Revolutionising the music business on a weekly basis...
Everyone is entitled to my opinion...
Americans… where would we be without them?
Seriously, they are lovely. Well, most of them…
Clive James once said that America is the best place “to keep all the Americans”. I can’t disagree. They have brought so much joy into so many people’s lives, especially via music, that sometimes you can almost forget about all those wars and financial crises.
But lately their collective physche has taken a bit of a battering as this article about America no longer being Number One shows. After reading some of the comments at the end of the article, I kind of felt sorry for the US. So I thought I would start a list of things where America is still Number One!
America is number one in creating Americans
They are number one in sports that no other country plays
They are number one in creating vacuous bubble-headed “spokesmodels” like Paris Hilton, Heide Montag and Kim Kardashian (although Kim is totally hot)
America is still number one in creating misogynistic rap music
They are number one in totally misunderstanding the political spectrum (according to Fox News apparently Obama is a fascist AND a socialist!)
And lastly, America is still Number One at creating Justin Bieber.
Record Store Day A Success
Hooray for Record Store Day!
That’s right, a WHOLE DAY was devoted to record stores last week. I am old enough to remember when we used to call that EVERY DAY.
Apparently, the UK Record Store Day was a huge success. People went to stores and listened to new music and bought records. Wow, what a concept. Sales, particularly of vinyl, were up and everyone was happy…the nation rejoiced…
And yet, somehow there was a darkening of clouds… a deep, uneasy foreboding…something was not right in record land… yes, Phil Collins is going to release a new album… of Motown covers.
But Seriously (little Phill Collins joke there…) hasn’t this catalogue suffered enough already? I am looking at you Human Nature…
Speaking of the Catholic Church…
I had to laugh when I saw this picture during the week…
I mean, it’s kind of right out in the open huh?
Vinyl is Best
Man, I used to have heaps of vinyl.
And then CD’s came out so I bought all my favourite records again on CD. And then I sold all my vinyl because I got sick of carting them around (and I needed to pay the rent, and in some cases, buy food). And then I got robbed and ended up with 11 CD’s (from a total on 1000 and something). And then I got a job in the music industry and it virtually rained free CD’s in my house for years. Then I converted everything to digital by side-loading into iTunes. Now I can fit almost all my favourite songs onto a memory card that slides into my phone.
But they sound like crap… I want to go back to vinyl… and this article made me miss it even more.
Pete’s Predictions – Coming True?
Late last year I predicted that by the end of 2010 there would be only three major record companies. It’s hardly a secret that EMI is probably the most likely take over candidate out there, despite the fact that they have some great music out at the moment (Gorillaz, Lady Antebellum, Empire of the Sun… and, my favourite, Katy Perry). However, one of its long standing and most widely regarded artists is leaving the label.
Paul McCartney is taking all his solo (and Wings) catalogue to Concord. You can read about the deal here.
The music industry is a strangely fickle and capricious beast… you never know, EMI could be sitting on the next biggest act in the world and their fortunes could change virtually over night. It’s funny like that…
Or you can read what the Wall Street Journal says about them… did someone say “death knell”?
Four Chords and The Truth
If you haven’t seen this video, you should watch it. The Axis of Awesome are an Australian comedy act and this “song” has been floating around for a while, but it still makes me laugh.
What Would Dave Do?
Last week I was concerned that my facebook profile page looked a bit odd because it was full of pictures of David Lee Roth and the Pope. Not together, obviously… Dave is Jewish for a start…and I asked my friend what this said about my state of mind.
The answer was obvious… Dave IS God.
Or a woman…OK, I’m starting to get a little confused…
