It took longer than it took the surviving members of The Who to record a comeback album (slight exaggeration), but on the 16th of November of this year The Beatles’ music has finally become available for purchase on the iTunes Store.
That date is anything but coincidental, of course. It was on such a date that the band’s first video clip was shown on American television. That was a good couple of months before they disembarked on American soil and hysteria broke loose.
If you visit the iTunes Store right now, you will see that the band has taken over the page completely.
This comes after years of discussions between Apple, EMI and Apple Corps (the outfit founded by The Beatles). Continue reading →
This is the second part of the interview I conducted with these really fine guys from DuroCast, Bryce Clemmer and Elliot Swan.
The first (where we talked about the company and its goals) can be read by clicking here.
PART II
MUSIC & YOU
When did you become interested in music? What was the first album or single you ever purchased?
BC: I have always been interested in music. Music is an essential piece of our society, and will always be. My first album ever purchased was Chumbawamba and my favorite song on it was Tubthumping. I listened to it everyday in the car to and from soccer practice as a kid. Great song!
ES: I’ve always loved music. I believe the first albums I ever owned were by a couple ska bands. I remember it was right at the time that CDs were becoming popular—funny to think that when I first started getting into music, we were right at a technological transformation in the way it would be enjoyed, and here I am launching a company right in the middle of another one.
Are you in a band yourself, or have you been in a band in the past? Is there a clip on YouTube or elsewhere we could watch?
BC: I never have, but have many friends that are in bands. My girlfriend actually currently plays the violin and has played in many concerts with the Salem Chamber Orchestra.
ES: I’ve never been in a band myself, though I’ll probably always be a little bitter I never became a rock star. I started playing piano when I was 10 or so, and I’ve recently started learning guitar.
Musical likes and dislikes? Favorite artists?
BC: I like all music. Music is art and it should be discovered and shared.
ES: Hmm, tough one. I like a lot of different things, though I’d say my favorite artists are probably the Goo Goo Dolls and The Killers. Continue reading →
I had a fantastic time talking with Bryce Clemmer and Elliot Swan from DuroCast (a startup featured on MusicKO just last week – check the review here). Below you will find the first part of our conversation. There’s lots and lots to read and ponder. And when you have finished, give Part 2 of the interview a good look, too.
Durocast's HQ
Full Name: Bryce Clemmer
Age: 22
Startup: DuroCast
Position: Co-founder & Operations Director
Full Name: Elliot Swan
Age: 21
Startup: DuroCast
Position: Co-founder & Creative Director
PART I
THE STARTUP
Tell us a little about your startup. Where did the idea come from? Was it fully translated into the finished product?
BC: DuroCast is an online portal for all terrestrial radio. The idea initially came from me sitting in my dorm room sophomore year at college wondering what some friends were listening to on the other side of the country. DuroCast is not a finished product and we are continually evolving. There are great things in the works.
ES: Bryce came to me in May 2009 with an idea for creating an online radio hub, and at that time, Matt had created a barebones, searchable directory. After that, it took about 6 months to develop into a solid private beta. Since then, we’ve completely reworked the site and just launched less than a week ago with what we have now. Like Bryce said, DuroCast will never be a finished product—that’s one of the great things about the Internet, it’s always on the move!
What are its best features? What will make people who try DuroCast keep coming back to it?
BC: Everything in the world is social, and DuroCast is and will become increasingly more social. It has helped many users find and share their most favorite stations and radio shows. DuroCast also allows you to save and organize your favorites to an easily accessible dashboard.
ES: DuroCast already is a great way to keep track of your favorite stations and find new ones that you’ll love just as much. I’m even more excited though about some things we have brewing that will help really reinvent radio as an even greater medium.
“Song For Guy” Remains The Sole Instrumental Piece By Elton That Has Cracked The Charts
“Song For Guy” is a six-minute instrumental piece that closes Elton’s 1978 album, “A Single Man”. It is preceded by a short introduction which is named “Reverie”.
If you have “A Single Man”, you will be able to read in the credits that the song is dedicated to Guy Burchett, a seventeen-year old boy that worked at Rocket (Elton’s record company) as a messenger. He died in a motorcycle accident.
There are two common misconceptions surrounding “Song For Guy”. The first is thinking that Elton wrote the song after Guy had died. He did not. He had a strange inspiration the night before the accident, and he wrote it right then. He named it upon learning the devastating news the following day.
Guy Burchett
The other misperception involves the sole lyric of the song. This is often transcribed as “Life is a delicate thing”, when Elton is actually singing “Life isn’t everything”.
“UK Jive” Was A Major Commercial Failure When It Was Released In 1989.
