Video Break

If It's Tuesday...blah blah...7/26/11

There is a new record from Joss Stone out today, "LP1." I have no interest. That first record of hers, recorded with help from some Miami soul legends like Timmy Thomas and Little Beaver, as well as Betty Wright, was more than a curiousity. As she got older and more popular though, she became your average melismaniac. The Amazon download IS only $3.99, though. So...your call.
http://www.amazon.com/LP1-Joss-Stone/dp/B0052FPPUI/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1311679700&sr=1-2




Jimmie Vaughan releases more songs from the "blues, ballads, and favorites" sessions. Part One was a killer. Today's release, "Plays More..." has the same vibe, but the tunestack is not as strong. Still hard to go wrong with Jimmie and Lou Ann Barton together. I heartily recommend the first entry. Get that below.
http://www.amazon.com/Jimmie-Vaughan-Plays-Blues-Ballads-Favorites/dp/B003JVJ1HU/ref=pd_sim_m_2

America had a bit of a resurgence a few years back thanks to fans Adam Schlesinger of Fountains Of Wayne and James Iha of the Smashing Pumpkins. The result of that meeting, "Here & Now," was a solid, if a bit twee pop record that sounded like a cross between...uh...America and Fountains Of Wayne.

The band is back with "Back Pages," a collection of covers by the likes of Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Brian Wilson and The Zombies, among others. My problem here is that the songs covered, "America," "Caroline, No." "Time Of The Season" and "My Back Pages,"for starters, are what my friend, bassist Sal Maida would call coffin songs. "Coffin songs?" "Yeah, songs so good, they're coming with me when I go."  Personally, I don't want to hear my "coffin songs" turned into a dozen "Muskrat Loves." Nothing here, NOTHING, is better, or even remotely interesting enough to check out, unless you happen to love lifeless, cringe-making cover versions.
It's here.

The debut from Sweden's Little Dragon, 'Machine Dreams, was a pretty hot collection of songs that sounded more than a little like "Dirty Mind"-era Prince. Haven't heard "Ritual Union," their new release yet, but I plan on it.








Also out today are records by the Bodeans, a reissue of a lost classic by Ray Wylie Hubbard, and the original motion picture score of "The Smurfs."

Amy Winehouse, R.I.P.

In her decline, she became impossible to look at, yet it was just as impossible to turn away. The death of Amy Winehouse should come as no surprise to anyone, and still I was shocked to hear the news.

For an all too short period of time, Amy Winehouse was on top of the world. Like many, I couldn't get enough of what she had to offer musically. But in this sad story, the demons win again.

Amy, you rocked!  Now get some rest.

I want to thank Pattirules for this song.

ALL MY LOVING

"Because I Love Music From The Sixties" : THE WEEKEND MIX

"You know Grandpa there are many fine bands after 1969!"

That was a comment left over at my pal Steve Simels' place, Power Pop, on a post where he asked for your Favorite Obscure or Semi-Obscure Song by a Well-Known or Reasonably Well-Known Sixties Pop/Rock Band!!!

I'm sure the comment was meant for laughs. I know I laughed. But I've been thinking on and off about that for a week and I've decided, NO. There aren't.  ;)

With that in mind, I had a groovy time putting together this WEEKEND MIX, that is not quite what Steve asked for on his post, but something close.



TRACKLIST

Walk Away Renee- The Left Banke

House On The Hill- The Turtles
(Produced by Ray Davies, if you didn't know. This track is the best Kinks track Davies never wrote.)

Surprise, Surprise- The Rolling Stones

The Games We Play- The Hollies

You Said That- The Easybeats
(This was my choice on Power Pop's Post)

Too Much On My Mind- The Kinks
(Mono version from new edition of "Face To Face")

What You're Doing - The Beatles
(This is Take 11, with the always effective false ending. NOT from Anthologies 1-3)

Our Love Was- The Who
(This is Take 12, an unused Mono mix from the Japanese "Sell Out" box)

Imagine The Swan- The Zombies

(Baby) You Don't Have To Tell Me- The Walker Brothers

Six O'Clock- The Lovin' Spoonful
(If anyone has the live Elvis Costello/Rosanne Cash version, I will be your slave. If you have that whole show, well...I can't say on these pages what I will do.)

Fields Of People- The Move
(Top Of The Pops version of the "Shazam" Ars Nova cut. Anyone have any thoughts on that Ars Nova album? Worth getting?)

Forget All About It- Nazz

Mad John's Escape- Donovan

Baby, Baby (I Still Love You)- Cinderella
(~sigh~)

Tell It To The Rain- The Four Seasons

We'll Run Away- The Beach Boys
(This is a rehearsal. Just listen to the purity of Brian's falsetto.)


THE ZIP

George Romero's "THE BANGLES"

 I mean, what the hell?

What You Been A'Missin'

I was so surprised and shocked, and I wondered too, how yet another... yawn... tribute record could end up being on heavy rotation in my household. But, dang! I am so digging "Rave On Buddy Holly."

Sure, I'd like to do a few things to Modest Mouse with a ball peen hammer for their yak-inducing, hipper-than-thou, soulless stinker of an entry. But less that track, there is nothing here I don't like. I mean, I think I luff this record. The Black Keys, Nick Lowe, Fiona Apple and her damn glockenspiel! All great. And that beautifully haunting take on "True Love Ways," by My Morning Jacket gives me chills usually reserved for The Move. Even Lou "I'm starting to look like Eudora Welty" Reed's turn on "Peggy Sue" is a winner.

The biggest surprise?  Hearing who I thought for a nanosecond was Otis Redding, only to check my iTunes screen to see that it was...Kid Rock?  Now easy, Big O fans. It WAS only a nanosecond, but I really didn't know what I was listening to. I just knew, I loved this pseudo-soul arrangement of "Well All Right."  (Kid Rock. Well, all right.)

Mostly, I'm here to go on about Patti Smith, and her simply gorgeous reading of "Words Of Love." It's hard to top The Beatles' version, and Patti may have. I'm just not sure I have the balls to say so. It's as if she is crying out the tune. Plus, the "Hooked On A Feeling" phased guitar is a real nice touch by, I assume, Mr. Lenny Kaye.

All I am saying is, give this record a chance.


WORDS OF LOVE

Warning! Jazz Below!

