In October 1989, TVT Records released Pretty Hate Machine, the debut album by Nine Inch Nails, who at the time, were the only artist signed to their label. But TVT stood for Tee Vee Tunes, and they'd made their money by taking full advantage of Gen-X's childhood nostalgia jones during late '80s/early '90s, releasing CD comps full of theme songs from back in the day. In the spirit of that blast from the past, here's our list, in alphabetical order by TV show:
1. All in the Family
The lyrical content is full of losers (Herbert Hoover, the LaSalle car) and right-wing dogma (“welfare state”) but it’s still a fun tune.
2. Batman
One of the most universally recognized tunes and, in the right hands, pretty rockin’.
3. The Greatest American Hero
Cheesy as all get out and the textbook definition of a guilty pleasure but we're suckers for the chord changes in the “Who could it be?” section.
4. Green Acres
Pure, silly fun.
5. The Andy Griffith Show
A nice tune that just won’t go away.
6. Hung
“I’ll Be Your Man”: The Black Keys in the house!
7. I Dream of Jeannie
8. I Love Lucy
These two shows elevated the theme song to an art form. Each tune still as awesome half a century later. Props to both for having a sweet groove, as well.
9. M*A*S*H*
Liked the original but really got into this one (“Suicide is Painless”) when we heard it covered by the late, great pianist/composer Bill Evans and his trio on a 1980 posthumous release.
10. Mr. Ed
(See number 4.)
11. The Odd Couple
12. Sanford and Son
In the same class as #s 7 and 8 and very near and dear to our heart, the theme to Oscar and Felix’s adventures (written by Neil Hefti, who also wrote the Batman theme) captures that late ‘60s/early ‘70s vibe. Meanwhile, if Quincy Jones were to be remembered only for “The Streetbeater” aka the Sanford and Son theme song, he should be mighty proud.
13. Sesame Street
From its original bubblegum incarnation to covers ranging from salsa to metal, this one is still awesome.
14. The Simpsons
During the ‘80s and ‘90s shows mostly went for the jingle approach (if you changed the lyrics to, say, to the Cheers, Family Ties, or Who’s The Boss? themes to plug furniture or Campbell’s soup back then, no one would’ve noticed). The Simpsons went for the old school approach and for better or for worse adopted the tune that will immortalize Danny Elfman.
15. Welcome Back, Kotter
Brooklyn! The hijinks of Kaplan, Travolta and co. have long faded from our interest, but this tune by The Lovin’ Spoonful’s John Sebastian still makes us smile.
9/07/2010
9/04/2010
So, if you wanna be a rock and roll star…or The Gospel According to Bob
Blogger, piracy apologist, former major label executive, and all-around curmudgeon Bob Lefsetz, is at it again. This time, he's got the formula for rock 'n' roll stardom. Oh, yeah. Lefsetz is high on the mountain top. (You have to scroll down a bit past his ususal rant to reach the promised land.) But, is he right? What say you?
1. Know that people are looking for music. They’re inured to listening online and on the go. More people are listening to more music than ever before.2. Know that the money is not in music. The money is in tech, on Wall Street. It’s not about theft of recordings, it’s a change in society. Music doesn’t drive it. There’s more money in sports. You’ve got to play because you love it.
3. It takes longer than ever to truly make it. The old wave insta-stardom the major labels specialize in… Those acts never survived the hype in the eighties and nineties, why should they now? Overexposed, they’re thrown on the scrapheap in just a few years.
4. Practice makes perfect. Just because you can make music, put it up on iTunes and YouTube and…doesn’t mean anybody should listen to it, that anybody should care. Marketing means less than ever before. Hell, if you truly want to make it as a musician, you’re better off cutting the Internet cord and practicing and gigging for five years before you put your music online, where people will find it. But traction will be slow. And you might not get rich. Are you willing to sign up for this route?
5. Don’t listen to anybody with a toehold in today’s music firmament unless they’re in the live business. Everybody else is caught up in the tsunami of change and just wants you to keep the old paradigm going. They’re clueless. They’re royalty still living in the castle trying to fend off a public that’s been maligned and is joyous in tearing down old institutions by ignoring them. Yes, that’s how the impact of Top Forty wonders has declined. The public is ignoring them.
6. If you’re a fan, don’t believe anything you read in the mainstream media. Trust your friends. If you find something good, continue to tell your friends. Protest high prices. Support your favorite acts. What the old guard doesn’t understand is this is instinct, to only buy what you can afford and only promote what you like. They’ve been living beyond their means selling crap so long the whites of their eyes are brown and they’ll say anything to maintain their lifestyles. That’s not about music, but money. But now you only get money if you make it about the music.
8/27/2010
Fits of Ecstasy
[The Dukes of Swindon, l-r: Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding, Dave Gregory.]
