Kinda gully that Nas acknowledges the birth of his son, but wasn't there for it. Hmm.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Gotta Love Maxwell
I remember following his freak-out on Twitter about doing this....and here's proof that he did. Our boy Maxwell SKYDIVING. No thanks man but love him for it....
Friday, July 17, 2009
R&B On The Brain
New music from two entirely different R&B music heavyweights. Maxwell's album is a thoughtful, musically brilliant collaborative with some of the most incredible musicians in the game. We waited a long time for this record- and it was worth the 8 years. Maxwell is completely off the pace of the hectic, pressurized, homogenized climate of current record companies. There is no doubt Sony pressured him severely for this so they could add a "superstar release" to their bottom line but like all the real ones, he would not be rushed. I remember asking (then head of urban music) Lisa Ellis, what is going on with Maxwell? He went through management transitions, long periods of creative abandonment, and all the other usual ills of these special spirits. In order for them to channel their greatness, that have to be in alignment with those energies, and I fully believe that Maxwell is one of these. His album is a testament to that very gift.
Now to the other end of the spectrum, and that's Whitney Houston. It never mattered to anyone that she wasn't a writer, this woman was The Voice. How much did we looooove to hear Whitney SANG?!?! But due to years of excessive crack-smoking, that BIG voice is sadly gone now, to a whisper of what it was. So its nearly intolerable having to also endure the bland hand of corporate song maneuvering to cover up the vocal obstacles. I realize Diane Warren is very proud of her songs, she'll face off with everybody and anybody to get them on the radio. But i'm glad I never took her up on her offer at Coffee Bean to go sit in the Bentley and listen to this jam, cuz I'm not sure what I would have to say. Sure, its lyrically potent but, without The Voice its an empty sentiment.
The winner: Maxwell. As his album sales thus proved: #1 debut on the Billboard album chart. Come to think of it, I don't think he's ever done that...but this is a landmark work, completely deserving of its reception. *HUGS* to my Haitian bro, I still love u so....
Now to the other end of the spectrum, and that's Whitney Houston. It never mattered to anyone that she wasn't a writer, this woman was The Voice. How much did we looooove to hear Whitney SANG?!?! But due to years of excessive crack-smoking, that BIG voice is sadly gone now, to a whisper of what it was. So its nearly intolerable having to also endure the bland hand of corporate song maneuvering to cover up the vocal obstacles. I realize Diane Warren is very proud of her songs, she'll face off with everybody and anybody to get them on the radio. But i'm glad I never took her up on her offer at Coffee Bean to go sit in the Bentley and listen to this jam, cuz I'm not sure what I would have to say. Sure, its lyrically potent but, without The Voice its an empty sentiment.
The winner: Maxwell. As his album sales thus proved: #1 debut on the Billboard album chart. Come to think of it, I don't think he's ever done that...but this is a landmark work, completely deserving of its reception. *HUGS* to my Haitian bro, I still love u so....
Thursday, July 16, 2009
A LONG AZZ SABBATICAL
You see whut happened wuz.....
A lot f*cking happened. Too much at once. So I went and shut it down, packed up and moved it on out, oh-kay. There has been the sale of a house, a relocation, the achievement of a 4.0 school semester, and a completely new direction in the space of that 6-8 months time. Damn, it was that long? During that hectic, frustrating, humbling, and confusing time tho, I could not bring myself to even pooh out a blog update. Even through the recent death of Michael Jackson, the end of an era in more ways than one and thank gawd I was not in FlossAngeles for that madness- no words for that. Even after watching the google analytics surge-- no dice for a blog update. Even knowing all my musichead homies came thru here, only to observe what has been NO action in six months (kinda like my sex life, but that's changing real quick too, honey). And even discovering that my favorite mama of all time Sandra Rose took me off her blog linking due to excessive slacking. I could not pick up the grind. Meanwhile yo it was clear the world was movin' on, man. Nobody got time to waste. What's that ringtone Ludacris used to do: "Time is money...Time is Money..." Certainly not enough time in the day to be asking yourself whhhhy isn't this beyatch updating??
I get it.
So yeah, anyway. I'm back. Currently digesting how I discuss this new Whitney record, especially considering I run into the song's author quite frequently at Coffee Bean on Sunset Blvd......any thoughts? Also in the throes of bonding with the new Maxwell album which is absolutely spectacular.....gotta think on my brother Maxwell, he deserves nothing but respect. And then there's just the catching up on news of our dwindling industry. I mean, omg, Radio & Records Magazine went out of business during the stretch of time I was absent. Clearly, its still dominos around this beeeeach.....
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
History, Herstory, Ourstory....
