Wes Phillips

No, <I>classical</I> indy labels. Just as vital; even more necessary.

At the bank yesterday, I saw a guy with a Pink Freud teeshirt. It actually took me a minute to get it, so, to show I <I>did</I>, I said, "And by the way, which one's Pink?" I got a blank look in response, so I assume he was a Freud, not Floyd, fan.

<I>DIY Photography</I> posts an extremely useful how-to. I've done my fair share of concert photography and, if I'd read this article first, I wouldn't have nearly as many pictures of people standing behind microphones.

Should we be thankful that CD liner notes don't contain sentences such as, "Thanks go to the 'physiological studies in monkeys [that] suggest that roughness may be represented in the primary auditory cortex by oscillatory neuronal ensemble responses phase-locked to the amplitude-modulated temporal envelope of complex sounds.'"

On Monday, May 22, federal judge Naomi Reice Buchwald granted final approval to the settlement of the class action suit brought against Sony BMG for embedding intrusive and crippling digital rights management (DRM) software into its CDs. Not only did the software load secretly onto users' computers, it opened them to malware invasions, in addition to reportedly sending Sony information about consumers' computers.

Martin Wattenberg, an artist "whose work centers on the theme of mapping information," has posted a website that "draws musical patterns in the shape of transparent arches." Kind of interesting, but it reminds me of Robert Persig's comment that data without generalizations is just gossip. Wattenberg's maps show the repetitive nature of musical composition without informing us of anything. I look forward to his taking his technique to a deeper level.

<I>Locust Street</I> has a fabulous essay on the Johnny Burnette Rock and Roll Trio, along with three top-notch examples of what that group could do. Johnny, his brother Dorsey, and guitarist Paul Burlison just flat out <I>rocked</I> and the fierce rhythm and burning guitar of "Train Kept a-Rollin'" sounds remarkably fierce 50 years later.