I can't imagine getting rid of mine... but maybe you're considering it.
Hey Music Lovers! Don’t Toss Your CDs by Amanda Wills
If you’ve made the switch to MP3 downloads, chances are you’ve got a box in your garage that’s full of CD cases from artists that were less than forgettable (this author admits to still holding on to the Macarena single). But if you haven’t made the digital jump, we’ve got some news: You’re way behind.
As of September 2009, Apple has sold 220 million iPods, and users have downloaded more than 8.5 billion songs from iTunes. To put that in perspective, that’s the equivalent of 85 million CDs that would have been made.
Polystyrene downcycles quickly. As a result, recycled plastic from cases is used as an additive to new plastics rather than to make new products on its own. Photo: Flickr/LuluP
CDs contain three main components: plastic, metals and ink. Discs are made mostly from polycarbonate, although a small amount of lacquer is also used as a protective coating. Aluminum is the primary metal in discs, but traces of gold, silver and nickel are also present.
If you read my monthly piece on Spangle: The Zender Agenda, you'll see that tomorrow's The Hood Internet show is marked as one of the highlights of the Month. Check it out for a couple of my favorite tracks. If you're intrigued and want to know more, check below for an interview.
7 Questions with DJ STV SLV of the Hood Internet
By Jeff Kollath
Since 2007, ABX (Aaron Brant) and DJ STV SLV (Steve Reidell) have performed, mixed, and mashed as the Hood Internet. Based in Chicago, the duo began putting tracks on the web, but eventually began performing live at clubs around the city. 2009 saw ABX and STV SLV hit Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo, and has much bigger things on the horizon for 2010. In the coming months, they will hit the road with Tobacco (of Black Moth Super Rainbow), heading out West for a series of dates, before finishing back in the Midwest in April. This Saturday, True Endeavors will present the Hood Internet, with support from the New Loud and DJ Vinnie Toma at the High Noon Saloon in Madison. The show is 18+ and starts at 10pm.
Check out the artists on this album! Definitely going to get this one...
PRESERVATION HALL, SONY RED DISTRIBUTION AND MRI ANNOUNCE: "PRESERVATION, AN ALBUM BENEFITING PRESERVATION HALL AND ITS MUSIC OUTREACH PROGRAM"
A LANDMARK COLLABORATION BRINGING TOGETHER LEGENDARY AND EMERGING ARTISTS INCLUDING PETE SEEGER, TOM WAITS, MERLE HAGGARD, JIM JAMES, ANDREW BIRD AND MORE FOR A CELEBRATION OF NEW ORLEANS MUSIC
Over the last year, more than 20 of American music's most exciting artists traveled to Preservation Hall in New Orleans to collaborate with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band on classic New Orleans repertoire. The end result is a timeless and joyous celebration of New Orleans music. Proceeds from the sale of the project will benefit Preservation Hall and The Preservation Hall Music Outreach Program. The album is set for release on Fat Tuesday, February 16, 2010 in standard CD, deluxe edition and double-LP collectible formats.
All Tracks featuring the PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND:
Andrew Bird – "Shake It and Break It"
Paolo Nutini – "Between the Devil and Deep Blue Sea"
Tom Waits – "Tootie Ma Is A Big Fine Thing"
Yim Yames – "Louisiana Fairytale"
Del McCoury – "After You've Gone"
Ani DiFranco – "Freight Train"
Pete Seeger & Tao Rodriguez-Seeger – "Blue Skies (Comin My Way)"
Jason Isbell – "Nobody Knows You"
Brandi Carlile – "Old Rugged Cross"
Richie Havens – "Trouble in Mind"
Merle Haggard – "Basin Street Blues"
Blind Boys of Alabama – "There is a Light"
Dr. John – "Winin' Boy"
Louis Armstrong – "Rockin' Chair"
Amy LaVere – "Baby Won't You Please Come Home"
Steve Earle – "Tain't Nobody's Business"
Cory Chisel – "Some Cold Rainy Day"
Buddy Miller – "I Ain't Got Nobody"
Angelique Kidjo with Terence Blanchard – "La Vie En Rose"
I know... I'm hard on major labels. Probably a bit too hard. Here's a more eloquently written piece from OK Go, explaining the stress dynamics of the industry through the example of embedding a YouTube Video. Serioulsly... it's good stuff.
This week we released a new album, and it’s our best yet. We also released a new video – the second for this record – for a song called This Too Shall Pass, and you can watch it here. We hope you'll like it and comment on it and pass the link along to your friends and do that wonderful thing that that you do when you’re fond of something, share it. We want you to stick it on your web page, post it on your wall, and embed it everywhere you can think of.