Jackie McLean made his bones alongside Miles Davis in the early 50s, but it was his string of recordings for Blue Note in the 60s where he created a special place for himself in hardbop history.

I rarely post anything jazz or jazz-related. There's no reason for that. It's not that I presume you aren't listening, or could care less about the genre. I'm simply not very comfortable writing about it the way I can gush with backup over rock and roll. But I have loved this track since the day I first heard it.

It's from McLean's first release on Blue Note, 1959's "New Soil," and it's not quite as challenging as what he would subsequently release. But it swings like hell. I've always thought this is what Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass might sound like if they took themselves a bit more seriously.

Frankie Miller...That's Who!

Another bargain awaits your pouncing in the U.K. warehouses of Amazon. The great Scot, Frankie Miller, a singer largely unsung throughout his career, save the accolades of his peers, has been anthologized in a most perfect way.

The singer, who Allen Toussaint once referred to as the "most soulful singer he's ever heard," recorded 7 records for the Chrysalis label between 1973- 1980, including a debut backed by Brinsley Schwarz, and an album produced by Allen Toussaint and featuring Toussaint originals. Those two records, "Once In A Blue Moon" and "High Life," respectively, are worth the price of admission alone. But that's not all!

If you act now, they'll throw in his third release, "The Rock," another of Miller's solid displays of rock and soul.

These three LPs, newly remastered, can be yours for the low price of $19.99.

But wait...


Though Miller's next 4 LPs were a bit uneven, there are enough gems to warrant some listening time, including collaborations with Paul Carrack, Steven Tyler, and Robin Trower, as well as a full blown country record recorded with some of Nashville's finest.

Basically, what EMI did with the brilliant Hollies package a few month ago has been revisited with Frankie Miller's 4 CD set. 7 records spread over 4 CDs for $20.

Still, the highlight of this box in my opinion, is something that I would have spent $25 on by itself. The 1974 Allen Toussaint-produced "High Life," was apparently remixed and released by Chrysalis without Miller's or Toussaint's consent. This set offers, for the very first time, both the released version and the original mix, which is an exemplary example of New Orleans swamp and soul.

Here's the link:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thats-Who-Frankie-Miller/dp/B004TD5Z2W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310990399&sr=8-1

You won't be sorry.

The "Official" London Souls Debut

Many moons ago, 2007 to be exact, a friend at a major label suggested I check out a New York quartet called The London Souls. He sent me their album which they recorded with the producers Ray Bardani and Leo Sacks (who also gave us the New Orleans Social Club),  and I couldn't believe my ears. What I heard was the perfect combination of hit singles, musicianship and live energy. Think of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, with Beatlesque harmonies, and the funk and soul of Sly & The Family Stone, all tailored for AM radio, circa 1975.

My next move was to see them live. And I did. It was, at least for those 45 minutes, life-altering. They were kids. No longer a quartet, but a power trio--Tash, Kyoshi and Chris-- with an African-American lead singer/lead guitar player, sporting a big Afro and a bigger Gretsch guitar, a skinny Asian kid on bass, and a skinnier white kid also with an Afro, behind the drum kit, looking a little too much like Mitch Mitchell. AND...they all sang. What had knocked my socks off on record, happened right before my very eyes. The London Souls brought me back to the Fillmore, 1969, even though I had never been to the Fillmore in 1969.

I waited for what seemed like an eternity for this record to drop. It didn't. The band decided not to release the record, opting instead to make a new record, this time as a trio. Yesterday, the "official," Ethan Johns-produced London Souls debut finally hit digitally.

Two songs from those early sessions, "Someday" and "Grounded" appear as new recordings. That's it. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty to love on this debut. The London Souls have mastered the hook. But, it's a shame that the "first" album remains in the band's vault.

Tash Neal should be a rock star. He is larger than life when he performs. Hard to keep your eyes off of him, really, unless it's to marvel Chris St. Hilaire, who pounds hard like John Bonham and the aforementioned Mitch Mitchell, while singing Graham Nash-like high harmonies, or to stare in amazement at bassist Kiyoshi Matsuyama, who effortlessly holds bottom while adding the third vocal part. These qualities were captured flawlessly by Bardani and Sacks. The producers allowed Tash Neal to shine on guitar, thinking only of how to bring the live excitement to the studio. I miss those grooves. That "first" album played like a recorded souvenir of your very favorite concert experience.

I want to see this band explode, and they just might on the strength of this debut. But if I had my druthers, what The London Souls learned and explored on that 2007 album would find a way onto their sophomore release. Or even better, that Bardani/Sacks edition would find a way out on its own.


"THE LONDON SOULS" is streaming for free below.
http://music.aol.com/new-releases-full-cds/spinner#/19

It's also available as an inexpensive download on Amazon HERE

From their new, Soul On 10 debut, check out:

SOMEDAY

The Best Ultimate Definitive Greatest Essentials

I see that yesterday's post fired up a few people. I thought I'd take it a bit further.

Reader SOUNDSOURCE commented, "Don't get me started on Rhino Handmade."

For those unfamiliar with Rhino Handmade and the Universal Music Group's equivalent Hip-O Select, they are boutique sections of the labels, that released limited edition versions of lost albums in limited quantities for a premium.

You had the opportunity to purchase say...The Complete Aretha Franklin Live At The Fillmore with King Curtis. This 4 CD, $79.99 version had everything, including the complete King Curtis sets. You had to act fast, though. Rhino threatened its extinction as early as the pre-order e-mail blasts. So the collectors and the fans, did just that. And sure enough, it sold out. You can get a used copy for $125, if you want it. But the real issue is that soon after this "limited edition" was gone from inventory, Rhino Handmade released two separate CDs, an expanded and remastered version of both Aretha and King Curtis' set for $15 a piece. So for less than half the price of the 4 CD set, you could have had all the music, less a few alternate takes, which I imagine were intentionally left off the 2 CD sets just so Rhino could save face.

Hip-O Select practiced the same odious policy, only they stuck it to the fans deeper by offering iTunes downloads. Hardly limited or exclusive for the premium.

My favorite reissue fan "fuck you" is UMG's continuing series of anthologies. Almost every artist on the label has a "Best Of," a "Greatest Hits" and "Anthology" and "Ultimate" and a "Defintive" collection on CD, each peppered with either a different b-side, remix, or new track, just so the fans won't kill themselves.

