DoS: Death of Superstar
June 27, 2009
This is about the late Michael Jackson, memory, and a few other things. I am old enough to remember the Jackson Five: their early hits, their TV cartoon show. Let’s review:
That means I’m more than old enough to remember when DOS stood for Disk Operating System. Nowadays, I think of those three letters as denoting a denial-of-service attack.
Some sites, including Google, suspected that they were under a DoS attack recently, when what was really going on was the result of a different kind of DoS: the Death of Superstar Michael Jackson. I think that he was a very talented performer, but his work was never personally important to me. (I’ll leave his own personal life alone.)
I remember seeing him live in the south of France, where I lived from 1987-89. It was my then-girlfriend’s idea/insistence that we go. It was more her thing than mine, although I was impressed by the show he put on. I also remember illustrious keyboard player Greg Phillinganes being in the band.
Doing some web research, I see that it must have been part of the Bad tour. But the only list of dates for that tour that I can find shows only two French dates, both in Paris.
Is my memory playing tricks on me? Two things make me believe that it isn’t, and that I really did see MJ. First, I see open dates both immediately before and immediately after the Paris shows, so it’s logistically plausible that there were some other French dates. Second, I do remember Greg Phillinganes was in the band – I recognized his name from his work with other musicians – and that checks out.
Anyway, RIP MJ. We’ll always have Nice, or wherever it was.
Jill Sobule’s California Years
April 14, 2009
Jill Sobule’s fan-funded album, California Years, is out today. That’s true here is Boston, but not in California, where it’s not yet today, and hence California Years is still Jill’s next record.
The NPR show All Things Considered has a feature on Jill and the album, including a couple of tracks. You can also listen at Jill’s show and tell (sampler page at her main website).
Or you can watch a video of “San Francisco” right here. The video is actually at YouTube, where Jill has her own channel, with lots of interesting stuff (e.g. Jill teaching other musicians how to play her songs).
I know I’ll buy the album, but I’m not yet sure where from. It isn’t yet available from Jill’s site (or Amie Street or Lala). If I get really impatient, I’ll buy California Years from Amazon.
Jill’s album is yet another example of a music without a record label. That’s the way you have to do it if your labels keep dropping you or dropping dead.
Weather Again
February 4, 2009
Since my wintry words of yesterday, it has occurred to me that the few inches of snow we got in Boston really doesn’t qualify as a storm, yet is less snow than it took to shut down London.
I’ve also found some clips of a BBC show from 10 years ago: Songwriters Circle. Here is the Crowded House song “Weather With You” done by Neil Finn, backed by Roddy Frame (Aztec Camera) on lead acoustic guitar and Graham Gouldman (10cc).
Spotify Gets Spottier
January 31, 2009
“Why is Spotify not available in my country?” That’s what greets me when I visit the free, ad-supported, streaming music site. The answer is that “licensing restrictions” get in the way.
One of the selling point of the service, if free services can be said to have selling points, is the extensive catalogue. But that catalogue is changing, and not in a good way. It’s shrinking, at the insistence of record labels.
The changes are being made so that we implement all the proper restrictions that are required by our label deals… our agreements contain strict rules as to what tracks can and can’t be played in various countries… These restrictions are a legacy from when most music was sold on tapes and CDs and they have continued over into streaming music, our hope is that one day restrictions like this will disappear for good.
I got the news from TechCrunch, one of the sites that got me interested in Spotify in the first place. I’m now a little less interested.
By the way, I’m pretty happy with Lala. It has a pretty extensive catalog (making an appropriate switch to the US spelling now), free try-before-you-buy, and reasonable pricing once you decide you like.
Rockbots and Animals
January 26, 2009
Here’s an interesting hypothesis: kids remember stuff when it’s in a song. It appears on the cover of Science, by Teacher and the Rockbots. One of the tracks, “Scientific Method,” might suggest ways of testing the hypothesis. But it’s not one of the stronger tracks on the album. Truth be told, it’s not a terrific album: the 14 tracks are rather similar in style but uneven in quality.
That said, TatR use the style well, they really rock. Here they are on the classification of animals.
Music of the Year
January 23, 2009
“Best of the year” pronouncements are particularly silly when they come before the end of the year, let alone before a decent interval has elapsed in which to digest the music/film/whatever. Feb 14 would seem a good date on which to decide on the best, or favorite, from the previous year. But of course to wait that long would to be scooped by the premature evaluators.
Mayhap me protest too much. Village Voice waited until a few days ago to come to the standard hipster conclusion about album of the year. Looking at the Pazz + Jop 2008 list, I see that they listed my album of 2008, albeit at 34. It’s unlikely that a wait of a few weeks would have changed their wrongheaded minds much.
The current premature evaluation leaders are those who have anointed Merriweather Post Pavilion as album of 2009. It’s certainly cool and catchy…
… and now I give my music video of 2009 for “My Girls.”
Neko Got a Lot of Nerve
January 15, 2009
One of the warming thoughts this winter is provided by Neko Case. Her album Middle Cyclone comes out on 03/03/09.
In even better news, there’s a preview track available. It gets yet better, with this news from Anti-, Neko’s label. “Every time a blog reposts ‘People Got A Lotta Nerve’ by Neko Case, we will donate five dollars to the Best Friends Foundation.” That’s an animal rescue charity, in keeping with Neko’s ongoing efforts to help dogs in need. As if I needed any convincing to post the track here.
Via Stereogum, one of the many other sites to have already done its thing for charity by posting about its thing for Neko.
Side Projects in Music, Software, etc.
January 12, 2009
The Guardian’s music blog describes The curse of the side project. Johnny Dee cites projects such as Robert Plant working with Alison Krauss instead of Led Zep, Alex Turner being a Last Shadow Puppet when he could spend more time being an Arctic Monkey, and so on.
I disagree with the post for three reasons. First, I don’t think that most of Dee’s examples stand up: I’m not a fan of fortune-making reunions, and I don’t think that three quarters of Led Zep, almost three decades after the death of John Bonham, would do anything to change my mind; and I think that The Age Of The Understatement is pretty good.
Second are side projects not mentioned in the post, such as Tom Tom Club and The Postal Service. Third, I think that Plant, Turner, and others should make the music they want to make.
Then it struck me that side projects are important in software. Linux was a side project for a student, del.icio.us made a change from work in equity trading, and so on.
I found the Guardian blog entry via Largehearted Boy, itself a side project of a sort. I find myself firmly on the side of side projects.
White Winter
December 31, 2008
Boston is currently getting its third snowstorm of late December. It’s good weather to have soup for lunch, and to listen to “White Winter Hymnal,” or, better yet, to watch the video.
That said, I don’t really get Fleet Foxes: the band, or the self-titled, highly-acclaimed album. I like it, but don’t see what the fuss is about. Also high on this year’s “like but why the fuss?” list is TV on the Radio’s Dear Science.
Anyway, let’s get seasonal…
