still looked — and sounded — like a true <a href="http://www.spin.com/gallery/25-must-hear-artists-lollapalooza?page=9" target="blank">Hall of Famer</a>. He also sang inequality-themed jam "World Upside Down," as a Web exclusive — hey, <a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/who-loves-weed-more-miley-cyrus-or-danny-brown" target="blank">Miley Cyrus</a>, maybe you'll be feeling this one?<br />
<br />
<div class="spinconnect_replace"><iframe frameborder="0" height="399" id="NBC Video Widget" src="http://www.nbc.com/assets/video/widget/widget.html?vid=1370848" width="600"></iframe><br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="399" id="NBC Video Widget" src="http://www.nbc.com/assets/video/widget/widget.html?vid=1370839" width="600"></iframe></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5307086901324101618.post-53649132312390896782011-11-28T14:19:00.002-06:002011-11-28T14:19:39.034-06:00Herman Cain's Board Service Emerges as Campaign Issue<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>News Analysis</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>Agenda</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>November 28, 2011</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b><a href="http://agendaweek.com/c/279971/33001/herman_cain_board_service_emerges_campaign_issue?referrer_module=issueHeadline&module_order=3" style="color: #5588aa; text-decoration: none;">Link</a> (subscription required)</b></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5307086901324101618.post-52171343657342729452011-11-28T14:18:00.003-06:002011-11-28T14:18:57.761-06:00Nabors Industries Sued Over $100M Termination Payment<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>News Analysis</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>Agenda</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>November 28, 2011</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b><a href="http://agendaweek.com/c/279981/33001/nabors_industries_sued_over_termination_payment?referrer_module=issueHeadline&module_order=5" style="color: #5588aa; text-decoration: none;">Link</a> (subscription required)</b></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5307086901324101618.post-21093637440293878162011-11-28T14:18:00.000-06:002011-11-28T14:18:23.865-06:00Hewlett-Packard Appoints Activist Whitworth to Board<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>News Analysis</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>Agenda</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>November 28, 2011</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b><a href="http://agendaweek.com/c/279991/33001/hewlett_packard_appoints_activist_whitworth_board?referrer_module=issueHeadline&module_order=6" style="color: #5588aa; text-decoration: none;">Link</a> (subscription required)</b></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5307086901324101618.post-36489057777629130552011-11-28T14:17:00.000-06:002011-11-28T14:17:43.435-06:00James Murdoch Leaves a Board; Randy Michaels Recoups on Resignation<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>News Analysis</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>Agenda</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>November 28, 2011</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b><a href="http://agendaweek.com/c/280001/33001/james_murdoch_leaves_board_randy_michaels_recoups_resignation?referrer_module=issueHeadline&module_order=7" style="color: #5588aa; text-decoration: none;">Link</a> (subscription required)</b></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5307086901324101618.post-89272672492400282572011-11-28T13:51:00.005-06:002011-11-28T13:56:41.235-06:00In an iTunes age, do we need the record store?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>Feature</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
<b>Salon</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>November 20, 2011</b><b><br />
<a href="http://www.salon.com/2011/11/20/in_an_itunes_age_do_we_need_the_record_store/singleton/" style="color: #5588aa; text-decoration: none;">Link</a></b></span><br />
<br />
<img alt="Salon Home" border="0" src="http://www.salon.com/content/themes/salon/images/ui/ID_salon.gif" /><br />
<br />
On Wednesday night, hundreds of people passed through the doors of Other Music, one of New York City’s last remaining record stores. Yes, there was free booze. But the young, plugged-in crowd came to celebrate, not necessarily to buy. “The World’s First Perfect Zine,” a new print publication from the author of a well-known blog devoted to reviews of album reviews, was holding a release party. Along with a contribution by the novelist Tao Lin, the zine includes writing by members of the groups Vampire Weekend, Das Racist and jj, among others.<br />
<br />
In what could be an intriguing — or depressing — glimpse into the future of record stores, all those extra bodies in the room didn’t necessarily translate into extra business. “There was a remarkably low number of kids who came in there and said, ‘I haven’t seen this, I’ll pick it up,’” observed Other Music co-owner Josh Madell, a day after the event. The zine’s editor, pseudonymous <a href="http://www.pitchforkreviewsreviews.com/">Pitchfork Reviews Reviews</a> blogger David Shapiro, didn’t dispute the point. “Part of the reason was that the store was so packed that browsing for CDs and records wasn’t really physically possible,” he explained, in an email response to questions. “But beyond that, of course, people don’t really buy records that much anymore — especially people in a small, hyper-Internet-savvy subset of young New Yorkers<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">.”</span><br />
<br />
The episode neatly illustrates a fundamental paradox facing record store owners in 2011. Many music fans romanticize the record store as a source of both hard-to-find culture and local community. “It was a library and a clubhouse,” as director Cameron Crowe, one of the ultimate nostalgists, told the authors of the 2009 book “Record Store Days.” At the same time, however, record stores are just that — stores — and ever-fewer consumers are choosing to buy the little pieces of plastic they sell. For record stores overall, then, the outlook appears bleak. “As an institution, it had its function,” said Alexander Weheliye, a professor of English and African-American studies at Northwestern University. But the survivors aren’t going away. They’re simply changing their tune, becoming smaller and more focused. Time will tell whether that’s enough — for some, continued existence may require a whole new arrangement.<br />
<br />
“A record store nowadays can’t just sell records. That’s the first step to failure,” said Ben Blackwell, a longtime record collector who handles manufacture and distribution of vinyl at Jack White’s label, Third Man Records. “Record stores need to put on events. They need to host live shows. They need to do listening parties. You have to have an active way with which to communicate to your buyers. You need a mailing list, you need a Twitter account, you need Facebook pages. All this stuff that wasn’t around 10 years ago when record stores were seemingly doing fine is what you need to employ to stay in the race.” But what happens when, like at Other Music, even cool events aren’t enough?<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Of course, the demise of the American record store is a sad song that has become all too familiar. O.G. stalwart Tower Records closed in 2006, follow by another big chain, Virgin Megastore, in 2009. Over the past eight years, at least 3,700 stores that sell recorded music have shut their doors, leaving about 12,400 across the country, according to market research firm Almighty Music Marketing — and that number includes big-box retailers like Wal-Mart and Target. In the first half of this year, even as overall album sales rose for the first time since 2004, physical album sales continued to decline, a recent Nielsen SoundScan report shows. The music industry’s collapse, the rise of illegal file-sharing along with legal digital downloads, and the ongoing economic slowdown have each played their part.<br />
<br />
The digital space, in particular, is one where brick-and-mortar stores probably don’t stand much of a chance. New services such as Google Music and Spotify keep springing up all the time, adding to the competition from old foes like Amazon’s MP3 — which often sells new albums for as little as $3.99 — and Apple’s iTunes. Mega-selling artists such as Lady Gaga, Kanye West and Jay-Z are striking exclusive deals with digital stores like Amazon and iTunes, leaving physical retailers out in the cold. While Other Music, for one, sells digital downloads, results elsewhere aren’t encouraging: The Coalition of Independent Music Stores, a 29-member consortium representing 59 U.S. locations, recently shut down its Think Indie digital store after less than two years, <a href="http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2011/01/cims-shares-why-the-closed-thinkindie-music-download-store.html">citing lack of business</a>.<br />