Unfortunately, as of now you can’t embed diddlycrap. And depending on where you are in the world, you might not even be able to watch it.
We’ve been flooded with complaints recently because our YouTube videos can't be embedded on websites, and in certain countries can't be seen at all. And we want you to know: we hear you, and we’re sorry. We wish there was something we could do. Believe us, we want you to pass our videos around more than you do, but, crazy as it may seem, it’s now far harder for bands to make videos accessible online than it was four years ago.
I'm quite giddy about this one... I've talked before how I have certain artists that I'll always be interested in, despite popular opinion. Joan Armatrading is one of those artists. In fact, she may be one of the premiere artists at that level, because not only do pay attention to every release, but I actually get excited about every one of them. The last Joan Armatrading record was a blues album (New Joan Armatrading Tracks & Video), which was fairly enjoyable, but not quite as good as her 2003 Lover's Speak album. I have high hopes for this one... you can preview it here.
The long awaited new CD from Joan will be released on the 8th of March 2010 in Europe. USA release dates is the 30th of March 2010. The title of the CD is: THIS CHARMING LIFE.
Another great show... I can't believe it's already been a year and a half since I saw these guys. But that time must have been great for these guys because the Tavern was PACKED! Opening was The Octogon and the Buried Wires. Not bad... But the real magic was with The Rural Alberta Advantage.
The last time here, they lost a keyboard and limped along, still providing a great performance. I was looking forward to fully functioning band last night, but was sad to hear that one had a cold and another had a back issue from the drive in the van. But once again, adversity did not stop them from delivering on this last of their tour of the US. They powered through a strong set, with Paul Banwatt providing his distinct and passionate vocals. In fact, all three members of this band are superb. Fully functioning or not, I will always see these guys when they return.
I also had to include this B-side track below the picture. A new favorite covering an old...
No these guys did not perform together, but we did scramble between both shows in one night. Actually, the night started off with plans for going to the Yeasayer listening Party at Music Saves, but that got pushed aside for the need to eat, which turned into my first time at the Grovewood Tavern - good stuff.
Approaching the concerts this night took some finagling. Two venues, 5 acts in total...
Starting off at the Grog Shop, we caught Good Morning Valentine starting at 9:30ish. Good show and a nice little warm up... (I've seen them twice before 1/2) When they were done, we headed over to the Agora, missing the 2nd act at the Grog Shop and hoping to miss the opener for Kid Cudi. Well, not hoping, but the goal was to see as much of Kid Cudi then Dutchess & the Duke as possible. We got to the Agora in time!
Kid Cudi hadn't even taken the stage yet and the place looked trashed. Overall, the Agora looked beat (and not in a cool, hipster, I don't care kinda-way). Kind of sad knowing the Agora's history, and realizing this is what it's come to. Anyway, all that went away when the lights dropped and Kid Cudi took to the stage with a thunderous crowed cheering Cu - Di Cu - Di. Good stuff. The sound was great. You could hear him, there was plenty of bass, etc. Much better than his appearance at Case last year. We took off a little over halfway through his performance to get back to the Grog.
We walked into the Grog Shop to see a guy and a girl playing guitars. I knew this was The Dutchess & the Duke, but I guess I was expecting more happening on stage. At first, I admit I was disappointed to have left the energetic Kid Cudi show for this... But within minutes, I realized they *trashed*. The banter was ridiculous, but humorous. They solicited for a place to crash that night... I almost considered it, but could imagine her puking and him pissing in a corner. Anyway, an enjoyable trainwreck, but without comprimising their sound quality (too much).
The night ended there with the male counterpart walking off the stage and singing this repetitive phrase from in the crowd. Soon he was on his knees and the guitar on the ground. The audience joined him. The female counterpoint also came down, they both laid on the ground, continuing to sing the same piece over and over. A little odd, but quite a sight. Not such a bad choice afterall.
Another hot pick from the UPB Programming group at Case Western. These two Brooklyn bands continue to prove that someone at Case knows what they're doing... If only the kids attending were as equally with it. It was a typical Spot night, with bad lighting, an overpowering wing smell, and only have of those in attendance, actually paying the band any respect. But I guess it doesn't matter, the band is getting paid.
Don't get me wrong, there are definitely some people there into the show - and thankfully, because these bands deserved the attention. Bear in Heaven opened with their more dense and complex approach. Something a bit more mature.
Freelance Whales were second (opposite of the order I was expecting). They took to the stage where I think the instruments outnumbered the band members 2 to 1. Their show was a little lighter and full of fun instruments, sounds and harmonies. If only we could have had a better sound & audience, I think these guys would have been phenomenal.
