Friday, June 14, 2002

posted by Randy on 10:50 AM | permanent link to this entry

• Suit Filed Against Record Firms
  Two California consumers have filed a class-action lawsuit against the major record companies, arguing that copy-protected CDs are defective products that should not be allowed on the market. The complaint, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday, seeks either to block the discs or require warning labels identifying them as inferior in quality and hazardous to computers. The plantiffs are seeking unspecified financial damages, and an injunction that would force the discs off the market.
  
  
• Televised Use of Drugs Leads to Father's Arrest
  If you couldn't see this coming, you're blind. Authorities arrested Mokelumne Hill resident Scott Meyers, 43, Wednesday after a Sacramento County judge signed a warrant for his arrest. The warrant was issued based on footage from the HBO documentary "Small Town Ecstasy" that aired April 28. The documentary was sad and this is just the cherry on the misery sundae for this man and his family.
  
  
• Candy-Coated eBay Tale Was Too Good To Be True
  Remeber how eBay was started as a way to auction off PEZ dispensers? Ooops. Turns out that was a big fat lie, and way too many journalists took the story at face value.
  
  
• Cardigans Scrap New Material
  Singer Nina Persson tells NME, the band has destroyed recordings from this year’s studio sessions in Spain, England, and Sweden, meaning the band has a wait for new studio time. "We wasted so much time at the start that we are paying for it now," she said. "So now we'll just start from again with the same songs and lay down fresh tracks."
  
  
• Sinead Sings Her Roots
  Sinead O'Connor will release a collection of traditional Irish songs entitled Sean Nos Nua on October 8th on Vanguard Records. She is recording the album -- her first since 2000's Faith and Courage -- in County Wicklow in her native Ireland. In the linked article, she says that the songs will be modernized a bit with new rythyms and the like. Sounds interesting to me.
  
  
• Moby Avoids Ad 'Play' for New Album
  This was probably the best course of action. Having gotten practically overexposed by licensing every track on Play to advertisers, Moby says he won't do the same thing with his latest, 18. Always leave 'em wanting more!
  
  
• Memo to: Media Monopolists
  Excellent excellent excellent essay about the coming end of media monopolies. Read it. Then read it again. Then send it to everyone you know.
  

Don't Forget: MC Hesher Spinning Tonight 6 -7 p.m. @ 330 Rich! Come check me out, yo!!!!!










posted by Randy on 10:46 AM | permanent link to this entry

Thursday, June 13, 2002

• Rolling Stone BringingBrit in as New Editor
  Change at Rolling Stone: Good. This particular change at Rolling Stone: Doesn't sound promising, but we'll see. Jann Wenner went with FHM editor in chief Ed Needham. Before going with Needham, Wenner was turned down by Larry Hackett, an assistant managing editor at People, and Eric Pooley, a senior editor at Time who's covered politics. In this New York times article, we begin to see the troubling truth: While he said he would not turn Rolling Stone into a a so-called laddie magazine, Mr. Needham promised that he would reintroduce the element of surprise to the 35-year-old publication. Mr. Needham emphasized that there would still be feature articles, just that they would be shorter and better illustrated. Less words, more pictures. Ugh. I'm crossing my fingers but not hoping for much.
  
  
• File sharing: Innocent until proven guilty
  Salon interviews economist Stan Liebowitz and basically has him saying that-- like anyone with a brain has been saying all along-- downloading music is not hurting the industry in any signifigant way.
  
  
• Black Eyed Peas Exhibit New Breed Of Elephunk On Upcoming LP
  Two important parts of this story: 1) Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach guests on a song (the album's only guest, at that) and 2) Longtime associate Kim Hill had a falling out with the group and won't appear on the album.
  
  
• Eminem Speaks on Canibus Beef
  Okay, see of you can follow this one: Em stated how he was approached by Wyclef and Canibus in 1998 and asked if he ghost-wrote the lyrics to LL Cool J's "The Ripper Strikes Back" which was a diss to Canibus. After Eminem denied writing the song, Canibus was rude to him. Later, Canibus asked Eminem to appear on a song and Eminem turned him down. Canibus let off some thinly veiled insults on "Phuck You" from 2000 B.C. and Eminem then responded on ""Squaredance." That's the gist!
  
  
• 400,000 Soviet Recordings Released
  After years of legal and technical wrangling, performances recorded over nearly seven decades by the Soviet Ministry of Radio and Television are being released. They number more than 400,000 — enough to fill 12,000 compact discs. Classical music experts said the archive provides a valuable record of 20th century Soviet musical artistry.
  