<br />
Still, all isn’t lost. Independent record store closures have been on the decline since 2008, according to Almighty. Amoeba Records, a three-location California independent record store chain that celebrated its 20th anniversary about a year ago, was founded as a “comprehensive, one-stop music destination for everybody,” co-owner <a href="http://www.amoeba.com/blog/2010/11/amoeba-music/celebrate-amoeba-s-20th-anniversary-part-2-interview-with-co-owner-marc-weinstein.html">Marc Weinstein has said</a>. But that’s an exception. More often, today’s best record stores are carefully curated, niche-oriented establishments, selling new and used vinyl to a specialized market — which tends to be found in critical mass near large cities or universities.<br />
<div><br />
One example is Grimey’s, an independent record store in Nashville, Tenn. Since opening in 1999, the Music City retailer has seen its sales rise every year except 2008, co-owner Doyle Davis says. Grimey’s offers a carefully selected inventory of records in a town known for supporting music, and it makes an effort to be involved in the community. In-store performances at Grimey’s have ranged from recent breakthrough bands like Phoenix and the Black Keys to heavy rock superstars Metallica. The store also does ticket giveaways and donates gift certificates to local causes. What it doesn’t do is sell much other than music, Doyle says, calling the store “fairly purist.”<br />
<br />
The much-heralded resurgence of interest in vinyl records has been a boon to independent record stores, including Grimey’s. Vinyl album sales rose 41 percent in the first six months of 2011 alone, after increasing 14.2 percent throughout 2010, according to Nielsen SoundScan data. Vince Sluzarz, owner of the Cleveland vinyl-pressing plant Gotta Groove Records, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/magazine/you-are-here-building-a-house-of-wax-in-cleveland.html?_r=3">recently told</a> the New York Times Magazine that SoundScan figures only account for roughly 15 percent of vinyl sales; when you factor in the many small-scale releases distributed without a bar code, though, it’s unclear how to verify such claims.<br />
<br />
Record Store Day, an event founded in 2007 and now taking place at more than 700 independent record stores across the country, certainly hasn’t hurt, drawing customers in with exclusive, limited-edition vinyl releases. Stores celebrate Record Store Day on the third Saturday in April, but this year organizers are holding an additional event on the day after Thanksgiving — Black Friday — with another set of exclusive titles. “A lot of people look at it as a traffic driver,” Doyle says of Record Store Day. “I look at it as a way to increase sales. We had our best day ever this past Record Store Day, by 72 percent over the previous best day we’d ever had. And people camped out!”<br />
<br />
So against all odds, is there reason for optimism? Hopeful music lovers do keep opening stores. Excluding mass merchants like Wal-Mart and Target, the number of record store openings has increased each of the past three years, including 62 new independent record stores so far this year, according to Almighty. After Louisville, Ky., indie ear X-tacy closed this fall, Matador Records — the label that’s home to Pavement, Yo La Tengo and the New Pornographers — pointed out in a blog post that the death of the record store has been exaggerated, and used Steady Sounds, in Richmond, Va.; Cyklopx, in Forest Park, Ill.; All Day Records, in Carrboro, N.C.; Co Op 87, in Brooklyn, N.Y.; and Saki, in Chicago as examples.<br />
<br />
Some existing stores are actually expanding. In Austin, Texas, End of an Ear recently added an 180-square-foot space next-door, co-owner Dan Plunkett said. In Oklahoma City, Guestroom Records is in the midst of opening a third store, located on the ground floor of a music school. In an email, co-owners Travis Searle and Justin Sowers pointed to their independently released offerings: “You’re not going to find many Best Buys that have big Tune-Yards, Dum Dum Girls or Oh Sees displays,” they wrote. Chicago’s Permanent Records recently opened up a second location in Los Angeles.<br />
<br />
Permanent moved to the West Coast because co-owners Lance Barresi and Liz Tooley wanted warmer weather, Barresi said. Another believer in curated, smaller-scale stores, he warned that the snobbish attitude immortalized in the movie “High Fidelity” no longer cuts it. But he also acknowledged that owning a record store isn’t exactly a get-rich-quick scheme. “You’re hand-selling unique items to a unique set of people, and that’s the beauty of it,” he explained. “And you’re working for yourself. That’s the extent of the benefits. I don’t have health insurance. I am not high on the income total.”<br />
<br />
What’s more, nobody can say for sure how long vinyl sales will continue to increase. And they still represent only a tiny fraction of the overall music market — 1.2 percent of physical album sales last year, according to SoundScan. Athens, Ga., music store Wuxtry, where Michael Stipe famously met his now-former R.E.M. bandmate Peter Buck, has survived — even though another local store, Schoolkids, recently closed. Two new record shops, however, quickly sprung up in its place. Mike Turner, a Wuxtry store manager, said the trick for a record store to survive is knowing its community, noting that sales in recent years keep looking up. But he also raised an interesting question: What if college kids stop thinking it’s cool to buy vinyl — or “vinyls,” as they often put it? “That’s the one scary thing, because vinyl is such a huge help in keeping stores going,” Turner observed.<br />
<br />
Whatever happens with vinyl sales in the long term, record stores can probably safely bet on the cult of diehard record collectors for whom an album is a fetish object as much as a source of music. Indie labels, in fact, are already targeting this audience with various deluxe vinyl editions. As <a href="http://jagjaguwar.com/onesheet.php?cat=JAG185deluxe">one example</a>, the band Okkervil River made its 2011 album “I Am Very Far” as a special box set, encased in wood and accompanied by an individually signed letter from singer-songwriter Will Sheff. “In the age of everybody aiming their music down to the lowest common denominator, record stores can serve as a beacon of audiophilia, and a beacon of beautiful artwork,” Sheff said on the phone from Paris, where Okkervil River recently played a gig. “People who care about music are willing to pay more.”<br />
<br />
To be sure, not all record stores that have closed in recent years have done so because they couldn’t afford to stay open. In some cases, store owners just looked at whether or not to renew their lease and decided it was time. That said, the abrupt closure late last month of Louisville, Ky., institution ear X-tacy comes as a bad omen. Honored as one of the best independent record stores across the country by Rolling Stone, SPIN and GQ, owner John Timmons’ store appeared to be doing so many things right, offering plenty of in-stores and a vast vinyl selection in a city that prides itself on being local and weird. The ear X-tacy closing took place just as Criminal Records in Atlanta — another top-15 store nationally — said it might also be forced to close.<br />
<br />
Singer-songwriter Jim James of the Louisville band My Morning Jacket, a former clerk at ear X-tacy, posted an eloquent eulogy for the store on his group’s site. More recently, in an email interview, he expressed hope for a new, more community-based store that might sell coffee, jeans, an old stereo or a vintage guitar as well as vinyl — stores that create a need for people to come out and visit them. “The mp3 has done a fantastic job of killing the traditional idea of what a record store used to be … ” he said, with his capitalization and punctuation intact. “but as the cliche goes, and when you think about this subject in broader terms, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger … and i think in a bigger sense we are going to see a new generation of locally based stores and communities pop up in the real world that are stronger and better than ever. it’s just going to take some time.”<br />
<br />
James might have been thinking of a store in nearby Lexington, Ky., called Pops Resale, which targets a single demographic with multiple categories of products. According to owner Dan “Pop” Schorr, vinyl is the store’s best-selling department and takes up about half of its 600-square-foot space. Its next-seller is vintage clothing, followed by vintage video games and systems; the store also sells old-school audio gear, vintage toys and other items. “I still have a hard time understanding in smaller cities how some record stores that are just record stores continue to do it,” Schorr said. “What we’ve tried to do is find niches that nobody else bothers with.”<br />