I am happy that from this day forward, today's young children will look thru the television at our President and immediately form new and strong perspectives about real American leaders, it won't just be fiction courtesy of "24" and "President Palmer". I am proud that our first lady is a strong, beautiful and unmistakable Black Woman, who I am SURE is destined to set a powerful new example of excellence, dignity and genuine intelligence for a new generation of Americans, especially women. And she has certainly inspired me- I'm now planning for law school. I am profoundly moved, by so many tears in the crowd not only from the elder black folks who suffered so damn much for this and can hardly believe their eyes, but from every single race in that "patchwork sea" who were also totally overwhelmed by the moment and could hardly believe their eyes, whose collective vote made the moment happen, a sigh of relief for us all. Watching the expression on Obama's face as he first glimpsed that Mall -- packed with hopeful citizens as far as you could see, who came to hear him speak, and to make history. Can you imagine the weight of expectations, everyone's energy is centered on just One. The enormity of this was glaringly apparent on his face. Rising to the occasion isn't expected, its absolutely required to get this huge job done.
"To each there comes a time in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to their own talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour."
-Sir Winston Churchill.
Meanwhile Bush sat there pouting, shamed by low approvals and flying shoes, and Cheney's bound to a wheelchair (what fitting karma) while that Laura? Poor lady got NO clue. Out with the old and in with the new. President Obama may do his part, but the question is: Will you?
Friday, December 12, 2008
MURS = NEXT
Making Underground Real Shit. Lemme tell ya I got an immediate soft spot for acronyms, since I have my own media company called DOME (aka urban slang meaning “brain”) and also an acronym meaning Domain Of Music Evolution. So, I’m feeling MURS on his use of dimensional language. And the most exciting part is, this is not the only thing about him that’s completely next level.
First heard about this artist the same way you hear about all great music: word-of-mouth in the form of a passionate recommendation and a few mp3’s from a trustworthy musichead homie. Still, only been about a year now that dude hit my overcrowded radar, so I’m part of this “new audience” he will successfully attract via the major label debut MURS For President that just dropped this past September. Despite the fact that he’s been grinding in the underground since the mid-90’s and has respectfully cultivated both universal critical acclaim and a well-established and incredibly loyal following (as clearly evidenced by the crowd at the El Rey Theatre on 12/11) over the last 12 or more albums released since 1997. I mean, slapping myself in the face right now for sleeping, LOL. These are the times when I miss Julio G and DJ Melo-D or Revolution in my life and mix like yo this joint is the business. Ya gotta respect the DJ, Always. But right now I’m on another page with music; hip-hop has for the most part lost me, my favorite new artist is a badass named Esperanza Spaulding who plays the upright bass.
You can always tell by the live show what’s really goin on with an artist. It’s the defining factor, every time. So after thoroughly people-watching this authentically progressive (and quite fine) audience that kanye would kinda die for, packed to capacity at the El Rey and connecting down to every word fists pumped in the air whole time, damn. Sure seemed like we were witnessing the arrival of somebody major. Like, whole paradigm shift major. And ya know, Maxwell’s crowd had the exact same energy for his L.A. date at the Shrine Auditorium November 1st. Cuz Maxwell got that with his fans too, a true emotional connection that creates this unity through the music. I heart both Maxwell and MURS for their ability to do this, but what is most telling is their genuine humility towards their fans for the love. I remember Maxwell saying, “ Wow, I haven’t had an album out in five years, and you know the haters tried to hate….still I go on tour, and we sell every place out. I can’t even begin to thank you.” MURS on a similar vibe; saying repeatedly how much he appreciated the support.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T is a two-way street.
What does it take to be the voice of a generation? We can certainly appreciate how this particular one speaks to his audience in an intelligent, thoughtful, humorous and positive way. Some of the best moments during his live show were hearing the stories before the songs- especially the one he told before launching into The OJ Song. I believe that one ended with him singing Alanis Morrisette’s classic breakup jam, You Oughta Know at the top of his lungs....and I’m really not kidding. He made me laugh out loud several times. Meanwhile the underlying intelligence to it all is obvious, while armed with an album title that embodies a powerful statement considering the political atmosphere of the times and demonstrates an uncanny confidence in knowing what he ultimately represents: choice of the people. It’s in total alignment with the energy and hope of his generation that’s for sure. This is a group of people on the planet to change things, and quickly. What a relief. Reminds me of the emotions watching everyone vote for Obama: omg THANK GOD he's here!! Leaders um...please step up. Like, NOW!!!!! Much like Obama, there is a underlying spirit of progress. MURS? BEEN in it to change it. And man, actually might be able to in such extraordinary times, ya know? So pay attention. The future is now.
And finally, can't let it go unsaid that dude proudly reps THE. WEST. COAST. WHUT!
“I got to travel the world because of you,” he said with humble adorableness to his loyal crowd at the El Rey. “Thank you. Thank you for takin’ mixtapes around and telling people, ‘this is how we do it in L.A.’”. And with that Xzibit bounced to the stage, the place erupting in a frenzy. What an authentically Cali moment for carrying forward the love of real hip-hop, and rocking it west coast style! Loved it. Now more than ever it is important to know our history. I deeply appreciate that MURS reminds the younger generation in songs like The Science, the hip hop music you have come to know does not resemble its original form at all and oh, here’s why. That’s the teacher laying out the lesson plan like how KRS used to do it. Word.
In a recent interview with ARTISTdirect.com, when asked about his call for change and reform in society as a whole, MURS responded, “I think that's the general consensus of the mass consciousness. I think it's the shared mindset for the entire planet. Not too many people are happy with the way our society is going and hopefully I'm talking about the same things on my album that people talk about at home.”
