Quoting David Geffen… That’s how you know a piece is irrelevant. Even if the old man came across as pretty wise. I mean didn’t David Geffen FAIL in the modern music business? As well as the modern FILM business? And THIS is the guy you quote? Maybe if Lynn Hirschberg had quoted the kid on the street, someone we hadn’t heard from before, instead of referencing a FOCUS GROUP, we might have cared.

Oh, don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed the article. Well, the first half. Wherein they spoke about how the record business is FUCKED! I haven’t seen so much ENGLISH in the "New York Times" previously. But I couldn’t stop scratching my head and wondering what the fuck Rick Rubin was DOING at Columbia. I mean if he really wanted to revolutionize the business, make a difference, would he have taken a job at a MAJOR LABEL? You know he did it for the check.

He doesn’t go to the office. Yup, that’s gonna work, an absentee executive. I’m not saying he SHOULD, just that this begs whether he’s the RIGHT GUY! Imagine a sports team, the Yankees, with an absentee MANAGER! Yup, play really hard in center field while Joe Torre contemplates the game at home. He’s thinking really hard. He doesn’t like to wear a uniform. But he cares. Huh?

So Steve Barnett is in the building. Isn’t this like saying the THIRD BASE COACH CAN RUN THE TEAM? You don’t want someone who’s officious, who can make the trains run on time, but a personage who is an INSPIRATION!

Rick Rubin might be an inspiration to artists. But a business man? Isn’t it Def Jam that sold for all that money, not AMERICAN? And if you listen to the Black Crowes, American’s biggest act ever, they give Rubin NO CREDIT! And isn’t being a record exec first and foremost about FINDING TALENT? Sure, a great producer makes a huge difference. But you can’t polish a turd. You’ve got to START with a rough diamond!

As for a new office… An expensive one, at that. Why don’t you explain to your acts, who you make record at home on Pro Tools, why you have to blow all this money. These same acts who you don’t pay royalties. Yup, that’s what I DO when I’m in a financial bind. Buy a new chair, a new car. Because if I FEEL good, I DO good. HUH?

And wait a second, I thought Rick Rubin didn’t go to the office anyway. If they make it a pooh-bah pad, WILL HE? And will they hire enough execs to FILL the building, unlike at Colorado Avenue?

Utterly ridiculous. A big time exec told me he could run his label group with independent contractors. A la Silicon Valley. With only a small cadre of full-time employees. I don’t know if this is right, but at least he’s THINKING! What is Rick Rubin doing here?

Oh, Rick’s made some great records. Brought some acts back from the dead. Made a second-rate act, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, into a front liner. But if being a producer qualifies you to run a label, fine arts majors would run America’s biggest corporations. Steve Jobs doesn’t hand the reins of Apple to Jonathan Ive, and if he did, his board would go fucking NUTS! But who is the Sony board? Who DO these guys report to? Or is it just brother to brother, Stringer to Stringer.

Rubin ends up looking like a spoiled kid, frustrated that he can’t effect change. Shouldn’t that have been part of the deal? That he wouldn’t take the gig without monetized P2P?

But that’s just the point. That WAS in the article. The labels are afraid that although licensed P2P might SAVE them, it might KILL them too. That they might give away the store, kill the recorded music business. They don’t want that blood on their hands, so they won’t change, or will do so slowly. It would be like Microsoft not creating Explorer, not competing with Netscape, saying the Internet is a newfangled fad.

There IS a crisis. The major labels ARE making music free. They WILL be sold to the highest bidder for a pittance if they don’t solve their problems. But the way out isn’t hiring an iconoclastic, bearded guru, but by changing the INFRASTRUCTURE! Changing how they distribute and CHARGE!

But change can’t happen. Because instead of having student interns, young people have got to WORK at the label. And the labels have fired not only the youth, but everybody who does the day to day work. All they’ve got is executives. So, Columbia has brought in someone hipper. This is like Apple bringing in Gil Amelio. It’s not ENOUGH!

And maybe you don’t know who Mr. Amelio IS. That proves the point. The old business is dead. Mourn no more. The new will be built not by old farts, but young ‘uns fully familiar with tech. Oh, they’re not like their parents, they don’t think everything in life should be free. They’re CAPITALISTS! But, if you don’t respect them, they’ll rob you blind.

The youth come up with Facebook. Columbia comes up with Rick Rubin. Where would YOU put your money?

