sonic slang

Label Tries to Ride Rick-Rolling Wave

OK, we all know the music industry is in the crapper, but this is too funny: Rick Astley's label has elected to move up the release of the 80s star's hits collection by two weeks, in hopes of riding the Rick-Rolling phenomenon to some extra sales. 

It seems that nobody bothered to clue these guys in on the shelf live for viral web "phenomenons."   April 28 is a looong way out, in Internet time.  But hey, at least somebody figured out a way to keep this thing on the blogger radar.  Check out Astley's Muppet doppleganger strutting his stuff after the jump.

Jay-Z Signs Deal with Live Nation

Looks like Live Nation hit the motherload this time.  After already securing multi-year deals with industry juggernauts like Madonna and U2, the concert promotions giant has reportedly signed Jay-Z to a $150 million deal.

Not that the dude is hard up for cash, but if Mr. Carter ever wanted to splurge on a rock for that alleged wedding, now is definitely the time.

via Time:

"Live Nation is expected to furnish Jay-Z, born Shawn Carter, with $5 million in seed money annually for his own label, publishing arm and management company, with significantly more funds available for future acquisitions and expansion. He will also receive a $25 million upfront payment and $10 million per album for a minimum of three albums over the next decade."

MySpace Helps 90's Punkers Pennywise Go "Gold"

Does anybody still use MySpace?  Does anyone still listen to Pennywise?  Hell, do you youngsters that use MySpace even know who Pennywise is??  Well it appears that half a million of you were excited enough about the band's new disc, Reason to Believe, (or sponsor Textango, who required your "friendship" as part of the deal) to download it for free. So Pennywise is now "outselling" The Black Crowes.  Ahhh the Internet. 

Matador Drops Free Music Sampler

The generous folks at Matador have just released their Intended Play music sampler as a free digital download.  Cat Power, The New Pornographers, Mission of Burma and Stephen Malkmus are among the artists represented, so get over there before excited bloggers like us crash their servers.

Check out the full track list after the jump.

Check Out the New SS Playlist

We've launched a new feature today, courtesy of the cool kids over at Last.fm.  Check out the right-hand column and you'll find a handy-dandy music player pre-loaded with a some of our favorite tunes currently rockin' the SS jukebox.  There's a mix of 30-second clips and full-track streams, making it an easy way to get a quick peek at the bands we've had on the brain lately.  Then if you wanna find out more, just hit up the search box underneath.  Enjoy, and check back soon for updates...

Stereogum to Launch Video-Focused Spin-Off

Stereogum, now one of the granddaddies of of music blogging at the ripe old age of six, will spawn a video-themed sister blog this spring called, natch, Videogum.

In an interview with The Observer, editor-in-chief Scott Lapatine explained that the new site will bring Stereogum back to its roots, as it will encompass all aspects of pop culture, and the television, movies, web shorts, and video games that love them.

Videogum will be helmed by two familiar faces in the blogger scene, Lindsay Robertson (of Lindsayism.com, ComedyCentral.com, MTV.com, and the old Jane Magazine blog) and Gabe Delahaye (of corporate-casual.com and 236.com), who will serve as co-senior editors. 

TVT Records to File Chapter 11

OK, all together now - Wwwhat?!  New Yorks' TVT records, home to  Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz, Pitbull, Ying Yang Twins, The Polyphonic Spree and others, has axed the majority of its staff and is expected to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week.

Bust out your pimp cup and pour a tall glass of crunk juice.  A toast to TVT Records, the label that helped Jonathan Smith turn three words into a career.  Yeeaaah!

Grammy Hangover

A few observations from the most important and relevant music awards after the Shortlist, Indies, Junos, MTV Awards, Brits, Billboards, Blockbusters and the SS Best of 2008:

1. Man...Amy Winehouse really is talented.  It would really be cool if she didn't die, but if she does, expect the movie in theaters by 2011
2. Kanye + Daft Punk = Awesome
3. More on Kanye: Bet those "Best Rap Album" Grammys are really starting to piss this guy off
4. First Bruce doesn't even get nominated for Best Album, then he loses the Rock category to the Foo's latest?  If there's not a conspiracy theory out there, we're starting one
5. Herbie Freakin' Hancock?

Check out the full award list here

Beastie's Adam Yauch Launches Film Distribution Company

The Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch is launching Oscilloscope Pictures, an independent film distribution and international sales company, with Former ThinkFilm vice president David Fenkel running the unit, an arm of Yauch's music and film production outfit Oscilloscope Laboratories.

