I've been casually following the lawsuit of the woman in MN who was accused of file sharing on Kazaa some 50 billion years ago. Low and behold the labels win. Massively. In MN?! I thought y'all were nice. Anywho, it's now game on for the record industry. With precedent, who knows who or where they can target next (college campuses seem like a ripe playground for picking off innocent freeloaders...).
And they did. The major labels are finally learning. The internet is not your enemy. You just have to find a way to harness it. Even if you kill a few start ups in the process of learning this tale, it's nice to know that someone somewhere is listening. A whole heap of start ups are renegotiating their licensing terms with the major labels to positive effects. Even though I left Imeem in the wake of LastFM (and will be moving again soon...wait and see on the right nav), it's good to see that they are not dissolving. And it's good to see that record labels are trusting start ups to secure a longer term vision of the music landscape and the way we all will interact.
Lady Gaga, The Fame - Yeah. You are seeing this correctly. Even I have to give it up for Yonkers. Gaga is taking over the world little by little. And you know what? I don't actually mind. I mean, she's not artist-of-the-decade material. But I cherish her showmanship. Plus I can't wear unitards and admire anyone who chooses to solely wear them.
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - Has it been two months already? Well, there is no excuse. Especially since I've had at least 5 posts sitting in my queue with at least 5 more albums to review. What can I say? Life has been..life. But I still do care. And I'm still listening to music (and seeing shows - thank you Bimbo's). And now summer is upon me with my myriad periods of vacating. Thus, I better put SOMETHING on this blog or all may be lost. So here, a remnant from the not so distant past. Complete with the header sentence and I had pretyped.
So the only things I love more than music are baked goods. It's true. I went on a baking tear in London and never looked back. Last week - two strawberry rhubarb crumbles. For real (both are in season, what's a girl to do?). So what could be better than music or a baked good? A musical service with a baked good name. Leave it to the Germans - a demented sense of humor. But I like it. Like last.fm and and the Pandora's of the world, Mufin has many tools to help sift through the plethora of music available and provide relevantt recommendations. What I like most about Mufin is that 1) the main technology behind all of their applications was developed by Joseph von Fraunhofer. What a name. and 2) it's a back end application. Thus you are tied into one application and resentful whenever a new technology or site pops up.
Santogold, Santogold - This was another "I'll pass on the mainstream release to hear the quirky remix album". I had about heard enough of Santi White by the time I had left London in September last year. I even went to her show at Scala (quite impressive actually) and was a fan. But the overexposure of almost an entire album was too much for me to handle. So instead of actually buying the album, I went with the Diplo sponsored collabo Top Ranking. Mind you, this was the same approach I (less intentionally) made with Jamie Lidell to much success (try Multiply: Additions on for size if you haven't had a chance). And to quite honest, I think Top Ranking improves upon the original. But I was shocked to hear how vastly different the recordings were. Where Top Ranking gets it kick from hard nocking beats and deft island inspired mash ups, Santogold is much more straight forward in its rock ambitions. It's hard for me to truly appreciate all of the reviews on how forward thinking the original was when the remixes elevate her sound. But it is interesting to hear a fresher take on new wave rock. And her voice provides a great instrument that very few vocalists (moreso among women) can match in intensity and range. Even Jay Z took notice. Santogold stands on it's own in spite of the ambitious Top Ranking and I give ample credit to Santi for bending her "genre" as many ways as possible.
Dr. Dog, Fate - Screw the '60s. The '70s are back. I know, I just got off of my Animal Collective raving and now I want to put it all behind me for an MD of canines? Hold up a second. This whole animal band name project is starting to gain some momentum. But inevitably I will have to run into a band that is just a dog (bad pun very much intended). Alas, that day has not come and Dr. Dog is opening up a new decade of retro references. Sure, you've probably heard " The Old Days" and couldn't stop humming along. But maybe a one hit wonder? Nope. All goodness, if a little too sweet at times. I'm still amazed that so many young artists are able to tap into the sounds and recording styles of later eras without sounding trite or shallow. Dr. Dog, much like Fleet Foxes, are able to tap into the layered vocals and melodies of their '70s influences, yet remain novel in songwriting. Some songs are a little too Paul McCartney a la Wings for me - piano driven classic rock all wrapped up in a big smile - but all in all, I like taking a break from the break-neck pace of the new millennium to sample a throwback '70s attitude. Please do too!
