Heima screening at Tower Theatre in Salt Lake City a success!

Tonight's screening of the Sigur Rós film Heima at the Tower Theatre was a huge success.

With well over 200 in attendance, the night went off very well. Everyone enjoyed the film and appreciated having the screening in Salt Lake City.

The film, as reviewed in previous posts, was amazing. We are so glad we had the opportunity to see and hear it on the big screen.

As stated in our introduction, a copy of the film was purchased with a portion of the proceeds from tonight's screening. This copy will be available for rent through Tower Theatre.

The remainder of the ticket sales will be donated to SavingIceland.org

Once again, a big thank you to Amy & the entire staff at Tower Theatre, Graywhale CD Exchange, Natalie Kuhl at XL Recordings, everyone who helped make the screening happen and, of course, Sigur Rós.

Lastly, a big thank you to everyone who attended and made the screening a success.

If you missed tonight's screening, all is not lost!

Get out and buy, or rent from Tower Theatre, the film and share it with someone!

Also, for those of you in Utah, mark June 9-14, 2008 on your calendar. We will be attempting to schedule a screening of Heima at the 2nd Annual Utah Family Film Festival.

Details to follow.

Heima screening in Salt Lake City—Confirmed!

After a few weeks of email exchanges between the label and organizers in the area, The BGLC is proud to announce that a screening of the Sigur Rós film Heima will take place next week at the Tower Theatre.

Details:

WHEN: December 4th, 7:00pm
WHERE: Tower Theatre (near corner of 9th & 9th)

Admission will be $2.00 per person.

Learn more about the film here.

For more information on the screening, contact The Tower Theatre or Graywhale Records during normal business hours.

See you there!

*UPDATE*
See a review of the event here.

Morrissey "strikes again" suing NME

On the heals of announcing new tour dates and plans for two releases in 2008, Morrissey continues to churn the promotion machine with a defamation lawsuit over construed comments in a recent NME interview.

As reported by Pitchfork, in his interview with the NME, Morrissey was asked if he would return to live in England. What followed was his view of England's lost identity as opposed to other European countries that have been able to maintain their culture and charm.

Here's the quote from the NME article:

"Although I don't have anything against people from other countries, the higher the influx into England the more the British identity disappears. So the price is enormous. If you travel to Germany, it's still absolutely Germany. If you travel to Sweden, it still has a Swedish identity.

"But travel to England and you have no idea where you are."

As this could be seen as an allegation against immigrants in the UK and a reason for not living there, there was a follow-up interview where Morrissey attempted to clarify his remarks. He further explained:

"It could be construed that the reason I wouldn't wish to live in England is the immigration explosion. And that's not true at all."

When all was said and done, the original quote made it into the article which didn't make the once pop idol turned modern-day crooner too happy. Morrissey demanded a printed apology, but didn't get it. Silly editors.

Cue the legal team!

What the hell is going on?

We've been away for a few weeks and have way too many things to post. So, here's a overview of the many things we would have posted had we been around to do so.

• Led Zeppelin release another "new" compilation and sell out tickets to a one off reunion show.

• Morrissey cancels his last date of his tour in Florida, signs a new record deal and announces new tour dates in France and the UK. A new album will be out next year.

• Radiohead confirm that they will tour in 2008

• My Bloody Valentine schedule reunion tour and release a digital EP.

• Quite Riot lead singer Kevin DuBrow was found dead in his Las Vegas apartment.

Many more things happening, including a Sigur Rós Heima screening in Salt Lake City, that will be posted soon.

Radiohead webcast shows band preparing for tour

Several youtube postings from last week's webcast are fueling the likelihood that Radiohead is close to announcing their upcoming tour.

Check out the videos below:





And our favorite from the session—a Smiths cover:

Sigur Rós release Heima

We at The BGLC have had several Memorable Music Moments over the years. Now, when we say Memorable Music Moment, we are specifically talking about the first time we listened to something knowing that it had changed us forever.

A few examples:

X - Under The Big Black Sun (1982)
Aztec Camera - High Land, Hard Rain (1983)
Cocteau Twins - Sunburst and Snowblind (1983)
The Smiths - What Difference Does It Make? (1984)
Bryan Ferry - Boys and Girls (1985)
David Sylvian - Secrets of the Beehive (1985)
Love And Rockets - Express (1985)
Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares - Volume One (1986)
All About Eve - Martha's Harbour (1988)
Low - Long Division (1995)

We can remember the first time we heard each of the above recordings. What's more, we remember details, seasons, locations, relationships and circumstances of those moments as well. If we were to play any of these albums today, we can seemingly go back in time and be (in our minds, of course) back to that place and time. Hopefully you have had this experience as well.

While a majority of music over the past decade or more has been a horrible cornucopia of suck, there has been one beam of hope that has produced several Memorable Music Moments for The BGLC over the last 7 years.

Of course we are speaking of Sigur Rós.

In October of 2000 we heard Flugufrelsarinn off of Ágætis byrjun for the first time on Nic Harcourt's Morning Becomes Eclectic.

We could not believe what we were hearing and immediately ordered the album online from their Icelandic label.

