Okay, first off we all need to dispel the notion that the Newport Folk Festival is just a bunch of hippies sitting in a circle with acoustic guitars. The word “Folk” in the title really doesn’t fit the general lineup – in the past few years, there have been acts ranging from Elvis Costello to Wilco to Pixies to the Allman Brothers headlining this eclectic mix of performers. Which isn’t to say that there aren’t any stinky hippies, but that’s beside the point.
The real story is twofold:
First, it’s about the best outdoor venue I have ever visited - Fort Adams State Park in Newport, Rhode Island. Why so good? Well, out of the three stages, two are right on the water. Some people actually dock boats right outside to watch the show. And the entire area is covered in grass, rather than the harsh tar-and-concrete surface of most summer fests.
Second, the most important story is about the talent that shows up to these two-day festivals every year. It’s great to see a new, sometimes unknown band on the smallest stage (reserved for up-and-comers or more intimate performances from big stage acts) one show, and see them again on the headlining stage the following year. That’s the move Old Crow Medicine Show made, and now you can hear their music everywhere. And the headliners are nothing to sneeze at either – the Pixies acoustic set was one of the best performances I’ve seen (and if you know their music, acoustic isn’t so easy to pull off).
And this year’s show may be even more intriguing than all the past years. We’ve got the Black Crowes headlining on Saturday, with the mayor of Margaritaville himself, Jimmy Buffett, up front on Sunday. Jakob Dylan (son of Bob – you think he’ll go electric?) will be out promoting his first non-Wallflowers solo effort. And I don’t generally go for the actress-turned-chanteuse thing, but I’m willing to make an exception for She & Him – Zooey Deschanel’s beautifully off-kilter vocals mesh perfectly with M. Ward’s odd, alt-country leanings. And there are many more bands to see this year, as shown in the early lineup listed below (with still more acts to be added to the roster):
Saturday, August 2
The Black Crowes
Cat Power
Stephen & Damian Marley
Cowboy Junkies
Jim James (of My Morning Jacket)
She & Him (feat. Zooey Deschanel & M. Ward)
Jakob Dylan
Willy Mason
The Felice Brothers
Jesca Hoop
Sunday, August 3
Jimmy Buffett
Levon Helm
Gillian Welch
The Avett Brothers
Calexico
Brandi Carlile
Kaki King
Over The Rhine
Jake Shimabukuro
Kate Taylor
Richard Julian
Tickets are on sale Wednesday, April 23rd at 9 AM. You can get them online at:
https://ticketing.festivalnetwork.com/
Just be warned – it looks like there are only a limited amount of two-day passes, so start early if you don’t want to pay full price for two single-day tickets.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
It Came From The MP3 Vault – Volume 2
Okay, it’s time to clear out some more space on the MP3 player. Who makes the cut this round? Let’s find out…
The Noisettes – What’s The Time Mr. Wolf? (2006) - Most post-punk garage rock bands can be remarkable in one of two ways: 1) They can be remarkably unoriginal and sound like every other moron who decided simply putting “The” in front of their name while making the rest of the moniker plural would be enough, or 2) They can blow the doors off and make the former seem like total douchebags. I vote the second option for this band. The female vocalist of this London trio has a snarling attitude that comes through so clearly on this album that I think she may be able to punch you right through your speaker. And the fact that they originally came together while sabotaging another band’s performance? That’s the icing on the psychotic (yet tuneful) cake.
Verdict: Don’t hit me, I’m fragile! I’ll keep it!
Crumbsuckers – Beast On My Back (B.O.M.B.) (1988) – You know how your memory sometimes romanticizes something from your youth, making it seem much more appealing than it actually is? I remember loving this album as a teen, and it took me a while to track it down again. It’s a crossover thrash album, so I remember the screaming guitar and relentless drum beats. But the vocals sounding like someone who just gargled glass trying to shout out the phone book? Like so much from by childhood, I did not recall that.
Verdict: Grah-Grrrroooowl! (That’s broken glass gargle-ese for “Make It Stop!”)
