Discovery News:

MOG v Spotify: the battle begins | Helienne Lindvall

From www.guardian.co.uk at 05/03/10 12:04 PM. 0 comments.

A new music streaming service, MOG, has set up shop. While its payment structure is unclear, it seems that the revenue split destined for artists and composers is even more uncertain than that from Spotify

For the past year, Spotify has dominated much of the debate around music streaming sites. While it's been praised by users, questions have been asked as to whether its business model is sustainable if they don't manage to convert enough of its free subscription service users to premium, paying subscribers. Record labels have largely been positive (which might have something to do with them owning equity in the service), but artists have been less so as they're wondering if any revenue will filter down to them.

Now a new American streaming service called MOG is planning to take on both Spotify and Pandora (currently only available in the US due to licensing restrictions) by offering a hybrid of on-demand and radio. I spoke to president and CEO of MOG, David Hyman, who is certainly a confident man: "I built Gracenote, monetised it and the patent is still under my name. I built my first music website, Addicted to Noise, in 1994, and it became the biggest at the time. I ended up selling it to MTV."

MOG is a $5 a month all-you-can-eat subscription user interface (Hyman says it'll probably be £5 a month in the UK as European publishing rates are higher). The service will be...

Read More

Discovery News:

Jane's Addiction Bassist Quits, Lil Wayne Still Free

From www.billboard.com at 04/03/10 11:49 PM. 0 comments.

Jane's Addiction bassist quits again, Sean Lennon defends mom Yoko for allowing dad John's image in a car ad, Lil Wayne sentencing rescheduled again, Jimmy Fallon and ?uestlove talk band discovery.

Discovery News:

5-10-15-20: Ted Leo

From www.pitchfork.com at 12/02/10 03:00 PM. 0 comments.

Photo by Jody VB

Welcome to 5-10-15-20, where we talk to artists about the music they loved at five-year interval points in their lives. Maybe we'll get a detailed roadmap of how their tastes and passions helped make them who they are. Maybe we'll just learn that they really liked hearing the "Kids Incorporated" theme song over and over when they were kids. Either way, it'll be fun.

For this edition, we spoke with punk rock institution Ted Leo, 39. Ted's forthcoming album with his band the Pharmacists is called The Brutalist Bricks and it's out March 9 on Matador.


Buddy Holly: "Rave On"

I had the radio on all the time. I would wake up to it, go to sleep to it. I had one of those devices that seem so hilarious now-- it was a little speaker that's shaped like a White Castle hamburger bun, and you're supposed to stick it under your pillow and fall asleep to music. It was a hard plastic. I don't know why they thought that would be a good idea [laughs]. But I had it.

I was young as shit, but I do remember a lot of good radio. Elton John was everywhere, and I was also into bubblegum pop like ELO. There was already a lot of weird nostalgia for 60s stuff like Buddy Holly and the Beatles, too. If I was...

Read More

Discovery News:

Readers recommend: Whispering songs

From www.guardian.co.uk at 12/02/10 08:58 AM. 0 comments.

Last week we asked for songs that went doo doo la la etc. Now we're going to lower the tone â€' literally

Bonjour mes petites chouxfleures und wilkommen nach este neue edicion de la jugado de memoria y sabor musicale que se llama Readers Recommend. Obrigado.

I'm your host, Paul MacInnes, and I just lurrrrrve foreign languages. Especially when they're sung. Or, in the case of the French, muttered smokily. I hope that's all clear.

Last week brought a thoroughly enjoyable and nigh-on record-breaking thread that included the customary fascinating diversions; amongst other things into doo wop and glossolalia. After much reading and listening, I plumped for the following A-list:

The Beatles â€' Hey Jude; Van Morrison â€' Brown Eyed Girl; J Geils Band â€' Centerfold; Pink Floyd â€' The Great Gig in the Sky; The Gladiolas â€' Little Darling; The Crystals â€' Da Doo Ron Ron; Beyonce â€' Single Ladies; Doug E Fresh â€' La Di Da Di; Sister Nancy â€' Bam Bam; Tom Waits â€' Jersey Girl.

(For those who posted and wanted to know the thoughts behind my selections, you can get something of an idea from the column)

Now then now then, let's B having you:

Barry Mann â€' Who Put the Bomp
After Rocking Mitch was forced to step in and clear up the attribution issues, I was free to select this tongue-twisting classic. It almost made the A-list, but I plumped for some real doo-wop instead.

Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five - Heebie...

Read More

Discovery News:

U2: Rock'n'roll's answer to the Book of Common Prayer?

From www.guardian.co.uk at 06/01/10 03:16 PM. 0 comments.

Is Bono really a true crusader for Christianity? Two Italian journalists have examined his lyrics and discovered Biblical allusions in almost every song

When the day comes for Bono to approach heaven's pearly gates, he can rest assured that they will likely swing open. If his attempts to eradicate African debt, Aids and malaria aren't enough to earn him a halo and a pair of wings, then the U2 frontman can now also cite the official endorsement of the Vatican.

In a 4 January article in the Italian-language edition of L'Osservatore Romano, the Holy See's daily newspaper, Gaetano Vallini makes the case that Bono is a true crusader for Christianity, and his lyrics a veritable treasure trove of Biblical references and allusions.