<br />
Plenty of record stores carry audio equipment, but according to singer-songwriter John Vanderslice, they could be selling more. There are certainly downsides, ranging from handling returns to dealing with a new set of suppliers, but Vanderslice sees the products as a natural fit, like pipes at a medical marijuana dispensary. “If I were to open a record store, it would be vinyl-only, and it would be paired up with a very cool and working-class-priced audio equipment store, where you’re selling all-in-one devices,” he said. “If <em>I’m</em> intimidated walking into a stereo store, and I own like $700,000 worth of audio equipment, then there’s something wrong with the culture of audio equipment — if it’s paired up with a record, then all of the sudden it’s everyday shit.” Another advantage: The specifics of buying a turntable — determining whether it has the right connections, and so on — makes it one of the few purchases that’s still more easily conducted in person.<br />
<br />
Stores with a strong reputation and the right set of circumstances can expand into still other potential revenue sources. Other Music also does music supervision types of work for various brands or businesses, and the store has generated money and publicity by holding live events at the SXSW music conference in Austin the past several years, according to Madell, the co-owner. Still, while those projects came about as a result of running a record store, doing them doesn’t exactly require paying rent on a record store. “It’s hard to envision a turnaround in the way the industry is going that would be in our favor,” he acknowledged.<br />
<br />
Shapiro, “The World’s First Perfect Zine” editor, aptly summed up the conundrum. “The way I feel about patronizing record stores,” he wrote in an email, “is probably the way everyone feels about things they know they should be doing but don’t actually do enough: heading to Occupy Wall Street after work, doing the pile of dishes in the sink and sparing their roommates, leftists not shopping at liberal-seeming megachains (Urban Outfitters, Whole Foods) whose owners hold beliefs and donate money to politicians that are inimical to leftism. I’m glad there are people who do these things, and if I had the constitution to do what I believed in 100 percent of the time I would buy all of my music at record stores, but alas … ” Unfortunately for record-store enthusiasts, it’s not a perfect world.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5307086901324101618.post-84276156240174384772011-11-28T13:44:00.000-06:002011-11-28T13:44:38.506-06:00Hear Adele's Full 'Live at the Royal Albert Hall'<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>News Article</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>SPIN.com</b><br />
<b>November 28, 2011</b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/hear-adeles-full-live-royal-albert-hall" style="color: #5588aa; text-decoration: none;">Link</a></b></span><br />
<br />
<p>How good was Adele's 2011? So good the British singer-songwriter gets an <a href="http://rapgenius.com/Drake-the-real-her-lyrics#note-434981" target="blank">Andre 3000 shout-out</a> on one of the year's biggest hip-hop releases, Drake's <i><a href="http://www.spin.com/reviews/drake-take-care-young-moneycash-moneyuniversal-republic" target="blank">Take Care</a></i>. On Tuesday, Adele caps off her remarkable run with the release of concert CD/DVD <i><A href="http://www.spin.com/articles/adeles-royal-albert-hall-gig-headed-cddvd" target="blank">Live at the Royal Albert Hall</a></i>. Hear the whole thing below (via <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2011/nov/28/adele-live-albert-hall-stream" target="_new">The Guardian</a>).</p><br />
<p>Adele's sophomore album, <i><a href="http://www.spin.com/reviews/adele-21-xlcolumbia" target="blank">21</a></i>, has been the year's biggest seller by far, with more than 4 million copies snatched up in the United States alone. Throat problems requiring <a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/adele-just-chilling-after-throat-surgery" target="blank">laser surgery</a> on the 23-year-old soul belter's golden vocal cords have sadly prevented U.S. fans from seeing Adele perform her sleeper smash on tour, so this stark, emotion-packed set is the closest most of us will get for a while. Tear-jerking No. 1 single "Someone Like You"? It's here. Brutal blues-pop kiss-off "Rolling in the Deep"? Of course. A cover of Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me"? Pure gravy.</p><br />
<p>OK, sure, the stream below is audio only. But given this strong singer's unadorned, all-about-the-music approach — the contrast between her and the gaudier pop stars at MTV's Video Music Awards this summer could hardly have been starker — we're clearly getting the part she wants us to focus on, anyway. Love hurts:</p><br />
<p><div class="spinconnect_replace"><iframe src="http://widgets.beggarspromo.com/liveatthealberthall/widget.php" style="margin: 0; padding: 0;" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="600" height="399" data-audio-widget-jspf="http://widgets.beggarspromo.com/liveatthealberthall/jspf"></iframe></div></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5307086901324101618.post-435526117969009112011-11-28T13:42:00.000-06:002011-11-28T13:42:23.766-06:00Fugazi Ready Massive Online Live Archive<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>News Article</b></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>SPIN.com</b><br />
<b>November 28, 2011</b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/fugazi-ready-massive-online-live-archive" style="color: #5588aa; text-decoration: none;">Link</a></b></span><br />
<br />
Fugazi's obsessive focus is the stuff of do-it-yourself music legend. Led by Dischord Records founder Ian MacKaye, formerly of hugely influential Washington, D.C., hardcore band Minor Threat, the taut, dub-inflected post-punk outfit kept its admission prices low — and, somewhat more controversially, its crowds safe for those who'd prefer not to mosh — from 1987 until an indefinite hiatus that began at the end of 2002. A similar compulsive drive, it turns out, led the band to amass a cache of its own live shows on a scale more typical of jam bands like the Grateful Dead or Phish.<br />
<br />
On Thursday, Dischord will put online the first batch from a hoard of more than 800 live Fugazi performances the band taped over the years, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/26/arts/music/fugazi-live-series-a-post-punk-bands-archive-of-shows.html?_r=1" target="_new">the New York Times</a> reports, picking up on a story that <a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/punk-icons-fugazi-finalizing-huge-concert-archive" target="blank">was first reported in April</a>. "As with a lot of collections, once we had a couple hundred tapes, we just continued to amass them," MacKaye is quoted as saying about the <a href="http://www.dischord.com/" target="_new">Fugazi Live Series</a>. "Why stop? We'd already gotten this far."<br />
<br />
The same question could be asked of Fugazi, who released their last album together, <i>The Argument</i>, way back in 2001. In a recent interview with the Onion's <a href="http://www.avclub.com/chicago/articles/joe-lally,64410/" target="_new">A.V. Club</a>, Fugazi bass player Joe Lally hinted at a possible reunion, calling the band's swan song "a great record that we should try and top." We wait (and wait and wait)...<br />
<br />
Don't jet without reading Andrew Beaujon's incredible history of Dischord Records from <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=CleCKauyN34C&lpg=PA85&dq=dischord%20spin&pg=PA82#v=onepage&q&f=false" target="blank">SPIN's May 2003 issue</a>, "Out of Step With the World":<br />
<br />
<div class="spinconnect_replace"><iframe frameborder="0" height="600" scrolling="no" src="http://books.google.com/books?id=CleCKauyN34C&lpg=PA85&dq=dischord%20spin&pg=PA82&output=embed" style="border: 0px;" width="600"></iframe></div><br />
<div class="spinconnect_replace"><object style="height: 390px; width: 640px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SGJFWirQ3ks?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SGJFWirQ3ks?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="600" height="399"></embed></object></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5307086901324101618.post-43285628860506058992011-11-28T13:23:00.001-06:002011-11-28T13:42:58.699-06:00Watch Florence Cover Drake, the Weeknd's First Video, and Beyonce's 'Dance for You'<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>News Article</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>SPIN.com</b><br />
