Robyn Hitchcock Live

Great Show!
Date: April 8, 2009
Venue: Cat's Cradle
Location: Carrboro, NC
 I Often Dream of Trains
What You Is
Out of the Picture

 The Underneath
Airscape
-banter about age-
Saturday Groovers

 Sixteen Years
Television

 Vibrating
-banter-

 Flesh #1 (Beatle Dennis)

 Somewhere Apart
I'm Falling

 Madonna of the Wasps

 Up To Our Nex
18 Beautiful Queen
Authority Box

 -crowd noise to encore 1-
Lady Water and the Hooded One
The Lizard

 He's a Reptile
Goodnight Oslo
-crowd noise to encore 2-

 Kingdom of Love

Nat Hentoff

Here's an excellent article with a man that I greatly admire, Nat Hentoff.  Well worth a read.

8 Track Mix June 2010

WITT - Community Radio?

For years and years a dream of an Indianapolis community radio station lingered in the ethos. Finally it became a reality when WITT went on the air. Since that day, not a lot has happened. There have been power struggles, there is not a permanent studio and office and the programming is very thin. I understand that much of the day to day programming is a rehash of old recorded programs that were originally broadcast on another local station. Live programming essentially does not exist.

I had kept my eye on what was happening as I was considering the possibility of approaching WITT about doing a classic jazz show. But before I made any commitment I had to be comfortable about the direction of the station. The more I heard, the less comfortable I became. This morning I thought that I would check out the station and their website to see if anything was new. Well, there's not. I did go to the FAQ to check to see if there was any new information about doing a show. I was more than surprised to see that to do a show on the community radio station, WITT, that payment would have to be made and an underwriter for the show would have to be provided! Not to mention that all programs must be recorded. Apparently no live programming is allowed. Is this community radio?

A great example of a community radio station is in Three Oaks Michigan, Radio Harbor Country.  They engage and embrace the community with their outreach and volunteer programming.  A friend does a great live show (Rare Grooves) on Tuesday's from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m.  RHC is a great source for community information and supports and promotes the local cultural scene.

Here's hoping that WITT can get its act together.

Apple's Jobs Kills LaLa

Steve Jobs buys the competition and then kills it.

Lala an incredibly popular music site is being laid to rest.  Steve Jobs is shutting it down a mere four months after purchasing the streaming music service.

Many blogs, like mine, used this service as a legal way to post music.  One could listen to every song on Lala once for free.  (Unless you uploaded your collection and then the music was available 24/7.)  This is going to force the hand of a lot of bloggers that promote music to illegally post music.  "Force" is obviously too harsh of a word, but I'm sure a lot of bloggers aren't going to just quit what they are doing just because of this change.  It's the nature of the beast.

Rosie Come Out Tonight

Joni Mitchell Raises Some Eyebrows

In an interview mostly about performance artist John Kelly's tribute show "Paved Paradise" that was published in the L.A. Times, Joni had this to say about Bob Dylan:


LAT: As well, you've had experience becoming a character outside
yourself [Mitchell caused controversy when she appeared as an African American male on the cover of her 1977 album, "Don Juan's Reckless Daughter"].The folk scene you came out of had fun creating personas. You were born Roberta Joan Anderson, and someone named Bobby Zimmerman
became Bob Dylan.

JM:  Bob is not authentic at all. He's a plagiarist, and his name and voice are fake. Everything about Bob is a deception. We are like night and day, he and I.


As for my name, my parents wanted a boy, so they called me Robert John; when I came out a girl, they just added two letter A's to that. Then I married Chuck Mitchell; I wanted to keep my maiden name — I had a bit of a following as Joni Anderson — but he wouldn't let me.


Art is deception.  Dylan is a master of deception and one of the greatest artists in history.  

IMHO, Joni would have been okay with her statement had she not said the last sentence.  I don't see the difference between her and Dylan, really.  Apparently she has always presented her audience  with only "authentic" work?  I'm not even sure what that means.


I've always loved Joni's work.  One of the concerts that I will always cherish was at Market Square Arena in the 1990s where Dave Alvin and Joni opened for Bob.  What a great night. 


