Prince has been giving his cd away and coordinating it accordingly with his live performances.
Ars Technica article — BBC
Here’s his great new Acoustic song: Love.
Category Archives: Music News
Check Out The Newest Wide Hive Release: Dissent’s Swap Meet Seers
Hey sorry I haven’t been posting much this week. You can get the Daily Show from November 10th here in the mean time, but I’ve been busy with our latest Wide Hive release, Dissent‘s
Swap Meet Seers.
There are 3 different songs available in their entirety
on the website.
Check it out! I’d love to know what you think.
I’ll be back getting more stuff up tomorrow, or the weekend.
John Cougar Mellencamp Speaks Out
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This interview could have been better (the guy could have asked better questions and stopped trying to pigeon hole Cougar’s musical style — I’m referring to the “are you the Creedence of today” line of questioning on page 3).
But no matter, at least someone gave John a chance to speak!
Ain’t that America? Denounced as un-American after he blasted Bush on his 21st album, John Mellencamp talks about the rise of Fox News, pay-for-play, what’s wrong with the Rolling Stones and why most Republicans aren’t rich enough to be Republicans.
By Eric Boehlert for Salon.
Salon: Talk about people’s reaction to “To Washington.”
John: Initially I was surprised. My album wasn’t going to come out for a few months and I had the song
recorded so I put it up on my Web site and asked for people’s comments. And there were some mean
damn comments coming back.
Salon: How about today?
John: It’s changed. Now they’re almost totally in favor of the song. Because people are starting to
realize, “Now wait a minute, what really happened in Iraq?” I see the climate changing
tremendously. But when people hear those drums of war pounding, and Fox News is showing it on
television, people got pretty riled up. People were afraid, and when people are afraid they make
emotional decisions.
Salon: Did that include people in your hometown of Bloomington, Ind.?
John: When the song first came out I was in the car one day and we were driving to the airport and I had
my kids with me and a radio station was playing “To Washington” and having callers call in. Some
guy comes on and says, “I don’t know who I hate the most, John Mellencamp or Osama bin Laden.” My
kids heard that and my 9-year-old said, “Dad, are they talking about you? Why are people mad at
you?”
… Salon: Were there discussions about not including the song on your record?
John: I was asked not to put it on the record.
Where did it go from there?
John: I think the people who asked me knew what my response would be, but they felt they had to ask. They
were polite about it.
Salon: Did they say it just didn’t feel right, or the tone wasn’t right for the record?
John: No, it was more, “You’re asking for trouble, and look what happened to the Dixie Chicks, which was
based on just an offhand comment they made.” And my point to them was, “Look, I’m John Mellencamp,
I’ve been doing this 25 years. For anybody to say I’m un-American is laughable.”
Paul, The Pope And Lady Madonna
Paul McCartney agrees to take his show down a couple notches because it might be within the Pope’s earshot. Then he made a funny about only playing mellow songs that the Pope would like anyway. Like Lady Madonna, which is neither mellow in tempo nor of a subject matter the Pope would necessarily approve of…
This clip is from KTVU Channel 2 News In San Francisco.
Paul McCartney and The Pope Make The News (Small – 2 MB)
Paul McCartney and The Pope Make The News (Hi-res 27 MB)
LADY MADONNA – BEATLES
lady madonna, children at your feet
wonder how you manage to make ends meet
who finds the money when you pay the rent
did you think that money was heaven sent?
friday night arrives without a suitcase
sunday morning creeping like a nun
monday’s child has learned to tie his bootlace
see how they run
lady madonna, baby at your breast
wonders how you manage to feed the rest
see how they run
lady madonna, lying on the bed
listen to the music playing in your head
tuesday after is never ending
wednesday morning papers didn’t come
thrusday night your stockings needed mending
see how they run
lady madonna, children at your feet
wonder how manage to make ends meet
Beautiful Little Blogging Anthem
I think this song really captures the essence of blogging quite well, actually:
Ben and Mena
StevenF says “As far as I know, it’s the first, and hopefully the last ever song about web logging.” It may be the first, but I can guarantee that it won’t be the last… (MP3 – 4 MB)
Blank page, nothin’ to say
Just pictures of my cats today
Thought about the war a bunch
Now let me tell you what I had for lunch
Boys all hate me, my girlfriend dumped me
They’re bombing Iraq, my oatmeal’s lumpy
Wi-Fi networks in Central Park
Funny Photoshops up on Fark
(Chorus)
I wanna be Ben, I wanna be Mena
If only for a moment or two
I wanna be Cory, I’ll even be Winer
If that’s what I gotta do
I wanna be Ben, I wanna be Mena
The master of my domain
So send me a ping, send me a trackback
I promise I won’t complain
Referers say no-one came today…
That perfect link I hope to find
Check MetaFilter for the 40th time
I left a comment, I hope you see
How this issue pertains to me
Semantic web, RSS, and e-mail
Single white guy seeks athletic female
I’m busy building the digital commons
Cook me up another bowl of ramen
Michael Moore Directs New ‘System Of A Down’ War Protest Video
Natalie Merchant Decides To Break Free From Traditional Music Industry Ball and Chains
Natalie Merchant, No Strings Attached
By Jon Pareles for the NY Times.
