Universal's CEO Once Called iPod Users Thieves. Now He's Giving Songs Away.
"So how is it that an old-school music mogul who can barely hide his indifference to technology or his contempt for the download-loving public is out front on so many digital initiatives? Clearly, it's not because he wants to improve the music experience for consumers. It's also not because he finally understands that MP3s are fundamentally changing his business, whether he likes it or not. And if he's 'invigorated and challenged by the opportunities of digital music,' as Caraeff puts it, that's only because he relishes a fight. In truth, his motive is simple: He wants to wring every dollar he can out of anyone who goes anywhere near his catalog. Morris has never accepted the digital world's ruling ethos that it's better to follow the smartest long-term strategy, even if it means near-term losses. As far as he's concerned, do that and someone, somewhere, is taking advantage of you. Morris wants to be paid now, not in some nebulous future. And if there's one thing he knows how to do, it's use the size of his company to get his way."
.....
"Total Music is designed to unify Apple's competitors in what amounts to a coordinated attack on the iPod. The details are far from finalized, but in Morris' conception a Total Music subscription would come pre-installed on devices like the Zune, the Sony PlayStation, or a mobile phone. Universal is well aware of the difficulty of convincing consumers to pay for music subscriptions, so Morris wants the devicemakers to pony up the cash themselves, either by shelling out for a six-month introductory offer or by assuming the cost forever. This would be money well spent, Morris argues, because it would help the Microsofts of the world eat into the iPod's market share. He has already hammered out preliminary agreements with Warner and Sony BMG and has met with executives at Microsoft and several wireless carriers. If Morris is able to make Total Music a reality, he will once again have succeeded in bending the industry to his will — in this case, by using the combined catalogs of the major labels to help establish a true competitor to the iPod. After all, why buy an iPod if a Zune will give you songs for free?"
(ty 3R1( '/3493R)  ¶ 9:36 AM

 
immigration, racism, and Morrisey vs. NME, as reported in Drowned in Sound, Gigwise, and Daily Mail (the last link has the majority of his statements that NME is taking issue with)

update 12/4/07: Morrissey responds: I abhor racism, and apologise - for speaking to NME  ¶ 9:41 AM

 
a nice blog interview with Atom Heart. i really love his workspace philosophy even though my workspace is a mess. (thanks Josh!)  ¶ 12:12 PM

  Anthony Falzone: Why, Diddy? Why?  ¶ 10:47 PM

  from XLR8R.com

"If you thought that the Illegal Art imprint was merely a stomping ground for Girl Talk's party tunes, think again. The label's latest release comes from experimental electro-pop duo Oh Astro. With releases on Mille Plateaux and performances alongside Merzbow and Sawako under their belts, these two now unroll 'Snow Queen,' a track that should enthrall fans of electro and ambient alike."

Also this week OA is appearing on the elbo.ws artist chart (which monitors mp3s posted on around 2500 blogs). At this moment it's at #15 (it changes every time it crawls.).  ¶ 9:32 AM

 
jpg borrowed from this post at hipster runoff that poses the question "If they made "GIRL TALK: THE MOVIE", who would play Gregg Gillis?"  ¶ 7:28 AM

  Sound Projector: Water towers have eyes - new arrivals post mentioning OA:
"They are from the Illegal Art collective, a faceless group of concept artists based in America who are dedicated to undermining the world’s common sense through audio collage. Previous outings from that label have been rather snide and sarcastic, but this one seems to be laden with friendly beats and even a sneaky melody or two lurking among its twisted corners. Complex sleeve overprints scrawly images of cats and children, like loose leaves torn from the diary of an outsider loon-boon."  ¶ 9:55 AM

  Democrats: Colleges must police copyright, or else
"New federal legislation says universities must agree to provide not just deterrents but also 'alternatives' to peer-to-peer piracy, such as paying monthly subscription fees to the music industry for their students, on penalty of losing all financial aid for their students." (via Steinski's blog)  ¶ 4:37 PM

  a lengthy Girl Talk interview  ¶ 7:00 AM

  Christian Marclay mini documentary

(via rumori)
I saw Marclay perform in Kichijoji several years ago. It was amazing. I tried to contact him about releasing the live set, but I can't remember if we ever connected.  ¶ 12:12 PM

