The versatility and stylistic breadth Adele Adkins displays on her impressive debut album "19" was peppered with gosh-golly comments of embarrassment at a sold-out Wiltern Friday night. Adele, who goes by the single moniker and as such is nominated for four Grammys, often lost herself between song, overwhelmed by the crowd's enthusiasm that led her to giggle, babble and at one point throw up the house lights to take a picture. 
When it came time to sing, she fully composed herself and in a hourlong show - that includes a three-song encore and an instrumental vamp to showcase her R&B band - made a strong case for the power of her voice and the sweet caress of her songs. "Chasing Pavements," her one mid-sized hit, was saved for last and it stood alongside rather above the pack.
Significantly, Adele's presentation confirms the individualism at work in her artistry. All of the Brit gals we've seen, from Amy Winehouse to Leona Lewis to Duffy, clearly have the pipes, but Adele is among the leaders when it comes to presenting oneself as an artist and not solely as an affecting voice within a nod-to-the-past production. The show is convincing is making one believe she has many different avenues to take on a second record.  
Adele, now 20 and near the end of a quick U.S. tour, is bluesier than the rest of the young female thrushes who have arrived on these shores over the last several years. Her idol, she says in many interviews and noted Friday, is Etta James and paid tribute to her first by pulling "Melt My Heart to Stone" out of the recorded version's Bonnie Raitt territory and gave it the sizzle of heartbreak James might have invested in it 50 years ago in Chicago. Second nod came in her torment-inspired reading of "Many Shades of Black," the barroom blues tune she recorded with Jack White's Raconteurs. Adele also sang her favorite James tune, "Fool That I Am"; it was her most restrained perf of the night.
Happenstance played a key role in getting Adele to this point - her perf on the "Saturday Night Live" telecast that featured Gov. Sarah Palin gave her album a second life and may well be responsible for the Grammy noms beyond new artist. The immediate result was seen Friday: The concert had initially been scheduled for the Avalon, which holds a little more than half the capacity of the Wiltern, and the $25 tickets were being offered for more than $250 online.
James Morrison opened by combining good-natured charm, a distillation of mid-Atlantic soul music and a folk-rocker's sweetness. 
Adele's set list:
Cold Shoulder / Melt My Heart to Stone / Daydreamer / Best for Last / Right as Rain / Many Shades of Black / First Love / Tired / Make You Feel My Love / Instrumental (band introductions) Fool That I Am / Hometown Glory / Crazy for You / I'm Movin' On / Chasing Pavements

Paul McCartney, the Killers and the Cure will headline the 10th Coachella Valley Arts & Music Festival as the top of the bill continues to move toward acts that have had mainstream commercial success.
As was the case last year, when indie rock fans were shocked to see Jack Johnson and Pink Floyd's Roger Waters as the closing acts, the inclusion of McCartney both attracts a different element to the crowd and attempts to get the youngsters to discover how great an influence the ex-Beatle has had on contemporary music. That's wonderful thinking but too many kids don't head to a music show for an education. 

Another aspect being repeated from last year concerns the middle of the bill, Coachella's bread-and-butter, which once again is a primo collection of artists. It's also an indication how much the fest needs those mega-headliners on the bill to deliver a sell-out. Four or five years ago, that second set of artists that fest organizers are using to promote the lineup would have been enough to sell plenty of tickets: Morrissey, Franz Ferdinand, the reunion of My Bloody Valentine, Leonard Cohen first appearnace in ages, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Thievery Corporation and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The added bonus is the presence of Amy Winehouse, who has not performed a full set on these shores since her five Grammy wins last year.

The number one issue is how to make sure that now sound bleed affescts Cohen's show. Last year the Swell Season could barely be heard on the second stage and Cohen is even softer than the "Once" duo.

The L.A. Times had the exclusive today and writer Geoff Boucher raised an interesting point:
What remains to be seen is whether the choice will cost the festival credibility with its core clientele: young fans who are more likely to listen to the White Stripes than the "White Album" and who are far more familiar with Rage Against the Machine than "Band on the Run."

That core group of fans, though, might well ignore the mainstage late Friday night and an entirely different group of people will be on hand.
Four years ago, a good seat to see Macca was $250. A ticket to just the Friday show is $103. To some, that sounds like a bargain.

My list of must-sees are followed by the full lineups: 

FRIDAY APRIL 17: The opportunity to see McCartney and Cohen, but also Beirut, which has a new album being released just prior to the fest, the much-hyped Girl Talk, two of my favorite young songwriters, M. Ward and Ryan Bingham, Gustavo Santaolalla's cool elecronic tango outfit Bajofondo and Los Campesinos!

SATURDAY, APRIL 18: This is one of Coachella's strongest lineups as all the acts give rock-solid performances. Well, the two times I have seen Winehouse were excellent. Winehouse, Thievery Corporation, TV on the Radio, Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes, Dr. Dog, Drive-By Truckers, Booker T & the DBT’s, Calexico and Henry Rollins. Three acts I have never seen that intrigue me immensely: Blitzen Trapper, James Morrison and Tinariwen. 

SUNDAY, APRIL 19: My Bloody Valentine, Paul Weller, Antony & the Johnsons, Jenny Lewis, Okkervil River, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Vivian Girls, Gaslight Anthem. Crazy, they sneak Public Enemy in there with no fanfare. When was the last we saw them on a bill with rock acts? The U2 tour that hit Dodger Stadium? I stand corrected.

Tickets are on sale now and they are offering the same layaway plan that Goldenvoice used for Stagecoach.

The full bills:
FRIDAY APRIL 17: Paul McCartney, Morrissey, Franz Ferdinand, Leonard Cohen, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Beirut, The Black Keys, Girl Talk, Silversun Pickups, The Ting Tings, The Crystal Method, Ghostland Observatory, Crystal Castles, The Airborne Toxic Event, We Are Scientists, N.A.S.A., Patton & Rahzel, M. Ward, The Presets, The Hold Steady, A Place to Bury Strangers, Felix da Housecat, Buraka Som Sistema, Ryan Bingham, Bajofondo, Peanut Butter Wolf, Noah & the Whale, White Lies, The Bug, Alberta Cross, Los Campesinos!, Craze & Klever, Molotov, Switch, Gui Boratto, Steve Aoki, The Aggrolites, People Under the Stairs, The Courteeners, Cage the Elephant, Dear and the Headlights.  

SATURDAY, APRIL 18: The Killers, Amy Winehouse, Thievery Corporation, TV on the Radio, Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes, MSTRKRFT, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Atmosphere, Mastodon, TRAV$DJ-AM, Henry Rollins, Crookers, Turbonegro, Hercules and Love Affair, Superchunk, Glasvegas, Dr. Dog, Drive-By Truckers, Booker T & the DBT’s, Amanda Palmer, The Bloody Beetroots, Surkin, Para One (Live), Calexico, Liars, Bob Mould Band, Zane Lowe, Electric Touch, Blitzen Trapper, James Morrison, Drop the Lime, Glass Candy, Thenewno2, Gang Gang Dance, Billy Talent, Ida Maria, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Zizek, Cloud Cult, Tinariwen. 

SUNDAY, APRIL 19: The Cure, My Bloody Valentine, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Throbbing Gristle, Lupe Fiasco, Paul Weller, Peter Bjorn and John, X, Antony & the Johnsons, Roni Size, Public Enemy, Jenny Lewis, Groove Armada, Paolo Nutini, Christopher Lawrence, Lykke Li, The Kills, Okkervil River, M.A.N.D.Y., Clipse, Sebastien Tellier, Fucked Up, Perry Farrell, The Horrors, Late of the Pier, K’naan, Junior Boys, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Supermayer, No Age, Vivian Girls, Shepard Fairey, Themselves, Gaslight Anthem, The Knux, Mexican Institute of Sound, The Night Marchers, Marshall Barnes.

Leonard Cohen should be the highlight of this year's Coachella festival. His return to performance last year included this show on May 13  at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium. He is currently wrapping up an Australia tour.
In Halifax, he played two sets and three encores.
 The set list:
First Set / Dance Me To The End Of Love / The Future / Ain't No Cure For Love / Bird On The Wire / Everybody Knows  / In My Secret Life / Who By Fire / Anthem / Tower Of Song /Suzanne / Gypsy Wife / Boogie Street / Hallelujah / Democracy / I'm Your Man / Take This Waltz / Heart With No Companion / So Long, Marianne / First We Take Manhattan / That Don't Make It Junk / Closing Time / I Tried to Leave You

In a fine profile written by Jon Pareles on Bruce Springsteen, the Boss said the decision to do a deal with Wal-Mart for an exclusive greatest hits package was made too hastily. “We were in the middle of doing a lot of things, it kind of came down and, really, we didn’t vet it the way we usually do,” he said. “We just dropped the ball on it. ... Given its labor history, it was something that if we’d thought about it a little longer, we’d have done something different.”
He added, “It was a mistake. Our batting average is usually very good, but we missed that one. Fans will call you on that stuff, as it should be.”