The majority of hip-hop and thus the authentic black culture it sprung from became (via the perfect storm of radio deregulation along with the corporate acquisitions of record companies during the nineties) an over exploited, manipulated, dumbed-down and downsized version of its true artistic roots. This music genre overwhelmingly transformed from a multidimensional creative movement used for social commentary, to a ten-second ring tone typically about either greed or drugs pimped out for profit margins. All in the space of less than ten years. Being at a high level and watching it all go down, fought the law and the law won, child. Heartbreaking. I took it personal. Why is our prevailing human mindset to poison our own climate in every way possible from our physical space to the clutter in our minds? It’s a mystery.
When asked on sixshot.com if hip-hop had gotten better or worse, MURS had this to say: “That’s like asking a man who loves his wife if he likes his wife better now than when he first married her twenty years ago. It’s kind of disrespectful. If I had divorced hip-hop then I could comment on the relationship and say this and that, you know what I’m saying? I’m in love with hip-hop. I’m going to stay with hip-hop. Relationships are always going to change. If they don’t change you’re bound to cheat on her.”
Still, the most interesting part of the show was the speech about downloading. It left me standing there with my mouth open. But then again, I’m an orphan of the “Music Industry”. And this dude is on quite another page. So let me listen then.
After giving a brief analogy using Star Wars as a metaphor for how the audience revolted against the labels kinda like how it went down in a galaxy far, far away when The Empire Strikes Back (comedy) MURS shouts to the crowd, “How many of you have the internet?” You hear the room cheer loudly. “How many used it to steal my songs?” To even more cheers. Then the clincher: “Riiiiiight on! Go take it! I don’t give a fuuuck!” And even went a step further, talking about an album he had made entirely for free and gave the destination online to go grab it.
Seriously I was like, WTF.
Either this cat understands in a way we do not for how his own business model fits into the new world of music piracy, or he is not serious at making a living at this. I’m not mad at anybody who isn’t in it to get superpaid, so that’s not what I’m sayin. I’m sayin, you have to value your art. Your copyrights are your real estate, your music is your intellectual property it came out ur brain and you deserve to be compensated for that talent, and just don’t EVER give your land away, dog. Nah.
Which leads me to the total head-scratcher of the situation, and that’s the Major Label Decision by MURS. Does he need one? This is officially my case study. And the most interesting question of all is why our man chose Warner Brothers from the limited universe of conglomerates available. Wonder who signed him. Letting that label set the stage for a true takeover is risky considering the particular climate in not only the music industry in general, but this company specifically right now. They’ve been struggling to break ANY new artists, for years. Errybody in the game can tell you that. And are the wackness with urban artists, too. They insist on 360 deals. And then there’s the subject of Lyor Cohn. Enough said. But it’s a mystery that I would like to get to the bottom of , trust. As we passionately ramp up the campaigning on MURS for President. The next major force in hip-hop, hands down.
So letcha soul glow!
First heard about this artist the same way you hear about all great music: word-of-mouth in the form of a passionate recommendation and a few mp3’s from a trustworthy musichead homie. Still, only been about a year now that dude hit my overcrowded radar, so I’m part of this “new audience” he will successfully attract via the major label debut MURS For President that just dropped this past September. Despite the fact that he’s been grinding in the underground since the mid-90’s and has respectfully cultivated both universal critical acclaim and a well-established and incredibly loyal following (as clearly evidenced by the crowd at the El Rey Theatre on 12/11) over the last 12 or more albums released since 1997. I mean, slapping myself in the face right now for sleeping, LOL. These are the times when I miss Julio G and DJ Melo-D or Revolution in my life and mix like yo this joint is the business. Ya gotta respect the DJ, Always. But right now I’m on another page with music; hip-hop has for the most part lost me, my favorite new artist is a badass named Esperanza Spaulding who plays the upright bass.
You can always tell by the live show what’s really goin on with an artist. It’s the defining factor, every time. So after thoroughly people-watching this authentically progressive (and quite fine) audience that kanye would kinda die for, packed to capacity at the El Rey and connecting down to every word fists pumped in the air whole time, damn. Sure seemed like we were witnessing the arrival of somebody major. Like, whole paradigm shift major. And ya know, Maxwell’s crowd had the exact same energy for his L.A. date at the Shrine Auditorium November 1st. Cuz Maxwell got that with his fans too, a true emotional connection that creates this unity through the music. I heart both Maxwell and MURS for their ability to do this, but what is most telling is their genuine humility towards their fans for the love. I remember Maxwell saying, “ Wow, I haven’t had an album out in five years, and you know the haters tried to hate….still I go on tour, and we sell every place out. I can’t even begin to thank you.” MURS on a similar vibe; saying repeatedly how much he appreciated the support.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T is a two-way street.