The Music Man

We’ve seen this movie before. MANY TIMES!

The only difference is now the MAINSTREAM press ain’t falling for the copyright holders’ protestations.

Old spin: He who owns the copyright not only controls the right to distribute his product how he sees fit, it’s one of the benefits of ownership, distribution is an entitlement that the creator retains.

New spin: How in the hell can the TV and movie businesses not get it when they can look back over the past eight years and see what the RECORD COMPANIES have been through. You’ve got to harness the advantages of the Net, you’ve got to increase volume, you’ve got to give the people what they want.

Hulu. Yeah, now THAT’S gonna work. About as well as Universal’s Pressplay and the Google Video Store.

Universal delivered a product no one wanted, all in service to the goal of protecting their copyrights. What happened? Online theft WENT UP!

Google felt it could squash YouTube like a bug. After all, wasn’t it GOOGLE?

In case you missed the memo, Google shut down its Video Store this week. This is after spending a FORTUNE to acquire their vaunted competitor, YouTube. And all those honest citizens who purchased from the Google Store? They now own videos in an obsolete format. At first they were granted credit, now refunds after Google realized it had a public relations disaster on its hands.

Digital assets? They’re not forever. Sell ’em cheap now, and then sell ’em all over again.

If you haven’t had a hard drive fail, you don’t own a computer. And most people don’t back up. And the formats change. Files get better. Do you really think we’re going to be listening to 128 kbps rips ten years from now? No, we’re going to BUY THE MUSIC ALL OVER AGAIN! Which means it behooves the rights holders to sell it NOW! And to make it so cheap that people don’t CARE that it’s disposable.

We used to think TV shows were completely disposable. But it turns out there’s a demand on DVD. And a demand at the iTunes Store. But the producers say the online demand is de minimis, that it doesn’t really matter. Tell that to the record industry, now that CD sales have cratered in excess of 15% in 2007, after years of significant declines. You’re gonna get your TV shows when you want ’em, online. And you’re gonna either pay cash, or with your time, watching commercials. This on demand viewing will only grow. Wouldn’t it behoove the producers to get on the boat NOW?

No. They’ve got to protect that behemoth known as Wal-Mart. You want to know why movie studios aren’t selling their wares at the iTunes Store? Because they’re afraid of pissing off Wal-Mart with regard to DVD sales. So, you can’t BUY most of these flicks online.

I guess they’re fearful of the day Apple holds a similar power as the Arkansan giant, but they’re fucking with the Cupertino company now, in advance, when they’ve got NO OTHER ALTERNATIVE!

Sony gave up on not only Connect, but its whole ATRAC DRM. And, speaking of DRM, there’s none on the Torrent sites that have all the TV shows readily available ANYWAY!

The reason Apple wins is it’s got the best player, aligned with the best design and easiest interface. Unless you battle them on THIS level, you’re never going to succeed. Look at the blood on their click wheel, everybody from Rio to Dell. But the TV COMPANIES ARE GOING TO TEACH THEM A LESSON?

NBC/Universal is way out of its depth here. It thinks this is an inside job, akin to a battle between studios and agents. But, it’s not. It’s a battle between producers and viewers, and the studio DOESN’T EVEN KNOW IT! You’ve got to make your product available cheaply, in a usable form.

Hell, look at history. Littered with the laserdisc, and soon the DVD. Tell me how selling low quality video today, playable on a tiny screen, is going to hurt sales tomorrow. Did people not buy DVDs because they’d already built a laser disc collection?

Please.

If only the producers/studios led. If only they came up with something innovative. If only they asked Apple for a LOWER price. If only they swore OFF DRM. Then maybe the press would be on their side. Instead, they’re fighting to hold on to a model that’s dying, all in the service of their lifestyle.

The only way to win a war against Apple is to beat them at their game. And, Apple is winning. Just ask those in the computer business.

Go against Apple and you freak out the public, which has sworn fealty to the Silicon Valley company. Apple is on a plane above "Pirates Of The Caribbean". It’s U2 and Jack Nicholson and "24" combined. Everybody else bitched, and Apple innovated its way out of the doldrums.

Come up with a better solution media companies, then we’ll abandon Apple. But, until you do, you’re in an unwinnable war.

Simon Renshaw has just come from Sony. The label’s flipping, the new Dixie Chicks album can’t get played on country radio. Would the band consider doing more TV?