I wrote the liner notes for "The Best Of Eddie Money" on Sony, a 16 track collection that I also helped compile. A few years later "The Essential Eddie Money" was released on Sony, which contained 15 tracks. I still laugh when I think that Eddie's "best" is one song longer than what Sony thought was "essential."

I will share SOUNDSOURCE'S sentiment by adding, "Don't even get me started on The Who reissues," which brings me to my question.





What umpteenth reissue was the one where the majors finally went overboard and made you say, "I've had it?"

Here We Go Again

 

 

 

 

Have you seen this? From last week's New York Times:

 

Internet Providers to Help Thwart Online Piracy

By BEN SISARIO

In a deal with the major entertainment media companies that has been years in the making, the leading Internet service providers have agreed to a uniform procedure for notifying customers about repeated instances of digital copyright infringement.

The Internet providers, including AT&T, Cablevision, Comcast Verizon and Time Warner Cable, announced the deal on Thursday in Washington with the major trade associations for movies and music, the Motion Picture Association of America, the Recording Industry Association of America, as well as organizations representing independent filmmakers and record companies.

The new procedure, which is expected to go into effect early next year, is known as a graduated response, and establishes a series of six warnings that an Internet service provider, or I.S.P., can send a customer whose account shows signs of infringing activity.

These warnings escalate from simple e-mail notifications to a set of “mitigation measures,” like slowed connections or a block from Web surfing altogether. As the steps progress, a user must acknowledge to his I.S.P. that he understands the notice, and the user can also contest the complaint.

“This is a sensible approach to the problem of online-content theft and, importantly, one that respects the privacy and rights of our subscribers,” Randal S. Milch, executive vice president and general counsel of Verizon, said in a statement. “We hope that effort –- designed to notify and educate customers, not to penalize them –- will set a reasonable standard for both copyright owners and I.S.P.’s to follow, while informing customers about copyright laws and encouraging them to get content from the many legal sources that exist.”

The agreement also sets up a clearinghouse, the Center for Copyright Information, to monitor the alert system and deal with infringement issues. The center is expected to have a board made up of representatives of both the media companies and the I.S.P.’s.

The deal is a victory of sorts for entertainment media companies, which have long complained that Internet providers were not doing enough to combat piracy. Yet while the system establishes guidelines for the I.S.P.’s in how they contact their customers, it does not replace the existing legal framework for online copyright infringement. That process, established by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in 1998, allows I.S.P.’s to shut down an infringing Web site if directed by a copyright holder.




Bob Lefsetz, who seems to have more time on his hands than I do, pretty much nails it. Or at least I think he does. And believe me, it's not easy for me to give props to Bob Lefsetz. I'll save why for another time.  But check it out:


Beware of the copyright bullies.

Mickey Mouse was about to go into the public domain. So what did Michael Eisner, head of Disney, do? Pay his lobbyists to get an extension of copyright. Yup, it was just that simple. That's how America works. Is it good for the public? Don't ask that question, otherwise you'll be questioning our entire government.

Not that this agreement is law. But it was brokered by the government. Obama wanting to pay off the lefties he can count on to support his reelection campaign. Hell, Rahm Emanuel's brother runs WME, need I say more?

This policy is so wrongheaded it makes me wonder if the copyright holders have lived through the last ten years.

Let's see. You kill Napster and it's replaced by KaZaA. You kill KaZaA and it's replaced by Limewire. You kill Limewire and it's replaced by BitTorrent. You attack the Pirate Bay and now infringers use lockers...RapidShare, Megaupload, they're multiplying like rabbits.

In other words, why don't we go back to Vietnam. Spend a bunch of money to push back an indeterminate enemy whilst putting out press releases stating that we're on our way to victory!

Huh?

Ten percent of the people will always steal. I'm quoting the aforementioned Mr. Eisner here. Forget 'em, write 'em off, they're never going to pay, they're the same people who wanted to borrow your vinyl records to make cassettes but never bought an album themselves.

The rest of the public? People are interested in convenience, a better offer. Apple products are more expensive than the competition's, why does the company keep winning? Because the perception is their wares re superior and you've got less downtime due to viruses/worms/complications...

Hell, if the content industries really wanted to triumph they'd offer help lines, genius bars, both physical and phone, hell, allow people to IM, helping them with the use of new content delivery systems.

That's how you win the war. By going where the people are, by leading them into something better.

Stop focusing on today's margins. Will you make as much money tomorrow? I don't know, but if you keep holding back the future you certainly won't. Our nation's business history is an endless river of innovation, throwing off revenue streams inconceivable previously. There's no YouTube without broadband. Where is our national broadband policy? Where are the lightning speeds of South Korea? Content industries don't want them, because you can deliver a movie in minutes. But did you ever think as a result you'd end up with new revenue streams, like Hulu, which is about to pass half a billion dollars a year in revenue!

And this newfangled policy is essentially toothless. And it assumes that what the content providers say is true, that traders are infringers. But even though this is frequently the case, it's not always true. Do you like a country where you're guilty until proven innocent? What happened to the American way? What about holding that terrorist suspect on a ship for months without charging him? What happened to habeas corpus? Is America so afraid that it's willing to throw out the rule of law? Don't you want to be able to depend on the system if you're charged unnecessarily?

If one guilty person goes free that's better than killing an innocent man. But not in the content world, where there's a scorched earth policy trying to jet an entire nation into the past, an entire world.

The issue isn't piracy, it's content providers' inability to deliver their product in a way the public wants to use it.

Release those movies online for a low price day and date. If it impacts exhibitors, so what. Isn't this what got the music industry in trouble, delaying digital sales to placate Wal-Mart? And what does Wal-Mart do, shrink floor space, order fewer SKUs, huh?

Lower the price of music. Yup, music's overpriced, hate to tell you that. What's better, to get a few people to pay a lot and have the rest steal or getting everybody to pay a little. Don't fight on principle, be practical.

The RIAA has been wrong time and again. The RIAA should not be fighting digital piracy, it should be bopping copyright holders over the head to license innovative startups. Furthermore, what's hip today is passe tomorrow. Yesterday it was Pandora, today it's Turntable.fm. Charge now, ride into the future with innovators, don't try to maintain your old business model.