Hot Chip – Coming On Strong (2004) – Do you remember the version of “Boyz’n’The Hood” that Dynamite Hack did a few years back? It was a cover of a rap song, with very subdued vocals, slow music, and incredible whiteness. That song was funny and well planned, but just one track. Well imagine an entire album of that, with less skill, and you’ve got a pretty good impression of this Hot Chip disc. There’s a generic synth backbeat on most songs that’s a cross between disco and reggae, and sounds like it was done on a cheap Casio keyboard – oh, and at a tempo so slow that I’d HOPE someone was on Valium while playing. This had potential, but it was wasted – there are multiple later albums by these guys, and hopefully those proved better.
Verdict: Stink stank stunk – When I got this, I mighta been drunk.
Northern State – Can I Keep This Pen? (2007) – Silly white girls rapping? Sign me up! I heard about this band, of all places, in the back of a comic book (Powers) – and I’m glad I didn’t skip this recommendation. With their deadpan flow (gotta love a girl who rhymes Crazy Glue with fondue) and sailors-at-a-truckstop potty mouths, everything meshes perfectly for this intentionally funny trio. The most entertaining part may be that they even seem to crack themselves up, and you can hear them laughing at each other in the background. But they’re not just a one-trick act – their rhymes mix with waifish vocals on “Better Already” over a garage rock backdrop, while on “Three Amigas” the ladies create a Spaghetti Western through song. Beat that range, MC Lars! Oh, and these ladies will be at Pearl Street in Northampton next week (April 24th) – so check out this disc already!
Verdict: Three girls from New York, Who sound like funny dorks? Me likey!
That's it for this round...
The Noisettes – What’s The Time Mr. Wolf? (2006) - Most post-punk garage rock bands can be remarkable in one of two ways: 1) They can be remarkably unoriginal and sound like every other moron who decided simply putting “The” in front of their name while making the rest of the moniker plural would be enough, or 2) They can blow the doors off and make the former seem like total douchebags. I vote the second option for this band. The female vocalist of this London trio has a snarling attitude that comes through so clearly on this album that I think she may be able to punch you right through your speaker. And the fact that they originally came together while sabotaging another band’s performance? That’s the icing on the psychotic (yet tuneful) cake.
Verdict: Don’t hit me, I’m fragile! I’ll keep it!
Crumbsuckers – Beast On My Back (B.O.M.B.) (1988) – You know how your memory sometimes romanticizes something from your youth, making it seem much more appealing than it actually is? I remember loving this album as a teen, and it took me a while to track it down again. It’s a crossover thrash album, so I remember the screaming guitar and relentless drum beats. But the vocals sounding like someone who just gargled glass trying to shout out the phone book? Like so much from by childhood, I did not recall that.
Verdict: Grah-Grrrroooowl! (That’s broken glass gargle-ese for “Make It Stop!”)
Hot Chip – Coming On Strong (2004) – Do you remember the version of “Boyz’n’The Hood” that Dynamite Hack did a few years back? It was a cover of a rap song, with very subdued vocals, slow music, and incredible whiteness. That song was funny and well planned, but just one track. Well imagine an entire album of that, with less skill, and you’ve got a pretty good impression of this Hot Chip disc. There’s a generic synth backbeat on most songs that’s a cross between disco and reggae, and sounds like it was done on a cheap Casio keyboard – oh, and at a tempo so slow that I’d HOPE someone was on Valium while playing. This had potential, but it was wasted – there are multiple later albums by these guys, and hopefully those proved better.
Verdict: Stink stank stunk – When I got this, I mighta been drunk.
Northern State – Can I Keep This Pen? (2007) – Silly white girls rapping? Sign me up! I heard about this band, of all places, in the back of a comic book (Powers) – and I’m glad I didn’t skip this recommendation. With their deadpan flow (gotta love a girl who rhymes Crazy Glue with fondue) and sailors-at-a-truckstop potty mouths, everything meshes perfectly for this intentionally funny trio. The most entertaining part may be that they even seem to crack themselves up, and you can hear them laughing at each other in the background. But they’re not just a one-trick act – their rhymes mix with waifish vocals on “Better Already” over a garage rock backdrop, while on “Three Amigas” the ladies create a Spaghetti Western through song. Beat that range, MC Lars! Oh, and these ladies will be at Pearl Street in Northampton next week (April 24th) – so check out this disc already!
Verdict: Three girls from New York, Who sound like funny dorks? Me likey!
That's it for this round...