<b>November 28, 2011</b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/watch-florence-cover-drake-weeknds-first-video-and-beyonces-dance-you" style="color: #5588aa; text-decoration: none;">Link</a></b></span><br />
<br />
Televised performances by Nickelback, Enrique Iglesias (featuring Pitbull), and Lady Gaga weren't the only offerings over the long Turkey Day weekend. Thanks to the glory of the internet, music listeners could also check out options as varied as Florence and the Machine covering Drake, the first officially official video from the Weeknd, and another fresh clip from Beyoncé. <br />
<br />
"This is pretty exciting, 'cause it's sung by one of my fave — well, two of my favorite art... — well, three, actually," laughed Florence Welch, introducing Florence and the Machine's rendition of the title track from Drake's second LP <i>Take Care</i>. "Three of my absolute favorite artists." Make that four: In addition to vocals by Drake and guest singer Rihanna, the original track also features the xx maestro Jamie xx's remix of "I'll Take Care of You" by (wait for it) Gil Scott Heron. Welch's performance is wonderfully intense, if without quite the wrinkled idiosyncrasies of Drake or the blank mystery of Rihanna. Her backing of strings, piano, and atmospheric guitars neatly approximates the album track's moody grandeur for the BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge setting (via <a href="http://disconaivete.com/post/13297626494" target="_new">Disco Naivete</a>).<br />
<br />
<div class="spinconnect_replace"><object style="height: 390px; width: 640px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/g9GQJgbGZJU?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/g9GQJgbGZJU?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="600" height="399"></embed></object></div><br />
The high-concept sci-fi footage for the Weeknd's "The Knowing," from this year's marvelous <i>House of Balloons</i> mixtape, isn't the first professional-<i>looking</i> video to pop up from the self-consciously shadowy Canadian R&B phantom/phenom; nicely polished clips have also emerged for the same mixtape's "What You Need" (since removed from YouTube) and follow-up <i>Thursday</i> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wCaZznXphMw" target="_new">"The Birds (Part 1)." It is, however, the first to be truly official, and it's appropriately vast, involving time-traveling and, well, see for yourself. French filmmaker Mikael Colombu, whose </a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=5307086901324101618&postID=4328562886050605899">previous work</a> includes visuals for Cee Lo Green, Janelle Monáe, and Bilal, offers up a sumptuously weird look for a sumptuously weird slow jam (via <a href="http://pitchfork.com/news/44096-video-the-weeknd-the-knowing/" target="_new">Pitchfork</a>).<br />
<br />
<div class="spinconnect_replace"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="399" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/aDp64FSljN8?feature=player_embedded" width="600"></iframe></div><br />
"Dance for You," from the deluxe edition of Beyoncé's <i>4</i>, is a sort of strip-club jam set, as with the rest of the album, in the context of a triumphantly monogamous relationship. Though the bluesy guitar and smoky organ wouldn't be out of place on a track by the Weeknd, it's not exactly worth plunking down another 32 bucks for. The video follows pretty literally from the song's theme, with Mrs. Jay-Z grinding sensuously in a superfluous film-noir setting; "Wanna show you how much you got your girl feelin' good," she purrs. The private detective appears to approve. (via <a href="http://consequenceofsound.net/2011/11/video-beyonce-dance-for-you/" target="_new">Consequence of Sound</a>)<br />
<br />
<div class="spinconnect_replace"><object style="height: 390px; width: 640px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/KiAZDAo0Dow?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/KiAZDAo0Dow?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="600" height="399"></embed></object></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5307086901324101618.post-49125092591741961182011-11-28T13:07:00.003-06:002011-11-28T13:22:29.995-06:00Courtney Love to Simon Cowell: 'Want Some Nirvana Songs?'<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><b>News Article</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><b>SPIN.com</b><br />
<b>November 28, 2011</b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/courtney-love-simon-cowell-want-some-nirvana-songs" style="color: #5588aa; text-decoration: none;">Link</a></b></span></span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br />
</span></div>A campaign is <a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/brits-want-nirvanas-teen-spirit-hit-no-1" target="blank">underway</a> pitting Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" against whoever wins <i>The X Factor</i> for Britain's coveted "Christmas No. 1" single. But what if U.K. music fans didn't have to choose? That seemingly far-fetched idea moved one step closer to the realm of the somewhat-plausible on November 24, when Courtney Love offered up a Nirvana song to the U.K. TV talent show.<br />
<br />
In a <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/Courtney/status/139590197984768000" target="_new">tweet</a> to <i>The X Factor</i> producer Simon Cowell, the Hole frontwoman appeared to suggest her late husband Kurt Cobain's songs as material for Janet Devlin, a contestant on the show. Love wrote: "@SimonCowell you want some Nirvana songs? @JanetJealousy is from same town as Kurt? I have the perfect idea for that, call me babe." (Cobain's ancestry traces back to a village in Ireland near Devlin's hometown, according to <a href="http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/s103/the-x-factor/news/a352971/courtney-love-offers-nirvana-track-to-x-factors-janet-devlin.html" target="_new">Digitalspy.co.uk</a>.)<br />
<br />
Don't hold your breath. London tabloid <i>The Sun</i> reports that <i>The X Factor</i>'s producers were "stunned" by Love's offer, given not only the usual difficulty of clearing songs for the show but also Love's notoriously tight rein over Nirvana's songs, which she has controlled since Cobain's tragic 1994 suicide. And Love doesn't look to be letting <i>The X Factor</i> pick and choose from Nirvana's hits: In a <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/Courtney/status/140540592563298304" target="_new">tweet</a> on November 26, she singled out <i>Nevermind</i>'s "In Bloom," a song that could be interpreted as taking aim at casual listeners such as those in a TV show audience. She wrote: "@JanetJealousy @simoncowell i know it when i see it, but id want to have a hand in it, in bloom is the song, nothing else."<br />
<br />
The Twitter exchange comes after a pair of recent Love <a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/courtney-love-cant-stop-ranting-about-dave-grohl" target="blank">rants</a> involving her Nirvana income. After lambasting former Nirvana drummer (and current Foo Fighters frontman) Dave Grohl during a Hole set earlier this month in Brazil, she doubled down during a post-show interview: "I own Nirvana with my daughter [Frances Bean]. Because of tax reasons I have to give that money to my sister, Kim Cobain, and [Kurt's mother] Wendy Cobain. Dave makes five million a show ... why the fuck, then, does he have a Nirvana Inc. credit card and I don't?" Hey, Simon Cowell seems like a pretty successful music businessman — maybe she should ask him? Before <a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/muppets-teen-spirit-will-easily-top-these-5-nirvana-covers" target="blank">something like this happens again</a>.<br />
<br />
<div class="spinconnect_replace"><object style="height: 390px; width: 640px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PbgKEjNBHqM?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PbgKEjNBHqM?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="600" height="399"></embed></object></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5307086901324101618.post-26433408480601732402011-11-23T14:05:00.000-06:002011-11-28T14:07:33.188-06:00Busta Rhymes Extends Rebound on Kendrick Lamar's 'Rigamortus' Remix<b style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">News Article</b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>SPIN.com</b><br />
<b>November 23, 2011</b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/busta-rhymes-extends-rebound-kendrick-lamars-rigamortus-remix" style="color: #5588aa; text-decoration: none;">Link</a></b></span><br />
<br />
