Music Archives - Page 10 of 12

What I Would do to Fix AOL

Posted on December 11, 2006

I saw the annoucement last week (and news stories) of the new AOL CEO, Randy Falco, and got to wondering, if I’m in charge of running AOL which is now in the business of monetizing traffic to AOL.com and other pages, how would i do it? A few thoughts came to mind….

First, i would buy the best, more user-friendly and one of hte most popular social networks around – Facebook. With facebook, you not only get a great social network, but you also get one of the best photo-sharing applications on the internet. Then i would merge it with AIM, change all AIM-pages to be facebook pages, and place the mini-feed on every users home AOL.com page. That would drive traffic. Granted, it would take a long time to get everything on the same platform (calendar, aim, mail, etc.) but facebook’s interface and features are much, much better than AOL’s. Everyone’s speculating about Yahoo buying facebook, why not AOL? AOL has just as much cash and just enough desire to monetize their traffic. It’s almost as if everyone assumes AOL is dying and isn’t going to invest in their future.

Buy Meebo
AIM is one of the most precious assets AOL has and it is being threatened by Meebo. I would buy it immediately and make all meebo-me widgets become AIM widgets and place them all over the web and inside the recently purchased AOL-facebook pages.

Streaming Music Locker
Subscription streaming. AOL should abandon the WMA format and go for only streaming. In an iPod world, the only way to play is to make your server compatible with iTunes and that means abandoning DRM and/or simply abandoning any local download. A service like last.fm + mp3tunes would go a long way.

Video
Go all-flash as DRM instead of Windows Media so mac users can play. Have it all hosted so you can access anywhere and watch anywhere.

Mail
Build, Buy or do whatever it takes to do a SERIOUS upgrade to your mail application. Mail is the largest driver of ad inventory and if you’re service is completely ad-based, this should be your #1 priority. It’s been over 2 years since Gmail launched, you would think someone at AOL would have noticed how to please mail users. Where is unlimited storage, where are ajax-features to reduce latency, where? AOL mail is by far the worst webmail application on the internet. It needs to be fixed.

Voice
AOL bought 3 voice companies between 2000 and 2003: eVoice, Quack, and another one from Canada (i’m forgetting the name). AOL made serious investment in voicemail, voice recognition and other voice services. From what i can tell, all that has been completely abandoned. I would restart this effort and do more click-to-talk services, similar to Google’s. However, all of AOL’s services are tied into mail and AIM making them more attractive. For instance, it would be easy to do click-to-talk and then save to mp3 which would be put into your music streaming locker.

These are just a few of the things i’d do. What do you all think? I think Randy’s in for a tough job and i’m not bullish on AOL’s chances. I think the most successful internet companies are run by those who understand the technology and can see the trends coming. Google embraces technology and let’s it unlock new opportunities and i don’t see somewhat who’s entire background is in TV and TV ad-sales pushing AOL into new models and opportunities. That’s just my initial reaction. Then again, Terry Semel’s done a good job at Yahoo, so who knows.

What's My Name Bitch!

Posted on November 28, 2006

I found this site today which has the real names of musicians. It’s interesting to see that Sly Stalone, Eddie Vedder and others aren’t really called that. Here are some good ones….

Aaliyah – Aaliyah Dana Haughton
Tori Amos – Myra Ellen Amos
Ashanti – Ashanti Shaquoya “Shani Bani” Douglas
Erykah Badu – Erica Wright
Beyonce – Beyonce Giselle Knowles
Bjork – Bjork Gudmundsdottir
Michael Bolton – Michael Bolotin
Jon Bon Jovi – John Francis Bongiovi Jr.
Bono (U2) – Paul David Hewson
Pat Boone – Charles Eugene Boone
David Bowie – David Robert Hayward Stenton Jones
Bobby Brown – Robert Barisford Brown
Jackson Browne – Clyde Jackson Browne
Buckethead – Brian Carroll
Vitamin C – Colleen Fitzpatrick
50 Cent – Curtis Jackson
Ray Charles – Ray Charles Robinson
Cher – Cherilyn Sarkisian La Piere
Eric Clapton – Eric Patrick Clapp
Patsy Cline – Virginia Patterson Hensley
Joe Cocker – John Robert Cocker
Coolio – Artis Ivey Jr. Continue reading “What's My Name Bitch!” →