What does it take to be the voice of a generation? We can certainly appreciate how this particular one speaks to his audience in an intelligent, thoughtful, humorous and positive way. Some of the best moments during his live show were hearing the stories before the songs- especially the one he told before launching into The OJ Song. I believe that one ended with him singing Alanis Morrisette’s classic breakup jam, You Oughta Know at the top of his lungs....and I’m really not kidding. He made me laugh out loud several times. Meanwhile the underlying intelligence to it all is obvious, while armed with an album title that embodies a powerful statement considering the political atmosphere of the times and demonstrates an uncanny confidence in knowing what he ultimately represents: choice of the people. It’s in total alignment with the energy and hope of his generation that’s for sure. This is a group of people on the planet to change things, and quickly. What a relief. Reminds me of the emotions watching everyone vote for Obama: omg THANK GOD he's here!! Leaders um...please step up. Like, NOW!!!!! Much like Obama, there is a underlying spirit of progress. MURS? BEEN in it to change it. And man, actually might be able to in such extraordinary times, ya know? So pay attention. The future is now.
And finally, can't let it go unsaid that dude proudly reps THE. WEST. COAST. WHUT!
“I got to travel the world because of you,” he said with humble adorableness to his loyal crowd at the El Rey. “Thank you. Thank you for takin’ mixtapes around and telling people, ‘this is how we do it in L.A.’”. And with that Xzibit bounced to the stage, the place erupting in a frenzy. What an authentically Cali moment for carrying forward the love of real hip-hop, and rocking it west coast style! Loved it. Now more than ever it is important to know our history. I deeply appreciate that MURS reminds the younger generation in songs like The Science, the hip hop music you have come to know does not resemble its original form at all and oh, here’s why. That’s the teacher laying out the lesson plan like how KRS used to do it. Word.
In a recent interview with ARTISTdirect.com, when asked about his call for change and reform in society as a whole, MURS responded, “I think that's the general consensus of the mass consciousness. I think it's the shared mindset for the entire planet. Not too many people are happy with the way our society is going and hopefully I'm talking about the same things on my album that people talk about at home.”
The majority of hip-hop and thus the authentic black culture it sprung from became (via the perfect storm of radio deregulation along with the corporate acquisitions of record companies during the nineties) an over exploited, manipulated, dumbed-down and downsized version of its true artistic roots. This music genre overwhelmingly transformed from a multidimensional creative movement used for social commentary, to a ten-second ring tone typically about either greed or drugs pimped out for profit margins. All in the space of less than ten years. Being at a high level and watching it all go down, fought the law and the law won, child. Heartbreaking. I took it personal. Why is our prevailing human mindset to poison our own climate in every way possible from our physical space to the clutter in our minds? It’s a mystery.
When asked on sixshot.com if hip-hop had gotten better or worse, MURS had this to say: “That’s like asking a man who loves his wife if he likes his wife better now than when he first married her twenty years ago. It’s kind of disrespectful. If I had divorced hip-hop then I could comment on the relationship and say this and that, you know what I’m saying? I’m in love with hip-hop. I’m going to stay with hip-hop. Relationships are always going to change. If they don’t change you’re bound to cheat on her.”
Still, the most interesting part of the show was the speech about downloading. It left me standing there with my mouth open. But then again, I’m an orphan of the “Music Industry”. And this dude is on quite another page. So let me listen then.
After giving a brief analogy using Star Wars as a metaphor for how the audience revolted against the labels kinda like how it went down in a galaxy far, far away when The Empire Strikes Back (comedy) MURS shouts to the crowd, “How many of you have the internet?” You hear the room cheer loudly. “How many used it to steal my songs?” To even more cheers. Then the clincher: “Riiiiiight on! Go take it! I don’t give a fuuuck!” And even went a step further, talking about an album he had made entirely for free and gave the destination online to go grab it.
Seriously I was like, WTF.
Either this cat understands in a way we do not for how his own business model fits into the new world of music piracy, or he is not serious at making a living at this. I’m not mad at anybody who isn’t in it to get superpaid, so that’s not what I’m sayin. I’m sayin, you have to value your art. Your copyrights are your real estate, your music is your intellectual property it came out ur brain and you deserve to be compensated for that talent, and just don’t EVER give your land away, dog. Nah.
Which leads me to the total head-scratcher of the situation, and that’s the Major Label Decision by MURS. Does he need one? This is officially my case study. And the most interesting question of all is why our man chose Warner Brothers from the limited universe of conglomerates available. Wonder who signed him. Letting that label set the stage for a true takeover is risky considering the particular climate in not only the music industry in general, but this company specifically right now. They’ve been struggling to break ANY new artists, for years. Errybody in the game can tell you that. And are the wackness with urban artists, too. They insist on 360 deals. And then there’s the subject of Lyor Cohn. Enough said. But it’s a mystery that I would like to get to the bottom of , trust. As we passionately ramp up the campaigning on MURS for President. The next major force in hip-hop, hands down.
So letcha soul glow!
