shiny dot bulletin

This post originally appeared at lilyonthedustbin.com:

I love XO. Being one of my favourite albums ever, I’m so pleased that it’s this Smith album that the 33 1/3 folks decided to feature. It’s surprising as well. I guess since it was arguably Smith’s most commercial release (out on Dreamworks, hitting mainstream radio and earning a Saturday Night Live appearance) I would have imagined Either/Or being the record of choice for this project. Music critics tend to be purists and Either/Or is certainly the best of lo-fi Smith, whereas XO clearly marks an era of tighter production and a wider variety of instrumentation, most notably piano. Both releases are incredible, however XO is the better record.

One commenter at the 33third blog says it best:

At least one song from that album (mostly Baby Britain, though) has been in my head at some point just about weekly since 1999. And that includes year-plus periods when I didn’t even listen to it.

So… my newest Elliott Smith pursuit is on its way and I can’t wait to immerse myself in it. George Orwell, your 1984 will have to wait. (I know, can you believe I’ve never read 1984!? And I only just saw Bladerunner in the last couple of years. I’m filled with shame.)

p.s. If you’re an Elliott freak/geek like me, check out the recent Glorious Noise interview with Larry Crane, Elliott’s official archivist. Did you know there were alternate lyrics for Miss Misery?

Hat tip: sweetadeline.net

Technorati Tags: Elliott Smith

Two Susan Boyle stories caught my eye this morning.

One from buddytv.com who suggests the Susan Boyle phenomenon is an inside job:

American Idol: The Dark Side of the Susan Boyle Phenomenon

And a second story from Wired, who “have a call in to Sony/BMG to try to determine why the $500,000 or more Boyle’s video should have generated so far is apparently being left on the table, despite the fact that Sony/BMG is a confirmed, revenue-sharing partner of YouTube (as is Fremantle, the Sony/BMG division that produces the show)”:

Susan Boyle YouTube Video: 100 Million Hits, So Where’s the Money? [Updated]

Technorati Tags: Fremantle, paul potts, simon cowell, sony bmg, susan boyle, youtube

Via: arstechnica.com

Study: pirates biggest music buyers. Labels: yeah, right

Those who download “free” music from P2P networks are more likely to spend money on legit downloads than those who are squeaky clean, according to a new report out of Norway. The music labels, however, aren’t quite buying that data.

By Jacqui Cheng | Last updated April 20, 2009

Those who download illegal copies of music over P2P networks are the biggest consumers of legal music options, according to a new study by the BI Norwegian School of Management. Researchers examined the music downloading habits of more than 1,900 Internet users over the age of 15, and found that illegal music connoisseurs are significantly more likely to purchase music than the average, non-P2P-loving user.

Unsurprisingly, BI found that those between 15 and 20 are more likely to buy music via paid download than on a physical CD, though most still purchased at least one CD in the last six months. However, when it comes to P2P, it seems that those who wave the pirate flag are the most click-happy on services like the iTunes Store and Amazon MP3. BI said that those who said they download illegal music for “free” bought ten times as much legal music as those who never download music illegally. “The most surprising is that the proportion of paid download is so high,” the Google-translated Audun Molde from the Norwegian School of Management told Aftenposten.

Record label EMI doesn’t quite buy into BI’s stats, though. EMI’s Bjørn Rogstad told Aftenposten that the results make it seem like free downloads stimulate pay downloads, but there’s no way to know for sure. “There is one thing we are not going away, and it is the consumption of music increases, while revenue declines. It can not be explained in any way other than that the illegal downloading is over the legal sale of music,” Rogstad said.

Read the full story.

Two PETA stories on my radar today…

This morning I read this and thought, mmm, okay. I’m certainly no fan of PETA’s relentless use of sexualized images of women to sell their message - naked women in cages, naked women covered in blood and packaged in cellophane like meat, etc. It’s attention grabbing and sensational for sure, but I question the validity of exploiting one marginalized group to point out the marginalization of another.

That said, I don’t mind the Cloris Leachman ad as it stands alone. However, coupled with PETA’s terrible record, I do agree and understand why Feminocracy charges that this ad supports society’s notion “that the female body is meant for consumption, and when that body begins to show age, it must be covered to protect our sensibilities”.

And then there’s this from the ceeb, the straw that broke my camel’s back:

Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, who began their musical career together in 1981, revealed on their website this week a request from PETA Europe to switch their band name to Rescue Shelter Boys.

“You have many loyal fans of the Pet Shop Boys here at PETA. We have a request that may at first seem bizarre, but we hope that after considering the following facts, you will understand why we are asking this of you,” reads a letter to the duo from PETA special projects manager Yvonne Taylor.

