MOG - outlandosmusic's Posts

Now Playing November 2008

outlandosmusic — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:38:01 GMT

First, best e-mail I got last week (a haiku-ish reply). From my friend Philip Price of Winterpills, who've been on this list before:

sorry. election time got crazy. i had volunteered. what a time.

i drank too much.

then my hard drive crashed and i temporarily lost everything. but i found it. [...]

You Say Recession, I Say Opportunity

outlandosmusic — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 05:11:17 GMT

Perhaps I'm in denial. Yesterday while hearing "Stormy Weather" on Marketplace (yet again), I actually stuck my fingers in my ears and sang, "La La La La La Laahhhhhhhh! There's plenty of money and plenty of people who want to give it to ME!" Yep. I really did. Oh, I'm not completely delusional. I've got a 401(k is for KILLJOY). But just think. NO ONE ever hits a home run thinking "I suck" [...]

Letters from the Road: Colin Devlin

outlandosmusic — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 20:49:09 GMT

Guest post this week from Irish singer-songwriter and one of the nicest musicians I know, Colin Devlin of the Devlins. Look for his solo project A Democracy of One out 2009 (yay!).

Dear Kate,

i'm really not sure what to write in this guest blog, there seems to be too many people writing so much crap on the internet i'm not sure if anything i have to say is going to improve this situation! the election, the war in Iraq, the economy [...]

In Short October 2008

outlandosmusic — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:15:39 GMT

First things first. THANK YOU for your feedback regarding The Daily Dose. Please do keep it coming because we can only achieve world domination together. I'm totally serious. That said, our winner is (through random selection) [...]

The Psychedelic Artist's Guide to Psychedelic Analysis

outlandosmusic — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 23:36:16 GMT

Who knew that when I moved to Saugerties, New York (think Big Pink) a few years ago that my next-door neighbor would be founding psychedelic art legend Isaac Abrams? Far out. And miraculously, close by. Just in the converted antique auction house loft adjacent to ours. Yes, I’ve borrowed sugar[...]

Feedback

outlandosmusic — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 03:24:58 GMT

Likely, you've occasionally wondered what exactly it is we do here at Outlandos Music (other than blog). The easy answer is that we've been plotting and scheming to remedy a lot of the stuff you hear me bitching and moaning about each week. Actually, the plotting and scheming was over ages ago[...]

Now Playing October 2008

outlandosmusic — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 03:48:05 GMT

Here's what's been keeping me company as of late: Lizzie Grant, Gramma SparkalerTrailerHeaven [sic]. Who is this girl? Un-freaking-believable. Don't let the bad graphics scare you away[...]

Letters from the Road: Karl Mullen

outlandosmusic — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 03:14:02 GMT

Guest post this week from one of my closest pals, musician, painter, fashionista, and all-around wickedly wonderful guy, Karl Mullen: Dear Kate, Thanks for the request to be a guest blogger. This is my first …. though back in the late 70’s early 80’s as an illegal alien I played in the punk band Carsickness [...]

Don't Read This

outlandosmusic — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 04:01:04 GMT

Perhaps it's inherently American, this idea that you CAN have it your way, an innate sense of entitlement --- even arrogance --- that, on the one hand, has its merits (the very foundation of our constitution, for example). A preemptory bumption perpetuated by Democracy. Capitalism. The American Dream. Liberal Arts degrees. Starbucks, among other things. So that on the other hand, it's this very country-born hubris/desire which induces the most insipid[...]

I Hate New Music

outlandosmusic — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 07:08:21 GMT

Folks, I’m slackin’ on you this week. Truth be told, I’m neck-deep in writing a business model and let’s just say that crunching numbers: not my favorite. So instead of the usual musings, I’ll be following my own advice[...]

Now Playing August 2008

outlandosmusic — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 03:56:41 GMT

Oops! I forgot last month… here’s what was spinning at the Outlandos headquarters. You know the drill. Some of it new. Some of it new-ish. Some of it just plain new to me. And then there’s the old and the just because [...]

Letters from the Road: Jon Pousette-Dart

outlandosmusic — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 03:54:31 GMT

Guest post this week from legendary singer-songwriter and one of the best musicians I know, Jon Pousette-Dart.

Dear Wandering Musicians,

A few thoughts, from a road well traveled. The truly great thing about music, is that it transcends everything that is passing by. In the end, the ones who were focused on what they should be, the song, remain standing. Any young man who tells you he didn’t pick up the guitar to get laid[...]

Un-Save Music

outlandosmusic — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:58:12 GMT

Seriously. Even I'm over it. Not the novelty of Guitar Hero (God willing, that'll never wear off).... Rain forests, black rhinos, the ozone layer; now that shit needs saving. But the music industry?[...]

Tribal Shorts

outlandosmusic — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 03:14:37 GMT

Certainly, what unites us here at Cut Through the Noise is music... but it's more than that... more than just something that goes on between your ears. It's an axiology that extends from the music to our music-lover lifestyles: how we vote, what we drive, what we eat, what we wear, etc. We are a tribe [...]

Fahrvergnügen

outlandosmusic — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 03:48:56 GMT

I LOVE driving. The freedom to just go, $4/gallon be-damned. Inherently and wonderfully American, isn't it? But as carbon-footprint-conscious as I like to think I am (and although I've never actually owned a Volkswagen) the idea of "driving pleasure," to me, is as self-evident as apple pie. Which is why last weekend [...]

Letters from the Road: Ashton Allen

outlandosmusic — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 02:46:37 GMT

Guest Post this week from one of my favorite artists, Ashton Allen:

Dear Music Industry,

So, I have a question. I'm confused. Ok, so you got Miley Cyrus, right? And then there's Hannah Montana. Buuuuuut...ok wait. Are they the same person? Cause umm, one's a brunette annnnd...the other's blonde annnnd....but....I heard it was the same girl.... [...]

The New New

outlandosmusic — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 01:51:18 GMT

Great music isn’t always obvious. Think of it like this. Chances are (to quote a former colleague), your favorite song didn't become your favorite because you only heard it once. Which perhaps is why Coca-Cola --- arguably one of the most famous brands of all-time --- still advertises. Why then, if there's a decent band, critically acclaimed even, under the radar but the real deal... here comes release date, folks make a lot of noise... the record drops, it's great and [...]

RIP Artie Traum

outlandosmusic — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 01:50:37 GMT

Just heard about this on the radio... literally, just at this moment. I thought maybe I'd misunderstood. Double-checked by Googling the story. All true. How strange is it that I actually called him just yesterday with an idea I had, wanting his feedback. I left a voicemail on his home answering machine, not knowing. [...]

I Age, Therefore I Rock (Still)

outlandosmusic — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 23:37:01 GMT

Ageism is what it is. And I'm not talking about teenage-backlash or a twentysomething's glib naïveté. Most of it comes from within; sabotaged by our own kind. Think about it. It's not that we grown-ups ever lost interest in music. Music (as dictated by industry mafiosi, radio, media, etc.) lost interest in US. More...

