vanmega.com » home

Sunday, February 25, 2007

much ado about nothing..

I'm out of town and off line for the next week or so.

I was going to get my act together and leave you with March's mixtape, but I'm catching a flight in the middle of the night (uhh... yay?) and figured that I should maybe pack and/or get some sleep instead. I mean, if you're really itching for content there's always the faux-podcast archives... or this ~~45 page~~ endless, massive, legal gray area, linked album thread on the Saddle Creek bulletin board.

Chat with you soon...

elsewhere

it's so easy (live) | "the arcade fire on SNL"

[ perma-link | ]

Friday, February 23, 2007

bits+pieces=massive post...

(there's no way I could take a photo like this... source)

12 days to go and I'm still sticking to my guns and NOT listening to any leaks of Neon Bible... hell, I've even pre-ordered the overly fancy deluxe version of the album from Merge.

With all that said... this link is making my mouse clicking finger uber-itchy.

---

A bunch of Canadian band signings went down this week. Cadence Weapon signed state-side with Epitaph and Bella signed locally with Mint Records. Based on this, I went and checked out Bella's myspace and surprize surprize they remixed a Rachel Cantu track!

Rachel Cantu - Saturday (Bella Remix)[mp3]

100% different from the original... Tegan's harmonies really stick out.

---

Cord Mag is giving away an electric guitar. Granted it's a promo for Finger 11... but it's a GIBSON. Trust me, go enter... and while there why not check out the eleventy billion gorgeous pictures they took of The Shins live at the Commodore earlier this week?

---

YAY! Puretracks.com quite surprizingly announced yesterday through a press release that their catalog is in unrestricted MP3 format.

BOO! People flock to the site, and find DRM-equipped WMA files for sale. Nerdy backlash ensues. Upon closer inspection it turns out that only a small portion of their catalogue is DRM-free.

YAY! turns out that the small portion of the catalogue that is DRM-free features really good bands.

---

(hair helmet?)

Lullabyes has a live Jesse Malin show featuring Ryan Adams and Bruce Springsteen for download. I'd forgotten about Jesse Malin, dude's pretty nice... and, apparently, he has a new album coming out.

---

Still shitty: new blogger. Many have emailed to note that things like the fact that the archives and xml feeds are wonky. I'm working on it... but things like work, real life, the fact that the sun now stays out past 6pm are getting in the way. Please play like Axl Rose circa 1990 and have a little patience. I'll get things sorted.

[ perma-link | ]

Thursday, February 22, 2007

what's going on with the Lily Allen pre-sale?

Hey - did you hear? Lily Allen's playing the Commodore in Vancouver on March 27th. Tickets go on sale tomorrow, but there's a pre-sale which started today. Note: the pre-sale password is "lilyallen". Someone, somewhere, is not being paid to be creative.

About an hour ago, through the pre-sale, I bought 2 tickets for the show. A screen cap from my transaction at ticketmaster.ca is posted above. Look closely, I was billed a ticket price of $0.00. Either one or two things has happened: (1) I just paid a fraction of a fraction of the regular cost of entry, or (2) ticketmaster just took their gouging policies to a whole new level and charged me $20 to browse their website... (oh, and I'm ticketless).

Anyways, you might want to get in on this... especially, if you like cheap stuff, good times, and/or buzz bands.

elsewhere

how flannel preserved the innocence of a generation

[ perma-link | ]

Sunday, February 18, 2007

bob lefsetz...

This weekend Me and Pinder went to see Bob Lefsetz deliver his "State of the Industry" presentation at Tom Lee Hall. Shit was kinda bonkers. If you’ve ever read his Lefsetz letter… it was like that but hyper-caffeinated and 10 times as compelling. Plus, at the intermission they served cookies. Cookies!

The planned format for the lecture was a hosted interview where Bob was asked questions in real time. That didn’t really work out, rather the host asked a question and then Bob went on about everything under the music business sun for about 15 minutes. Tom Peters this guy ain’t, but it worked. Dude insightfully covered everything from indie vs major label business models, to the disconnects in hip hop marketing, to cyclical nature of boy bands, to the economics of file trading. These concepts weren’t attacked in any sort of linear format either. I think it’s funny… I have a couple of business degrees and I still had to seriously concentrate in order to distil key take away points about the state of the music industry… from what I can tell about 95% of the people in the room were right-brain music artist types. I’m pretty sure, at times, their heads were spinning.

Perhaps my only complaint (and I use that term kinda lightly) with Bob’s talk was that he had lots of ideas on how the music industry should be, but offered no insight into how the industry could get there. For example, he suggested that in the future all internet users should pay a monthly levy to their ISP’s which will act as the single point of legal payment for all music downloading activity. Fantastic idea… but how do you distribute these payments back into the music industry? How would this impact the ability to maintain net neutrality? How would this work from a regulatory perspective? Who do you bring to the table to create a framework for this? Hell, where do you even start?

