Well, well, well -- quite the summer has passed.

I traveled through 12 states with my dog Scout, visited some old friends, made some new friends, and am now watching the movie known as “what in the name of sam hell is going on with the financial markets and why are these rich and grasping greedheads ruining our party?”

People were living high off the hog, borrowing money they shouldn’t, but this current nonsense is mind boggling on many levels. I hope those people who bought their kids matching luxury cars because that’s what kids need these days to fit in don’t get burned too bad.

Anyways -- Chance and I are both keeping busy and I have a few posts to write over the next month or so.

Here is some music.

2002 Remake

Original from 1972:

6500.00 dollars means I won’t be buying this anytime soon, but it sounds cool. I have a monophonic analog Moog source synthesizer that I love.

The special sauce: strings that have “a specific metallurgy designed to work with the Moog pickups.” Marketing manager Chris Stack told Listening Post, “the pickups are simultaneously listening to the strings and controlling them.”

Wired article about the new guitar.

This band was founded in 1968. A friend used to play me their records from his massive record collection, now he lives in another country. Now we share youtube links which isn’t quite the same.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Can_(band)

One of my favorite labels and tracks. Sounds great on a huge sound system. A little long weekend chocolate bunny music. I also threw in a second track from a second artist I like, Chain Reaction.

One of my favorite groups is Rhythm and Sound. Dub is the soundtrack of the universe.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KIEsY66O

More videos after the jump: continue

This song and performance is so brilliant. Well done. Big crowd. I could look it up where it is I guess.

Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails have a new 36 track instrumental album that you can buy. This money goes directly to the artist, the way it should be in my opinion. Trent has been experimenting with new business models and ways of making money from music, and sharing publicly on how each of these experiments have worked. He learned from the Saul Williams album that he produced, and its free or $5 purchase option. This NIN album is sold for $5 and up for options that include CD’s, art, deluxe packages, and more. $5 is virtually free anyways. Be patient though, the site is undergoing heavy traffic issues. My digital download failed at 8MB out of 270MB and I have sent an email to the store site support for assistance.

NIN Ghost Web Site

You can pay $5 for a download of max quality, non DRM infected digital tracks, or choose from a variety of options:

Nine Inch Nails presents Ghosts I – IV, a brand new 36 track instrumental collection available right now. Almost two hours of new music composed and recorded over an intense ten week period last fall, Ghosts I – IV sprawls Nine Inch Nails across a variety of new terrain.

Trent Reznor explains, “I’ve been considering and wanting to make this kind of record for years, but by its very nature it wouldn’t have made sense until this point. This collection of music is the result of working from a very visual perspective – dressing imagined locations and scenarios with sound and texture; a soundtrack for daydreams. I’m very pleased with the result and the ability to present it directly to you without interference. I hope you enjoy the first four volumes of Ghosts.”

I recently read about an interesting approach to the currently failing / struggling / changing-/ evolving /-eating itself music business. I have a theory about the music business – their focus on short term success and hit singles has not been healthy. The music industry has never treated the artists fairly. The R.I.A.A always seems to be suing people for pirating music, often under questionable legal grounds. Then there is the continual bribing of politicians / donating to election campaigns / funding slippery lobbyists to protect the music biz’s rotting business model. The lawyers seem to benefit the most from this state of affairs. Ultimately, the industries head in the sand approach to new media and technology will be their undoing.

The E.F.F recently posted a PDF of various R.I.A.A law suits. PDF Link to EFF Document

Anyways – there is a web site called Slicethepie. Slice the Pie Web Site

Here is how it works:

What is Slicethepie?

Slicethepie enables artists to raise money directly from their fans to professionally record and release an album.

How? We turn every music fan into a record label.

On Slicethepie:

o Artists can raise money directly from their fans to professionally record albums
o Fans can become emotionally and financially involved at all levels of the music industry – scouting, breaking, investing in and influencing real artists
o Investors can gamble on, trade in and profit from the success of these artists
o Artists who secure finance pay Slicethepie a small royalty on album sales but keep all their copyright and publishing rights.

How It Works

This is how it works:

1. Artists sign up, upload their profile and join an Arena.
2. When the Arena is full (up to 1,000 Artists) the Scout Room opens.
3. Music fans earn money scouting each track at least 10 times rating it 1-10 and writing detailed reviews.
4. The 20 highest rated artists from the Scout Room go forward to the Showcase.
5. Music fans vote for and finance Showcase Artists by buying Backstage Passes.
6. Backstage Passes give fans exclusive access to the artist, participation in the recording process, a free copy of the album and exclusive rights to buy Contracts in the artist at a discount.
7. Fans buy Contracts that entitle them to a return based on the number of singles and albums sold by the Artist over a 2 year period
8. The Artist receives the money (non-recoupable) and goes off to record the album, keeping in close contact with Backstage Pass holders in a private area of the site.
9. The Contracts become fully tradable on the Slicethepie Exchange, fluctuating in value depending on the anticipated number of album and single sales.
10. The album is released and Slicethepie receives £2 royalty on every album sale.
11. The Artist keeps all their copyright and publishing rights and remains free to sign a record deal at any time.

If you already have a dedicated fanbase of over 5,000 fans then you may be able to go directly to the financing stage, if this is the case, then please contact us, alternatively, if you are not yet well established, you can join a Slicethepie Arena.

Japan was an influential band from the late 70’s and early 80’s. They have a cool sound, with great bass lines.

Wikipedia Article

History

Original members:

* David Sylvian (original name David Batt): vocals, guitar, keyboards
* Mick Karn (original name Anthony Michaelides): bass guitar, saxophone, oboe
* Rob Dean: guitar
* Steve Jansen (Sylvian’s brother, Steve Batt): drums and percussion
* Richard Barbieri: keyboards

The band debuted on record with 1978’s Adolescent Sex and subsequently Obscure Alternatives, which both sold well in Japan and the Netherlands (where the single “Adolescent Sex” was a Top 30 hit), they also gained some popularity in Canada, but nowhere else. Though influenced by artists such as The New York Dolls, Roxy Music and David Bowie, both albums were widely dismissed by the British music press as being distinctly outmoded at a time when punk and New Wave bands were in ascendence. However, tracks such as “Suburban Berlin”, “State Line” and “Rhodesia” suggested a creative depth and sense of melody to the band’s output which would hint at their future direction.

continue

In this video which is rather clever -- a “chef” or “cook” is creating a parody of cooking shows while beatboxing to create the illusion of mixing up different sounds.