Despite all of eMusic's messing with their download plans (not for the better), I'm still a fan. It's a great legal supplement for stuff that you can't easily find elsewhere online - and if you refuse to pay $0.99 per track on iTunes (like myself).
eMusic Adds Warner Music Group To Catalog
In Talks To Add Streaming
(UPDATED) Digital music download subscription service eMusic has added the Warner Music Group family of labels to its offering in the US. The agreement includes Atlantic Records, Rhino Records and Warner Bros. Records as well as indies distributed through WMG’s ADA. Sony signed with eMusic last year, but thus far Unive rsal and EMI have not.
eMusic sells monthly memberships starting at $11.99 for 24 tracks making the effective single track price $.50 or less under some plans; significantly less than many of its competitors eMusic says it has has sold more than 350 million downloads under its current ownership.
The Indie Rock Fag: Right Back Where He Started From This post was submitted by zack
Of all the things one gives up to be in a relationship — loneliness, social freedom, guilt-free farting in bed — the changes I least expected was visited up my music library. As I compile a checklist of domestic benchmarks like cohabitation and dog ownership, last night I took a plunge into life-sharing that was so scary I couldn’t even give it to much thought. I just made the decision, hit the button, and kept large piles of salt around to remind me what happens when a person looks back.
I decided to combine my music library with my boyfriends on one external hardrive. I did not do this as any symbol of unending love, as I refuse to conflate romance and Apple products, but I was sick of having my music split between two computers and wanted to consolodate it. But an unexpected side effect of this was that I have lost all my playlists. Every car trip, every college weekend, every mixtape I labelled with the name of the friend who recieved it have now been retroactively silenced by my desire to move forward.
After the Seth Glier show, we had a great dinner at Mint Café and then some drinks at La Cave du Vin (a sweet intermission). We walked into Grog Shop and immediately saw Tom, who's in the Afternoon Naps. He recently (randomly?) came to a party at my house with my friend Brian, where we discovered that we had quite a few friends in common. It was great to finally meet him. Great guy. Anyway, I digress. Our friend Trey also showed up, who's always an instant party. Another great guy. We missed the first couple acts, but did see Casual Encounters. Pretty good, but I was really just distracted with having great friends together and having a great time.
The Afternoon Naps took the stage, lamps and all. Shockingly, this is the first time i've seen them in concert. I've really been enjoying their new album, so it was about time. Their stage presence didn't disappoint, the blend of breezy pop and a mixture of male & female lead voices were a perfect compliment. They are definitely one of the best local bands Cleveland has right now. I can highly recommend both their album and their live shows. Did I mention that we danced through the whole show?
The night didn't stop there. Trey suggested the B-Side, which I haven't really experienced since Can't Stop the Beat back in 2005. We had a great time there as well... the dancing continued. Tom showed up there too, and we closed the place. A *phenomenal* night had on the East Side of town.
Two shows at the Barking Spider in one week... what a treat. And this is the second time in less than a month where I've seen two concerts in one night. To be living in a city that offers that much to do is just great. Go Cleveland... Anyway, unlike the Woovs / Mr. Gnome shows, I'll split this one up into two entries since they're a different times and in two different venues.
Seth Glier was performing an unusually early show at the Spider, starting at 6:30pm. I showed up and Martin (the owner) introduced me to Seth who I was standing next to at the bar. He brought his stage cohort Ryan Hommel over to our table and we got to chat about their tour so far, and where they were going next. I rarely ever set out to talk to the performers, but love when it happens organically. Cool guys.
The danger of an early show at the Spider are the happy hour crowds that are rarely interested in the music. This night wasn't too bad. Seth and Ryan sounded great and were hard to ignore. Seth has a domination over the piano and a great soaring voice. His originals were great, and loved the Man in the Mirror cover as well. Ryan was a great accompaniment. You can tell these guys are good friends and play well together. Good guys, great time.
There were still two other shows at the Barking Spider that night, but we had other plans... to be continued.
I rarely need a reason to go to the Barking Spider Tavern, but seeing Tinamou provided me with a good one. A young, fresh-faced Cleveland band playing some interesting acoustic folk / funk tunes. Very talented musicians... I was particularly a fan of the violin and the drums. I was also very pleased to see the inclusion of the house piano into their set, which just added the right element to their performance on this snowy winter day. I see good things to come for these guys. Though if I had one criticism, it would be the vocal harmonies. I've said this before, but harmonizing exponentially adds or detracts from the show, there's no middle ground. Not to say it was that bad, but would like to see a little more work put in there. Otherwise, these guys were *excellent* musicians. I hope they come back to the Spider again soon.
by Amanda Wills
This post was submitted by zack