And too many of the artists are on the wrong side. So busy making their music, they're clueless as to digital realities. Filmmakers are the worst, especially the successful ones. I'm gonna let you in on a secret, digital allows everybody to play, from the wankers to the iconoclastic geniuses. The major labels have hemorrhaged market share to indies as a result of digital home recording and digital distribution. The movie business wants to maintain its monopoly. They're not fighting for the people coming up, but trying to keep them down.

The truth hurts.

If you think the major label or the big studio is on your side you've never had a success with either. If they pay at all, it's a fraction of what you're owed.

And streaming is the future anyway. Focusing on downloads is like focusing on pirate CDs. Wait, they're doing that! They want to circumvent the law to prevent it! What next, a campaign against illegal 78s? Wax cylinders?

If the music business were smart, and it's not, it would lower digital track prices by two-thirds, have a going out of business sale. And that's what's happening, streaming is here to replace it. Digital tracks are like ringtones, a momentary business. And if we had that aforementioned national broadband policy we could deliver hi-res files, getting people to buy what they've already purchased all over again, like we did with CDs!

Do you want to give up your e-mail? Do you want to be limited to a BlackBerry in an iPhone world? How about killing on demand TV and the Slingbox and every other innovation that makes consumption of copyrighted material easier. That's what the content providers want, the old model.

But the people do not. The people are pissed at the copyright bullies. These corporations would do better to make peace instead of war. Spotify is a piracy killer. But what does Warner do? Refuse to license it! As if anemic initial streaming royalties should be forgone to keep the CD alive. This is like refusing to license 8-track duplication because you don't want to kill vinyl records. Yes, the labels outsourced 8-track production, until they realized tape was the future and built their own duplication facilities which are now accumulating dust if not completely plowed over.

Let's save TDK. And Maxell. And Nakamichi. Why not? They were profitable, they had employees, don't they deserve to live?

No corporation deserves to live. You've got to earn your longevity. And today's media behemoths are doing their best to eviscerate their futures. Tech is both the problem and the solution. You don't succeed by resting on your laurels, but killing your young and replacing them with newborns. The iPhone is killing the iPod. If Apple were run by Doug Morris the iPhone would be shelved and the iPod would rule until it fell of a cliff and so did the company. Isn't this EXACTLY what happened to Sony? Sony's no longer my first choice in ANYTHING!

The future will come despite the antics of these despots. And it will benefit those not wedded to the past, willing to take risks.

Hopefully, that's you.


and 


Is anybody other than the major labels complaining the Internet has made music worse? That free music has ruined the incentive to create? That if we don't overpay we'll get lousier tunes?

This fiction has been created by a well-compensated class that doesn't realize it's involved in an epic battle between the haves and the have-nots. One they cannot win until they come down off their perch and get into the pit with their customers.

How does it FEEL?

That's what Bob Dylan sang.

I ask you, how does it feel to get ripped off, paying $12.99 for a CD with one good tune?

How does it feel to be a fan of the band but find out that you've got to pay far in excess of the printed price to attend the show?

What is end game here? What do labels and promoters think is going to change? Do they think they can put all the customers in reeducation camps where they'll be happy to fork over all their cash to a ruling class?

Yes, that's how the fans see the artists. As rich. Why should I buy that guy's music when he's constantly flying around on his private jet, when I read online he grossed double digit millions last year? I'm struggling, he can afford it.

Of course that's an oversimplification of the issues, but that's how the customer sees it, ignorant or not. Wouldn't it be best to educate the customer? And you can't educate him by telling him you've got to make all this money to be much richer than he is. The fan has to be seen as doing you a favor, investing in you to keep you alive, to hear great new music. Buying music and going to a show are completely different from buying broadband service, or milk or eggs. Most people don't even know what brand of eggs they consume, but try to get them to go to a show of an act they don't enjoy, or don't even know, it's impossible.

Lady Gaga has got this right. From the very start, she positioned herself on the side of her fans, her Little Monsters. She fought the big bad Target on behalf of her homosexual followers. Gaga is about doing what's right instead of what's expedient.

Honesty, transparency, access and trust. Those are the bywords of business today. But where are they found in the music business?

You want the album but if you buy it at iTunes or Amazon or Target it's different, you can't get all the tunes you want. Huh? This is good for the fan how?

You've got to join the fan club or get an AmEx card to get a shot at a good seat. That's like having to buy a personal seat license to go to the supermarket.

How did we go so wrong?

A culture of greed. And people ascending the ladder and feeling entitled to their new lifestyle.

This is hampering not only music, but all of America. People want jobs. When Goldman Sachs complains about regulations no wonder the people hate them, they're so rich!

Do you see Steve Jobs posting about his wealth?

How about Warren Buffett. Actually, he testifies for higher taxes, for more equitable distribution of wealth, he's pledged to give his fortune away, isn't it interesting that he gets a public pass, even though some of his dealings are questionable.

The content industries get no pass, because of their horrendous record of egregious behaviors.

The customer is king. He'll pay a fair amount for what he wants. Don't try to trick him into buying crap through subterfuge, the Internet was built to ferret out such duplicitous behavior.

Being a successful act is about pleasing fans. Sure, you might employ radio and press to get to this spot, but if you think that radio and press are your friend, just call them up when you're broke and on the bottom. A fan will come right over, buy you a meal, cover you in his blanket. The fan believes you're still number one.

A fan does not care if you're rich if he believes you earned it, and he helped build you. But don't be greedy. That turns off the rank and file.

There's an illusion in this country that because corporations control the government, because the rich employ lobbyists and get their way, that the elite run this country. This could not be more wrong. The people run this country, the rank and file. Who now have access to information on the Internet.

People don't feel bad about stealing movies or music. It's not like any of these companies have gone out of business, and look at the outrageous salaries paid Lyor Cohen and Irving Azoff, you're gonna feel sorry for Warner Music or Live Nation?

If you believe the public is an ungrateful bunch of thieves you're gonna get the biggest wake-up call of your life. You'd better cash out now and hide your money, go live on a desert island. Because it's all going topsy-turvy. You're either with us or against us. Either you're giving us free material to go with the stuff we pay for, either you're getting me into the show at a fair price, or you're the enemy.