Thursday, December 4, 2008
NARAS: Not On Glue With 2008 Grammy Nominations
There's certainly not much to celebrate in music when it comes to the BUSINESS, ha! But ya know, its much more relevant to discuss and focus on the actual art anyway. So here we go with the Grammies. Had to break off some predictions for the main categories but hey, I gotta issue this disclaimer for the actual awards in February: Occasionally kids, the members of NARAS come across a BIG bottle of glue. And they pass that glue around to each other and take big, long sniffs before voting. This often results in WTF?!? choices for winners. Let's hope someone hid the bottle for these worthy 2008 contenders, cuz the nominations this year were surprisingly good!
Record Of The Year
Chasing Pavements - Adele
Viva La Vida - Coldplay
Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis
*Paper Planes - M.I.A.
Please Read The Letter - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
M.I.A. should win this, she is brilliant, pushes music forward, and should be acknowledged by NARAS for doing so. Then again, this same group ignored The Beatles when they came on the scene too....
Album Of The Year
*Viva La Vida - Coldplay
The Charter III - Lil Wayne
Year Of The Gentleman - Ne-Yo
Raising Sand - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
In Rainbows - Radiohead
Coldplay showed considerable musical growth working with producer Brian Eno, who promptly pushed them away from Chris's sensitive & sappy piano songs of the previous three albums, into a slightly more edgy sound while keeping their brilliant sense of melody intact. Then again, you have T-Bone over there with Robert Plant & Alison Krauss and NARAS loves 'em some T-Bone Burnett....
Song Of The Year
American Boy - Estelle Featuring Kanye West
*Chasing Pavements - Adele
I'm Yours - Jason Mraz
Love Song - Sara Bareilles
Viva La Vida - Coldplay
Let Adele win and will officially announce her presence to the world by doing it, cuz that chick is the business.
Best New Artist
*Adele
Duffy
Jonas Brothers
Lady Antebellum
Jazmine Sullivan
I'm gonna go with Adele here because she deserves it the most, but because I know firsthand how effective the Clive/Peter Edge/RLG music collective are with working NARAS for votes, I'm thinking Jazmine could walk away with it.....
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
Chasing Pavements - Adele
Love Song - Sara Bareilles
*Mercy - Duffy
Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis
I Kissed A Girl - Katy Perry
So What - P!nk
Duffy's vocals are iconic....this is a song that will live forever...c'mon peoples...
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
All Summer Long - Kid Rock
Say - John Mayer
*That Was Me - Paul McCartney
I'm Yours - Jason Mraz
Closer - Ne-Yo
Wichita Lineman - James Taylor
Ugh this is where they always do something stupid. So I pick Paul McCartney to win.
Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group
Viva La Vida - Coldplay
Waiting in the Weeds - Eagles
Going On - Gnarles Barkley
Won't Go Home Without You - Maroon 5
*Apologize - OneRepublic
I'm biased because Ryan Tedder is a homie and OneRepublic only has one nomination, not to mention this is just a BRILLIANT, timeless song. That no one is sick of, still. I'm proud to say I have the rough demo version of this smash in my itunes and it may me cry even in its sketch version...
Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals
Lesson Learned - Alicia Keys & John Mayer
*4 Minutes - Madonna, Justin Timberlake & Timbaland
Rich Woman - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
If I Never See Your Face Again - Rihanna & Maroon 5
No Air - Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown
The biggest hit here by far was "No Air" but they ain't givin a Grammy to Jordin or Chris. The trinity collabo of Madge, Timbo and Timberfake will no doubt be acknowledged.
Best Dance Recording
*Harder Better Faster Stronger - Daft Punk
Ready For The Floor - Hot Chip
Just Dance - Lady Gaga & Colby O'Donis
Give It 2 Me - Madonna
Disturbia - Rihanna
Black & Gold - Sam Sparro
Just on the Kanye sampling alone, Daft Punk will be victorious. But why isn't Kaskade ever nominated?
Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
Me, Myself and I - Beyonce
*Heaven Sent - Keyshia Cole
Spotlight - Jennifer Hudson
Superwoman - Alicia Keys
Need U Bad - Jazmine Sullivan
This is a tough category but Keyshia is walking away with this one....
Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
You're The Only One - Eric Benet
*Take You Down - Chris Brown
Miss Independent - Ne-Yo
Can't Help But Wait - Trey Songz
Here I Stand - Usher
Neyo is going to get shut out of his pop categories, and being such a prolific songwriter he should be rewarded so he'll probably sweep all the R&B categories.
Best R&B Song
Bust Your Windows - Jazmine Sullivan
Customer - Raheem DeVaughn
Heaven Sent - Keyshia Cole
Miss Independent - Ne-Yo
Spotlight - Jennifer Hudson
Keyshia's smash spent nearly 8 weeks at the top of the R&B Charts and I adore that song, but Bust Your Windows - while still an unknown record - is an absolute breakup anthem. In the end however, it will be Neyo who wins the songwriter category....
Best Rap Solo Performance
Roc Boys - Jay-Z
*A Milli - Lil Wayne
Paris, Tokyo - Lupe Fiasco
N.i.*.*.e.r. - Nas
Sexual Eruption - Snoop Dogg
Weezy killed it with this record, he's shitting all over Nas and Jay for days.
Best Rap Album
American Gangster - Jay-Z
*Tha Carter III - Lil Wayne
The Cool - Lupe Fiasco
Nas - Nas
Paper Trail - T.I.