Either way, the guy is insanely passionate about music and the business. Can’t fault him for that. Hopefully, his optimism spreads among his peers.

elsewhere

regine = yum | beautiful food | freeloaders guide to brunch

[ perma-link | ]

Friday, February 16, 2007

for no other reason than because we can...

Here's 2 tracks by The KLF...

The KLF - 3AM Eternal (Live at the SSL) [mp3]
The KLF - What Time Is Love (LP Mix) [mp3]

I’ve been on a bit of a kick lately where I’ve been trying to track down digital copes of the tapes I used to listen to in the early 90s… it’s taken a bit of patience, but I’ve dug up heaps of stuff. Why do this? Everyone (yeah, even you) looks back on the music they grew up with a very thick pair of rose coloured glasses. I’m no exception to this, I’m just trying to get through the nostalgia and pseudo-scientifically figure out if the music I grew up with was actually any good. So far, I’d say that about 40% of it stands the test of time… with that said, 90% of that 40% I can listen to I listen to once and I really have no need to listen to it again… maybe I will again in another 15 years.

At the risk further dorking up this post, I’m gonna state that KLF’s White Room ~~tape~~ album fits into the category of standing the test of time and being worth repeated listens a decade and a half after it’s initial release. Stop laughing. Most electronic music back then leaned heavily on the classic rave sound. The idea of crossing genres was relatively unheard of and usually poorly done. Also, this album works as a whole… yes there are singles, but the whole thing has a real flow. The feel of the whole package reminds me of Daft Punk’s Discovery. (Note: feel and actual sound are not the same thing)

Also of note is the wikipedia entry for KLF… it’s massive, and full of tales of dead sheep, pulled catalogues, and burned savings accounts. Back then I was just impressed that the dude in the video raps into a humongous cell phone.

elsewhere

an unclassy list

[ perma-link | ]

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

ipod-ready video download de jour...

LCD Soundsystem - North American Scum [m4v]

Ok... I'll be the first to admit this video isn't 120% mindblowing, but it has it's moments... and let's face it, the March 20th release of Sound of Silver can't come soon enough... so I'll take what I can get.

With that said, I've been listening to the unmastered album leak for a while now and really like what I hear. I don't get all these comments about the album sounding like The Cure / Brian Eno / {insert your favorite 80's era new wave-ish artist here}. This album sounds like LCD Soundsystem in all of it's energetically cynical glory. So much so, this new disk almost sounds like an addendum to the last album... but, this isn't a bad thing. LCD Soundsystem tracks grab the marrow in your hips and then promptly ask you to dance... without coming across as a forced thing. That's the brilliant part. Well, that, and the cowbell.

---

Totally unrelated: My Man My Moon, the first single from the new Feist album The Reminder is now available - if - you live in France (really). For the rest of you, you might be interested to know that if you look carefully here you can download a free mp3 of the track.

With that said, I'm not sure how I feel about the track... the first minute's a bit clunky. With that said... it's Feist, dammit. Kinda hard to complain.

elsewhere

peanut butter wolf valentine's mixtape (via)

[ perma-link | ]

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

dear blogger...

A question for those who post on the babble board... can you still see the babble board when you sign into blogger? Can you still post? Since the mandated move to "new blogger" I can't see the page. This not only sucks because I'm now required to do work at work, it also sucks because I'm the admin.

While I understand the business rational driving the mandatory upgrade to "new blogger", I think the company might have missed the mark here. We've been using old blogger for over 6 years with no issues, and since we're not hot and bothered for Web 2.0 functionality around here (really... I have no interest in labeling my posts with tags like "scooters, vacation, fall" nor do I need to encourage readers to "digg this post") a sweeping upgrade which involves migrating data and switching servers and other technical mumbo-jumbo has no appeal. Google/Blogger should have let those of us using simple services to continue to do so. I'm willing to bet a fistful of Canadian tire dollars that I'm not the only one who feels this way. If I have to rebuild the babble board from scratch, I'm moving this entire website to WordPress... just for spite.

Anyways... babblers... get in touch let me know if the board is still running. (*crosses fingers*)

elsewhere

deep covers

[ perma-link | ]

Monday, February 12, 2007

a question...

What's wrong with these new Arcade Fire tour dates?

No Vancouver listing!

I would find this upsetting, but Vancouver concert listings are heating up for the spring. I'm secretly jumping up and down in anticipation for these gigs:

Silversun Pickups at Richard's (April 12th)

I'm determined to see that final minute, wall-of-sound Lazy Eye outro live. 2 days later, I will get what's left of my hearing checked.

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists at Richard's (April 18th)

The last time I saw Ted Leo live was almost 2 years ago to the day. I'm pumped for Living With The Living... plus, I'm into things like boundless energy, hand clapping, and... uhhh... fun.

Girl Talk at Richard's (June 9th)

Say what you will about this guy's approach to dj'ing/mash-ups/performing Nirvana covers. This will be a party.