 
Realistic racks up another week on the national RPM chart with a new peak at #28 (previously #32, #29, & #36)
currently with the followig top 10 RPM slots:
#2 KALX, Berkeley, CA (and #14 on their top 30)
#2 KZSC, Santa Cruz, CA
#2 WPKN,, Bridgeport, CT
#6 WNMC, Traverse City, MI
#7 WCNI, New London, CT
#8 KBOO, Portland, OR
#8 WERU, East Orland, ME
#8 WRSU, New Brunswick, NJ
#8 WTTU, Cookeville, TN
#9 WRFL, Lexington, KY
#9 WRPI, Troy, NY
#9 WVFS, Tallahassee, FL
#10 KFJC, Los Altos Hills, CA
#10 KTAO, Taos, NM
#10 WITR, Rochester, NY
#10 WSHL, North Easton, MA

& Oh Astro breaks into some top 10 RPM slots:
#2 WODU, Norfolk, VA
#4 WMTU, Hougton, MI
#5 KSSU, Sacramento, CA
#5 KRUI, Iowa City, IA
#9 WITR, Rochester, NY
#9 WUPJ, Johnstown, PA
#10 KRCB, Rohnhart Park, CA
#10 WMHC, S. Hadely, MA
#10 KTSW, San Marcos, TX  ¶ 8:34 PM

 
Forkcast: New Music: Oh Astro: “Journey To The Center” [MP3/Stream]
Impose: On Repeat: Oh Astro, “Journey To The Center”

MTV.com:
Song Title of the Week: “Candy Sun Smiles” from Oh Astro's Champions of Wonder

stream the entire album from this ecard
reviews at neural and MFR
&& buy it here  ¶ 1:50 PM

  Academic Imposter Syndrome in You're Not Fooling Anyone
"Self-doubt and negative feedback weigh heavily on the mind, but praise barely registers. You attribute your failures to a stable, inner core of ineptness. Meanwhile, you discount your successes as accidental or, worse, as just so many confidence jobs. Every positive is a false positive. By many accounts, academics — graduate students, junior professors, and even some full professors — relate to this only a little less than they relate to eye strain."  ¶ 10:26 AM

 
Todd Owyoung's shots of Girl Talk live show are pretty stellar (given the limited lighting and chaos). and he gives all the technical details on his site about how he captures artists live. more here: Girl Talk @ the Gargoyle — 2007.11.09

"I think Illegal Art (Girl Talk's label) should come up with an innovative new profit model, where he sells GIRL TALK LOTTERY TICKETS and VIP STAGE PASSES in order to regulate who gets to be on stage at the concert. It would probably be a good idea to get a good group of tame rich people on stage instead of greasy teens and belligerent members of the hipster proletariat who don't know how to chill." HIPSTER RUNOFF  ¶ 5:47 AM

 
Sufjan Announces Christmas Song Exchange Contest
i don't know if there is any intended commentary on Intellectual Property, but it seems like a pretty clever way to play with Copyright and the ever-increasing momentum to disseminate music in non-traditional ways.  ¶ 11:30 AM

 
Realistic continues for the 3rd week on the RPM chart at #32 (previously #29 & #36).
& Oh Astro wins the #2 RPM Adds w/ 41 stations adding it this week.  ¶ 8:04 AM

  Girl Talk creating music:

this has been on youtube for several months, but i just noticed it today.

and here's a fun photo:
  ¶ 9:15 AM

 
"And Olivia Newton-John's 'Xanadu' launched in a new splendor, even if their aerobic Dress something seems to be slipping and more like a Halloween costume looks like." - google translation from German review of Oh Astro at Titel-Magazin

another review at Tokaft/Vital Weekly

a negative response from Ray Cummings at the Miami New Times (his review of Hello World was glowing a couple of years ago!)

and Oh Astro makes Band of the Week on What to Wear During an Orange Alert?  ¶ 11:28 AM

 
Realistic's Perpetual Memory Loss climbs the CMJ RPM chart this week to #29! (last week it debuted at #36).

+ here is a review from the Loyola Phoenix (Loyola University Chicago).  ¶ 11:35 AM