Now Playing July 2008

outlandosmusic — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 21:18:57 GMT

More or less the same deal as before: a list of music/music-related whatnot worth mentioning. Some of it new. Some of it new-ish. Some of it just plain new to me. And then there's the old and the just [...]

Fans 2.0

outlandosmusic — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:57:31 GMT

My favorite band is old and ugly.

Or at least that's the case for my favorite member. Harsh, I know. But compared to today's annoyingly skinny, nubile poster-boys of rock, I could care less... in my minds' eye, he's hot, hot, HOT. Oh, and also one HELL OF A GUITAR PLAYER. Call me smitten.

In a recent Harvard commencement speech, J.K. Rowling (not surprisingly) exalted the "importance of imagination," the distinctly unique human quality which serves as a precursor to all kick-ass achievement; in order to save the planet, compose a timeless guitar lick or write a novel, you must dream of the possibility first.

Which is why, when it comes to Andy, visually speaking, I simply invoke Rowling's "power to imagine better" or at least to remember younger. Call me shallow. But it's more than that.

Certainly, music isn't about what we see... nor is it simply about what we hear. What we DREAM of while a song is playing, that's how we engage with music --- mentally, emotionally, and most importantly, as FANS.

Moreover, as Rowling suggests, not only is this our gift but our charge.

So sure, I like me some YouTube. But WATCHING the song is not the same thing as LISTENING.

Listening requires participation; it's up to us as fans to fill in the blanks and thereby interact with the music intellectually as opposed to just visually, passively. Participation then requires us to draw upon the aforementioned distinctly unique human quality... imagination. After all, imagination magically allows us to identify with music, to give it new meaning, to transform it into timeless sound, and to feel as though the song is for us alone, i.e.: "They're playing our song!"

All of which is a roundabout way of revisiting the Buggles; video, although at times unbelievably wonderful and informative, makes us LAZY. And similar to reading a novel as opposed to watching the DVD, somehow the sound of a song by itself is almost always superior.

As fans then --- especially grown-up fans --- it's our duty not only "to imagine better" but to also DEMAND it. That is unless, like last year, we truly believe Josh Groban is as good as it can get.

I for one, am for dreaming bigger.

Stripping it Down

outlandosmusic — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 01:49:17 GMT

As an industry insider, whining, while overrated, is mandatory. So here goes: radio sucks, labels are greedy, people have no taste, musicians are short on talent, and yes, Ticketmaster is demonic. Wah, wah, wah.

That's the gig.

Certainly, it can be exhausting to read (I too get the Lefsetz Letter --- often what seems like 10 times a week).

Part of it is because when you're trying to perpetuate an idea, you have to hit people over the head again and again. Repetition breeds recognition, right? Advertising 101.

And not to get all freaky-deaky on you but I've also read The Secret. It's true. Constantly complaining? That shit is toxic.

Admittedly, Lord knows I can hem and haw with the best of them. Today, I just don't feel like it.

Instead, two things:

1. For Artists/CEOs

Why Bigger Goals = Less Competition. I've mentioned Tim Ferris' book before. Entrepreneurial enlightenment in roughly 300 pages.

2. For Fans

What do Fat Boy Slim, David Byrne, Dizzee Rascal, and Atari have in common?

Cathartic.

Pop. For Real.

outlandosmusic — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:21:47 GMT

When the June issue of Real Simple arrived, I tore through it, my inner (and hopefully hipper and better dressed) Martha Stewart unfettered by the wistful yet impractical thoughts that such magazines inspire: a busy girl CAN transform her backyard into a "Summer Oasis," master "No-Cook Summer Meals," AND institute "10 Smart Uses for Old Plastic Bags". Eureka.

But when I read their list of "No. 1 Summer Hits From the Past 16 Years," it seemed that it was RS in dire need of a musical makeover.

2007: "Umbrella," Rhianna featuring Jay-Z
2006: "Me & U," Cassie
2005: "We Belong Together," Mariah Carey
2004: "The Reason," Hoobastank
2003: "Crazy in Love," Beyoncé
2002: "Hot in Herre," Nelly
2001: "Hanging by a Moment," Lifehouse
2000: "Bent," Matchbox Twenty
1999: "All Star," Smash Mouth
1998: "Iris,"The Goo Goo Dolls
1997: "Semi-Charmed Life," Third Eye Blind
1996: "You Learn," Alanis Morissette
1995: "Water Runs Dry," Boyz II Men
1994: "I Swear," All-4-One
1993: "That’s the Way Love Goes," Janet Jackson
1992: "Baby-Baby-Baby," TLC

Granted, an arbitrary list, simply "based on radio airplay." And I'd stopped listening to pop radio a long time ago. But still, I felt excluded. After all, this was a club I supposedly belonged to: women aged 25 to 54, college-educated, middle-class, employed. Am I alone among Real Simple's 7.3 million readers as a gal who gets her "5-Minute Morning Beauty Regimen" summer groove on to something other than vapid-pop?

Even box-store radio plays Phish' "Heavy Things" and the Damnwells' "Golden Days." Not the kind of songs I would expect to be on a pop radio airplay list but for a magazine which prides itself on appealing to do-it-yourself, pink toolkit-slinging "changemakers" musically, Home Depot has them beat.

So ladies. If, like me, you rock but yet you also aspire to cleanliness, godliness, and the idea of homemade ice cream (although, let's face it, Ben & Jerry's does a damn fine job), let me suggest a summer pop soundtrack that's well, a little less vanilla:

Meet the new girl of summer, Santogold and her self-titled, solo debut. Punk + Ska + Rock + Hip-Hop + Pop all wrapped up in a sort of new New-Wave --- complete with nonsense-word choruses and feral screams. FUN! I can't remember the last time I wanted to actually DANCE to music. And I don't mean head-bob.

You wanna feel 14 again? Buy the whole thing.

However, if iPod-a-few-at-a-time you must, a Santogold-inspired sampler... 16 Songs That Beat the Crap Out of Real Simple's Lame List:

01: "L.E.S. Artistes" Santogold
02: "Words," Missing Persons
03: "Mirror in the Bathroom" The English Beat
04: "This is Radio Clash" The Clash
05: "Say Aha" Santogold
06: "Private Idaho" B-52's
07: "Spiderwebs" No Doubt
08: "You'll Find a Way" Santogold
09: "Informer," Snow
10: "Cities in Dust" Siouxsie and the Banshees
11: "Running up That Hill" Kate Bush
12: "Anne" Santogold
13: "Small Town Boy" Bronski Beat
14: "Voices Carry" 'Til Tuesday
15: "Lights Out" Santogold
16: "Lorelei" Cocteau Twins

Pop-friggin'-tastic.

Fritos vs. Pork and Beans

outlandosmusic — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 02:29:04 GMT

While the whole Music 2.0 blame-game bread-and butter has largely centered around the usual gundyguts (labels, radio, etc.) --- barring McGuinness' ISP/fan-as-thief bandwagon --- it would seem as though the culprits are clear: the rich guys are the bad guys. Easy enough.However, there are also the little guys. And as much as I hate to say it, by little guys/girls, I mean the artists themselves.

