As an artist whose music appears on Napster, you would think that somebody, somewhere, would have mentioned this to me. (Link via boing boing) Somebody, like, say, the company I pay to put my music on Napster. The same one that recently notified me that I may, in fact, have had my royalties collected without permission by SoundExchange, and that it was a good thing.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Napster Inc. begins selling MP3s Tuesday, a move the online music service hopes will lure iPod users and turn around Napster’s sliding fortunes.
The company is the latest to make the switch to the unrestricted file format, which makes it music tracks compatible with virtually any music player or other device.
Of course, I think it’s a great thing that Napster now sells my tracks DRM-free. I think DRM-free is the only way to go in digital downloads.
Still, don’cha think it would have been nice to be, y’know, notified?
I’m registered with a website that publishes my music to different digital distribution sites. Today I got an e-mail from them in partnership with, well, I’m just going to have to assume Satan.
It’s the law: If your music sells over non-terrestrial radio (Internet radio stations, XM/Sirius webcasters, Internet Radio and digital cable/satellite television music services like Music Choice and Muzak), you are owed money, and they have to pay. The money is held for you at a government-sanctioned non-profit company called SoundExchange (find them at www.soundexchange.com). But you can’t get your money if you don’t register with them!
And now one of the people I depend on to distribute my music is sending out messages on their behalf. Yay.
And I love how SoundExchange has gone from being an non-incorporated subsidiary of the RIAA to being a “government-sanctioned non-profit company.” Hey! Maybe that means they’re playing fair, now. Let me check that e-mail again…
Time is of the essence—if recording artists or their heirs do not come forward and register with SoundExchange soon, they may forfeit their rights to all or a portion of their royalties.
April 1, 2008 – ONLINE—Folksinger C. Glen Williams has released a new single from his upcoming album, Ephemera Now – For the Future! as a free download from his blog, the ArtMachine.
“Ephemera is a folk album for the next decade,” says Williams. “It’s a set of traditional and original songs that deals directly with the ephemeral. That which is now but won’t be, and that which once was but is no more.”
The free track, “This Song,” uses traditional themes both lyrically and musically. “It’s a common theme of childhood,” says Williams. “A tribute, if you will, to that time of life when we had no desire other than to run, to play, to have fun, and to annoy our parents.”
The singer/songwriter – whose song “Wasted All This Time” recently appeared in the short film “Infected,” from Ian Donnelly and iDsD Productions – may have gotten a little bit carried away in the composition of the song, he reveals.
“The radio edit of the track will probably be the version that appears on the album,” he says. “As much as it pained me to cut even a single note of the song, the original composition is over an hour long. There just wouldn’t be room on the album for anything else if I included it.”
It’s been a long, looong time since I did the random 10. Here’s the deal – you know what song the lyrics came from? Drop the title and the artist in the comments. Partial credit available for partial guesses.
“Revenge is the method – whenever steppin’, keep a weapon close.”
”(Theme From) The Monkees,” by The Monkees (guessed by Carl) – “We’re the young generation, and we’ve got something to say.”
“I learned a lot from Gene Kelly – when it pours it makes me sing.”
“I asked her the same blahzay blahzay, I got her digits and gave her my 1-800 beeper number.”
“And when we’re alone, seems there’s nothing to say – I bring up the topic, you push it away.”
“I’ve seen diamonds cut through harder men.”
“I wear shades when it’s sunny, sometimes I rock funny, I ain’t in it for the money.”
“Way, way down inside, honey, you need it.”
“Eat more fruit, plant more trees, learn to shoot, travel overseas…”
“Blam blam with the blammer. Smile, nephew, you’re on Candid Camera.”
I admit it. I don’t typically tune in to the Grammy awards these days. I think the last time I tried to watch the Grammies was the year that Outkast performed Hey Ya! with Andre 3000 in a green Hollywood-Indian outfit and No Doubt performed “Hey Baby” with acrobats on trapezes. It was quite possibly the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen onstage. Not the most painful – I’ve watched a lot of amateur theatre – but definitely the ugliest. My general experience with the Grammies has been an excess of spectacle that detracts from – rather than celebrating – the music it is supposed to honor. I’ve seen numbers from them that just seemed like an experiment in how much money could be put on stage rather than any valid artistic or aesthetic statement.
So I don’t know what to make of this scene that I caught today on sci-fi blog io9. For those who would otherwise be lost, allow me to explain what you’re about to see.
This is a Grammy performance of the song “Stronger,” by Kanye West. In recording “Stronger,” Kanye West sampled from techno duo Daft Punk’s song “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.” On Grammy night, however, West performed the song with Daft Punk backing him up live.
