Best Indie Rock Songs 2008!!!

Christmas Music 2008 on iTunes!

Check out my iMix Christmas music: It's a Christmas Miracle!

For more Christmas tunes: Indie Rock Christmas Songs

Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson "Winter Song"

Fall Indie Rock Preview!!

Here's some beautifully bodacious bands that are coming out with new music!!

Sept 9
Okkervil River


Sept 23
Cold War Kids

Jenny Lewis


TV on the Radio



Sept 29
Travis


Sept 30
Ben Folds


Oct 6
Oasis



Oct 7
Of Montreal


Oct 13
Los Campesinos


Oct 14
The Cure

Kaiser Chiefs

Keane


Oct 21
Brett Dennen


Oct 28
Bloc Party

Deer Hunter

Snow Patrol


Nov 24
The Killers

Internet Killed the Video Star II

Here's more evidence that MTV is decidedly pointless and the internet is the only way to really view music videos nowadays. This new Weezer video showcases some of YouTube's most famous stars. See if you can spot them:



If you don't recognize all of these "famous" internet stars, this link catalogues all of them.

Music, Movies, TV.

Music

Check out this new band that has received a lot of buzz recently.

'A-Punk' - Vampire Weekend

Movies

Could 2011 be the year of the sequel at Disney? That's the rumor coming from Ain't It Cool News, which claims there'll be not only a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean adventure in 2011 but a follow-up to Cars, a third entry in the Nicolas Cage National Treasure series and a TRON 3-D remake. Regarding a potential fourth Pirates flick, AICN reports that there are conflicting rumors about the plot, with one suggesting it would be "far more contained than its predecessors, allowing for a budget-friendly downsizing," while another suggests it would be even more big-budget than the first three, as in "ultra fantastical (dinosaurs, Jules Verne-esque floating fortresses, etc.)." No one is confirmed for a fourth Pirates flick, including star Johnny Depp and director Gore Verbinski, though Depp has claimed he'd be up for it if, as they say, the story is right.

TV

LOST (ABC)
CURRENTLY AIRING For 10 episodes
INSIDE SCOOP Lost will take a break in mid-March before resuming the next month; the 16-episode season arc will be told in 13 episodes.

THE OFFICE (NBC)
RETURNS April 10
EPISODES TO AIR 5 or 6

30 ROCK (NBC)
RETURNS April 10
EPISODES TO AIR 5
INSIDE SCOOP What's in store? Spills Tina Fey via e-mail: ''Liz has a pregnancy scare.'' Even better, ''Jack may get called to serve his country.''

24 (Fox)
RETURNS Early '09
EPISODES TO AIR 24 (duh!)
INSIDE SCOOP For once, Jack Bauer isn't running out of time. Eight eps are done, and production will resume soon for an uninterrupted '09 season.

Connecting at Sundance

The next big day was on Monday or MLK Jr. day. I started off the day by skiing with my honey. Parking again was a mess, but thanks to my bro-in-law, Steve, we were able to get some pretty sweet underground parking. (Thanks Steve.) We then took public transit again to Main Street where we were able to see a couple of bands. We wanted to see Ingrid Michaelson, but because we missed our transit connection, we got their too late.

However, we did see Sea Wolf at the Music Café. It’s a pretty cool little venue and the only way to get in is by having ‘credentials.’ I, of course, don’t have credentials, but I borrowed some from work and I was consequently known as ‘Alison Butz’ the rest of the day. No really. The little concert was actually extremely awesome, mainly due to the band itself, but the intimate atmosphere and ability to be really close to the band was priceless.

I kept trying to film them, but I got in trouble. Then I took some pictures of them, but got in trouble because of the flash I was using. This lady must have felt bad for berating me so much because she gave me and Emma a couple of free CDs at the close of the show. Since we were so close to the band we went up and talked to them. Emma told them that they looked really peaceful. Not wanting them to feel like we had just finished singing hymns or something, I hurriedly told them that they rocked. They then signed our CDs. Now, that really did rock.

After finding a place to eat (thank you Davanza’s) we met up with my buddy Christian and his date (friend?) Whitney. We then took the lovely public transit over to the Racquet Club. I was worried that they’d give our seats away since we were getting there only fifteen minutes beforehand, which is customary. Luckily, we didn’t have any problems finding some seats, but we couldn’t exactly sit right next to each other. It was during this time that we were able to spot Quentin Tarantino directly across the aisle from us. I took a very quick and blurry picture because I didn’t want to feel like a gawky fan, which is why I didn’t take a second. Stupid.