Woo hah! Busta Rhymes has got 2011 pretty much in check. Two decades after his debut album with former group Leaders of the New School, and a decade removed from his most recent platinum-selling album (2001's <i>Genesis</i>), the fast-talking rapper has had a remarkable year. Busta's lyrically nimble guest appearance alongside Lil Wayne on Chris Brown's "Look at Me Now" helped make for one of 2011's most ubiquitous — and undeniable — radio hits. Busta's new <a href="http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/record-labels/exclusive-inside-busta-rhymes-outside-the-1005558352.story" target="_new">Cash Money deal</a>, revealed last week at the launch of Google Music, puts him in a position to benefit from the success of younger labelmates like Wayne, Nicki Minaj, and Drake.<br />
<br />
Now to cap off Busta's big year comes a <a href="http://www.missinfo.tv/index.php/kendrick-lamar-previews-his-rigamortis-remix-feat-busta-rhymes-in-nyc-exclusive/" target="_new">long-teased</a> remix of a track by one of the rap world's most gifted up-and-comers, current SPIN story <a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/live-new-underground-spin-celebrates-hip-hops-diy-moment?page=0%2C3">subject</a> Kendrick Lamar (via <a href="http://www.thefader.com/2011/11/22/kendrick-lamar-f-busta-rhymes-rigamortus-remix-mp3/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheFaderMagazine+%28The+FADER+Magazine+Posts%29&utm_content=Google+Reader" target="_new">Fader</a>). On the smoothly jazz-boho "Rigamortis (Remix)," originally from Lamar's excellent 2011 album <i>Section.80</i>, outsider and veteran pile up verses that are deft and tongue-twisting, but never virtuosic merely for the sake of virtuosity. "I'm spittin'," rasps Busta, "you should be happy." Amen.<br />
<br />
<div class="spinconnect_replace"><object height="81" width="100%"><param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F28258215&" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F28258215&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed></object></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5307086901324101618.post-11862387810448488502011-11-23T14:04:00.001-06:002011-11-28T14:10:45.776-06:00A Short History of Big Boi's Kate Bush Obsession<b style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">News Article</b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>SPIN.com</b><br />
<b>November 23, 2011</b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/short-history-big-bois-kate-bush-obsession" style="color: #5588aa; text-decoration: none;">Link</a></b></span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br />
</span></div>Big Boi's recent praise for Kate Bush's new album <i><a href="http://www.spin.com/reviews/kate-bush-50-words-snow-anti" target="blank">50 Words for Snow</a></i> has been making the rounds lately, and with good reason. "The album, to me, is just very somber and very chill," the OutKast MC memorably told <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/big-boi-raves-about-kate-bushs-50-words-for-snow-20111122#ixzz1eSoOqtt8">Rolling Stone</a>. "Knowing her music and being a fan, it's very, very deep Kate Bush for me. It's concentrated. It's raw emotion. It's almost like a scene from her diary — she seems to be in love like a motherfucker. Really, really, really in love."<br />
<br />
Still, Antwan "Big Boi" Patton's deep feeling for Bush's music shouldn't come as a surprise. As Rolling Stone notes, the rapper has been a fan of the idiosyncratic British singer-songwriter since his uncle turned him on to her records when Big Boi was only in middle school. In fact, Daddy Sax's ongoing admiration for the singer behind such classic songs as "Hounds of Love" and "Running Up That Hill" is well documented. Below, some examples from the past:<br />
<br />
<ul><li><b>Deeper Than the Page of a Book, Let Me Look:</b> In the March 2001 issue of SPIN, Big Boi <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=YzBMbiDVcKoC&pg=PA86&dq=%22big+boi%22+%22kate+bush%22&hl=en&ei=9h3NTuixKIragAfly63YDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22big%20boi%22%20%22kate%20bush%22&f=false" target="_new">said</a>, "Kate Bush — I go <i>deep</i> into her music."</li>
<li><b>Back in the Day When I Was Younger, Hunger:</b> According to 2004 book <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=YzBMbiDVcKoC&pg=PA86&dq=%22big+boi%22+%22kate+bush%22&hl=en&ei=9h3NTuixKIragAfly63YDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22big%20boi%22%20%22kate%20bush%22&f=false" target="_new"><i>Hey Ya! The Unauthorized Biography of OutKast</i></a>, Big Boi said that after his uncle introduced him to Bush's music, it affected him so much he couldn't put it into words, so, "I'd sit and think and play her records for hours."</li>
<li><b>Girl, I Hardly Know You, But You've Got Your Very Own Ringtone:</b> In 2004, London's <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2004/feb/22/popandrock.outkast" target="_new">Observer Music Monthly</a> reported that Big Boi's ringtone was "Babooshka," from Bush's 1980 album <i>Never for Ever</i>. "Kate Bush is my favorite artist of all time," he's quoted as saying.</li>
<li><b>Tryna Find You, Where Are You Now:</b> In July 2010, Big Boi told the <a href="http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/entertainment/articles/2010-07/2/gq-music-big-boi-exclusive" target="_new">British GQ</a> about his efforts to get in touch with Bush: "I've been trying for some years now. She's like a kinda recluse. She lives somewhere in a castle around here and plays some sort of oversized piano like the <i>Phantom of the Opera</i>! You can hear music come out the windows! I'm looking for her, know what I'm saying? That's my dream collaboration for sure."</li>
<li><b>Do You Wanna Bump and Slump With Us:</b> Also in July 2010, asked with whom he would like to collaborate, Big Boi told British magazine <a href="http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1qwom/FlavourMagazineIssue/resources/45.htm" target="_new">Flavour</a>: "Kate Bush. I've been trying to get Kate Bush for the last seven years and now I'm come over here to camp out for a month just to find her. Kate Bush is definitely my dream U.K. collaboration."</li>
<li><b>Sweeter Than a Plate of Yams With Extra Syrup:</b> Around the same time, Big Boi <a href="http://www.contactmusic.com/news/big-boi-eyes-bush-collaboration_1150456" target="_new">reportedly</a> elaborated to Britain's <i>Live From Studio Five</i> TV show: "I want to work with Kate Bush... That's, like, my dream collaboration, most definitely. Just the realness of her music, the stories behind the songs as well as the production, how things kind of evolve as the song progresses ... She's a very creative artist, producer and writer. She's like my top favorite next to Bob Marley ... Kate Bush is number one on the list."</li>
<li><b>Old School Players to New School Fools:</b> In September 2010, Boi told the <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2010/09/big-boi-promises-new-outkast-album-even-if-the-label-doesnt-always-understand-the-music.html">Los Angeles Times</a> about his uncle hipping him to Bush's music: "[She] became my favorite artist of all time. Her and Bob Marley would tie for first. I used to listen to 'The Kick Inside' and 'Wuthering Heights' and 'This Woman's Work' and just admiring the style of music she was making, from the production side of it to the lyrics … It was kind of mind-blowing. I was like OK, I wanted to be like her."</li>
</ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5307086901324101618.post-67268363312665596452011-11-23T14:03:00.000-06:002011-11-28T14:11:43.305-06:00Lady Gaga Is Totally Feeling the Holiday Spirit<b style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">News Article</b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>SPIN.com</b><br />
<b>November 23, 2011</b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/lady-gaga-totally-feeling-holiday-spirit" style="color: #5588aa; text-decoration: none;">Link</a></b></span><br />
<br />
It's a Thanksgiving miracle. Lady Gaga is ringing in the holiday season in particularly grand fashion, from the world of luxury retail to network TV to products that people too poor for couture can also buy. Ah, what a truly magical season to be an iconic brand!<br />
<br />
The pop star has just opened <a href="http://gagasworkshop.com/" target="_new">Gaga's Workshop</a>, a colorful, high-concept display taking up an entire floor of luxury retailer Barneys New York. Admirably, 25 percent of sales from this exhibition will go toward her anti-bullying charity, the Born This Way Foundation. Then again, this also means people who can afford the high-end prices will able to stop worrying about those dirty Occupy Wall Street hippies and once again go to sleep feeling good about themselves — so in other words, Gaga saved Christmas.<br />
<br />