Scorsese Making a Rolling Stones Documentary

Posted on November 1, 2006

This just in…

This year’s best movie is Scorsese’s The Departed and he’s now taking a break from gangsters and going to follow around The Rolling Stones and make a feature length film documentary. Apparently he got it started when he filmed their concert in NY this past weekend. Let’s just hope it’s better than The Aviator (most overrated movie ever).
Scorsese is no stranger to music documentaries. He made No Direction Home in 2005 about Bob Dylan and The Last Waltz in 1978 about The Band’s last concert. Needless to say, a kick-ass director and one of the best bands ever will probably make for a solid 2 hour piece of entertainment.

And speaking of music documentaries. I have heard that the Dixie Chicks vs. Right Wing documentary in theaters now is really awesome. Anyone seen it?

iPhone Is On Its Way

Posted on September 26, 2006

This is the guy that Apple sued because he always get it right. So this is probably the real deal:

Apple iPhone to be Cingular-exclusive at launch
By Ryan Katz, Senior Editor

September 26, 2006 – Apple and Cingular have signed an agreement that will make the US’ largest cell phone provider the exclusive carrier of Apple’s forthcoming phone, sources report. Apple’s iPhone remains on track for an early 2007 release.

As previously reported, Apple’s phone will feature a candy-bar design with a 2.2-inch display and 3 megapixel camera. Robust iTunes and iSync support will also be delivered with the phone.

Apple’s exclusive contract with Cingular is said to be good for the first six months, sources report, meaning other providers will be able to sell the phone in the second-half of 2007. Cingular had an exclusive on the Motorola ROKR—the first phone to feature iTunes—when it launched last year.

Sources say Apple is in talks with providers in other parts of the world on exclusive deals, but are short on specifics. O2 had the exclusive on the ROKR in Europe, however, suggesting that provider may again be tapped to launch Apple’s phone.

Meanwhile, insiders say Apple is internally estimating that shipments of the iPhone will top a staggering 25 million in 2007 alone. Motorola’s RAZR, by contrast, has sold more than 50 million units since its launch in late 2004. Apple is betting a phone with Apple’s iconic design, elegant interface, and iPod-matching functionality will be a strong draw for users who currently carry both devices on them.

http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0609cingulariphone.html

I'll Be Rockin' This Saturday

Posted on September 22, 2006

A lot of people have already commented on yesterday’s Bob Dlyan post and while i love listening to Dylan, my mind is really focused on the concert i’m going to tomorrow. I’ll be attending Virgin Fest in Baltimore.

Check out this lineup: Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Killers, Gnarls Barkley, Scissor Sisters, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Raconteurs, The Who, The New Pornographers, Wolfmother, Thievery Corporation, and The Flaming Lips.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V76Vq1HMXIk&eurl=]

One of the bands i’m most excited about is The Scissor Sisters. If you haven’t heard of this band – let me enlighten you (from wikipedia)

The core of the band formed in 2000 when Shears (singer) and Babydaddy (keyboard/song-writer) met while attending college in Kentucky. After moving to NYC, the duo met Ana Matronic at a cabaret on Halloween, when she was dressed as an Andy Warhol factory reject, and Shears was dressed as a “back-alley abortion”. The group soon began playing gigs and were signed to independent record label “A Touch of Class”, and recorded a single, “Electrobix”, which had as its B-side a disco/glam cover “Comfortably Numb”.

Their cover of “Comfortably Numb” became noticed in the UK when it was picked up by underground DJs in electroclubs. The song later got the attention of British label Polydor, who signed them to a contract.

The group’s first single for the label, “Laura“, had a limited release in 2003 (reaching #54 on UK charts), and received little attention. Their first hit was in 2004 with the re-release of “Comfortably Numb” (reaching #10 in the UK). This success was followed by fan favourite “Take Your Mama” (#17 in the UK), a re-release of “Laura” (#12 in the UK), the ballad “Mary” (#14 in the UK), and the gay/hedonist anthem “Filthy/Gorgeous” (#5 in the UK).

