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Tuesday, August 26, 2003

: New Music: FYI, Muse have a new one coming out soon called Absolution. (No release date known) They occasionally get bashed as a Radiohead ripoff, but the new single "Time Is Running Out" has a funk that Radiohead aren't really involved in. Check out the video at their site. I like Muse.
: Down On The Farm: All Music Guide gives 4 and a half stars to truANT, the new release from Alien Ant Farm. Good to see -- unfortunately, most other critics are not as impressed. The most scathing quote comes from A.P.: "Sounds like a teenage Faith No More at their first practice." But, somehow I could imagine how that could be a good thing. Generally, the AMG editorial staff is my most trusted resource.

Monday, August 25, 2003

: American Lag: I was just perusing BMG distribution's internal calendar and noticed that the new release from Elbow called Cast of Thousands is scheduled for North American release Jan 13, 2004. Ugh - so far away, considering it's out in the UK right now. Do I plunk down $30 for the import? I bet the US version gets a bonus track.
: Import Bin: I'm enthralled by Chungking on Tummy Touch. Their shorthand description is Zero 7 meets T.Rex, which made me laugh, but it's not too far off the mark. You can download an 11 minute album sampler here. (Cool idea) There is also a free MP3 in the Tummy Touch store. They've got a cool downtempo sound and a great vox fatale in Jessie Banks.
: Fit to Print? Quote.com: MTV sets trial launch of MTV Magazine. I predict failure for this, but I also predicted failure of ESPN The Magazine, so what do I know? In any event, I love magazines, so I will buy a copy. I wonder if Kurt Loder will have a column?
: Rich vs. Famous: Prince William to Pink: Come play at my 21's birthday party! Pink to Prince William: You brute!. Ouch, Willy!

Friday, August 22, 2003

: Zilla Wafer? Now this is a thin portable MP3 player. The Tosahiba Gigabeat G20 MEG200J, a 20Gb wonder, is to be sold in... Japan! The U.S. doesn't rate worthy. Go figure. The official site (in Japanese) is also available.
: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: WESLEY WILLIS 1963-2003 A letter from one of his biggest fans, Jello Biafra: We lost Wesley Willis some time before 9PM Chicago time August 21, 2003. Word is he died peacefully. The likely cause may be heart failure. Wes had been battling leukemia for less than a year. No services are planned as of yet. There will probably be a memorial concert, or at least a gathering in his honor in Chicago in the near future. We will let you know. Wesley will go down as one of the most unique songwriters and entertainment personalities in history. His music, lyrics, drawings, insight and the way he put them together are like no one else. Ever. There will never be another. As I got to know Wes, what really struck me was his sheer will power, his unrelenting drive to succeed and over come his horrifically poor background, child abuse, racism, chronic schizophrenia and obesity among other things. He was the most courageous person I have ever known. Yet through it all he had such a deep, all-encompassing love of life. Little things, big things. He loved bus rides. He loved watching trains. He loved writing songs about how much he loved his friends. He loved travelling to new towns so he could headbutt new friends. Is there any band he saw that escaped being in their own song about how much he loved their show? He was so warm, so sweet, so giving. He could be a handful when he came to visit; but as soon as he left, we¹d miss him immediately. As his long time friend Dennis Cooper said, "No More Demons." The voices in Wesley¹s head can¹t yell at him and put him down any more. Wes was deeply religious. He was afraid that if he died he would no longer get to go see bands play. If there is a hereafter I hope he's right up front as Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, his beloved Otis Redding and his dear friend Bradley from Sublime "storm the stage" as the crowd "roars like a sea monster." All opening for Wesley, of course. It will be hard now that he's gone, but I'm not going to let myself stop enjoying the funny stuff, or the look on people¹s faces when they first hear "Rock n Roll McDonalds," or the memories of the good times and Wesley's many adventures. He wouldn¹t want it any other way. There are many down times when all I have to do is think of one of Wes¹s songs, something he said or simply marvel at his Wesley-isms, and the clouds part and a smile comes to my face. I think he does that for a lot of people. He always will. Rock over London Rock on Chicago Sail on, Wes. I love you. Jello Biafra 8-22-03
: IMMEDIATE RELEASE: R.I.P. WESLEY WILLIS Dear Friends and fellow Wesleynauts, We are deeply saddened to report that one of our artists, Wesley Willis passed away yesterday, Thursday, August 21st. Wesley will be greatly missed by all that had the privilege to know him, as well as the fans who have been fortunate enough to experience his genius. Wesley was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) at the end of 2002, and had to undergo emergency surgery on June 2nd to identify the source of, and to suppress internal bleeding. It is not clear if this bleeding was related to his leukemia or not, and the exact cause of death is still unknown. Wesley had been recovering at a Hospice in Illinois, and since the surgery his health had declined. His songs were simultaneously disturbing, hilarious, blunt, and intoxicating. Wesley's sheer excitement and unaffected honesty about every cultural phenomenon, defined his music as truly individual, and truly punk rock. Wesley released well over 50 albums - 3 of which are on Alternative Tentacles, and a 4th, entitled, Wesley Willis Greatest Hits Vol. 3 (LP/CD) had already been scheduled for release in October of this year. For more information on Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, please visit http://leukemia-lymphoma.org.

