posted by david on Wed 27 Sep 2000 @ 08:14 PM

mp3 might be hot technology but it's always been something you have to opt into. If you think using Napster is unethical then don't use it. But what if they began modifying the CDs that you buy to prevent piracy? Hey, no problem you say, you're not involved in piracy. But what if the security modifications were woven into the music itself? Will you be able to hear the difference? And will you be given the choice? As a music lover who has carefully invested in quality hifi equipment, this article about CD "watermarking" is really scary. If I can tape my CDs to take with me in the car, why can't I rip them for use in my portable mp3 player? Try what you like with online technology but don't go tinkering with the CDs I buy, I haven't done anything wrong.

posted by david on Wed 27 Sep 2000 @ 07:17 PM

I must confess I'm a bit of a Mott The Hoople ignoramus, except for knowing that David Bowie produced their "All The Young Dudes" album back in the 70s. Anyway, it seems that their lead singer Ian Hunter is making a minor comeback, spurred on by his surprisingly active online fanbase. If you've heard the theme song to "The Drew Carey Show" you've heard some Mott The Hoople.

posted by david on Tue 26 Sep 2000 @ 08:18 PM

The Offspring have bowed to a polite request from their record company (ie. they threatened legal action) and decided that maybe they won't offer their new album free of charge after all. One memorable quote comes from their manager in this article: "The only people unable to post music on the Internet appear to be those who actually create it". If you find the whole mp3 thingy fascinating, you might like to read this impressively thorough analysis of how the Internet and copyright laws are meeting head on and the results thus far ain't pretty.

posted by david on Mon 25 Sep 2000 @ 08:20 PM

Teen bands are best ignored by serious music lovers. It's an easy statement to make and when you think about bands like New Kids on the Block it's even easier to believe. But what happens when that immature bundle of youthful optimism tries to grow up? Do the cynics relent if the band demonstrate some real talent? And does the audience follow them beyond their teens? The oddest thing about the second Hanson album "This Time Around" was a rash of generally positive reviews from the critics (one described Taylor as "a remarkably good soul singer"). I even saw someone on the Del Amitri mailing list describing it as one of the albums of the year (and was promptly dismissed by the masses - who admitted they hadn't heard the album). The Age has an interesting piece describing how their "grown up" album fared in the post-Hanson world. It seems that if you start out as a teen band you won't be able to achieve any real sort of credibility until perhaps album #3 or #4 - if you can last that long. Whatever happens to Hanson from here, I'll admit that I wouldn't be caught dead buying their first album but I'm now rather curious about their second effort.

posted by david on Sat 23 Sep 2000 @ 08:22 PM

Over the past few months I've caught both Rebecca Barnard and Deborah Conway at various gigs so when I saw they were doing a few gigs together, I just had to catch one. As it turned out they're a great match: they're both more than capable pop songwriters, they're impressive vocalists and they've got the whole between-songs-banter thing all sussed out. The oddest thing about the gig was the venue, Frankston Cultural Centre, a hefty 32km trek from home to a rather formal auditorium complete with torch-bearing ushers and a stage better suited to theatre productions than intimate singer/songwriter gigs. Highlights included acoustic re-workings of the Do Re Mi hit "Man Overboard" and Talking Heads' "Road To Nowhere", the latter complete with a capella intro. Unfortunately, the absence of her band meant Deborah could only give us an acoustic version of "It's Only The Beginning" instead of the oh-so-funky dance version I saw a couple of months ago.

see the rest...

posted by david on Sat 23 Sep 2000 @ 07:24 PM

The new ABC managing director Jonathan Shier has been a busy little boy running around doing his best to stuff up what he's been trusted with and his latest bit of re-structuring has seen the Classic FM and Triple J radio networks stuck in the same senior management box. Bernard Zuel, one of the Sydney Morning Herald's music writers has written a rant thingy explaining why he thinks these latest changes won't affect JJJ much - he says JJJ was lost to the suits some time ago.

posted by david on Tue 19 Sep 2000 @ 08:27 PM

This years nominations for the American Rock & Roll Hall of Fame have been announced. Paul Simon, Michael Jackson, AC/DC and Patti Smith are just some in the long list of names. I'm not a huge fan of music awards ceremonies (eg. The Grammys) because they insist on placing music in strict categories and then tend to give the award to the wrong act. For instance, how was it possible for the Grammys to overlook Bob Dylan for so long? At least the Hall of Fame insists on a 25-year lag between the first release by an artist and their nomination.

posted by david on Tue 19 Sep 2000 @ 08:25 PM

The folks at the excellent Minidisc Community Page have noted a review of the new MD-Port DG1 component from Xitel. This allows a PC to be digitally connected to a Minidisc recorder via the USB port, which is brilliant for dumping mp3 collections to Minidisc. I have a feeling I saw a similar unit from another company the other day but now I haven't the foggiest idea where that was.

posted by david on Mon 18 Sep 2000 @ 08:30 PM

Reviews of the new album from Emmylou Harris are starting to appear so I guess that means it has now been released. The two reviews I've sampled so far seem to suggest it's as good as her extraordinary "Wrecking Ball". Wall of Sound have a little article about the album.