Don't Forget! MC Hesher spinning at 330 Rich tomorrow from 6 -7 p.m.!
posted by Randy on 10:41 AM | permanent link to this entry

Wednesday, June 12, 2002

• R. Kelly's Sing-Along With Chicago Schoolkids May Put Him Behind Bars
  So, as a condition of his bail, R.Kelly agreed to stay away from kids except his relatives. Right after he posted, though, he went to church and celebrated the graduation of Salem Christian Academy kindergartners by joining them on stage to sing a few bars of "The World's Greatest" Ooops. Captured on videotape, this act may send him behind bars if it is determined that the conditions of his bond mean "anywhere Kelly goes" or "only when Kelly in in Florida," which is where he originally posted bail.
  
  
• Department of Justice Sues Clear Channel
  Except, it isn't for anti-trust violations. It's for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by establishing a policy barring diabetic supplies and enforcing it against two individuals who wished to take their diabetic supplies with them into a concert. The lawsuit alleges that individuals with diabetes, who require insulin and immediate access to their blood testing equipment and insulin, are forced by SFX's policy to choose between being barred from concerts or taking unreasonable health risks. The individual complainants have said they would never again go to a concert where they would be required to relinquish their diabetic supplies.
  
  
• Project Pat Sentenced For Firearm Possession
  Four years up the river for possessing a fire arm as a fellon. Plus three years of supervised release following his confinement, a $75,000 fine and $200 in court costs. He faced up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
  
  
• Panel Denies License for Dead Reunion
  One would hope they did it for asthetic reasons, but no. The event, planned for Aug. 3-4 in East Troy, is expected to draw 200,000 fans, while only 35,000 people are allowed in the Alpine Valley Music Theatre, about 30 miles southwest of Milwaukee. Permit denied, plain and simple.
  
  
• New Edition Prepares For 20th Anniversary Album With Reunion Tour
  With Johnny Gill once again replacing Bobby Brown. En Vogue will be the opening act. After so many years of raging against Boomer Nostalgia, I can't believe people in my generation are engaing in the same behavior. Anyway-- after the tour, the group will hit the recording studio to lay down tracks for a new album, due in 2003 on MCA Records.
  
  
• The Ghost of Pop
  Nice profile in Salon of long-time critical fave Sam Phillips.
  

posted by Randy on 11:20 AM | permanent link to this entry

Tuesday, June 11, 2002

• TV Creators Ask for Fed Merger Study
  Slowly but surely, more and more folks are waking up to the fact that media consolidation sucks. It hurts consumers and never lasts long enough to see any recognizable benefit to the bottom line via synergies. Now weighing in: members of the television industry. Expressing concern about the impact of media consolidation on programming quality and diversity, members of The Caucus for Television Producers, Writers & Directors asked for a federal study of the issue in a letter to FCC chairman Michael K. Powell. Calling one popular culture "one of our great national treasures," the CTPWD
  said pop cult was under attack "...as a direct result of the growing concentration of ownership. The consequences of this new factor in our industry are – and this is no exaggeration – potentially catastrophic."
  
  
• Hunting The American Dream
  Nice interview in Salon.com with Ted Nugent. Well worth slogging through, particularly if you are anti-hunting. For the record, I'm not anti-hunting. It just isn't anything I want to do myself.
  
  
• Couple sues Hard Rock over TV show
  How could MTV not realize this was going to end upo as a law suit? James and Laurie Ryan are suing the resort and the network for $10 million in connection with the TV series "Harassment." The lawsuit says the couple believed they were going to be spending a vacation at the hotel in January. Instead, the Ryans were given a room with hidden cameras that were used to capture their shock as they discovered what appeared to be a mutilated corpse in the bathroom. When they tried to leave the room, two actors posing as security guards forced them back inside until Ashton Kutcher, the show's host and co-producer, emerged to reveal the gag. I hope they get every penny.
  
  
• Pistol Used to Kill Selena Destroyed
  "You have literally the smoking gun ... the weapon that killed the symbol of Tejano pride," said Manuel Pena, an ethnomusicologist at Fresno State University who written several books about Mexican and Mexican-American music. "How often do historians wish they had evidence of things that happened 100 years ago?" Let's see, between all her recordings, the movie and all that has been written-- I think we'll always have some historical record of Selena. I'd rather remember her for her work than for the woman who killed her.
  