XTC
White Music [Virgin-1978]
Go 2 [Virgin-1978]
Drums and Wires [Virgin-1979]
Black Sea [Virgin-1980]
English Settlement [Virgin-1982]
Mummer [Virgin-1983]
The Big Express [Virgin-1984]
Skylarking [Virgin-1986]
Oranges & Lemons [Virgin-1989]
Nonsuch [Virgin-1992]
Apple Venus Volume 1 [Cooking Vinyl-1999]
Wasp Star: Apple Venus Volume 2 [Cooking Vinyl-2000]
It’s been 10 years since the release of the last XTC studio album—the band officially broke up in 2006 after half a decade of inactivity—so we’ve decided to look back on one of the more influential British acts you may not be familiar with. Throughout a dozen studio albums—not counting the recordings of their psychedelic alter ego The Dukes of Stratosphear—the Swindon-based group transcended their new wave beginnings to become purveyors of elaborate, sophisticated Beatles/Beach Boys styled pop, earning them major praise from such disparate artists as Blur, Peter Gabriel, Jellyfish, and Primus.
Originally a quartet, the lineup on XTC’s debut and sophomore efforts (main songwriters Andy Partridge - vocals/guitar and Colin Moulding - vocals/bass; Barry Andrews - keyboards, and Terry Chambers - drums) made a couple of herky-jerky, ska tinged, punk-influenced, Farfisa organ-inflected new wave discs of their time and place. White Music is the better of the two, exhibiting flashes of their future brilliance in “This Is Pop?” and “Statue of Liberty”. Go 2 does not fare as well yet has its moments, albeit, fleeting ones at that.
With über talented new guitarist/keyboardist Dave Gregory replacing the departed Barry Andrews, and Ultravox/Siouxie and the Banshees producer Steve Lillywhite ringleading the sessions, XTC blended the best aspects of their first two albums—namely the art-y new wave and pop sensibilities—on Drums and Wires, an impressive leap forward littered with great songs ("Helicopter", "When You're Near Me I Have Difficulty", "Ten Feet Tall", the often-covered "Scissor Man") and anchored by two stellar Colin Moulding compositions: “Life Begins at the Hop” and their first bonafide hit, “Making Plans for Nigel”.
The ‘80s would bring 3 classic albums from XTC and they started off the new decade in full swing and not wasting any time. Lillywhite returned to produce an album which is not only a timeless collection of songs but is considered by many to be the band’s best. Although Black Sea was not that dissimilar from their previous release, it packed more of a sonic wallop—much props to drummer Chambers for his always inventive but rockin’ playing—and coincided with Partridge and Moulding being on a songwriting roll. Not a bad tune in a bunch that includes the singles “Respectable Street”, “Generals and Majors”, “Towers of London” and “Sgt. Rock (Is Going to Help Me)”. If you are unfamiliar with XTC this is undoubtedly where you should start.
The band broke their annual release schedule with a double vinyl album, English Settlement, in 1982. Hugh Padgham, who’d produced The Police’s Ghost in the Machine [A&M-1981] and Synchronicity [A&M-1983]—and was Lillywhite’s engineer on the 3 previous XTC albums—was behind the boards this time and the results, once again, were top notch: singles “Senses Working Overtime” (one of their very best and a UK Top 10 hit) and “Ball and Chain”, as well as the two tracks that close out the album, “English Roundabout” and “Snowman”, are the highlights.
Despite his rank as the band’s leader Andy Partridge had always been an unwilling front man. And when a mental breakdown (due to his debilitating stage fright) ended XTC’s career as a touring band after only 9 shows on the English Settlement tour, it began a new chapter in the band’s career. Unfortunately, it meant the end of the band’s classic lineup with the departure of drummer Terry Chambers, who contributed to a few tracks on the newly studio-bound group’s next album.
No wonder Chambers left: the resulting album, Mummer, is a lackluster, same-sounding acoustic-based album that has little besides Moulding’s “Wonderland” to show for it. Without a doubt, not the most auspicious beginning for the new incarnation of XTC. On their next album, The Big Express, they tried to recapture some of that Black Sea magic, but unfortunately the songwriting just wasn’t there. “Wake Up”, “This World Over”, and “I Remember the Sun” are the best of the batch. But another XTC classic was just around the corner.
Mostly recorded at his Woodstock, NY facilities and sequenced and arranged as a song cycle by the great Todd Rundgren, Skylarking is arguably XTC’s finest moment. Lush sounding and chock full of wonderful tunes ("Summer's Cauldron", lead single "Grass", "That's Really Super, Supergirl", "Ballet for a Rainy Day", "1000 Umbrellas", "Earn Enough for Us", "The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul", "Dying", "Sacrificial Bonfire"), Skylarking is widely regarded as one of the top albums of the 1980s and for damn good reason. By the way, b-side “Dear God” was added to the album when it became an unexpected college radio hit in the US, also reaching no. 15 on the Billboard Rock Album Tracks chart. “Mermaid Smiled” was later jettisoned from subsequent pressings of the album to make room for XTC’s newest US hit. (Both are included on the 2001 remaster.)
