radio, radio

Been listening to WXPN and Soma a lot lately. Soma's "Beat Blender" and "Groove Salad" remind me of the music I heard a lot in Amsterdam.

Thanks for calling, asshole

I had a phone message on Friday from the person who I had interviewed with a couple months ago, for a job that I kind of wanted. It at least would have been a reliable source of income with good benefits--while I continued to do my crazy stuff on my own time.

Anyway, when I receive a call back from a job interview, I tend to think that I'm going to be offered the job--if not, then I almost always get a simple rejection letter. So when I call the guy back, I continue to think that I'm about to be offered the job, he leads me right up to it and then the kick in the nuts--"We finally got through the bureaucracy, and we're now able to make an offer, and we're offering it to someone else."

Um, okay, thanks.

"Never Again" Again

Now matter how many times we say that, it continues to happen, right now in Darfur, Sudan.

We can do something. For some it's too late, but for others it's not.

Berlin is big

I had recently fallen into a rut of only checking out a few of the same web sites every day, to the neglect of some very good ones such as the Music for Robots collective music blog.

With several different contributors, there's always something interesting, and today it was brought to my attention that the music scene in Berlin is really happening. For some reason, this is about what I'd expect music from a Berlin group to sound like, don't ask me why. At any rate, I like it.

Artwalk

I can't believe it's been a year already, but it's time again for the Lancaster Artwalk weekend--check it out if you're in the area.

50 Worst Albums Ever?

This list from Q Magazine barely scratches the surface, and many are only the worst albums by various well-known artists, but hardly the worst ever.

As you can tell from the comments there, many take issue with Beck's Midnight Vultures being on the list, and I have a problem with the inclusion of Oasis' Standing on the Shoulder of Giants--it's not even the worst album by Oasis. That honor goes to Be Here Now. Although SOTSOG does include Liam Gallagher's "Little James", which is probably one of the 50 worst songs ever.

Pete Doherty: Super Genius

Okay, I've never listened much to Pete Doherty, Babyshambles(that name seems more appropriate by the day) or, um, that other band of his that I can't think of at the moment--but the guy lives a rock 'n roll lifestyle that puts all of Motley Crue to shame. That is, if the rock 'n roll lifestyle consists of doing drugs every waking hour of your life, even after you've just been sentenced for drug law violations.

The only thing left for him to do is actually snort blow right at his courtroom table in front of the judge. I expect that to happen at his next sentencing. And check the pic of those teeth, yikes. He could pay his fines doing community service as the poster child for English dentistry.

Monkey Man

There's a good interview with Michael Nesmith here, discussing the future of music and the music business. Excerpt:

WN: Now that indie musicians and filmmakers are selling direct to their fans -- sometimes hundreds of thousands of units -- what role can the corporate media play?

Nesmith: I don't hold much hope for Warner Music Group or Sony being a player in the future…. The problem with those kind of companies is that they don't have any good way to add value anymore.

For years, they'd support the artist in their nascent stages and get the goods to market. Those are old-time, Methuselean economics…. There are whole new businesses that will wander in and boot these guys out.

WN: So we can write the obituaries?

Nesmith: Those obituaries were written two decades ago. What you are seeing here is an inertial burn (laughs).

Windless Days, Cloudless Skye

My buddy Julia Skye has a MySpace page now with a sample tune. Of course she also has her own site(see link to right) and full length album available. It's all good.