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Baby You're a Rich Man
The music business needs to start developing talent or the slump they're currently in is not gonna get any better any time soon. One reason people aren't buying records anymore, or downloads if you must, is that in some genres there's a lack of compelling talent.
Course that's common sense, and this is a business that seems to always be looking for a silver bullet. Or backward at its glorious past.
Fitting right in with that last vision is the "new" Beatles album that's in the offing. Amazing how many new albums come from people who've been dead for years ain't it? This one will use music from the Cirque Du Soleil show in Vegas. Sounds classy right? Not. Check this quote from Giles Martin, Sir George’s son that appeared on NME's website:
"What people will be hearing on the album is a new experience, a way of re-living the whole Beatles musical lifespan in a very condensed period."
Uh Huh. Maybe it's me but the real Beatles album experience seems to have aged rather well thank you. What we don't need is another remix album. What we do need is for Sir Paul and Ringo to spend some time in the tape vault and then release some of the jillion outtakes, alternate takes, live material, etc. that have been mouldering away there for years. No release date yet on the new album.
Tastes Like Bacon!
Wine tasting robot identifies reporter as being "prosciutto," cameraman as "bacon."
Just Sayin' Is All
The current issue of <I>The Oxford American</I> is their annual music issue, which comes with a 24-track CD. This year's CD includes the Swan Silvertones, Big Star, Eartha Kitt, Junior Kimbrough, and "The Theme from <I>Ali & His Gang vs Mr. Tooth Decay</I>."
A Fifth Element?
Are Bose-Einstein Coordinates really a fifth state of matter? Are these really BECs?
The Context of Cave Paintings
Art or magic? I suspect both, having been fascinated by them ever since attending an exhibition of meticulously rendered reproductions about 20 years ago, Dang, but they're powerful and specific.
How do you listen to the majority of your music during the year?
Formats change, resolutions change, but the music remains. Sure you may pop a record on the turntable once in a while, but how do you listen to the <I>majority</I> of your music during the year?
Industry Update
<B>New Naims:</B> At CEDIA 2006, Naim introduced two new products to the North American market: the $1500 NAC122x preamplifier and the $5750 n-Vi all-in-one home entertainment system (DVD-CD player/processor/five-channel amplifier).
Sirius Stiletto Slashes the Cord
On September 26, Sirius Satellite Radio announced the availability of the $350 Stiletto 100, "the company's first live portable radio, featuring WIFI, Yahoo music purchasing software, and the ability to save music subscribers love for playback later."
Beethoven's Diabelli Variations: the Finest Hour of Piano Music in the World
<B>John Atkinson on the Recording</B>
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"This will fix it!" Kimber Kable's Ray Kimber placed some acoustic baffles around the table on which sat my Apple TiBook. We were recording <A HREF="http://www.robert-silverman.com">Robert Silverman</A> performing one of Beethoven's masterworks for piano, the <I>Diabelli Variations</I>, Op.120, and I had been bothered by a faint whistle underlying the music. It turned out to be the sound of my laptop's fan, an unforeseen drawback of my decision to dispense with tape and record straight to hard drive for the August 2004 sessions. We had already had a problem with a slight slapback echo from the balcony of the Austad Auditorium at Weber State University in Utah, which Ray had fixed with drapes, and a problem with low-frequency rumble from airplanes overflying the college campus during one session had been solved by Ray phoning the air traffic control tower. However, even Ray couldn't deal with thunder, so that was the one session we decided to finish early.