Thursday, August 21, 2003

: RIAA Wins. End of Story: RIAA legal threat cuts P2P downloads by 23% says The Register. So, I guess a corresponding increase in CD sales should follow right behind the corner. Right?

Monday, August 18, 2003

: This Movie Suxors:The Independent is running a story about text messaging is being blamed for poor movie box office totals. Word of mouth is spreading faster than ever before - so if movie is lackluster, people know faster. I believe it, and I wonder what effect this sort of thing has on CD sales. Not so much texting in general, but the net and p2p can expose lame product faster than ever before. I don't think this has been discussed as much as it deserves to be.

Sunday, August 17, 2003

: More Old School: RollingStone.com has a blurb on the upcoming new record from Living Colour.

Friday, August 15, 2003

: The King: Never-Heard Elvis Song Set for Release Oct. 7. I can't wait!
: Yet Another File Format: El Reg reports about a new music file format called Digimpro. From the descriptions, the big plus is that you can have a track plus its remix parts in the same file - or having the multiple channels separated out so you can play the same song with different drum tracks for example. It will obviously go nowhere, but it's a cool idea. Check the lightweight Digimpro site for more.

Thursday, August 14, 2003

: Blast From The Past: Nobody will care about this but me, but there will be a 'greatest hits' collection next year from classic '80s electric body music meisters Nitzer Ebb. Body Of Work reportedly will contain one hits CD, one remix CD and a DVD. Release date set for Feb. 2004, according to this translated site and also here.
: A Good Deal: Wherehouse.com is giving away a print signed by Paul Oakenfold. It's a pretty goofy item to try to win, but when you realize that another part of the promotion is $7 off the new CD Perfecto Presents Ultra Music Festival:01. I got an e-mail coupon from the DJmixed.com mailing list for $7 off retail -- but it also mentions the promo code ULTRADANCE that you can enter at the wherehouse.com online store and get the phat discount. It's good between August 13th and August 20th.

Wednesday, August 13, 2003

: Quality: I have mentioned it before, but I love HITS Daily Double: Vibe-Raters -- not least because the videos they serve up are usually very high quality (500K or so). It makes it much easier to tell if I like Hillary Duff or not. ;-) (The link may require you to register for free. I registered over a year ago and it has remembered me ever since...) Make sure to check out my pals Alien Ant Farm and their video where they cause a ruckus at the BET awards. Muahahah!
: Preposterous! AOL Music picks Bootsy Collins as one of Music's Worst Dressed?? The man is 100% style! I can't support this...
: Funny: Doug C. points out that episode 4 was just posted to Napsterbits. Thanks Doug!
: New Portables: Here's the link to check out the upcoming Rio MP3 players coming out later this month. They have one called the Chiba. Heh heh. The Nitrus is the thin one... a little pricey, but 0.6 inch thick! There is also a 40 gig version of the Karma but that's not shown.

Tuesday, August 12, 2003

: Say what? Contrasting the last article comes this one onRollingStone.com - Indie Chains Are Slump Proof. They tout another favorite, Amoeba Records, as a success store and point to 60% margin on used CDs vs. 20% margin in new discs as the reason. No matter what happens, these shops will need to find something to push as music distribution goes more and more digital.
: Torn Between Two Retailers: Billboard Bulletin reports that "[a] group of independent music retailers has filed a class-action lawsuit against Best Buy, alleging that the chain violates U.S. antitrust laws, as well as California state laws, that govern loss-leader selling, the strategy of pricing product below cost." I love that Best Buy sometimes has new releases for as little as $6.99. I'm sad that it hurts indie stores that have a better variety -- especially since local heaven-on-earth shop Lou's Records is a plaintiff in this case. For me, the two places fulfill completely different roles - Best Buy for the occasional impulse on a major label "breaking artist" and Lou's for the niche hard-to-find CDs. I'd like to buy Hot Hot Heat at BB for $6.99 and then go to Lou's and spend $12.99 on something from Thievery Corporation. Unfortunately, it seems Lou's needs me to get the major label stuff there too in order for that shop to prosper. I hope Best Buy wins, but that Lou's and other indie stores continue to survive anyway. Failing that, I'd rather see an indie store with great variety more than insane low prices on occasional major label releases.
: Salad Days: Some early Minor Threat demos -- circa 1981 -- were just released by Dischord. The 8-song CD is just 4 bucks. Probably good for completists/historians. Minor Threat shook me up as a youth, but I never went straight edge. I didn't smoke, drink or fuck... but only because I was too innocent.