The public is ahead of the businessmen and the acts. If you want to survive, get on the people's side.
 






Four years ago, my business partner and I wrote a piece for the New York Times during a particularly difficult time for us and our CD retail business.  When NYCD was thriving, every customer who opted out of buying a CD in favor of burning one off of a friend, or "finding it online," felt like a kick in the stomach. Sure, we wanted the sale, but I can speak for both of us when I say, we felt it was more than that. 

 

We thought it was our duty as long time music fans/nerds to support both the artist and the label. But, as we watched our empire slowly and painfully become a sinkhole, we couldn't help blame the majors. We felt betrayed.  Our OP-ED is below.

Spinning Into Oblivion

By TONY SACHS and SAL NUNZIATO

Published: April 5, 2007

DESPITE the major record labels’ best efforts to kill it, the single, according to recent reports, is back. Sort of.

You’ll still have a hard time finding vinyl 45s or their modern counterpart, CD singles, in record stores. For that matter, you’ll have a tough time finding record stores. Today’s single is an individual track downloaded online from legal sites like iTunes or eMusic, or the multiple illegal sites that cater to less scrupulous music lovers. The album, or collection of songs — the de facto way to buy pop music for the last 40 years — is suddenly looking old-fashioned. And the record store itself is going the way of the shoehorn.

This is a far cry from the musical landscape that existed when we opened an independent CD shop on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in 1993. At the time, we figured that as far as business ventures went, ours was relatively safe. People would always go to stores to buy music. Right? Of course, back then there were also only two ringtones to choose from — “riiiiinnng” and “ring-ring.”

Our intention was to offer a haven for all kinds of music lovers and obsessives, a shop that catered not only to the casual record buyer (“Do you have the new Sarah McLachlan and ... uh ... is there a Beatles greatest hits CD?”) but to the fan and oft-maligned serious collector (“Can you get the Japanese pressing of ‘Kinda Kinks’? I believe they used the rare mono mixes”). Fourteen years later, it’s clear just how wrong our assumptions were. Our little shop closed its doors at the end of 2005.

The sad thing is that CDs and downloads could have coexisted peacefully and profitably. The current state of affairs is largely the result of shortsightedness and boneheadedness by the major record labels and the Recording Industry Association of America, who managed to achieve the opposite of everything they wanted in trying to keep the music business prospering. The association is like a gardener who tried to rid his lawn of weeds and wound up killing the trees instead.

In the late ’90s, our business, and the music retail business in general, was booming. Enter Napster, the granddaddy of illegal download sites. How did the major record labels react? By continuing their campaign to eliminate the comparatively unprofitable CD single, raising list prices on album-length CDs to $18 or $19 and promoting artists like the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears — whose strength was single songs, not albums. The result was a lot of unhappy customers, who blamed retailers like us for the dearth of singles and the high prices.

The recording industry association saw the threat that illegal downloads would pose to CD sales. But rather than working with Napster, it tried to sue the company out of existence — which was like thinking you’ve killed all the roaches in your apartment because you squashed the one you saw in the kitchen. More illegal download sites cropped up faster than the association’s lawyers could say “cease and desist.”

By 2002, it was clear that downloading was affecting music retail stores like ours. Our regulars weren’t coming in as often, and when they did, they weren’t buying as much. Our impulse-buy weekend customers were staying away altogether. And it wasn’t just the independent stores; even big chains like Tower and Musicland were struggling.

Something had to be done to save the record store, a place where hard-core music fans worked, shopped and kibitzed — and, not incidentally, kept the music business’s engine chugging in good times and in lean. Who but these loyalists was going to buy the umpteenth Elton John hits compilation that the major labels were foisting upon them?
 

But instead, those labels delivered the death blow to the record store as we know it by getting in bed with soulless chain stores like Best Buy and Wal-Mart. These “big boxes” were given exclusive tracks to put on new CDs and, to add insult to injury, they could sell them for less than our wholesale cost. They didn’t care if they didn’t make any money on CD sales. Because, ideally, the person who came in to get the new Eagles release with exclusive bonus material would also decide to pick up a high-speed blender that frappéed.

The jig was up. It didn’t matter that even a store as small as ours carried hundreds of titles you’d never see at Best Buy and was staffed by people who actually knew who Van Morrison was, or that Tower Records had the entire history of recorded music under one roof while Costco didn’t carry much more than the current hits. A year after our shop closed, Tower went out of business — something that would have been unthinkable just a few years earlier. The customers who had grudgingly come to trust our opinions made the move to online shopping or lost interest in buying music altogether. Some of the most loyal fans had been soured into denying themselves the music they loved.

Meanwhile, the recording industry association continues to give the impression that it’s doing something by occasionally threatening to sue college students who share their record collections online. But apart from scaring the dickens out of a few dozen kids, that’s just an amusing sideshow. They’re not fighting a war any more than the folks who put on Civil War regalia and re-enact the Battle of Gettysburg are.

The major labels wanted to kill the single. Instead they killed the album. The association wanted to kill Napster. Instead it killed the compact disc. And today it’s not just record stores that are in trouble, but the labels themselves, now belatedly embracing the Internet revolution without having quite figured out how to make it pay.

At this point, it may be too late to win back disgruntled music lovers no matter what they do. As one music industry lawyer, Ken Hertz, said recently, “The consumer’s conscience, which is all we had left, that’s gone, too.”

It’s tempting for us to gloat. By worrying more about quarterly profits than the bigger picture, by protecting their short-term interests without thinking about how to survive and prosper in the long run, record-industry bigwigs have got what was coming to them. It’s a disaster they brought upon themselves.

We would be gloating, but for the fact that the occupation we planned on spending our working lives at is rapidly becoming obsolete. And that loss hits us hard — not just as music retailers, but as music fans.





I am not condoning music theft. Stealing is stealing. I'm just saying, it doesn't feel as bad as it once did.

"Group Hug 1.1" : THE WEEKEND MIX (PT. 2)

I love "Group Hug 1.0." I mean, every song was a winner. The Overlanders, Just Desserts and the Hacienda Brothers were three personal faves. And I have to admit that Bill Callahan's voice did not grow on me, but "Jim Cain" is a wonderful piece of music. Seriously, there wasn't a stinker in the bunch. 