The singer has made no secret of his religious beliefs. Raised by a Catholic father and a Protestant mother, he, The Edge and Larry Mullen Jr were once members of an evangelical worship group called Shalom. Bono has since distanced himself from organised religion, in favour of a more personal spiritual path ("I'm a need-to-practice-much-more Christian," he said in an interview in 2002, "I'm uncomfortable in churches"). But that didn't stop him sharing some good times with the late Pope John Paul II, who even tried on Bono's trademark shades during one meeting â€' this delicious photo opportunity was duly recorded by L'Osservatore Romano.

Christians are, apparently, accustomed to seeking spiritual meaning in Bono's lyrics. According to evangelical magazine

Read More

Discovery News:

5-10-15-20: Tegan & Sara's Sara Quin

From www.pitchfork.com at 23/10/09 12:00 PM. 1 comments.

Welcome to 5-10-15-20, in which we talk to artists about the music they loved at five-year interval points in their lives. Maybe we'll get a detailed roadmap of how their tastes and passions helped make them who they are. Maybe we'll just learn that they really liked hearing the "Mummies Alive" theme song over and over when they were kids. Either way, it'll be fun.

For this edition, we spoke with Tegan and Sara's Sara Quin, 29.





The Juicy Fruits: "Goodbye, Eddie, Goodbye"

I know this from my mom and my dad telling me: Tegan and I were absolutely 100% addicted to this record that my parents had, the soundtrack to the film called Phantom of the Paradise. For shits and giggles, it's actually worth checking out on the internet. It was done in the 1970s, and it was in the same vein as The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The soundtrack was all done by the songwriter Paul Williams, who also starred in the film as this character Swan. It's a rock opera, and he's the devil. So there are ridiculous songs. It's out of hand.

Apparently, our favorite was this song called "Goodbye, Eddie, Goodbye", which sort of starts the film. There's this band called the Juicy Fruits, and they're at the height of...

Read More

Discovery News:

Pitchfork on ABC: Neon Indian's Psychic Chasms

From www.pitchfork.com at 13/10/09 03:25 PM. 0 comments.

Pitchfork writers regularly appear on ABC's World News Webcast to chat about notable albums they've recently reviewed. Previously, we saw Matthew Perpetua on Wilco's Wilco (The Album), editor-in-chief Scott Plagenhoef on Discovery's LP, Joe Tangari on Arctic Monkeys' Humbug, Rob Mitchum on Yo La Tengo's Popular Songs, Ian Cohen on the Big Pink's A Brief History of Love, and Tom Breihan on Girls' Album. This week, we've got the newly mustachioed Marc Hogan on Neon Indian's Psychic Chasms.

Video:> Pitchfork on ABC: Neon Indian: Psychic Chasms

Discovery News:

Pitchfork on ABC: Girls' Album

From www.pitchfork.com at 05/10/09 09:35 PM. 0 comments.

Pitchfork writers regularly appear on ABC's World News Webcast to chat about notable albums they've recently reviewed. Previously, we saw Matthew Perpetua on Wilco's Wilco (The Album), editor-in-chief Scott Plagenhoef on Discovery's LP, Brian Howe on the Antlers' Hospice, Joe Tangari on Arctic Monkeys' Humbug, Rob Mitchum on Yo La Tengo's Popular Songs, and Ian Cohen on the Big Pink's A Brief History of Love. This week, staff writer Tom Breihan discusses Girls' Album.

Video:> Pitchfork on ABC: Girls: Album

Discovery News:

Pitchfork on ABC: The Big Pink's A Brief History of Love

From www.pitchfork.com at 28/09/09 09:30 PM. 0 comments.

Pitchfork writers regularly appear on ABC's World News Webcast to chat about notable albums they've recently reviewed. Previously, we saw Matthew Perpetua on Wilco's Wilco (The Album), editor-in-chief Scott Plagenhoef on Discovery's LP, Brian Howe on the Antlers' Hospice, Joe Tangari on Arctic Monkeys' Humbug, Rob Mitchum on Yo La Tengo's Popular Songs, and Ian Cohen on Dodos album, Time to Die. This week, Mr. Cohen returns to discuss the Big Pink's A Brief History of Love.

Video:> Pitchfork on ABC: The Big Pink: A Brief History of Love

Discovery News:

Readers recommend: Songs about coming home

From www.guardian.co.uk at 27/08/09 11:11 PM. 0 comments.

Last week was all about songs struggling to stay awake. Now we want you to suggest music to soundtrack a returning voyager

Last week was a quieter one in which we could all gather our thoughts, get some shut-eye and, if you're Tincanman, do a bit of garden nomming (geddit? Garden nom! Eh? Oh, why do I bother).

I enjoyed the diversions into boxing and the elegies for Allen Toussaint, among others, and I also found it notable how often the language of intoxication doubles up for the language of tiredness. Which brings us to the first track on this week's B-list:

Rolling Stones â€' Moonlight Mile
So a head full of snow, eh? That certainly covers both natural befuddlement and the kind inspired by month-long benders. It also, however, helps to suggest a wintry landscape in which poor Mick is lost. Perhaps too much needs to be inferred to have made the A-list, but it's beautiful and my favourite track of the week.

Richard Thompson â€' The Way That It Shows
Again, not really topic compliant but I found this a winning song. The enunciation, the observation and the way it builds elegantly towards its climax. Classy.

Pixies â€' I've Been Tired
Nilpferd's donding was persuasive: "I haven't heard this before, I like the mixed-up sentences, know the feeling ... try speaking a foreign language when you're whacked out." So while this might not be about tiredness (and I also take on board fyodora's...

Read More