So here’s the rub: with Sundance you really never know what kind of movie you’re gonna see. You can read the small little snippets before you go, but this isn’t as useful as you might think. I didn’t choose this movie on purpose; we were going because I got free tickets at work. The move was called Sleep Dealer, and honestly, after watching the movie, I’m not entirely sure why it was called that. I knew it was a sci-fi before going in, but I had no idea it was going to be ninety percent in Spanish. Think about it—a Mexican science fiction movie—that’s kind of weird isn’t it? Well, it was kind of weird, but at the same time wonderful. It was a simple story about a dystopian not-too-distant future on the Mexican/American border. The special effects were amazing for a low budget film, but for blockbuster cinema it would’ve been almost laughable. The cinematography was great and the acting top-notch, but the story was almost too quaint to be honest.

Science fiction is about turning all your traditionally held beliefs on their ear; but the major themes in the film seemed almost like retread for me. For instance: becoming less connected to humanity in a world that’s becoming more digitally connected seems like it could’ve been a cautionary public ad or something. Science fiction is supposed to scare you to the core; it makes you say, “I pray that our future could never be like that.” But this movie made me think, “hmm, the future doesn’t really sound that bad.” Am I a (gulp) becoming too much of a realist, too much of pragmatist? Maybe, but I think the filmmaking was just a little soft, if not delicate—which would’ve played out well for a rom-com, but not so much for sci-fi.

However, I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the director and principle cast members giving their two bits about the movie after the credits had rolled. I think I liked the movie a little more after this, but that’s like saying you enjoyed a joke after someone explained the punch line to you. You appreciate the joke for its creativity, but you’re still not sure why you just didn’t ‘connect’ with it to start.

Compliments of 'One Million Strong for Val Kilmer'

Val Kilmer has spent his time recently composing a CD which he is now allowing us to download. He would have liked to have released the CD in a more traditional way but the major lables have refused due to Mr Kilmer's "radical" stand that North American Bison horn can be ground into a powder and then used medicinally. (note: Mr Kilmer takes this horn powder personally, up to 3 bisons worth a day. Many believe this is why he has made such a marked recovery in the past months. The only side effects appear to be that he is now 2-3 times as manly and his acting abilities are too much for current filming technology to capture.)


You can access Val's music on his MySpace page

http://www.myspace.com/valkilmermusic

The money made from the sale of these downloads will go directly to funding the fight against male breast cancer and the treatment of the little-studied anti-persperant addiction. (note: 1 in 90 American young men is addicted to anti-persperant. Call your congress-person and get informed today. Together we can fight this!)

~Aaron Rowley
One Million Strong for Val Kilmer

Best Indie Rock Songs of 2007

I decided to do my own end-of-the-year list of my favorite songs. I was going to add some kind of analysis, but the list got too long and I just didn’t feel like it. The list really is in no particular order, aside from the play count of the songs in my iTunes. This isn’t really a reflection about how I feel about each song per se, but really just an interesting ‘gee whiz’ fact. Also, I only have one song per artist so as to add a little variety to the list. Enjoy!!