Following Chambers' departure in 1982, and the band becoming permanently studio-bound, XTC hired a different drummer on each album. Mr. Mister and future King Crimson sticksman—as well as avowed XTC fan—Pat Mastelotto was chosen for Oranges & Lemons, a big sounding and even more lush and psychedelic record than its predecessor, courtesy of first time producer Paul Fox.
The double album—possibly named after a line in Skylarking’s “Ballet for a Rainy Day”—is also the band’s most varied effort: stadium rock (“The Loving”), power pop (“The Mayor of Simpleton”), orchestrated ballads (“Chalkhills and Children”), touches of African highlife and other influences (“Merely a Man”, “Poor Skeleton Steps Out”, “Across this Antheap”) all inhabit Oranges & Lemons, alongside XTC’s classic songwriting (“King for a Day”, “Cynical Days”, “Pink Thing”). Far-reaching but mostly on-point, Oranges & Lemons—along with Black Sea, and Skylarking—is one of XTC’s crowning achievements.
(To promote the album, Partridge, Moulding and Gregory embarked on a two-week radio tour of the US, as well as a live studio audience performance in Toronto for some 200 fans. They also performed “King for a Day” on TV’s Late Night with David Letterman, in June of 1989. These were XTC’s first performances in front of an audience since the short-lived English Settlement tour seven years prior.)
Was Nonsuch recorded by the alt-rock/college radio Steely Dan? Not quite, but they come close on this rather antiseptic production by the late Gus Dudgeon, best known for his work on most of Elton John’s records of the 1970s. A bit too polished and lacking in warmth, Nonsuch has some decent tunes (“My Bird Performs”, “The Smartest Monkeys”, “Rook”, “That Wave”, aborted single “Wrapped in Grey”) but suffers from the occasionally artless obtuse lyric (the aforementioned “The Smartest Monkeys” and “Books are Burning”) and a sonic sheen more akin to Dire Straits’ Brothers in Arms [Warner Bros-1985] than what they’d accustomed us to in the past.
After a protracted battle with their label, Virgin Records, that saw the band go “on strike” and not release any music for more than half a decade, Partridge decided XTC’s next two albums should be a mostly acoustic, orchestral disc and a rock-oriented record, respectively.
Vehemently opposed was guitarist/keyboardist/arranger Dave Gregory, who preferred culling the best tracks for a single, and presumably more high-quality, effort. Unfortunately, the mounting tension led to Gregory’s departure during the recording of Apple Venus Volume 1, effectively ending his 20 year tenure with the band and robbing XTC’s music of a gifted sonic craftsman, whose contributions to the band’s work are immeasurable.
Partridge’s dual album plans for XTC came to fruition first in 1999 and a year later with Wasp Star: Apple Venus Vol.2. Both albums include a few gems (“I’d Like That”, “Easter Theatre”, “Harvest Festival”, “The Last Balloon”; and “You and the Clouds Will Still Be Beautiful”, “Church of Women”, respectively) but Vol.2 is the significantly weaker of the two, and one can’t help but think Mr. Gregory was right in wanting both combined into one album. (We’ve made our own track listing, of course.) Gregory is definitely missed here; the absence of his instrumental and arranging skills--and the rather pedestrian material included--render Vol.2 closer to Partridge's demos than an XTC album, proper sonic fidelity aside.
In 2006, with Colin Moulding stating his disinterest in continuing to make music and unhappy with the band’s internal business dealings, XTC called it quits.
Where are they now?
Andy Partridge writes and records for TV, film, and other artists, as well as busying himself with various solo projects released on his own Ape Records label. Colin Moulding is said to have recently spoken about recording a solo album of his own, despite his previous statements regarding a lack of desire to make music. Dave Gregory is an in-demand session guitarist who not too long ago patched up his differences with Partridge and may be collaborating with his old bandmate. Barry Andrews co-founded Shreikback in 1981 and of late has collaborated with Partridge in a trio called Moonstrance. Shortly after leaving XTC, Terry Chambers moved with his wife to her native Australia where he was briefly the drummer for the band Dragon. He is no longer involved in the music business.
Aside from the above studio albums and their respective reissues there is a veritable treasure trove of compilations, box sets, demo collections, and rarities issued by Virgin, Cooking Vinyl, and the band’s own Idea Records, respectively. (Partridge has released many of his XTC demos via the Fuzzy Warbles series on Ape.) Of note, due to XTC’s relatively brief stint as a live act, is the hard-to-find 1980 Live at the BBC 1 [Windsong-1992], a worthwhile addition to any XTC collection and a rare document of the band’s mesmerizing live show.
7/26/2010
New York State of Song
We were baited by an old friend to come up with a list of songs about New York, with the caveat that they could not contain the name of our fair city in the title. However, our list is one of songs about and inspired by NYC—no, this is not some Hollywood bullshit—as well as tunes that evoke what the city is all about.
Off the top of our heads, here are ten, in alphabetical order by artist:
1. Beastie Boys
"So Whatcha Want?"
Check Your Head
[Capitol-1992]
Yeah, they can be insufferable at times—not to mention they are the patron saints of today's hipsters—but we have yet to go or host a party where this song does not make a welcome appearance at some point.