Don't get me wrong, I like sinking my teeth into a good industry-bully finger-wagging just as much as the next blogger. Lord knows, I WANT the underdog to win. And badly. I'm a Red Sox fan, for Christ's sake.

But you've got to admit that there is a whole LOT of really AWFUL music out there, thanks in large part to the anyone-can-do-it nowstalgia of Pro Tools, Reality TV, etc., along with what seems to be a flagrant disregard of quality in general.

Which brings me to my old college English professor who, while scoffing at subpar novels (those of empty-calorie summertime reading list ilk), would affectionately refer to them as "Fritos of the Mind;" the idea being that indulging in thoughtless art invariably leads to the creation of thoughtless art, thereby breeding a contagious, "junk-food" mediocrity. You can see how this might also apply to music... hence, this week's Billboard stats touting songs like Bleeding Love and Viva la Vida. Muncha Bunch.

For sure, it's by no means entirely the artists' fault. With the music industry relentlessly spoon-feeding us sub-standard songs (so sub-standard as to now be presumed free) it's no wonder that gobs of enthusiastic, somewhat self-indulgent, off-the-couch fledglings have been able to handily over-saturate the market.

But still.

We're talking about a little accountability here. Because an endless Long Tail eventually devalues talent. Which is bad for everyone. Most importantly, the FANS.

So I'm not saying that we don't all have an inalienable right to own a guitar... but don't we also have a duty to then use it responsibly? To make mindful art?

Perhaps making GREAT music should still be the goal, no matter what the market exigencies, no matter how ridiculous your mustache...

Hot diggety.

Rock Has No Balls

outlandosmusic — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 22:57:06 GMT

Indelicately put but I can't think of a better way to say it.

I was watching Gray's Anatomy online this weekend (oh how I do love my mindless TV) and after the seventh or eighth cut of yet another meek and moaning fade-up --- painstakingly cultivated by the supposed zeitgeist of Music Supervision 2.0 --- I'm telling you, I wanted to rip my eyeballs out.

Has everyone lost their edge, lost their taste for edge? Is this even ROCK?

Cue Cracker now (God bless Lowery, Hickman, et al.).

For the most part, it's all one end of the spectrum or the other, Idol Pop or Anti-Folk. Blech.

And I know, there's a few bands out there who are managing it. But by my tally, not nearly enough.

Quoting the fine folks at the Air Guitar World Championships: "It is time to release your inner cock of rock." Can I get a Hell Yeah?

I'm not saying I don't like me some mellow plucking paired with a sweet, lilting voice. But have we learned nothing from Guitar Hero, the aforementioned inner "spirit" in action? It rules for a reason.

That said, weeping weenies, time to take up a diary. Tender, angelic-voiced, piano-accompanied muses, gazing out through overlong bangs, etc., kindly... step aside. Your brand of sensitive, confessional drivel, frankly, has me bored and longing for, well, cojones.

Everyone else, kindly bring the blessed guitar solo out from underneath what seems to be an epidemically over-dense assault of sound which has all but rendered it moot; its voice indistinguishable as the maelstrom of sound it once was. Those notes are meant to be heard, dammit. Blisteringly loud, front and center.

Even Rolling Stone Magazine has got it right (for a change):

"This is what makes a great rock & roll guitar sound: an irresistible riff; a solo or jam that takes you higher every time you hear it; the final power chord that pins you to the wall and makes you hit "play" again and again. Every song here has those thrills. But these are rock's greatest guitar moments because of what's inside the notes: hunger, fury, despair and joy, often all at once. You hear the blues, gospel and rockabilly that came before, transformed by the need to say something new and loud, right away. Rock & roll has been the sound of independence for half a century. The guitar is still its essential, liberating voice. These are the 100 reasons why."

Amen.

You can see RS's 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time all on one page, thanks to Stereogum, here.

Now all they need to do is compile a monster box set. Ballsy.

RIP Bo Diddley.

Now Playing

outlandosmusic — Wed, 28 May 2008 00:08:07 GMT

It's a question I hate answering. Mostly because the response, whatever it is, somehow is never as cool as my inner-high school self thinks it should be. There's a pressure to be wildly cutting-edge. To make a statement. To out-new the next guy. To stun with the unfamiliar, thereby provoking a sort of know-it-all garboil.

Yawn.

So when someone asks me the definitive "what have you been listening to lately?" I usually flounder. A long recall-pause, some stuttering... it's a tough one. The reason being that frankly, there's just so MUCH music --- oppressively so; an over-saturated, unintelligible wash of noise that you've got to constantly wade through, ever-patient... because it is NOT easy and most of the time, FAR from fun. What's worse is that almost all of it is shit --- sorry to say, no gettin' around it. Hence the bane of the human filter... the time-honored, guilt-laden, self-torturous ritual: a willing covenant to listen to absolutely ALL of it. A bit obsessive-compulsive but that's the job.

What's more is, you've got to spend time with the music, let it dig in a you, get a hold on you. There's a relationship there, one that requires patience. Great music isn't always obvious.

A question I hate answering. But here it is. A list of albums and songs over the past few months that I couldn't stop listening to, for whatever reason... humor, familiar comfort, je ne sais quoi. Some of it new. Some of the new-ish. Some of it old. Some of it just because.

Under the Waves, Pete Droge Pete was nice enough to send me his entire back-catalogue recently (including The Thorns, who I'd somehow completely forgot about, shame, shame) and while it was great to be reminded of old faves like "Eyes on the Ceiling," etc. I kept returning to this one from 2006. I'd played it over and over again then and it still grabs me by the knees! "Electric Green" is my ringer, but really, it's hard to choose.

What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love and Understanding (Acoustic), Nick Lowe Got to see him a few weeks ago in Albany. And even though I've heard the song a million times, this acoustic version has the kind of yearning that escaped me before. Hear it here. Buy it here.

The Odd Couple, Gnarls Barkley I can't believe I'm saying this... but this record is phenomenal. Outkast meets Fine Young Cannibals. Excellent for cleaning the house to. "Going On." Uh-huh.

Tattoo You, The Rolling Stones

Altered States, Robin Danar What a great freaking record. I can't tell you how many times friends have come over and I've literally forced them to listen to Rachel Yamagata doing The Stones' "2000 Light Years from Home." And "Yell" is perfect for summer, which I've been in the mood for since January.

An Spéirbhéan, Gael Sli Instrumental. Honestly, not a fan of the other songs but this one, otherworldly --- in a Lord of the Rings kind of way.

Momofuku, Elvis Costello Fantastic album. All those idiot critics.... It's fun. It rocks. It sounds like the Costello we know and love. What more do you want?

Pretzel Logic, Steely Dan

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, Various Currently, my favorite record of the year, no kidding. And not just because it's funny. The songs are actually great. Parodies, of course... but still. Mike Andrews (a.k.a. Elgin Park, Greyboy Allstars) is a total genius. Not to mention Dan Bern and Mike Viola (The Candy Butchers). Everything these guys touch is gold. "Darling" really gets me. "Let's Duet" makes me pee my pants. And even though it cost me a solid $20 (I did wince) it was worth every cent.

Are You Gonna Go My Way, Lenny Kravitz Lenny gets a bad rap. His new stuff, not interested. But the older stuff, hell yes. I like my rock sexy.