When her Elektra contract expired in August 2002, she chose not to renew it or to seek a deal with another major label. “I would make a big-budget pop album, followed by a year of touring and promotion and then some downtime for recovery,” she said. “I don’t even know if I was writing music that was appropriate for that mold.” Instead she will release her next album, a collection of traditional songs called “The House Carpenter’s Daughter,” on her own label, Myth America Records. It is to be released June 1 through Ms. Merchant’s Web site, nataliemerchant .com, and July 1 in stores.
Recorded on a modest budget, marketed primarily to existing fans and not relying on radio exposure, “The House Carpenter’s Daughter” breaks free of the commercial pressures that have turned major-label releases into risky gambles that can cost a million dollars in promotion alone. In contrast, Ms. Merchant’s transition suggests the model of a sustainable career for a musician who is no longer eager to chase hits.
Crux Of The Dixie Chicks Situation
This situation just goes to show that it was the Music Programming layer of the system, not the listener layer, that pulled the Dixie Chicks from station playlists over Natalie’s statements.
That’s the issue here: programmers took it upon themselves to censor the Chicks before listeners had a chance to say anything. That’s where the McCarthyism parallel kicks in. The Chicks got blacklisted by a few key people within a Monopolized Media: not by infuriated listeners.
Many thanks to Dale Carter, programming director at KFKF/Kansas City for rethinking the situation and speaking out on this important issue!
Country Radio Still Weighing Chicks Controversy
One major market programmer removed the Chicks from his station’s playlist but changed his mind after considering why Americans have fought previous wars. In a letter to listeners posted on the KFKF/Kansas City Web site, program director Dale Carter wrote, “Our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are over there fighting for our rights — and one of those is our Constitutional right to express an unpopular opinion. The longer this has gone on, the more I had visions of censorship and McCarthyism. Two wrongs don’t make a right. I agree with the 80 percent of you who abhor what Natalie said in London. On the other hand, I believe in the Constitution.”
Dixie Chicks Stand By Their Standments
Dixie Chick Explains Bush Bash
“I feel the President is ignoring the opinions of many in the US and alienating the rest of the world.
“My comments were made in frustration and one of the privileges of being an American is you are free to voice your own point of view.”
Dixie Chicks Under Attack For Expressing Their Views Against The War
The Dixie Chicks have been blacklisted out of major radio rotation for expressing their views about the Shrub.
So when you’re calling the radio stations to request the new Beastie Boys and John Cougar Mellencamp Anti-war songs, you can also let them know that you’d appreciate hearing some Dixie Chicks!
Dixie Chicks pulled from air after bashing Bush
Country stations across the United States have pulled the Chicks from playlists following reports that lead singer Natalie Maines said in a concert in London earlier this week that she was “ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas.”
Station managers said their decisions were prompted by calls from irate listeners who thought criticism of the president was unpatriotic…
One station in Kansas City, Missouri held a Dixie “chicken toss” party Friday morning, where Chick critics were encouraged to dump the group’s tapes, CDs and concert tickets into trash cans.
Houston country station KILT pulled the band’s records from its playlist — at least temporarily — after 77 percent of people polled on its Web site said they supported the move.
“We’ve got them off the air for right now,” said Jeff Garrison, program director at KILT, which is owned by Viacom’s Infinity Broadcasting Corp.
“People are shocked. They cannot believe Texas’ own have attacked the state and the president,” Garrison said.
Lead singer Maines said in a statement she felt the president was ignoring the opinions of many in the United States and alienating the rest of the world by pushing for war with Iraq.
“We’ve been overseas for several weeks and have been reading and following the news accounts of our government’s position. The anti-American sentiment that has unfolded here is astounding,” Maines said…
The Chicks have the number one country album in the United States on the Billboard charts called “Home” and the No. 1 single with “Travelin’ Soldier”, which is about a U.S. soldier who fought in Vietnam.