The band has built a large following over the years by opening for Radiohead, appearing on the Vanilla Sky soundtrack, picking up awards by the arm loads and dazzling audiences with their impressive live appearances.

As if the music and live performances weren't enough to fill your head with magical aural and visual bliss, Sigur Rós will up the ante this month with their first film release, Heima.

While many music critics will categorize the film simply as a "documentary", Heima is a rare opportunity to see and hear these amazing artists not only preform live, but do so shrouded by the back drop of the dramatic landscapes of Iceland.

Filmed during their travels and tour of Iceland from July 24th through August 4th of 2006, Heima captures a tour that "was free to all-comers and went largely unannounced. Playing in deserted fish factories, outsider art follies, far-flung community halls, sylvan fields, darkened caves and the hoofprint of Odin’s horse, Sleipnir (The huge horseshoe canyon at Ásbyrgi was, according to legend, formed by the hoofprint of this mythical beast), the band reached an entirely new spectrum of the Icelandic population; young and old, ardent and merely quizzical, entirely by word-of-mouth."

Falling somewhere between the visual beauty of Ron Fricke's Baraka and the captured magic of Dead Can Dance in Toward the Within, Heima gives the viewer a look into a band (and a nation) that is widely misunderstood and have yet to receive their proper respect.

One could argue as well that the Icelandic Tourist Board should be paying royalties to the band for the future boost in visitors that will soon be landing in Reykjavik entirely due to this film.

If you haven't heard of Sigur Rós, this is the perfect opportunity to familiarize yourself with your next favorite band. If you have heard of them, then make sure that you get out and buy this film to share it with someone—and create your own Memorable Music Moment.

The film, Heima will be released on DVD on November 20 in the US. In addition to the film, a double CD, of studio versions of previously unreleased songs and acoustic studio versions of songs already released, titled Hvarf-Heim will be available on November 6.

Heima trailer

Radiohead's In Rainbows - Live

Well, its been a few weeks since Radiohead stunned us all with the "pay what you want" release of In Rainbows. If you are like us, you've been playing it quite frequently. Maybe too frequently?

To give the album tracks a fresh feel, maybe you'd like to hear them played live?

Thanks to The Rawking Refuses To Stop, you have the opportunity to do just that.

The fine folks at the Los Angeles-based MP3 and pop culture blog have collected live versions of the songs featured on In Rainbows and the soon to be released bonus disc in one zip file (see blog post for Oct 2, 2007).

If downloading a live version of In Rainbows makes you feel naughty, you can always go back to the official site and pay a fee directly to the artist to ease your troubled conscience.

Kristeen Young dismissed from Morrissey tour

Let this be a lesson to everyone . . .

When Morrissey is on tour, make sure you check www.morrissey-solo.com EVERYDAY!

Kristeen Young, who has been opening for Morrissey for most of the shows supporting Ringleader of the Tormentors, has confirmed on morrissey-solo that she has been asked to leave the Morrissey tour.

During Tuesday's show in New York, Ms. Young made a statement (or series of statements) insinuating that she and Morrissey had engaged in sexually explicit acts. While it is assumed that she made these comments in a joking manner, with his family members reportedly in attendance, Morrissey was, as it turns out, not amused.

Here is her entire email statement as posted on morrissey-solo.com:

My band, KRISTEENYOUNG, have been asked to leave the Morrissey tour. Although I have been advised not to respond or issue a statement, my feelings are that I must. We have been asked to leave because of something I said on stage at The Hammerstein Ballroom, in New York City, this past Tuesday night. Unfortunately, the statement has been perceived as being profane (when, actually, one of the two words in question is a scientific term found in junior high, health class text books, and the other word, I feel most would agree, is lightweight slang) or defamatory. What I said was part of a thread of stage statements I made throughout our set. They were metaphorical and overstated to make an artistic point. The “offending” statement, in particular, was in no way a literal statement, and was very much in keeping with the tone of my writing in general. I reach for beauty and intelligence in my lyrics, but try to retain a bit of the everyday in them. Maybe the statement was a bit TOO everyday. Maybe I misjudged… but I meant no harm. I love Morrissey with all of my heart, soul, body, spirit, to the core of my existence and always will. These will be the only words I will ever write or speak on the subject ever again. Please don’t ask for an interview or e-mail me with questions.

-Kristeen
Friday, October 26, 2007=

For more information on what she said, you can go here. (Rated R for content)

Girl in a Coma will be opening the remainder of the tour dates.

For the record, we at TheBGLC actually enjoyed Kristeen Young's performance at the Morrissey show attended earlier this month. We found her to be less like the Dresden Dolls (as they were described to use before the show) and more like Kate Bush with a little more attitude—and an affinity for the "language of sailors" . . . apparently.

Hopefully her departure does not mark the end of her relationship with Morrissey's producer Tony Visconti.

More importantly, hopefully her departure does not mark the end of Morrissey's relationship with Tony Visconti.

Billy Bragg gets some long overdue respect

Long time punk/folk/social issue artist Billy Bragg was awarded the 2007 Classic Songwriter award this month at Britain’s biggest and most respected music event, the Q Awards.

