Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Video Tuesday

It's a doozy.  The Go Team!'s T.O.R.N.A.D.O., a new single off Rolling Blackouts, due 1/31/11.  Next is a brand new find, thanks to MEN's Blog - Light Asylum with a haunting "Shallow Tears."  Finally, the obligatory, yet worthy new video from Kid Cudi.  Represent.

New Label for Melissa Ferrick

Melissa Ferrick

Melissa Ferrick is another one of my long-time favorite artists... Glad to see she's still doin' it.

Press Release: MPRESS Records Signs Melissa Ferrick To Multi-Album Deal

New York, NY - New York City-based MPress Records has just inked a three-album deal with indie-maverick (and major label veteran) Melissa Ferrick. MPress, which internationally distributes albums by art-pop songstress Rachael Sage and award-winning songwriter Seth Glier, also produces the NEW ARRIVALS charity compilation series, and has presented artist showcases at such industry events as SXSW, CMJ & MIDEM.

(Continued... Press Release: MPRESS Records Signs Melissa Ferrick To Multi-Album Deal)

Monday, November 29, 2010

Great Vinyl Video

Song ain't bad either...

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend. I had a blast, and none of it involved a computer (as you can probably tell)...

Back to the digital grind.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Video Tuesday (belated)

Sorry, yesterday was crazy-busy... anyway - let's start off with some teen angst. First up is jj's "You Know." Next, let's bring things a little closer to home with Arcade Fire's new one from The Suburbs (Spike Jonze).  Finally, just to mix things up a bit there's a new Sufjan Stevens video, which is just "Too Much"

Joe Firstman (11/4/10)

This was another last-minute decision.  Fresh off a great dinner/show combination with Carrie Rodriguez, I wanted a similar experience at Wilbert's (again) and I was happy that Joe Firstman was there to perform.  Joe is a man's man singer songwriter, along the lines of Dan Bern or Bruce Springsteen.

We missed the the openers, Trey Lockerbie and Marianne Keith, but they were actually on tour with Joe and performing with him on stage.  Overall, I enjoyed the show and the dinner.

Joe Firstman (11/4/10)

Joe Firstman (11/4/10)

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Matt Costa (10/29/10)

So right after Carrie Rodriguez show, we raced up to the Beachland to catch Matt Costa.  I thoroughly enjoyed his last album, liked what I heard of this new one, and thought this would be a really good show.  It was...

He's worth checking out.  A mellow but mature sound, the likes you'd expect on Brushfire Records (Jack Johnson)...

Matt Costa (10/29/10)

Matt Costa (10/29/10)

eMusic Changes

I've been talking about eMusic from time to time here on my blog(s).  I think it's been a great indie music online retailer, despite changes that have happened.  I think what eMusic just went through was one of the most major changes, which was included the largest amount of major label music to date.  With that they've changed (increased) pricing, and lost some great indie labels.  This may be the straw that broke the camel's back - but then people have said that before.  Here's some more details...

As eMusic Embraces Major Labels, Its Indie Core Is Leaving | Techdirt

"As eMusic Embraces Major Labels, Its Indie Core Is Leaving from the as-if-that-wasn't-predictable dept eMusic built itself up on a reputation for being a great way to get access to all sorts of indie music. The service, which has been around for ages, and pioneered offering authorized DRM-free MP3s, worked by letting you pay a certain subscription fee per month, which allowed you to download a specific number of songs. Over the years, the price went up, which upset some users, but things really took a turn last year when the company suddenly decided that it absolutely needed the major record labels in its collection. It started with the disastrous idea of adding Sony Music tracks at the same time as a big price increase... and then quietly trying to remove features (and then more features) without telling people. It also appeared that eMusic was deleting comments from critics. While the company denied this, there was a lot of evidence to support the claim.

Since then, the company has also added music from Warner Music and (just recently) Universal Music... but it hasn't really helped. Its userbase has remained about the same, so if the new music is enticing new subscribers, they're being offset by defections. But, more importantly, it looks like some of the bigger name indie labels are pulling their music off the site, as they can't come to a reasonable agreement with eMusic.