2. Freeloader
"6 Train"
Cantina Claqueur
[JSS-2005]
Scott Sinclair is a charismatic, literate, good ole boy and ladies man; he’s also a talented songwriter/guitarist who wrote this beautiful ode to his adoptive hometown.
3. Joe Jackson
"Right and Wrong"
Big World
[A&M-1986]
A cool tune written during his years as a New Yorker. Bonus point for mentioning NY baseball.
4. Billy Joel
"Big Shot"
52nd St
[Columbia-1979]
Love him, loathe him or ridicule him, Joel’s done for NYC what Springsteen did for Jersey. He's also written a couple of cool tunes about life in the city. This is one of ‘em. It rocks, too.
5. Marcy Playground
"Sex and Candy"
(self-titled album)
[Capitol-1996]
Always reminds us of the Lower East Side during the ‘90s and one of the few rock songs that oozed carnality during the so-called grunge years.
6. Nada Surf
"Blizzard of '77"
Let Go
[Barsuk-2003]
Brooklyn band reminisces about a typical NY winter occurrence and nails it. Sweet.
7. NaS
"Memory Lane (Sittin in Da Park)"
Illmatic
[Columbia-1994]
Queens in da house! Love this one…
8. Lou Reed
"Dirty Blvd."
New York
[Sire-1989]
The man who, in his songs, captured the dark side of the city like no other.
9. Talking Heads
"Mr. Jones"
Naked
[Fly/Sire-1988]
A taste of the city’s Latin vibe courtesy of this quintessential NY band. Also, our unofficial theme song. heh heh.
10. Suzanne Vega
"In the Eye"
Solitude Standing
[A&M-1987]
Before we moved to Brooklyn in the mid ‘90s Manhattan ruled our world. This song has always sounded to us like late ‘80s, downtown Manhattan at night, particularly that air of possibility and of, hopefully, good things to come.
Bonus:
Ryan Adams
"New York, New York"
Gold
[Lost Highway-2001]
Because he was cocky enough to title it after the Sinatra classic; because it’s a sweet song that will always remind us of the immediate post-Sept. 11th days. But above of all because of a refrain which comes across as one of the most poignant declarations of love ever dedicated to this city we’ve ever heard. “I still love you New York.” Yeah…
Off the top of our heads, here are ten, in alphabetical order by artist:
1. Beastie Boys
"So Whatcha Want?"
Check Your Head
[Capitol-1992]
Yeah, they can be insufferable at times—not to mention they are the patron saints of today's hipsters—but we have yet to go or host a party where this song does not make a welcome appearance at some point.
2. Freeloader
"6 Train"
Cantina Claqueur
[JSS-2005]
Scott Sinclair is a charismatic, literate, good ole boy and ladies man; he’s also a talented songwriter/guitarist who wrote this beautiful ode to his adoptive hometown.
3. Joe Jackson
"Right and Wrong"
Big World
[A&M-1986]
A cool tune written during his years as a New Yorker. Bonus point for mentioning NY baseball.
4. Billy Joel
"Big Shot"
52nd St
[Columbia-1979]
Love him, loathe him or ridicule him, Joel’s done for NYC what Springsteen did for Jersey. He's also written a couple of cool tunes about life in the city. This is one of ‘em. It rocks, too.
5. Marcy Playground
"Sex and Candy"
(self-titled album)
[Capitol-1996]
Always reminds us of the Lower East Side during the ‘90s and one of the few rock songs that oozed carnality during the so-called grunge years.
6. Nada Surf
"Blizzard of '77"
Let Go
[Barsuk-2003]
Brooklyn band reminisces about a typical NY winter occurrence and nails it. Sweet.
7. NaS
"Memory Lane (Sittin in Da Park)"
Illmatic
[Columbia-1994]
Queens in da house! Love this one…
8. Lou Reed
"Dirty Blvd."
New York
[Sire-1989]
The man who, in his songs, captured the dark side of the city like no other.
9. Talking Heads
"Mr. Jones"
Naked
[Fly/Sire-1988]
A taste of the city’s Latin vibe courtesy of this quintessential NY band. Also, our unofficial theme song. heh heh.
10. Suzanne Vega
"In the Eye"
Solitude Standing
[A&M-1987]
Before we moved to Brooklyn in the mid ‘90s Manhattan ruled our world. This song has always sounded to us like late ‘80s, downtown Manhattan at night, particularly that air of possibility and of, hopefully, good things to come.
Bonus:
Ryan Adams
"New York, New York"
Gold
[Lost Highway-2001]
Because he was cocky enough to title it after the Sinatra classic; because it’s a sweet song that will always remind us of the immediate post-Sept. 11th days. But above of all because of a refrain which comes across as one of the most poignant declarations of love ever dedicated to this city we’ve ever heard. “I still love you New York.” Yeah…
7/20/2010
Happy Birthday
Is today the most rock and roll of birthdays?
Among those celebrating are: legendary guitarist Carlos Santana (63); Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook (54); former Soundgarden/Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell (46); Pearl Jam founder/guitarist Stone Gossard (44); and hip-hop royalty Kool G Rap (42); all on July 20th.