As reported on the superb music blog, Parasites and Sycophants,
Bragg attended a gala performance at the Royal Festival Hall in London. The Queen was there to preside over the re-opening of the newly refurbished arts center, and the evening culminated in what is essentially collaboration between Bragg and Beethoven: a performance of the fourth movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, replete with lyrics penned by Bragg, written to commemorate the re-opening. The Queen loved the performance so much so that she requested a signed copy of the score from Bragg, who was happy to oblige.

With the respect of many fellow musicians (see Johnny Marr, R.E.M., Michelle Shocked, Wilco, etc.) its nice to see him get some recognition from the general public AND royalty.

On a side note, check out Parasites and Sycophants. The BGLC will be keeping an eye on them as a trusted source for excellent music reviews. Cheers!

Johnny Marr now "officially schools" the next generation

As reported by Pitchfork, Johnny Marr has been named Visiting Professor at the University of Salford in Manchester. According to the University website, Professor Marr "will be delivering a series of workshops and masterclasses to students on the BA (Hons) Popular Music and Recording degree at Salford."

This won't be the first time Johnny Marr has "taught" pop music hopefuls how its done. Without a doubt, he is one of the most influential musicians of our time.

It's safe to say that we predict a surge in incoming student applications will be starting right about . . . now.

M.I.A. comin' back with power, power—with Kala!

The first time we saw and heard M.I.A. was on the now defunct MTV program Subterranean in March of '05. At first, we were more intrigued then impressed.

As popular music artists go, her background is fairly unique.

The daughter of a Tamil militant, M.I.A. (real name, Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam) spent the first part of her life on the move. At 6 months, her family left London for Sri Lanka. As her father became more political and then militant in supporting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), M.I.A. and her family moved to India, then back to Sri Lanka, then moved again to India on their way back to London where she and her family were processed and housed as refugees.

With those kind of experiences in her past, especially during the impressionable years, it's no wonder where the political and social economic topics come from in the music of M.I.A.

Obviously, M.I.A. is not the first artist to expose sensitive topics through lyrics. However, her presentation and final product is nothing like we've seen before.

With her first proper release Arular in 2005, M.I.A. broke into the mainstream/alternative music scene with decent backing from Beggars Banquet's XL Recordings. Already established within the club circuit, M.I.A. reached commercial success status within weeks of her debut release. The album was a hit on an international scale and M.I.A. found herself on the Mercury Music Prize shortlist, opening for Gwen Stefani, making several American television appearances and on "Best of 2005" lists everywhere.

This past August, M.I.A. has reemerged. Her throat grabbing sophomore release, Kala, starts off with three tracks that grab you and just won't let go.

Bamboo Banga is a smooth track that sneaks up on you. It builds into an announcement for all listeners with the repeating lines, "I'm big timer, it's a Bamboo Banga" and, "M.I.A. comin' back with power!" over a solidifying beat and a Bollywood music sample. If there was any doubt about her ability to deliver, M.I.A. answers the critics nicely.

If you have the bass up and volume at full, be prepared. Bird Flu starts and sustains a level of tribal beat and ear candy that will have you hitting repeat as soon as its over. You're going to flip for her intertwining of rhythm, chant and samples of the "caws" of birds. It's freakishly intoxicating.

The last of this opening trifecta is Boyz. It's layer over layer of catchy sounds and beats highly influenced from her time in Sri Lanka and the sounds of Afro-Jamaician culture.

There are 9 other tracks on this album including one with an appearance from rapper Timbaland. Some of stand out tracks are: Jimmy (the second single and cover of "Jimmy Jimmy Aaja" from the Bollywood film Disco Dancer), Hussel, $20, XR2 (a song with similar elements to Arular's Bucky Done Gun in parts) and Paper Planes (which has the best use of gun and cash register samples to date).

Kala is one of those albums that can cross genre's and borders with ease. If you like rap—you'll like it (for the record, we aren't rap fans at The BGLC but we do love this album). If you like electronic, drum and bass or dancehall—we're preaching to the choir on this. International listeners will like it for it's world music bounty of flavors. Whether you are in these groups or not, if you give this album an honest listen, you'll be smitten as well.

Again, this isn't an average purchase for The BGLC, but without a doubt it's earned a spot on our "Top 10 Albums of 2007".

Birthday Tribute

This day in music history:

• The Beatles recorded "I Want to Hold Your Hand" (1963), and finished guitar and vocal parts for their single ‘Hello Goodbye’ at Abbey Road studios. (1967)

• The soundtrack to The Sound Of Music was at No.1 on the UK album chart, spending its 132 week on the chart. The Beatles were at No.2 with 'Sgt Pepper's' and Scott Walker was at No.3 with 'Scott.' The Soundtrack to Dr. Zhivago, The Best of The Beach Boys volumes 1 & 2, 'Hipsters, Flipsters, Finger-Poppin' Daddies' by Geno Washington and Engelbert Humperdinck's 'Release Me' rounded out the rest of the top 10. (1967)

• "I Second That Emotion" by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles was released by Tamla-Motown. (1967)

• Elvis Presley's single "A Little Less Conversation" hit No. 69 in the U.S. (1968)

• Prince's second album "Prince" was released. (1979)

• The song "Take On Me" by A-Ha (the first band from Norway to reach No. 1 in the US) topped the Billboard Pop charts and stayed there for a week. (1985)

• Roxette releases "Roxette Look Sharp!" album (1988)

More importantly, 40 years ago on this day, a highly influential friend to The Bruce Grobbelaar Leisure Centre was born.

