McLuhan and Vinyl? I know - I sometimes stretch an idea to its snapping point but isn’t that why I bother to type all day?
Here goes - As I sit on the panels I’m invited to, I often forget to remind myself, that at the heart of all my discussions about music and technology the [...]
Here’s how to get my attention publicity people…send me a vinyl double gatefold album of the good stuff and I will pay attention. I guarantee it. MySpace Records did just that last month sending me the double vinyl package of the albums ‘We Ate The Machine’ and ‘Karate House’ by the Japanese, Devo-influenced outfit, Polysics. [...]
Brilliant! This was exactly the way I wanted to release new Gang of Four material. Of Montreal’s new album ‘Skeletal Lamping’ will be released on CD of course and as a 180 gramme double vinyl set but, even better, it can be had in MP3 format when you purchase a variety of goodies from Polyvinyl. [...]
Rufus the music-loving hound
This July 4th weekend I was spending time helping my new dog, Rufus, a 5 month old pitbull/boxer mix avoid being terrorized by firework explosions. He was abandoned to the streets before I took him in so he’s very skittish to say the least. So while he hid under the table at [...]
The back cover of the Damaged Goods EP
On June 18 I spent an afternoon with the University of Oregon’s philosophy department class presenting a talk on Gang of Four and our place in the “creative, potentially transformative popular music pantheon.” It was fun. As a band our achievements are well known, mainly in critical circles, [...]
Shaky Hands at the Crystal Ballroom
I wrote last week about Insound and its creative attempts to stay alive in the world of music retailing as it seems that retailers are going the way of the Dodo. Matt Wishnow who runs Insound wrote to tell me that Insounds‘ sales are not only up but growing.
From Matt: [...]
Portland band, Hockey, prepare to blast the Bay Area
As we noted in the Wal-Mart/Handelman story below, music sales are still in decline and haven’t quite found the bottom yet. Meanwhile retailers are getting creative at least. Insound.com is an online music retailer that focuses on alternative music mostly, if not exclusively, but I admit I [...]
Fleet Foxes at Sasquatch. Pic ©Nilina Mason-Campbell
Tomorrow will be quite the day I think for Seattle’s Fleet Foxes. Here’s the lowdown from Sub Pop’s website -
Fleet Foxes are five. There are five of them, and they are from Seattle. They are, for lack of an imminently more marketable descriptor, a group trafficking in baroque [...]