Song - Artist - Count
1 Mama`s Room - Under The Influence Of Giants - 62
2 Read My Mind - The Killers - 60
3 Australia - The Shins - 58
4 Golden Skans - Klaxons - 57
5 Who's There - Cavil at Rest - 52
6 Me Plus One - Kasabian - 52
7 Breakfast By the Mattress - Kristoffer Ragnstam - 52
8 Flathead - The Fratellis - 52
9 Vulnerable - Secondhand Serenade - 51
10 Cupid's Chokehold - Gym Class Heroes - 50
11 I Still Remember - Bloc Party - 49
12 Fidelity - Regina Spektor - 49
13 Silver Lining - Rilo Kiley - 49
14 You Are the One - Shiny Toy Guns - 49
15 Four Winds - Bright Eyes - 47
16 My Mind - Portugal The Man - 45
17 D.A.N.C.E - Justice - 44
18 101 - Albert Hammond Jr. - 43
19 Love Hurts - Incubus - 43
20 Cardigan Weather - Meg & Dia - 43
21 Well Thought Out Twinkles - Silversun Pickups - 43
22 Time Won't Let Me Go - The Bravery - 42
23 Keep Forgetting - The Cinematics - 42
24 LDN - Lily Allen - 40
25 Don't Let Go - Pacha Massive - 40
26 Cold-Hearted Town - New Atlantic - 39
27 From Nothing to Nowhere - Pinback - 39
28 Weapon Of Choice - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - 38
29 Typical - Mute Math - 38
30 Desecration Smile - Red Hot Chili Peppers - 38
31 Fa-Fa-Fa - Datarock - 37
32 Challengers - The New Pornographers - 37
33 You Picked Me - A Fine Frenzy - 36
34 Paralyzer - Finger Eleven - 36
35 Men's Needs - The Cribs - 36
36 Back In Your Head - Tegan And Sara - 35
37 Boston - Augustana - 34
38 Gravity's Bringing Us Down - Beulah - 34
39 Suffer For Fashion - Of Montreal - 34
40 Young Folks - Peter, Bjorn And John - 34
41 Doomsday Clock - The Smashing Pumkins - 34
42 One Crowded Hour - Augie March - 33
43 Invasion - Eisley - 33
44 Mistaken For Strangers - The National - 33
45 Ash Wednesday - Elvis Perkins - 32
46 Darlin' Do Not Fear - Brett Dennen - 31
47 Pistol - Dustin Kensrue - 31
48 Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me - The Pipettes - 31
49 Face For The Radio - The View - 31
50 Pressure Suit - Aqualung - 30
51 Merrymaking At My Place - Calvin Harris - 30
52 Unaware - Days Difference - 30
53 Stronger - Kanye West - 30
54 Cold December - Matt Costa - 30
55 Dance Tonight - Paul McCartney - 30
56 Time After Time - Quietdrive - 30
57 Scar That Never Heals - Jeremy Fisher - 29
58 You Don't Know Her Name - Maps - 29
59 Take A Chance - The Magic Numbers - 29
60 Signal Fire - Snow Patrol - 28
61 The Way I Am - Ingrid Michaelson - 27
62 You Know I'm No Good - Amy Winehouse - 26
63 Hospital Beds - Cold War Kids - 26
64 Bleed It Out - Linkin Park - 26
65 Knights - Minus The Bear - 26
66 Duality - Bayside 2- 5
67 Fire Fire Fire - Dappled Cities - 25
68 America - Razorlight - 25
69 Elusive - Scott Matthews - 25
70 This Beauty - Amanda Rogers - 24
71 Find What You Get - Bang Gang - 24
72 New Shoes - Paolo Nutini - 24
73 The Sons Of Cain - Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - 24
74 Setting Sun - The Aliens - 24
75 The Distance - Dntel - 23
76 The Plot - White Rabbits - 23
77 Must Be The Moon - !!! (Chk Chk Chk) - 22
78 Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors - Editors - 22
79 Here (In Your Arms) - Hellogoodbye - 22
80 Born In The 70's - Ed Harcourt - 21
81 Viens avec moi - Les Breastfeeders - 21
82 Calling On You - Paulson - 21
83 Tonight I Have To Leave It - Shout Out Louds - 21
84 The Midnight Choir - The Thrills - 21
85 Can You Feel It? - Apples In Stereo - 20
86 Song For The Fields - Fields - 20
87 Falling Slowly - Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova - 20
88 Windy City Nights - The Winter Sounds - 20
89 The Underdog - Spoon - 19
90 Firecracker - Voxtrot - 19
91 Imitosis - Andrew Bird - 18
92 French Dog Blues - Babyshambles - 18
93 Suburban Knights - Hard-Fi - 18
94 Grip Like A Vice - The Go! Team - 18
95 Once And Never Again - The Long Blondes - 18
96 Is There A Ghost - Band Of Horses - 17
97 Stuttering - Ben's Brother - 17
98 23 - Blonde Redhead - 17
99 Into The Ocean - Blue October - 17
100 The Bomb - New Young Pony Club - 17

See How Deep the Rabbit Hole Goes

Morpheus offers Neo regular strength NyQuil and daytime formula DayQuil

One of my favorite movie concepts is The Matrix. Whether or not the "thrillogy" turned out great doesn't matter to me so much as the ideas of the first thirty minutes of the first film. You know the concept -- that Agent Utah guy from Point Break ("I am an EFF BEE EYE agent!") plays Neo. Neo finds himself stuck in a rut and wants to find out what this whole Matrix deal is about. A group of leather clad folks oblige, showing up to Neo's crib one day. Their leader, Morpheus, lays out the deal. Neo has two choices: 1) the blue pill effectively acting as rohypnol and putting Neo to sleep OR 2) the red pill, which will show Neo "how deep the rabbit hole goes."

I enjoyed the concept because, I believe, there are people in our lives are our own personal Morpheus. People that you meet along the way that open up your world for the better.

In honor of his pending ???th birthday, I salute Jedboy -- one of my Morpheus-like people. While attending BYU, Jedboy and I collaborated on the esteemed public funding of stadiums project. We also collaborated on lunch about eight times a week, mainly because I'm incapable of preparing hot foods.

However, Jed was especially mind opening in the ways of music. Jed enlightened and enlivened my mind and ears with the great sounds of Arcade Fire. Before I heard them, I was mainly a devout fan of Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Hank Williams, and Public Enemy. (Quite a musical platter there). Arcade Fire has quickly vaulted to the top of the ASmith Charts of Excellence, now possessing the coveted spot of second and third best albums I own. (Nothing is ever going to surpass Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here on my charts.)

Jedboy offers ASmith the feather of Arcade Fire's excellence

In honor of Jed's ???th birthday, where'er you are, stand tall, stand firm, straighten your collar, and throw a salute in Jed's direction. Upon finishing the salute, pull up your favorite Arcade Fire song on your iPod or other listening device of choice, turn up the volume, and retrospect rock in honor of those in your life who are friends and family.