In 1967 The Boston Red Sox were, coincidentally, in the race, the 100th episode of Batman aired on ABC, and "Disco Diamond Dave the Rave" made his debut appearance.

He shares this day of birth with these other notable (and not so notable) folks in music history:

1944 - Peter Tosh, rocker
1945 - Keith Reid, rocker (Procol Harum)
1945 - Patrick Simmons, rocker (Doobie Brothers)
1947 - Wilbert Hart, US singer (Four Gents, Delfonics-Didn't I)
1948 - Chester Biscardi, composer
1956 - Nino DeFranco, rocker (DeFranco Family)
1957 - Karl Wallingher, Prestatyn Wales, rocker (The Waterboys & World Party)
1958 - Antoine Trousers, rock drummer/singer (Dike-Bleeding Heart)
1960 - Dan "Woody" Woodgate, London, rock drummer (Madness)

And (because he digs South Park)

1969 - Trey Parker

Were it not for our friend "DDDtheR", The BGLC would not have been possible. "DDDtheR" has educated, debated, introduced and critiqued us on literally thousands of bands and has shared in many great memories. With "DDDtheR" we've experienced dozens of music related events; some of which were historical:

• The Smiths (first west coast appearance in 85 and last west coast appearance in 86)
• X (original lineup)
• The Mission (infamous LA cancelled show and make up show the following night; AND, the night Billy Duffy made a guest appearance.)
• The Sugarcubes (first LA appearance)
• The Pretenders (sneaking into sound check; he and Kevin meeting Chrissie; AND seeing them open for U2 with Johnny Marr on guitar)
• The Beat Farmers (at the pinnacle of their carrier)
• The Alarm (great live show on our most memorable "Thanksgiving")
• Frankie Goes to Hollywood (they were incredible—for the time—but seem pretty gay today)
• Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (how many times did we see them?)
• Tears for Fears (the BGLC's first and only show "hook-up")
• Brendan Perry (a great night just hanging out)

So on this day, October 19, 2007, we salute "DDDtheR" and wish him a hearty birthday, CHEERS!

NPR's Luke Burbank takes himself way too seriously

While in New York for a screening of their stupidly beautiful '06 Iceland tour documentary/concert film Heima, Sigur Rós were interviewed on an NPR show.

Although they claim that they, "love the band Sigur Ros" in their post, its clear that The Bryant Park Project are occasional listeners at best.

All involved probably "love" U2, Sting, Enya, Kanye West, Madonna and the collective hodge podge of mindless crap out there as well.

In the video, its pretty clear that the band didn't want to be there. However, its also clear from the show's post that everyone handling them wanted them there.

The interview consisted of the band giving short answers and sitting silently for long periods of time.

Now, Luke Burbank is riding this for as long as he can. The show posted the video of the interview. After a swell of feedback from bloggers and fans, The Bryant Park Project then posted another video of Burbank and Jancee Dunn watching and critiquing the original interview video.

If Burbank and everyone involved with this show cared more about the music than their mechanical need to create "music news" the interview would have gone dramatically different.

Oh, you want proof? Try this or this.
(I believe that's the band talking . . . there goes the "They just didn't understand the questions" hypothesis.)

The difference between Nic Harcourt and these NPR fools is, again, their intent.

It's an embarrassment that The Bryant Park Project is trying to "understand" why this went badly. And how obtuse to think it's the bands fault.

The truly sad point in all of this is The Bryant Park Project's failure to appreciate the opportunity that they had. Time will show that Sigur Rós are one of the most important group of artists during this century. And, it won't be because of their ability to chart a course through the business of music. It'll be on the basis of their music alone.

UPDATE: You caught us! We're not even occasional listeners/readers of The Bryant Park Project. We've updated the names to reflect this correction. However, the anonymous coward comment has been removed for obscenities (Honestly, you kiss your mother with that mouth?).

Morrissey

When we first found out that Morrissey would be playing at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, UT (approximately 30 miles south of Salt Lake City) we knew this would be a rare opportunity to see a musical icon. To date, we had never been to a Morrissey show (beside the Zephyr show in '02—which was probably the best Morrissey show we've attended) in a venue that held less than a few thousand people.

Thankfully, we weren't disappointed. Morrissey was in rare form.

We were concerned that with a smaller crowd and not selling out the venue, we could be in for a short set. We've had the short sets at Morrissey shows before. The Poly Pavilion show in '91 was a nightmare at less than 25 minutes (but that crowd was insane!). Anticipation for a longer set was high as had been the case in the Los Angeles dates over the 8 days in Los Angeles. However, after the opening act (which was much better than expected) we started having doubts about the length of the show as the crowd SUCKED!

