Scratch the Album

by admin [about 2 years, 11 months ago.]

Another NYT article on the struggling music industry.

It discusses how some artists are now just signed to record a couple of songs. This is another great example of how short our attention spans are getting. It discusses how it is predicted that only certain artist’s fans will demand full length albums, naming Radiohead and Tool as examples (shoulda said NIN). It’s the iTunes effect- buy the digital track you want for 99 cents, and never become exposed to the rest of the album. It’s a sure set up for failure.

It’s the new trend apparently: hip hop is dead, now the album is dead. The music industry giants are dying. Rock ‘n roll is dead. Britney Spears is committing career suicide. And yet it’s the best time to be a music fan that it’s been in a long time. We’re surrounded by free music, we partake in networks where we are exposed to new music based on our tastes, and we’re getting more tours than our generation has ever had. Let’s stop saying that things are dying and enjoy what few good things we have in the present.

Genre(s): Read This

37Comments (0)Scratch+the+Album2007-03-29+06%3A13%3A00admin

upcoming ticket sales alert

by hard rock chick [about 2 years, 11 months ago.]

10a on 3/31/Sat.

Rock the Bells w/ Rage Against the Machine and Wu Tang, PLUS Public Enemy, Nas, Cypress Hill, The Roots, Mos Def, and many more at the McCovey Cove Parking Lot on August 18th. I’ll be thurr.

Morrissey @ Paramount Theater in Oakland on May 1st.

and if you have money left….10a on 4/1/Sun.

Rush at the Shoreline Amphitheater on August 1st.

And for other announcements:

last week we found out about: Daft Punk/The Rapture, Greek Theater, July 27

Ozzfest, Shoreline Amphitheater, July 19

Slayer and Marilyn Manson, hitting the west coast around September

Genre(s): Rockin' You Soon

35Comments (0)upcoming+ticket+sales+alert2007-03-28+02%3A32%3A00hard+rock+chick

upcoming shows alert

by hard rock chick [about 2 years, 11 months ago.]

here’s your list of shows not to be missed for the upcoming week:

3/29/Thurs: Calla @ popscene.

3/30/Fri: DJ AM’s Birthday Bash @ Mezzanine, with Mickey Avalon. I’ll be there.

3/31/Sat: Tokyo Decadence @ Rickshaw Stop

4/1/Sun: Apparently no good bands want to play on April Fool’s day. If you know of one, let me know.

4/2/Mon: The Thermals @ Bottom of the Hill? That’s a bit of a stretch for me….

4/3/Tues: Sevendust @ The Fillmore

4/4/Wed: Flosstradamus and screening of Infamy @ Mezzanine

enjoy!

Genre(s): Rock Out SF

34Comments (0)upcoming+shows+alert2007-03-28+01%3A49%3A00hard+rock+chick

open source resistance

by admin [about 2 years, 11 months ago.]

Good music is rebellious…great music causes change. Go listen to some El-P, stream some Year Zero, and muster your creative juices.

Now take it and run with it here.

Genre(s): HRC loves NIN

33Comments (0)open+source+resistance2007-03-27+06%3A08%3A00admin

El-P, Lateef The Truthspeaker @ Mezzanine 3/25/07

by admin [about 2 years, 11 months ago.]

We have entered the period where our world has been sufficiently messed up for a long enough period of time that it has seeped into the souls of many musicians. For every time we hear ‘My Humps’, it should be balanced by an artist that is aware enough to have a voice that says more than ‘don’t you wish your girlfriend was hot like me’.

Enter El-P and Lateef. As I’ve stated before, the industry is proclaiming that hip hop is dead, while it is merely resurrecting itself from an age of excess, it’s own dot com bust. Blinged-out crunk cups are giving way to the original mascot of the hip hop industry: passionate lyrics and angry beats.

