Gerard vs. Bear quit blogging?

nooooooooooo!

"2007 maybe see more asshole make say "ME GERARD."

No. YOU NOT GERARD.

FUUUUCK.

Gerard no make reveal. Gerard maybe fade away.

NO MAKE REVEAL."

New report spells trouble for music industry, not Apple

This is a great article in USA today of all places.

"People want their music without restrictions, and too many legal downloads, like those from iTunes, come with restrictions. You can't copy them to another player, or you're limited to how often you can do it, or you have to jump through the hoops of burning your iTunes tracks to CD and re-ripping them to a more useful format. And iTunes works most seamlessly with just one brand of music player: Apple. Right now it's not as much of an issue, with iPods having a dominant market share. But as cellphones with built-in MP3 players gain popularity, users will find themselves up against an entirely new set of usage restrictions.

Some subscription services will delete the music from your player when you cancel your subscription.

You'd almost be better off buying an LP.

Buy a CD or use a program like eMule to steal music and you have no restrictions. And that's what people want.

They don't want to have to match their music store with their music player any more than they want to have to match their brands of gasoline with their brands of car. They want, in short, to be able to use today's music the same ways they used yesterday's: Any way they want.

In fact, the industry's been down this road before and hit a similar wall. In the first decades of the 20th century, the wax cylinders (and, later, 78rpm disks) on which music was recorded worked only with specific players. Industry attempts to monopolize the technology led only to poor sales."

read more....

MUSIC OF 2006: When the kids lost the music

I can't believe how inept and narrow-minded this article is in the "Japan Times."

"Young people aren't interested in music anymore, and it's having an effect on concert-ticket sales. The Rock In Japan Festival [which took place this year in August in Ibaraki Prefecture and attracted 47,000 fans per day over three days] might have sold out, but tickets for individual shows are on the decline. In short, I'm not optimistic about the future of music."

It's almost comical.

Of all the things happening in the world...
Doesn't this make you feel slightly queasy?



Ok I admit I emailed one of those articles. But still.

Jargon is free now

myspamous - [adj.] posessing fame gathered (legitimately or questionably) on Myspace. This type of fame is often:

• illusory
• unfortunate
• unintentional
• intensely sought-after
  
• purchased
• not translatable to monetary gain or real fame
• just fake
• a corporate advertising scheme
• momentary
  
• read about in articles that have this sentence "due to the popularity of social networking sites like myspace blah blah blah"
  

The only documented use of the word "Myspamous" is by Betty on the myspace page of "Golden Ax" in the "comments" section



update: new documented instance of Myspamous on the private myspace blog 200 Bars/ 06' Ether

"I need a beat to rock to. Since these cats wanna make me Myspamous, I guess I gotta show my thanks. Loan me your eyes for a few minutes walk with me and peep game..."

TOMLAB & FRIENDS TOP 10 RECORDS OF 2007

+++

JONA BECHTOLT (THE BLOW / YACHT)
1. Dear Nora // There Is No Home
2. Adrian Orange // Bitches is Lord
3. Justin Timberlake // FutureSex/LoveSounds
4. Bobby Birdman // Giraffes & Jackals
5. Lucky Dragons // Widows
6. Planningtorock // Have It All
7. Valet // Blood Is Clean
8. RATATAT // Classics
9. White Rainbow // BOX
10. Dirty Projectors // New Attitude EP

+++

DAVID SHRIGLEY
1. Yoshida Tatsuya & Keji Haino // New Rap
2. Scott Walker // The Drift
3. John Zorn // Moonchild
4. Dead Moon // Echoes of The Past
5. Merzbow // Sennmaida
6. Electric Masada // At The Mountains of Madness
7. John Zorn // Mysterium
8. Paul Flaherty & Chris Corsano // The Beloved Music
9. Rhys Chatham // Die Donnergotter
10. Cat Power // The Greatest

+++

OWEN PALLETT (FINAL FANTASY)
1. Xiu Xiu // The Air Force
2. Rozasia // Rozasia EP
3. Ratface Dream Angel // Mix CD-Rs
4. Sparks // Hello Young Lovers
5. Grizzly Bear // Yellow House
6. Sandro Perri // Sings Polmo Polpo
7. Scott Walker // The Drift
8. Simon Bookish // Trainwreck/Raincheck
9. Planningtorock // Have It All
10. Wyrd Visions // Half Eaten Guitar

+++

OWEN ASHWORTH (CASIOTONE FOR THE PAINFULLY ALONE)
Final Fantasy // He Poos Clouds
The Parenthetical Girls // Safe As Houses
Lupe Fiasco // Lupe Fiasco's Food and Liquor
Scott Walker // The Drift
Ghostface Killah // Fishscale
The Mountain Goats // Get Lonely
The Donkeys // The Donkeys
Xiu Xiu // The Air Force
Clipse // Hell Hath No Fury
Boduf Songs // Lion Devours The Sun
(no perticular order)