The Alchemist Manifesto, Ocote Soul Sounds and Adrian Quesada Groovy, spacey, spicy. Good for after the barbecue when you're still sitting on the porch in the twilight.

Blackbird, One Day International I've had the precursor to this record for a while (a demo of sorts) and Blackbird is most of the same songs... superb. Coldplay (as in back to Parachutes) meets Thom Yorke plus a cello. "Little Death" is a damned good one.

Soap and Water, Chuck Prophet Sexy, sexy, sexy. Chuck always comes through. Especially digging "Would You Love Me?" and "Small-Town Girl."

Playback, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers I've been wanting this box set for a long time and simply forgot to buy it. There is no bad song. Checkout Disc 6, "You Come through" with Lenny Kravitz. Oh mama.

Yael Naim & David Donatien, Yael Naim & David Donatien I realize I'm a bit johnny-come-lately to this but really, the whole pared-down, delicate singer-songwriter thing pretty much nauseates me at this point... however I loved this. "Paris," "Too Long," "New Soul," "Far Far," and of course "Toxic."

Nothings Wrong, Andy Zipf See him live.

You asked.

The Opposite of Free

outlandosmusic — Tue, 20 May 2008 01:44:59 GMT

Stop with the single already. Make me an ALBUM. Not 11 shit-songs and an earworm. I want art. I want flow. I want craft. And I WANT to pay for it.

Singles are for casual listeners... a watered-down, comehither billboard, intent on not only getting your attention but manipulating it.

Paraphrasing/quoting Oliver Sacks:

Science dictates that music (a.k.a. singles) specifically designed to hook you in --- an "endless repetition" regardless of "the fact that the music in question may be irrelevant or trivial, not to one's taste, or even hateful --- suggests a coercive process," where music "enter[s] and subvert[s] a part of the brain, forcing it to fire repetitively and autonomously (as may happen with a tic or a seizure)."

Is this what we now require of every song, a calculated brainwash of sound, a "defenseless engraving of music on the brain" (Sacks again) that we literally can't get out of our minds?

Creepy. And the sure way to mass-produced homogeny.

Oh wait. Kind of like the way radio is now?

Lord knows the last thing I want to hear is a string of singles. Even of my favorite songs. Talk about mentally exhausting.

Think of it like this. The single is a teaser, an aperitif, a taste... a free sample. The ALBUM is the main event, the SUBSTANCE. And albums are for FANS --- INVESTORS in music, who stick with you long after the single has wormed its way out. Can you imagine Tattoo You without "Slave?" "Start Me Up" may have gotten you to the table but "Little T & A," "Black Limousine," etc. that's the meat. Yum.

And that's the model I'm talking about. The model of making ART and selling it because it has VALUE. That's the model that works because it works for FANS.

Fans GET the album… they embrace the collective idea that music is dynamic; its impact relies on time, place, emotion, mood, memory, presentation, etc., i.e. CONTEXT.

Just think about how many times when you first heard a song, you didn't like it... but another time, you did. Not exactly accidental. Contextual. And not the kind of thing that happens if you simply play the same single over and over again on YouTube.

But if you put an entire album on replay... you spend time with the songs, you give them room to breathe, you grow to love them. They take on MEANING.

Music surrounded by music that informs it has MORE meaning… the kind of meaning that only a group of songs, purposely arranged and comprising a greater product can create: an all-encompassing audio art-form that is, by its very essence, the bare-bones magnificence of music: a wondrous, sonically shared experience --- exactly the kind of thing that fans are willing to pay for.

Because in a world where singles are incessantly everywhere and also free (thereby, inherently valueless) true, artful albums are RARE (thereby, somewhat priceless). And I don't know about you but I don't want what everyone else has for free... kind of the same way I feel about extra large, logo-emblazoned T-shirts. Keep 'em.

But a compendium of great, interesting songs... dead-ringer singles, sleeper hits, introspective soundscapes, covers turned inside-out, indulgent guitar solos (please, bring those back)... that's what I want. I want to actually hold it in my hand, open up the liner notes and rub my nose in them, inhaling that new-ink-on-paper-smell.

Limited copies. Frame-worthy artwork.

Raise the standard.

Charge me double the price.

The Resurrection

outlandosmusic — Tue, 06 May 2008 00:45:40 GMT

When it comes to music-listening, like many, we have options: iPod, CD player, DVD player, phonograph, Tivoli radio, regular radio, satellite radio, Internet radio, etc. For the most part, we've got the bases covered --- or so I thought. Lately, the one gadget I'd assumed I was through with forever suddenly became the most surprising of must-haves, the kind I absolutely could no longer live without.

We needed a cassette deck. And bad.

Granted, over the past few years I have thought about it... there is that dusty box I almost never open, housing all my old tapes, stashed in storage, at the very bottom of a stack of other miscellania that require minimum accessibility.

But about a week ago, I picked up Eric Clapton's recent autobiography from the stack of books I've been meaning to read forever and finally dug in.

To be honest, for $26, it wasn't particularly enlightening reading. The writing is overall subpar and the story lacked discovery. After all, we pretty much know the deal... world-renowned guitar talent, infamous unrequited love eventually conquered and subsequently destroyed, tragedy upon unthinkable tragedy, and a seriously ungodly amount of drugs. For the most part, the book revisits Clapton's well-publicized, 40-odd year elusive chase for happiness, from band to band, tour to tour, and lover to lover, all perpetuated by a sort of insatiable numbness fueled by the fog of heroin and alcohol. In a nutshell: a life --- that is, one hell of a life --- sadly missed-out on by its owner. To that end, a really, really, really fucking depressing read. Nonetheless, I kept on, mostly driven by Eric's seeming inability, even in retrospect, to have just one, singular "holy shit, this is my amazing rockstar life" moment, to recognize and connect with the magic in his own music that we fans feel. And while the book ends warm and fuzzy with his hard-won sobriety, his selfless, successful efforts in helping others achieve the same, and the love of a devoted family (all truly miraculous, wonderful things), my desire went unfulfilled.

After 300 plus pages of Yardbirds, Cream, Blind Faith, Delaney and Bonnie, D&D, etc., he'd gotten me all wound-up. I went hunting for that box.

Longing to feel that connection, to re-live my own Eric Clapton "aha" moment, at first, I panicked. The box wasn't where I thought it was. Three closets and a crawl space later, I found it. Buried in a jumble of various mix-tapes, air-checks, and my earliest and occasionally embarrassing stabs at music-discovery (Bronski Beat Age of Consent, Yaz Upstairs at Eric's, Alphaville Forever Young, The Ramones Loco Live, The Police Outlandos d'Amour, The Caddy Shack Soundtrack, etc.), was my first ever Clapton cassette: a two-sided compilation of favorites an old boyfriend had pieced together in a valiant effort to expand my at-the-time fairly limited tastes.

Now all I needed was a tape deck.

I'd long ago chucked my Fisher Price Walkman and lilac pastel Sony boombox. My vintage Bang & Olufsen had been hopelessly busted for at least a decade. Even the last holdout, my car deck, had been recently replaced with a CD player.