No doubt Joni stepped in it and the press is having a great time with the statement.  Dylan has only had wonderful things to say about her on his radio show and in past interviews.  But they aren't without some history...  I remember some interesting things about Joni in "Rastso" Sloman's book "On The Road with Bob Dylan," extremely highly recommended, BTW.  Here's an excellent interview from 2006 with Joni about how she has had it with the music and is retiring.  Since this interview she has had a comeback of sorts recording again releasing "Shine." 


Joni has always been willing to stand up for her art and I guess this time is not exception.  I got to witness it first hand at the concert I mentioned before.  She stopped mid song and berated some fellows that were near front and center making quite a racket.  From my memory, saying something like "Bobby will be out in a little while so shut up and...etc."


Here are the setlists from Mitchell and Dylan from that unbelievable night of music:

Joni Mitchell

1. Big Yellow Taxi
2. Just Like This Train
3. Night Ride Home
4. Crazy Cries Of love
5. Free Man In Paris
6. Harry's House
7. Black Crow
8. Amelia
9. Hejira
10. Happiness Is The Best Facelift
11. Sex Kills
12. Magdalene Laundries
13. Trouble Man
14. Comes Love

Bob Dylan

1. Gotta Serve Somebody
2. I'll Remember You
3. Cold Irons Bound
4. Positively 4th Street
5. Watching The River Flow
6. Can't Wait
7. Tomorrow Is A Long Time
8. Desolation Row
9. Tangled Up In Blue
10. She Belongs To Me
11. Highway 61 Revisited
12. Love Sick
13. Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35
14. Blowin In The Wind
15. Like A Rolling Stone

Buddy Guy - DJ Play My Blues

I've been real busy with putting together work for a group exhibit so I've been away for a while.

How about some blues from Buddy Guy to get back into the groove...

Universal Group to Reduce CD Prices!

Maybe the Universal suits read this blog...

From a Rolling Stone article:  "Universal Music Group has revealed a plan to reduce the wholesale cost of their albums in order to decrease the retail price of single-disc albums to $10 or less,"

Many will say that this is too little too late.  I say better late than never.  Good for Universal.  This gives the music business a chance.  The other labels will soon follow Universal's lead. 

Here's the Billboard article that was the first to break the news and the details.  Excerpt:  "Beginning in the second quarter and continuing through most of the year, the company's Velocity program will test lower CD prices. Single CDs will have the suggested list prices of $10, $9, $8, $7 and $6."

Black Cashmere

My nephew's (Nate Caplan, bass guitar) band, Black Cashmere, rocking their school talent contest:

Pink Floyd Wins Court Battle to Control Sales of Albums

It is reported today that Pink Floyd won a lawsuit against EMI that will ensure that Pink Floyd's albums will not be sold on a track by track basis. Their argument was that the albums are complete artistic works and EMI only had a contract to sell Pink Floyd's work in album form. Also there was an issue regarding royalties that was taken up in private and there is no news as to any settlement.

In many cases, the iTunes revolution of downloading an artist's work as individual tracks has destroyed the concept of an artist selling an album as a cohesive work. The other argument is that with CDs being up to eighty minutes in length many artists have too much filler and music buyers therefore would rather not pay for what is perceived to be less than excellent work.

In my mind the answer is simple. Artists should put together an album as the concept that they envision and then sell it at a reasonable price. A new album should retail for no more than $8.99 to $9.99. The new Broken Bells album is an excellent example as to the artists coming up with an album of excellent material that is an enjoyable listen from beginning to end; but it is only thirty seven minutes and thirty two seconds long. Yet at the local independent record store the CD is sale priced at $12.99 - too much. I can purchase movies that cost millions and millions and millions of dollars to make for something around $16.99. I realize that this is comparing apple to grapes, or some other fruit, but to consumers this must be an issue when it come to spending their hard earned money for for entertainment. A price reduction would also cut piracy way down.

I guess nothing is going to happen until the music business completely crashes and burns and the market can sort things out. Meanwhile landmark independent record stores all over the world have closed and the ones still operating have to be running on fumes.

It is amazing to me how, over my lifetime, I have seen the music business at its zenith and see it now as a withering shell of itself, essentially meaningless and incapable of functioning.

Click here for an article about the Pink Floyd court case.

And, here is Pink Floyd's album Animals for your listening enjoyment.