Last year, the big deal musically at the Super Bowl was the debut of Paula Abdul lip-synching a horrible song that appeared on Randy Jackson's upcoming album. It was synergy at its worst, the shoehorning of an astonishingly bad product into a place where it did not belong just to get more people to watch "American idol."
Be glad none of the stars of "Heroes" have albums coming out.
What would have been unthinkable when the Super Bowl was younger than XXIX, rock 'n' roll superstardom is being weaved into the day beyond the halftime show intended to get the country riled up about Bruce Springsteen's "Working on a Dream" and prepare many to purchase tickets to concerts, which go on sale the morning after the Steelers - let's hope - make it a half-dozen SB wins. Bruce's press conference can be seen here.
U2's newest single “Get On Your Boots” will be the soundtrack to NFL Network’s Super Bowl XLIII commercial that will run during the game.  The commercial will air only on Super Bowl Sunday.
The ad features Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden.The cinematographer is Claudio Miranda, who is up for an Oscar for his work on "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."
Meanwhile, Journey will playing in the pre-game ceremonies.
My set list guess for Springsteen and the E Street Band: "Badlands," "The Rising," "Working on a Dream," "Born to Run."
If I got to choose, well aware of the venue and the necessary atmosphere: "No Surrender," "Atlantic City," "Murder Incorporated," "Jungleland."

John Martyn, the British singer-songwriter who developed alongside Nick Drake and never got his due for creating atmospheric and jazzy folk music, died Jan. 29. He was 60.
 A contemporary of  Drake, Fairport Convention, the Incredible String Band and others in the 1960s British folk scene, it was Martyn's employment of jazz elements that gave his music a distinctive free-flowing ambient effect. Like Drake and, in America, Tim Hardin, he pushed the boundaries of pop-oriented acoustic folk music by emphasizing a hushed stillness in his songs.
His  groundbreaking work was 1973's "Solid Air," -the title track of which is an ode to Drake, who would die a year after that album's release. Stylistically, it was the perfect marriage of Martyn's trademarks - slurred vocals pushed to the bottom end of his tenor, prominent acoustic bass lines that prop up his acoustic guitar that crackled like a dying fire, the electric piano sprinkling in notes here and there and lyrics that conveyed unsuredness. He employed a slapping technique on both sides of the guitar that added an eerie sustain on chords and ascribed a prominence to notes that pierced the blur of his vocals.  "Solid Air" had erratic distribution in the U.S. and tracking down anything beyond expensive imports was near impossible in the 1970s. I remember hearing the album in a mall record store, becoming transfixed and then launching a search that would last four years.  Unlike Drake, whose contract with Island insisted that his records always stay in print, Martyn's albums seemed to come and go on a whim.
As a young fan of all the styles Martyn employed, "Solid Air" was a remarkable gem of an album to me. No other music had a similar affect and I remember being told somewhere in the mid-70s that if I liked Martyn I really need to also hear Drake, which led to me purchasing "Bryter Later," and Richard Thompson. Funny how time rewrites history: It seems that Drake has become the starting point for anyone looking to engage in or research that time and place, which to some point has led to a rejuvenated interest in the reissues and performances of John Renbourn, Bert Jansch, Mike Heron and Vashti Bunyan. When Davy Graham died recently, his obit didn't get the best of placement in newspapers but it is truly staggering how many people his guitar playing influenced people. 
The best book on the development of the British folk music scene and its evolution into something commercially viable is Joe Boyd's "White Bicycles."As a manager, producer and concert promoter's right hand man, Boyd led a Forest Gump-like life in music that took him from the jazz and blues greats of the 1950s to Bob Dylan acoustic and electric years to Nick Drake and Pink Floyd. He admits to not getting Martyn and has anecdote after anecdote about Drake, whose short life is a source of endless fascination.
Someday, it would be wonderful to get the Thompson/Martyn point of view.

 

While we wait for Bruce Springsteen to remind the world that albums can still sell a quarter million copies in a week, Taylor Swift's-mania  gets interrupted by a news flash: Indie rock artists can sell albums and crawl into the top 100. Take a look: 

Andrew Bird's "Noble Beast" (Fat Possum) sold 26,000 copies to debut at No. 12, according to Nielsen Soundscan data. It is the eighth album from Bird, a violinist and singer, and his first to chart below No. 76.

Animal Collective's "Merriweather Post Pavilion" (Domino), the sixth album from the New York-based collective, sold 25,000 to come in at No. 13. None of the band's albums have placed higher than No. 72, which "Strawberry Jam" hit in 2007.
An EP from Bon Iver, the performance name of Justin Verdon whose "For Emma, Forever Ago" was in countless year-end top 10 lists, sold 23,000 copies. Antony and the Johnsons' "Crying Light" sold 8,000 to open at No. 65; A.C. Newman's "Get Guilty" (Matador), the first solo album in five years from the leader of the New Pornographers, sold 5,000 to come in at No. 99.
Also, Fiction Family, featuring Sean Watkins, formerly of Nickel Creek, and Jon Foreman of Switchfoot, sold 7,000 copies of their self-titled ATO debut to start at No. 71.  

Another act that has gained considerable steam from 2008 overviews is the Fleet Foxes' self-titled album on Sub Pop. Last week it sold 14,000 copies and moved up 10 slots to No. 46. A month ago, during the holiday shopping season, the album was at No. 181 on sales of 5,000. It has now sold 211,000 copies.

Meanwhile, early Valentine's Day shoppers scooped up 29,000 copies of Columbia's Mariah Carey "Ballads" to slide in at No. 10 and 17,000 copies of the Frank Sinatra "Seduction" collection from Warner Music (No. 23). 

 

Ty Taylor, who made great impression during his run on "Rockstar: INXS," takes on the role Ben Vereen originated in "Pippin" and delivers it with considerable gusto at the Mark Taper Forum. The production is done in conjunction with Deaf West Theater and features a cast of hearing and deaf actors. For the most art it's loads of fun, but the book is definitely flimsy and no amount of razzle-dazzle can make up for that.
Then again, Taylor has been seen onstage in Las Vegas in productions with an even weaker book.
Jeff Calhoun, the director and choreographer, warned us beforehand "this is not your grandmother's Pippin.'" I chatted with him after the first preview at which time he said:
"There’s nothing I wanted that I was not able to have. This is a business of compromise and you have to be smart about what you agree to. I am fortuitous in that Stephen Schwartz turns out to be the most collaborative composer. He immediately grasped why (the production) was a good idea and I went to him with every change for his support. He was mostly amenable and if not he gave a good reason. I think he gave me 50 notes. There was maybe only one at which we were at odds."
Reviews from Daily Variety and Los Angeles Times were on the positive side of mixed.

The first track on nearly all of Bruce Springsteen's albums grabs the listener by the throat and gets their attention. Setting the needle down on a Springsteen album for the first time has been a thrill for 30-odd years: You go in ready to listen.
Perhaps the most distressing element on his new album "Working on a Dream" is "Outlaw Pete," the eight minute tune that kicks off the disc. It is the worst album opener in Springsteen's career.
The song is a mess. The story meanders and makes little sense, several of the rhymes are childlike, the strings and lonesome harmonica sound come out of nowhere and the chorus of "Can you hear me" seems like a piece of a different song. The reviews are starting to come in and they’re running the gamut from pan to rave. Paste magazine’s blog deemed it “Springsteen going through the motions”…. “his worst album by far, a surprisingly inept blemish on what has been a consistently great career.” Rolling Stone, so far, has been the only periodical to wax enthusiastic about the disc, saying it’s “the richest of the three great rock albums Springsteen has made this decade with the E Street Band.” (They're flat out wrong).
The Washington Post is most in line with my take: “Full of lyrical missteps and half-realized ideas. The album doesn't go nearly as deep as you'd expect from one of rock's preeminent poets; Springsteen's lyrics tend to be overshadowed by the album's generally bright melodies and lush textures and sounds.”
Not enough is being made of how out-of-sync “Outlaw Pete” is with his career. As a fan, I set out to list the Boss' album openers - side one, track one on vinyl - in order of importance; I'd say the top five get five stars each and even the bottom five deserve three. (I left out the live albums and compilations).