As for the 99 percent, we can enjoy our holiday dose of the Mother Monster, too. Any fans still hankering for more music after Nickelback's <a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/detroit-lions-fans-do-not-care-nickelback" target="blank">scheduled</a> NFL halftime show can gorge themselves on a good old-fashioned Thanksgiving TV special. <i>A Very Gaga Thanksgiving</i> airs Thursday night on ABC, and it's directed by Gaga herself. For an extra-magical burst of corporate synergy, you can watch ABC's <i>Good Morning America</i> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6ypo6RSUAI&feature=player_embedded" target="_new">interview</a> with the singer: "This is a real Christmas moment for me, because this is my first custom Chanel," she explains, obviously quoting Tiny Tim's famous speech from <i>A Christmas Carol</i>.<br />
<br />
If you're wondering when you'll be able to buy the music from this special, well, <i>you're</i> also in luck! Gaga has packed four songs from the show into an EP titled <i>A Very Gaga Holiday</i>, available on iTunes now and elsewhere starting on Saturday. Check out Gaga's jazzy rendition of "White Christmas" below, featuring a random extra verse about a snowman, and be sure to avoid any unpleasant mental comparisons with <i>A Charlie Brown Christmas</i>:<br />
<br />
<div class="spinconnect_replace"><object style="height: 390px; width: 640px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Dh4fZ1FFw74?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Dh4fZ1FFw74?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="600" height="399"></embed></object></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5307086901324101618.post-25256692184283126772011-11-23T14:02:00.002-06:002011-11-28T14:13:56.300-06:00New Nicki Minaj Album 'Roman Reloaded' Due February 14<b style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">News Article</b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>SPIN.com</b><br />
<b>November 23, 2011</b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/new-nicki-minaj-album-roman-reloaded-due-february-14" style="color: #5588aa; text-decoration: none;">Link</a></b></span><br />
<br />
Nicki Minaj is welcoming her nasty Roman Zolanski alter ego for another record, and the official release date is just around the corner. In a <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/NICKIMINAJ/status/139145646736285696" target="_new">tweet</a> on Tuesday, the Harajuku Barbie herself said, "Pink Friday : ROMAN RELOADED will be released on Valentines Day, 2012. Heeeee's baaaacccckkkkk." That might appear to suggest an expanded deluxe edition rather than a proper sophomore LP, but the February 14, 2012 target lines up neatly with Cash Money boss Birdman's <a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/nicki-minaj-ready-go-new-album-due-early-2012" target="blank">just-revealed</a> plans for a follow-up album "in the first quarter" of next year. Besides, the original <i><a href="http://www.spin.com/reviews/nicki-minaj-pink-friday-young-moneycash-moneyuniversal-motown">Pink Friday</a></i> already has a deluxe edition: That's where fans could first hear radio smash <a href="http://www.spin.com/node/87778">"Super Bass"</a> (watch the video again below). So, <i>Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded</i>, in time for your romantic Valentine's Day evening — it's just too bad <a href="http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22nicki+minaj%22+%22roman%27s+revenge%22&oq=%22nicki+minaj%22+%22roman%27s+revenge%22&aq=f&aqi=g4&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=1623l4667l0l4815l31l18l0l0l0l0l391l3022l0.14.2.1l17l0" target="_new">"Roman's Revenge"</a> was already taken.<br />
<br />
Update: Minaj confirmed the album is all new with <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/NICKIMINAJ/status/139378676709076992" target="blank">a tweet reading</a>, " 'Pink Friday: ROMAN RELAODED' | Valentines Day| 2012 | Not a Re-Release | ALL new tracks | YMCMB | *salutes the nation*."<br />
<br />
<div class="spinconnect_replace"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="399" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4JipHEz53sU?feature=player_embedded" width="600"></iframe></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5307086901324101618.post-20006180317476562892011-10-23T14:00:00.000-05:002011-11-28T14:01:48.023-06:00Why I can’t hate Coldplay anymore<b style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">Feature</b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif;"> <b style="font-size: 16px;">Salon</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>October 23, 2011</b><b><br />
<a href="http://www.salon.com/2011/10/23/why_i_cant_hate_coldplay_anymore/singleton/" style="color: #5588aa; text-decoration: none;">Link</a></b></span><br />
<br />
<img alt="Salon Home" border="0" src="http://www.salon.com/content/themes/salon/images/ui/ID_salon.gif" /><br />
<br />
This past June, in front of tens of thousands of fans at Britain’s annual Glastonbury Festival, Chris Martin balked. About halfway into a new song titled “Us Against the World,” the Coldplay frontman abruptly stopped singing or playing his guitar. “Will, can you do that verse again?” he asked drummer Will Champion with a broad grin. “I fucked that one up … We’re supposed to be professional headliners.” Luckily, they’re supposed to be the sort of professional headliners who also connect with listeners on a human level. They finished the song.<br />
<br />
Five albums in, the British band has found an uncanny equilibrium between swooping, arena-ready pop and cheesy, down-to-earth humility. “Mylo Xyloto,” which arrives Tuesday, is the most sonically expansive record yet by Martin, Champion, guitarist Jonny Buckland and bass player Guy Berryman. But it’s also their most focused, without the overblown “anthems for anthems’ sake” of 2005′s “X&Y,” or the inarticulate self-importance of 2008′s “Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends,” their first collaboration with Brian Eno (the ambient musician who magicked U2 to multi-platinum status). If Coldplay specialize in creating the illusion of intimacy on an arena scale, then their latest effort succeeds by being bigger and smaller at the same time. Familiarity has bred admiration, however grudging.<br />
<br />
Love them or loathe them, Coldplay are indisputably one of the biggest rock bands in the world. They’ve won seven Grammy Awards. “Viva La Vida” was the best-selling 2008 album <em>on the planet.</em> “Paradise” and “Every Teardrop a Waterfall,” the first two singles from “Mylo Xyloto,” had already sold more than a million downloads<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/arts/music/chris-martin-of-coldplay-discusses-mylo-xyloto.html?pagewanted=all"> as of an Oct. 13 profile</a> in the New York Times. “They’ve found a way, identity-wise, to be from everywhere,” John Mayer told SPIN in 2004, “whereas most bands come to America with ‘British’ written all over them.” Glastonbury wasn’t exactly Coldplay’s only festival headlining gig this year. Lollapalooza in Chicago? Fuji Rocks in Japan? Splendour in the Grass in Australia? These guys topped bills everywhere.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Of course, Coldplay’s hugeness goes way beyond records and shows. Martin is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow. The two have been asked to be godparents to Beyonce and Jay-Z’s unborn child. Dutch filmmaker Anton Corbijn, whose resumes includes music videos for U2′s “One” and Nirvana’s “Heart Shaped Box,” along with such movies as “The American” and “Control,” will direct a live Web broadcast of Coldplay’s <a href="http://amexunstagedcoldplay.com/">live concert performance in Madrid</a> on Wednesday. Willie Nelson covered the band’s 2002 “The Scientist” for a <a href="http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2011/08/willie_nelson_covers_coldplay.html">Chipotle charity ad</a>. As of this month, their songs are even available for the video game franchise Rock Band.<br />
<br />
Success attracts haters. In 2005, New York Times pop music critic Jon Pareles called Coldplay “<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/05/arts/music/05pare.html?pagewanted=all">the most insufferable band of the decade.”</a> U2′s Bono has called <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QP7KPhU8eSg">Martin a “wanker” and a “cretin”</a>; he later apologized. Radiohead’s Thom Yorke once dismissed Coldplay as “lifestyle music.” More recently, Portishead’s Geoff Barrow has said his least favorite thing about playing European festivals is <a href="http://www.nme.com/news/portishead/58222">going on next to Coldplay,</a> “with their water cannons or fucking fireworks or whatever the fuck it is. Come on.” German electronic musician Apparat has said of anyone who compares his new album to Coldplay, “I think they should fuck off.” Neon Indian’s Alan Palomo once <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2011/09/neon_indians_alan_palomo_on_er.html">choked on kale salad</a> laughing at the band’s expense. Joe Satriani, the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens, and an American band called Creaky Boards have all accused them of plagiarism.<br />