Indie Rock Christmas Songs

Ok, so first of all, this isn't really an Indie Rock Christmas list--I just wanted to throw that in the title for some reason. What is this so-called Indie Rock anyway? The truth is that nobody knows. It's supposed to come from bands that are 'underground' and haven't yet signed a major label. Yet many bands continue to be labeled indie rock even after they sign to a major record label. Check out this definition on Urban Dictionary, it's kind of funny.


Anywho, I know it's a little early for Christmas music, but, hey, Christmas isn't just one day; it's like the entire month of December! Am I right? On that subject: I've always loved Christmas music, but let's get real; sometimes it gets a little old. So, for the last four or five years I've been compiling music from some of my favorite artists. This is a list of some of those precious holiday finds, but it also has some classics that I just think are cool. This is by no means an exhaustive list. In fact, if any of my faithful readers have some more suggestions please send them my way.


P.S. If you want to hear some of these songs, scroll down to the bottom of this page. A lot of these songs are also available on iTunes or wherever you legally download music. If you really want a copy of some of these songs, just let me know--I'd be happy to make you a CD. Remember: "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!"

The Beatles sing Christmas Time is Here Again

(It Must of been Ol) Santa Claus	Harry Connick, Jr.
12.23.95 2000 Miles	Jimmy Eat World Coldplay
A Great Big Sled	The Killers
All I Want for Christmas is You	Mariah Carey
Baby, It's Cold Outside	Gabe Dixon & Leigh Nash
Baby, It's Cold Outside	Leon Redbone/Zooey Deschanel
Believe	Josh Groban
Better Days (Acoustic Version)	Goo Goo Dolls
Bittersweet Eve	Belasana
Blue Christmas	Elvis Presley
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)	Death Cab For Cutie
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)	U2
Christmas Celebration	Weezer
Christmas For Cowboys	Jars Of Clay
Christmastime	The Smashing Pumpkins
Christmastime Is Here Again	The Beatles
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing	Sufjan Stevens
Do They Know It's Christmas	Pete Yorn
Do You Hear What I Hear?	Copeland
Donde Esta Santa Claus?	Guster
Donna & Blitzen	Badly Drawn Boy
Frosty The Snowman	Fiona Apple
Gabriel's Message	Sting
Go Tell It On The Mountain	Oh Susanna!
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen	Barenaked Ladies Feat. Sarah McLachlan
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen	Bare Naked Ladies
Green Christmas	Bare Naked Ladies
Grown-Up Christmas List	Michael Bublé
Happy Christmas (War Is Over)	John Lennon
Happy Christmas (War is Over)	The Polyphonic Spree
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas	Coldplay
Hey Parker, It's Christmas	Ryan Adams
Holly Jolly Christmas	The Format
Holy, Holy, Holy	Sufjan Stevens
I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day	Pedro The Lion
I'll Be Home For Christmas	Bing Crosby
It Came Upon A Midnight Clear	Sixpence None The Richer
Jingle Bells	Bing Crosby
Last Christmas	Jimmy Eat World
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!	Lena Horne
Little Saint Nick [Single Version]	The Beach Boys
Maybe This Christmas	Ron Sexsmith
Merry Christmas Everybody	Rooney
Merry Christmas, Baby	The Beach Boys
Nutcracker Suite	Brian Setzer
O Come O Come Emmanuel	Sufjan Stevens
O Holy Night	Avril Lavigne & Chantal Kreviazuk
O Holy Night	Il Divo
Please Come Home for Christmas	Jon Bon Jovi
River	Travis
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer	Jack Johnson
Rudy	The Be Good Tanyas
Santa Baby	Eartha Kitt
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town	Eddy Arnold
Santa's Beard	The Beach Boys
Sleigh Ride/Santa Claus Party	Ferrante & Teicher/Les Baxter/Teicher
Somewhere In My Memory (Voice)	John Williams
Song for a Winter's Night	Sarah McLachlan
Spotlight On Christmas	Rufus Wainwright
St. Patrick's Day	John Mayer
Sweet Secret Peace	Neil Finn
The Christmas Song	Dave Matthews Band
The Christmas Song	The Raveonettes
The Christmas Song	Weezer
The Holly & the Ivy	Mediaeval Baebes
The Only Gift That I Need	Dashboard Confessional
The Prayer	Josh Groban & Charlotte Church
The Winter Song	Eisley
Three Ships	Sting
The Christmas Song (Chestnuts	Nat King Cole
We Three Kings Of Orient Are	The Beach Boys
What A Year For A New Year	Dan Wilson
What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?	Harry Connick, Jr.
What Child Is This	Matt Wertz
When Christmas Comes to Town	Matthew Hall/Meagan Moore
When I Get Home for Christmas	Snow Patrol
Winter Wonderland	Jason Mraz
Wonderful Christmastime	Paul McCartney
Zat You Santa Claus	Louis Armstrong

In Praise of Leftovers

This week marks one of the greatest American holidays: Thanksgiving. It's great because it signifies thanks in a truly American way. We're thankful for everything because of all the awesome food we have and the awesome sport we have in football.