+++

MARK ROBINSON (TEENBEAT/UNREST)
1. Soccer Team // Soccer Team
2. SCHOTT'S 2007 ALMANAC
3. Bossanova // Hey, Sugar
4. Love and Radio // podcast
5. The Books // Music for a French Elevator
6. The Durutti Column // Heaven Sent
7. The Sway Machinery
8. The Ballet // Mattachine!
9. Tussle // Telescope Mind
10. +/- {Plus/Minus} at CMJ

+++

SETH SMITH (DOG DAY)
Sonic Youth // Rather Ripped
Liars // Drum's Not Dead
Mission of Burma // The Obliterati
Aids Wolf // The Lovvers
Heavens // Patent Pending
Film School // Film School
Erase Errata // Nightlife
Tokyo Police Club // A Lesson In Crime
Grizzly Bear // Yellow House
Fucked Up // Hidden World
(no perticular order)

+++

CHISTOPHER FRANCES SCHIEL (SON)
Final Fantasy // He Poos Clouds
Scott Walker // The Drift
Sedan // Sedan
Carla Bozulich // Evangelista
Clipse // Hell Hath No Fury
Diane Cluck // Monarcana
Grizzly Bear // Yellow House
Clark // Body Riddle
Beyoncé // B'Day
Brianna Lea Pruett // Winter Apple
(no perticular order)

+++

Nathan Burazer (TUSSLE)
1. Ghostface Killah // Fishscale
2. Justice // Waters of Nazareth
3. Hot Chip // The Warning
4. Clipse // Hell Hath No Fury
5. Motor // Klunk
6. Grizzly Bear // Yellow House
7. Girl Talk // Night Ripper
8. J Dilla // Donuts
9. Erase Errata // Nightlife
10. Indian Jewerly // Invasive Exotics

+++

JAN LANKISCH (TOMLAB STAFF)
1. Erase Errata // Nightlife
2. Beyoncé // B'Day
3. Dat Politics // Wow Twist
4. Scott Walker // The Drift
5. Liars // Drum's Not Dead
6. Sparks // Hello Young Lovers
7. Danielson // Ships
8. The Curtains // Calamity
9. Destroyer // Rubies
10. Grizzly Bear // Yellow House

+++

TOM STEINLE (TOMLAB STAFF)
1. Liars // Drum's Not Dead
2. Oasis Collaborating (Omar-S. | Shadow Ray) // Album 2
3. Rafael Toral // Space

+++

SIMON GUZYLACK (TOMLAB STAFF)
Grizzly Bear // Yellow House
Metallic Falcons // Desert Doughnuts
Klaxons // the two 12' on Kitsune
Lo-Fi-Fnk // Boylife i
Thom Yorke // The Eraser
Sonic Youth // Rather Ripped
Bonnie Prince Billy // The Letting Go
The Isles // Perfumed Lands
Beach House
Xiu Xiu // The Air Force
(no perticular order)

+++

GORDON WEBER (TOMLAB STAFF)
1. Kante // Die Tiere sind unruhig
2. Hot Chip // The Warning
3. Trail of dead // So devided
4. Yeah Yeah Yeahs // Show your bones
5. Babyshambles // The blinding EP
6. Depeche Mode // Playing the angel
7. Architecture in Helsiniki // In case we die
8. Deichkind // Aufstand im Schlaraffenland
9. The Flaming Lips // At war at the mystics

Music is blended now

blended iPod =
iPodya Colada?

buy it on ebay

December 28th! Galapagos!!

Amazon set to flood digital music market

Amazon's launching a new music downloading behemoth. And guess what kids: DRM-free. That's right. No copy protection.

Great review of our Saturday show just went up here at Pop Tarts Suck Toasted







(i'm not balding i think my hair is just too greasy)

What in The Hell is going on here?
Tune Glue is like a new video game for indie mp3 dorks.

figure A

comment: veeeery eenteresting.

Figure B

comment: huh?
comment 2: does this mean we're going steady?

Why Bloggers Don’t Run Record Companies
[via axehole]
I appreciate the contratrian nature of this article but I have to whole heartedly disagree. Not because I think eMusic is going to "help musicians quit their day jobs" but for these reasons:

• iTunes copy protected tracks have also been flatlining of late in case you didn't notice I think it's at about 25 songs per ipod sold.
  
• comparing eMusic sales toe to toe with iTunes sales doesn't give you a correct measure of the fate of non-copy protected tracks (non-DRM) because Apple is a mega corporation whose hardware has sky rocketed their iTunes store. I don't think that it will stamp out more independent and customer/independent-musician friendly downloading services.
• The whole idea for subscription services are that a lot of people aren't using their subscriptions to the fullest so all the math in this article is kind of silly. It's like cell-phone minutes. Just because they provide a certain amount of subsciption minutes doesn't mean all of those minutes are used by the customer.
  