Who does the interviewing? Do they have to play live? These are the questions Martie asks. And then Natalie jumps in and asks why they can’t be like Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan. Are they rock stars or whores?

All Sony is interested in is money. Yup, the biggest selling act on the label has got the company’s number.

We’re inundated with a rap war, "American Idol" chatter, but if you want to know what really goes on in the record business, watch this Dixie Chicks movie, "Shut Up & Sing".

I’m not sure what causes a band to document its life on film. As if what’s going on with them really matters. And, at first, while watching this film on Cinemax, I was laughing. I mean, who cared?

Then it became clear, the DIXIE CHICKS CARED!

We sit at home. We’re not public figures. We’re not the victims of all that vitriol. But when you go from hero to zero almost instantly, not foreseeing the change, it does something to you. What kind of nut would send a death threat?

This nation used to be ruled by rock and roll. You bought the records and went to the show to get closer, to unadulterated truth, unadulterated power. The musicians weren’t playing the game, they were the last honest men, and women. But what kind of crazy fucked up world do we live in where musicians, if you can even call them that, revel in playing by the man’s rules, selling out to the warmongering corporations, doing whatever their handlers want, whatever brings in the bucks. And you wonder why nobody cares. Why people laugh at music.

Oh, don’t tell me about your white rock and rollers. Everybody from the jam bands to Wilco. They’re not rock stars. The only rock stars left are in the COUNTRY WORLD!

Not that hard to believe if you look at history. Who does Garth always cite as an influence? KISS! And if you’ve ever seen the Oklahoman’s show, you know it’s closer to rock and roll than the Strokes, the Killers, ANY flavor of the moment.

You see the country acts believe in playing, they believe in the myth. That music will make you a better person, that music will set you free. And their fans, they’re rabid, they BELIEVE! Kenny Chesney doesn’t only outgross the rappers, but EVERYBODY on the Pollstar chart. Mainstream media thinks he’s a joke, that he’s an also-ran in the 9/11 SoundScan battle. But when Fitty and Kanye are long gone, Kenny Chesney will still be hitting the boards, people will still be listening to his music.

One of the great things about watching female musicians for a stretch is they lose their sexuality. Oh, they’re still women, but they become three-dimensional. You’re no longer thinking about getting in bed with them, rather you respect them like the women you encounter in everyday society.

And the Dixie Chicks are regular people. Who’ve struggled to make it where they are. Who want not only stardom, but family. They want it all, just like you.

Rick Rubin evidences his reputation as an inspirer as opposed to a knob-twister, Mr. Vibe. The Maguire sisters don’t want him to take control, they don’t want to be pushed in the background. Natalie’s father comes in and plays in the studio.

You remember what entranced you. You wanted to hang out all day in the studio, you wanted to go on the bus. You wanted to eat pizza, you wanted to crack dumb jokes. That’s why you wanted to work in this business, you needed to be CLOSER!

But everything you adored has gone. Producers, even Clive Davis, have eviscerated all of the creativity on records. Or, the recordings are cut in bedrooms by people who will never become ubiquitous. All anybody can talk about is money. It’s enough to make you turn your back and walk away. If you’re not so busy making a fortune, raping and pillaging.

I thought the Chicks should have made an entreaty to country radio. But when you see these spineless pricks, not only the deejays, but the radio group OWNERS, you too want nothing to do with the format.

Yes, Simon made a mistake not taking AEG’s guarantee, ultimately leaving money on the table. But, he comes across pretty good here. He’s the MANAGER! They’re musicians. They’ve got to live their lives, get inspired and create! They can’t be fluent in facts and figures, they can’t plot strategy. That’s Simon’s role.

But I wished he hadn’t released "Shut Up & Sing" theatrically. It didn’t do boffo at the B.O. It grossed a grand total of $1,215,045. Split that in half, giving fifty percent to the exhibitor, and you end up with bupkes. A great film that no one saw.

Oh, there were DVD sales. But how many?

Thank god the flick is getting a latter-day life on cable, almost a year after its initial release. That’s the American way. Lounging on the couch, on the bed, flipping the channels. And, after watching the latest "Entourage", I stumbled upon "Shut Up & Sing" on Cinemax. And I couldn’t turn it off. Because wrapped up in this movie is everything that enthralled me to begin with, that I thought was gone.

Where did we go wrong? When Madonna sacrificed the music to the show? When Michael Jackson danced his way to superstardom? When how you looked became more important than how you played? When the labels made so much money that the execs thought THEY were the stars?