Animals - Pink Floyd

Ron's Music Stuff March 2010 8 Tracks Mix

George Harrison's Birthday

Today, February 25th, is George Harrison's Birthday. Harrison lived a life rich with spiritual awareness.

Sharing his life's outlook through his well conceived albums, Harrison's solo output, while not as commercially successful as Lennon's or McCartney's, never disappointed.

I vividly remember heading to the record store the day any George Harrison record hit the racks. I couldn't get home fast enough to rip the plastic off of the cover, run the discwasher brush over the pristine vinyl surface and set the needle into the groove and listen to the magic coming out of the speakers.

George Harrison, The Quiet Beatle...

Abbey Road - A "Listed Building"

The BBC is reporting that Abbey Road Studios has now been made a listed building which will protect it from any plan to radically alter it. Abbey Road has been given Grade II status because of its historical merit.

It sure is good to see that all of this is working out well and a significant piece of contemporary history will be preserved as well as continue to be utilized.

Johnny Cash - American VI

Today "American VI: Ain't No Grave" is released. The album is comprised of the last recordings of John Cash.

From the press release: During these sessions, in May of 2003, less than four months before he passed, Cash lost his wife June Carter Cash due to surgical complications. According to Rubin, "Johnny said that recording was his main reason for being alive. I think it was the only thing that kept him going."

I will have more to say about the record after I've had a chance to digest it. Outside of Cash's original Sun Recordings, I have found Cash's American Recordings produced by Rick Rubin to be the strongest work of his career.

From "American VI: Ain't No Grave," here is A Satisfied MInd written in 1955 by J.H. "Red" Hayes and Jack Rhodes.

Elizabeth Fraser - Moses

Here's a terrific tune to get the week started...

Elizabeth Fraser (formerly of the Cocteau Twins) makes a comeback with her new single, Moses.

I just cannot get enough of this song. The song's layers interweave to create a beautiful soundscape that supports Fraser's inescapable vocals. The vinyl 12"EP is released as a limited edition of only 500 copies.

Here's hoping the release of Moses is an indication of more to come from this incredible artist.

EMI Denies Abbey Road Studios to be Sold

Great news! Public pressure has caused EMI to back off the sale of Abbey Road Studios. From an article by AFP EMI says, "In mid-2009, we did receive an offer to buy Abbey Road for in excess of 30 million pounds (34 million euros, 46 million dollars) but this was rejected since we believe that Abbey Road should remain in EMI's ownership," EMI said in a statement.

"EMI confirms that it is holding preliminary discussions for the revitalisation of Abbey Road with interested and appropriate third parties."

Danny Federici, Member of the E Street Band

Satch and I were lucky enough to witness the extraordinary performance of Danny Federici playing again with the E Street Band while fighting melanoma. It happened on the night of March 20, 2008, but it still feels like yesterday.

The performance of Sandy included here was magical and, near the end of the song, it felt like the entire fieldhouse was choking back tears of joy. He also played on Spirit in the Night and The Promised Land.

Danny again joined the band for the encore. Kitty's Back - t ripped right out of the box, but then it went higher and higher until it felt like we were witnessing the band jamming together back in 1974. They were playing for each other, in a public concert, in a way that I'd never witnessed any band perform. The music transcended performance and went to a place where the player's histories, hearts and minds connect in a way that is indescribable. (And I've been going to Springsteen shows since 1976.)

Danny passed away less than a month after the performance. Springsteen wrote a beautiful eulogy for Danny.

Abbey Road Studios - BBC Radio 2 and The Independent

The furious fire about the potential sale of the Abbey Road Studios continues to burn.

The Chris Evans Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2 on February 18 was dedicated to the music made at Abbey Road Studios. Listen to the show here. Scroll down and listen to chapter three for the latest information about The National Trust purchasing the studios.

And today The Independent published an article, "Abbey Road's Greatest Hits" where some leading figures talk about their favorite music that was recorded at Abbey Road.

David Gilmour - Mihalis

I've been in a prog rock mood lately. Going back and listening to the solo albums made by members of Pink Floyd is always enjoyable and often times yields fine rewards. I'm still in search of Richard Wright's album, Wet Dream. Here's "Mihalis" from David Gilmour's first solo LP.

