RECORD STORE DAY is coming!

Apparently, I'm into exclamation points in headlines tonight. But this one deserves it. Record Store Day is April 17!

f you haven't heard of this day before, it's a day when everyone should unplug iTunes or your favorite torrent tracker or whatever and actually go to your local record store and buy an album or two or three. That's right albums--as in vinyl LPs. The hope is that you make it a habit and keep some of these incredible stores in business.

I'm actually planning to visit several record stores on Record Store Day, including the mom-and-pop-shop right around the corner from me, Shady Dog Records. Start planning your trip now! Save a paycheck and invest in some vinyl.

Lemmy is here!!

Like a lot of guys my age, I cut my rock 'n' roll teeth on punk, hard rock and metal when I was a pre-teen and teenager. And also like a lot of guys my age, the band Motorhead and their onslaught of proto-metal rawk was like an adrenaline shot to my ears. Metallica, Fugazi, Black Sabbath, Motley Crue, Megadeth, Anthrax, Dead Milkmen, Butthole Surfers and the Sex Pistols were all favorites, too. But nobody sounded like Motorhead.

So I'm pretty excited about the release of Lemmy the movie. In fact, I have a little embarassment over how giddy I am with anticipation about this film. It's going to be tremendous, as this trailer clearly outlines.

a beautiful blend of new- and old-school musicality

This is one of my favorite videos on YouTube. It explains how a funk rhythm breakdown in a song released by The Winstons in 1969 titled "Amen, Brother" became one of the most famous and widely used six seconds of music in western culture.

For a lot of people, sampling, DJing and modern synthesis is still a somewhat controversial act (yes, even in 2010). To be sure, you can't deny the incredible musicianship of this hip young drummer giving it his funky best in the middle of the original ripping R&B tune. But in my mind, it's tough to ignore the incredible ways this break beat has been used over the years to create powerful new music. Just watch and see.

Let's road trip for a Kingpin

Now offering one more reason to visit Toronto: The Sky Blue Sky Sandwich Shop.

Shop owner Chad Comfort created a deluxe deli where each menu item is named after a Wilco song. And the name for the whole establishment obviously takes it's name from the 2007 album released by the band. As a big deli sammich fan and a Wilco lover, too, I am very interested.

Just one question, though. What's in the "A Shot In the Arm" breakfast sandwich? What can you put in a sandwich that's bloodier than blood?

Via Pitchfork: Wilco: The Sandwich Shop

Tab hits the iPhone age

There are already a few companies making digital sheet music readers, but they're mostly expensive units for professional musicians. Now a company that calls itself iTab (subtract points for unoriginal, yet market-friendly name) has come up with a smartphone-sized device that's centered around the universal language of guitarists: tab (add points for enabling guitar geekery).

The touchscreen iTab lets you quickly flip through your tab list to select the song you want. Then the iTab will scroll through the lyrics and chords at whatever speed you select (so you can match the song's tempo) while you play along. Having trouble with a song? iTab offers downloadable videos to help you out with any tough parts. iTab has also built an accompanying store where you can download more tabs.

The iTab also has the ability to output the display to a TV so you can set up an instant guitar-and-karaoke party. There's even a mounting system that lets you keep it attached to your guitar's headstock. The best part is that with an estimated street price of $199, you don't have to be a professional to convince yourself to splurge on one (add more points for catering to hobbyists). The company has put some demonstration videos up on YouTube.



via engadget.

Them Crooked Vultures gear

Guitar Edge magazine has an article up that runs through the gear that each member of Them Crooked Vultures is using on tour. It's pretty cool, because none of them use "standard" stuff at all. On another TCV front, Spinner has a video with some backstage footage of the band members talking (well, Dave Grohl, mostly) about their first gig and being on SNL.

Liars "Scissor [Mute]" video brings the awesome

Check out the video for the Liars song "Scissor [Mute]" over at Pitchfork tv. The song is pretty good, but the video kind of upstages the song and makes the whole thing more entertaining.

The cinematography (that's right -- I just used the word "cinematography" to critique a music video) is really amazing considering this was probably shot on a postage stamp budget. Best of all, even though you can see the end coming about 30 seconds in, you can't help but watch anyway.

music labels to bands: "Social network - or else!!"

That's the basic gist of this reformatted press release over on CNET.

Skip about halfway down the article to read quotes that make Daniel Glass sound like a class-a jerkface. His tone is indignant and borderline self-righteous as he describes how he skipped signing a band to his label because they wouldn't tweet their every stage move. Seriously, check this quote:

"There may be some indie hipper-than-thou artists who want to let the music speak for itself . . . they are probably not for us."

How dare these impudent punks deny the all-powerful marketing tool of social media and slow the flow of dollars into Glass' pockets?!

Wait . . . huh? Money? Pockets?

Well, yeah. Think about it. How does the band's effort to promote itself through social media pay off for them? An active facebook, myspace or hosted webpage will result in some extra people showing up to see your band when you roll through town. If you set up an e-commerce store you might sell some tee shirts or cds direct and make some cash.

But I'll bet you a Motorola Cliq that's not what has Glass hot and bothered over your twitter account. He's hoping your online activity will generate music sales that put dollars in the label's coffers, and pennies in yours. Because in today's internet world social media = marketing = sales. Theoretically, at least.