Among those celebrating are: legendary guitarist Carlos Santana (63); Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook (54); former Soundgarden/Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell (46); Pearl Jam founder/guitarist Stone Gossard (44); and hip-hop royalty Kool G Rap (42); all on July 20th.
7/19/2010
Time Capsule: Bellybutton
JELLYFISH
Bellybutton
[Charisma-1990]
Running a mere seconds under the 40-minute mark, Bellybutton, the debut album from San Francisco’s Jellyfish, is a brilliantly crafted record also known for introducing power pop fans to the likes of Jason Falkner and Roger Manning Jr., as well as their frequent collaborator (and these days, noted producer and film composer) Mr. Jon Brion.
Founded by lead-singing, stand-up drummer Andy Sturmer, and keyboardist Manning—both talented songwriters and multi-instrumentalists—the band flirted with mainstream success but disbanded soon after touring behind their sophomore album Spilt Milk [Charisma-1993]. But on their debut, the beloved '90s cult band showed off their ample melodic and instrumental gifts; their high-level songcraft to be discussed and pored over by power pop geeks for years to come.
The folks at the Trouser Press Record Guide are not easily impressed, but that didn't stop them from calling Bellybutton “a pleasant—occasionally wonderful—pastiche of pop icons from the Beatles to Squeeze via 10cc, the Beach Boys and Badfinger.”
Sounds about right.
Highlights: “That Is Why”, arguably their finest moment; “The King is Half Undressed”, “She Still Loves Him”, “All I Want Is Everything”, “Baby’s Coming Back”, “Calling Sarah”.
An Open Question: Why So Long Between Albums?
A recurring topic that has once again has raised its pointy little head ‘round these parts is the length of time required for artists to release albums. Or more to the point, why it takes so long for them to do so these days.
It seems that, as the technology that makes it possible to record music and the methods of distribution become more widespread, the span between albums is quite pronounced, especially when compared to artists of the past.
Back in the day, because of how the business was run or whatever, artists released albums at a rapid pace. Just think: all of Jimi Hendrix's output was recorded between 1967-1970. Yup, three years. And in that same length of time—without touring, of course—The Beatles' discography, not counting Yellow Submarine, spans 5 studio albums from Sgt. Pepper's to Let it Be. (One of them a double album, even.) Hell, Cream released 4 studio albums in 15 months! (Yeah, there's some live tracks on there, but still...) In the three years it takes many contemporary artists to put together an album, artists of the past could build their legacies. What was going on? Pardon our ignorance, but we’re asking with all sincerity.
It wasn't just in the '60s and early-to mid '70s, though: The Police made 5 studio albums in the 5 years they were a recording act; Van Halen's "Diamond Dave era" consists of 6 albums in as many years. And while both of these acts toured their asses off, they were still able to release this much music anyway. How come?
Were they super prolific or are more current artists beholden to different circumstances? Is it a different mindset? Big money slowed them down? Has the music by major artists gone the focus group/production by committee route? Why does it take so long? Weezer released "The Green Album" and Maladroit within 364 days of each other and that was a bigger deal than the music itself.
Ideally, established artists need to continually put their work out there, as long as they believe in it. Let the chips fall where they may. If per chance it doesn't really pan out, you can always get back to work and resume where you left off. Artists need to be creating as steadily as possible. Simple as that. Perhaps marketing, or some variation thereof, has taken over a big chunk of the process. Or in certain instances, creatively speaking, the spark isn’t there. However, as much as we may not be thrilled to listen to another lukewarm release by anybody, we certainly don't advocate waiting for inspiration to strike and hoping it gives you your (next) masterpiece. That's just dangerous. What if that phenomenal work you waited to put out there turns out to be not that great AND is poorly received by the public? What does that do to an artist's confidence?
So, again, why does it take so long? Any ideas?
It seems that, as the technology that makes it possible to record music and the methods of distribution become more widespread, the span between albums is quite pronounced, especially when compared to artists of the past.
Back in the day, because of how the business was run or whatever, artists released albums at a rapid pace. Just think: all of Jimi Hendrix's output was recorded between 1967-1970. Yup, three years. And in that same length of time—without touring, of course—The Beatles' discography, not counting Yellow Submarine, spans 5 studio albums from Sgt. Pepper's to Let it Be. (One of them a double album, even.) Hell, Cream released 4 studio albums in 15 months! (Yeah, there's some live tracks on there, but still...) In the three years it takes many contemporary artists to put together an album, artists of the past could build their legacies. What was going on? Pardon our ignorance, but we’re asking with all sincerity.
It wasn't just in the '60s and early-to mid '70s, though: The Police made 5 studio albums in the 5 years they were a recording act; Van Halen's "Diamond Dave era" consists of 6 albums in as many years. And while both of these acts toured their asses off, they were still able to release this much music anyway. How come?