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Nine Inches Of Internet Genius – And Not Nearly As Dirty As It Sounds
So, I don’t know if you’ve noticed – but the music industry sucks. Not the musicians, mind you, but the business model backing them. Yeah, it’s always been a bunch of stuffed shirts with dollar signs in their eyes looking for the next trend – but the fact that they nearly missed out on the whole internet thing blows my mind.
From the second Napster hit the web and showed the world how to download, R & D for the major labels should have been trying to work on a new digital business model to make some money. They could have easily set up a tiered subscription service (Basic, Gold or Platinum, from low usage to unlimited) that could have given consumers a legal alternative and provided a huge source of revenue. But they didn’t – instead spending ridiculous amounts of money in legal fees trying to get that genie back in the bottle.
But by then, the scene had already been set – people didn’t see downloading as wrong, because they had been burned by the music biz for so long already. Everyone was fed up with paying for a full album when there were only a couple of songs actually worth the money, with a whole lot of filler. And the rest of the public were just pissed that they had followed industry trends and replaced their old vinyl with cassettes, cassettes with CDs, and who knew what new format may be looming ahead? Why should they have to pay again?
(On a side note, our Canadian neighbors were much smarter about this from the start. The Canadian government worked out a deal with the RIAA that would legalize all music downloads in their country. The price: an extra tax on blank media (cdr, mp3 players, etc.) that would go directly to the record companies. If only the U.S. were as smart as those crafty Canucks!)
So where does this leave us now? Well, there’s no central store where you can get everything you want, legally. I mean, there’s iTunes, which has a decent catalog. And Napster (the new version, the name bought out by Roxio) seems to be doing okay. But at prices nearing a dollar per song, or only slightly discounted full album packages, what’s the real appeal? The general public had way too much time to accept illegal downloading as the norm before these businesses set up. Even with the threat of lawsuits and fines, most consumers felt righteous enough in their piracy. I mean, after being tricked into buying albums from the Spice Girls or Hanson, they essentially bought a $15 coaster. Yeeecch.
And what could the major labels do to regain our trust? Well, they could take a cue from some of their artists. On September 16, 2007, while Nine Inch Nails were touring to support Year Zero (their final effort to fulfill their contract with Universal Media), Trent Reznor gave the popular “Steal It!” speech to concertgoers in Australia. The gist of it was that he was sick of the major labels price-gouging fans, and that NIN followers should just go out and steal, download or otherwise liberate their new album.
Less than a month later, Radiohead came up with a similar idea. They too were recently done with their label contract, and decided to let fans price their new album (In Rainbows) for themselves online. You could download the album, in its entirety, for whatever you chose. Obviously, there were a lot of “free” copies, but a good deal of money was made. This was an amazing promotional movement for when the physical album was released a few months later, to fantastic sales numbers.
Nine Inch Nails followed their own advice in early 2008, with Trent Reznor posting a link for the first section of their new Ghosts I-IV album for download on The Pirate Bay (a popular, if not entirely legal, Bit Torrent search site). At the same time, through the official NIN site, there were different Ghosts packages available – both for download and physical ordering. Fans could download the first section for free, the entire album for $5 (complete with a digital copy of the CD art), the physical double-disc for $10 and various deluxe packages for rabid fans – including a $300 version with a limited print run of 2500, which sold out in the first week (that's $750,000 on ONE VERSION, in one week). This was all done through their own private label, the Null Corporation – a nice dig as to how much record labels are actually worth. A store release of the CD happened about a month later.
So, what’s the point? Well, Mr. Reznor seems to have made that quite clear – there is a truckload of money to be made, but there are also fair prices that can be attached. For $5, almost anyone would buy a 36-track album – even if it is a crazy experimental, all-instrumental album like Ghosts. And from a purely promotional standpoint, artists allowing a decent sampling of their wares before you purchase keeps everybody honest. If you like what you hear, you’re more likely to buy. But if most of the album doesn’t sound a thing like the lead single and stinks like old cheese…You get the idea.
Now, if only the record execs would get that same flash of genius…
From the second Napster hit the web and showed the world how to download, R & D for the major labels should have been trying to work on a new digital business model to make some money. They could have easily set up a tiered subscription service (Basic, Gold or Platinum, from low usage to unlimited) that could have given consumers a legal alternative and provided a huge source of revenue. But they didn’t – instead spending ridiculous amounts of money in legal fees trying to get that genie back in the bottle.