One of the best aspects of Thanksgiving is that our mega-glutton feast isn't limited to one day. No sir!!! Our traditional feast leads to days on end of overeating.

This year marks the first time ever that I will be working the day after Thanksgiving. While many Americans get up early to stand in shopping lines for hours on end, I get to wake up early to read Army architectural specifications for hours on end. With the leftover meats, I am planning on desiging and building the biggest, baddest turkey sandwich ever made.

Artist Rendering of Aaron's gigantic sandwich

I'm very fond of my leftovers -- food or otherwise. I was cruising Target last weekend with my wife and son (don' laugh, it's good times all around). Whilst strolling through the media section, my wife spotted a new Killers album called Sawdust. It's new in that it was recently released, but not so new. It's full of b-sides and previously unreleased tracks -- a "leftovers" album. While it's not quite my awesome turkey sandwich, it's still pretty good. If you like the Killers, you'll probably like this album. Half of it sounds like Hot Fuss, the other half sounds like Sam's Town.

This is the BBC, America...

This post has nothing to do with the BBC, but rather British-inspired news. I have never set foot on the ‘Spamalot’-inspired country, (btw…I just saw the play in Vegas, uh, awesome) but I have a profound respect and odd curiosity for anything that comes from across the pond:

I know this is a stretch, but the American version of ‘The Office’ comes to us directly from the British version. Anyway, ‘The Office’ definitely, in my mind at least, hasn’t jumped the shark, but, again, listening to reactions from people this season as well as reading on-line articles and blogs, I’m convinced that something is amiss. Read this article form Slate magazine that seems to think it knows how to remedy ‘The Office’ funk. Also, here’s the top 25 moments from ‘The Office’ with clips - it invokes fond memories.

Also, with all the Radiohead hysteria lately, I just needed to say that it looks like their little experiment has worked, financially speaking. While there have been many freeloaders who haven’t shelled out a penny for the new album, it looks as though the downloading averaged about $8 per CD. This article indicates that most A-list artists make about $1 for every CD sold, while, in contrast, Radiohead is reaping all the download profit from their own strategy. Not bad considering that estimates are around 1.2 million downloaded albums thus far. That would equate to like a billion pounds or something (I’m hazy on my pound to dollar conversion).

One more thing…Oasis is following suit and offering their latest single as a download only. The only difference is that you actually have to pay for it. P.S. I love Oasis.

How's that Whole Free Album Thing Going, Radiohead?

Jedboy has already waxed eloquently on this topic, as he is wont to do. Also, as I am wont to do, I'd like to reply to Jed's Radiohead thoughts in typical blogger fashion -- no research, mildly funny, and based purely on what I think is right.

Jed grew up listening Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and early "rock and roll." (I use quotes because I use the term rock and roll loosely with that era of rock. It rocked for that era, but that also was spoon fed crap like Paul Anka, the Kingston Trio, and alcoholic crooners. That rock was relatively rocking, but not historically rocking.) I grew up listening to actual rock and roll, like Bruce Springsteen, Hendrix, Zeppelin, AC/DC, and Van Halen. I also grafted in some outlaw country like Johnny Cash and Hank Williams, Jr.

Want proof of how hard Hank Williams Jr. rocks? Check this out. Hank Williams basically calls out country music for not allowing him to A) drink whiskey, B) get loud, and C) possibly commit crimes. Over the weekend, I went to Wal Mart and paid $7.53 for Hank Jr's greatest hits. (Somehow, I thought Wal Mart would have it.)

I got out the liner notes, looked through the various photos of Hank -- Hank with beard smiling, Hank with beard smirking, Hank wearing sunglasses wiping gravy off beard -- like a fanboy. I was genuinely excited for my purchase.

Hank Williams Jr. 57,000 Google Images, and not one without sunglasses and beard.

Why was I excited about my purchase? The music is good. How good? About $7.53 good. One of the great things about America and capitalism is the willingness of the consumer to pay for something that is good.

My great-grandparents bought sheet music to play the legendary hits of W.W. Phelps. My grandparents bought whatever those old people bought. My dad bought 8-tracks, records, and now purchases CD's. The kids these days, I am told, use iTune's to download music.

The medium for music will change. What will not change is the willingness of Americans to reward that which we find good with our $$$$$. We have placed value on work exchange. Work exchange means I go to work and get paid, you go to work and get paid, Hank Williams Jr. combs his beard, goes to work, and gets paid. We create products of value, whatever that product is, and, in turn, expect an exchange to occur. In America, we pay for things because our money is the easiest form of showing approval for products.