15. Old Dan Tucker("Seeger Sessions")
Lots of yelping and mumbling, Pete Seeger's version on "American Favorite Ballads" contains more vitality and honesty, not to mention a more clear articulation of this party boy's story.
14. Radio Nowhere ("Magic")
OK as a single, the problem here is that it does not connect with the rest of the disc in a coherent fashion. It's a lot like "Dancing in the Dark," the weakest song on "Born in the USA" and its lead-off single. Fortunately it was tucked away in a bank of far superior songs.
13. Blinded by the Light ("Greetings From Asbury Park")
First song first album. He writes it with a rhyming dictionary in one hand and guitar in the other.
12. Better Days ("Better Days")
A ho-hum melody but I always enjoyed the end of the first verse: “I'm tired of waitin' for tomorrow to come/Or that train to come roarin' 'round the bend/I got a new suit of clothes a pretty red rose/And a woman I can call my friend.”
11. The E Street Shuffle ("The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle")
The congas, the brass, the false ending - they're all cool, but there might not be a Springsteen song that sounds more out of character than this one. It energized me in my youth so I feel bad putting it so low, but in terms of songwriting craft it has been surpassed.
10. Devils & Dust ("Devils & Dust")
One of the three best songs on his most recent all-downer disc. Descriptive, compact and well performed.
9. Nebraska ("Nebraska")
The opposite of "Devils." One of my favorite albums, but the title track is just a warmup for the brilliant songwriting that follows. For anyone wondering the difference between effective use of the harmonica to evoke a feeling of loneliness and superfluous use, compare the "Nebraska" to "Outlaw Pete."
8. The Ghost of Tom Joad("The Ghost of Tom Joad")
Time has been kind to this song, a tune that looks backward and yet proves prescient. My guess is it will continue to climb higher in the Springsteen canon as the years pass.
7. Born in the USA ("Born in the USA")
Probably the hardest tune to judge on the list as it carries so much baggage. Misinterpreted despite the directness of the lyric and rearranged for live performances to expose its biting nature, "Born" is now trapped by its dated arrangement.
6. Human Touch ("Human Touch")
That craving for connection is a subject he has expounded on ever since the collapse of his first marriage and “Human Touch” was filled with tales of a recovering romantic. As an album, “Human Touch” is one of those minor works pepper with strong songs, this being one of them.
5. Lonesome Day ("The Rising")
Bruce to the rescue. Concert performances of this tune have elevated its status over time and made it feel like an important part of his oeuvre. Of songs on “The Rising,” I’d place it in the middle of the pack, but in this list it goes pretty close to the top.
4. Badlands ("Darkness on the Edge of Town")
I’ll always prefer live versions to this recording but it still comes from a place of power. Emerging as it did from a lengthy period of silence, it had a visceral energy that demonstrated he could make a live record in the studio and have it be successful.
3. The Ties That Bind ("The River")
Tough Springsteen tells some woman she will not be as tough as he is and that their lives are permanently intertwined. Great melody, great playing by Roy Bittan and Max Weinberg.
2. Ain't Got You ("Tunnel of Love")
Structured like an old soul song - man has everything he could possibly want - riches, looks, possessions - but the girl remains elusive. He delivers it like a cross between Bo Diddley and an early rockabilly artist. It's short and to the point, a fine set-up for a collection of songs about the problems of romance.
1. Thunder Road ("Born to Run")
Escape and adventure with a brilliant production and arrangement. And when Springsteen would open his shows in '75 with just the piano and keep it at its ballad pace, it demonstrated how expertly crafted it was of a set of lyrics and how an artist can make two clear and concise statements with a single song, the studio version and the live version. A perfect single.

Conductor Gustavo Dudamel, who arrives in Los Angeles from his native Venezuela already a celebrity, will attempt to fulfill his promise of exposing classical music to a community that has been generally excluded by making his first show free.
He will begin his initial run as the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s music director with a free performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony at the Hollywood Bowl on Oct. 3. That will be followed by a gala at Walt Disney Concert Hall that will feature the world premiere of a John Adams piece dedicated to the Los Angeles of the 1940s and ‘50s. The gala will also feature Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, a work Dudamel first conducted at 17 in his homeland, and will be televised in Europe, South America and Asia; a week later it will appear on PBS’ “Great Performances.”
Dudamel, who turns 28 next week, greeted Los Angeles Philharmonic board members, supporters and the media on Thursday afternoon, answering questions from his new boss Deborah Borda who positioned the transition from Esa-Pekka Salonen to Dudamel on a level of Bush to Obama. (Lot of talk about hope  seems to discount the hope Salonen provided for working composers and the modern repertoire over the last 17 years).
 The initial greeting was what Borda called “a cinematic postcard,” a short film of Angelenos – Andy Garcia, ballerinas, two ladies at Pink’s Hit Dogs, an Elvis impersonator, two teams of newscasters, John Williams, Salonen and others – saying “welcome Gustavo.”
The Dude, as I am sure he will become known, said he was “muy, muy, muy emocional” and struggled to put his emotions in words on the stage of Walt Disney Concert Hall. A few of his observations:
 “L.A. is in a place with a special tradition, a tradition of new ideas. The legacy for Esa-Pekka is this idea to have together the traditional repertoire with the new repertoire. To have new composers played by a wonderful orchestra … is to have a message of hope, of young energy. It is something that will be great.”
“The most important thing is to make wonderful music, to work for the community. We can bring not only music but give (listeners) peace and hope, all those feelings with one note. In our world today we need peace and justice – is that a word? With music as our weapon we will try to help the world to change.”
“To involve the community is one of the most important points. Classical music is far from the real community but it’s important to have new audiences come with the regular audiences. We have to involve young kids.”
On the festival “Americas and Americans”: There is a separation in our music but in America there should be no divisions. It’s one music. I want to try to connect music with the atmosphere … to create an atmosphere in which we don’t know where we are.”
“John Adams is a symbol of American music.”
The reason he made the last comment is that Adams was appointed creative chair of the L.A. Philharmonic and was about to join him onstage. In the job, he will program a festival titled "West Coast: Left Coast" that is dedicated to works with California as a central theme. It is rather far reaching and features the Kronos Quartet on several of the programs.
Kronos, Terry Riley, Matmos and guitarist Mike Einziger perform Nov. 21; Frank Zappa’s “Yellow Shark” ison a bill with Harry Partch’s “US Highball" and Ingram Marshall’s “Fog Tropes” on Dec. 1; “Songs of the Sun” is a Dec. 4 concert still being booked that will venture into pop tunes; the world premiere of Thomas Newman’s work for Kronos and orchestra premieres Dec. 3-4; a suite of Leonard Rosenman’s music from “Rebel Without a Cause” is on the Dec. 5-6 program; and a night dedicated to Beat poets will feature the Charles Lloyd Quartet, Joshua Redman and Joe Lovano on Dec. 8.
A native of New Hampshire, Adams has long been associated with California and had a fair amount of his work debut with the orchestras of L.A. and San Francisco. He spoke about his “City Noir,” which was inspired by Kevin Starr’s book “California: A History.”
“There was a chapter on the dark side of Los Angeles life. The Black Dahlia murder and the film noir tradition that came out of that culture gave me the idea. That explosion emotionally and the colors. Something has concerned me for awhile – is there a California sensibility?
"When I did the Minimalist Jukebox festival it was clear we’re not a Vienna or a Paris. The tradition is not deep but it is wide. The new festival stretches from the experimental to include Frank Zappa, the Beach Boys, John Cage to crazy performance artists. It’s a cultural and historical exploration.”
Adams returned Dudamel’s compliment by recalling hearing him conduct 3-1/2 years ago in Venezuela.
“At that point, his name was a buzz in the community. Then I head him conduct Mahler’s Cathedral symphony and I was reminded that music is the art of feeling. It is intellectual and sensual but fundamentally about feeling. He is an individual who has that capacity, to get it from the performers and carry it to the audience."
Adams has explored California and the Beats in Disney Hall before:

The Academy was only able to come up with three songs for this year's Oscar song category, a indication that the system is not working.

For the last several years, music wing voters have to see a reel of the contenders in a theater. Each of the songs is seen as it plays in its movie - in context in one sense of the word but out of context in the grand scheme. It has consistently favored performance scenes and animated pictures.

The system discriminates against any songs that encapsulate a mood or a portion of the story that has just transpired, not to mention any tune that foretells the action ahead. Last year the system worked against Eddie Vedder's work for "Into the Wild"; this year it discounts two strong end credits songs: Bruce Springsteen's "The Wrestler" and "I Thought I Lost You," the song Miley Cyrus sings at the end of "Bolt."

No real gripes against the score nominees, although it does look like a gathering of the old boys club. Personally, I find Jon Brion's work for "Syndoche, New York" and Howard Shore's score for "Doubt" more interesting and effective than than "Milk," but in the long run, every element of "Milk" is perfectly married.

