"Are you some kind of moron?! I’m giving you the lowdown on how Apple will be able to increase its market share against the dominant software firm, because there are half a billion downloads of Apple’s iTunes software, mostly by Windows users, and you persist in this idiotic line of questioning?"
"I wrote it as a piece of satire after reading all the press (including a cover story in New York Magazine) about the new Apple products where Jobs - the genius behind and the spokesperson of the company - is front and center in his trademark gear."
I love albums as much as the next guy, i even prefer listening to albums over shuffling tracks. But i have this thought: could the internet allow you to be successful without albums. My assumption is that historically, it just made economic sense to fill an media with music (a record, tape, or cd). But now, there's no real reason to have an 'album' be anything more than an idea. - be it 4 minutes or 400.
Seems like there's no reason why i can't buy a subscription to sufjan's 'music store' and just get music as he creates it - in whatever form/length/organization he decides.
I guess i'm just wondering if the format/media of the album has defined maintained how music is packaged. or was the media created to suit how artists want to present their music.
So that without a defined format - will there me much of a shift in how we experience an artists music.
Long live the album! I would say that the format has always been a result of marketing instead of artists preference. For example: In the fifties and sixties, teenagers had disposable incomes for the first time in American history. Thus the 45rpm single became a huge success -- giving birth to the one hit wonder.
I personally love albums. I like to think of music in "sets" like an EP or CD.
A band from Marshalltown, IA named Modern Life Is War continues to make waves in the world of hardcore. They are signed and touring in promotion of an upcoming album called “Midnight in America” which was produced by J. Robbins (who produced Against Me! And Murder By Death albums). They have played shows in 20 countries and have toured with Bane as well as hardcore giants Converge. I have much respect for the M-town boys who used their relentless energy and passion (see photos above) to create something that so many people have been able to connect with. WARNING: obligatory “back in the day” story. I remember seeing vocalist Jeff Eaton at almost every single hardcore or punk show I went to between ’98 and ’02. He was in the audience clamoring to the front of the stage to sing with the band. He was no stranger to the pit. He seemed to be an intensely energetic guy who was also very nice the few times I chatted with him. I was always a bit jealous of the Marshalltown scene. It seemed that there was always more unity between bands and more support from the audiences than what we could find in CR and IA city. The community produced talented bands like Ill Fated, Safety Second, and Road to Ruin.
All the "this is going to be the biggest thing ever" is going to keep the people who just want to see it at home, in hopes to avoid waiting in a line. And the few people who can afford it will go... but i don't think the demographic of people who have $600 of expendable income are the same that enjoy waiting in ridiculously long lines. Though i could be wrong.
This is from the "Another State of Mind" documentary filmed in '82. It's definitely worth a look if you haven't seen it. The song at the end of the clip is "Telling Them."
Notice the beer bottle next to the mirror. You can see Ness drinking Bud in almost every scene where he's not playing with the band...
One of you will be having kids soon... so here's a parenting issue:
do you think that it is more dangerous for kids to wander around now than it was when you grew up, or when you parents grew up?
If so, do you think that's because there is genuinely more, or greater, things to fear - or because of our access to information, we're just more aware of some of the crazy things that can happen.
also, isn't it odd that we know all this scary shit that can happen to kids, but don't have a way to assess likelyhood, or context for how the scary shit happens. Cause if we new more about the dangers than we can deal with them more specifically than on a "don't go outside, ever" basis.
Congratulations Eric! I always knew you'd be the first...
I bet actual statistical level (even if its unquantifiable) of danger has remained roughly level in the last 25 years... but culture has also changed. more information--like you said--but also more ways to "protect" yourself... disney cell phones with gps, metal detectors for schools, that kind of thing.
that's right kids... once again we can blame this on the free market.
I think Paul Potts is an ingenious marketing ploy by the international opera council. Also, i get emotional every time i watch him. I want to give him a hug and then get him drunk.
Not to take anything away from the guy, but i wonder if he's good by opera standards? I must have an unconscious desire to distrust him for making me feel.
If this guy looked like Brad Pitt I would not take it seriously. Potts is a schlubby brit with bad teeth who can really sing and I think that rules. I don't know much about opera, but I'm guessing that he's just naturally talented. Look at how far he is from the microphone. He has a lot of power in his voice.
Me: Look! Look... when I drop the science book it falls to the ground. That's gravity! Every planetary body, including the Earth, is surrounded by its own gravitational field, which exerts an attractive force on any object.
Idiot: "Gravity!" Pshaw... that's the devil trying to pull that devil book down to hell!
I agree with a lot of what Ron Paul says here, BUT: Where was he and his sentiments during the last four years or more? He (and other representatives on both sides of the aisle) should have been saying these things years ago during the neocon power grab.
I agree that he or anyone would have been labeled in such a way. I just think if more people had spoken out it would have been much harder to silence the voice of dissent. Of course, it is easy (and hypocritical) for me to say that since I did absolutely nothing to change things...
The next artist in my exclusive TentacleAsphyxiation! Guitar Hero series is Chris Whitley. He was a one-man stream of musical consciousness. His rhythmic foot stomp seemed to be all that grounded him while he used his voice to create a thick mood that hung in the air – just to slice it in half with his dobro (guitar). Well, that’s my take on it... His Wikipedia page actually says it best with review excerpts and quotes from his peer musicians. I first saw him performing “Hellhound on My Trail” on a documentary chronicling Robert Johnson’s posthumous induction into the Rock and/or Roll Hall of Fame. Chris died from lung cancer on November 20, 2005.
I love album art. It is so sad to see the format shrink from the large vinyl, to the CD, and finally to the JPEG thumbnail size...Here are some faves of mine:
This one always cracks me up
So it's raining outside, and i biked to work, so i need things to do. So i went through my itunes music collection and picked out my favorite covers. These are in alphabetical order of album name.
has to be Dizzee Rascal's Boy in Da Corner. But this may just be because of the yellow black thing. but also how it balances seriousness with a goofyness that i think is a great analogy for his sound (on this album).
A band from Marshalltown, IA named Modern Life Is War continues to make waves in the world of hardcore. They are signed and touring in promotion of an upcoming album called “Midnight in America” which was produced by J. Robbins (who produced Against Me! And Murder By Death albums). They have played shows in 20 countries and have toured with Bane as well as hardcore giants Converge. I have much respect for the M-town boys who used their relentless energy and passion (see photos above) to create something that so many people have been able to connect with. WARNING: obligatory “back in the day” story. I remember seeing vocalist Jeff Eaton at almost every single hardcore or punk show I went to between ’98 and ’02. He was in the audience clamoring to the front of the stage to sing with the band. He was no stranger to the pit. He seemed to be an intensely energetic guy who was also very nice the few times I chatted with him. I was always a bit jealous of the Marshalltown scene. It seemed that there was always more unity between bands and more support from the audiences than what we could find in CR and IA city. The community produced talented bands like Ill Fated, Safety Second, and Road to Ruin.
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