Thank you, Children

Went to Aidan and Sean's daycare the other day to play some music on the acoustic guitar. It was your standard stuff - "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", "Wheels On The Bus", "War Pigs" (just kidding). And truth be told, it was the best audience I've had in years. I mean, who would you rather play for: 1) drunk, stinky, cooler-than-thou hipsters or 2) rapt, bright-eyed, unbelievably cute 3 and 4 year olds?

The thing that struck me was just how excited these kids were to hear the songs and see someone playing music in their classroom. For a brief, fleeting moment, I was bigger than Barney.

I read somewhere that drug addiction is the #1 occupational hazard of anaesthesiologists. I think the #1 hazard for those of us who toil in music is becoming totally, hopelessly jaded about it, and art in general. Stick around long enough in this racket and you will eventually start to take the music - the thing that attracted you in the first place - for granted. It happens to all of us, and we must be ever vigilant against losing our passion for awesome tuneage.

Whenever it happens to me, I know it's time to go to a show, pound 3 beers, and stand right in front of the stage. Or simply listen to one of the many seminal songs or albums that inspired me to devote my life to this stuff.

Seeing these kids at school, and the absolute wonder in their eyes as I strummed "I'm A Little Teacup", it just reminded me of the transcendent power of music. We must never forget, people. Never forget. ~ Tim

Silversun Pickups - "Swoon"

I received an advance of the new Silversun Pickups record, “Swoon”, over the weekend. I’m happy to report that it lives up to the high hopes I had for their sophomore release…no sophomore slump for SSPU’s! This record is sure to put a smile on the face of anyone that enjoys stomping on a Fuzzface or Big Muff π.

Chris

TMI

I read an interview with Tom Morello in the LA Times this past weekend. Here's an excerpt:

LAT: People are so desperate to sell records that they think they have to do anything.

TM: One of the things I enjoyed about bands growing up was there was a sense of mystique about them. I didn't know what they were eating in catering at their gig every day as they Twittered it to me. Maybe there's something to be said about that.

I think there is something to be said about that: it sucks.

What happened to staring at album covers and band photos for hours on end imagining what incredible, debauched lives our favorite rock stars led? What happened to the mystery?

I really don't want to know what Jimmy Page or Morrissey or Pete Buck are having for lunch, or how much they love CSI: Miami. I want them to exist the way that I envision them - as removed, untouchable, above it all, outside of the pedantic boredom of every day life. Yet thanks to the miracle/curse of modern technology, we can now keep up with our idols' every move. Every boring detail is now available for us to savor while we wait for the next tidbit of useless information about their everyday lives. That is so not rock 'n' roll.

My response: no thanks.

And Twitter is only the latest nail in the coffin of rock mystique. Things really started to go to hell when Ozzy was put on display - in a track suit, no less - in the Osbournes' reality show. I want to think of Ozzy as growing old in a darkly-lit mansion in Birmingham somewhere, not hanging out with Pat Boone by the pool.

So rock stars, I beseach you: resist the urge to tell us everything about yourselves on a minute-by-minute basis. We're already so constricted in this world - at least let our imaginations run free. Even if you are wearing a track suit. ~ Tim

Negative Reinforcement

NOTE: this is not a stab at urban music. There's a lot of awesome hip-hop and R&B that's being created as I type, by a lot of folks who are true artists. But this Ciara clip? It's just wrong on so many levels.

Let's start with the tune itself, which is built around the melody of Gamble & Huff's "If You Don't Know Me By Now". Note to Ciara's songwriters: write your own melody.

Then there's the laser focus on bling and material possessions. At the beginning of the clip you've got Ciara's girlfriends basically saying: "If the guy's not loaded, he's not worth being with." That's a great message to send to the legions of 14 year old girls watching the video. Then you've got Young Jeezy waving around wads of cash. I mean, it's 2009. Is this not the most clichéd, lame video construct ever at this point? We get it, man: you're loaded. Now get back in your stretch Hummer.

Speaking of getting it, it's made abundantly clear that Ciara is attractive. But how sad is it that her label reps/management/people in charge feel that we need to see her looking like a stripper in order to appreciate (and buy?) her music. Our culture's fixation on physical beauty and the major label recording industry's full-scale embracing of looks-over-talent marketing continues to be a huge bummer.

And finally, what's the deal with the reel-to-reel tape machine rolling throughout the clip? I'd wager a huge amount of money that Ciara has no idea what that contraption is or why it's in her video. Random and annoying.