The nominees are: "Down to Earth" from "WALL-E" (Walt Disney) Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman; Lyrics by Peter Gabriel

"Jai Ho" from "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Music by A.R. Rahman; Lyrics by Gulzar "O Saya" from "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Music and Lyrics by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam

Sam Cooke's music never goes out of style, and  for 45 years, artists have been mining its uniquely groomed blend of romance, gospel and straightforward pop.  Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come" has been used for any number of social causes and  it worked well within the Barack Obama campaign.  Bettye LaVette and Jon Bon Jovi covered it Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial giving a performance that one hopes will alert the world to the superb talent of Ms. LaVette. 
Five years ago, the music was celebrated by a man whose music Cooke covered, a musician present at Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington. The video is quite cool - Sam Sings Dylan; Bob Does Cooke.
Incidentally, iTunes is offering a digital EP titled “Change” that features Cooke's versions of
“This Little Light of Mine,” “A Change Is Gonna Come,” “(Ain’t That) Good News,” “Keep Movin’ On” and “Blowin’ In The Wind.”

 

In my recent profile of Butch Walker,he spoke about writing and producing a song for a commercial - a first for him. At the time of the interview, he was still awaiting word about whether it had been accepted.
Coca-cola unveiled the track, "Open Happiness," at Midem in Cannes today. He said:

"It’s a four minute song that I guess they’ll chop up into different lengths. It would have been dumb to get the offer and turn it down. I was told write an uptempo pop jam and that’s no different than what I normally do. It’s not like I was asked to write a song and mention the name of a product 20 times."

The first televised spots will break on "American Idol" and will air during the Super Bowl and the Academy Awards. The fully integrated campaign -  including outdoor and print advertising, digital and music components  - will roll out throughout the first half of the year around the world.
Featured on the track are Cee-Lo Green, Patrick Stump from Fall Out Boy, Brendon Urie from Panic at the Disco, Travis McCoy from Gym Class Heroes and Janelle Monae. Butch and Polow Da Don produced.

Limiting recordings to a single retailer, seen as the panacea for slumping sales when the Eagles swooped in 15 months ago, continues to experience a crash on Nielsen SoundScan's top 200. Here's a look at the week's sales of albums available at only one outlet. (* denotes a debut week).

39. AC/DC "Black Ice" (Wal-mart) 11,200
51. Guns N' Roses "Chinese Democracy" (Best Buy) 9,300
74. Christina Aguilera "Keeps Gettin' Better" (Target) 6,500
86. Bruce Springsteen "Greatest Hits" (Wal-Mart) 5,700*
94. My Morning Jacket "Live From Las Vegas" (iTunes) 5,300*
121. Various artists "This is Us" (Starbucks) 3,800*
133. Eagles "Long Road Out of Eden" (Wal-mart) 3,500
137. Various artists "Jazz Signatures Vol.2" (Starbucks) 3,400*

For inauguration day, I thought a good topic for my  Daily Variety column would be a look at the music industry in D.C. and the Capitol Hill efforts from musicians and labels. Both the RIAA and the Recording Artists Coalition are focused on a bill that would get artists payment for having their songs played on radio.
Turns out artists are also uniting in the U.K. under the banner of the Featured Artists Coalition, which has added Blur drummer Dave Rowntree, Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien and singer Kate Nash as members.
In the U.K., the group wants to close a copyright loophole that allows music to be used on DVDs without the artists getting paid and also be involved in new technology deals.
The BBC quoted Brian Message,who co-manages Radiohead and Nash and helped set up the FAC.
"As the rules of the business and changing and as artists are having to step up to take on more responsibility for their own careers, there's a requirement for them to know what's going on on a business, legal, creative agenda." (The picture is of Santogold performing at a party Monday night). 

A history lesson, told musically in secular songs that spoke of belief in mankind and perseverance and in stories of bold moves by strong leader, served as Barack Obama's first public celebration in Washington, D.C. Actors read monologues that emphasized moment in which the status quo was rejected and public service was encouraged, quoting Lincoln and FDR extensively. It was an effective marriage of song and speech, a two-hour refresher course about how the country's leaders and the American people have confronted hard times and how artists have represented the American spirit in their songs.
Appropriately, Bruce Springsteen went first after Denzel Washington said the day would "speak to the future of America," and he turned to one of his strongest songs about renewal, "The Rising," Originally written about troubles in the New Jersey beach town he is permanently associated with, Asbury Park, a tune that served as a post-9/11 balm when it was released in 2003. With the Obama and Biden families to his right and a choir behind him, Springsteen's tune took on a new air, its message of community and hope in line with a political administration rather than at odds with one. It was opening salvo that took hold as the song asked people to join hands and realize, that when they look into the sky there are a multitude of possibilities -- "memory and shadow," "longing and emptiness," "fullness and blessed life." 

The afternoon's penultimate moment again found Springsteen, joined this time by Pete Seeger and a different choir singing Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land," a song once viewed as a leftist national anthem that the Boss rightfully referred to as "the greatest song written about our home." The perf was a moment of community with no star turns, a song that worked off a collective voice of the people onstage and the thousands gathered around the reflecting pool on the Mall. It was the song that did the best part of reinforcing and galvanizing the thoughts that had been expressed throughout the day and the Obama campaign.

Perhaps the performance will lead to campaign to rid Seventh Inning Stretches of "God Bless America" and restore "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." Guthrie wrote it as antidote to Irving Berlin's jingoistic tune and since everyone is in the mood to shake up the status quo, let;s hoe it extends to America's ballparks.

It was a day of concise speeches delivered effectively by actors, the comedians in the group choosing to play it straight rather yuk it up. The musicians, except for Bono, did not speak and Will.i.am was the lone singer to venture into a lyrical re-write, rapping about racism over Bob Marley's "One Love." Song choice, as viewers have learned over the years from "American Idol," is critical. And if it means picking the obvious, the performer had better bring some magic to the rendition.
U2 went that route, performing their Martin Luther King Jr. tribute "Pride (In the Name of Love)" and then "City of Blinding Lights," a tune that became an anthem of the Barack campaign after his win in the Iowa caucuses. "Pride" came off as flat and routine; "City" was inspiring, a breath of fresh air from the band. Bono sang it with a broad smile, his face telegraphing humility and, no pun intended, pride.
Music, Washington said at the top of the program, is "the creative heartbeat of the American experience" though Sunday's concert was indeed a rare one serving to entertain and unite the American people.
The last time the U.S. turned toward musicians on this level was the concerts that followed the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. That solemn affair gave us Neil Young's version of John Lennon's "Imagine" and Alicia Keys' reading of Donny Hathaway's "Someday We'll All Be Free" while serving as a reminder that the shed of musical artists who reflect modern society in their music continues to diminish in size and effect.  
That was on view again as the material for much of the day, whether it be performed by young R&B singers of 89-year-old Seeger, was familiar and often geared toward audience participation. Garth Brooks, joined by yet another choir, cris-crossed the stage performing segments of Don McLean's "American Pie," the Isley Brothers' "Shout" and his own ode to equality "We Shall be Free." Director Don Mischer made it appear to be the viscerally engaging performance of the day. 
Headliners were placed in two- and three-artist configurations, placed on a landing beneath the steps that lead to the statue of a seated Abraham Lincoln. A band, which included strings, horns and percussion played by military personnel and hired musicians, performed on a lower platform that only occasionally came into view. It was obvious there was not a lot of time for rehearsal, but a few of the pairings proved quite engaging.
Bettye Lavette, who took D.C. by storm last month at the Kennedy Center Honors, was partnered with Jon Bon Jovi on Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come." She invested it with anguish, he approached it from a perspective of reasoned logic, giving the perf considerable gravitas.
Aaron Copland's "Lincoln Portrait," the lone classical piece, paired eloquently with a reading by Tom Hanks. The radiant Renee Fleming, backed by the U.S. Naval Academy Glee Cub, delivered an affecting operatic take on Rodgers and Hammerstein's "You'll Never Walk Along." 

John Mellencamp, the most political of the assembled performers, wheeled out "Pink Houses" and its refrain of "ain't that America" enthusiastically sung by a choir. It was accompanied by images of the America Mellencamp was singing about when he wrote the song 25 years ago. The photo collection was of people in their jobs - a waitress, an auto factory worker, farmers, a woman working a hot dog stand - suggesting that the people overlooked by the Reagan administration are still not being heard in D.C. today. But that was the beauty of the program: Some of the history lessons reached back to Washington and Jefferson; others are more immediate and still require solutions.