But by then, the scene had already been set – people didn’t see downloading as wrong, because they had been burned by the music biz for so long already. Everyone was fed up with paying for a full album when there were only a couple of songs actually worth the money, with a whole lot of filler. And the rest of the public were just pissed that they had followed industry trends and replaced their old vinyl with cassettes, cassettes with CDs, and who knew what new format may be looming ahead? Why should they have to pay again?
(On a side note, our Canadian neighbors were much smarter about this from the start. The Canadian government worked out a deal with the RIAA that would legalize all music downloads in their country. The price: an extra tax on blank media (cdr, mp3 players, etc.) that would go directly to the record companies. If only the U.S. were as smart as those crafty Canucks!)
So where does this leave us now? Well, there’s no central store where you can get everything you want, legally. I mean, there’s iTunes, which has a decent catalog. And Napster (the new version, the name bought out by Roxio) seems to be doing okay. But at prices nearing a dollar per song, or only slightly discounted full album packages, what’s the real appeal? The general public had way too much time to accept illegal downloading as the norm before these businesses set up. Even with the threat of lawsuits and fines, most consumers felt righteous enough in their piracy. I mean, after being tricked into buying albums from the Spice Girls or Hanson, they essentially bought a $15 coaster. Yeeecch.
And what could the major labels do to regain our trust? Well, they could take a cue from some of their artists. On September 16, 2007, while Nine Inch Nails were touring to support Year Zero (their final effort to fulfill their contract with Universal Media), Trent Reznor gave the popular “Steal It!” speech to concertgoers in Australia. The gist of it was that he was sick of the major labels price-gouging fans, and that NIN followers should just go out and steal, download or otherwise liberate their new album.
Less than a month later, Radiohead came up with a similar idea. They too were recently done with their label contract, and decided to let fans price their new album (In Rainbows) for themselves online. You could download the album, in its entirety, for whatever you chose. Obviously, there were a lot of “free” copies, but a good deal of money was made. This was an amazing promotional movement for when the physical album was released a few months later, to fantastic sales numbers.
Nine Inch Nails followed their own advice in early 2008, with Trent Reznor posting a link for the first section of their new Ghosts I-IV album for download on The Pirate Bay (a popular, if not entirely legal, Bit Torrent search site). At the same time, through the official NIN site, there were different Ghosts packages available – both for download and physical ordering. Fans could download the first section for free, the entire album for $5 (complete with a digital copy of the CD art), the physical double-disc for $10 and various deluxe packages for rabid fans – including a $300 version with a limited print run of 2500, which sold out in the first week (that's $750,000 on ONE VERSION, in one week). This was all done through their own private label, the Null Corporation – a nice dig as to how much record labels are actually worth. A store release of the CD happened about a month later.
So, what’s the point? Well, Mr. Reznor seems to have made that quite clear – there is a truckload of money to be made, but there are also fair prices that can be attached. For $5, almost anyone would buy a 36-track album – even if it is a crazy experimental, all-instrumental album like Ghosts. And from a purely promotional standpoint, artists allowing a decent sampling of their wares before you purchase keeps everybody honest. If you like what you hear, you’re more likely to buy. But if most of the album doesn’t sound a thing like the lead single and stinks like old cheese…You get the idea.
Now, if only the record execs would get that same flash of genius…
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
The Rocking Dead Hit New Orleans
The dead walk! The streets of New Orleans were flooded with previously deceased wanderers this morning – and all they want to do is rock. Legions of dead music icons have been spotted, from the Big Bopper to Jerry Garcia. A Hoodoo priest, Papa LeBeau, takes credit for this freaky feat: “I was just trying to cast a spell to bring all the musicians back to Orleans, to bring the life back to this town”, said the Houngan (priest). “Sometimes the spirits take things too literally.”
A reporter for the New Orleans Times was brave enough to approach Buddy Holly and ask what they all wanted: “Most of us just want to get back to work. And take a shower – I don’t know if you noticed, but we stink a bit.” The problem is that no one wants to work with the deceased legends – barring Ringo Starr, who was actually at the scene begging John Lennon to tour with him. Foo Fighters’ frontman Dave Grohl, when asked if a Nirvana reunion tour might be possible now that Kurt Cobain is back, responded: “No way, man! I’ve seen this movie – everything starts out fine, then the next thing you know, someone’s getting their brains gnawed on… But if he wants to go see Courtney, that would be cool. (laughs).”
