A few weeks ago, I wrote about Pandora.com (scroll down to check it out). It's a great website for anyone interested in music... but as you'll see by the letter below from Pandora's founder, there is some lobbying going on in Washington by the RIAA to shut it down. Pandora is asking for help - for supporters - to contact their congresspeople and address this. In my opinion, Pandora is too great to disappear - so I wanted to share this letter with all of you.
"I'm writing today to urgently ask for your help. Our future and that of all webcasters is being threatened by the actions of the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America). In an effort to cripple Internet radio they have defied Congressional direction to negotiate reasonable performance fees and are trying to shut us down.
In spite of overwhelming opposition, including from thousands of musicians, they have blatantly pursued a strategy of undermining the process, making outrageous demands, and trying to run out the clock, hoping we will just quietly fade away. There is only one way to stop this violation of the public trust, and that is by mobilizing the collective will of our listening audience.
I am writing to you because your Senator is on the crucially important Senate Judiciary committee. It would be tremendously helpful if you would take just a minute to call your Senator:
Senator Edward M. Kennedy (Massachusetts): (202) 224-4543
* When you call, please tell them your home town, and ask them to support the Brownback Internet Radio Equality amendment that will be considered in the Judiciary Committee this Thursday.
This amendment sets webcasting royalties at the same level as those paid by satellite radio, which would compensate musicians fairly and allow web radio to survive. For more info on the bill, please visit: www.savenetradio.org
I hope you'll take just a few minutes to call. It's easy to do and it will truly, truly make a difference. As a young industry, we do not have the lobbying power of the RIAA. You, our listeners, are by far our biggest and most influential allies.
I gigged this past weekend in Manchester, NH. Although the club (which shall remain nameless) was sort of lame, it was great to be playing out again. Work has been pretty insane the past few months and the band I play in most frequently (The Chad LaMarsh Band) hasn't been gigging quite as much as of late. Plus, I've missed a couple of shows with Chad because I was traveling for work. But anyway, it was great to play again this past weekend. In fact, it's just great to play period.
You know what it is? It's the equivalent of going on a run. Or working out in the gym. Or doing soemthing that you love where you can completely lose yourself. I mentioned that this club wasn't great - it's a new place that has changed owners a bunch of times. I'm told that the previous owners didn't have live bands, so the new owner is trying to establish something different with the place this time around. That's my way of spinning the fact that there really weren't many people there. But I could have cared less. The last time I played out before this weekend was March 1st, and I was itching to play. And it took about 5 minutes - actually less - for me to get to that "happy place."
One of the reasons is that we opened our first set with #41 by Dave Matthews - and I love this tune because the band lets me strectch it out at the end, allowing me to do what I feel like I do best - improvise. We don't do this tune that often, because it's a little mellow for many of the places we play, but I love it because they just let me do my thing. In fact, when I missed a gig because I was traveling for work, I got a text from the band right before they went on without me... and when I texted back to ask what song they were opening with and they said #41, I hit the roof!! (It had been forever since we played it, and here they are doing it when I'm not even there!!!)
Anyway, we started off with it, and before long I hit "the zone" - that place where the notes are coming out and I have no idea what I'm going to play next, but it doesn't matter because it's all just coming together in a way that sounds good - and believe it or not, it is really stimulating. It's hard to describe, but it's like being in another dimension - sort of like trying to make up and tell a story on the fly - and what you're saying makes perfect sense - and actually keeps getting better with every word that comes out of your mouth. It's just being "in the zone" - and it's a place that feels great. Not sure if the audience comes on the jounrey with me or not... I'm sure it's better for me than it is for them. But I like to think they do come along with me when I hit it just right. I guess the only way to know for sure, is to test it with some people. So, if you come see me play with Chad - ask for #41, and you'll have to tell me what you think.
I haven't posted in a while - been on the road for work quite a bit lately. I always listen to a lot of music when I travel - most of it is on my laptop (I know I'm lame, I need to get an mp3 player or an iPod... I'm a typical late adopter). Anyway, I've always been a fan of being able to listen to CD from front to back whenenver I can. I've always hated buying a CD when one of the songs is good - and the rest stink. What a bummer that is. Innevitably, I end up not listening to that one song very much because it's just too much of a hassle to put a whole CD in for one tune and then to discard the rest of them. I realize that's the beauty of iTunes and iPods - you don't have to buy entire CDs - you can just pick the songs you want and load them up on your player - so you only have the songs that you like to hear and can sidestep all the other ones you don't like. I get it. I guess I'm a purist at heart, though, because I think there's still something to be said for putting on an full length CD of an artist that you like - and getting a great musical experience from front to back - from the whole disc. In fact, I think this is often what separates the artists that stick versus the ones that don't. I have pretty large and divese music collection, and there are many CDs that I love to listen to front to back. Sting. Mike Stern. Keith Urban. Jack Johnson. Sarah Borelius. Sanatana. Van Halen. Alanis Morissette. Bruce Hornsby. Many more. When I travel on planes, I prefer listening to full length CDs rather than a mix of individual tunes - I think it makes the time pass quicker. But I also feel like fewer and fewer new artists are coming out with CDs that actually have enough good material to get you through the whole CD. I can only count on one hand the number of CDs I'vepurchased recently of new artists where I could do this. So I'd really like to hear from you... what are you buying? Do you prefer to listen to a mix of music more often than a collection of songs by the same artist? If you prefer the latter, what are you listeng to? Anyone new? Let me know...