The day's set list:

"Star Spangled Banner" by Master Sgt. Caleb Green, "The Rising" by Bruce Springsteen, "Lean on Me" by Mary J. Blige, "A Change is Gonna Come" by Jon Bon Jovi with Bettye Lavette, "Shower the People" by James Taylor with John Legend and Jennifer Nettle, "Pink Houses" by  John Mellencamp, "America (My Country Tis of Thee)" by Josh Groban and Heather Headley, "One Love" by Will.i.am with Herbie Hancock and Sheryl Crow, "You'll Never Walk Alone" by Renee Fleming, "American Pie"//"Shout"/"We Shall be Free" by Garth Brooks, "Higher Ground" by Stevie Wonder with Usher and Shakira, "Pride in the Name of Love" and "City of Blinding Lights" by U2, "This Land is Your Land" By Pete Seeger and Springsteen, "America the Beautiful" by Beyonce and the ensemble

Leading up to Tuesday's inaugural, Barack Obama and family will be spending a fair amount of time attending concerts that various cable channels are behind. In a video in which he lays out his plans for the next several days, Obama gets in pitches for websites, community service, TV channels and avoiding DC. over the next few days. It's a fireside chat for the 21st century, youtube replacing the tube radio. His message is a good one, though, for it seems like it has been a long time since the Oval Office promoted consistent citizen volunteerism.

I will return later today with observations on the "We Are One" concert.

 

 David S. Ware needs to find a kidney donor.
Steven Joerg from the AUM Fidelity label writes Ware was diagnosed with kidney failure in 1999 and he began dialysis that fall. He had an intensive three week hemodialysis regime toward beginning peritoneal (self-administered) dialysis, which would allow him to travel. David has been on this self-administered dialysis regime multiple times every day and night since October 1999. While certainly difficult, he has been able to travel, and perform his music undiminished, since then.
Since December, David says the treatment was no longer working as it had been, and that a kidney transplant is the only viable option for his survival.
Since then a number of friends and family members have offered to give him one of their kidneys. Unfortunately, they have all been disqualified due to health reasons or not having David’s blood type, O.
The hospital where a transplant would take place is the very highly regarded Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J.
http://www.rwjuh.edu/

Willing and able potential donors should please get in touch with:

Steven Joerg / David S. Ware management

718 854 2387

Brian Wilson gave the first Q&A/performance session at the Grammy Museum's 200-seat theater on Thursday, giving short and specific answers to the questions of museum executive director Bob Santelli.
That's how it goes with Brian. He keeps the observations and anecdotes to a minimal amount of words, offering little explanation after giving a statement of fact. A curious fan wanted to know what's on his iPod. "About 500 songs" was the aswer. 
Before a sharp performance of six songs -- "Surfer Girl"/"Midnight's Another Day"/"Southern California"/"California Girls"/"God Only Knows"/"Surfin' Safari" -  Wilson offered a number of observations that might surprise fans. The top 10 disclosures:

10. His favorite songs on the 1977 album "The Beach Boys Love You," now regarded a BB classic, are "The Night Was So Young" and "Ding Dang."
9. Elvis Presley was wearing a floor length cape when he met him in the 1970s. He asked the King if he would come into the studio and listen to what he was working on. Elvis said "no." 
8. He wrote "Love and Mercy" after drinking half a bottle of Champagne.
7. "Sh-Boom" by the Chords was the first record to "blow his mind."
The list of surfing sites in "Surfin' Safari" came from his girlfriends' brother.
6. Every time he went into the studio, the goal was to "outdo Phil Spector." "It never happened."
5. A hard rock record continues to be a goal and versions of "At the Hop" and "Proud Mary" are already in the can.
4. The three acts he would want to perform on a desert island would be the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bee Gees and the Eagles. (Yes, he was asked about three and answered with four).
3. The best audiences during the Beach Boys early days were in Boston and Sacramento.
2. The first time he ever met Chuck Berry, whom he considers the most influential songwriter, was about a year ago - in Hawaii. 
1. "Pet Sounds" was named because of the initials P.S., which stands for Phil Spector.

As the new Congress is seated and Barack Obama is just days away from swearing in, it seemed like a good time to talk D.C. politics as it relates to the music industry. First up is Mitch Bainwol, chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Assn. of America, who outlined the org’s issues in the coming year and spoke about the time being right to finally pass a bill that would deliver royalty payments to performers when their songs are played on broadcast radio. Currently only songwriters receive a payment.
“Broadcasters now stick out like a sore thumb,” said Bainwol, who is pictured on the right alongside RIAA president Cary Sherman. “Why should the platform in the greatest position to pay not do so when Pandora (the web radio site) is doing the right thing? That point wasn’t evident 10 years ago. The potential to be a strong unit (fighting for the cause) came together as webcasters, Sirius and XM were paying to reward the creative process. It makes radio look anomalistic.”
The Performance Rights Act, HR4789, was introduced in December 2007 by Sen. Howard Berman (D-Calif.). The MusicFirst coalition has been making it their top priority as has the Recording Academy and the Recording Artists Coalition, which the Academy now oversees. Bainwol lists the other priorities for the organization that, in recent years, is best known as the organization that sues people with illegally obtained music files on their computers.

Q: What do you see as the major initiatives of the RIAA in the new Congress and Barack administration?
A: I place them in four different buckets. The big enchilada, the No. 1 cause of the year, is the performance rights bill. It will receive a substantial focus. It remains an uphill battle but we have been working together with MusicFirst, NARAS, RAC and (other groups) to make inroads on the Hill.
No. 2 is recognizing the reality of the Washington transfer. Every 10 years or so it becomes a unique place — so many people new in their roles. We’ve got to go through and make our voice heard, make sure we’re engaged in education. Our interests (with other music organizations) have converged and it’s a music story we’re talking about rather than a label story.
No. 3 is less Congress-related and more about directly talking with the players, the publishers, the webcasting companies, the cable companies and anyone else involved in the chain of commerce related to music. The mission is to find new models.
The fourth specific mission is working with (Internet service providers) on protecting the integrity of the digital marketplace. They have become the pieces in a very big platform.
It’s not just because of a new president or Congress but because we are living in a time in which there are profound policy questions, very big issues that will demand patience on our part. We’re not in a vacuum. We recognize that there is a lot going on.

Q: The Recording Academy absorbed the Recording Artists Committee which gives the artists’ side a stronger foothold in D.C. While you are on the same side with performance rights, are there places you’ll be foes?
A: We have worked closely with NARAS and RAC and this is something that has manifested in the last year. The current reality is that we are all within the music family and (our goal) is to strengthen very common interests. We’re mostly concerned about digital commerce and working as partners. Merging RAC and NARAS is a good deal that makes sense.

Q: Is there any connection to the ending of lawsuits (against file swappers) to this new coalition of forces? What drove the decision to end the suits?
A: I wouldn’t link them together. NARAS, RAC, unions and managers came together with MusicFirst and the core purpose (of the suits) was served. It’s an example where we all came together, a reflection of that.

Q: The Obama administration is likely to have some familiar faces to the RIAA, chiefly Tom Perrelli for associate attorney general, who has represented the RIAA in lawsuits against individual file sharers. It seems like there would be benefits from having someone so familiar with your operation and mission.
A: Obviously Tom has been nominated for a significant role and we’ll see in the days to come the folks who get selected. It’s a very vigorous process. He has the qualifications and the competency.

Q: Back to issue No. 1. What has been the roadblock to the performance rights bill?
A: It’s been a battle for decades. It comes down to the broadcasters being very strong, but less so in the last 20 years due to the fragmentation of the media. They were the media when music had to go through radio and TV to get a message out. Secondly we had a bunch of issues, not necessarily bunched together. There’s a convergence here, a rally for this cause like I’ve never seen. Everyone has done a very good job getting the word out on the Hill. We’ve been putting points on the board.

Q: It seems strange that this is not an issue internationally and that it’s a case that is strictly American.
A: But that has not been a compelling reason. We’ve been in a position to change, but one side is there defending the status quo. And in D.C., making change is always tougher than keeping things the way they are. Now we’re saying ‘Yes we can.’ It’s a perfect time.

Q: You’re staging a ball to raise money for Feeding America and Rihanna will be the headliner. We don’t hear much about performers getting to D.C. on behalf of the RIAA or  for related efforts. Is that a secret weapon of sorts or does it not happen often?
A: The ball is a terrific opportunity to expose Washington to creators of music. We do as much as we can to present the brilliance of artists. In Denver and Minneapolis we made the case that creativity is important. This event is a unique moment.

Q: We’re getting a president who has been vocal about his appreciation of music, which we haven’t had since Clinton was such a music advocate.
A: I beg to differ but every president in history has loved music. It touches everyone’s soul, our unique language.

Q: But some, such as President-elect Obama, are a bit more literate when it comes to that language.
A: This is a very young and hip, culturally aware president.