The show, which was the most heavily male populated one I’ve been to at Mezzanine, was also the first Mezzanine show I’ve been searched at. Lateef came on soon after we arrived, and I was immediately impressed even though I went into this show pretty blind. He’s very fast paced and intense, the type that makes you wonder how he can remember all of the words. He comes from Oakland, where he was raised by parents who were former Black Panther members. While he provides social commentary, he retains an optimistic voice with head bouncing beats. I also really liked his back up singer. That guy could dance.

As the stage is set for El-P, intense dudes in military gear and ski masks come out with their instruments. You get that shiver that you get when you know you are about to witness a little bit of live anarchy. Suddenly, the R&B fades into the Michael Andrew’s version of ‘Mad World’. Being that I work in video games, I immediately am reminded of this ad for Halo 3 that has been really successful:

Anyway, close to the end of the song, El-P leaps onto stage decked out in an orange prison jumpsuit with blood trickling down his head like he’s got a minor head injury. They lurch straight into ‘Tasmanian Pain Coaster’. It’s a solid set, with a 10 minute or so lecture on how screwed up the world is. It’s a good one though. Aesop Rock come out and does a song with him. As I’m leaving (hey, it’s Sunday) I hear Flyentology, the song that he collaborated with Trent Reznor on. No mention of T-Rez. WTF? Maybe I was the only NIN crossover in the corwd, but give the man some props.

Genre(s): My Musical Adventures

36Comments (0)2007-03-27+05%3A25%3A00admin

Plaster Caster

by admin [about 2 years, 11 months ago.]

Cynthia Plaster Caster. Hmmmm….hmmmmmmm….trying to find the words.

Yeah. So Cynthia got her brilliant idea to collect plaster molds of rock star ‘members’, and she has quite a collection. She refers to them as her ‘babies’. I always wonder if she’s a groupie that preferred to have a purpose to be backstage ogling these rockers, rather than just being like every other groupie. Either way, she’s a fascinating character. Check out the documentary and you’ll see.

Genre(s): Rockumentaries

32Comments (0)Plaster+Caster2007-03-25+03%3A30%3A00admin

Top 5 live music movies

by admin [about 2 years, 11 months ago.]

1. Almost Famous: really captures the after-show bliss:

and what it means to be a fan: “I mean, they don’t even know what it is to be a fan. You know, to truly love some silly little piece of music, or some band…so much that it hurts.”

2. Singles: cameos galore…AIC, Soundgarden, PJ…all those guys before they were famous. This makes Cameron Crowe movie #2 on the list.

3. Rock Star: before you laugh, I thought this movie had a lot of potential.

4. La Bamba: *tear*

5. 8 Mile: rap battles

Genre(s): Lists

31Comments (0)Top+5+live+music+movies2007-03-24+02%3A18%3A00admin

Top 5 non-traditional musicals

by hard rock chick [about 2 years, 11 months ago.]

1. Labyrinth

2. The Rocky Horror Picture Show

3. Cry Baby

4. Hedwig and the Angry Inch

5. The Point

Genre(s): Lists

30Comments (0)Top+5+non-traditional+musicals2007-03-24+01%3A56%3A00hard+rock+chick

Top 5 music scenes in movies

by hard rock chick [about 2 years, 11 months ago.]

1. Wayne’s World: Bohemian Rhapsody

2. American Psycho: Phil Collins

3. Almost Famous: Tiny Dancer

4. Wild at Heart: Slaughterhouse (not exactly the scene I was looking for…I prefer when they jump out of the car and dance on the side of the road. But you get the idea)

5. The Breakfast Club: We Are Not Alone

Genre(s): Lists

29Comments (0)Top+5+music+scenes+in+movies2007-03-24+01%3A26%3A00hard+rock+chick

myspace find

by admin [about 2 years, 11 months ago.]

OK, I’m cheating a little. I didn’t really find these guys on myspace. But you should!

I saw Driveblind when they opened for Candlebox. Yeah, Candlebox-they’re still around and still totally awesome. Anyway, these guys totally rocked it. It’s classic rock-love songs you can cry to and drive to. They’re from Scotland, but living in LA. Check it out.

Genre(s): You should check out:

27Comments (0)myspace+find2007-03-23+22%3A15%3A00admin