• iTunes isn't helping musicians quit there day jobs either. The formula remains that record labels (small and large), promotion teams, hard work and just damn good music are bringing musicians into financial solvency and emusic and iTunes are just other tools in the belt of a struggling musician. Sure there are a few iTunes success stories but not enough to change the game.
• there is nearly zero distribution and manufacture cost for artists and record labels on these sites and that means that overhead is way less and product is infinitely available. Which means, especially for artist pressing their own CDs any online sale is icing on the cake because it doesn't take any of their units (which are often limited)
• And finally I think it's great that big record companies can't make ends meet on a diet of downloaded music, because record companies have been fucking musicians for almost a hundred years. And now it makes a lot more sense for an artists to stay independent. DRM or no-DRM music the record companies are losing their iron -grip on the machinery of musical success.

So why don't bloggers run record companies? Who cares...the fact is music costs way less now and independent musicians are working their asses off trying to turn that into a good thing. I think it is a great thing, and I think DRM and non-DRM have a future. But as a musician and a blogger only non-DRM has a future on my ipod.

Government asked to investigate Christmas music torture (UK)
Finally!!!!! Maybe the people who put bad christmas CDs on repeat in stores and restaurants should be held indefinitely without charges or trials.

Is This Really Helping Us?
Mp3 blogs and the sublime chaos of online music

(this is a an article I just wrote for Creating Culture - APAP 2007 Technology Blog)

2006 has been a big year for music. Everything is changing so fast that it’s hard to know what’s a fad and what’s a fundamental shift in the way musicians and fans do business. Myspace seems ubiquitous. YouTube has made celebrities out of nobodies. Mp3 blogs are everywhere, and now they are all being archived and aggregated. Microsoft has entered the mp3 player fray, and what the hell is a mog? The New York rock scene is burgeoning, and the RIAA is kicking and screaming and scrambling for any penny it can find.

The question that I hope to answer is how, out of all of this confusion and over-saturation, do musicians stand to benefit? Call me an anarchist, but as a composer I can’t help feeling intensely optimistic about the chaos surrounding music this year. And here’s why...

keep reading...

The Genius of Andrew Hoepfner

Andrew Hoepfner (mastermind behind anti-folk love band Creaky Boards) is a new friend and hero of mine. Do treat youself to his great Essay: Medium Pain

his myspace

his "orgy" photo shoot

and our show together saturday:

I Feel Hamp

My friend Luke Winslow King found this on the street and gave it to me.
please go listen to his music.

Isn't it great that music is free now?

[paid] Music downloads in downward trend

If the troubled music industry has been looking to Steve Jobs as its saviour, it might be time to look somewhere else. [via the globe and mail]

Karen O upclose (very close)

2 lo-fi Karen O tracks were leaked today. It's so nice to hear her with out all the production.

I'm too lazy right now to upload them
but they are over at Dreams of Horses

Mp3 Blogs Sell Out!

This is a wonderful essay from The Torture garden.

It's really true that bloggers are going to have to start thinking about ethics. And it's really true that there is a big incentive structure within hype machine to blog about whatever is being buzzed instead of what you actually want to write about.

Can the RIAA get any more evil????

RIAA Petitions Judges to Lower Artist Royalties

"Aggressively litigious group has claimed to protect musicians in the past. Now believes musicians deserve less for 'innovative' music distribution."

It's true, musicians do deserve less. Those greedy musicians with all their greedy websites and greedy online distribution. They are so greedy. They think they should just get money when people by their dumb music. No christmas spirit.

For more on how evil the RIAA is check out the Future of Music Coalition's online Manifesto.

Cry Me a River - Record labels still sniffing around for the profits of yore.

Squeezing Money From the Music

By JEFF LEEDS

Published: December 11, 2006 in the New York Times

"Major labels have begun demanding a cut of concert earnings or T-shirt, ring tone and merchandise revenue from new artists seeking record contracts."

This article gives a nice look into the dissolving of the old record industry and the death of the blockbuster.

“Consumer fickleness has become evident on the Billboard charts, where the old blockbuster album appears to be a dying breed. More titles have come and gone from the No. 1 place on the magazine’s national album sales chart this year than in any other year since the industry began computerized tracking of sales in 1991. Analysts say that reflects the lackluster staying power even among songs in demand.”