Abbey Road Studios - FOR SALE

As previously noted, EMI is on its last legs. And, as most entities these days businesses only care about the cash and couldn't care less about their legacy. That there is even the possibility that Abbey Road Studios could be sold and redeveloped into something other than what is has been since 1929.

The history of Abbey Road Studios is rich and incredibly important. Many pop/rock artists have recorded seminal albums in these hallowed studios. Best known for being the studio where the Beatles recorded their magic, the studio has produced an incredible amount of classical music and film scores.

The latest word is that The National Trust may purchase the studio. The trust had seen "an astonishing outpouring of public emotion" after word got out that EMI was going to sell the property.

Also, Paul McCartney mentioned, on BBC's Newsnight, that there was a possibility that a bid might be coming forward to purchase Abbey Road Studios, "There are a few people who have been associated with the studio for a long time who were talking about mounting some bid to save it. I sympathise with them. I hope they can do something, it'd be great. I have got so many memories there with the Beatles.

"It still is a great studio. So it would be lovely if somebody could get a thing together to save it."

BTW, a great read about the magic of the Beatles at Abbey Road Studios is Geoff Emerick's book, Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles.

John Hiatt - The Open Road

As many of you know, I'm a big and huge fan of John Hiatt. Way back in the mid 1970s, I first got hooked while playing Hiatt's album, Overcoats, on WEAX (then Tri State U's radio station) .

John's career has taken a lot of twists and turns. Taking off out of Indianapolis before finishing high school*, Hiatt headed south in search of a life in music. He has become a national treasure, a troubadour commenting on politics, relationships and life's journey. He continues to hone his craft - he has become an accomplished guitarist and an excellent singer. He's had the songwriting thing figured out for a while now (<-sarcasm), but he continues to plow ahead with new ideas and he hasn't lost his perspective on the world in which we live. John truly is one of America's great songwriters.

I'm really looking forward to Hiatt's new album, The Open Road, which is being released on my birthday, March 2, 2010. He's teamed up with a new "combo" - Kenny Blevins (former Goner and Sonny Landreth) on drums, Patrick O'Hearn on bass and Doug Lancio on guitars. (I'll always be partial to John's work with the Goners and the Nashville Queens.) The Open Road is the second outing with this "combo" so I'm hoping that they have gelled and the new record is classic Hiatt. Hiatt's first album, Same Old Man, with this combo was somewhat uneven and, compared to past albums, felt uninspired.

The first single, the title cut from the album, indicates that Hiatt is back with a real keeper.

1. The Open Road 4:33
2. Haulin’ 4:06
3. Go Down Swingin’ 3:38
4. Like A Freight Train 5:59
5. My Baby 4:10
6. Homeland 4:46
7. Wonder of Love 3:52
8. What Kind Of Man 3:50
9. Movin’ On 4:43
10. Fireball Roberts 4:27
11. Carry You Back Home 3:36

Here's a preview of The Open Road (30 sec. snippets)

*In 2006 John Hiatt completed his High School Diploma at his daughter's high school.

Video - Bob Dylan - Blood In My Eyes

For some reason I'm in the mood for this song to set the tone for today.

Bob Dylan at the White House - Video

Ron's Music Stuff 8 Tracks Mix for February 2010

Photography Exhibit

The Monroe Gallery of Photography in Santa Fe is holding and exhibit entitled "The Art of Sound."

From their website: "(the exhibit is) an extensive survey of more than 50 classic photographs portraying iconic personalities from the field of music as captured by renowned photographers. All genres of music are represented including opera, pop, jazz, classical and rock."

This looks to be an excellent exhibit with a very nice cross-section of artists and images. Check it out online or in person in Santa Fe. Man, I wish I was in Santa Fe...


Bob Dylan, 1975, Ken Regan

Dylan at the White House

Bob Dylan performed The Times They Are A-Changin' as a part of "In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement."

In performing The Times They Are A-Changin,' Dylan's chose to convey one of his most direct messages to those in political power.

Today as the United States sits at a political crossroads, Dylan singing this song in the White House, the symbol of the world's greatest political power, is relevant, poignant and appropriate. The only problem is that many of the politicians that heard the message probably think Dylan is singing about somebody else...

Audio - Bob Dylan - White House 2010

Super Bowl Sunday - The Who!