Don't get me wrong; none of these things are bad by themselves. Maintaining a prominent profile with its online fans is important for most bands. Making it easy for its fans to support and follow them is a good thing. Bands deserve to get paid for their music, the same way doctors gets paid for their medicine. But making social-media-savviness a prerequisite for a record contract is ridiculous.

In fact, if social media is going to start having an influence on record contracts, the flow of influence and dollars should be going the other direction. If a band chooses to utilize the internet to promote itself, the label should pay them for their marketing efforts the same way they'd pay an in-house marketing staffer or a&r rep. Let's see a band's manager or lawyer bust that point of view out during contract negotiations and see how Glass reacts.



Afterthought:
I'd also like to see some analysis of the time a band spends promoting itself online through social media and compare the payoff against the time spent doing other work with its music (concerts, recording, practice, etc.) to see which is the more productive.

Deconstructing The Gibson Robot

At the Embedded Systems Conference, teardown expert and guitarist David Carey disassembled the electronic system on a Gibson Robot Les Paul. CNet posted pictures.

Last.fm Streaming Good For Music Sales

Interesting news from over at Wired's Listening Post where Mr. Van Buskirk sez the early returns from Last.fm's full-track streaming are good news for music sales.

Laugh Gleefully Or Cry In Despair?

That's how I feel after finding out that Yamaha will finally be releasing the Tenori-On in the United States. The happiness? Because the Tenori-On is f'ing cool.

The tears? Because Yamaha is only releasing 100 units a month, with the run rumored to top out at 1,000 for the year. Plus, the price tag will be about $1,200.00 (US dollars). That means some of us will end up paying about double or triple that on eBay for the Tenori-On, used or new.

If you can't stand the wait, or if you don't have $1,200 to throw at it, you could always tide yourself over with a Korg KAOSSILATOR. At $200, it's a lot more affordable and offers a modest slice of the geeky musical goodness of the Tenor-On.

Save Your Ears

Protect your hearing. This cool wiki page on the Wired How-To Wiki gives you some tips.

Crazy Record Labels

Hahhahahhaha. Phew.

MAN! More Cool Pitchfork TV News

Pitchfork announced today that Radiohead will be joining the launch of Pitchfork.tv! The band got together in Nigel Godrich's basement to shoot a live performance of the song "Bangers & Mash" from the In Rainbows album. Obviously Pitchfork is thrilled, and I'm sure there are a lot of fans out there who are, too. I'll definitely be watching. Is there any band in the world as cool as Radiohead right now? I think not. It just seems like they're firing on all cylinders in the right direction at the right time.

FindSounds Internet Sounds Search Engine

Now THIS is cool! Ever wish you could find a sound on the Internet? Not a song, necessarily, but a sound. You know they're out there, you've heard them on websites, but it's not always easy to locate them. The other day I stumbled upon a unique search engine called FindSounds designed just for that purpose. You can search for all types of sounds, from aardvarks to jet airplanes. And you can even filter for certain types of files, like 8-bit, AIFF, mono, WAV, sample rate, etc. Pretty cool.

Woohoo! More Pitchfork TV News!

Remember back when I posted this? Well, we're in the homestretch now for the launch of Pitchfork.tv! I don't know about you, but I'm really excited. I got even more pumped when Pitchfork posted their initial schedule on Monday.

The highlights include the most-excellent Pixies documentary loudQUIETloud: A Film About The Pixies which follows the band around on their 2004 tour, Juan's Basement will finally surface, there will be a rooftop performance by excellent punk-poppers The Thermals, and some up-close-and-personal time with the folks at Death By Audio, makers of some of the craziest noise blasters around. Good times for music lovers.

Earth Hour: You can make a difference tonight (Saturday)

Okay, so this has nothing to do with music. But this is an issue that's bigger than just music and affects us all as human beings, not just musicians.

Tonight from 8pm to 9pm is Earth Hour. All across the globe people will be turning off their lights to conserve power and show their support for the planet and green living. The idea is simple and easy, but as it scales upward can have a truly tremendous impact. The Earth Hour initiative was started by the World Wildlife Fund, but has quickly grown into a much larger movement. Join in tonight!

P.S. – If you're unhappy about this post, I'll gladly refund your money for this issue. 

P.P.S. – I jumped the gun just a bit yesterday. Hey, what can I say? I'm an eager beaver. Earth Hour is tonight (Saturday, March 29) from 8 to 9 PM.

Dying Weird Isn't Easy

One of the things I'm always amazed by is the crazy ways many musicians meet their demise. Drinking, drugs, plane crashes, etc. So you'd think (at least I did) that there would be more musicians on Neatorama's list of the 30 Strangest Deaths In History. But no, only two musicians made the list. I won't spoil the surprise for you. Go read the article and find out for yourself.

Busking The Day Away

Someone on the HCFX forums posted this awesome video of two guys busking outside a Japanese train stop. I miss the city.

Fun For Friday

It's been linked to many times in many places, but for Musical Machines readers, I present the Gigwise gallery of Worst Album Covers. Enjoy.