I don't read it as lackluster staying power but as a turbo-charged consumers, listening to so much more music from so many different sources: smarter consumers. Record labels are so upset that it's so hard to get millions of people to all want the same thing now that they have more access, but that seems like good news to me. It's a slow decline of conformity in a way. I'm going to try and flesh this out later in my article for the APAP blog

A few music is free now moments:

Tower records selling their music for pennies on the song (idolator)

Profit starved music industry going after "guitar nerd" tablature websites (idolator)

Just go to freeindie.com and be in awe of all the free music

and then go hug mp3 hugger

Major labels start to offer Mp3s (brooklyn vegan)

Saturday December 16th, Lisps at 11pm please come:

What is it about Stickers?


















So there's this band called Stickerbook. Which I haven't seen live, but their websites and musics are excruciatingly charming. My friend Chad speaks highly of them. They do "experimental" covers of very popular songs from the 80s and 90s i guess. Their experimental sounds a little more like lo-fi irony, but I'll take it. The band reminds me of my favorite Chris Cutler quote:

"For now I'm really interested in the way pop really starts to eat itself. Here together are cannibalism, laziness and the feeling that everthing has already beed originated, so that it is enough now endlessly to reinterperet and rearrange it all. The old idea of originality in production gives way to another (if to one at all) of originality in consumption."
from Plunderphonia

If you chose a random city and stroll through the rock bands in that city on myspace. It's terrifying how similar the bands do start to sound. Yet a band like stickerbook which is audaciously "unoriginal" seems delightfully original compared to their myspace neighbors.

stickerbook on myspace
[mp3] Stickerbook - Don't Stop Believin'

I put in my ASCAP application yesterday...
for better or for worse. And the next day they sue Black Betty.

ASCAP Initiates Infringement Actions Against Establishments in Breach of License Agreements
[yahoo]

huh?

YouTube vs. BoobTube in Wired Magazine

This is a great article in Wired about the way that media is changing. I freaking love it. I love how the corporations feel so out of control of the future of entertainment.

read the article....

I Started a MOG

here's wikipedia on Mog

here's my MOG

Frank Rich: Has He Started Talking to the Walls?

Frank Rich: Has He Started Talking to the Walls?

"It turns out we’ve been reading the wrong Bob Woodward book to understand what’s going on with President Bush. The text we should be consulting instead is “The Final Days,” the Woodward-Bernstein account of Richard Nixon talking to the portraits on the White House walls while Watergate demolished his presidency. As Mr. Bush has ricocheted from Vietnam to Latvia to Jordan in recent weeks, we’ve witnessed the troubling behavior of a president who isn’t merely in a state of denial but is completely untethered from reality. It’s not that he can’t handle the truth about Iraq. He doesn’t know what the truth is."

keep reading...
Rozius Unbound: Frank Rich: Has He Started Talking to the Walls?

Back Home

Lisps tour was amazing. We got back last night. DC, Chapel Hill, Atlanta, (conyers), Greenville, Greensboro, Philadelphia. so Much love. Pictures videos coming later.

Tomorrow I think I'm going to this:

Panel Discussion
"Open Source: On the Line"
Monday, December 4, 2006 - 6:30 p.m.
The New School, Theresa Lang Community and Student Center
55 West 13th Street, 2nd floor
New York City
Admission: $8, free for all students, as well as members of Rhizome.org
and New School faculty, staff and alumni with valid ID

Panelists:
Cory Arcangel, artist
Joy Garnett, artist
Patrick May, Director of Technology, Rhizome.org
Daniel Mayer, Co-founder, Wikipedia
Laura Quilter, Founder, Fair Use Network

Moderator:
Christiane Paul, Adjunct Curator of New Media Arts, The Whitney Museum
of American Art

A panel on the aesthetic and political possibilities afforded by open
source systems, and related debates around copyright and intellectual
property.

The panelists will examine sites like Wikipedia and Digg.com as well as
p2p networks and social networking sites, and the practices and
challenges inherent to each. They will also explore artworks, arts
institutions, and businesses that have sought to adopt open source
models, and touch on current challenges to the continuation of this
ethos such as "net neutrality" legislation.

and then this:


This is the show of my friend Nick Ross, and I did some sound for it.
at Upright Citizen's Brigade 7pm

and then this
Monday, December 4 - Waiting For Barbara Galapagos Art Space (70 North 6th St, BKLN) The workshop premiere of Dan's new play. Starring: Dan Fishback, Max Steele & Julie Lake Directed by Michael Schulman (FREE, show starts at 8pm)


and then go see Warhammer 48k at Club Midway.

We shared a show with them in Greenville but had to leave before they played.
We checked out their album and agreed that it was pretty amazing. Apocalyptic yes, but with a huge dynamic and textural range. Very bizzare. Very compelling. They've been on the road for about 6 weeks and deserve the love.
also on the bill is Titus Andronicus.

Warhammer is playing a Todd P show on tuesday 12/5 at Uncle Paulies w/
:: Animandible
:::: Team Robespierre
:::::::: Runny

check out warhammer's myspace page