Comment Archives: stories: Music
Re: “Download This T-Shirt”
Some have argued that, despite the image being in the public domain, it was the mere perception of copyright infringement that caused Disney to pull the shirt. Not because Ian Curtis killed himself. If they did the research to know they could use the image without any permissions then they probably knew about the suicide as well. http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/…
Re: “Pay to Play”
How does BMI and ASCAP know what artists to pay if they're not monitoring every song that's played in these establishments? Seems fishy to me.
Re: “Romantic Shred of Twin Steps”
This comment was removed because it violates our policy against anonymous comments. It will be reposted if the commenter chooses to use his or her real name.
Re: “Worst Slow Jams”
@George Chen: I liked it, personally.
Re: “Worst Slow Jams”
who disliked my comment? do you dislike jumping jacks or my bloody valentine or me?
Re: “Worst Slow Jams”
I accidentally had sex while listening to Zappa's Burnt Weeny Sandwich. It was kind of awesome, but only because it was accidental.
Re: “Worst Slow Jams”
How dare you include Aphex Twin in this list. Despicable.
Re: “Worst Slow Jams”
I thought I overheard someone in this unwalled warehouse space having sex to My Bloody Valentine, but it turned out he was doing 700 jumping jacks.
Re: “Last Days of Mama Buzz”
Jade did not pay her rent. She has no one to blame but herself.
Re: “Oakland Mission Takeover”
Paragraph 5: The Totally Intense Fractal Mindgaze Hut is not defunct. 21 Grand is defunct.
Re: “Local Licks”
This comment was removed because it violates our policy against anonymous comments. It will be reposted if the commenter chooses to use his or her real name.
Re: “Through the Caldecott”
I miss those Caldecott boys so much! Nomad gets stuck in my head often and makes me miss how awesome Oakland is while I'm here in merry old England.
Re: “Twenty-Five Years of 924 Gilman”
This comment was removed because it violates our policy against anonymous comments. It will be reposted if the commenter chooses to use his or her real name.
Re: “Punk Rock Cabaret”
Hey, Rachel,
Thanks for writing about me. Most of what you say in this article is right, more or less, but some corrections/clarifications are in order:
As I pointed out in my first e-mail to you, I do sing. In fact I sing songs by most of the bands that you mention here, whose music I cover. I also sing most of the songs on my album. You can hear a few of them at www.myspace.com/rockpiano . At this point in time, though, my vocal performances are few and far between. Thus I am indeed an instrumentalist, as you say, at Disco Volante and the other venues mentioned. (Kevin of Disco Volante has expressed interest in hosting a DJ Lebowitz vocal performance in the future. When I'm ready, there'll be an announcement, and I'll do it either there or somewhere.)
Did I do such extensive research on these musicians? No. I mainly concentrated on learning their music, not so much about their careers.
I forgot to mention that I also opened for the Flaming Lips, and as a headliner, some of my opening acts have included The Mr. T. Experience, Flipper, Penelope Houston, and the 3-D Invisibles.
While it's true that I use a lot of songlists, there were no index cards that I used to remember songs.
While you interviewed me at Disco Volante, I asked you if there were any tunes you'd like to hear me play. In response, you asked me to play anything by Johnny Cash. So I started out with "I Don't Like it, but I Guess Things Happen that Way" by Johnny Cash. When I swiveled around and asked if you recognized that, I was not talking to, nor seeking approval from, the customers; I was talking directly to YOU, Rachel. I was just wondering if you knew that I had just filled your request, but evidently you had no idea.
No, I did not shrug, and I certainly did not "acknowlege that you can't hold a bar audience captive, even for the duration of one song." On the contrary, at Disco Volante, I've often found at least a couple people, if not a group, captivated by my music for an entire set, or even the whole couple hours, although granted, such was not the case in the few minutes that you were there.
Nevertheless, it was interesting to read your perspective on what I do. I think people will enjoy reading the article, and hopefully come and check me out for themselves. At Disco Volante, all ages are welcome. At the Madrone and 83 Proof, only ages 21 and over are admitted.
Thanks again!
Sincerely yours,
DJ Lebowitz
Re: “Local Licks”
EL4D's music is available for freeeee @ http://el4d.bandcamp.com/album/fantastic-p…
Thanks for listening, loving, and being goood!
-elad allweil ( EL4D )
Re: “Local Licks”
EL4D's 'Fantastic Psychedelic EP' is available (for free!) @ http://el4d.bandcamp.com/album/fantastic-p…
Just a heeeeaaaaddds up for people that like Bonobo, Kid Koala, The Beta Band, The Streets, Neutral Milk Hotel, Wilco, Wax Tailor, etc.
Re: “Local Licks”
About that hot shit Hurry Up Shotgun singer Austin Pitts:
Austin Pitts is one hella howler, completely congruent with my previous seventies statement. Had he been around back then when COCK ROCK WAS KING and flashy vocal gymnasts were all the rage, Pitts would’ve found himself at the epicenter of an old-fashioned major label bidding war. Every day would’ve rained hookers and coke on him, forever and ever, amen.
Austin Pitts would’ve turned all major solo deals down, would’ve kept his bandmates Craig Eastman (on bass) and Adam Kayne (on drums) and found an even bigger record deal, although the label would’ve made them shorten their name to “Shotgun.” They would’ve been initially forced to tour with Molly Hatchet and Blackfoot, but they would’ve survived that indignity and gone on to be SUPERSTARS, and you never would’ve had yer ears filled with loose shit like Journey or REO Speedwagon. Ever.
Also, Hurry Up Shotgun sounds like California. Again, don’t ask me to explain, just hurry up and buy this record. If you think I’m wrong about any of this, let me know.
(But you won’t, cuz I’m not.)
Jeff Moody - STRIPWAX
https://www.facebook.com/Stripwax
Re: “Pay to Play”
$350 a year for a business to play recorded music 24/7 in store is peanuts for the value they get. Although it's not hard to understand where owners are coming from, considering most venues today expect live bands to play for free, while they sell $8 beers and $4 latte's. BMI and ASCAP are about the only music organizations left that are actually assisting independent recording artists get paid. As a recording artist who has been producing independently for over 30 years, there needs to be a way for everyone to win, and expecting artists to endlessly give away their work for "promotion" isn't reasonable. To answer the other post, BMI is getting better at tracking song play as all songs registered have their own code. In cases where specific song play is difficult to track, the money goes into a general fund.