To start, although we had front row seats, we decided to sit back a few rows because several individuals had conveniently "opened up shop" in front of our seats. Additionally, during the intermission video where there was no sound, the place was completely silent. We mean—like uncomfortably, why are these people even here—silent. While valiant attempts were made to get the crowd to at least talk, most people there just quietly waited for the show to start.

This would have been THE night for live recordings (if you have one, drop us a line).

When the curtain dropped most people moved to better positions and waited for Morrissey and the band to take the stage. Surprisingly, the crowd picked up during the show and thankfully, Morrissey and company played a full set.

Most of the songs nearly matched the first night's set played at the Palladium including the same encore. With four other songs played on different nights in Los Angeles, the Utah set was as follows (as written on the printed set list):

stp me if ?
2morrer
s i'm a p
london
loop
ripper
why don't you f ?
stretch
i like you
crashing b's
all you need is
billy b
disco dancer
lemme kiss
paris
one day goodbye
shirtlifters
killed me
gawd
hsin ?
first

Unlike most of the shows that we've seen, Morrissey was VERY conversational. Not only did he talk between every song, but he also turned the mic over to people several times during the night for statements and comments. He briefly spoke with an 8-year-old boy who was up front (did we mention that this audience was very well behaved?) and at one point gave Morrissey a shirt?!?

Another fan apparently had a "It's my birthday today" t-shirt on. Morrissey asked,"How old are you today?" (inaudible answer) "26? That's a serious age. It's all down hill from here."

Morrissey made comments about Rolling Stone magazine, the end of Tony Blair's time as Prime Minister and (of course) the end of George Bush's term next year—stating, "Next year the monster (or possibly munchkin) will be gone. And believe me, if you travel, believe me, the whole world—not just utah—the whole world will be relieved."

Our favorite quote from the night however was between Jack the Ripper and Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself when he said, "I've been banned in 12 states . . . for cruelty to humans." Oh, Morrissey.

Of course there were audience members young and younger that made the pilgrimage to the stage that-oh, so-many before them have attempted. A few were successful with little or no "wackyness". And, there were those that got a little dose of reality from the lurching security squad as well.

Overall, the show was great. While at times it felt a little like watching Morrissey play a show in a high school gym, the quality of the band was light years beyond any band that would be playing in a high school gym.

Whether this may or may not be his last tour for awhile (or for good) make every attempt to see one of the remaining dates. Not only will you see a true master at work, you'll be witness to a musical legend that will not be soon forgotten.

Click here for pictures of the event.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT: a high held "cheers" go out to the trio from the SF Valley! They made the trip up, watched the show, and turned right around to drive the 9 1/2 hours back to be at work in the morning. Only Morrissey fans are this devout.

Has CNN been checking into The Bruce Grobbelaar Leisure Centre?

Three days after our post entitled The RIAA, Jammie Thomas & Radiohead, CNN (yeah, the news agency) posted this article in their "entertainment" section.

Entitled "Are record labels dead?", the article touches on a few items that seem almost TOO coincidental to the points made in our posting.

We're not claiming that we are the only people out there writing on how record labels are evil or how bands like Radiohead can put them in the poor house, but this article has got us thinking that we need to do some mulling over our Analytics a little more closely.

Portishead upcoming release in final mixdown

From Geoff Barrow on the Portishead blog:
"as to the new album , we met the label the other day which was good , i dont think we scared them too much..well mabey a little. going to london to have a listen in a proper studio soon but until then were just mixing the stumps ,stems.whatever. ---------thinking about names ---------films looking really good"

Meeting with the label reps, thinking of names and having a "proper" listen all adds up to . . . wait a minute—did he say something about a film? Holy Crap!

If there's some sort of film to go along with this album, we think we'd be willing to overlook the fact that we've been "Portishead-less" for the last decade. Maybe.

Until then, fingers crossed for an early 2008 release date. Stay tuned.

In Rainbows: Worth it's weight in Platinum!

According to Pitchfork, Radiohead's In Rainbows had over 1.2 Million downloads on it's first day of release. While actual sales figures have yet to be released (if they'll be released at all) we feel its safe to say that they have a hit CD on their hands . . . again.

A full review of the album is currently in the works. Until then, we can let you know that the album "Kicks A"!

If you haven't gotten it yet, stop reading this and go here and get on it—Chop Chop!

All hail Pitchfork!

There are a lot of items and topics that we at The BGL centre intend on discussing in the future: Favorite albums, favorite live shows, how we were introduced to a song/artist, where our blog name comes from, opinions, reviews and news.
Basically—we intend on discussing everything music.

If its not clear as of yet, this is a music based blog.

Today, we want to pay hommage to the best music news site on the internet: Pitchfork.

They are, without question, THE source for music news, reviews and interviews online (and offline too).

TOP 5 REASONS WHY PITCHFORK RULES:

5. They are fast! Not sure how everything is set up, but they get the word out almost as it happens.

4. They know their stuff. Seriously—it doesn't matter the genre, they seem "un-stumpable".

3. They are witty. Everything always comes together really well and usually comes with a giggle or two.

2. They cut to the chase. Never any fillers; it's all meat.

1. They always have access to the right people when it matters most.
Example: On the day of the most talked about album release of the year, they offer up info on an interview with Jonny Greenwood about In Rainbows . . . that happened today.

