Lupe Fiasco is (not?) Percival Fats
NME is reporting that Lupe Fiasco is abandoning hip-hop and taking the reigns as frontman of Japanese Cartoon. Apparently he’ll go by Percival Fats although Percival Fats who may or may not be Lupe Fiasco denies it.
If Percival Fats is Lupe Fiasco, which is highly likely, then all of this is just a method of generating buzz. If so, I salute Lupe Fiasco and/or Percival Fats because it’s working and playfully deceiving people for profit is all well and good. Of course, none of this would be interesting in the slightest if the music was dull, but it’s pretty righteous.
I’ve taken the bait and walk happily into this charade - I implore you all to do the same.
Listen @ Japanese Cartoon or PMA + one more (zShare)
Old Is New Again & Enemy Is Now Friend
According to an article on Computer World vinyl is making a small but appreciable comeback in the 13-24 year old demographic. Although at 1.88 million vinyl records sold in 2008, vinyl sales are still an unassuming pimple on the large, albeit slimming butt of CDs - CD sales have plummeted by almost 200 million in the past three years.
The article interviews several independent record store owners including Brighton based Newbury Comic’s CEO, Duncan Browne. Browne reports the chain has created extra retail space for vinyl “in order to accommodate a more than 35% increase to date in vinyl sales.” Unfortunately, Browne also is on the record saying the increase in vinyl sales probably won’t last and is more of a “novelty” than anything, which is odd considering Newbury Comic’s shift in recent years to a seller of novelty goods such as toys and collectibles.
In the meantime, uTorrent creator, Ludvig Strigeus along with several others have launched a new online streaming application dubbed Spotify. The software, described to Torrent Freak by Spotify’s Andrew Sehr is “a hybrid p2p system where music is delivered both by our servers and using P2P,” which allows for a blazing fast product.
In my brief experience with the beta version of the software, it lives up to the hype and is immensely faster than comparable services such as Pandora, Last.fm, or imeem. The current downsides of Spotify include the “inability” to use it in the USA (although this problem is easily bypassed) and a limited catalog.
I searched for several artists and the results were hit or miss. Television’s catalogue was far from complete, as was Richard Hell & the Voidoids and Suicide’s. Crystal Stilts, Soltero, and Wavves were entirely absent from Spotify, while Crystal Castles, Department of Eagles and Arcade Fire were represented rather well. As expected, the more obscure an artist, the less likely you’ll find them on Spotify. The software is still in beta so full judgment would be premature.
So there you have it, a resurgence in vinyl and an application of P2P technology once considered the devil by majors now being put to good use for those same companies. I hope the upswing in vinyl continues because like so many others I love the physical qualities of vinyl and it’s big and bold album art. At the same time, I’m not purchasing a turntable for work (that is, when I start working again) so internet radio and similar programs such as Spotify have a necessary role in a music listener’s life. And anything that at least helps replace iTunes already antiquated and bloated service is fine by me.
I guess all we need now are vinyl torrents, or something.
Everyday I’m Hustlin’
You could call me a bit of a web hustler. I’m on a constant scavenger hunt through the tubes of the internet, tracking down the best deals of the week, day, hour, maybe even second. I’ve found one such deal that may be of interest to our Enough Cowbell readers.
Amazon.com has 50 of the top albums of 2008 for sale for a mere $5 a piece:
Granted, it may be more expensive than buying used music, but it comes with that new mp3 smell, as well as that sweet feeling of satisfaction from supporting your favorite musicians.
If you do decide to take the plunge, make sure to purchase through the link provided above. That way we can keep bringing you news about the latest music, and deals on purchasing said music a year after it’s released.
Monday Night In Boston
The Birthday Suicide, Zach Comtois, Shane Hall & The Dust Collectors @ TT the Bear’s
Math the Band, Lima Research Society, The Divorced, Pentecostal Flying Machine @ Middle East upstairs
Sunday Night In Boston
Turn Of The Century Cannons, The Bynars, Shepherd Burn The Sheep @ TT the Bear’s
Naomi Sommers* @ Club Passim
Saturday Night In Boston
Heroes with Chris Ewen @ TT the Bear’s
Cheryl Wheeler @ Club Passim
Rock and Roll In Pictures at the Portland Museum of Art
From January 22nd to March 22nd the Portland Museum of Art (map) will be hosting Backstage: Rock & Roll Photography. The exhibit will feature 300 rarely seen photographs of musicians during much more intimate settings than usual. Per the Museum’s website:
This exhibition, drawn from the largest private collection of photographs of rock musicians in the country, captures the intimate relationship between photographer and musician…the exhibition will include studio portraits and candid outtakes of famous rock and roll stars from Elvis Presley to Jimi Hendrix to Madonna and Courtney Love. Classic images by photographers Lee Friedlander, Kate Simon, Laura Levine, Baron Wolman, Bob Gruen, Jim Marshall, and Lynn Goldsmith will be included in this extraordinary survey of 20th-century music and popular culture.
In addition to the exhibit, the PMA has arranged Greil Marcus to speak at the Holiday Inn by the Bay (map) on Monday January 26th (6-8pm). Aside from being a pretty popular music critic he edited one of my favorite pieces of music literature (or something), Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung
As for price of admission to the exhibit, all I could dig up was the PMA standard prices, which are as follows: $10 Adults, $8 Seniors/Students, $4 Ages 6-17, and under 6 enter for free. Museum hours are 10am - 5pm Saturday through Thursday and 10am - 9pm on Fridays. Finally, if you’re in need of transportation, but do not have a car (read: me) check out Amtrak’s Downeaster route.
(Photo: Laura Levine, United States, 1958, James Brown, NYC, 1984, Private collection.)
Marijuana Is Decriminalized Tonight In Boston
In honor of the only state in the union where pot is decriminalized, gay marriage is legal, but the alcohol laws are still painfully prude…