Were they super prolific or are more current artists beholden to different circumstances? Is it a different mindset? Big money slowed them down? Has the music by major artists gone the focus group/production by committee route? Why does it take so long? Weezer released "The Green Album" and Maladroit within 364 days of each other and that was a bigger deal than the music itself.
Ideally, established artists need to continually put their work out there, as long as they believe in it. Let the chips fall where they may. If per chance it doesn't really pan out, you can always get back to work and resume where you left off. Artists need to be creating as steadily as possible. Simple as that. Perhaps marketing, or some variation thereof, has taken over a big chunk of the process. Or in certain instances, creatively speaking, the spark isn’t there. However, as much as we may not be thrilled to listen to another lukewarm release by anybody, we certainly don't advocate waiting for inspiration to strike and hoping it gives you your (next) masterpiece. That's just dangerous. What if that phenomenal work you waited to put out there turns out to be not that great AND is poorly received by the public? What does that do to an artist's confidence?
So, again, why does it take so long? Any ideas?
7/10/2010
Does Hetfield Owe Napster a Belated Apology? (theft is theft, after all)
Like Led Zeppelin before them, Metallica are influential hard rockers who ruled their respective eras...and engaged in alleged plagiarism.
The Bay Area quartet has been accused of quite a few unlawful musical approriations including their most famous song, "Enter Sandman", ever since it was released as the lead single from the band's self-titled 1991 album. It turns out another California band, Excel, has a similar sounding track, "Tapping Into the Emotional Void", on their album The Joke's On You [Rotten-1989].
While the likes of Megadeth leader and former Metallica guitarist Dave Mustaine acknowledge that James Hetfield and co. purloined parts of Excel's song for "Enter Sandman", Metallica have never been formally accused of plagiarism in a court of law.
But how 'bout the court of public opinion? That's where you come in...courtesy of the folks at Cracked:
So, what say you?
The Bay Area quartet has been accused of quite a few unlawful musical approriations including their most famous song, "Enter Sandman", ever since it was released as the lead single from the band's self-titled 1991 album. It turns out another California band, Excel, has a similar sounding track, "Tapping Into the Emotional Void", on their album The Joke's On You [Rotten-1989].
While the likes of Megadeth leader and former Metallica guitarist Dave Mustaine acknowledge that James Hetfield and co. purloined parts of Excel's song for "Enter Sandman", Metallica have never been formally accused of plagiarism in a court of law.
But how 'bout the court of public opinion? That's where you come in...courtesy of the folks at Cracked:
So, what say you?
7/06/2010
Musicians and the Internet Magic Bullet Theory
There is never a shortage of purveyors of scams of the get-rich-quick-and-easy variety out there, preying on the gullible and desperate. And in a bad economy, they multiply like horny rabbits in captivity. Music artists are the focus of a particular variation on this theme, which has now adopted a 21st century façade: forget the record labels, the internet will make you a star and we'll show you how.
The more shameless of this lot of charlatans will sell you a treatise on achieving fame and fortune via the World Wide Web that boils down to such previously unheard of advice: Write good songs; have a nice website; join all the social networking sites, etc. Yes, of course we’re being snarky. But if, say, you bought a book on how to succeed in business and its main guidance and counsel was Work hard; don’t spend more than you make; save money, etc you’d probably report the authors to the local Better Business Bureau—after you smashed the damn thing against the wall—right?
We’re gonna give some of these folks the benefit of the doubt and assume there are those who are either truly ignorant about how things work co-existing with fiends who know better but try to pull the wool over people's eyes for personal gain.
And then you have the likes of David Byrne.
Remember how not too long ago the former Talking Head was raving about how EVERYONE should follow Radiohead's pay-what-you-want model for their In Rainbows album, only to have Thom Yorke himself explain to him that because of the British band's stature they were in a unique position to pull it off. A veteran of the music biz like Byrne should know better and not need Yorke to explain that to him. This is the kinda nonsense that furthers even more the internet single bullet theory: a cure for all obscurity and lack of exposure woes. "Hey, if David Byrne says so..."
Ugh.
So, has the internet truly changed the nature of the music business? Mostly yes, but...
You see, on the one hand, it’s true that today’s artists have a myriad of easily accessible online tools and infrastructure readily available to them. It’s also true these bring potential access to millions of would-be fans via the internet without the need for a record company to siphon off revenue. (Or conversely, fund your project.) And that, is a beautiful, revolutionary thing. But, sadly, one big factor hasn't changed: people still have to find out about you somehow. The internet hasn’t altered that part of the equation in a way that can be distilled into an easily adaptable formula for those who see it as a magical tool that can open up untold doors almost at will. Actually, in certain aspects, it may have made things more difficult for the career-aspiring artist.
In the pre-internet days you had so-called industry “gatekeepers”. And to reach them to get your record reviewed and/or get the necessary exposure was quite difficult. Truthfully, outside of a select few artists, this was nearly impossible to obtain. Now there is a motherlode of websites that write and/or talk about music, which an artist can easily contact and submit to. Who doesn’t like more options? But the public now has more choices as well. (You truly have competition now: there's a whole lot more recording artists than ever before out there vying for the public's attention.) And while it may have been practically a fantasy for an unknown, unsigned artist to get their record reviewed by, say, Rolling Stone, they now have to reach dozens of, if not more, music sites/blogs to garner the exposure they might need.