Yes, I know: this is pop. It's designed to be escapist and disposable to take our minds off of our Real Problems. But the culture that created this video is a Real Problem. It's a culture that reinforces the perceived importance of material wealth and physical beauty above all else. And that affects you and me and our kids because we have to live with the people who buy into that crap.

Ultimately, it's just sad to see so many resources and so much energy going toward reinforcing notions that are truly harmful to our society and our culture at large. And this issue is by no means limited to urban music. In fact, modern country music is one of the worst offenders when it comes to reinforcing clichés that perpetuate a warped, bogus view of the real world.

I just hope that the kids watching this stuff can distinguish between what's real and what's faux. ~ Tim

Doers vs. Talkers

I was talking with a fellow "industry professional" today about how there are soooo many people in our line of work who love to spend HOURS at panel discussions pontificating (or listening to others pontificate) about "the future of music." You know what the future of music is? Continued massive upheaval and disruption. Now get back to work.

Seriously, do you think we as a company have time to wring our hands about where music is headed? No, because we're in the trenches every day trying to do work, chase down clients, respond to 18,000 emails and generally do all of the things that people who run businesses need to do. I don't have time to sit around in an ivory tower wondering where the Industry will go. If all of the people at these panel discussions devoted more of their time to actually working, they might arrive at a sustainable model, instead of lamenting that fact that they don't have one.

Now, don't get me wrong. I enjoy lively discussion as much as the next guy. And I also know firsthand that lively discussion leads to great ideas, which is how we progress, both as a society and an industry. So far be it from me to poo-poo creative thought and intellectual discourse. But there comes a time when you need to stop talking and start working. And for many of these folks, that time is way overdue.

With the music business, the only thing that's certain is uncertainty. Yes, there will be pivotal individuals (Steve Jobs, the MySpace dudes) that will change our way of thinking and steer things in new directions. But we cannot all be those people, at least not all the time (even Jobs has to answer his email at some point).

Ironically, Chris and I have been working on our own potentially game-affecting concept. It's called BrandsForBands and it'll launch soon. But even though it's required hundreds of hours of discussion over the last 2 years, we still managed to increase our company revenues by 10% last year. In other words, we talked about The Big Picture - and are poised to contribute to it significantly with B4B - but not at the expense of getting our everyday work done.

So, fellow music professionals, I beseech you to spend more time on your work and less time worrying - and talking - about where things are headed. That's important, but it don't pay the mortgage. Less talk, more rock. ~ Tim

The D-Process

If you’re at all like me, you’re trying desperately to make sense of the sh*tstorm that we call our nation’s economy. I found this recent interview with Ray Dalio in Barron’s (by Sandra Ward) to be very enlightening:

http://online.barrons.com/article/SB123396545910358867.html

Mr. Dalio is the Chief Investment Officer of Bridgewater Associates, one of the larger hedge funds out there. He was one the earliest people to sound the alarm about “the dangers of excessive financial leverage.” He does a great job describing the deleveraging and deflationary process that has been happening around the world…what he calls the “D-Process”. Batten down the hatches everyone…we’re in for a fun ride over the next couple of years. ~ Chris

Suddenly, Everything Is Right In The World...

Well, maybe not everything. But the Doves just posted "Jetstream," a new track from their forthcoming album, Kingdom Of Rust, and I'm pleased to report that it's excellent and, as with most music by the band, keeps getting more excellent (excellenter?) with each listen. Download it for yourself.

I'm an absolutely massive Doves fan, and I don't quite know why. I guess it's something intangible that just hits me right here. They're just three dudes from Manchester, but the sum is infinitely more than the parts. I was telling someone yesterday that Doves may be the only band that I would follow around like a Deadhead. Something tells me that that scene would be a little less, shall we say, colorful than the one fostered by JerBear & Company. I can see it now: a bunch of record store clerks in hoodies standing around mumbling about B-sides and bonus tracks, not making eye contact. [shiver] Now that I think about it, I think seeing Doves in LA will be sufficient.

Anyway, back to "Jetstream." It's a bit of departure for the band, with more of an electronic influence, but it's still classically Doves. If the rest of the album is this good, it's gonna be a corker.

This was supposed to the year that I went to England with some friends, including a pilgrimage to Manchester, the home of a great many of my favorite bands. Sadly, the economic apocalypse has thrown a wet blanket over that idea. But at least I'll have a new Doves album in April. Hell, that + a few pints of Guinness and I can just pretend I'm in Blighty. It'll have to do for now. And I'm OK with that. Kinda. ~ Tim