So, Radiohead may toss out a "free" album. However, didn't Radiohead play some of the "In Rainbows" tracks at some of there live concerts? Concerts that people had been paying for?

And now, for your weekly entertainment...

The Office has kind of hit it big recently with Emmy noms and wins, making it onto the cover of Entertainment Weekly, and a slew of the series’ actors taking movie roles. But are you worried that this kind of perfect sitcom can’t last for much longer? Ken Levine offers a cautionary letter to ‘The Office’ actors, writers, et al. All I can say is ‘amen.’

Since the LotR franchise has made like a gajillion dollars and won a cache of Oscars, it seems like making a couple of prequels would be the closest a potential movie could get to a ‘sure thing’ in the film industry. However, the director, Peter Jackson, has been embroiled in a legal battle with New Line (the movie studio that bankrolled the films) over mishandled revenues. New reports have indicated that some sort of détente has taken place between the director and the studio that fast-tracked him to ‘it’ director status. Peter Jackson directing a new Hobbit movie would be awesome, well, it would be ‘precious.’ (Sorry.) Better than these other directors anyway.

So, how ‘bout a ‘Goonies’ sequel? Seems like Corey Feldman is on a role of late, with this and a ‘Lost Boys’ sequel in the works, he can finally leave Corey Haim behind. Watch him break it to his other half that he won’t be in ‘Lost Boys 2.’ Don’t get too sentimental, most of the stuff they do on ‘The Two Coreys’ is scripted.

Have you seen the new Old Navy sweater commercial? I worked at Bold Gravy (heh, heh) for like two years and most of the music that was played continuously over the PA system was so horribly awful that I would get headaches from having to listen to it on a loop all day. But I really like the song from the commercial by a one, Ingrid Michaelson. Take a listen. Also read what she has to say about selling out to GAP, Inc.

One last thing. So, Lindsay Lohan wants to move to Utah, eh? Great, Utah is turning into the backwater for the decrepit, the D-listed, and now the dysfunctional actors. (Yes, that’s alliteration.)

The Day the Music Industry Died

Last week I watched ‘La Bamba.’ It’s the semi-biographical account of the rock legend Ritchie Valens, who would ultimately die in a plane crash only eight months after starting out his very short-lived career—he was only 17! He died in the same plane crash that killed Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper in 1959; a day which would eventually be known as “The Day the Music Died.” These three young rock stars were just at the start of what might have become some very successful music careers. Many musicians have lamented this musical loss; Don McLean’s well-known single ‘American Pie,’ chronicles the demise of the three stars that fell out of the sky as well as the death of what he saw as pure rock ‘n’ roll. I absolutely love this type of music and how it fused elements of country music with that of ‘race music’ or rhythm and blues. It was still in its infancy when they passed away, but it was the start of a truly American art form.

I grew up listening to this genre of music and was infatuated with the ‘La Bamba’ soundtrack because of all the great rock tracks. In fact, it was one of the first CDs I can remember my dad buying. We must have bought a CD player around 1987 because that’s when ‘La Bamba’ came out. It’s hard to believe that that was twenty years ago! Anyway, I remember listening to all of Ritchie Valens hits that included ‘La Bamba,’ ‘Donna,’ and ‘Come On, Let’s Go.’ All my brothers and sisters used to get so energized listening to the music that we’d start dancing and jump all over the room. Of course, this caused a lot of problems for those first generation CD players that tended to skip if you even breathed too hard around them. I also loved to open up the jewel case and take out the little inset that accompanied all CDs at the time and flip through the pictures and lyrics—I’d do this for hours sometimes while listening to the tunes.

However, I haven’t done this in awhile. The main reason is that I don’t buy CDs anymore, or hardly ever I should say. I know that I’ve touched upon this before on this personal journal-like blog of mine, but I can’t help but comment a little further on this subject in light of Radiohead’s new tactic of distributing their music. If you haven’t heard, Radiohead has decided that instead of compiling their music on a CD with the help of a major record label, they would just dole out the music themselves by selling it in the form of a download from their website. Here’s the rub: Radiohead decided that the fans could decide how much they were willing to pay for their newest installment. In other words, if the casual fan felt like just downloading it for nothing, then that’s totally fine. Personally, I’m not sure what kind of fall-out this is going to have on the music industry, but here’s some thoughts:

While Radiohead’s announcement might come across as commercial suicide, some are hailing this as a musical revolution for an already defunct and archaic system. Advocates are even saying that downloads are turning into promotional tools to sell concert tickets. In other words, the price of music has fallen so dramatically in recent years that giving the music away for free is just a way to get more people to come to a band’s show. Of course, the impact on the record labels has been catastrophic as their bread ‘n’ butter (CDs) have become as cool as eight-tracks. The famous record producer, Rick Rubin, who was recently appointed co-chairman of the Columbia label, has ideas of refocusing the company into something akin to that of the cable TV business (i.e., making Columbia’s catalogue available for download while people pay a monthly subscription).