All the singles came from the self-titled debut album Scissor Sisters, which reached #1 on the UK albums chart and became the best selling album of 2004, beating Keane‘s Hopes And Fears by just 582 copies. As of 2006, it is the 10th biggest-selling album of the 21st century, and the 51st biggest-selling of all time in the UK. Several media outlets have noted that Scissor Sisters stick out like a sore thumb’ on the list of artists who have sold over 2 million copies of an album in the UK in the 21st century — the others being James Blunt, Robbie Williams, Keane, Dido, Coldplay and Norah Jones — all artists considered ‘mainstream’ or ‘middle of the road’, as opposed to the Scissor Sisters’ brash and controversial image.

I will say that i think the songs rock. Here are some of my favorite songs from their first album. Click on them to play, right+click to download the mp3: Mary, Filthy/Gorgeous, Laura, Comfortably Numb
They also have a new album coming out and you can listen to their entire new album on MySpace here.

Writing about this band reminds of a passage i recently read in Chuck Klosterman’s new book (Chuck Klosterman IV) when he breaks down all rock music in one paragraph. He says,

Rock music did not exist until the release of Meet the Beatles in January 1964. From that time until 1970, the Beatles were simultaneously the most artistically gifted and commercially successful rock artists on the planet. Then they broke up. And at that point, rock split into two opposing ideologies; there were now two kinds of music. The prime directive of the first kind of rock was to be meaningful and important; the prime directive of the second was to entertain people and move product. The first category comprises elements (Springsteen, punk rock, early U2, Chris Carrabba, etc.) that followed a template built by Dylan in the 1960’s. The second category comprises things (Elton John, Disco, everything the Stones did post-Some Girls, Michael Jackson et. al.) that followed the path KISS chose when they formed in 1973. Their era includes 2 exceptions, which are Led Zepplin and Prince; everything else fits into either category A or B. And that is the entire history of rock music.

Elton John has actually written a few tracks on Scissor Sister’s new album Tah-dah so they have to be considered a category B band. Thus, if you look at my Bob Dylan post and this one, i think i’ve been comprehensive and pretty much covered both A and B. Now i can focus the rest of the weekend on just rocking out at Virgin Fest.

Modern Times are Here. Dylan's Back!

Posted on September 21, 2006

Modern Times I’ve been a Bob Dylan fan for years. I love his old folksy tunes (Blonde on Blonde) and his mid career epic tracks (Hurricane, Tangled Up in Blue) and have overplayed most of the 3 disc Biograph for years. I’ve always been skeptical when legends come out with new albums way past their prime. Too many times i’ve gotten excited and been burned. For example, last year’s Rolling Stone’s album Bigger Bang was a huge disappointment. So when i heard there was a new Dylan album out, i was excited by skeptical. But, let me tell you – it’s great. I think it’s as good as his old stuff and possibly even better. Three tracks in particular stand out. “Workingman Blues #2” is an old school Dylan folk song with captivating lyrics a thumping backbone, “Thunder on the Mountain” is both bluesy and rockin’, and the beautiful meandering stroll of a song “Spirit on the Water” is just outstanding. I’ve attached the three here for a listen. Check ’em out.

4 Ridiculous Videos You Need to Watch

Posted on September 2, 2006

Ok, i have three of them for you today. All are equally entertaining in a completely different way. One is a 70’s music video, one is a music video from today and the last is a guy answering his reader’s mail with a greatly absurd song. Let’s begin:

Apache

The was brought to my attention from SG and is a music video from the 70’s. I wasn’t alive in the 70’s but i am aware that there was lots of drug use, objectification of women and pretty trippy music. Well, this video captures all that and then some. The unintentional comedy level is sky high on this baby. Check it out

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTKL8MNH95Q]

Knights of Cydonia
I’m sure many of you have seen this but if not, let’s go. First let’s check what’s needed in a futuristic western kung-fu love story: lasers (check), all seven traditional samurai techniques (check), a hanging (check), love found then slapped then lost then reclaimed (check), giant desert robots (check), the KKK going after a white man (check), dirtbikes (check) – and i’m only half through the video. Never before have so many cliches been re-written and never before has rock been so ironic. They really explored the space here.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV1bRfLHA3A]