LCD Soundsystem at the Commodore (May 3rd)

I missed the last LCD pass through vancouver. Based on Pinder's review, I'm thinking this was a massive mistake. This might be the kinda gig that requires a call to the office for a "sick day" the following morning.

And yes, The Police are coming to town... and tickets are upwards of 6 million bucks, and unless you're 45+ years of age or a huuuuuge fan of the lute you really shouldn't be too excited about this. Remember kids: just because the stereogums and idolators of the world get fixated over their reunion doesn't mean you have to.

Either way, I'll see you in line at Zulu this week.

elsewhere

not statistically distinguishable from zero | intelligent warming

[ perma-link | ]

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Weekend recap: winter wedding edition...

Thanks to the, uhhh, magic of Air Canada we were in Calgary for all of 48 hours this weekend for Hotter’s wedding. A real big, real classy event. Our table was ~~expectedly~~ un-classy. I think at one point we were all triple-fisting red wine, white wine, and vodka. Personally, I blame Wendy. Also, there was bad piano playing (and singing?) in public. You’re all welcome!

But ferreals, such a fantastic time. I’ll post some photos after the hangover subsides.

---

Also, while in Calgary, I discovered this:

Is this new? When did this start-up start up? WTF? While I tend to loath rock radio stations, this one was pretty good! In a period of 20 minutes I heard Arcade Fire, Silversun Pickups, and Muse.

It’s come to this: Calgary is now more progressive than Vancouver. Why don’t we have a station with this kinda format?

I’m going to bed now.

elsewhere

bloc party remixes

[ perma-link | ]

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

yes, the world needs to hear my 2 cents on this...

By morning, I'm sure that open letter penned by Steve Jobs discussing the future role of DRM in digital music sales will be on every blog in the universe. But dammit... it is pretty interesting.

I'll spare you my line by line analysis of his ideas, but I'll pose these questions:

When he says that "Apple will embrace [DRM-free music sales] wholeheartedly", is he for real? Or rather, does he think the iTunes store experience is so awesome that we'll forget that a file is a file is a file? Unless the iTunes store gains some sort of magic functionality where the program will somehow do my laundry for me, I'm compelled to move to a provider like eMusic... which offers downloads for 33 cents (i.e. 1/3 the cost of iTunes).
Also, if this DRM-free market became a reality what would all those fair-use lobby-types write about day after day after day? What would be the new rally point in the battle against the "big four"? I'm not being a cynical here, I'm curious.

elsewhere

1990's cable public access anyone? | the reminder

[ perma-link | ]

Monday, February 05, 2007

how ya like me now...

If there's only one mp3 you download today, might we recommended the following:

Nas - Where Are They Now (90's Remix) [mp3]

This mix features features 8 bar freestyles from Redhead Kingpin, The Original Spinderella, Rob Base, Father MC, Monie Love, Mike G, EST, Positive K, Das EFX, Lords of the Underground, Chip-Fu & Dres from Black Sheep.

Instant nostalgia overload! So bestever! It's impossible to not love this track (assuming you were busy collecting hip hop tapes 15 years ago). I only have 2 minor complaints: (1) Nas' repeated lazy "big up to me for putting this together"-esque ramble over the break, (2) Dre from Das EFX's Big Pun and Biggie name check. Das EFX came out well before either of those 2 guys... isn't this is like Jeff Buckley thanking Radiohead for inspiration?

There's also an 80's remix of the track as well which features the likes of MC Shan, Raheem, Doctor Ice, etc. Again, nostalgia runs high, but becuase I'm old but not that old, the MC's featured are a bit less relevant to me. Anyone else notice that Kool Moe Dee sounds way out of practice? Does this mean based that, based on a technicality, LL Cool J finally wins the rivalry?

Nas - Where Are They Now (80's Remix) [mp3]

There's also a West Coast remix of the track, which rocks a totally different beat... but it's not my cup of tea.

---

Could the entire internet please agree that additional posts about Mooninites and Superbowl halftime shows are not required?

---

Interested in that iconcertcal add-on for iTunes but don't want to install it or mess with your coveted Last FM stats? Perhaps, you'll be interested in the images above. Based on my music library, these are the generated concert listings for Vancouver in February and March. Apparently, they just released capabilities for Canadian listings... so this thing might be pretty rad in a month or two.

---

tiny 24 update: Unlike last week, this week's episode was a return to form. Hooray for everything.

[ perma-link | ]

Sunday, February 04, 2007

revenue is revenue...

Holy crap! I actually read a paper-based copy of a magazine!

This month's issue of Fast Company is pretty good. The feature article, Way Behind The Music, looks at the economics of merch, arguing that despite declining CD sales, the music industry is healthy and growing.

While this article doesn't break new ground, it captures a legitimate point. Pair this with more recent album sales stats (like the Shin's new disk), and claims of piracy devastating the music industry don't hold up.

Anyways, go read and I'll wait patiently for you ridicule me for linking an article featuring John Legend, John Mayer, et al. Hooray!

elsewhere

download: all the samples from paul's boutique

[ perma-link | ]

« read more vanmega »