So, here's to you Pitchfork! Because you continue to rock, we salute you.
(Yeah, okay. We'll keep working on our summary statements.)

www.pitchforkmedia.com

The RIAA, Jammie Thomas & Radiohead

Last week The Recording Industry Association of America (or RIAA) won a "key victory" in its fight against copyrighted song sharing.
Jammie Thomas, a 30-yr-old Brainnard, Minnesota mother of 2, was ordered to pay $222,000 ($9,250 for each of the 24 songs focused on in the case) in damages to the six record companies named in the suit.
The suit claimed Thomas had broken copyright laws by sharing music on the peer-to-peer site Kazaa.

We were a little surprised as we read more about this decision. Could you imagine being in this woman's place? What really got our goat was this quote from Richard Gabriel, the lead attorney for the music companies.

"This does send a message, I hope, that downloading and distributing our recordings is not OK."

Let's read that again.

"This does send a message, I hope, that downloading and distributing our recordings is not OK."

First off; "our recordings"?
We're sorry Dick, we weren't aware that your clients actually MADE the music your suing over . . . Oh, wait. Oh, we see what you mean. THEY OWN the music. Sorry; our mistake. We just assumed that when you said "our recordings" that you meant that they were the actual recordings made by the people you represent and . . . yeah—our fault . . . we just . . . you know . . . I mean, you did say "our recordings".

So, Mr. Gabriel, you feel it's "OK" to go after single individuals and pursue fines that probably equal 5-8 years of income for said individual? What kind of message does that send?

We'll get to "sending messages" in just a minute.

Now, we're not saying that Jammie Thomas is innocent. We suppose it's possible that her network connection could have been hacked. But that's not really the point.

This is the point: THE RIAA IS WRONG.

We know we live in a capitalist environment, but the music industry has had it wrong for so long that they are blinded by their own greed. They don't even recognize it.

They don't care about the artists!
They don't care about the music!
And if there was any doubt—this case surely proves that they don't care about their customers!

The RIAA has been sticking it to us for decades.

First, the artist.
It used to be a symbiotic relationship. The artist got the promotion that came with the elusive record contract; the record company got the money that came with promoting their label roster. Along the way, it started becoming a numbers game for the labels. The more bands signed, the more money coming in. But that wasn't enough for them. The labels started self-imposed "requirements" for bands. If they wanted the contract, then they had to agree to the labels terms (which could include everything from "sharing" publishing rights, reaching sales quotas in the labels favor before the artist is paid—which if the album doesn't sell leaves the artist with debt for everything, i.e. no risk to the label, and a ton of other possible bull crap). The industry has created an environment of insanity where if a release doesn't go gold, it MUST be a crappy album. So, does that sound like a group of people more interested in helping the artist or in filling their overstuffed pockets?

Next, the music.
We can barely type this because thinking about it makes us ill. Have you listened to music today? Now, obviously, we're talking about the kind of music that the RIAA is so worried about protecting . . . you know—the money makers. With VERY FEW exceptions, it's an embarrassment. The industry isn't concerned with craft. It's all about what sells. And they've taken care of that too. They make the decision for you. "What do you mean?" you might be thinking. It's simple. They buy off the the radio stations. It doesn't help that nearly all commercial radio is owned by a handful of large corporate entities. It just makes it easier to keep it organized for the labels. If a radio station wants to be the first to receive the next "hot" release then they agree to play that title and other artists that the label says they will play. If a promoter or station wants a band to play their market on their next tour, then they better make sure that album sales are up or their city will be skipped. The label decides what is played thereby influencing a buyer's listening choice and habits.
Then there's television. If you've seen 10 minutes of any season of American Idol, it's easy to see what a majority of people consider "music". It's just ridiculous.

Lastly, the customer.
Whether it's the price of CDs, digital rights managed files on iTunes or taking people to court—the record industry hates their customers. If the record companies would have dropped the price of CDs 15 years ago, they could have bypassed, or at least stalled, the peer-to-peer music sharing that has put them in panic mode. People started sharing music online because the technology was available to make it happen and because people were tired of paying $16.99 (before tax) for a CD from the Sam Goody at their local mall (see, The Musicland Group files for chapter 11 for a look at your future, RIAA). CD prices are grossly inflated. There is no reason, other than greed, to sell a top 100 CD for more than $10. CDs should be priced in the $5-$7 range overall. We understand that there are soft costs: recording, promoting, management, design and operational fees. However, add those to the hard costs of several grams of polycarbonate plastic and paper and they're still covering everything at $5 a pop.
Then, there's iTunes. A great idea from Apple that is totally stymied by the record companies. You get to preview music and then buy it from the comfort of your computer! It sounded great until you found out that the record companies have required Apple to "lock" the file to certain restricted use. You couldn't just copy the file from your desktop to your laptop. You could only burn that file a certain number of times. And, if you were on a network, you could "share" your playlist with your co-workers, but they couldn't listen to those files unless you "authorized" their computer as well. Yeah, that sounds like something we want to buy.