The pair, who worked on Yauch's Beastie Boys documentary Awesome! I F***in' Shot That! at ThinkFilm, plan to acquire narrative and documentary features from festivals for release in the U.S. and provide funds to complete and release unfinished films.   

Last.fm Adds On-Demand Tunes

Yesterday's announcement by CBS that Last.fm, the music-focused social network bought last year for $280 million, would offer free, ad-supported music, wasn't the total shakeup needed to avert a continued industry slide in 2008...But it's definitely a step in the right direction and a good sign that execs are coming around to the reality of music in an online world: People are always going to have access to free tracks, physical sales will continue to slide, and labels need to find alternative ways of compensating their artists.

Users of the site will now be able to stream the song of their choice for free in an ad-supported environment. The catch?  You only get three plays before being prompted to purchase the track.  They are allegedly working to extend this limit, but for now Last.fm will direct listeners to places like iTunes, Amazon and others after the freebies expire. 

Last.fm has over 3.5 million songs currently in its arsenal, and are open to working with unsigned bands (who will receive a portion of ad revenue associated with their songs), so the options should be pretty vast for the average listener.  But unlike competitors like iMeem, which relies on uploads from members for its content (and has no restrictions on free plays), hardcore fans will likely have go elsewhere for tougher-to-find tracks. 

In any event, it will be interesting to see if this ad-supported model gains any traction in the long run, or is met with the same lukewarm reception as the subscription models like Napster and Rhapsody.  Because this week's Billboard chart was another horror show, and if it keeps up, Nickleback (now entering its 120th week in the top 30) might be the only band moving a disc in '09.

Shortlist Prize Nominees Announced

The Shortlist of Music announced the nominees for the seventh annual Shortlist Music Prize, which included such SS-friendly artists as Feist, Iron and Wine, M.I.A., The Hives, The Thrills and Wilco.

Any album released in the US from January through November, 2007 was eligible for nomination, provided it had not been certified gold for domestic sales of 500,000 units.  The 54 nominees were selected by a panel of five Listmakers: recording artists Gary Lightbody (Snow Patrol) and Ronnie Vannucci (the Killers), journalist Rev. Moose (CMJ), radio DJ Chris Douridas (KCRW) and the hosts of Hunnypot Internet Radio.

Read the full list of nominees after the jump.

Beastie Boys Snubbed by Hall

The story of this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame might not be the inductees (as expected, Madonna leads the ballot, followed by John Mellencamp and Leonard Cohen), but the snubs.  Specifically, the freakin' Beastie Boys got left out!  That's right, The Beastie Boys?!  After being nominated in their first year of eligibility, they got beaten out by the likes of the Ventures and the Dave Clark Five. 

Radiohead Avoids Illegal In Rainbow Downloads

Even though they eventually gave it away, basically for free, Radiohead went to unusual lengths to keep fans from downloading In Rainbows unofficially:

"It felt like a gigantic risk. Like Mission Impossible, almost. We destroyed all CDs after every day of recording. And on the master we'd always write a name which probably nobody would listen to if we had lost it; 'Eagles: Greatest Hits', 'Kula Shaker demos', 'Phill Collins hip-hop covers'."

Phil Collins hip-hop covers?  Are we crazy or is that so mind-numbingly it's awesome?  Oh, wait that's this.  And actually on second thought, no, it's not awesome. 

Radiohead to End Online Sale of In Rainbows

Hey kids, in case you were planning on using In Rainbows to score yourself a cheap (free?) Christmas gift for Mom, let it be known that Radiohead is suspending downloads for the online version on December 10th.  After that the disc will resurface in traditional format on January 1 via TBD/ATO Records, so if 18 bucks is too pricey for Q's 4th best album of the year, get to downloadin' - But at least leave a nice tip. 

Kanye West & Amy Winehouse Lead Grammy Noms

Well the Grammy nominations are in, and it looks like the Bruce hype was all for naught.  Springsteen's much-heralded Magic disc was shut out of the Best Album category, replace by HERBIE HANCOCK's Joni Mitchell tribute disc, and Vince Gill's 4-volume set.  Excuse me??  OK - We all know that the Grammys are a bunch of BS, but does being musically relevant and actually heard count for anything anymore??