  
• A Fruit Vendor's Lesson for Hollywood
  Memo to Hollywood: Give the people what they want.
  

posted by Randy on 11:56 AM | permanent link to this entry

Monday, June 10, 2002

• Belle And Sebastian Founder Quits Band
  Isobel Campbell, cellist and singer with the group since its inception in 1996, has officially parted ways with the band, after leaving mid-tour earlier this year. The band will continue on and there are no plans to replace her. Campbell has a solo album she plans to release later this year, as well as a mini-album, Ghosts Of Yesterday, that she recorded with Bill Wells.
  
  
• No Label No Problem For Morrissey Tour
  The mighty Moz will bw playing a few shows and festivals later this summer, even though he has nothing new to flog and still isn't signed to a label. Go, Moz, Go!
  
  
• Fall Concert Will Mark Sept. 11 Attacks
  The White House is planning a concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., to commemorate the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The National Symphony Orchestra and as-yet-undetermined artists will perform for two hours at the Kennedy Center on Sept. 9, and the event will be televised two days later. I'm gonna go out and a limb and guess we'll be seeing Lee Greenwood, that dude from the NYPD who sings "God Bless America," Alan Jackson and, uh, Mariah Carey. These are just guesses, but I bet I'm pretty much on the money.
  
  
• Suge Knight Books Diverse Projects
  Having signed with the Acme Literary and Talent Agencyas part of a plan to expand the Death Row Records franchise, he's now shopping a memoir and looking to get into film. Best line from this article: Barens pointed to a recently announced DreamWorks biopic of rapper Notorious B.I.G. as characteristic of "the kind of film project that Suge Knight might be involved in." I bet he would.
  
  
• Big Daddy Kane, The Jay-Z Of '89, Still Every Bit The Playa
  Don't call it a comeback! He's releaseing a new album soon. Give mad props to the old school, son!
  

MC Hesher Tour Dates:
Summer's here and it's time to cut loose with your superstar DJ, the man with the plan-- MC Hesher. That's me, by the way. If you're in the SF Bay area, come check me out! Out of town visitors also welcome!

-Friday, June 14, 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. “Relax With Pep” @ 330 Rich:
Come chill after your long work week and enjoy some adult beverages and righteous snacks as MC Hesher serenades you with the good groove-- funk, soul, hip-hop and more! He’ll be spinning 6 p.m.- 7 p.m., with other DJs to follow. 330 Rich is at (wait for it) 330 Rich between Brannan and Townsend in San Francisco’s SOMA district. And it’s free! Free funk! How can you go wrong with that?

-Friday, June 21, 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. “Relax With Pep” @ 330 Rich:
You’ll have so much fun the first week, you’ll be dying to bring your friends back for the return engagement! Kick off your weekend the right way as MC Hesher again spins funk, soul, hip-hop and more in the 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. slot, with other DJs to follow.330 Rich is at (wait for it) 330 Rich between Brannan and Townsend in San Francisco’s SOMA district. Again, presented for free.

-Saturday, June 29, 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. Breast Cancer Benefit @ Zeitgeist:
A buddy of mine and is currently recovering from a bout with breast cancer and a mastectomy. We’ve got the skills to help her pay the bills, so we’re gonna do just that! $5 gets you all the beer you can drink (at least until the donated keg runs out) and all the rock, funk, punk, country, soul, Sinatra and hip-hop you can handle courtesy of MC Hesher. There will also be a raffle with many cool prizes, so buy up lots of tickets to make sure you get your hands on a cool prize! Another reason to attend—this will be MC Hesher’s public debut on his new Pioneer CDJ-1000s-- the CD players that function like record players. Allowing for, you know, cutting and scratching and mixing and what not. Zeitgeist is at 199 Valencia St. on the corner of Duboce in San Francisco’s Mission District.

-Saturday, July 27, 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. El Rey Del Art’s Show @ 66 Balmy:
Don’t call it a comeback! The good people at the 66 Balmy gallery are again hosting an art show featuring paintings from El Rey Del Art , items based on the paintings from Deviant Goods and the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink-music-mix of MC Hesher. MC Hesher will once again be rocking the Pioneer CDJ-1000s. Get there early, art collectors-- last time the art was flying off the walls. 66 Balmy is at (wait for it) 66 Balmy between 24th & 25th streets in San Francisco’s Mission District. Free to come, but bring some Rubles, Pesos, Euros, wooden nickels and/or dead presidents to pay for cheap beer and cheap art.
posted by Randy on 11:02 AM | permanent link to this entry