And now they want to take individual people to court.

Well, things are about to change.

Tomorrow is October 10, 2007. This is the day that Radiohead, one of the biggest names in music today, is releasing In Rainbows, their 7th album. The thing that makes this release different from their past multi-platinum albums is that they are releasing it without a label. That's right—this album is completely funded by the band.

But wait, there's more!

It's also only available through their own website. That's right, no iTunes or any RIAA controlled entity is involved.

But wait! That's not all!

Wait for it . . . wait for it . . .

"How much is this album?"
YOU, THE CUSTOMER, DECIDE.
How unbelievable is that?!
You read that correctly. You simply go to the site, put in the amount that you WANT to pay and the album is then available to you via digital download. If you choose, you can also buy the "DiscBox" set that includes another disc, vinyl versions of the album, and some other items that will be available in December but it does include the digital download now.


So, here is our proposal.

It didn't take long for genuine music fans to put together a donation site for Jammie Thomas. As of writing this, she's gotten over 4K in just over 3 days. Go to her site and give her a buck or two to help her appeal or pay for the fine that has been disgustingly imposed on her.
Come on—you know you've downloaded a song before without paying for it. If everyone who has done the same gives her a dollar, she'll have plenty to pay for her own case and help the next poor sucker out there that's on the RIAA's list.

Next, go to this site and buy the new Radiohead. Not only is it a great deal, but all the money is going where it belongs: to the artists.

You remember how the RIAA's head lawyer talked about "messages"? How's this for a message—

To the Collective RIAA,
When all of your "big named" artists that you've created and supported start to realize that they can take the money they got from you, and release their next CD on their own—you no longer will serve a purpose or have relevance in the future of music.

That sounds "OK" to us.

The Perishers: Victorious

We've been trying to write a review for the latest Perishers' release for some time now. For some reason, we keep going in circles and we just can't get it right.

So, before another week passes by, here's the skinny:

The new Nettwerk Records' release is titled Victorious. The 13 track album logs in just under 44 minutes.

If you like the previous two Perishers' releases, you'll like this album.

If you only know The Perishers through their last release, you may be disappointed. Victorious is good, but not as good as Let There Be Morning.

If you've never heard The Perishers before, go out and buy the previously mentioned recordings plus their first release, From Nothing To One.

If we had to rate this album compared to the current Billboard 200, there is no question that this is a 5 star album. If we had to rate this album compared to their previous releases, it's a solid 3.5 stars.

www.theperishersmusic.com

"Smashing" Pumpkins—and concert goers

As reported by The Vancouver Sun and Pitchfork, a 20-year-old man from British Columbia died Monday, September 24 at the Smashing Pumpkins show in Vancouver.

What the crap?!

What's worse—this isn't the first time a fan has died at a Pumpkins show. In May of 1996, a 17-year-old girl from Shanagarry, County Cork was crushed to death at a Smashing Pumpkins concert at the Point Theatre in Dublin. It's reported that on recordings of this show you can hear lead singer, Billy Corgan, trying to calm the rampaging crowd.

Rampaging crowd? Oh, wait . . . it was 1996.

People, Seriously. Are you really that "into" Smashing Pumpkins in 2007 that you'd work yourselves into such a lather that you'd forget all reason and put your life in jeopardy? Much like another 90s star that won't take a hint, Billy Corgan isn't doing anyone any favors by continuing his quest for another multi-platinum recording.

In their day (which ended just before Pisces Iscariot) the Pumpkins were on top of the alternative music world. But with the release of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness in 1995, they, and by they we mean Billy Corgan, started taking themselves way too seriously. Everything since has been an attempt at what they once were.

But, we digress.

While we are saddened that someone would lose their life while trying to have a good time at a musical event, it's almost as troubling that in 2007 a 20-year-old (do the math) would find a Smashing Pumpkins show interesting.

Now if he died during The Bravery's set—we totally get it.

They Might Be Giants . . . someday

Due to good fortune, we were able to secure tickets to a free, corporate sponsored show for They Might Be Giants. While the headlining act was good, the most impressive part of the night was the opening band: Oppenheimer.

The duo consisting of Rocky O'Reilly & Shaun Robinson, both hailing from Belfast, Northern Ireland, brought an honest energy to the night that, frankly, wasn't matched at any other point for the duration of the evening.

When they took the stage, there was a sense of something . . . amiss. We weren't sure if they were stage hands or groupies who had found their way onto the stage. One looked like a 15 yr old, video game playing, husky, Jack White; the other, a dead ringer for a young, shorn headed, Dana Carvey. We didn't know what to expect.

A quick introduction and they broke into the first song. Immediately the atmosphere changed. It was a welcomed surprise to here the clear and tight sound of some seasoned musicians. Just as things got hot—Rocky's guitar strap broke. He was able to kneel on the stage and finish up the song while playing it upright like a stand up bass. The great thing was, they were both all smiles.

