Elton John the Luddite:
POP legend Sir Elton John wants the internet CLOSED DOWN.
Never one to keep his opinions to himself, the Rocket Man has waded into cyberspace with all guns blazing.
He claims it is destroying good music, saying: “The internet has stopped people from going out and being with each other, creating stuff.
Remember how they tried to blast Gen. Noriega out of his compound by blaring loud rock music at him around the clock? This story is even better:
Transit workers are installing speakers this week to pump classical music from Seattle's KING-FM into the Tacoma Mall Transit Center. The tactic is designed to disperse young criminals who make drug deals at the bus stop or use public transportation to circulate between the mall and other trouble-prone places.
The 100 Best Cover Songs of all times, and they got No. 1 right -- Jimi Hendrix's version of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower"; he made that song his. For the worst, though, I might have put William Shatner's "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" or Michael Bolton's "Dock of the Bay" ahead of Limp Bizkit's "Behind Blue Eyes." On the good side, they didn't list one of my favorite covers, Jerry Lee Lewis' version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," more moving than you might think.
Aww, man. I don't know about the legal issues, but leave Jimi alone. OK?
SEATTLE - Jimi Hendrix's family filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday over the use of the guitar legend's name to market a brand of vodka.
[. . .]
Hendrix Electric Vodka is packaged in purple-tinted bottles and has Jimi Hendrix's face and signature above the label.
Pretty clearly the sweep by the Dixie Chicks was not to reward their musicianship. It was meant as a poke in the eye to President Bush. And the continued boycott of them by country music radio is about making a statement of values by those people. Pick your politics, and make your choice.
John Mellencamp is quite the sour man:
In rock singer John Mellencamp's latest musical epistle from the heartland, Americans are vengeful, unforgiving, ignorant of other cultures and led by a president he describes as a "rodeo clown."
Old fogey alert! This is the state of popular culture today:
Don't expect to see Bob Dylan joining the celebrities on "American Idol" anytime soon.
One of the show's judges, Simon Cowell, says he has never bought a Dylan record because he "bores me to tears."
He also thinks Kelly Clarkson is a "young Aretha Franklin," which pretty much confirms the musical intelligence that his Dylan remark hints at.
The intended sale of the Verizon (aka Deer Creek) Music Center is a much bigger story than the possible loss of one concert venue. It's part of a much bigger shift in music, which in turn is part of the digital revolution we're all going through. The Indianapolis Star explains:
I'm taking my birthday day off today, so this will be my only post. Y'all keep the wheels of commerce running till I get back tomorrow.
I don't care for the politics of either Bruce Springsteen or Pete Seeger, but I've always liked their music, so I was looking forward to Springsteen's "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions." But I had to give up at about track 5, and I haven't listened again. I like my folk songs rough and raw, and this sounded like elevator music. The songs were allegedly done in one take to capture a "spontaneous" feel, but they surely sounded rehearsed to death. And the 12 musicians sounded like an orchestra -- violins, horns and a grand piano on folk music? Come on.