What if these folks are too busy to review and spread the good word about your lowly mp3s, anyway? You still need internet presence, so how ‘bout taking out some ads? But if you don't have the cash to spend on gaining internet presence—ads ain't free—or happen to go "viral", then what?
Ah, yes…going “viral”. What's the deal with those people that the internet has made, arguably, household names overnight? Well, "I posted my video/mp3 online and in a week I had 20,000 fans" is not that dissimilar to "I bought a $1 lottery ticket at 7-11 and now I'm rich". Yet, this aberration is used, more often than not, as a standard bearer or at least as an example to follow when it comes to online traffic for music artists.
(Interestingly, two scenarios on opposite ends of the artist development spectrum, that were commonplace during the pre-internet days of the music business, still occur on a regular basis: touring acts establishing and expanding their fanbase; and recording artists that have never played a live gig setting up shop and launching careers, regardless. Hmm...)
So if, arguably, chance is as much if not more of an influential factor than ever before in getting your music discovered, what is the true value of the internet? Well, it's undeniably a monster tool for people who already have access to a dedicated fanbase and are being sought out by a significant amount of people. What no one has a concrete, solid answer for is the question of how you get there. (And if one more smart-ass brings up Write good songs; have a nice website; join all the social networking sites, etc. as a sure-fire silver bullet to success, we’re gonna end up doing hard time and writing these blog posts from Sing-Sing.)
Bottom line: having a Facebook/Twitter/MySpace page—and videos on YouTube—is like placing your music in every Tower Records store a decade ago; it don’t mean squat how much internet presence you might have if people don’t know you exist. And how do you create awareness without bundles of cash and/or luck? (If we knew, we'd be rich—and not writing these long-ass rants, for sure.)
Try contacting those who have had any measure of success on their own in this day and age and see if you can pick their brain a bit. Ask friends how they hear about new music and what they are looking for when seeking out new artists and tunes. If you perform live, find out what will tilt club owners/bookers your way when they check out artists online and what, if anything, their patrons tell them about bands they come across on the intertubes. That's a start.
And yeah, by all means, see if you can come across some decent, rational, sensible articles and books that address the issue. But stay away from anyone who believes or tells you that simply uploading your stuff is a magic bullet. Don't let the con men tell you otherwise, let alone charge you while they do it.
The more shameless of this lot of charlatans will sell you a treatise on achieving fame and fortune via the World Wide Web that boils down to such previously unheard of advice: Write good songs; have a nice website; join all the social networking sites, etc. Yes, of course we’re being snarky. But if, say, you bought a book on how to succeed in business and its main guidance and counsel was Work hard; don’t spend more than you make; save money, etc you’d probably report the authors to the local Better Business Bureau—after you smashed the damn thing against the wall—right?
We’re gonna give some of these folks the benefit of the doubt and assume there are those who are either truly ignorant about how things work co-existing with fiends who know better but try to pull the wool over people's eyes for personal gain.
And then you have the likes of David Byrne.
Remember how not too long ago the former Talking Head was raving about how EVERYONE should follow Radiohead's pay-what-you-want model for their In Rainbows album, only to have Thom Yorke himself explain to him that because of the British band's stature they were in a unique position to pull it off. A veteran of the music biz like Byrne should know better and not need Yorke to explain that to him. This is the kinda nonsense that furthers even more the internet single bullet theory: a cure for all obscurity and lack of exposure woes. "Hey, if David Byrne says so..."
Ugh.
So, has the internet truly changed the nature of the music business? Mostly yes, but...
You see, on the one hand, it’s true that today’s artists have a myriad of easily accessible online tools and infrastructure readily available to them. It’s also true these bring potential access to millions of would-be fans via the internet without the need for a record company to siphon off revenue. (Or conversely, fund your project.) And that, is a beautiful, revolutionary thing. But, sadly, one big factor hasn't changed: people still have to find out about you somehow. The internet hasn’t altered that part of the equation in a way that can be distilled into an easily adaptable formula for those who see it as a magical tool that can open up untold doors almost at will. Actually, in certain aspects, it may have made things more difficult for the career-aspiring artist.
In the pre-internet days you had so-called industry “gatekeepers”. And to reach them to get your record reviewed and/or get the necessary exposure was quite difficult. Truthfully, outside of a select few artists, this was nearly impossible to obtain. Now there is a motherlode of websites that write and/or talk about music, which an artist can easily contact and submit to. Who doesn’t like more options? But the public now has more choices as well. (You truly have competition now: there's a whole lot more recording artists than ever before out there vying for the public's attention.) And while it may have been practically a fantasy for an unknown, unsigned artist to get their record reviewed by, say, Rolling Stone, they now have to reach dozens of, if not more, music sites/blogs to garner the exposure they might need.