There were a few bright spots, as SS-friendly artists like Feist, Lucinda Williams and Wilco did pull down nominations.  Plus Amy Winehouse managed a big six nods, which means there's a pretty good chance we'll get to see that incoherent, rambling acceptance speech Courtney Love has been dying to make all these years.  But still - Bruce, you was robbed sir.

UPDATE: Best Week Ever breaks down this year's stupefying Best Album picks

Bruce Poised for Grammy Glory Days?

Hey kids, just a reminder that tomorrow is Grammy nomination day and Idolator has Bruce running as even money to take home some hardware.  After that 2003 snub in which Norah Jones and her Starbucks-friendly torch songs pulled down the Best Album award, Springsteen's Magic feels like a tough horse to bet against.  (Remember, this is "The Year of the Boss.") 

Tune in tomorrow for our post-nomination reactions, complaints and disinterest for all but five or six categories.

MySpace Debuts "Transmissions" Artist Showcase

Just when we start predicting the fall of the MySpace music empire, Tom's minions drop Transmissions, an inventive new plan for showcasing and selling artist performances.  The concept is being likened to a web-based "Unplugged," but more immediate, not acoustic and, well, not free. 

Our enthusiasm is dulled by the site's decision to let James Blunt serve at the platform's debut artist, but we couldn't disagree with his enthusiasm:

Gibson Robot Guitar Ready to Launch December 7

Even though the Gibson Robot Guitar sounds like an add-on for Guitar Hero IV, the self-tuning axe is definitely no toy.  In fact, early reviews have been pretty positive and its creators allege zero degradation in sound from a standard Gibson Les Paul.  Surely the debate will rage on as to whether this give aspiring rock gods an unfair advantage, but the thing is pretty damned cool.  Plus, we've got Gibson's poster-band all picked out. 

MySpace Music Streams in Jeopardy ?

It looks like MySpace has become the latest fall-guy for flagging music sales, as the social network can been contacted by Universal Music Group to replace all its artists' full-song streams with 90 second clips, according to MySpace-bred musician Colbie Ciallat.

The RS bloggers did some digging and so far only a few artists have made the switch, but something tells us that Tom might be losing some friends over this either way.

Indie Rock: The Musical

Alex Kapranos already has a cookbook on the shelves, so it should come as little surprise that he and his mates in Franz Ferdinand are looking for further expand their horizons by writing a musical.   But they aren't the only rockers looking to take their music to a new stage.  Artists like Belle and Sebastian and Pete Doherty are also considering taking a stab at it, while U2 have already been working on songs for an upcoming Broadway production of Spiderman. 

Spring Awakenings basically became the new Rent last year, courting the indie kids with non-traditional musical numbers and tales of sex drugs and rock & roll.  If any of these new productions get off the ground, surely we can expect to see a rush of hipster Broadway blogs following closely behind.

Radiohead Back Catalog Gets In Rainbows Boost

Though analysts are reporting that Radiohead's In Rainbows Internet-only release resulted in an average profit of only $2.26 per album download (the band is now denying that two-thirds of fans elected to pay jack squat), the experiment seems to be paying off on the back end.  Sales for Radiohead's six back catalog releases are up 36% according to Billboard.  Of course credit this in large part to the band releasing its best work in over 10 years, but perhaps a little goodwill went a long way as well...

Hear "All I Need" off In Rainbows after the jump.

Jay-Z Bans American Gangster from iTunes

Jay-Z has banned American Gangster from iTunes, saying that "As movies are not sold scene by scene, this collection will not be sold as individual singles." 

OK, we get that an artist deserves to present his work in the manner he sees fit, and we get that Gangster follows a narrative thread that makes context important - But in these days of declining sales and waning interest from the music buying public, taking an almost guaranteed sales juggernaut out of the mp3 game is a curious move.  Sure Hova doesn't need the cash anymore, but our question is - Will this help or hurt his performance on Billboard?  Will the lack of availability in single-serving form encourage people to fork over 15 bucks for the CD?  If so, will future artists follow suit?  Jay-Z is just powerful enough to start a counter-movement against the Radiohead, "listen as you please" model.  Stay tuned.

Radiohead Goes Platinum?

Though we'd hardly call this reliable just yet, "a source close to the band" is claiming 1.2 million downloads of Radiohead's In Rainbows, for about £4.8 million in sales.  Since most of that goes in the band's pocket, most of the record industry might have just crapped its pants. (via Paste)

Take THAT Music Biz!