Lil' Wayne will win it but the most progressive album by far, was Lupe Fiasco.
Best Comedy Album
Anticipation - Lewis Black
Flight of the Concords - Flight of the Concords
For Your Consideration - Kathy Griffin
*It's Bad For Ya - George Carlin
Songs of the Bushman - Harry Shearer
Poor Kathy...she began her quest for a Grammy on last season's "D List" show and how great would it be for her to win, for the acceptance speech alone! But nothing is going to overtake the respect EVERYONE better show George Carlin on his very last album.
Best Compilation Soundtrack Album
American Gangster
August Rush
*Juno
Mamma Mia!
Sweeny Todd
This category isn't even competitive....Juno's got the Grammy.
And so there ya go.... The 51st annual Grammy Awards will go down on February 8th, 2009 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Star Systems Slipping Thru Their Fingers
My quite knowledgeable and fervently opinionated UCLA Extension professor currently conducting our Domestic Music Publishing: Law & Business Class would disagree with me here, but the RIAA is full of crap with this current agenda of suing individual consumers to cover the wide, complicated issue of copyright infringement.
There is no question that digital "peer-to-peer" sharing is a HUGE copyright issue. It is obvious that the overwhelming, almost generational-wide theft will continue to further bankrupt the music business. You wouldn't go into Best Buy and carry off a TV, you wouldn't go to the grocery store and take 100 different items and walk out. Yet somehow it has become socially acceptable for people to have 5,000 or 10,000 or 30,000 mp3's - aka- copyrighted works- in their music library, all acquired for free, and suffer ZERO consequences for stealing them. This is the same act, folks. You got it from Kazaa or edonkey? You are a thief. It doesn't matter if an mp3 is something you can't carry or even see. You stole. End of story, homie.
But everyone is uneasy with the cringe worthy conduct of the RIAA, who are going around acting like mafia mob bosses, extorting a few "punks" to pay for the bigger reality of what it truly is: Pandora's box is OPEN. What they should be doing, is lobbying for legislation to control copyright at the licensing or even the ISP level, but umm....the RIAA represents the record companies. And the record companies are stupid. This is a well-known fact since the trans formative arrival of Napster, when ALL of this could have been solved quickly with an overall licensing deal, or through an earlier introduction of subscription. But the label collective at the time, refused. And sued Napster into oblivion.
It was the decision that would ultimately send their business model right down the drain.
At that moment, their quest for profit via control, exploded in their face. Maybe they should have followed the same wisdom Princess Leia gave the Death Star Republics Governor Tarkin when he captured her and threatened her planet with destruction: "The more you tighten your grip Tarkin," she warned, "the more star systems will slip through your fingers."
Record Company denial and quite frankly, their alarming ignorance about the Internet was the root cause for all the drama today in 2008: Arrogance, and Ignorance.
This week's Billboard cover pretty much summed up the current atmosphere/karma: The Blackest Friday? Why Physical Retail Expects Its Worst Christmas In Years. But how could this happen? And so fast?? The motivating factor of greed to preserve a monopolized hustle was championed over actual product development. It seems logical to assume that any other industry when faced with a technological paradigm shift, would have chosen the path of DEVELOPMENT or at least, acknowledged the changes!
But, the labels had long been off that path, and that's why for way too long, a wide majority of the artists sucked as pre-packaged manifestations of A&R totally selling out, (becoming more "Artist and Revenue" than they were "Artist and Repertoire") and albums were subsequently filled with a bunch of crap except for one or two good songs. They kinda trained the audience to revolt. Labels had already abandoned the art, and having been gobbled up by major corporations like Seagram's throughout the 90's, it was largely about the mantra of double digit profits. Since when could music be measured and predicted like that? Art is fluid, and NO ONE can consistently predict the magnitude of an emotional connection to music. Product development, is absolutely essential to the music business not just to nurture true greatness, but in order to create profitable catalog. To effectively sustain a billable "repertoire" of artists, you must have long term careers. That does not happen overnight. But the new corporate owners were not tolerant of this "long term" mindset, and promptly sucked these crucial values out of the labels they owned and operated. The philosophy of Artist Development is exactly why it took Prince four albums to hit his stride with Purple Rain or why Bruce Springsteen languished through a few early albums before finding his audience and morphing into a legend. You change the philosophy, you change the whole business. Warner Brothers and Columbia, Prince's and Springsteen's labels respectively, both had captains that were actual MUSIC PEOPLE, but run out of the business for not being corporate or cost-management savvy: Mo Ostin and Clive Davis.
Compounding their financial woes, is the subject of distribution. It's important to note that Record Companies previously controlled physical distribution outright, and that was a whole other section of scam when it came to hand-over-fist label profits. Not only did they build in profit measures in artist agreements by charging fees for manufacturing and shipping, they brokered kickbacks with all the major retailers and record clubs as well. The labels weren't tryin to give all that money up. So when this pesky technology came along, it was much easier to just ignore what was essentially a complete shifting of consumer habits, and legislate their problems away. But the audience they vastly underestimated, a new generation of young people born between 1978 and 2000 that was over 75 million strong-- much more massive than they anticipated, and if your business is targeted to youth consumers why aren't you examining this shit (?!?!)-- bonded with their computers and took it from them.