<br />
Coldplay disarm their critics with self-deprecation. Martin praised Bono, saying U2 are in “a way different league.” A virgin until age 22, he knew what he was saying when called his feelings toward Radiohead “like unrequited love.” On “The Colbert Report,” <a href="http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2011/10/watch-coldplay-on-the-colbert-report.html">Martin joked</a> that the “million” in their more than 50 million total albums sold is a typo (discussing the U2 dispute, his voice cracked like a schoolboy’s). More than once in recent interviews, Martin has told a story about not being recognized by a taxi driver who was telling him that the guy from Coldplay lived in his neighborhood. <a href="http://www.nme.com/news/coldplay/59938">“We know our lyrics are a bit shit,”</a> Martin has said.<br />
<br />
Paltrow, with whom Martin has two children, is the biggest indication of Coldplay’s rock-star status, but the band doesn’t flaunt her role, either. Martin effectively bans questions about his wife from interviews, though he has also compared marrying her to “winning the lottery.” Paltrow not long ago tweeted, “<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2020386/Gwyneth-Paltrow-makes-naughty-joke-Twitter-quest-hands-new-Coldplay-album.html">Who do I have to bang around here</a> to get an advance copy of the Coldplay album?” She has expressed sympathy for Martin’s situation, though, saying: “He makes music for his fans, and he doesn’t want people to conjure a lame famous couple when they’re getting into his music. I get it.” Sheesh, can’t a guy even be resentful of rockers who marry movie stars anymore?<br />
<br />
To be sure, Coldplay’s exaggerated modesty isn’t always appealing. The New Yorker music critic Sasha Frere-Jones once called Martin’s apologies “increasingly suspect.” A Salon writer previously l<a href="http://www.salon.com/2005/06/18/tony_chris/">ikened Martin to former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair</a>, and in fact the entire British upper class, which apparently adopts a self-effacing tone as a way of “slumming it.” Of course, there’s such a thing as false humility. Good luck distinguishing brilliant acting from sincere expression, though.<br />
<br />
Either way, Coldplay’s charm offensive appears to be having its effects. Take longtime Oasis songwriter Noel Gallagher, who once described the likes of Coldplay as “bland, faceless fucking trainee police officers.” Referring to Coldplay’s 2000 breakthrough hit, he recently told Pitchfork, “When I heard ‘Yellow’ for the first time, I immediately picked up the guitar and went, ‘Fucking bastards, <a href="http://pitchfork.com/features/5-10-15-20/8688-noel-gallagher/">why didn’t I write that?’</a>” Who’s the bigger wimp, the guy who writes a sappy song or the other guy who refuses to admit he loves it?<br />
<br />
Critical reception of Coldplay has been thawing a bit, too. (Beloved Swedish pop singer Robyn’s <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK08XtE6zXQ">killer cover</a> of “Mylo Xyloto’s” initially panned lead single, “Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall,” hasn’t hurt much, either.) Just in time, too. “Mylo Xyloto” could easily go down as Coldplay’s best album. It’s definitely where they best balance their obvious desire for artistic respect with their undeniable ability to write songs that throngs of people want to chant along. This time, they don’t do it by making choices that telegraph their seriousness or ambition, though there’s an over-arching love story that they wisely keep pretty loose. Instead, Coldplay may well succeed at becoming the world’s biggest rock band by redefining what it means to be a “rock” band altogether.<br />
<br />
Originally conceived as two separate albums, and with a title Martin is coy about explaining, “Mylo Xyloto” oscillates between synthesized Top 40 sheen and hand-played acoustic vulnerability. In other words, it takes the Coldplay aesthetic — “equal parts epic and endearing,” as SPIN’s Chris Martins (no relation) put it this summer at Lollapalooza — and realizes it more vividly than ever before. Their optimistic anthems, packed with wordless hooks, have grown bigger by getting more inclusive, taking on tinges of rave and R&B (of which Rihanna’s guest spot on breakup song “Princess of China” isn’t even the best example). Their small, spare moments are all the more affecting for it, likely to catch more than a few skeptical listeners off guard.<br />
<br />
It’s not that Coldplay have given up on competing for artistic cachet. Quite the opposite, given how obsessively Martin focuses in the New York Times piece on what Bruce Springsteen and U2 did at similar points in their careers. They’re just integrating their influences less obtrusively now. “Paradise” grafts the hip-swiveling, hook-stuttering sensibility of The-Dream onto keyboards that recall the early Blur song “Sing.” The strobe-lit pulse of “Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall” suggests Underworld’s “Born Slippy” and that brief British moment in the 1990s when rave became appealing to jocks. “Charlie Brown,” the best song here, evokes the cathartic rush of Arcade Fire; “Hurts Like Heaven” makes LCD Soundsystem’s “All My Friends” sound cheerful. Stadium-troubadour finale “Up With the Birds” quotes Leonard Cohen.<br />
<br />
Coldplay’s former peers, bands like Keane, Travis, Starsailor, Aqualung and Embrace, are either gone or many leagues below them now. Remember how those first two albums used to remind everybody of “Radiohead lite,” but now they only sound like Coldplay? In a few years, when other rock bands sound like this, we won’t compare them to any of their apparent influences: We’ll compare them to “Mylo Xyloto.”<br />
<br />
That said, if “Mylo Xyloto” distills Coldplay’s essence almost perfectly into a 14-track pop album — Martin has often said it could be the band’s last — then it also carries with it some of Coldplay’s essential faults. The lyrics are often vague at best, trite at worst (“Life goes on, it gets so heavy”). The wordless hooks, though so ideal for reaching audiences in non-English-speaking markets, start to feel manipulative; the songwriting workmanlike enough, behind the pristine production, that it’s hard to imagine many successful covers. “Don’t Let It Break Your Heart” may be inoffensive, but it’s also utterly forgettable. Oh yeah, and three of the tracks are essentially just extended introductions to the songs after them. In a time of diminishing expectations, Coldplay fulfill every one.<br />
<br />
Coldplay are too good at a certain mode of big-tent uplift to hate them anymore, and yet, for all of their famous self-deprecation, one of Martin’s recent comments rings a little too true. “How I really feel is, we don’t make it for us,” he has said. “We don’t make it to sell millions, we don’t make it to answer critics. We make it so that if you’re in a store and you buy our record, or a ticket — like a good sandwich — you go, ‘That’s good!’ That’s all it is.” And maybe that’s why it is so hard to get worked up over Coldplay’s shiny blandness: They aren’t even holding themselves to a higher standard than Jared from Subway.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5307086901324101618.post-22733150743050900962011-10-03T21:28:00.001-05:002011-10-03T21:28:59.725-05:00Foo Fighters Protest Hate-Filled Church Group<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>News Article</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>SPIN.com</b><br />
<b>September 19, 2011</b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/foo-fighters-protest-hate-filled-church-group" style="color: #5588aa; text-decoration: none;">Link</a></b></span></span><br />
<br />
A religious group known for picketing U.S. soldiers' funerals got a taste of its own medicine on Friday afternoon. The Foo Fighters stood atop a flatbed before their Kansas City show that night and sardonically treated the protesters from Westboro Baptist Church to a live performance, in a counter-protest of the Topeka, KS-based church's anti-gay views. (via <a href="http://www.nbcactionnews.com/dpp/news/local_news/water_cooler/westboro-church-serenaded-by-foo-fighters-before-concert" target="_new">NBC Action News</a>)<br />
<br />
Dressed in trucker costumes from their <a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/foo-fighters-announce-tour-nsfw-clip">recent "Hot Buns" video</a>, the band members hit back at the protesters with a message of tolerance and American pride. "Land of the free, home of the brave," frontman Dave Grohl declared at the end of the song, in an exaggerated drawl. "I don't care if you're black or white or purple or green, whether you're Pennsylvanian or Transylvanian, Lady Gaga or Lady Antebellum. It takes all kinds."<br />