Ready for Round Two?


TRACKLIST


Intro/Sweet Jane- Lou Reed
Man Kind (Live)- Misty In Roots
People Got To Be Free- The Rascals
Lover's Deligh- Funktion
Slow, Hot, & Sweaty- JJ Grey & Mofro
You Got Me Singing- Eddie Hinton
One More Time- The Clash
One More Dub- The Clash
E = MC2- Big Audio Dynamite
Art In America- Art In America
Long Flowing Robe- Todd Rundgren
Laredo Rose- The Texas Tornados
Sign Language- Eric Clapton & Bob Dylan
Race For The Prize - The Flaming Lips
Nobody Knows- The Feelies
Don't Let The Devil Ride- Neal Roberson


THE ZIP

THE BLURBS




INTRO/SWEET JANE- LOU REED

(Eric S.)

This offer got me thinking to songs that came into my life at pivotal moments and carried me through rough times, or hearing an artist for the first time and recognizing genius at the get-go.  My list is too long...but I'm on a Rock and Roll Animal binge recently with the double guitars of Wagner/Hunter behind Princess Lou.

MAN KIND (LIVE)- MISTY IN ROOTS

(Dave L., Berlin)

The pieces of music that send shivers down my spine and give me 'Gänze Haut'  (goose pimples) cannot be quantified. There is no one and true measurement that will accurately  record my favourite songs at any given time, there are too many variables.  But, today in Berlin there is sun for the first time in days and the mood is on  the up..... The song I nominate today for the Weekend Mix is 'Mankind' by Misty In Roots  Live at the Counter Eurovision 1979. First heard on John Peels Radio 1 programme and never left my side since. I have  the vinyl of course but the  CD is still not available....still waiting. There are several nominees for best  live album of all time and I've heard most of them and this one is up there with the best...play it after midnight for best effect. Why did I choose this song over the thousands of other candidates?  No reason, except it's the first song that I thought of whilst reading your  blog. Simple. Sorry Bruce. Sit back, relax...it's Misty In Roots.

PEOPLE GOT TO BE FREE- THE RASCALS

(Jeff K.)

Hey, so if i were programming this week's set, I'd fill it with great AM songs from the summers of the late 60s and early 70s.

LOVER’S DELIGHT- FUNKTION

(Les)

Here's a track from the Kalamazoo based Funktion's latest release, Step Into It. Described as "jazzy hip-hop based funk", the 8 member band is best when it leans heavy on the funk and jazz. I'm sharing this one, Lover's Delight, because it's a fun song - bright and chipper and great for Summer.

DON’T LET THE DEVIL RIDE- NEAL ROBERSON

SLOW, HOT, & SWEATY- JJ GREY & MOFRO

(Soundsource)

Here's two not one. One is godly and one is dirty, but what they have in common is a down and dirty stone cold groove. Should get you up and moving for the weekend. (one for Saturday night one for Sunday morning).

YOU GOT ME SINGING- EDDIE HINTON

(Gene Oberto)

I was a merchandiser for CBS Records in the late 70's and one of the duties was doing inventories for the sales reps. One of my stores was the Tower on Mercer Avenue in Seattle. 

I was in the store one day counting and listening to the in-store play. In those days, Tower employees liked to out-do each other in playing the most obscure discs, not only to keep up their cred as record junkies but also to see if anyone would buy the LP playing. On this day, a voice came over the speakers that stopped me in my counting and made me go up to the counter to find out who it was.

The comparison to Otis is immediate, but when you discover that the Very Extremely Dangerous Eddie Hinton was a session guitarist in the Muscle Shoals band, the production a natural extension of Hinton's work with Wilson Pickett, Arthur Conley, Aretha Franklin, Joe Tex, Solomon Burke, Percy Sledge, The Staple Singers, The Dells, Paul Kelly, Johnny Taylor, Elvis Presley, The Box Tops, R.B. Greaves, Boz Scaggs, Evie Sands, Looking Glass, Toots Hibbert and, of course, Otis Redding.

The sumptious, soulful build of "You Got Me Singing" is typical - an easy soulful groove that reminds me of humid summers in the Southeast, a relaxed rhythm guitar then backs it up and is sided by the legendary Muscle Shoals brass - all the while Eddie is testifying like Otis is in the room and he has to impress his mentor. It's also the song that made me put down my pen and buy this Capricorn release.

ONE MORE TIME & ONE MORE DUB- THE CLASH

(Mark S.)

Have not listened to the 'only band that matters' in a long time. This song, One More Time, showed up via shuffle recently and it drew me right in again. Always loved the weirdness of it, the contrast of Mikey Dread's vocals and Joe's and now I am loving the whole Sandinista project again.

E= MC2- BIG AUDIO DYNAMITE

(Jared J.)

Mick Jones is underrated.

I was in junior high at the time and music means so much at that age.

Summer calls for 80’s dance rock.

Cool samples/references.

To celebrate the Big Audio Dynamite reunion tour.

 

ART IN AMERICA- ART IN AMERICA

(Shriner)

This came on through shuffle recently (well, not *this* track, but another track off the album).   It reminded me of when it came out (early 80s - they were a local Michigan band) and a bunch of friends of mine were in punk-ish bands and the video was played on one of the local UHF stations (this was pre-MTV).

We had a long argument about the lyrics of the chorus.   My friend -- who was the primary singer/guitarist of his band --  thought they were excedlingly pretentious and hated everything about the song.   But I thought -- hey, they have a harp (!) and it was pretty power-poppy, so I dug it.   We didn't see eye to eye on the song or the band (or a lot of other music for that matter...)   

The band never released another album and I was stunned to see it released on CD in early 2000-something or so with the promise in the liner notes of a "rareties" collection that never came to light.

Anyway it's got the trifecta:    "Art In America" by the band Art In America -- off the album "Art In America".

You can't beat that. 

LONG FLOWING ROBE- TODD RUNDGREN

(Nathan S.)

"Long Flowing Robe" by Todd Rundgren from "Runt: The Ballad of Todd Rundgren.

Enjoy, and thanks for all the music, Pal.

Laredo Rose- Texas Tornados

(Sal Nunziato)

It came on iPod shuffle at just the right time. It worked for me, so I hope it works for you.