In the wake of Radiohead's attempt at bending the record industry over its knee, sales juggernauts Oasis and, ahem, Jamiroquai, have announced plans to self-release material via the Internet too.  Listen guys, we can always appreciate the desire to be free from those sometimes evil overlords called record execs, but if Jason Kay wants to keep himself stocked in funny hats, charging some $$$ for those albums might be a good idea.  Something tells us that fans aren't going going to choose to pony up any dough for your new tunes, given the option.

Sirius Debuts "E Street Radio"

In a move that the protagonist from "Radio Nowhere" would love, and also might finally get us to bite the bullet and pump Sirius radio through the SS office, the satellite radio provider will today debut, "E Street Radio," a station dedicated exclusively to music by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. 

The show will kick off with a rare live recording from 1978 at the Capitol Theater in Passaic, New Jersey.  The station is also asking listeners to submit their own favorite live recordings for possible inclusion in future broadcasts.  Fan's whose shows are chosen will then be given the opportunity to guest host.

If they are calling this E Street Radio, does that mean no Tom Joad?  If so, too bad -  It might help put insomniacs to bed during the 3am block.

Amazon Launches MP3 Store

Amazon unceremoniously gave birth to its long-awaited mp3 store via a 3am blog post and it looks...well it looks like an mp3 store.  They've got the requisite top seller lists, new and notables, plus personalized picks via your Amazon account - all good stuff we suppose.  And selling the top 100 albums for $8.99 or less does sound like a pretty good deal, (Let's hope "unless otherwise noted" doesn't come into play very often), but do you guys think iTunes is feeling the heat?  Let us know where you plan on doing your shopping.

Patrick Watson (?!?) Takes Home Polaris Prize

Yesterday's Polaris Music Prize winner is up there with Jame Spader's recent Emmy in the pantheon of great award upsets.  Patrick Watson beat out, get this, Arcade Fire's Neon Bible, Feist's The Reminder, The Besnard Lakes' The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse, Junior Boys' So This Is Goodbye, Julie Doiron's Woke Myself Up, Chad VanGaalen's Skelliconnection, Miracle Fortress' Five Roses, The Dears' Gang of Losers, and Joel Plaskett Emergency's Ashtray Rock to take home the $20,000 top prize.

Since this means that Close to Paradise is supposedly the best music to come out of Canada this year, we obviously want to check out this dude and his band to see what we're missing out on.

You can stream four Patrick Watson tracks at MySpace and hit up the official site for more info.  Check out the video for The Great Escape below.  What do you think kids?  Did we miss the boat on these guys, or did Polaris drop the ball? 

Alive and Soon to be Kickin'

Nope we haven't gone to that great chat room in the sky, but we're also not all the way back...yet.  Hang in there! 

But... If you're missing our Ryan Adams gushing, another of those "genius/a-hole/romantic/douchebag" articles hit the AP today.  I (yup, we're a one trick pony now) guess a top 10 album doesn't get people off your back.  But we (crap, I) wouldn't have it any other way.  You?  Didn't think so. 

See ya soon kiddies.

Cat Power Wins Shortlist Prize

Congrats to SS fav Cat Power for taking home the 6th annual Shortlist Music Prize yesterday in Los Angeles.  Her gorgeous  2006 release, The Greatest, made her the first female to take home the award since its inception and bested artists including Hot Chip, Band of Horses and Tom Waits.

Check the release below for more info:

"The Shortlist Organization today announced Cat Power as the winner of the Sixth Annual Shortlist Music Prize for her album “The Greatest.” Cat Power is the first woman to win the Shortlist Music Prize, and was also a Shortlist finalist in 2003 for her album “You Are Free.” Cat Power was selected as this year’s winner by a panel of nine Listmakers including Franz Ferdinand, Panic at the Disco, Sufjan Stevens and members of Snow Patrol, the Killer and Flaming Lips."

"In a statement, Listmaker KT Tunstall said “Cat Power's album quickly got under my skin. She has one of the most beguiling voices around. 'The Greatest' is an immediate classic that will never age.”

"The Greatest will be featured on the iTunes Store during a weeklong promotion that includes the availablity of a digital exclusive - a track entitled “Up and Gone." Additionally, the Shortlist Organization has made iTunes the official music store of the Shortlist website at www.shortlistofmusic.com."