Being a native Hoosier and living all but nine months of my life in the greater Indianapolis are, one would think that I'd be writing all about the Colts and today's Super Bowl.

But rather than that I thought that I'd write a little about the halftime entertainment. Pete and Roger have their hands full of playing up to last years twelve minutes of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's powerhouse. I think they can handle it.

The Who are iconic. Nobody has done more to stretch the art form of Rock and Roll than has Pete Townshend. Roger Daltrey's vocal prowess is beyond compare. Entwistle's playing has inspired generations of bassists. Keith Moon's controlled wild abandon gave rock and roll drumming a dimension bigger than just holding down the beat. Many claim The Who cannot be The Who when half of the original members are gone. I say balderdash. Pete and Roger have carried on and made great music, much of it underrated by the "critics."

The story goes that Pete wasn't too keen on reforming The Who after they "retired" back many years ago. He had plenty of dough coming in from song writing royalties but Roger and John were hurting financially. And, Pete had a small string of excellent solo albums under his belt. Finally Pete agreed to give the band a go and they've been going at it, albeit off and on since. This is just a guess, but I believe that after Pete heard and felt the power of The Who and their music he realized the importance of what they had created. And, pre-recession, the big money major acts were bringing in wasn't bad either.

This evening, for twelve minutes, on arguably the world's biggest stage, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey will defy their age and deliver the message and promise of Rock and Roll.

From a Billboard article, here is Pete Townshend on the Super Bowl setlist:

"We're kinda doing a mashup of stuff," the guitarist tells Billboard. "A bit of 'Baba O'Riley,' a bit of 'Pinball Wizard,' a bit of the close of 'Tommy,' a bit of 'Who Are You,' and a bit of 'Won't Get Fooled Again.' It works -- it's quite a saga. A lot of the stuff that we do has that kind of celebratory vibe about it -- we've always tried to make music that allows the audience to go a bit wild if they want to. Hopefully it will hit the spot."

Bob Dylan Covers The Rolling Stones

Here's Dylan covering Brown Sugar from the early show at the Murat Theater in Indianapolis, Indiana on November 5, 2002.

This was an amazing evening of music where Dylan played two shows and only six songs were repeated.

Charlie Sexton was pretty sick that evening but gave it everything. The band from this leg of the "Never Ending Tour" is still my favorite contemporary Dylan back-up band. Charlie and Larry Campbell were a guitar tour de force.

Making this evening even more memorable, we were actually able to briefly meet Dylan after the show. Even scored an autograph!

Bob Dylan - Brown Sugar

Doubt Cast on Survival of EMI

Financial Times publishes an article about the dire situation in which EMI finds itself...

It looks like the music industry is meeting the fate that has been predicted for many years. If, by June 14, 2010, £120 million is not raised by investors believing in a new strategic plan, all may very well be lost.

It is, finally, time for these music behemoths to fail. For years and years they haven't been effective purveyors of product and artist discovery and development. Not to mention how they continue to screw artists out of royalties.

It is time, finally, for a new structure, one that cares about the art of making music, and those that make it, to be reconstructed. It will probably take a generation or two, but it needs to happen.

In my lifetime I've seen record companies go from an artist, and fan, centered business to a bunch of creepy suits and bean counters who really think Lady Gaga et al is their answer. I've witnessed the best and the worst; and it's time for the worst to go away.

Somebody forgot to throw the Auto-Tune switch to "On" for Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift's performance with Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac's Rhiannon was pathetic. I guess somebody forgot to turn on the auto-tune for her mic. I fear that her real talent was on display for all to see, and unfortunately hear. This auto-tune thingy has been helping artists for the last several years achieve vocal tonal accuracy on their recordings and concerts, even if their ability is marginal. Ever wonder why the pop music of today sounds so perfect and devoid of any soul? Auto-tune, and other digital technologies, have a lot to do with it.

Last year Time Magazine blew the doors off this scandal with this article.

Wikipedia has more about auto-tune.

I'm sure the current crop of music executives love this as now they can find the person with the right look and the willingness to do whatever they think will sell and make their talentless vocals perfect thereby manufacturing a pop superstar, you know, like Lady Gaga... Zappa warned us about this.

It's been a while...

Yep it has been a long time since I posted anything.

Here's a great John Hammond live recording from 2007.

Stream and enjoy!