An ignominious flop, “UK Jive” (1989) was the penultimate album The Kinks were to issue. It suffers from the problem that also bogged down The Who’s “It’s Hard” and several other ‘80s albums, namely just too much social observation in lieu of real melodies.
The biggest offenders are arguably “Entertainment”, a quasi-punk song that lacks all articulation and “War Is Over”, one meditation on war too many (and one lacking the brave wit of “Arthur” at that). The title track is also routinely derided, owing to its abusive ‘50s mannerisms (reminiscent of acts like Sha Na Na) and the sampling of the Who’s “My Generation” during the fade.
The rest of the album, now, is not really that unapproachable. “Aggravation” is heavy metal that works (unlike most of the cuts on “Phobia”, the final studio album by the band), as does the emotion-high “How Do I Get Close”. Granted, Dave’s riffing on that one is a bit predictable, but the song has a nice vocal arrangement and a great flow on the whole.
And “What Are We Doing” is a minor gem, if only because the melody somehow sounds so fresh. Maybe it is the punctual horns that keep things going, maybe it is the original rhymes Ray employs. The fact is the song just works, and it is one of the cuts that will drive you back to the disc.
I must admit I am not that thrilled by “Loony Balloon”, a shuffly number about the doomed fate of the planet. Maybe the problem is its actual duration – it is almost as long as “Aggravation”, but whereas the album opener intelligently combined many different sections (a la “Another Brick In The Wall), “Loony Balloon” is virtually five minutes of the same. And the first minute alone is not that engaging, the harsh truth be said.
I am, however, very keen on “Now And Then”. I think it is the one piece of effective observation yielded by “UK Jive”. The lyrics are not that much better than the ones offered on the songs that don’t cut it, but the stripped beginning which eventually gives way to a full flourish makes it stick clearer (and truer) in your mind. And the sardonic “Down All The Days” (a poke at the upcoming elections) is also a nice distraction. Continue reading →
A Clean Version Of Kayne West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” Can Now Be Downloaded By Those Who Look It Up
And the biggest ploy of the decade hastens on… Kayne West’s latest album has now “surprisingly” been leaked into the Internet.
Now those of you who Google “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” are going to be able to find its edited version available for download, a good couple of weeks ahead of the album’s slated release date.
Kayne hasn’t spoken his mind about that yet.
He has been too busy retweeting some of the best reviews that have surfaced.
A Typical Shot Of Merton, Wearing His Glasses And His Green Parka
In all likelihood, Merton is the best thing that ever came out of ChatRoulette. The impromptu piano player (whose real identity is still a mystery, but who certainty isn’t Ben Folds) is actually touring the US, and entertaining audiences with his mercurial improvisations.
Just yesterday he stopped by YouTube’s headquarters, and he played in front of an audience that quickly became larger and larger. Below you will find two small clips of a performance that run much longer. And if you want to see him doing his classic stuff, then head straight to his channel.
“What if, like the radios commonly found in cars and stereos, there was an online central hub providing easy access to thousands of real radio stations, both local and national?”
That is the inspiration behind DuroCast, a startup company that hails from Portland. Its founders are Bryce Clemmer, Matt Polzin and Elliot Swan.
DuroCast empowers people to listen to radio stations from anywhere in the United States, Canada and some parts of South America (yes!). The idea is that users will be able not just to listen to their favorite radio stations, but actually discover new ones as they go along. Eventually, they will build up their own personalized radio dashboards, centralizing all the good music that they have found. And the best bit is that these radio dashboards are instantly shareable. Continue reading →
Apple Is To Let You Preview Songs On iTunes Three Times More Extensively
Nothing to complain about here, really. If you are based in the US, you will soon be able to listen to 90-second previews instead of the 30-second clips that can be sampled right now on iTunes.
This is the letter that Apple itself has sent to record labels:
“We are pleased to let you know that we are preparing to increase the length of music previews from 30 seconds to 90 seconds on the iTunes Store in the United States. We believe that giving potential customers more time to listen to your music will lead to more purchases.”
The Latest Single Issued By Bulgarian Star Gergana Is A Song Dealing With Romance (And Infatuation) On The Social Site Of The Hour.
Do you remember Ismael YK’s “Cilgin” video (IE, the one I nominated as the most likely candidate for the Turkish rickroll)? It was featured on MusicKO way back in September.
Well, those of you who did like it back then (or who have taken a liking to it right now after clicking on the link above) are sure to appreciate this new one from Bulgarian start Gergana.
The song is simply called “Facebook”, and (much like Ismael YK’s clip) it tells a story of infatuation that takes place over the Social Web.
So, which one do you prefer? I know, I know. This is nowhere as interesting as something like the “XTC Vs. Adam Ant” debate that They Might Be Giants once postulated. I am the first to admit that it is hardly in the same league. But I am really curious to see which one you like best.