Thus, while major labels are scrambling to squeeze out any money from hot bands, the artists themselves seem to be making out okay. Attendance of arena shows is up 11% from last year. Music festivals are in the upswing. Bands seem to be raking in the dough as they offset their dwindling CD sales with increased concert prices; most fans aren’t even complaining as they watch their favorite artists in the flesh. As Robert Sandall put it: “They have rediscovered an ancient truth that music is, at root, a communal experience as much as it is something that goes on between your ears.” Some in the industry have even mused that music is now becoming more of a passion for people than even before CDs because of the increased accessibility to music.

The Radiohead method has already forced people to question how much music is actually worth. While there will of course be freeloaders, some people are really shelling out the dough for the new licks because of their fervor for the band. Money for artists is generally made through record contracts and touring and not through the CD. I think I once read that artists generally make about $2 for an album that probably retails around $14.99. Thus, paying for music for your favorite band could essentially turn into a donation for the appreciation and continuation of their music. So, how much would you pay for your favorite Kanye West, Josh Groban, or Metallica album?

I would gladly pay upwards of $20 for an album from a band I consider great—I have no problem with this. For instance, when ‘Red Hot Chili Peppers’ came out with their new double album last year, I made a B line to the nearest Best Buy and forked over the cash for the CD. And, to be honest, I really relished in putting in the CD and looking at the inset of pictures. Of course, I ripped the CD to iTunes, stuck the CD in the shelf, and haven’t picked it up since.

My point is: I would pay for music from bands I really like because I want to support them. If bands couldn’t continue to produce music because they couldn’t make money off of their trade, then I really think that that would be tragic. So, then my issue then becomes: what do I do with bands I’ve never heard of? I have a problem with shelling out even $10 for a CD from a band when I’m only familiar with one or two of their songs. I guess this is why iTunes seems to work for me. I can spend $1 on a song that I’ve heard somehow and transfer it over to my personal catalogue of fabulous music. If I continue to like the song, then I might buy some more tracks from that artist. Eventually, I might even hand over some money to go to one of their concerts.

So, is this really the end of the music industry? No. I just think it’s a shift in the way music is distributed. It calls into question what the purpose behind record labels is. I would have to say that their main function is to promote an artist so that their music can be heard far and wide. Thus, instead of producing CDs to be able to sell them in stores, music labels might become more like PR firms that specialize in selling an artist, not just a piece of plastic. This, of course, would mean that record labels would have to receive a bigger share of concert revenues, merchandise, TV spots, etc. as compensation for their services. Maybe if they just took a page from a certain rock ‘n’ roll chronicle it would make their situation a little easier:

I can still remember how
That music used to make me smile.
And I knew if I had my chance,
That I could make those people dance,
And maybe they'd be happy for a while

Week in Review

Every day last week I indulged myself in some form of entertainment. Here’s my Monday through Friday analysis of what I experienced: the Good, the Bad, and the Weird.

Monday
I guess last week was premier week on many of the networks. I decided to check out a couple of shows that had appeal to me. The first was ‘Chuck.’ This show is billed as an action/comedy. It’s getting great reviews, but I was kind of left with a ho-hum feeling. That’s not to say it was bad—the action sequences were amazing—it’s just that the comedy fell a little flat to me. I will say that the main character is very likable, and I think the show has a lot of potential.

That same night I watched another sitcom called ‘The Big Bang Theory.’ I wasn’t expecting much since the critics kind of panned it. I was also a little wary since it plays like a traditional sitcom: laugh track, situational humor, set up, joke, set up, joke, etc. But I must say I came away pleasantly surprised. It’s an extremely well-written sitcom and I found myself laughing out-loud many times. Also, Jim Parsons (Sheldon) plays out the nuances of his character with nerdlike perfection and wit. Check it out.

Tuesday
It was “old movie night” at my house…I was the only one invited. (Sidenote: sad). I watched this movie called The Apartment, which happened to be on my very long list of movies I need to watch. The premise of the movie was actually somewhat seedy for a movie that came out in 1960. It’s hailed as a comedy classic, but I would label it under the somewhat new moniker of ‘dramedy.’ It actually deals with some very serious issues that I thought were very ‘hush hush’ during this time period, of course, this was the beginning of the 60s…Anyway, I just wanted to say that the comic genius of Jack Lemmon was evident as he embodied the everyday man caught in extraordinary situations with bumbling ease. (See Some Like it Hot). Also, I kind of fell in love with Shirley MacLaine a little.