Situation desperate.

It wasn't that I didn't have access to E.C.'s music otherwise... there were CDs, records, and Internet for a quick fix. But it was the ORDER of this particular mix that I'd listened to over and over and over again, indelibly committed to memory so that I expected each song to come after the next. It couldn't be any other way.

Side One: Bell Bottom Blues Slunky Have You Ever Loved a Women [sic] Let It Rain Anyday Key to the Highway Peaches and Deisel [sic] Watch Out for Lucy

Side Two: I Shot the Sheriff Promises Knockin' on Heavens Door [sic] Wonderful Tonight Cocaine Lay Down Sally Willie and the Hand Jive After Midnight Swing Low Sweet Chariot Let It Grow Blues Power

This was how I'd heard it all first, how I'd first discovered the music in music. How I'd fell in love with blues without even knowing it was blues. How "Bell Bottom Blues" was the first song that I wished someone had written about me, long, long, long before I even knew what love was. How at some point, I'd accidentally pressed the record button during "Key to the Highway" so that there was that inevitable irritating silence at the bridge. How the last song on side one ended way before the actual end of the tape, requiring an impatient couple of minutes of fast-forwarding. How I'd first heard "I Shot the Sheriff" and was eventually (actually!) bummed by Bob Marley's original.

More than anything, a dedicated, uninterrupted listen to this cassette what I wanted, in part to feel as though my time spent reading hadn't been wasted.

So. It's official. I'm now the proud owner of a little Aiwa that we found online today for about 20 bucks in the next town over. And later tonight, after we pick it up and get the whole thing hooked into the stereo, I'll pour myself a glass of wine, put on the headphones, and nestle up to the hot, hot picture of Eric adorning the book jacket. Happy Monday.

Stealing 2.0

outlandosmusic — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:37:56 GMT

Amidst all the recent Music 2.0 wonk and posturing, the preposterous notion of fans as "thieves" has been largely bandied about. Which got me thinking about the art of Picasso-ian stealing:

Good artists copy. Great artists steal.

So then, assuming you, as an artist, naturally wish to be great, the co-opting (stealing) of a pre-existing successful business model is key.

Step 1.

In order to become a bona fide "thief," you must first swap your music-industry-imposed traditional role as Creative Underling for Opportunistic Vigilante-Entrepreneur.

Voilà.

If I'm not mistaken, we just stole you an all new identity.

Step 2.

Now that you're an entrepreneur, it makes sense to take (steal) someone else's ingenious entrepreneurial principles and apply them to your career. If you don't know former Apple visionary and current Garage Technology CEO Guy Kawasaki, not to worry, you're not alone. Nonetheless, RUSH out and buy this book.

A few noteworthy highlights:

First, ask yourself if your reasons for making music, for making "meaning" as Guy calls it, are any of the following:

• Make the world a better place. • Increase the quality of life. • Right terrible wrong. • Prevent the end of something good.

If not, to be frank, get the hell out of the music business. Seriously.

If so, read on.

Guy's Key Principles of Getting Going/Kate's Examples of How They Might Apply to You:

• THINK BIG. Self-explanatory. Thinking small is pointless. • FIND A FEW SOULMATES. Going it alone at the beginning is historically risky. Think "strength in numbers" or "The Tribe." • POLARIZE PEOPLE. People are either devoted fans or relentless critics. Because you can't monetize passivity, utterly and completely embrace whatever it is that's your thing (rare talent, controversy, parody, etc.) and then highlight the fact that it's the opposite of someone else's thing. Remember, it's 7-Up, the Un-Cola.

And lastly, Guy's Business Model Basics/Kate's Examples of How They Might Apply to You:

• BE SPECIFIC. In a world where the market is flooded with endless music choices, niche is essential. Know your audience and create music specifically for them. • KEEP IT SIMPLE. Describe your music. The "sounds like" section on your Myspace page should contain a concise, recognizable answer. Declaring that you don't sound like anybody is a) impossible and b) stupid. • COPY SOMEBODY. Commerce has been around a long time, and by now clever people have pretty much invented every business model that's possible. You can innovate in technology, markets, and customers, but inventing a new business model is a bad bet. Try to relate your business model to one that's already successful and understood. You have plenty of other battles to fight. Did he say "copy?" I think in this case, it's safe to interpret that as "steal."

Eureka.

Step 3.

In order to define your business model --- to identify which already successful (THINK BIG) business model you're going to steal --- Guy suggests you answer two questions:

• Who has your money in their pockets? • How are you going to get it into your pocket? Obviously, the "who" would be your audience, your fans. But here's where you need to BE SPECIFIC... what kind of people are your fans? And while you'll want to narrow it down, no need to get into overly-heady psychographics (KEEP IT SIMPLE). For example:

• Do they drive Volvos and Subarus? • Do they shop at Whole Foods? • Are they college-educated? • Are they taste-makers? • If you sound kind of like Nick Drake, are they the kind of people that like Nick Drake?

This information will help define how you market your music to your fans and, more importantly, how you can potentially connect with them. So if the answer to the above five questions is yes, chances are that if you have a mohawk you'll want to consider a new 'do. On the flip side, if you're a diehard recycler, requesting blue bins to be available at your next venue might be a connection-savvy idea.

The "how" is, of course, less obvious. So let me suggest a successful business model worth stealing (COPY SOMEBODY): Public Radio.

For instance, the folks at Public Radio are cross-promotion (FIND A FEW SOULMATES) experts, fluidly connecting the listeners of one show to another. If you like Garrison Keillor, check out the Sunday Morning Bluegrass Show, etc.. You get the picture. Moreover, thousands of stations additionally join forces to promote and air specific shows, i.e., All Things Considered and the like. Hence, teaming up with other artists who have a similar fan base to yours and then leveraging your respective audiences is an excellent way to both maximize your resources as well as both your individual profile and that of the whole. Three words: Hotel Café Tour.

Notice too that Public Radio excels at what Guy calls "catalyz[ing] passion" (POLARIZE PEOPLE): come fund-drive time, it's a love-hate thing. But this polarity is exactly what makes fund-drives the most-listened to times of year, overall. No joke. Moreover, it's this same polarity that separates mere "listeners" from the contributing elite, a.k.a. "members;" if you've ever donated to Public Radio, you know that membership affords you outright bragging rights. YOUR individual contribution is directly connected to the success of the station. It's a pride thing.

It's not difficult to figure out then, that as an artist, you too want to catalyze this kind of passion, ownership, and connection that gives your fans bragging rights. Which makes the pay-as-you-see-fit model an appealing vehicle for cultivating an interactive environment where fans actually have a stake in your career. Connection. Loyalty. Radiohead. Quite smartly, Public Radio not only celebrates but also perpetuates the whole idea of membership-pride through regular, public acknowledgment, member-only thank you gifts, as well as access to special events, etc. You can see then, that if we're following the model, it's not enough to just allow fans to determine how much your record is worth. You can't stop there. Once a listener has made the jump to fan (fans being your paying investors) you've got to keep them hooked. And remember, by rewarding your fans in this way, they will spread the word about you, for FREE. Therefore, you've got to continue to thank them, both publicly (perhaps a scrolling marquee listing names on your website) and individually (a personal e-mail should do it). Plus, why not throw in some added value (limited-edition recordings, front row tickets, etc.) to use as leverage for increasing the amount of money you hope each fan will part with? For example, $5 gets the record, $10 gets the record AND a live recording of the upcoming New Year's Eve concert. I call this the McDonald's Bundling Model; ordering a #1 is cheaper than separately ordering a Coke, a hamburger, and some fries... but even if you only wanted a hamburger and fries, you're more likely to go for the bundle because it's a better deal. Tried and true.