The Shortlist Music Prize was founded in 2001 to honor the most creative and adventurous albums of the year and shine a spotlight on emerging artists. The five previous winners are Sigur Ros, N*E*R*D, Damien Rice, TV on the Radio and Sufjan Stevens. Previous Listmakers include Beck, Perry Farrell, Trent Reznor, Aimee Mann, Mos Def, Dave Matthews, Pharrell Williams, Tom Waits, Tori Amos, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott and members of U2, the Roots, Linkin Park, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Massive Attack, Dashboard Confessional, Metallica, System of a Down, the Cure, Black Eyed Peas, Chemical Brothers, and Coldplay."

"This year’s remaining nine finalists were Band of Horses, Beirut, Bonnie Prince Billy, Cat Power, Girl Talk, Hot Chip, Joanna Newsom, Regina Spektor, Spank Rock and Tom Waits."

Jack White to Play Elvis in New Film

Jack White - Rock Star, Raconteur, Producer and now...Elvis Impersonator.

Don't worry, the White Stripes front man isn't joining a Vegas revue or marrying people on the strip.  But NME is reporting that White will be featured as the King himself in Walk Hard, a film from director Jake Kasdan (Orange County).

The flick is to be a parody of sorts, taking its cues from the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line.  White's publicist did confirm that the musician took part in the film,  but would not elaborate on his role.

White has already received notice for his work in Cold Mountain and Coffee and Cigarettes, so it would certainly be interesting to see what he could do in a pair of blue suede shoes.  Plus, the film also features SS favorites John C. Reilly and The Office's Jenna Fischer.

According to imdb, the film is set to be released on February 15, 2008. 

PS - The White Stripes still have a new album coming out - and have posted some predictably cryptic info, in puzzle form no less, on the band's official site. 

2006 Youtube Video Awards

You've gotta hand it to the peeps at Youtube.  Instead of letting a little $1 billion lawsuit that could ultimately strengthen the competition and loosen the company's stranglehold on the online video service industry, they instead decided to figure out which of last year's puppy videos was cutest. 

The 2006 Youtube Video Awards are broken into seven categories: "Most Creative,"Most Inspirational," "Best Series," "Best Comedy Video," "Best Music Video," "Best Commentary" and "Most Adorable Video."

Voting will close on March 23, so log on there and make your picks.  Obvious nominees include OK Go, Lonelygirl15 and, well, of course this chick. But who else kids?  Let us know who you think might take home the gold.

Spin's Michel Joins the Times

It looks like Sia Michel, who lost her Editor-in-Chief gig at Spin during its sale last year, has made her stay at the Times permanent by accepting a position as Pop Music Editor (a first for the paper).  Over the past year Michel contributed several acclaimed pieces to the Times as a freelancer.

via Sam Sifton:

"Sia brings to The Times both the gifts of a writer and the strategic perspective of an editor. She has been laboring in the fields of freelance journalism for the past year, writing often and well for The Times, as both a critic and profilist."

Whether listeners of Arcade Fire or Interpol actually read newspapers remains to be seen, but if nothing else, Michel's hiring sets up 2007 as potentially the year of the rock grrl.

Rock Hall Welcomes New Class

Those of you hoping for some fireworks at last night's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction were instead given four hours of snoozy (though deserved) tributes, no fistfights and not a single high leg kick from David Lee Roth. 

Nevertheless, this year's batch of inductees was a worthy class indeed - REM, Patti Smith, Van Halen, Grandmaster Flash and the Ronettes - and had its share of cool/noteworthy/amusing moments:

-Jay Z read his Grandmaster Flash speech from his Blackberry.
-Eddie Veder loves REM and listened to Murmur: "1,260 times ... even though you can't understand a f---ing thing [frontman Michael Stipe] is saying."
-Sammy Hagar actually thanked Gary Cherone!
-Bill Berry reunited with his bandmates, who were as classy as could be.
-Patti Smith is crazy, but still amazing.

If you missed out, check out the inductions at AOL.

Sub Pop Founder Launches New Label

Jonathan Poneman, co-founder of landmark indie label Sub Pop, has after twenty years decided to expand his independent music empire with the launch of Hardly Art.

To be headed up by Sub Pop's Sarah Moody, the new label has already inked its first act in Seattle-based duo Arthur & Yu, which will released its first album, In Camera, on June 19.

In Camera Tracklist:

1. Absurd Heroes Manifesto
2. Come to View (Song for Neil Young)
3. Birds
4. Afterglow
5. Lobby Lights
6. A Thousand Words
7. Lion’s Mouth
8. The Ghost of Old Bull Lee
9. Half Years
10. Black Bear