Papa LeBeau insists that wouldn’t happen, though: “These aren’t Zombies, that’s a different kind of mojo. This is more powerful magic – they should all be pretty close to how they were before they died.” So, what are these idols of millions planning now? George Harrison, who seems to have been appointed spokesperson for the group, had this to say: “We just want to return to some semblance of a “normal life”, whatever that may be. For most of us, that’s music. And a few groups have already hit it off, talking about new projects.”
What projects, you ask? Well, on the heavier side we’ve got Lazarus Reaction: Layne Staley (Alice In Chains) and Andrew Wood (Mother Love Bone) as a double vocal threat, Dimebag Darrell (Pantera) on guitar, Cliff Burton (Metallica) on bass and Eric Carr (Kiss) filling out the roster on drums. An interesting mix – as long as they don’t pull an Audioslave and turn into giant wusses.
After finding some “connections” in town, the psychedelic crew smoked out and started a drum circle: John Bonham rocked the center, while Jerry Garcia and Janis Joplin spouted poetry over the beats – Jim Morrison has already passed out.
The most unexpected project was an old-timey jug band – being co-led by Kevin Dubrow (Quiet Riot) and Tupac Shakur. Dubrow had this to say: “We all had our own things going on in life, and we saw how well those ended - it's time for something different. And the Big Bopper over there plays a surprisingly good washtub bass.”
Bon Scott (AC/DC), Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan were seen practicing together. Later, Jam-Master J (Run DMC) laid down some beats in the background. Early word around town is that this is the undead collaboration to beat.
The most surprisingly missing person from this collection, though? When pressed where Elvis might be, George Harrison responded: “C’mon, man – everybody knows that Elvis never really died.”
A reporter for the New Orleans Times was brave enough to approach Buddy Holly and ask what they all wanted: “Most of us just want to get back to work. And take a shower – I don’t know if you noticed, but we stink a bit.” The problem is that no one wants to work with the deceased legends – barring Ringo Starr, who was actually at the scene begging John Lennon to tour with him. Foo Fighters’ frontman Dave Grohl, when asked if a Nirvana reunion tour might be possible now that Kurt Cobain is back, responded: “No way, man! I’ve seen this movie – everything starts out fine, then the next thing you know, someone’s getting their brains gnawed on… But if he wants to go see Courtney, that would be cool. (laughs).”
Papa LeBeau insists that wouldn’t happen, though: “These aren’t Zombies, that’s a different kind of mojo. This is more powerful magic – they should all be pretty close to how they were before they died.” So, what are these idols of millions planning now? George Harrison, who seems to have been appointed spokesperson for the group, had this to say: “We just want to return to some semblance of a “normal life”, whatever that may be. For most of us, that’s music. And a few groups have already hit it off, talking about new projects.”
What projects, you ask? Well, on the heavier side we’ve got Lazarus Reaction: Layne Staley (Alice In Chains) and Andrew Wood (Mother Love Bone) as a double vocal threat, Dimebag Darrell (Pantera) on guitar, Cliff Burton (Metallica) on bass and Eric Carr (Kiss) filling out the roster on drums. An interesting mix – as long as they don’t pull an Audioslave and turn into giant wusses.
After finding some “connections” in town, the psychedelic crew smoked out and started a drum circle: John Bonham rocked the center, while Jerry Garcia and Janis Joplin spouted poetry over the beats – Jim Morrison has already passed out.
The most unexpected project was an old-timey jug band – being co-led by Kevin Dubrow (Quiet Riot) and Tupac Shakur. Dubrow had this to say: “We all had our own things going on in life, and we saw how well those ended - it's time for something different. And the Big Bopper over there plays a surprisingly good washtub bass.”
Bon Scott (AC/DC), Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan were seen practicing together. Later, Jam-Master J (Run DMC) laid down some beats in the background. Early word around town is that this is the undead collaboration to beat.
The most surprisingly missing person from this collection, though? When pressed where Elvis might be, George Harrison responded: “C’mon, man – everybody knows that Elvis never really died.”
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