What if these folks are too busy to review and spread the good word about your lowly mp3s, anyway? You still need internet presence, so how ‘bout taking out some ads? But if you don't have the cash to spend on gaining internet presence—ads ain't free—or happen to go "viral", then what?
Ah, yes…going “viral”. What's the deal with those people that the internet has made, arguably, household names overnight? Well, "I posted my video/mp3 online and in a week I had 20,000 fans" is not that dissimilar to "I bought a $1 lottery ticket at 7-11 and now I'm rich". Yet, this aberration is used, more often than not, as a standard bearer or at least as an example to follow when it comes to online traffic for music artists.
(Interestingly, two scenarios on opposite ends of the artist development spectrum, that were commonplace during the pre-internet days of the music business, still occur on a regular basis: touring acts establishing and expanding their fanbase; and recording artists that have never played a live gig setting up shop and launching careers, regardless. Hmm...)
So if, arguably, chance is as much if not more of an influential factor than ever before in getting your music discovered, what is the true value of the internet? Well, it's undeniably a monster tool for people who already have access to a dedicated fanbase and are being sought out by a significant amount of people. What no one has a concrete, solid answer for is the question of how you get there. (And if one more smart-ass brings up Write good songs; have a nice website; join all the social networking sites, etc. as a sure-fire silver bullet to success, we’re gonna end up doing hard time and writing these blog posts from Sing-Sing.)
Bottom line: having a Facebook/Twitter/MySpace page—and videos on YouTube—is like placing your music in every Tower Records store a decade ago; it don’t mean squat how much internet presence you might have if people don’t know you exist. And how do you create awareness without bundles of cash and/or luck? (If we knew, we'd be rich—and not writing these long-ass rants, for sure.)
Try contacting those who have had any measure of success on their own in this day and age and see if you can pick their brain a bit. Ask friends how they hear about new music and what they are looking for when seeking out new artists and tunes. If you perform live, find out what will tilt club owners/bookers your way when they check out artists online and what, if anything, their patrons tell them about bands they come across on the intertubes. That's a start.
And yeah, by all means, see if you can come across some decent, rational, sensible articles and books that address the issue. But stay away from anyone who believes or tells you that simply uploading your stuff is a magic bullet. Don't let the con men tell you otherwise, let alone charge you while they do it.
7/03/2010
Colon and Blades: Fania's Dynamic Duo
WILLIE COLON presents RUBEN BLADES
Metiendo Mano!
[Fania-1977]
WILLIE COLON and RUBEN BLADES
Siembra
[Fania-1978]
Here’s a trivia question fans of Latin music the world over all know the answer to: what happened when NY-based Fania Records’ Panamanian-born, Harvard-educated, former mailroom clerk (Ruben Blades) teamed up with the label’s resident bad boy prodigy from The Bronx (Willie Colon)? Two of salsa’s all-time classic albums were born, one of which is considered, arguably, the genre’s finest moment.
Preceded by Colon's much lauded The Good, The Bad, The Ugly [Fania-1975]--featuring Blades and the departing Hector Lavoe--Metiendo Mano! has been eclipsed over the years by both its predecessor and the monster album that followed. But not only is the record a worthy document of salsa's golden era, it establishes Blades' rep as a crooner who could also narrate meditations on the downtrodden and those on the margins of society, as well as such controversial topics as colonialism and racism, both convincingly and with grace. Latin dance music didn't really tackle socio-political subject matter before, but much like born again Christian salseros Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz, Blades and Colon made sure the message never got in the way of the groove.
Metiendo Mano! is regarded by many as not only a solid precursor to bigger things to come, but a salsa classic; one that plays "lean and mean, and thus light on its feet, like a welterweight boxer." How apropos. Some of the highlights include "Segun el Color", "Plantacion Adentro", "La Mora", and our personal fave "Pablo Pueblo", which in the mid '90s became the unofficial theme song to Blades' unsuccessful bid for the presidency of his native Panama.
Metiendo Mano! had its fair share of covers--5 of the 9 tracks to be exact--but Siembra, with one lone exception, was penned entirely by Blades and remains his most impressive batch of tunes. Kicking off with "Plastico", a blunt attack on empty consumerism and racial/class-related prejudice, capped off with a rallying cry for Latin American unity, the album is undoubtedly a reflection of the harsh times in which it was created. However, Siembra is rarely heavy-handed in its approach, as evidenced by the inclusion of a tender love song such as "Dime", with its joyous and infectious swing, one of the album's definitive moments. (Much props to Colon for his killer arrangements throughout.) It also happens to be home to "Pedro Navaja", a re-imagining of "Mack the Knife" as a tragic Lower East Side slice of life; it is Siembra's best known track and one of the great anthems of modern Spanish-language music.
A landmark recording universally beloved in Latin America more than 30 years after its release, Siembra is both the best-selling salsa album of all time--hovering, purportedly, in the 25 million copies range--and considered to be "one of the indisputable masterpieces of 1970s New York salsa". There are those who believe it's the salsa masterpiece. We're not inclined to disagree.
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