<br />
The Foo Fighters posted <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e5hRLbCaCs&feature=youtu.be" target="_new">additional video of the counter-protest</a> on their website, receiving more than 400,000 views over the weekend. The band <a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/foo-fighters-tour-kickoff-heavy-hits-heroes">kicked off a 27-date North American tour</a> earlier last week in St. Paul, MN, in support of latest studio album <i><a href="http://www.spin.com/reviews/foo-fighters-wasting-light-roswellrca">Wasting Light</a></i>. The "Hot Buns" song itself is a twangy country spoof with goofy lyrics about "hot man muffins," in the grand faux-trucker tradition of mid-1990s Blur B-side <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQq7SuDtom8" target="_new">"Rednecks." </a><br />
<br />
In addition to military funerals, the Westboro church has also picketed funerals of well-known figures, such as that of Elizabeth Edwards, the late wife of former presidential candidate John Edwards. Missouri and other states have passed laws trying to limit the church's protests, but have been repeatedly overruled by the Supreme Court on free-speech grounds.<br />
<div class="spinconnect_replace"><b>WATCH:</b> Foo Fighters, "Keep It Clean (Hot Buns)"<br />
<br />
<object data="http://www.nbcactionnews.com/video/videoplayer.swf?dppversion=10783" height="520" id="video" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640"><param value="http://www.nbcactionnews.com/video/videoplayer.swf?dppversion=10783" name="movie" /><param value="&skin=MP1ExternalAll-MFL.swf&embed=true&adSizeArray=1x1000,320x40,&adSrc=http%3A%2F%2Fad%2Edoubleclick%2Enet%2Fpfadx%2Fssp%2Ekshb%2Fnews%2Flocal%5Fnews%2Fwater%5Fcooler%2Fdetail%3Bdcmt%3Dtext%2Fxml%3Bsz%3D%25size%25%3Bpos%3D%25pos%25%3Bloc%3D%25loc%25%3Bcomp%3D%25adid%25%3Btile%3D3%3Bfname%3Dwestboro%2Dchurch%2Dserenaded%2Dby%2Dfoo%2Dfighters%2Dbefore%2Dconcert%3Bord%3D400051632896065700%3Frand%3D%25rand%25&flv=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Enbcactionnews%2Ecom%2Ffeeds%2FoutboundFeed%3FobfType%3DVIDEO%5FPLAYER%5FSMIL%5FFEED%26componentId%3D188276165&img=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia2%2Enbcactionnews%2Ecom%2F%2Fphoto%2F2011%2F09%2F17%2FFoo%5FFighters%5Fsing%5Fto%5FW55042f8f%2D352d%2D4888%2D9ddf%2D2d993761e16a0000%5F20110917105825%5F640%5F480%2EJPG&story=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Enbcactionnews%2Ecom%2Fdpp%2Fnews%2Flocal%5Fnews%2Fwater%5Fcooler%2Fwestboro%2Dchurch%2Dserenaded%2Dby%2Dfoo%2Dfighters%2Dbefore%2Dconcert&category=&title=&oacct=&ovns=" name="FlashVars" /><param value="all" name="allowNetworking" /><param value="always" name="allowScriptAccess" /></object></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5307086901324101618.post-29851843104991464162011-10-03T21:26:00.000-05:002011-10-03T21:26:56.354-05:00New ODB Box Set Includes Food Stamp Replica<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>News Article</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>SPIN.com</b><br />
<b>September 16, 2011</b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/new-odb-box-set-includes-food-stamp-replica" style="color: #5588aa; text-decoration: none;">Link</a></b></span></span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br />
</span></div>Wu-Tang Clan fans can now walk around with their own <a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/ol-dirty-bastard-1969-2004">Ol' Dirty Bastard</a> food stamp card. ODB's <i>Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version</i>, is returning as a box set on November 22 via boutique imprint Get On Down, the label has announced.<br />
<br />
The box set will included a remastered version of the late Wu-Tang member's gold-selling 1995 solo debut album, plus a 12-track bonus disc featuring various remixes, a cappellas, and instrumentals. The reissue also comes with a poster, additional artwork, extensive liner notes, and a billfold wallet, where buyers can display a laminated reproduction of the ODB food stamp card depicted in the album's cover art, according to Get On Down.<br />
<br />
You can pre-order ODB's <i>Return to the Chambers: The Dirty Version Wallet Box Set</i> at <a href="http://www.undergroundhiphop.com/" target="_new">UndergroundHipHop.com</a>. Get On Down promises more information on its <a href="http://www.getondown.com/" target="_new">website</a>.<br />
<br />
According to <a href="http://www.okayplayer.com/news/promo-player-ol-dirty-bastard-return-to-the-36-chambers-dirty-deluxe-edition.html" target="_new">Okayplayer</a>, which reportedly got its hands on the box set, the tracklist features previously 12"-only tracks such as "Brooklyn Zoo (Lord Digga Remix)."<br />
<div class="spinconnect_replace"><br />
<img alt="" height="600" src="http://www.spin.com/sites/spin.com/files/110916-odb-deluxe-set.png" width="600" /> <br />
<br />
<br />
ODB's <i>Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version</i><br />
</div><div class="spinconnect_replace"><b>WATCH:</b> Ol' Dirty Bastard, "Brooklyn Zoo (Lord Digga Remix)"<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="399" src="http://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/x6le4m" width="600"></iframe><br />
<br />
<b>WATCH:</b> Ol' Dirty Bastard getting his food stamps<br />
<br />
<object style="height: 399px; width: 600px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/UYy1QI6ZOeY?version=3" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/UYy1QI6ZOeY?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="600" height="399"></embed></object></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5307086901324101618.post-80287033152421018662011-10-03T21:24:00.000-05:002011-10-03T21:24:58.752-05:00Interscope Records Entangled in U.S. Drug Probe<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>News Article</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>SPIN.com</b><br />
<b>September 16, 2011</b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/interscope-records-entangled-us-drug-probe" style="color: #5588aa; text-decoration: none;">Link</a></b></span></span><br />
<br />
Interscope Records -- a major label with a roster that includes U2, Eminem, and Lady Gaga -- has found itself caught up in a year-long federal drug-trafficking investigation. According to documents first reported in <a href="http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/interscope-records-cocaine-shipments-654820" target="_new">The Smoking Gun</a>, Department of Justice prosecutors say members of a cocaine ring used the label's Los Angeles-area offices to transfer packages containing drugs and cash.<br />
<br />
Prosecutors included the allegations in a letter laying out evidence against Czar Entertainment CEO James "Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond, a music-industry manager whose clients include Interscope rapper the Game. Rosemond, who was indicted in June on felony drug-trafficking charges, is reportedly being held in custody. His lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904491704576573192188385826.html?mod=googlenews_wsj" target="_new">told <i>The Wall Street Journal</i></a> he hadn't gone over the Sept. 12 letter, which prosecutors filed in federal court in Brooklyn, NY.<br />
<br />
The letter says prosecutors were turning over, among other evidence, 65 pages of shipping records from Rock-It Cargo, a freight forwarding company that handles music tours and other live events. In the letter, prosecutor Todd Kaminsky points out that the records were "specifically referencing pickups and deliveries at...Interscope Records" and a New York City recording studio.<br />
<br />
The letter contains no allegations that Interscope employees had any involvement in or knowledge of the alleged drug transfers. A spokesman for corporate parent Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group had no immediate comment for the Journal.<br />
According to the reports, prosecutors say Rosemond's organization sent hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Los Angeles to New York in road cases for musical equipment, and the cases would go back filled with hundreds of thousands of dollars in vacuum-sealed $20 bills.<br />
<br />
Left unclear in the letter was how prosecutors think Rosemond and his associates got access to the Interscope facilities to pick up and unload the shipments, the Journal notes.<br />
<br />
The Smoking Gun reports that the shipping records have also implicated a road manager for the Game. The L.A. rapper recently released his fourth LP, <a href="http://www.spin.com/reviews/game-red-album-dgcinterscope"><i>The R.E.D. Album</i></a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com