SIGN LANGUAGE- ERIC CLAPTON & BOB DYLAN

(Steve S.)

Sign Language
Sure, Dylan probably spit out this song after his morning coffee, but who really cares?  I've always heard it as a great, (and truly funny) observation about the price of fame.  But more importantly, you've got Dylan, Clapton, and (most of) the Band playing together here...and, from the sound of it, everyone's having a great time. Some have complained that Robbie Robertson goes a bit overboard, but I think his playing just adds to the song's charm. (BTW, although this is the same track as the one on "No Reason to Cry," it's a totally different mix and lacks the heavy-handed reverb that practically smothers the album version.)

RACE FOR THE PRICE- FLAMING LIPS

(A Walk In The Woods)

This is the first song from their epic album "The Soft Bulletin," which I recently saw them perform in its entirety. Having had a few relatives who have had cancer in recent years, this is the song that motivates me to think maybe someone will find a cure. That's what I get out of this song... don't know if they intended it that way.

NOBODY KNOWS- THE FEELIES

(Ken D.)

Here's the first song off the new Feelies album... I picked it simply because its the latest album I've bought and when I first played it a couple of days ago, it instantly brought a smile to my face. After about 10 seconds I thought, "Yes, I'm going to like this album a lot." (Probably not a good way to review albums—could lead to a lot of disappointment. But not in this case.)

VOLUME ONE

http://burnwoodtonite.blogspot.com/2011/07/group-hug-10-weekend-mix-pt-1.html

"Group Hug 1.0" : THE WEEKEND MIX (PT. 1)

Be careful what you wish for.

Of course, I wake up and the chumps over at Blogger decide to give an unexpected makeover to the dashboard on a very big posting day, leaving me in more than a bit of a tizzy. Sorry for the formatting. 

This was more work than I expected, but man it was great fun. I had hoped for just enough submissions for a Weekend Mix, but instead found enough songs in my in-box for almost THREE! (Though, I admit to being a little surprised and disappointed not finding songs from some of Burning Wood's "most loyal" readers. Party poopers.)

There was exactly one song submitted by a woman. Do with that fact what you will.

Some readers sent 2 or 3 songs. Some sent WMA files, which I would need to convert. I'm liking just about everything, so this will be a two-parter, with "Group Hug 1.1" appearing tomorrow.

There's no real theme, though I did sequence the tracks on both today's and tomorrow's offerings to what sounded like...something.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

TRACKLIST

Nowhere With You- Joel Plaskett Emergency
Don't It Make You Feel Good- The Overlanders
Apple Scruffs- George Harrison
The Mighty Quinn (Frankenstein Edit)- Manfred Mann
Got To Get Out- Nick Gilder
Yellow Sunglasses- The Klowns
Royal Oakie- Louie & The Lovers
Jim Cain- Bill Callahan
2:10 Train- Rising Sons
Anything- Just Desserts
Trip Around The Sun- Al Anderson
Dandelion River Run- Mimi & Richard Farina
Ordinary Fool- Hacienda Brothers
You're Supposed To Be Feeling Good- Emmylou Harris
Peter Pan- Jim Boggia
Connection- Montrose
No Matter What- Pete Ham
Burning Love (Live)- Dennis Linds

THE ZIP

THE BLURBS




NOWHERE WITH YOU- JOEL PLASKETT
(James M.)

Joel is a jewel in Canada's east coast music scene crown, 

an indie darling (this song is the most streamed song 

in the history of CBC Radio 3 -- the Internet 

only branch of the national broadcaster), an emerging national star 

and about the best live performer I've ever seen. 

Solo, as producer, or with the band, Joel sounds like everybody 

and simultaneously sounds unique. Over seven albums 

there are a million songs to choose from -- this song is one 

of the most fun and a great introduction.

DON'T IT MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD- THE OVERLANDERS
(James G.)

This is the insanely catchy version of "Don't It Make You Feel Good" by The Overlanders, a song that, as a matter of fact, always does make me feel good. For whatever reason, the 'landers relegated it to the B side of their (1964) single, "Sing A Song of Sadness." It also appears on their 1966 album, MICHELLE.

The song was written by Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch of The Shadows, who also recorded a nice rendition of it in '64. It lacks the bouncy combo organ stylings of the Overlanders version, however, so is docked some pep points, accordingly.
    
I first became aware of the song when a local oldies DJ discovered, and became fixated on the Overlanders' 45, playing it every evening drive time for weeks.




APPLE SCRUFFS- GEORGE HARRISON
(John B.)

Back in the day, before it was a country station and before its current incarnation as "Rush Radio" with raving wingnut rants 24/7, WQDR was the AOR station in my listening area. And Apple Scruffs was one of those songs that would come on from time to time that made me leap across the room to crank up the volume. Just George and his guitar (and his first-ever time playing harmonica on record, according to Bobby Whitlock's book), and I loved it. 

And the Apple Scruffs, as most BW readers probably already know, were the girls who sat outside Abbey Road waiting to catch a glimpse. Whitlock writes "They weren't really scruffy... All they really wanted was to touch us or have an autograph. Mostly it was just to see us or give us a flower. That would make them happy." 

Which just makes this track all the more charming, in my book.





THE MIGHTY QUINN (FRANKENSTEIN EDIT)--MANFRED MANN
(John W.)

Three versions of The Mighty Quinn in progress. I edited them together for a stripped down version.




GOT TO GET OUT- NICK GILDER
(Frank D.)

Out of the many thousands of mp3s in my collection, here’s one by the 
high pitched screamer Nick Gilder of Hot Child In The City fame. 
From the same LP as said hit from 1978, this is a steadfast
rocker album cut which maybe could have been a small hit but wasn’t. 
Never even played on the popular FM radio stations at the time, but should’ve been. 
A pity, always a favorite of mine, good song. 




YELLOW SUNGLASSES- THE KLOWNS
(JAG)

The weekend mix submission I'm attaching is from a Jeff Barry-Ringling Brothers TV endeavor, The Klowns, whose membership including Barry Bostwick.

"Yellow Sunglasses" is found on The Klowns' sole (no! really?) l.p., from 1970.
(The album also includes a track called "Love Is The Answer" that is decidedly not the Todd Rundgren song of the same title.)




ROYAL OAKIE- LOUIE & THE LOVERS
 (Jeff K.)