So, if I'm reading all this correctly, it sure looks like the company did quite a deal: it signed up major labels to get music that most of its subscriber base didn't want in the first place. In doing so it took away lots of popular features and jacked up prices. Now, the service is losing the content of some of the biggest indie bands.

This seems like a case study in not knowing your own audience."

(Continued... As eMusic Embraces Major Labels, Its Indie Core Is Leaving | Techdirt)

Download Service eMusic Unveils New Pricing Model, Indie Labels Jump Ship : The Record : NPR

Get them while you can, eMusic subscribers. When it comes to a record store, what's more important, a comprehensive selection or a carefully curated assortment of options?

It's a question that patrons of the subscription download service eMusic are going to have to confront starting tomorrow. The company has never been able to compete with iTunes or Amazon for a huge share of the digital downloading pie. But it has been well curated and well regarded; a note on the company's website reads: 'eMusic recreates the benefits of the corner music store.'

Today seemed to mark a shift in eMusic's priorities. The company announced that it would be adding 250,000 tracks to its catalog, but losing the music of major indie labels Domino and Merge, and the labels under the Beggars Group umbrella, which include Matador, XL, Rough Trade and 4AD."

(Continued... Download Service eMusic Unveils New Pricing Model, Indie Labels Jump Ship : The Record : NPR)

Do I stay or do I go?

New Grog Shop Website... (& Documentary)

Congrats on the Grog Shop's new website. A nice upgrade... And while we're talkin' about them - have you seen this little documentary?

grogshopwebsite.jpg

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Machine Gun Kelly

If you haven't figured it out yet... I love Cleveland ,and anyone proud of this city is right with me.  I heard of Machine Gun Kelly a couple months ago from a free mixtape I downloaded and was impressed.  Well, today he just released another album, Lace Up.  Download it for free here:  http://tinyurl.com/28st3y6

Check out some videos below... (Great production RG Films!)

Oh, and he'll be giving away CD's tonight at Heart & Sole in Coventry from 7-9pm!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Carrie Rodriguez (10/29/10)

Nighttown is probably one of my favorite venues in Cleveland, but coincidently the one that I go to the least.  It's a favorite because of the cozy atmosphere, good food and an amazing repertoire of performances.  However, it's also a little pricey (for my budget) and I'm not as well-versed in Jazz - to really be able to take advantage of their performances.  However, when an artist comes along there that I'm excited about, and I make the commitment - then I'm *really* excited about going.  That happened with Carrie Rodriguez.  I missed her last time at the Beachland, but wasn't going to miss this performance.

We got there early, but still ended up with a side view seat.  Splurged a little on food, but worth it.

Carrie Rodriguez (10/29/10)

Carrie was a great performer.  Being a classically trained violinist from Oberlin, she was familiar with the area.  Since that time, she's "gone country" and has really embraced the folk/americana genre.  I've been hearing buzz about her lately, so this was the perfect opportunity.  Unfortunately, and unbelieveably, I don't think this was the right venue for her... well, for foot-stompin' folk music in general.  Still she sounded great and was a sweet performer.  Hopefully next time I can see her get her jam on in the Tavern.

Carrie Rodriguez (10/29/10)

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Video Tuesday

A pretty eclectic mix this week.  First off, the new Lykke Li has been tearing up the internets.  Next up is a new discovery: Bonjay, with alternate version/dancer available on their MySpace page. Finally, another Ratatat video - just as crazy as the first.

Small Black / Class Actress Tomorrow Night!

Tomorrow is one of my Spangle "Featured Events" of the month... Small Black is performing with Class Actress opening. Actually, there's another opener, but the Grog Shop website is down for renovation, so it'll be a surprise I guess. I've seen Small Black before and really enjoyed them. I think Class Actress will also be amazing, so it should definitely be worth going out in the rain on a chilly November Wednesday night - seriously.

