A weblog by David Morton
Julien’s Auctions will hold an auction in April to sell off some of the King of Pop’s belongings. Given the range of ridiculously expensive, narcissistic paraphernalia, it’s no wonder MJ’s facing bankruptcy:
When reached for comment, Paul McCartney exclaimed, “I can’t believe that jerk blew the royalties from ‘Hey Jude’ on such a retarded painting.”
While researching an idea for great, initially-unpopular sophomore records, I came across this sample list for The Beastie Boy’s Paul’s Boutique (original source here), which will be reissued this Tuesday. Looking at the list, I was struck by the fact that no one will ever make a record quite like Paul’s Boutique again, because the cost of clearing that many high-profile samples would be astronomical.
Check out the list for The Sounds of Science:
- “Don’t Sniff Coke” by Pato Banton
- “Walk from Regio’s” by Isaac Hayes
- “My Philosophy” by Boogie Down Productions
- “Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved” by James Brown
- “Back in the USSR”, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)”, “The End”, & “When I’m Sixty-Four” by The Beatles
And that’s just one song on an album composed (almost) entirely of samples.
Yes, there’s a case to be made for Girl Talk, but for some reason, Greg Gillis “has never been threatened with legal action,” probably due to the fact that he’s operating in the margins, and not making much money from his albums.
Department of Eagles — An off-kilter cross-section of Americana. Download No One Does it Like You, In Ear Park, and more. I’m willing to bet that Daniel Rossen (Grizzly Bear) likes the Gershwin.
For Merriweather Post Pavillion, a decent record by a band that’s always been given a free pass by the blogosphere (Animal Collective). Reading the accolades is hilarious. Here’s the winner:
What’s more important is that Merriweather Post Pavilion is not just one of the finest things you’re going to hear in 2009 but that it should sit well next to albums like Kid A on lists of the best music made in our time.
I’ll be curious to see if the authors are willing to own that statement in 2 years time.
Playing the Beatles Backwards: The Ultimate Countdown
If one wanted to make a list sure to anger, shock, and alienate hardcore music fans, this has to be it. What makes this list significant is the extent to which the author defends his picks in historical, artistic, and personal terms. Very impressive. (via kottke)
UPDATE: The more I delve into this list, I find myself trusting the author more and more on some picks that I would wholeheartedly disagree with under other circumstances. [Sidenote: I could never write an homage to The Beatles (as much as I'd like to) as good as the one here. Mad props.]
Inauguration quartet was pre-recorded:
The somber, elegiac tones before President Obama’s oath of office at the inauguration on Tuesday came from the instruments of Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman and two colleagues. But what the millions on the Mall and watching on television heard was in fact a recording, made two days earlier by the quartet and matched tone for tone by the musicians playing along.
I wondered about this on Tuesday. The audio was just a little too good for that environment and miking setup. And as the article points out, keeping the instruments in tune would have been difficult.
Lake Fever Productions launched Lake Fever Sessions, a live performance video series on Friday. The first band to get in on the act is the all-star lineup of The Privates, who perform a great cover of Paramore’s “Misery Business” alongside a couple of original tunes.
The results speak for themselves, and I commend John, Joe, and Jason from Lake Fever for pulling this off with the help of Tugboat Productions. Keep an eye on the RSS feed for future performances by other Nashville bands.
via Michael Eades who also did an excellent job on the Lake Fever websites. Kudos to you, sir.
Kitsune Noir reminded me that yesterday was the 5th anniversary of Smith’s death. Good tribute there. And shit, that’s a depressing way to start the day. To make matters worse, my iTunes at work is completely devoid of Elliott Smith. Hook a brother up.