The last time the Philadelphia Eagles were contending for the NFL championship a Clear Channel employee was in my living room talking about a new radio format, Alternative Gold.
At the time, Indie 103.1 was on the air and using no disc jockeys, just playing a mix of punk and alternative rock that was rarely played on commercial airwaves. It appealed to me if for no other reason than I felt like I heard the Clash every time I got in the car.
He believed it was also going to be a business model for the future that allowed the radio behemoths to skirt around FCC limits on station ownership. Clear Channel, which is at its limit in the L.A. market, was contracted to sell the advertising for the station, a deal that the feds ultimately deemed non-kosher.   
From the time it launched until it went off the air this afternoon, Indie 103.1 was the only English-language station in the Entravision cabal. By enlisting Clear Channel, which knew which doors to knock on, the company reduced the learning curve when it came to selling advertising. Apparently, Toyota of Huntington Beach was the only advertiser that seemed to believe in the station and its audience.
But as good as Indie 103.1 was in its varied playlists, it never was able to sell that "alternative gold" concept, which was initially designed to be split down the middle between new stuff and the classics. It wound up sending a mixed message -- are they historical or current, edgy or mainstream? They did play a lot of good music made by people with guitars and distinguished voices.
They found a brilliant host in the Sex Pistols' Steve Jones to handle midday with interviews and a truly random playlist, not to mention the tremendous Jukebox Jury in which people looking to pitch an event or movie were brought in to rate records as either "mustard" or "pants." It was aways engaging.
So, too, were shows hosted by Henry Rollins and Chris Morris, but specialty shows -- unless they are devoted to the Beatles or entire sides of popular albums -- are a tough sell here. Or so a radio programmer told me recently when we were discussing Indie's recent elimination of its shows dedicated to either an individual's taste or a specific style of music.
The way radio is set up to operate in the conglomerate world practically meant Indie was doomed to failure. They resisted going the standard "goofball in the morning" route and then slightly caved by hiring Dicky Barrett of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones to bring some levity to early drive time. The show worked as entertainment, but Indie pulled the plug and gave the time slot to Joe Escalante, who hosts a fabulous legal advice show but is hardly drive time material.
Radio, in this day and age, has to look at a collection of niche audiences and create a format that galvanizes several of them. No matter what the type of music, it requires a certain amount of repetition, an identifiable sound and personalities that blend in with the station's sound. L.A.'s latest experiment is "the Sound" at 100.3, which is trying to figure out how to position itself somewhere between Jack-FM and Indie; there are times when the mix is fresh and invigorating and other times when it is yet another tired classic rock rehash.
Indie took a festival approach to music, that by offering a hundred different songs by almost a hundred different artists, a crowd would form and stay tuned in even if not all the music was immediately appreciated. They were a much-needed alternative to the unlistenable KROQ, a wasteland of overly aggressive rock in which each tune is indistinguishable from the next. Indie attempted to connect the dots between reggae, the Clash and Vampire Weekend, position Tegan and Sara asvital as the Pretenders and use U2, Nirvana and the Ramones as a hook for listeners unfamiliar with the current landscape. It worked as a listening experience and an education.
It's a bit saddening that their closing statement on their website would take shots at Britney and Puffy. That's not really the enemy. It's the novelty tunes, the "I Kissed a Girl" and Pussycat Dolls tracks that are the real enemy, the love songs to jewelry and the oides about tryign to get laid at the club. Indie believed in its artists and that a list of artists would be enough to get people engaged. It clearly doesn't work that way anymore.
One personal thrill: Being in the studio with Jonesy the day after the Pistols received notice they would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was neither thrilled nor displeased, just much more interested in reading the liner notes on a Wayne Cochran compilation.

Wide Awake Entertainment, a company that purports to be a multi-media outfit yet only has one artist on its roster, has submitted the winning bid for Suge Knight's former rap label.
More details to come.

A day after I suggested that the Long Tail theory was losing steam in music purchases, especially among current releases, eMusic reports that approximately 75% of eMusic tracks sold at least once during 2008.
The finding contradicts a November study released by British licensing body MCPS-PRS that claimed that 10 million of the 13 million songs available on the Internet did not sell a single copy.
Obviously eMusic wants to tout their service, its popularity and the appeal of their catalog.
"eMusic IS the Long Tail,” said Madeleine Milne, eMusic Managing Director, Europe.
She goes on to state that eMusic customers use the service because of insightful editorial content, a passionate subscriber community and an easy-to-use recommendation engine.  
Milne reinforces the notion that people who pay attention to musical and its quality get their information the old-fashioned way - recommendations and reviews - and are willing to take risks. Which we see borne out, almost weekly, by the list of best-sellers provided by the Coalition of Independent Music Sellers. Most week's it's a top 10 that, if I had an album on it, I'd beam with pride over the artists surrounding my title.
This week's list:
Gourds - Haymaker!
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
Kings Of Leon - Only By The Night
Byrne/Eno - Everything That Happens Will
Tv On The Radio - Dear Science
Glasvegas – Glasvegas
MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
Bon Iver – For Emma Forever Ago
Neil Young - Sugar Mountain

A sign of the further weakening of the recorded music business arrived in the tallies registered by current releases between Nos. 51 and 200: No title sold more than 10,000 copies and the bottom of the chart now extends to albums selling as few as 2,400 copies.
Granted, the second week of January is one of the year's slowest weeks, but it is a shining example of how far the business has fallen in just a few years, mainly due to albums not having much of a shelf life.
In just three years, the number of albums selling more than 10,000 copies has been cut in half. And the number of units being sold by the albums between Nos. 51 and 200 has seen a similar dip.
In 2006, the bottom 150 went from 20,000 units sold down to 5,800. On that chart, though, 110 albums sold more than 10,000 copies and the album at No. 111, Pitbull’s “Money Is More Than a Major Issue,” missed the cut by just 23 sales. Nearly identical numbers were posted in 2005: 113 discs topped 10,000 sold; Nos. 51-200 ranged from 20,000 down to 5,000.
Five years ago, Nos. 51 through 200 saw sales of 21,000 down to 5,800 with 126 albums selling more than 10,000.
The Long Tail theory  contends that culture and economy have shifted away from a small number of “hits” and toward a huge number of niches. The problem now is one of scale as those niches continue to dwindle.
About the only place where the long tail holds true is at the top of the catalog chart where Abba’s “Gold” sold 10,000 copies last week and Bob Marley and the Wailers’ “Legend” moved 7,000.
The last time the second week of January had an album reach six figures was 2003 when Norah Jones’ “Come Away With Me” sold 108,000 copies. That disc was on the rise, though, as it its cume at the time was 2.9 million; it sold another 5 million copies by year’s end. For the record, that year’s 51-200 rolled from 18,500 to 5,000, with the 10,000 barrier set at No. 104.
A year ago, in the week ended Jan. 13, the 51-200 range went from the 12,000 sold by “Jordin Sparks” to 3,000 moved by Killswitch Engage’s “As Daylight Dies.” The 10,000 mark was crossed at No. 65, where Buckcherry’s “15” registered sales of 9,900. A year earlier, the 51-200 range was 14,600 to 3,700, the 10,000 sold barrier sitting at No. 77, at which Mos Def’s “Tru3 Magic” sold 9,900.

Put Bishop Allen at the top of the list of buzz bands confirmed for SXSW.
Their new album, "Grr..." comes out March 10 on Dead Oceans, which will be followed a by a national tour that includes a releaste date in-store at New York's Other Music, a Troubadour concert on march 23, an April 4 gig at Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg and an April 5 show at the Bowery Ballroom.
Bishop Allen, hip as they are, are following the path that is quickly becoming THE WAY to secure buzz:  a song featured in a major commercial ("Click Click Click Click" in a Sony digital camera spot), an onscreen performance in a movie ("Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist") and, of course, placement in that soundtrack. (It seems to not matter how well the movie performed; they were definitely a highlight of that playlist).
Add to that their interesting DIY effort of releasing  an EP a month every month in 2006.
The band recently performed a song from "Grrr ..." on Fuel TV¹s "The Daily Habit."

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will induct Metallica, Run-DMC, Jeff Beck, Bobby Womack, Little Anthony & the Imperials and Wanda Jackson on  April 4 at the Public Hall in Cleveland.
OK, so they blew it on the Stooges and War, two of the other finalists and it will be interesting to hear someone explain why Wanda Jackson deserves induction. Is Hasil Adkins a member or is the hall once again only interested in acts who made a quick mark rather than those who persevered, even if it was in obscurity?  
Best news though is of course Mr. Womack's selection. The Cleveland native issued a statement:
“This is just the greatest, I’m extremely happy.  My very first thought was -- I wish I could call Sam Cooke and share this moment with him. This is just about as exciting to me as being able to see Barack Obama become the first black president of the United States of America. It proves that, if you’re blessed to be able to wait on what’s important to you, a lot of things will change in life.  Being able to work, perform and make people happy is where it’s at.  I haven’t been home in almost 30 years, so having this happen in my hometown is really icing on the cake. I’m looking forward to going home.”