Z’s My Little Ducky

Ok, so i didn’t knowwho Ze Frank was until about 24 hours ago. Since then i’ve watched two videos by him. The first was a speech he gave at TED in 2004. This is pretty entertaining and i was impressed. (Watch it here). The second is really what i want to share. It’s him answering some questions from his readers. What gets me is how awesome the little ducky song is. Seriously, this song is still stuck in my head. You have to listen to it. Check it here

The Little Girl Giant

This is amazing. I don’t know how they pulled it off or more importantly, i don’t know why. I mean, it’s only a 5 minute video but it must have taken months to years to do this. There’s a giant elephant at the beginning who gives the Little Girl Giant a shower and they barely even show the elephant but it must have been months to create that guy and he’s only there for 5 seconds. Seriously, this is amazing.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBXr15K2uSc]

The Power of a Concept

Posted on August 1, 2006

I recently went through the trilogy of Chuck Klosterman’s books. I started first with his first book Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota which is a great discussion of the importance and awesomeness of 80’s Rock. If you’re a fan of the genre this is a great read and it introduces you to Klosterman’s memoir writing style and his lifestyle as a man who boozes almost as much as sits around shooting the shit with friends..

The second and most well-know book is Sex Drugs and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto. This is basically a collection of essays about items in popular culture such as MTV’s The Real World, Saved by The Bell, movies asking the question “What Is Reality?” and other concepts such as The Fonz’s virginity, Lloyd Dobbler’s affect on women, and how newspapers articles actually get written. It’s extremely enjoyable and contains concepts that are thought-provoking and often really funny.

The third book, Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story, is my favorite. It’s a book about Chuck traveling through America visiting places where famous musicians have died (suicide or not). These trips in themselves are not that interesting, so it’s a good thing they don’t make up the majority of the book. The book also includes the three major women in Chuck’s life: one he works with (Quincy), one a gal who he grew up with (college), and the third is a hottie in another city. The content in the books is 1/3 about the women, 1/3 about the dead rock stars, and 1/3 about the trip and his interpretation of pieces in America. Throughout the book Chuck discusses our perception of women and how we deal with them. He argues that we often find ourselves massaging situations in our heads until they are exactly how we want them to be. Often it is the concept of a woman or a dead rock star is much more powerful than the actual reality. This is an idea I can definitely relate to and this book does a fantastic job expressing it.

One metaphor for both the book and Chuck’s life that I thought was worth repeating was in the middle of the book when he’s talking about his work girlfriend (Quincy) and how she likes to listen to the rain when sleeping

The sound of the rain is putting me to sleep, but I want to stay awake and listen to it thwack against the glass. I love a rainy night; perhaps not to the extent of Eddie Rabbitt, but still. There was a time when Quincy couldn’t sleep unless she heard rain: Every night in her apartment, she would put on pajamas and slip one of those hokey “thunderstorm” CD’s into her stereo, and the fake rain would fall for hour and hours on repeat. Even when it was actually raining she would play that ridiculous thunderstorm disc. “This is crazy,” I would say. “This is like bringing a walkman into a rock concert. Let’s just listen to the rain for real.” My arguments always failed. “It’s not the same,” she would say, “The rain doesn’t sound like rain. It’s not rainy enough.” It was never rainy enough.

Amen. In my life when dealing with women, jobs, future, etc. I’m surrounded with plenty of movies, songs, magazine blurbs about how it’s supposed to be. When I actually hit the streets and take it on myself, I can’t help but relate to Quincy completely. Amen sister. You’re right. In this world, sometimes it just isn’t ever rainy enough.

Chuck comes to the same conclusion with rock stars, our memory of them and with his own life and he tells some provoking stories to make this the best of all his books so far. Then again, all three of Chuck’s books are good reads and if you’re heading out on vacation or a trip, you can’t go wrong picking any one of them up.

Loo.me

MPL's Blog

Category: Music