And while we're talking dollar amounts, again, BE SPECIFIC. "Whatever you feel comfortable with" is NOT specific. $5, $10, $50... that's more like it. Having worked in Public Radio myself, I can tell you that a successful fund-drive host knows that you get what you ask for. So if you request only $50 pledges, the majority of pledges you'll receive will --- you guessed it --- be for $50. However, if instead you ask for $500 pledges (THINK BIG), the majority of pledges will be for $500. Which is not to say that everyone will suddenly have $500... the point is that narrowing options as well as switching them up begets better results. I call this the Ben & Jerry's Model; if you offer 32 flavors, chances are people will still choose Chocolate, Vanilla or Strawberry... but if you offer only Chocolate, Vanilla or Strawberry and then a rotating few exotic flavors, you'll sell more Chunky Monkey and Cherry Garcia. Those of you who have been longtime Ben & Jerry's customers will recall all sorts of wild choices that, over the years have been limited considerably, for what I'm guessing is this reason.

Another Public Radio tactic worth adopting is the "challenge." That's when someone who is already a member puts up a high dollar amount and challenges the station to raise that same amount in a certain time frame. If the station meets the goal, they also get the challenge amount. If they don't meet the goal, it's off the table. Not only does this create sense of urgency, thereby increasing the possibility of pledges but it also gives potential members a chance to add value to their contribution. Imagine, for instance, that you, the artist, have a benefactor who wants to help you produce a record and they've agreed to put up $5,000 for every $5,000 you accrue in donations from your fans. It could work.

And lastly, Public Radio relies heavily on the ability to draw on emotions and experience during a fund-drive. You (a fellow listener) are often asked to consider what life would be like without Public Radio... talk about a rough commute. Or you're reminded of the iconic Public Radio "driveway moment." Maybe the host makes a correlation between the $4 you spend at Starbucks everyday and suggests that if you're willing to pay that much for coffee, why not for Morning Edition? Connection, connection, connection. After all, why wouldn't that same $4 be better spent as an investment in an artist who's entertained you for decades, whose music has served as the soundtrack to so many memories? Or maybe it's a new artist who has captivated you unexpectedly by reminding you how exciting hearing a great song for the first time can be... reminiscent of your youth? Worth $4? Why not?

In any case, now that the whole idea of fan-determined pricing is out there, why stop at the basics? Jump in. Go whole-hog. Don't settle for good, be great. Steal the whole damn Public Radio model and see what happens. In an age of stealing versus free, what have you got to lose?

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

The Real Reason We Watch Idol

outlandosmusic — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:37:11 GMT

In our house, we don't have TV. And not because we're on that crack-political agenda bandwagon... God knows I love me some mindless TV. But up here in the sticks, it's all static without cable. And cable is hella expensive. Netflix (bless it!) is cheap. Internet TV (Survivor, The Office, etc.) is free.

We make do.

But last week, while visiting my fully cable-equipped parents' house, it was a no-holds-barred, all-out, brain-numbing TV bonanza: Deal or No Deal, Dancing with the Stars, and that gravy train, top-dog of shows, American Idol.

Man, it was bad. But still, I watched along with 30 million other walleyed viewers.

Why?

For the most part, and to be fair (because honestly, I wanted to gag my eyeballs out) the singing is fine... if hitting the notes is the standard, those kids certainly have me beat. So I guess you call that "talent."

But musicianship? Artistry? Not even close.

Let's be clear, Idol contestants are performers. And while I applaud courage (after all, performing in front of 30 million people takes guts), they are not legends-in-the-making. Will YOU be following Kelly Clarkson's career in 10 years?

First and foremost, the music on American Idol just plain sucks. And I don't mean the songs themselves (overall), I mean the whole package, the actual music. Even the classics --- at best, mere props for the aforementioned "talent."

But last week wasn't about brazen attempts to out-do the likes of Al Green, Freddie Mercury or Elton John. That might have been less painful. Instead, Mariah Carey guest-starred, so the show focused on her music (if you can call it music). Each performer had to cover one of her songs... apparently the new high-bar that America's aspiring "musicians" are aiming for. Egads.

Admittedly, I had a moment of blushing reflection. Is that what my parents thought, back in my Madonna days?

Madonna, at least, was undeniably interesting. She made up for her lack of musicianship with stunts... the hairdos, the fingerless lace gloves, the cone-boobs, the dry-humping... we ate it up.

What's interesting about Idol is the wrong notes, the embarrassment, the tears, the unpredictability, the drama, the inevitable Cowell-induced squirming, the witnessing of shattered dreams, hell, even Cowell's accent is utterly captivating to the average land-locked American. But the potential of failure, that's the real dog-and-pony-show. We get high off it. Perfect is boring, mistakes are exciting! Now that's fucked up. Albeit, remarkably human.

And the humanity is the draw. It's a kind of voyeuristic-awe, a window into someone else's adventure (or misadventure), bundled in the irresistibly compelling notion of "That could be me!" Evocative. Relatable. Addictive.

Plus, there's power. There's the voting. The idea that we, the viewers, have a substantial amount of control over each performer's destiny is deliciously Machiavellian. Even that qualifies as shared experience. The connection is there.

When you think about it, this sort of innately irresistible appeal is what allows connection to outweigh actual musicianship, it's what allows performance to trump art. So it was no surprise when the Idol caller who mentioned National Record Store Day received an awkward silent pause in response --- as if to say not "Who knew?" but instead "Huh? What's a record store?" Certainly, when it comes to most Idol viewers, we're not dealing with record collectors or investors in music (dropping a paltry $.99 per song does not qualify you as an investor). Hence, content, a.k.a. quality is not king. And although some people would suggest that this is a recent phenomenon, the opposite is true. Think about it. How many times have you been to a concert where the sound was crap, your seat was crap, the beer was crap... but still, you came away having the time of your life? The songs sounded different than they did on the record --- a good thing. There were wrong notes --- you loved every one of them. You felt a connection. If you were at a Ryan Adams concert, maybe he played the same song three times in a row, God bless him. Brilliant. Because it was imperfect. Because it was REAL.

And real is king. Yet in a world of digital audio, the autotune, the overdubs, etc., what is real, what is wonderful, gets stripped away. The goal is absolute PERFECTION. Lifeless, utterly boring perfection. Anyone with a computer can achieve it, you no longer have to be an actual musician to make "music." You've heard this one:

What did the ProTools engineer say to the band? That sucked, come on in.