If you need further reason, here's part of a review from their show on Monday in Chicago

Small Black Drum With Class Actress' Scott Rosenthal in Chicago - Spinner

It may have been a Monday night, but Small Black were able to win over the crowd at Chicago's Empty Bottle, inspiring them to dance as if it was the weekend. Supporting their recently released debut album, 'New Chain,' the Brooklyn quartet played a nice mix of songs from both their new album and their self-titled 2009 EP that helped cement their buzz-band status."

(Continued... Small Black Drum With Class Actress' Scott Rosenthal in Chicago - Spinner)

Finally, some sweet-ass videos.  (also check out the videos I posted on Spangle).

(via Stereogum, via Gothamist>

Monday, November 15, 2010

Tom Evanchuck - House Concert (10/21/10)

I've been hesitant to write this entry because I haven't touched the audio and video recordings that were taken at this show (there was a glitch in the capture & transfer).  But I wanted to stop clogging up the flow and just post photos for now.  More media will be coming... I have an entire HD video and audio recording of this show!!  It's a lot to process and share, but I'm very excited to do so.

In the meantime, let me just say that this was one of the best experiences in my life... I finally hosted my first house concert.  I couldn't have asked for a better outcome either - where all my expectations were exceeded.  I only opened this show up to family & friends, and ended up with about 24 people in attendance.

Tom Evanchuck was always a no-brainer for my first show and he didn't disappoint.  Working with him was a stellar experience, as was his performance...  I really just can't wait to share some video and audio.  But for now, here are some pics (including some house setup pics).  Definitely more to come on this later...

Tom Evanchuck (10/21/10)

Tom Evanchuck (10/21/10)

House Concert Setup

House Concert Setup(few more pics here)

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

AA Bondy on Laundro Matinee!

I've been anxiously awaiting new material from AA Bondy, partially because I want to see him tour again (because last time was sooo good), but mostly because I wore the last album out I liked it so much.  But I'm more than happy to settle with these 5 great recordings on Laundro Matinee - for now.  Here are my two favorite.

Watch the other 3 videos, and download all the MP3's here.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Video Tuesday

We're going to bounce around a little bit.  Starting off with The Tallest Man on Earth, who's Love is All video is a collection of gorgeous, old family vacation videos.  But from here, let's step things up a bit with the new (and quite involved) video for LCD Soundsystem's Pow Pow.  Finally, a surprise video from a surprise Digitalism release (EP), one of my favorite electronic acts.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Shazam!

An invaluable (but still free) app... for when the artist of a song just seems to elude you.

How Shazam Works To Identify (Nearly) Every Song You Throw At It

shazam01.png

There is a cool service called Shazam, which take a short sample of music, and identifies the song.  There are couple ways to use it, but one of the more convenient is to install their free app onto an iPhone.  Just hit the 'tag now' button, hold the phone's mic up to a speaker, and it will usually identify the song and provide artist information, as well as a link to purchase the album.

What is so remarkable about the service, is that it works on very obscure songs and will do so even with extraneous background noise.  I've gotten it to work sitting down in a crowded coffee shop and pizzeria.

So I was curious how it worked, and luckily there is a paper written by one of the developers explaining just that.  Of course they leave out some of the details, but the basic idea is exactly what you would expect:  it relies on fingerprinting music based on the spectrogram."

(Continued... How Shazam Works To Identify (Nearly) Every Song You Throw At It)

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Video Tuesday (Best Ever!)

I've been extremely excited about this Video Tuesday... Robyn continues to show how awesome she is with this (hot) new video for Indestructible.  MEN finally have a video out and it's better than I could have expected from them (and the bar is high).   Finally, a new band that is just rocking my socks off right now: Lovers with a live version of Peppermint.  You really need to check these guys out!!

Robyn 'Indestructible' Official Video

Robyn | Myspace Music Videos

Lovers - Peppermint

Lovers | Myspace Music Videos