The missive proceeds to outline alleged ways animals are mistreated by pet shops. By changing the band’s name, “you would help raise awareness about the cruelty involved in the pet trade and encourage your millions of fans to consider giving a home to an abandoned or unwanted animal from an animal shelter,” the letter concludes.

Le sigh.

Technorati Tags: cbc, cloris leachman, contexts.org, Feminocracy, pet shop boys, peta

Wow, Billy Bob is an enormous douche bag, eh?

Jian handles the situation masterfully, I’m in awe. I appreciate and acknowledge the vulnerability he shows while at the same time he keeps control of the situation and does not lose his shit. That could have been mega-times worse.

It reminds me of this Peter Gzowski / Iggy Pop interview:

Also handled masterfully.

Technorati Tags: Billy Bob Thornton, cbc, Iggy Pop, jian ghomeshi, Peter Gzowski, q

via Mashable:

The Web has transformed and spread around music content - people can find music at Last.fm, iTunes, and YouTube, among dozens of other services. MySpace has become the epicenter of the music scene and the preferred platform for artist web pages, but it doesn’t bring together all of the platforms for music distribution available on the Web.

Yahoo’s relaunched Artist Pages, however, do just that. From one webpage, users have access to a dashboard filled with content related to their favorite artists. YouTube videos, the iTunes music store, Pandora (Pandora reviews), Last.fm, concert information, and Flickr (Flickr reviews) photos are all available in one simple and clean interface.

It may not be as flashy or image-heavy as a MySpace Music page, but it certainly gives MySpace (MySpace reviews) a run for its money in terms of functionality and customization, and Yahoo’s plans to open it up to third-parties makes it an even more appealing option to music artists.

Read the rest.

Technorati Tags: yahoo

With all the talk of Twitter (um, tweet-a-watt anyone?), it’s no surprise to see musicians jumping on the bandwagon in high numbers. Any artist knows by now that keeping in touch with one’s fans is more important than ever and Twitter is an excellent platform for opening and maintaining such dialogue. If you’re not sure where to start, Music Think Tank offers a decent starter guide for those thinking about building a Twitter community here.

Getting creative with emerging technology platforms has never been a strong point for the ever-resistant major labels, but I see a glimmer of hope with the latest adventures of Somali-Canadian artist K’naan.

He takes the concept of micro-blogging a step further by using the Twitter platform as a tool to collaborate with fans to create a new version of his song “People Like Me”.

Paraphrasing from the official press release:

On April 1st, K’Naan will invite his Twitter followers to download a special instrumental version of the song “People Like Me” and submit their own lyrics via Twitter for a new version to be recorded later this year. All tweets with the hashtag #knaansong will be considered for inclusion in the final song. Deadline for submissions is May 1st. Following that, K’Naan will assemble the best tweets and record the results, crediting all contributors on his official site and all other social profiles. The final track will be made available to fans via free download on K’Naan’s Twitter page at http://twitter.com/thedustyfoot and his official site at http://knaanmusic.com This will mark the first time Twitter will be officially used for the creation of a song.

Here’s a hashtag primer and remember, follow @hashtags on Twitter if you want your hashtags to be tracked.

Kudos to K’naan and his team for dreaming up this creative approach to using Twitter. I eagerly await the results.

You can follow K’naan @thedustyfoot and/or visit his web site knaanmusic.com.

Technorati Tags: #knaansong, Cornerstone Promotion, hashtag, knaan, knaanmusic.com, music think tank, People Like Me, somali rapper, thedustyfoot, tweets, twitter, universal canada

“Would you like to marry me and if you like you can buy the ring …”

GIRLFRIEND ON A SPEED DATE
By MANDY STADTMILLER
March 19, 2009

HORNY, possibly asexual hipsters of the world, rejoice.

The Smiths speed dating is finally here.

“I kind of suggested the idea as a joke,” says organizer Dave Hill, a comedian and musician who says rather than taking money for the event, he’d like to be paid in karma. “Everyone there has a shared passion for making out. No, for The Smiths.”

[snip]

There are only 40 spots for men and women, and, as you would guess, one date ends when the song ends.

“If you get, say, ‘The Queen Is Dead,’ you can have, like, a pretty long date,” Hill says. “But if you get ‘Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want,’ you’re looking at 1:52.”

Read the whole kit and caboodle at the NY Post.

Technorati Tags: morrissey, smiths, speed dating

You thought 140 characters was tight … so how about music reviews in six words?

Six-Word Reviews of 1,302 SXSW Mp3s

Technorati Tags: sxsw

I present to you the latest findings from the creators of Musicthatmakesyoudumb:

*click to visit the site to see the HUGE graphic*

Found via Steven Wells @ The Guardian, who should be credited for the title of this post.

Personally, I love that “poomonger” Sufjan.

Technorati Tags: music that makes you dumb, musicthatmakesyoudumb