Even Madonna figured out that it was high-time she at least learned to play the guitar. Less provocative stunting, but still, real.

All I'm saying is what if we combined what is real with what is great? Unheard of, right? Is it so much more work to raise the standards, to create something more than entertaining... a timeless lollapalooza of both humanity and caliber? Something both captivating and world-class? The kind of thing that people would even be willing to pay for?

Oh yeah, it's called HBO.

So here's an idea for you Bill Nelson: on the off chance you guys wanted to get into the reality-TV game, why not kick Fox's ass with a show for the rest of us: how about a TV version of real-life Guitar Hero, something of an American Guitar Idol? Now that would be worth watching. Seriously. I might even reconsider paying for cable.

Brit Box Rejuve

outlandosmusic — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:36:46 GMT

Cream, serum, gel... let's just say my daily eye care regimen is substantial. What can I say? I want to look young forever. More importantly, I want to feel young forever... if only you could buy that in a jar.

When it comes to tapping that oft-elusive fountain of youth, nostalgia does the trick for me. Which is why last week, I gladly pinned my 60-odd, audio-Botox bucks on Rhino's Brit Box: 78 of Brittania's coolest Indie/Shoegaze Britpop outfits --- largely uncelebrated in the US, yet heroically resurrected in this smartly packaged box set --- complete with a cherry-red telephone box cover image (iconic of all things across-the-pond) smothered in Brit-band bumper stickers that any fan would kill to get their hands on. Brill!

Spanning the decade and a half ('85-'99) when the de rigeur stateside was Bon Jovi, Hootie & the Blowfish, the Backstreet Boys etc., the Brit Box puts forth a time capsule that answers its own question: "How did British pop music go from the Sex Pistols to Spandeau Ballet in barely 4 years?" Tell me more.

Disc 1 kicks the set off with The Smiths' groundbreaking, "How Soon Is Now," redefining the guitar's rightful place in alternative rock with Marr's rapturous tremolo swagger... just a taste of things to come. Mighty Lemon Drops, Echo & the Bunnymen, The Wonder Stuff, Trashcan Sinatras, The Sundays, etc.. All bands that I wish I was listening to at the time but in truth, didn't come around to discovering properly until much later. Highlights include Cocteau Twins' "Lorelei" (Elizabeth Fraser in all her breathy splendor), The Primitives' "Crash" (when Candypop done right was oh so delicious), Happy Mondays' "Step On" (Madchester meets Kongos, hell yes).

And who knew that Shoegaze in its infancy was actually cool (not the trendy, messy-haired confessional "Snoozegaze" of today)? If, like me, you missed it the first go around, Disc 2 (my favorite) will school you proper. My Bloody Valentine, Lush, Catherine Wheel, Teenage Fanclub, etc.. Highlights include Chapterhouse's "Pearl" (Zeppelin-sample-driven shimmer-haze, dreamy!), The Family Cat "(Thought I'd Died) And Gone to Heaven" (a garage-esque hark-back to the Beatles' "Rain"), Birdland's "Shoot You Down" (surely, a band these guys took their cue from).

Getting back to a time where the mere mention of Britpop caused a bona fide, paparazzi-worthy, drug-laced frenzy, Disc 3 justifiably puts infamous rivals Oasis and Blur (easily the better of the two) smack dab in the middle of fellow scene-sters Nick Heyward, Pulp, Echobelly, Supergrass, Elastica, etc. Highlights include James' "Laid" (obvious but just so freaking great), Stereolab's "Wow & Flutter" (slightly muffled pop-exotica groove at its finest), Menswear's "Sleeping In" (skip to 1:40 and keep that tambourine comin').

In a post-Oasis world, Disc 4 (my least favorite) runs the gamut from Cornershop, The Divine Comedy, and Spiritualized, to The Verve, Placebo, etc. But in spite of co-curator John Hagelston's admission of "absences beyond our control" (Radiohead, for one), a few highlights: Kula Shaker's "Tattva" (yummy sitar-singed psychedelic-pop), Super Furry Animals' "Something 4 the Weekend" (grab-your-acid-and-go-rock), Silver Sun "Service" (lush power-pop all the way... stunning... track not available online).

And if that's not enough, the 79-page liner notes booklet comes jammed with photos (look out cockatoo-hair dos and a whole lot of eyeliner), gobs of Brit Box-garnered band quotes, and in-depth track by track diagnosis, plus Andrew Perry's 20-page overview, worth every pretty English word.

Feel free to view a complete track listing here.

The best part is that while I recognized most of the bands, a lot of the actual songs were new to me, excepting the few, choice ringers. A side-effect of US versus UK radio I imagine. Double bonus!

I, for one, am feeling younger already.

The Bucking Skinny

outlandosmusic — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:36:22 GMT

The headline reads: "Network Radio Bucking Trend."

Really? Amidst all the sexy buzz of Satellite, iPods, Pandora, Last FM etc., somehow, somewhere, someone is successfully resurrecting the art of bona fide radio?

Yeah, no.

Rest assured, the "trend" of listeners moving away from radio is still going strong. For the multitude of late-adopting advertisers, it's a different story.

In theory, if, miraculously, you are still convinced that radio is your optimum connection to consumers, Network Radio makes sense. As the big-box stores of radio, Citadel, Infinity, Westwood One, etc. can offer lower prices across a larger reach. Not surprisingly, local stations can't compete.

In theory.

First and foremost, let's be clear that for Network Radio, and most radio in general, you, the listener, are NOT the priority. When radio execs talk about "client service," you are NOT the client. Of course, if you've listened to radio in the last 20-30 years or so, you already know this: the advertiser is king, you are an afterthought.

Nonetheless, this is what Maja Mijatovic, director of national radio at Horizon Media calls the "hot new medium."

Um, NOT.

Here's how it works.

It's all based on so-called research. First, the folks at Arbitron ask a few listeners to record their radio habits over a short amount of time. And by a few, I mean less than 1% of the entire US population... accounting for ALL radio listening estimates. Clearly, it's not an exact science... more of a trust-based thing? Okay....

Once the decidedly questionable data is collected, it can be manipulated in a variety of ways (as all data can) so as to best benefit each station. Most importantly, a station's "share," i.e., the percentage of listeners, as it relates to that of other stations in the area, then becomes the determining factor for how much they can charge for commercial.

So it's no wonder that the actual music being broadcast in between the commercials (and not the other way around) is utter crap. They're not programming for you, they're programming for the ad execs at Wal-Mart.

Barry Berman, president of CRN Radio (Mancow syndicators) calls this "client service mentality." I call it client-programming.

And when you program for the client --- the wallet-waving hoi polloi --- banal, formulaic, factory-made-for-the-herd ear-candy will do.

Because nobody's listening. They don't have to. Taste has been made obsolete.

The thing is, for a while there, we, the listeners, were more or less okay with this. We trusted radio. We honestly believed that a human being with actual discerning taste was still choosing music, just for us. And even as it became more and more clear that this was no longer the case, we placidly continued to go along with the whole guise. We didn't demand anything better. Shame on us. Or should I say, moo.

And then Radio 2.0 started to happen... all kinds of music that we'd never heard on the radio was suddenly everywhere. And it was so much better! And we felt tricked. Buh-bye radio.