Knowing this now, doesn't the RIAA action sound a lil' bit like revenge business? mmm hmm.
Just last week, a Harvard Law Professor named Charles Nesson argues that the Digital Theft Deterrence and Copyright Damages Improvement Act of 1999 is unconstitutional because it effectively lets a private group - the Recording Industry Association of America, or RIAA - carry out civil enforcement of a criminal law. He also says the music industry group abused the legal process by threatening lengthy and costly lawsuits in an effort to intimidate people into settling cases out of court. His main goal is to "turn the courts away from allowing themselves to be used like a low-grade collection agency."
He got involved when a judge in Boston asked his office to represent a bunch of people faced with RIAA lawsuits, who had no legal help.
The accused is a 24-year-old graduate student named Joel Tenenbaum, who was targeted by the RIAA of downloading at least seven songs and making 816 music files available for distribution on the Kazaa file-sharing network in 2004. The kid offered to settle the case for $500, but music companies rejected that, demanding $12,000.
So it took them like, four years to extract what is essentially, the amount of one exec's monthly expense account, from a single downloader. And isn't it crazy that the music business is so damn broke and desperate that they are consistently suing their own consumers? wow.
Especially considering the record labels are collectively suing for damages based on copyrights they acquired in a shady manner in the first place, using that blasphemous "controlled composition clause" in artist agreements, which is basically total theft off the top, just in contractual form. What this clause does-- and it exists industry wide no one is exempt no matter how huge the artist-- automatically reduces the amount of money paid to the actual copyright owner under the U.S. Copyright law, to a "reduced royalty rate" that is 3/4 of the established rate. And this is considered "standard". So it is standard that you automatically get 25% less of total ownership in songs YOU wrote just to be granted the privilege to be on the label? Umm, yes. And its not to cover other expenses, either. You are additionally being taxed for everything they spend to promote, market, and distribute you, as that's outlined separately in the "recoup able advances" section of the artist agreement that you sign.
Did you know that to avoid being shut down in the early days, back when upwards of 60-100 million people were using their network to discover music, the early Sean-Fanning-incarnation of Napster actually offered the labels a subscription-based version of Napster? Yes this is true. I WORKED at Napster (a much later, legal, and significantly wacker version) and did not know this significant meeting took place until studying it in a law class. But indeed, the heads of Napster at the time, and the RIAA armed with a gang of lawyers, met to discuss the best solution to the problem and Napster, presented the possibility of labels granting licensing for subscription. It was an immediate revenue stream. Additionally, the Napster folks informed the label collective at the time that they had recently polled their users about the prospect (remember: upwards of 70 MILLION people!!!) and found that 60% of them would willingly pay for the service they invented, for a monthly fee. For $10 a month, even if HALF of those users actually paid....well you do the math.
The labels said NO!!!!
And now those star systems are slipping through their fingers. We all know how this story ends: with one gigantic explosion and subsequent destruction of an entire entity.
There is no question that digital "peer-to-peer" sharing is a HUGE copyright issue. It is obvious that the overwhelming, almost generational-wide theft will continue to further bankrupt the music business. You wouldn't go into Best Buy and carry off a TV, you wouldn't go to the grocery store and take 100 different items and walk out. Yet somehow it has become socially acceptable for people to have 5,000 or 10,000 or 30,000 mp3's - aka- copyrighted works- in their music library, all acquired for free, and suffer ZERO consequences for stealing them. This is the same act, folks. You got it from Kazaa or edonkey? You are a thief. It doesn't matter if an mp3 is something you can't carry or even see. You stole. End of story, homie.
But everyone is uneasy with the cringe worthy conduct of the RIAA, who are going around acting like mafia mob bosses, extorting a few "punks" to pay for the bigger reality of what it truly is: Pandora's box is OPEN. What they should be doing, is lobbying for legislation to control copyright at the licensing or even the ISP level, but umm....the RIAA represents the record companies. And the record companies are stupid. This is a well-known fact since the trans formative arrival of Napster, when ALL of this could have been solved quickly with an overall licensing deal, or through an earlier introduction of subscription. But the label collective at the time, refused. And sued Napster into oblivion.
It was the decision that would ultimately send their business model right down the drain.
At that moment, their quest for profit via control, exploded in their face. Maybe they should have followed the same wisdom Princess Leia gave the Death Star Republics Governor Tarkin when he captured her and threatened her planet with destruction: "The more you tighten your grip Tarkin," she warned, "the more star systems will slip through your fingers."
Record Company denial and quite frankly, their alarming ignorance about the Internet was the root cause for all the drama today in 2008: Arrogance, and Ignorance.
This week's Billboard cover pretty much summed up the current atmosphere/karma: The Blackest Friday? Why Physical Retail Expects Its Worst Christmas In Years. But how could this happen? And so fast?? The motivating factor of greed to preserve a monopolized hustle was championed over actual product development. It seems logical to assume that any other industry when faced with a technological paradigm shift, would have chosen the path of DEVELOPMENT or at least, acknowledged the changes!