Monday, August 11, 2003

: Free CD? Verve Remixed 2 - Win a Trip to the 2004 Winter Music Conference in Miami Beach! and according to the Verve site: "[T]he first 5,000 people to enter get a FREE CD Sampler courtesy of Verve Music Group." I already entered so there are at most 4,999 left... Hurry!
: BT News: BT has partnered with BPM Magazine and M-Audio to bring you the Remix BT Contest! I wonder if I could take samples from the Remix BT contest and the Remix Radiohead contest and make one megamix that wins them both? Muahahah! Plus: "BT is currently scoring the highly anticipated new film, "Monster," produced by Charlize Theron and starring Charlize Theron and Christina Ricci." Mmm, tasty!

Sunday, August 10, 2003

: What I'm Listening To: The Official Website of Thievery Corporation and Eighteenth Street Lounge Music is pretty cool. I love the music. I am chilling to Den of Thieves right now on a sweltering Saturday night.

Wednesday, August 06, 2003

: Pay For Play? HealthSouth exec gives Tommy Mottola some stock options, Mottola gives their pop group a record deal. HealthSouth exec gets fired for unrelated fraud. Group goes nowhere. Mottola gets paid. Good old fashioned record biz.
: IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM PHANTOM PLANET: Dear Friends, I'm writing to say that I've officially left Phantom Planet. I love the guys more than anything and I've had some of the most amazing memories with them, but it's just not right for me to be in the band anymore. It's time for me to pursue other things. I want to thank each and every one of you for your love, support, and devotion through the years. You've made so much possible and it's meant a lot to me. See you soon, hopefully at the next Phantom Planet show. Love, Jason Schwartzman

Tuesday, August 05, 2003

: ...Two Steps Back? Scientific American says Musical Training Aids Memory. Unfortunately for musicians, the booze, weed, heroin and sex that are also required to release their inner genius negate any memory advantage that may have been gained.
: New music: Our pals over at Filter are hosting a Morcheeba Flash Player featuring full track streams from the upcoming hits comp called Parts of the Process. The also threw in the video for the new singled "What's Your Name" featuring Big Daddy Kane. (A 450k stream is available.) Aww yeah!
: You've Got Mail: AOL Unveils Stand-Alone Apps is the headline in PCWorld. Sounds exciting until you realize that you still have to be an AOL member to download this suite, even though it does not require the AOL client. I wonder if this isn't a little bit backwards? I guess they don't feel they can attract existing Internet users to become subscribers, so why bother.
: Top Secret: Carly Simon Gives Away Who Is 'So Vain'. NBC exec Dick Ebersol bid $50K in a charity auction to learn Simon's secret -- which he is bound by vow to keep secret. "Ebersol said Simon gave him one clue about the man's identity that she said he could reveal: He has the letter 'e' in his name." Whoa, I have an 'e' in my name... I hope when I die I get the answers to all these mysteries of life.
: New MP3 Player: CNET has the story on Gateway's first ever MP3 player - a Flash-based number that comes in 128K @ $129.99 or a more sensible 256K version for a reasonable $169.99. It looks small enough to make sense as an alternative to a hard-drive player. Think they'll send me a review model?

Monday, August 04, 2003

: Now Hear This: Universal is set to release some albums in DVD-Audio format. Among the first slate of releases is Beck's Sea Change which I know many of you love. DVD-Audio will play in your existing DVD video player, but deliver supposedly better sound than a CD. It's not necessarily 5.1 though.
: Hullabaloo: Gap advert with Madonna & Missy Elliot. (Quicktime required)
: Creepy: Jack White has posted video of his surgery at whitestripes.com. Click on the message from The White Stripes.
: Celebrate: Happy Birthday, Biz Markie. Nobody beats the Biz, even at age 39!
: No Vince, No! Ex-Motley Crue singer charged with attacking Nevada prostitute. We can't confirm the rumor that she told him he was funny in the BuyMusic.com commercial (mistaking him for Tommy Lee).
: OMG, this Web site is so hip and edgy and cool! It's really going to convince me and all my teenaged pirate friends to buy more CDs and DVDs!

Friday, August 01, 2003

: You can run but you can't hide: -- so says company who makes money by doing thos sort of thing. BBC NEWS: Cyber sleuths hunt file-swappers. By their count, Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher" is the #4 most bootlegged song. That doesn't seem credible to me, to say the least. Still, it's good to see VH represent. Ha!