Reviews: Billboard - Wall Of Sound - Sonicnet - LA Times - Citysearch - The War Against Silence

posted by david on Mon 18 Sep 2000 @ 08:29 PM

The mp3 hooha continues in the US. The Universal Music Group won their legal battle with mp3.com some time ago but now they have to contend with Courtney Love, who has stated she'll sue them if she doesn't get her share. She certainly has a point but this feels more like a publicity stunt than anything else as Courtney recently signed a deal to write a book about her experiences in dealing with the suits of the music industry. In other news, the Offspring have announced that their next album will be available on the internet, despite the fact that their record company isn't too keen on the idea.

posted by david on Mon 18 Sep 2000 @ 08:28 PM

It looks like Paul Simon is hoping for a return to the charts with his new album "You're The One" which will be released 3 October. After the subtle soundscapes of "Rhythm of the Saints" and the left-turn that was "Songs from the Capeman", it seems that he's now looking to be heard again.

posted by david on Fri 8 Sep 2000 @ 08:32 PM

Cos pointed out some info on the new album from Joe Pernice: "Yup, it's called Big Tobacco, and Spunk Records are the Australian distributors (they did Chappaquiddick Skyline too). Amazon mentions a release of the album with an extra track (no way I'm buying it for $39US though) - there's also a version of the Pernice Brothers album with an extra track too, but the user comment on the page said it was crap..."

Review: The Age

posted by david on Thu 7 Sep 2000 @ 08:34 PM

mp3.com has been instructed to pay Seagram's Universal Music Group approx $US118 million due to copyright violations. From what I can tell, this is a rough figure based on a penalty of $25,000 per disc with the exact number of discs yet to be decided. Whereas Napster allows trading of mp3 files between users, the mp3.com service in question allowed users to upload mp3 files sourced from their own CD collections. From everything I saw the mp3.com people did their best to assuage record company demands (they came to agreements with the other 4 major labels) but the Universal guys didn't want to play ball. I'll be interested to see what happens in the appeal.

posted by david on Wed 6 Sep 2000 @ 08:36 PM

The folks at WMinc Productions invited me to another gig and this time it was a schmooze-type thing for the new Go Betweens album. Looking around the room I spotted folks like Dave Graney and Rob Snarski (Blackeyed Susans) and I must admit I sorta felt like a duck out of water. Anyway, this version of the Go Betweens was a three-piece, with Grant McLennan on guitar/vocals, Adele Pickvance on bass and Robert Forster on guitar. It was a fairly straightforward affair, with a number of new songs plus some old favourites (eg. "Cattle and Cane", "Streets of Your Town"). Robert was feeling a little under the weather so he avoided vocal duties to such an extent that the new song "He Lives My Life" was done as an instrumental (!). File this gig under "short but sweet". A big thank you to Graham and Steve for the invite.

see the rest...

posted by david on Tue 5 Sep 2000 @ 08:37 PM

Willie Nelson's last album "Teatro" is on my "to-be-bought-one-day" list partly because I like Willie's voice and partly because it was produced by Daniel Lanois (U2, Emmylou Harris). I don't have any info on who produced his latest offering "Milk Cow Blues" but Willie's attitude towards it seems to be one of "back-to-basics" if his recent comments about the state of contemporary country music are any guide. "Milk Cow Blues" will be released September 19 and features appearances by BB King, Dr John and Jimmie Vaughan. Thanks to Cos for pointing out this one.

posted by david on Mon 4 Sep 2000 @ 08:41 PM

I was flipping through the racks at a secondhand store on the weekend and came across what is one of the more bizarre tribute albums I've seen: Elaine Paige's "The Queen Album". It was released back in 1988 and features Elaine singing such timeless classics as "Radio Ga Ga", "It's a Kind Of Magic" and yes, even "Bohemian Rhapsody". No, I don't know what they were thinking. Is this the most absurd tribute album ever?

posted by david on Mon 4 Sep 2000 @ 08:39 PM | read or post comments (1)

Last week Graham Lee of record label WMinc Productions invited me along to the album launch of "Soul Witness" by guitarist/singer/songwriter Matt Walker. I'd never heard any of Matt's stuff before but I came away impressed by the whole shebang. Matt certainly seems to know his way around whatever guitar he happens to pick up and with Ashley Davies on drums behind him, there's no denying there's some sort of magic in their partnership. Throw in jazz-pianist Chris Abrahams and bassist Ken Gormly (Cruel Sea) and you've got quite a gig. The appearance of Dave Graney and Clare Moore was an unnecessary bonus. Now all I have to do is track down Matt's albums so I can complete my education...

see the rest...

posted by david on Fri 1 Sep 2000 @ 08:42 PM

Fatboy Slim will release his new album "Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars" in the next couple of months (Nov 7 in the US). I still haven't picked up "You've Come A Long Way, Baby" but I guess I probably should, a lot of people said good things about it and the stuff I heard was very tight and very catchy. The new album will feature appearances by Macy Gray and Bootsy Collins.