While Rocky prepared his backup guitar, Shaun, the lead vocal/drummer, told the tale of their last minute arrival and of all the days events that lead to their moment on stage.

A failed transmission in the tour van, backed up traffic and getting lost on the way to the venue all lead up to a mad dash to show time.

With that kind of a day, most opening acts would just want to get the set over with and behind them. This night, however, proved to be a great show. They handled the situation like real pros.

The crowd was with them and pretty charged up. The deeper the band got into the set, the more the crowd responded. Although a little more mayhem ensued (see blog excerpt below), you could tell that everyone, band included, was having a great time.

From Rocky O'Reilly's blog:
"He thinks the transmission is destroyed we were going up hills at approx 11 mph.
we thought we weren't going to make it.
I think it was bad fuel, that made gerry's anger blossom somewhat.

Long, swear-filled, story short - we make it to the venue (after traffic is backed up due to an accident - and we get lost!) one minute after doors open.
The Giants people - who are all amazing and have been so nice every night are there to help load our gear in and get set up and plugged in.

I cant believe we made it.
My guitar fell to pieces in the first song - need to re screw the strap into it tomorrow.
I hit myself in the face with the 2nd guitar,
but apart from all those things, we had a great day!!! "
Oppenheimer has all the right things going for them: Solid showmanship, Irish accents, and a stylized mix between Mixel Pixel, The Postal Service & Zapp's Roger Troutman—minus the funk. The fact that Shaun made reference to "Twin Peaks" only puts them that much higher on our list.

You can never go wrong with a TMBG show. They've got a formula that has kept people's attention well into the last three decades. This time, however, get to the show early. Oppenheimer is opening each date through November 24th.
www.oppenheimermusic.co.uk/

www.myspace.com/oppenheimer

An Open Letter to Eddie Vedder

Dear Mr. Vedder,

We'd like to preface this by saying, we think you are an amazing artist. Undoubtedly, you have reached the heights of stardom so many struggling artists can only dream of attaining. Dare we say, you are a legend.

With that said . . . please stop releasing albums.

It's not you, it's us—you just don't do "it" for us anymore.

Take for instance your recent release, Into the Wild (Music for the Motion Picture): The coming of age story where a college grad pawns everything to go it alone in the Alaskan wilderness. It's earthy; you're earthy. Sean Penn directed it; you're liberal too. The main character, Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch) wears flannel—you see where we're goin' with this.

So sure, you liked the story. But, did you have to make the soundtrack? No. Do you know why you didn't have to make the soundtrack? Because you've made this same soundtrack/CD in double digits, dude?! You're voice and style is so stereotypical you, you could have stopped recording 10 years ago and we wouldn't have noticed.

And now, frankly, you're just starting to piss us off.

Again, you have your spot in musical history. There's no denying that. But you need to find that sweet spot between the actions of Kurt Cobain and the endless rehash that is the career of Mick Jagger.

Take a break. Disappear. Go have some fun with your life. You deserve it.

If you must record something in the next 15-20 years, then do some more stuff like the Neil Finn & Friends album. That was totally unexpected and actually peaked our interest in you. However, if Neil Young comes calling, don't even think about it, dude.

In 15-20 years this is what you do:
1. You get the band back together
2. You record no more than 2-3 new songs to "get the word out" that you're back (We know you'll have to use some restraint based on your current proliferation)
3. Release a standard and deluxe version of a greatest hits including the new songs
4. Book a world wide tour. Play nothing seating less than 20,000
5. When you have about 4 weeks left of the tour, cancel the last 4-6 dates citing "exhaustion"
6. After 2-3 months of constant speculative health news reports, announce that you'll be rescheduling the canceled shows AND will be adding an additional 12 months of dates

If you follow this formula, we promise that you will make more money in those 18-24 months then you would if you were to release an album every year leading up to this proposed scenario. And your legacy will go forward shining brightly.

In summary, you are a good guy. You've got talent. But you're starting to turn into a Wurlitzer full of the same 45.

You can keep putting out stuff that sounds like the stuff you've already put out, or you can wait until folks really start pining for the music of their youth and bring you back to the success you once had. We prefer the latter.

It's your choice.

Sincerely,
The BGL centre

Morrissey Starts Fall Tour

Felt it appropriate to start with some Smiths related news for the first official post.
Tonight in Tijuana, Mexico, Morrissey kicked off a pretty ambitious tour with a very impressive set.

Intro: Jerusalem
Billy Budd
London
You Have Killed Me
All You Need Is Me
Stop Me If You Think You Heard This One Before
In the Future When All Is Well
National Front Disco
Stretch Out and Wait
Why Don’t You Find Out For Yourself
I'm Putting My Arms Around Paris
Let Me Kiss You
NEW SONG!!! …. Goodbye, Farewell ?????
Death of a Disco Dancer
Disappointed
I Just Want to See the Boy Happy
A Boy With A Thorn In His Side
Everyday Is Like Sunday
Life Is a Pigsty
How Soon Is Now

Encore
First of the Gang
Irish Blood

It's exciting to hear that he's including more Smiths tracks to his set list. Just hope that his voice can make it through the Palladium dates.