Network Radio's response? Dumb it down even more. Alice. Froggy. Jack.

Jackass.

Local Radio's response? Panic and try to be more like Network Radio.

No! No! No!

Dear Local Radio, truth be told, we miss you. We miss spontaneity, creativity, all the things that made up that once-upon--time radio magic. We miss a trusted source, a flesh-and-blood human who we connected with, who talked to us (not at us), who seemed to magically know exactly what it was we wanted to hear, when we wanted to hear it. We miss being MORE than listeners... we miss being FANS.

Lord knows that at least Satellite Radio is certainly trying to give this a go. But as for Local Radio, barring a few exceptional stations peppered across the country, it's likely too late. So there seems to be only two choices: throw in the towel and get swallowed up along with Network Radio or... buck the damned trend! Stop chasing Network Radio's tail. Take a risk: make fans the priority. And, I've said it before: screw Arbitron, find great music, play it.

One thing's for sure... programming for the masses is out. Programming for the niche is in.

And no one is better poised to program for the niche than Local Radio.

Providing a great service for the niche, that's the ticket. That's how you create fans. And once you have fans, the money will follow. Because fans are more than willing to pay for great service. Fans even fight for great service. Hell, television's got fans who are even willing to happily tolerate commercials, in some cases, with baited breath. Why not radio?

Now that would be the real hot new medium. Yowsers.

Re: the Merger

outlandosmusic — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:35:48 GMT

First and foremost, does anyone really care? Is anyone even listening to radio anymore, let alone satellite radio? Even XM fanatic Bob Lefsetz questions satellite's viability:

... if you pony up, you find out you're in the wilderness, not a member of any club, not one of any size, and that freaks you out and you abandon your subscription.

He's right. And he's not alone. And XM and Sirius only have themselves to thank.

Throughout both companies' histories, as marketing efforts focused on the "big" names, i.e., Major League Baseball, The NHL, the NFL, Opie and Anthony, Howard Stern, Oprah, Martha Stewart, Starbucks, Ellen DeGeneres, Tyra Banks, etc, what was weird and wonderful about satellite radio began to fade.

Having been been on the inside at XM, I witnessed it firsthand. And for a little while there we (the programmers) believed.

We believed in the true art of radio, the craft, the connection between great music and fans and the curator behind the scenes --- a veritable magic of sorts, as those of you who came up through 70s radio knew all too well.

XM Cofounder Lon Levin knew this. Certainly, former Programming Senior VP and Chief Creative Officer Lee Abrams knew this.

Their vision, in the beginning, was all about celebrating that magic. And it was, truly, a beautiful thing.

But then former CEO Hugh Panero brought in the new guard: Programming Executive VP Eric Logan and John Zellner, terrestrial radio's Infinity kings... not exactly purveyors of Abrams' wondrous, contagious irreverence, the driving force behind XM's once-upon-a-time magic.

Across many of the music channels, playlists were slashed and it seemed that XM was becoming a virtual mirror of terrestrial radio, just without commercials. Except, suddenly, there were commercials. Zoikes.

And still today, the channels that are most interesting, most human (XM Kids, X Country, Liquid Metal, Fungus, The Rhyme, Fine-Tuning, The Joint, The Loft, etc.) chug on but go virtually unnoticed. What's worse is that the talented curators behind them remain grossly overworked and, sadly, underpaid. But that's another story...

The fact is, collectively, XM and Sirius have a point: our other content options are numerous and in many cases better. So why would we keep paying for a service that's become not all that different then terrestrial radio, which we can get for free? Good question. And I'd love to say that Mel Karmazin's gonna save the day. But it's no secret that Mel's a business guy, not a music guy. Certainly, he's no Lee Abrams.

Yet, in theory, it could happen.

Maybe if instead of continuing to blindly throw marketing dollars at the anonymous masses, satellite radio got back to what it's poised to do best: creating a haven for the "weird and wonderful" and thereby perpetuating the shared experience, a.k.a., Leftsetz' membership to "the club."

After all, the masses aren't fans. And, I can't say this enough, FANS are what you want. Fans invest in music. Fans invest in the club. Loyal, diehard, spread-the-buzz fans who, simply by virtue of their devotion, will sell your product for you.

And it just so happens that the most likely fans of things "weird and wonderful" are adults... age 35-65... 1/3 of the population... wielding $1 trillion in disposable income. Do I sound like a broken record?

Music Industry Professor Jerry Del Colliano, in a recent Post article:

Young customers don't have the need that we older folks have to have someone knowledgeable about the music tell them what's new. They have their social network to tell them what's cool.

Damn straight. Earth to Mel!

So maybe if instead of trying to be everything to everyone, satellite radio embraced this rather sizable niche and got back to its roots of humans programming for humans, then maybe the magic would prevail and satellite radio would, at the very least, survive... or at the very best, emerge as our savior. Now that would be worth paying for.

RIP Harp Magazine

outlandosmusic — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:35:26 GMT

From May 2007's Quotables, Harp Magazine:

"Get off my fuckin' telephone. Fuck off! Both words. Do you understand those?! Implicitly. Do you understand 'em?!" David Lee Roth, when reached for comment (on his cell phone) by Harp about the implosion of the Van Halen reunion tour.

Dear, dear David, I can't tell you how much joy this quote has given me. Again and again.

So, when I heard that my favorite music zine closed up shop this month I was genuinely, seriously bummed.

The rumor was true: Harp Magazine, the unequivocal rock 'n roll go-to music companion called it quits after a stellar seven-year stint.

The brainchild of Scott Crawford, Harp's anti-elitist ability to make both legendary music-heavies and break-out newbies wonderfully accessible to fans went unmatched. At Harp, music was paramount --- an ideal that the grossly fashion-laden pages of Rolling Stone lost long ago to TV, gossip, and pop-culture. Magically, Crawford and crew maintained an exceedingly smart but nonexclusive music-lovers haven, delightfully free of all that boring, overly burdensome insiders' tech-lingo, rampant among industry, gear-head, and other stuck-up periodicals. And unlike Mojo, Pitchfork, etc., Harp was hip without out-hipping its readership. Cool but not too cool... the kind of magazine where women and men alike were welcome, never falling into that seemingly rampant assumption that Tweedy, Iggy, et al are "guy things." Whatever!

Besides music, Harp's additional reviews of what I'd call essential lifestyle accessories made me feel like they knew who I was... more than just a music fan... I mean, what impatient, grocery-shopping audiophile doesn't need these? Genius.

Which brings me to the best part: Harp was FUN to read. We all know that oft- off-color, off-kilter, off-the-wall nature of all-things-music is a given. What I'll miss most is Harp's unabashed willingness to embrace and celebrate exactly this. Cue Dave Grohl, America's next president.

Alas, as the music industry continues to implode (a good thing) and the digital world swallows up print (not so much a good thing), it's not hard to understand why Harp was forced to throw in the towel. It is hard, for me at least, to understand why a world-class magazine like Harp wasn't more in demand. But in a world where Groban is king... what can you say? "Power to the sheeple?"