There's this great song that you know and 

which is in constant rotation here.

JIM CAIN- BILL CALLAHAN

(Big Jim Slade)

A beautiful introduction to an album that is truly another world. 
I just did a search on Sal's site and found that 
he doesn't like the singing. Yeah, I wasn't sure how I was going 
to take to it either, but after listening to the whole album, 
I was floored. I'll say this, I think his singing 
is as emotive as Paul Simon's. It took me quite a while to 
like PS because I thought he did his vocals at the kitchen table 
while reading the morning paper. Or maybe in the studio, 
but while balancing his checkbook. When I finally listened to Graceland 
with the lyrics in hand, then I got it.



 
 
2:10 TRAIN- RISING SONS
(Steve Simels)



Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder's pioneering blues--folk-rock band ruled 
the clubs in LA in '65 and '66, but they never made 
an album and broke up before what they were doing 
actually became fashionable. 
 
This unplugged-before-it's-time live in the studio cut 
is beyond spine-tingling; it's hard to fathom that it remained, 
unheard, in the Columbia Records vaults 
until the early '90s. 



ANYTHING- JUST DESSERTS
(William Repsher)



Just Desserts, an NYC band, put out the album "Does Anybody Notice This 
Sentimental War Going On or Is It Just Us?" on a tiny indie record label
 in 1987 that gets a lot of play on local college radio and Vin Scelsa's
 WNEW Sunday morning show, but never quite makes it.  Co-leader Larry 
Fessenden goes off and becomes noted indie horror movie director; other 
guy, Tom Laverack, puts out solo albums over the years when not being a 
social worker.  In 2011, they get back together as Just Desserts for a 
new album that sounds good (not as good as Sentimental War, which is a 
lost 80s classic), and this song strikes me as the best of the bunch. 



 
TRIP AROUND THE SUN- AL ANDERSON
(Jeff C.)

Big Al Anderson also seems to be in a good place. He’s a hero of mine, 
right up there with Chet and Jimi and Grant Green. Back in the 80s I 
drove up to Poughkeepsie to see NRBQ at the Chance, a beautiful old 
theatre. I couldn’t find the place, and after driving around the block a
 few times, I spotted a guy at a payphone, and I yelled to ask him where
 the club was. He looked up – and it was Big Al. He pointed out the 
joint, and I quickly parked and walked over to say thanks. We had a 
short conversation about being tired (he was) and skiing (he didn’t 
approve). I grilled him on a couple of guitar-player issues. Then he 
went in and they played the most incredible set – possibly the best out 
of 30 or so shows that I saw of the classic line-up. Frank Gadler 
dropped by and sang a rousing “Howard Johnson’s Got His HoJo Working” – 
it was that kind of night, magical. 

 

I was sorry to see him leave the band but it was 
time, I guess, and he’s graced us with some fine music since, but he 
rarely lets it fly the way he did with the Q. This is a gorgeous ballad 
from his “After Hours” album, more typical of his recent stuff, and of 
course it rang especially true for me when I dialed up a live YouTube 
version yesterday. Here’s the studio version. Enjoy.
 
 
 
DANDELION RIVER RUN- MIMI & RICHARD FARINA
(A Walk IN The Woods)
 
One of life's great little tunes, this is a dulcimer-driven instrumental 
from one of their few albums before Richard (who was also a writer) was 
killed on a motorcycle on the same day as the book release party for his
 novel "Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up To Me" in 1966. His wife was 
Mimi Fariña - sister of Joan Baez. This song is the sound of summer for 
me, and since we're in high summer, this is high in my playlist. 






ORDINARY FOOL- HACIENDA BROTHERS

(J. Loslo)




My submission is "Ordinary Fool,"by Hacienda Brothers. 
Hacienda Brothers were led by the late country 
singer Chris Gaffney and Dave Gonzalez, front man of the Paladins. 
Besides being a great song in itself, 
it's a song that can fit on 
a country playlist or a soul playlist. 
I can hear it being done by Merle Haggard or Solomon Burke.




 
YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE FEELING GOOD- EMMYLOU HARRIS
(Mike Sac)


 Rodney Crowell has written a lot of songs and made a lot of records over the 
years. Some were big hits and some were not. The albums, though they had 
some duds on them, usually had one masterpiece.. Trust me, I have them 
all. Here's one from Luxury Liner that I don't think Rodney ever 
recorded and was always one of my faves (I especially like the James 
Burton guitar licks after the first chorus. Pure country guitar.) I seem to remember hearing this 
on the old WHN New York county radio station. 
 
 
PETER PAN- JIM BOGGIA
(DeepKarma)

I absolutely love this song.   The first time I heard it I thought it was 

an uplifting salute to the little kid in all of us.  Then I focused on 
the lyrics... 
I've been this dude.  No.  I am this dude.  The older I get, 
the better I can handle the crap that 
life flings at me on an everyday basis.  
But, I'll be damned if I'm ever gonna grow up.
 
 
CONNECTION- MONTROSE
(John Ryan)
 You did a story once on covers that were as good or 
better than the original....this is my favorite and just a great song in its own right.
Connection by Montrose....it also sounds nothing like the Stones version. 
 
 
NO MATTER WHAT- PETE HAM
(Steves)
 
I have long believed that Badfinger's "No Matter What" may be the best 
powerpop song ever recorded. So, I was totally knocked on my ass the 
first time I heard Pete Ham's solo acoustic demo of the song.  No 
less powerful than the band version--perhaps even more so in some 
ways--what struck me right away was how delicate a song it really is.  
Stripped of the in-your-face electric guitars and Beatlesque backup 
harmonies, it stands a breathtaking example of Ham's exquisite singing 
and songwriting abilities, and is yet another sad reminder of how much 
was lost in April of 1975. (Taken from Rykodisc's long out of print CD, 7
 Park Avenue.) 


    

 

BURNING LIVE (LIVE)- DENNIS LINDE

(Steve S.)

 


Burning hot July.... Dennis Linde wrote this in '72, 
Arthur Alexander first recorded it, and Elvis made it famous, 
so much so that it's heard now mostly as parody. 
But here's the real deal, performed in a live version by the composer.  
 

 

Great work everyone. Thank you all.  See you tomorrow with "Group Hug 1.1"