Most of us have heard the term Pandora's Box. People typically use it when they are referring to something that is about to trigger a series of unknown surprises or events, oftentimes troubling ones. The term actually comes from Greek mythology, where Pandora was the first woman, created by all of the other Greek gods. When they created her, they each gave her unique gifts. (Actually, Zeus demanded the creation of Pandora as a punishment for mankind, in retaliation for Prometheus stealing fire and then giving it to human beings for their use). Anyway, Pandora became famous for carrying a jar (or a box) containing all the world's evils. When she opened it, evil would come out, but no one knew what the particular evil would be until she unleashed it from the jar.
Fast forward to the year 2000, when a group of musicians and music-loving technologists came together with the idea of creating the most comprehensive analysis of music ever - known as The Music Genome Project. The work is a truly amazing effort to analyze the DNA of music, and in doing so, they've created an incredible musical experience for people, allowing them to use a website to enter the name of a song or an artist, and then connect the musical attributes of that song or artist to similar characteristics in other songs and artists.
How do they do it? If you've ever shopped on Amazon.com, you're familiar with the analytical behaviors that Amazon has built into its site. After you make a purchase, say a CD or a book, Amazon will send you e-mails suggesting other CDs or books you might like based on other people who've made the same initial purchase as you – but who've also gone on to buy the newly recommended items. The underpinnings of The Music Genome Project are similar in nature - but just for music. And there's no store to sell stuff. Instead, the project has created a free web service - Pandora.com - where visitors can simply type in the name of an artist or song and receive entire catalogs of similar music. Even better, the site allows you to create a radio station (multiple stations, actually) based on what song or artist you suggest, and then the site will serve up a massive amount of commercial-free tunes with similar attributes. It's a true Pandora's Box for anyone who has a love for music – minus the evil from Greek mythology, of course.
When I first tried it out, I typed in Mike Stern – one of my favorite jazz/fusion guitar players - and the site created a station that served up not only Mike Stern, but other great jazz/fusion artists like Dave Weckl, Steps Ahead, Pat Metheny, etc. That was cool, but it's not like I didn't already know who those artists were - so no big surprise. So I tried the same thing with pop rock artist Jason Mraz - and after the station finished playing a live version of Mraz's The Remedy (very cool, BTW), it cued up a handful of great music by other artists with whom I'm not familiar at all - like The Calling (the song was Dreaming in Red); Five Times August (the song was Save It For Later); and Ryan Cabrera (the song was On The Way Down). Plus, I got descriptions of who those artists are - and links to other sites where I could purchase their music. And part of the beauty with creating radio stations is that you can just let them play in the background while you work - and without question, you will be surprised by great sounding music that you didn't even know was out there!
So if you're like me - you love music, and you're always looking for new stuff that is similar to other things you like, Pandora.com is just sitting there - waiting for you. I guarantee that you'll be pleasantly surprised - and rewarded - by what you get out of it. Check it out and have fun!! Pandora.com.
If you're anything like me and you caught this year's America Music Awards - then let me know what medications you're taking to settle your stomach. Watching some of these artists, I can't help but think back to Britney's Spears atrocious train wreck at the 2007 MTV Video Awards (the gig that was supposed to catapult her back to top icon status - but left the word gazing with jaws wide open at one of the most horrific, nationally televised live music performances of all time. (Watch the Britney train wreck here)
OK, so the AMA performances didn't come close to the Britney horrow show, but many of them we're really weak. I'm not talking about stage antics or energy levels of the vocalists/bands, but the actual musicianship, particularly of the singers (although Avril Lavigne could have easily taken home the "I'm Completely Bored Out of My Skull" Award).
If you're reading this, you might be thinking, "Who are you to judge these performers? Why should I care what you think?" Well, if ABC is going to subject the general viewing public to this level of musical cacophony, then I have every right to slam some of these folks. The real problem I have is that most of the artists who didn't perform well CAN actually perform better. It's not like they stink... they actually have talent. You just wouldn't have known it by watching them at the AMAs. At least with Britney we're not really expecting any form of musical genius.
Let's start with Fergie, who sang of medley of sorts. Her live rapping ability is atrocious. And "Big Girls Don't Cry" nearly forced me to switch the channel. She couldn't have been more off pitch. The only reason I didn't switch is because of RTVFS (Reality TV Fixation Syndrome) where you're watching something so horrific that it actually pains you to look away. I'm not super crazy about the song in the first place, but the studio recording does have a good pop energy to it. If this is what we can expect from Fergie's live shows, she'd be better off letting her producer run pitch correction software on her vocal tracks - and leave the live performances to singers who can actually sing. See for yourself. (Fergie at the AMAs)
Next, on to the comedic duet by Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles and Beyonce. Before this wonderful experiment of mashing together country and R&B, the announcers said, "You will definitely be talking about this tomorrow." Boy, were they right. This was a producer's gamble - and everyone involved lost the bet. I did actually hear people talking about it in the office the next day - but not in a good way. This one is a little less about the actual notes they sang and more about the milk-curdling arrangement of the R&B song "Irreplaceable" - done this time with a country flair. Let's be honest. Both of these women are very talented singers, no question about it. Unfortunately, the more popular Sugarland gets, the more stylized Jennifer Nettles' singing becomes. In the early days, Nettles' voice was clean and simple - but lately she's been adopting this Reba-style twang that is WAY over done. Listen to her early stuff and you'll see what I'm talking about. Maybe the twang was accentuated here because of the vibe of this arrangement… well, actually there is no vibe. The feeling is like trying to make a country ditty out of Michael Jackson's Billy Jean. Then there's Beyonce, who we all know can sing the roof off… but she shouldn't EVER try the country thing again. What do you think? (Sugarland and Beyonce at the AMAs)
I could go on and on with this, but my fingers are getting tired… and frankly, I think we'll all be better off the sooner we forget about this year's AMAs.