But, the labels had long been off that path, and that's why for way too long, a wide majority of the artists sucked as pre-packaged manifestations of A&R totally selling out, (becoming more "Artist and Revenue" than they were "Artist and Repertoire") and albums were subsequently filled with a bunch of crap except for one or two good songs. They kinda trained the audience to revolt. Labels had already abandoned the art, and having been gobbled up by major corporations like Seagram's throughout the 90's, it was largely about the mantra of double digit profits. Since when could music be measured and predicted like that? Art is fluid, and NO ONE can consistently predict the magnitude of an emotional connection to music. Product development, is absolutely essential to the music business not just to nurture true greatness, but in order to create profitable catalog. To effectively sustain a billable "repertoire" of artists, you must have long term careers. That does not happen overnight. But the new corporate owners were not tolerant of this "long term" mindset, and promptly sucked these crucial values out of the labels they owned and operated. The philosophy of Artist Development is exactly why it took Prince four albums to hit his stride with Purple Rain or why Bruce Springsteen languished through a few early albums before finding his audience and morphing into a legend. You change the philosophy, you change the whole business. Warner Brothers and Columbia, Prince's and Springsteen's labels respectively, both had captains that were actual MUSIC PEOPLE, but run out of the business for not being corporate or cost-management savvy: Mo Ostin and Clive Davis.
Compounding their financial woes, is the subject of distribution. It's important to note that Record Companies previously controlled physical distribution outright, and that was a whole other section of scam when it came to hand-over-fist label profits. Not only did they build in profit measures in artist agreements by charging fees for manufacturing and shipping, they brokered kickbacks with all the major retailers and record clubs as well. The labels weren't tryin to give all that money up. So when this pesky technology came along, it was much easier to just ignore what was essentially a complete shifting of consumer habits, and legislate their problems away. But the audience they vastly underestimated, a new generation of young people born between 1978 and 2000 that was over 75 million strong-- much more massive than they anticipated, and if your business is targeted to youth consumers why aren't you examining this shit (?!?!)-- bonded with their computers and took it from them.
Knowing this now, doesn't the RIAA action sound a lil' bit like revenge business? mmm hmm.
Just last week, a Harvard Law Professor named Charles Nesson argues that the Digital Theft Deterrence and Copyright Damages Improvement Act of 1999 is unconstitutional because it effectively lets a private group - the Recording Industry Association of America, or RIAA - carry out civil enforcement of a criminal law. He also says the music industry group abused the legal process by threatening lengthy and costly lawsuits in an effort to intimidate people into settling cases out of court. His main goal is to "turn the courts away from allowing themselves to be used like a low-grade collection agency."
He got involved when a judge in Boston asked his office to represent a bunch of people faced with RIAA lawsuits, who had no legal help.
The accused is a 24-year-old graduate student named Joel Tenenbaum, who was targeted by the RIAA of downloading at least seven songs and making 816 music files available for distribution on the Kazaa file-sharing network in 2004. The kid offered to settle the case for $500, but music companies rejected that, demanding $12,000.
So it took them like, four years to extract what is essentially, the amount of one exec's monthly expense account, from a single downloader. And isn't it crazy that the music business is so damn broke and desperate that they are consistently suing their own consumers? wow.
Especially considering the record labels are collectively suing for damages based on copyrights they acquired in a shady manner in the first place, using that blasphemous "controlled composition clause" in artist agreements, which is basically total theft off the top, just in contractual form. What this clause does-- and it exists industry wide no one is exempt no matter how huge the artist-- automatically reduces the amount of money paid to the actual copyright owner under the U.S. Copyright law, to a "reduced royalty rate" that is 3/4 of the established rate. And this is considered "standard". So it is standard that you automatically get 25% less of total ownership in songs YOU wrote just to be granted the privilege to be on the label? Umm, yes. And its not to cover other expenses, either. You are additionally being taxed for everything they spend to promote, market, and distribute you, as that's outlined separately in the "recoup able advances" section of the artist agreement that you sign.
Did you know that to avoid being shut down in the early days, back when upwards of 60-100 million people were using their network to discover music, the early Sean-Fanning-incarnation of Napster actually offered the labels a subscription-based version of Napster? Yes this is true. I WORKED at Napster (a much later, legal, and significantly wacker version) and did not know this significant meeting took place until studying it in a law class. But indeed, the heads of Napster at the time, and the RIAA armed with a gang of lawyers, met to discuss the best solution to the problem and Napster, presented the possibility of labels granting licensing for subscription. It was an immediate revenue stream. Additionally, the Napster folks informed the label collective at the time that they had recently polled their users about the prospect (remember: upwards of 70 MILLION people!!!) and found that 60% of them would willingly pay for the service they invented, for a monthly fee. For $10 a month, even if HALF of those users actually paid....well you do the math.
The labels said NO!!!!
And now those star systems are slipping through their fingers. We all know how this story ends: with one gigantic explosion and subsequent destruction of an entire entity.
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