Bruce Springsteen has posted a note on his website regarding his Jan. 27 release "Workin' on a Dream."
The first song recorded for the album was "What Love Can Do," which he terms  a "love in the time of Bush" meditation.
The Boss reports that it "felt more like a first song of new record rather than something that would fit on Magic." Producer Brendan O'Brien encouraged Springsteen to start work on "Magic's" followup immediately.
Over the next week, Springsteen wrote "This Life," "My Lucky Day," "Life Itself," "Good Eye" and "Tomorrow Never Knows." (Ws he listening to the Beatles?)
"We found time to book sessions, get the band while it was hot off the road, write and record a new record, while giving our audience what I hope was some of the best E Street shows we've ever done."

Just days after streaming his new recording "Fork in the Road" on how website, Neil Young has posted a video for his tune in which he pleads he still has hope, that he's not done and not cashing in. "My sales have tanked," he sings in "Fork" but isn't  that the way things go for Neil during Republican administrations since Nixon left office? Could the election of Barack Obama mean there's a greater commercial acceptance of Neil  the way there was during the Clinton administration? "Chrome Dreams II" posted a No. 11 debut, but it had its roots in the Carter years.

Dave Hoekstra of the Chicago Sun-Times provides details on a fact most people already know about Barack Obama - he's a soul guy, not a hip-hop fan. Hoekstra takes it deeper to examine his connection to the music made by Chicagoans.
He notes:
“Keep on Pushing” gets a shoutout on the “Soul Music Lovers For Obama” section of the official campaign site my.barackobama.com, which states, “From the inner cities to the suburbs, Sen. Obama unites us like the music we love.”
Jerry Butler, whom Obama consulted with twice during his rise in Illinois politics, says his favorite message song is “Choice of Colors,” released by Curtis Mayfield in 1969.
“In substance and in terms of the condition of the people, ‘Choice of Colors’ was head and shoulders above a lot of the songs,” Butler said. “ ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’ was so poignant and prophetic.”
Chicago disc jockey Herb Kent had Obama on his Saturday afternoon “Battle of the Best” show twice.  “About four years ago I get this call that Sen. Obama wants to be on my show,” Kent said. “I had never heard of him. I think it was a way of getting him known to the public.
“The second time he was on he had Sam Cooke and I had Lou Rawls. He said, ‘How can I win with this old stuff?’ Then he went on the air and started appealing [Cooke] to all the ladies going to church. He played Sam Cooke songs and whupped my butt. I don’t get beat too often. He was just that smart. He wasn’t like he didn’t know Sam, it was, ‘Why do you want to go that far back?’
“He quotes soul music a lot. He’s not a hip-hop person.”

The Pantages Theater will again become a venue for concerts and touring Broadway productions ("rent," "Grease," "Dirty Dancing") now that "Wicked" has closed and moved to San Francisco. The witch musical opened in February 2007 and has proven more than popular, grossing more than $145 million and registering more than 1.8 million admissions. 
The tuner closed after playing 791 performances and 12 previews.
It set a single week record in L.A. theater with a gross of $2,579,944.50 (nine performances).  During the final week of the run, “Wicked” played at capacity, grossing $2,291,511.50, breaking its own record for a regular eight-performance week.  The average weekly gross during “Wicked’s” run at the Pantages was $1.45 million per week
The  production begins performances on Jan. 27 at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco.

More than 100 bands have been announced for SXSW in March, and there are already a handful of acts I hope to see for the first time (Bar-Kays, Monokino, St. Vincent, the Pepper Pots) and a few old favorites (Dave Alvin, Primal Scream, the Sonics). Always lookign for recommendations.
The list released Thursday:

8Ball & MJG (Memphis, TN), Akron/Family (Williamsport, PA), Al Kapone (Memphis, TN), Alina Simone (Brooklyn, NY), Amanda Blank (Philadelphia, PA), Amber Smith (Budapest, HUNGARY), Angry vs The Bear (Essex, ENGLAND), Anthony Snape (Sydney, AUSTRALIA), ARABROT (Oslo, NORWAY), Arc Angels (Austin, TX), Asher Roth (Morrisville, PA), Asobi Seksu (Brooklyn, NY), Astrid Williamson (Shetland Islands, SCOTLAND), B.o.B. (Atlanta, GA), Banda de Turistas (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Bar-Kays (Memphis, TN), Bavu Blakes (Austin, TX), Ben Kweller (Austin, TX), Benny Gallagher (West Wickham, ENGLAND), Black Cherry (London, ENGLAND), BLACK SKIES (Chapel Hill, NC), Blaqstarr (Baltimore, MD), Blue Scholars (Seattle, WA), Bomba Estereo (Bogota, Columbia), Brick Bandits (Philadelphia, PA), Buck 65 (Halifax, NS), Buraka Som Sistema (Lisbon, Portugal), Candy Coated Killahz (Toronto, CANADA), Cashier No.9 (Belfast, IRELAND), Casiokids (Bergen, NORWAY), Charles Hamilton (New York, NY), Choc Quib Town (Bogota, Columbia), CHOO-CHOO (Bern, SWITZERLAND), Chris T-T (Brighton, ENGLAND), Come On Gang! (Edinburgh, SCOTLAND), Crystal Method (Los Angeles, CA), Crystal Stilts (New York, NY), Damero (Berlin, Germany), Dananananaykroyd (Glasgow, Scotland), Dave Alvin (Los Angeles, CA), David Garza (Austin, TX), Dead Prez (New York, NY), Dekadens (Bucharest, ROMANIA), Dirtblonde (Liverpool, ENGLAND), Division Miniscula (Matamoros, Mexico), Doctor Krapula (Bogota, Columbia), EBONY BONES! (London, ENGLAND), Ella (Bristol, ENGLAND), Empire ISIS (Montreal, CANADA), Explosions in the Sky (Austin, TX), Flood of Red (Glasgow, SCOTLAND), Franki Chan (Los Angeles, CA), Free Sol (Memphis, TN), Futumomo Satisfaction (Tokyo, Japan), Gabi Almedia (Sao Paolo, Brazil), Gary Clark Jr. (Austin, TX), Grimy Styles (Austin, TX), Hacienda (San Antonio, TX), Hickoids (Austin, TX), Ida Maria (Stockholm, Sweden), Insite (Mexicali, Mexico), Invincible (Detroit, MI), Jokers of the Scene (Ottawa, ON), Kap Bambino (Bordeaux, France), Kid Sister (Chicago, IL), Killer Mike (Atlanta, GA), LA Riots (Los Angeles, CA), Los Fancy Free (Mexico City, Mexico), Madi Diaz (Nashville, TN), Manana (Basil, SWITZERLAND), Mandi Perkins (Los Angeles, CA), Mexican Institute of Sound (Mexico City, Mexico), Micachu (London, ENGLAND), Midnight Youth (Auckland, NEW ZEALAND), Mika Miko (Los Angeles, CA), Mike Badger (Liverpool, ENGLAND), Mistah FAB (Oakland, CA), Monokino (Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS), Moriarty (Montreuil, FRANCE), Motel (Mexico City, Mexico), Mundo Livre Sa (Recife, Brazil), My Crew Be Unruly (Baltimore, MD), My Federation (Hove, ENGLAND), Nacho Vegas (Gijon, Spain), Nacional (Glasgow, SCOTLAND), NAVEL (Erschwil, SWITZERLAND), Outasight (New York, NY), P.O.S. (Minneapolis, MN), Pato Machete (Monterrey, Mexico), Peter Bjorn & John (Stockholm, Sweden), Peter Rosenberg (New York, NY), Port O'Brien (Cambria, CA), Primal Scream (Glasgow, Scotland), Reflection Eternal (Ohio/New York), Rob Quest (Houston, TX), Sage Francis (Providence, RI), San Quinn (San Francisco, CA), Scribe (Christchurch, NZ), Shad (London, Ontario), Shawn David McMillen (Austin, TX), Simplifires (Mexico City, Mexico), Soulico (Tel Aviv, Israel), St. Vincent (Dallas, TX), Suzy & Los Quattro (Barcelona, Spain), T Bird & The Breaks (Austin, TX), Tanya Morgan (Brooklyn, NY), Temposhark (London, ENGLAND), The Beat Poets (Belfast, IRELAND), The Carrivick Sisters (Devon, ENGLAND), The Courteneers (Manchester, UK), The deBretts (London, ENGLAND), The Deep Dark Woods (Saskatoon, CANADA), the Devil Wears Prada (Dayton, OH), The Everyday Visuals (Boston, MA), The Knux (New Orleans, LA), THE MOOG (Budapest, HUNGARY), The Pepper Pots (Girona, Spain), The Sonics (Seattle, WA), The Temper Trap (Nth Fitzroy, AUSTRALIA), thecocknbullkid (London, ENGLAND), Thee Oh See's (San Francisco, CA), This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb (Pensacola, FL), Tittsworth (Washington, DC), Tommy Tee (Oslo, Norway), Toy Horses (Barry, WALES), Twilight Hotel (Winnipeg, CANADA), Virgin Passages (London, ENGLAND), Volodja Balzalorsky (Ljubljana, SLOVENIA), WAZ (Los Angeles, CA), We Have Band (London, ENGLAND), We Should Be Dead (Limerick, IRELAND), White Lies (London, ENGLAND), Whitechapel (Knoxville, TN), Willem Maker (Turkey Heaven, AL), Willy Joy (Chicago, IL), Yarah Bravo (New York, NY), ,