The mythology of Daft Punk [by the way – it should be noted that I love bands with mythologies] is that at 9:09 a.m. on September 9, 1999, the two were working on a track when their sampler exploded. They awakened from the blast to discover that they had been transformed into robots. Their stage act – which has never been televised before – involves the duo wearing face-obscuring, Tron-inspired robot suits as they mix their music live on touch-screen synthesizers.
And here we have my indecision. Well, first, go ahead and check out the video.
Honestly, a number like this requires spectacle because the mythology and stage show of the band is spectacle. I can’t help feeling as I watch this video, however, that the revelation of Daft Punk mixing in the background is somehow overshadowed. For most of the number, Kanye West raps in front of a bright, neon backdrop. Then as Daft Punk shift to the forefront of the song, the neon pyramid slides apart to reveal… two dark figures rimmed in very dim red light working at green touchscreens. Their outfits are literally outshone by the neon going on around them, and it isn’t until a close-up obscures everything except the performers that it becomes clear how they’re dressed and what they’re doing – and as for the audience, the touch screen is a really neat bit of truly musical spectacle – but the audience doesn’t get to see it unless they’re watching at home.
So, for once, it seems to me that the Grammies got the spectacle in the right place – it was just executed poorly.
I have to admit, however, that it did make me want to see more of Daft Punk’s live act.
Because Virginia actually matters in this primary season, no less a figure than Bill Clinton came to the area to speak yesterday. Honestly, I’m not fond of the things he’s been saying lately, but I still believe he was one of the greatest Presidents of the 20th century – and I can’t pass up the opportunity to see a former President speak, anyway. So I went.
The speech was in classic form. But I learned two things about how Hillary runs the lead-in to her campaign events.
First: She’s managed to reduce Bill’s bad press by leaving the personal attacks on Obama to the campaign loyal who introduce him.
If you haven’t already purchased or downloaded it from one of the myriad places it’s been published (hint: it’s also available on cd here), then I’m pleased to announce that you can now get The Illegal Rebirth of Deep Blue the Kid at the Amazon.com digital downloads store! Act now – your copy is waiting.
I have now posted the answers for Last Week’s 10. Let’s move on to this week’s, shall we?
“Russian Lullaby,” by Jerry Garcia & Dave Grusman – “Where the lovely Volga flows, there’s a lonely Russian rose”
“Back in the U.S.S.R.” by The Beatles (guessed by Fred) – “Flew in from Miami Beach B.O.A.C.”
“Confessions Part III,” by Weird Al Yankovic – “I killed your goldfish accidentally – just replaced it with another one.”
“Last Train to Clarksville,” by The Monkees – “We’ll have time for coffee-flavored kisses and a bit of conversation.”
“Cuddly Toy,” by Harry Nilsson – “I never told you that I loved no other – you must have dreamed it in your sleep.”
“Fragile Heart,” by Jewel – “But I need to believe that we, at least, will have some dignity.”
“Life Less Ordinary,” by Carbon Leaf – “By the way, I do know why you stayed away – I will keep tongue-tied next time.”
“Right Hand Man,” by Joan Osborne (Guessed by Fred) – “Let me use your toothbrush – have you got a clean shirt?”
“The Golden Vanity,” by Peter, Paul, & Mary (title guessed by Sarah) – “Wi’ his brace and auger in her side, he bored holes three.”
“I Can’t Decide,” by Scissor Sisters – “Oh, I could throw you in the lake or feed you poison birthday cake – I won’t deny I’m gonna miss you when you’re gone.
Warning:What follows is a YouTube heavy entry. I’ve cut the entry after the first video, so if you want to see the rest you can click through to the entire entry.
I admit it. I’m primarily an acoustic guy, even if I do spend a bit of time mixing hip-hop these days. Even so, I love music that rocks, and when I hear a cool sound I want to know how it’s done. I have a couple of electric guitars hanging around, and every now and then this acoustic strummer picks ‘em up and gives ‘em a try.
I was already familiar with Peter Frampton’s talking guitar when I saw him destroy the competition on The Colbert Report, but just last week I wound up buying a digital download of Frampton Comes Alive. The result? I heard a lot of that sound. And I want it.
A quick search on Wikipedia pulled up the fact that it’s actually a very easy effect to buy. Not to throw too many Amazon affiliate links at you, but if you’d care to spend the money you can buy anything from the Banshee Talkbox (Standard) to the Danelectro DTB-1 Free Speech Talk Box at fairly inexpensive prices.
Then because I’ve come to see Wikipedia as more a fun starting point than where I want to end my research, I went to the next completely-open sounding board for absolutely anybody with two circuit boards to rub together – YouTube.
And I found that the talkbox was strong with this one. First of all, here’s modern-day Frampton jamming on the classic talkbox anthem, “Do You Feel Like We Do?” with Ringo Starr on drums.
to the 
at fairly inexpensive prices.