Wednesday
My sister and I decided to go to the circus on opening night—neither one of us had ever been and we thought it would be fun. And, well, we actually did have a good time, but I was kind of thrust into sensory overload with all the music, noise, clowns, lights, animals, etc. Have you ever seen the sequence in Dumbo when he (gasp!) gets drunk and starts dreaming of pink elephants on parade? To be honest, I couldn’t get that out of my head the entire night. The highlight, for me, was the Asian performers that would contort their bodies together into extravagant corporal pyramids that any cheerleading squad would drool over.

Thursday
Yes! The return of the ‘The Office’ was a sublime, life-affirming, feast of comedy. Ok, it wasn’t perfect, but it was good to see the characters I love back on the small screen. I’ve been watching this sitcom since it debuted. I remember telling people about it after the first season’s six episodes came out and no one had heard of it. So, I downloaded the episodes onto my laptop and carted them around, showing them to anyone that would watch. (I think I’ve seen the first season’s episode like twenty times or something—they’re still my favorite.)

Michael was, of course, beautifully annoying as usual and the PB & J scenes were played out to perfection; not too much and just enough that everyone I was with ‘aaahhhed’ when the TV crew caught the slight kiss in the car. It was a seamless resolution to last season’s cliffhanger.

P.S. Hayley - thanks for facilitating on ‘Office’ party at your apartment. I was especially fond of the green jell-o garnished with miniature staplers. Christian - again, I still don’t understand why you left with ‘six-pack chick’?

Oh, and btw...Creed's turning into on of my favorite characters:

Creed: I've been involved in a number of cults, both as a leader and a follower. You have more fun as a follower. But you make more money as a leader.

Friday
I went to see David O. McKay presents ‘The Smashing Pumpkins’ at the David O. McKay Events Center at UVSC. I kept my streak alive of seeing concerts without paying. This was probably my fifth or sixth one this year where no dollars were exchanged for musical enchantment. I’m a big fan of this band, but oddly enough I only started listening to them after my mission, which was unfortunate because they had broken up by then. So I didn’t think that I’d ever see them live. However, they got back together earlier this year and started touring again, so I just had to go. Of course, I don’t know if you could consider them really together again, since it’s only Billy Corgan and the drummer that are back from the original line-up. The lead-singer alluded to this when he introduced his drummer, with his tongue planted firmly in his cheek, as his ‘life-partner.’

Anyway, they really rocked the casbah with their 90s-defining alt-progressive rock. My favorite part, however, was when Billy did a couple of acoustic takes of some of his biggest hits. It was especially touching to hear him talk about a mother backstage telling him, before the beginning of the concert, about her daughter who recently passed away—she was a huge fan of their music. He dedicated the acoustic version of ‘1979’ to her. It’s my favorite Pumpkins song; in fact, it’s now my video wallpaper on my phone.

WeekEnd
-Radiohead’s giving away their newest album….should we still buy CDs Aaron?

-New Dashboard Confessional is streaming on MySpace and it’s all acousticked up.

PopCulture Quiz

Which President famously said: "Let's give some T.L.C. to the P.Y.T.s."

Answer

"Hey, Miss South Carolina"

I know that most of you are probably sick of hearing about Miss South Carolina and her thoughts on U.S. Americans, the Iraq, and the Asian countries; but I personally believe that we should look at YouTube coverage more because we don't have maps. Below you will find the latest the internet has to offer in the ongoing analysis of the infamous response heard around the world and everywhere and like such as....so we'll be able to build up our future for our:


Jimmy Kimmel breaks down what Miss South Carolina had to say.

"Hey, Miss South Carolina"

Song composed by Miss South Carolina.

Proud Parents of Miss South Carolina.

Is Dylan Still Pop?

Hello. My name is Duane. I have been called Dwight by those around with Freudian tongues. Let's begin.

First – check this out. Now, Bob Dylan has had an immeasurable effect on the pop/hip/jiving world around us. I would even suggest, using a phrase from my buddy JT: Bob Dylan, the singer and song writer of the 20th Century, has done more, save Chuck Berry only, for the pop of men in this world than any other man that ever lived in it.

However, the question is if he is still relevant – and not relevant in a still a musical genius sort of way, but in a – I’m cool cus’ I say I am not because 60-year olds love me, so FICA you – sort of way?

Calexico and YouTube

I saw Calexico last week for free and it was stupendous. allmusic.com described Calexico: Southwestern style with an afro-peruvian, 50s and 60 jazz, country, and surf influence. (A little something for everyone then.) They have this amazing CD they made with Iron & Wine a few years back (click on 'History of Lovers'). The two bands then toured together and I caught one of their shows. The concert was awesome, but I was dating this girl at the time that decided to bring her "best friend" of the male persuasion to the concert, which made things awkward; needless to say they're now married. True story, but the concert still rocked.


Do you ever wish you had the One Ring of Power so that you could slip it on and be invisible? Think about that while you watch Elijah Wood here.

The SAT scores were just released by state, (South Carolina came in third from the bottom) watch this clip to see if you can figure out why.

Oh, and then watch this to view the explanation.