David Crosby told Uncut magazine in the U.K. that CSN has started to pick songs for the covers album they are making with Rick Rubin. They're known for pretty much only one cover, Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock," although Rhino included their version of Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'" on the re-release of their debut album.
The artists whose songs they are looking at contain no surprises: The Beatles, Beach Boys, Rolling Stones, James Taylor, Jackson Browne and Mitchell. Bet they could do wonders with Jackson's "These Days," Joni's "Blue" and
Rubin's job, it would seem based on recent CSN performances and the way they appear in the documentary "CSNY: Deja Vu," is to get Crosby to keep in time, Stills to stay in tune and Nash to avoid overwhelming the whole thing with the one voice among the three that has remained crystal clear.
Their buddy Neil Young, meanwhile, whose covers include the Petula Clark hit "Downtown," has written yet another ode to a car, "Fork in the Road." It's a ragged and bumpy blues number that he's streaming at his website.

With my beloved, constantly disappointing New York Jets talking to potential coaches while Brett Favre hides in Mississippi and owner Woody Johnson pouts over McCain's loss by spending Euros, I entered the post-season a  Baltimore Ravens fan. Glad that Lil Wayne is with me.

 Clive Davis' annual star-studded party has been brought into the Grammy fold.
After several years of increased presence from non-music sponsors and a change in Davis' role at Sony Music, the Recording Academy will now present the pre-Grammy Gala on Feb. 7 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Artists are never announced beforehand and for the last several years the whispers always concern Whitney Houston and whether she will be able to get onstage and belt one out. So far, no luck.
Event has long been recognized as Davis' platform to introduce new performers - Houston, Alicia Keys, Mario, Jamie Foxx - as well as present established performers, many of which have been part of Davis-orchestrated efforts (Carlos Santana, Rod Stewart, Barry Manilow). He has been staging the event for 30 years. It has had its fair share of interesting recent performances, among them Annie Lennox playing solo, Foxx unveiling his piano skills when he only known as an actor and comedian and keys performing with members of Earth, Wind & Fire. Part of the event's allure is listening to Davis introduce artists and execs in his old-school, "Ed Sullivan Show" style.   
The Recording Academy will make its Salute to Industry Icons part of the pre-ceremony dinner and concert, moving it from Sunday immediately following the Grammy telecast. Davis will be given the honor this year that in the past has gone to Ahmet Ertegun, Mo Ostin, Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, and Berry Gordy.  
Davis' soiree has long been considered one of the premier music events and it attracts label heads, top executives from film and television and a staggering guest list of music industry professionals.  
He is currently chief creative officer at Sony Music, which dropped the BMG part of its name on Friday. He was given the role, in which he is tasked with nurturing and developing talent, after five years as chairman/CEO of BMG U.S. Label Group where he oversaw the RCA Music Group that included J Records, RCA and Arista.
Davis, who has been running labels since he was appointed president of Columbia Records in 1967, has won three Grammy Awards.

The Christmas album sweepstakes have ended for 2008 and Enya is the clear winner, the only holiday album to top 500,000 sold. The 2008 single artist holiday releases with sales figures, according to Nielsen Soundscan data.

1. Enya "And Winter Came" 580,000
2. Faith Hill "Joy to the World" 474,000
3. Elvis Presley "Christmas Duets" 341,000
4. Yo-Yo Ma "Songs of Joy and Peace" 319,000
5. Harry Connick Jr. "What a Night!" 243,000
6. Tony Bennett "Swingin' Christmas" 224,000

7. Julianne Hough "Sounds of the Season" 157,000

8. Mannheim Steamroller "Christmasville" 154,000
9. Sarah Brightman "Winter Symphony" 133,000
10. Amy Grant "The Christmas Collection" 104,000
11. The Priests "The Priests" 69,000
12. Aretha Franklin "This Christmas" 62,000

Perhaps we jumped the gun on assessing Live Nation's newly implemented ticketing system, which is is not completely in place at all Live Nation venues. This entry has been edited to reflect changes that have come about on the websites over the last 48 hours or so and clarification from a Live Nation rep who admitted that the online Live Nation ticketing site does not make a distinction between shows the promoter handles exclusively and those that are sold in conjunction with Ticketmaster.
Here we go:
With the fanfare that the new year brings, the way consumers purchased concert tickets was expected to undergo a major upheaval once everyone recovered from their New Year's Eve hangovers and started making plans to see shows. But is it really all that different now that Live Nation have begun its own ticketing service? But little changed over the weekend.
It's confusing as Ticketmaster.com has no interest in sending customers to Livenation.com. And Concert-goers are still mostly living in a Ticketmaster world. But when there is no choice but Live Nation's ticketing service, the tariff can be as steep is as much as or more than Ticketmaster's.
Live Nation opened the New Year with a clean looking website that, in Los Angeles at least, directed fans to four different concerts: John Legend, Lewis Black, Katy Perry and provided you were willing to travel, Fleetwood Mac. Tickets for Legend and Black were being sold through Ticketmaster; anyone interested in seeing Perry needed a CitiCard to purchase ADVANCE tickets; and the East Coast Fleetwood Mac shows were seemingly unavailable after one clicked from site to site.
An astonishing number of Live Nation concerts require that the purchaser use a CitiCard. and not just for presales. Add to that, Live Nation's requirement that every user supply a valid email address to purchase a ticket, and it feels as if a chunk of the potential audience for any given show has been eliminated.
Ultimately, the key concern is cost: Will the introduction of competition have an effect on service fees? Coming out of the gate, Live Nation appears to be a bit expensive.
Live Nation and Ticketmaster are handling the entire operation for the Zappa Plays Zappa show at the House of Blues in Anaheim. (Show was chosen because it was one of the few on offer that did not have credit card caveats, was in Southern California and had a printed price of more than $20). Tickets are $45 apiece, to which a service charge of $10.05 is attached to bring it to $55.05. Add to that a $3.80 order fee and what is offered at $90 for a pair becomes $113.90. THOSE FEES ARE THE SAME AT BOTH TICKETING SERVICES.
The area of convenience fees is always a bit of dicey comparisons when you go from show to show or venue to venue. Maybe not apples to oranges but certainly apple to pears. I picked an example, Brett Dennen, who has a fair number of Live Nation venues on his national tour this year.

Tickets for his House of Blues show in Los Angeles go for $22.50, which Ticketmaster the Live Nation service is handling. Add to that an $8.70 convenience fee and a $3.80 order fee. To get that pair of tickets - $45 total, theoretically - it will cost an extra $21.20, nearly the entire price of another ticket.
Be glad if you don't live in Los Angeles. Cities where other ticket services are used were considerably cheaper.
In Boise, Idaho, where Dennen will play the Knitting Factory, a $15 ticket is slapped with a a sliding service fee - $4.50 for one, $7.50 for a pair. His appearance at the Georgia Theater in Athens requires adding $7 to a pair of $15 tickets; a World Cafe concert in Philadelphia has a $5 processing fee attached to an $18 ducat.
The State Theater in Falls Church, Va. wants a $3.75 convenience fee per $18 ticket and a $1.50 processing fee is added to each order.
On Monday, a Live Nation rep explained that the House of Blues is still under contract to Ticketmaster. The Wiltern Theater, however, is now a Live Nation Tickets venue. Here's a comparison:
Brian Wilson is playing the Hosue of Blues in San Diego where a GA set goes for $47. Ticketmaster is adding a $10.70 service fee. Wilson is also performing at the Wiltern in L.A. where second tier tickets are $49.50. Service fee on those tickets is $13.50 apiece.