All I know is that era is over. It imploded. The Internet killed what was dead already.

Where we go from here, I’m not sure. MTV and radio say there’s a center. But that locus doesn’t exist. We’ve got a ton of villages, we’re living in a Tower Of Babble. Where everybody thinks his little scene is important, and those outside don’t give a shit.

The Dixie Chicks were not ready to make nice. And, watching this film, you’ll understand this. Sometimes you can’t do what’s expedient. Sometimes you’re too hurt. All you can rely on is your identity, your character, and your talent.

The white liberal world embraced "Not Ready To Make Nice". The act even got a Grammy Award. But most Americans weren’t even paying attention to that accolade. The Grammys mean no more than a VMA, and that has NEVER meant shit.

Oh, revel in your success for an evening. But when they start giving recognition from the public, when what people feel in their hearts makes the true difference, then awards will be meaningful.

But you can’t quantify art. All you know is how it makes you feel. How that one record can change your whole day, inspire you, soothe your wounds, make you desire another hit.

Nobody wants another hit of Britney. They don’t care about the American Idols, just check the grosses. They want something they can believe in. For one night they want to join the circus. They want to sit in that arena, thrusting their arm in the air, singing along at the top of their lungs, while the band is playing so loud they can’t hear themselves.

Radio is made up of creeps. Who are beholden to advertisers. Who’ve got no integrity whatsoever.

And, in da club, it’s all about sex. I like getting laid, but what does that have to do with music?

The last refuge, the last bastion, is live.

It’s not about production, it’s not about extravaganza, it’s about the MUSIC! The music is ENOUGH!

Everything we believed in is gone. The Stones charge a fortune to let you pretend that they’re still in their twenties, that they still matter. Not only is Tom Donahue dead, but so is Scott Muni. Mo Ostin was killed by Doug Morris.

But a spark remains. You can see it in "Shut Up & Sing".

It should have been a YouTube video. Episodic in nature. It should have been a TV show. Exhibition should have cast a wide instead of a narrow net.

You need to see this flick. It’s got nothing to do with the Chicks, but you. You’ve got to know that those values you once had, they’re the only ones that still count. And that some acts are still doing it right.

Natalie: Can we decide what kind of artists we want to be right now?

Simon: Sure.

Natalie: Can we be the Bruce Springsteen and the Bob Dylan, not that I’m comparing our music and ourselves to them…but, do we have to be on everything that they’ll let us be on? I just don’t care.

Simon: It’s what everyone is wrestling with, you are the biggest selling group in North America in the last eight years, no one has sold, combined, more records than you have.

Natalie: I don’t give a shit what Sony wants, we know what Sony wants, money. Yeah, we’ve always been a cash cow, they’re worried we’re not gonna be that.

Turn it on.

Every casual listener I know is canceling his subscription. Then there are those who are diehards, who wouldn’t THINK of switching on FM, never mind AM, and don’t want to listen to iPods, because they never play anything you don’t KNOW!

For a long time, I only listened to XM. But I’ve become hooked on Sirius 60/New Country. Oh, there’s too much jive terrestrial bullshit, but the song selection is GOOD! And right up the dial, for a respite when they play a loser, is 63/Outlaw Country.

How to describe Outlaw Country?

You know all those acts that only wear denim, and wouldn’t fit in in Nashville because they don’t believe in God and don’t think President Bush is doing a good job? They’re all on Outlaw Country.

Mojo Nixon is funny. But the best deejay on Outlaw Country is Steve Earle.

So, I’m driving to pick up a buddy to go hiking last night, and I’m on 5th Street, just shy of Wilshire, and there’s this drum intro akin to the Boss’ "Streets Of Philadelphia", and then there’s a GROOVE! You know, the kind you lock onto when work is done, you’re in the bar, thinking how life sucks, but right now, you feel fucking GREAT! Like not only are you as important as anybody, but that ANYBODY would want to fuck you, you’re just that cool at this moment.

That’s the power of music. It invades your body. Makes you move from the inside out. Makes you feel all powerful. Remember that Fabulous Poodles’ song "Mirror Star"?

I’m figuring this must be his theme song. Since it’s Steve Earle’s show. But the song doesn’t end after a callout-length snippet, it just keeps going on. I don’t want it to ever END!

Do you own "Guitar Town"? Steve Earle’s debut?

If you’re into alt country, if you like your singer/songwriters with a bit of twang, stop reading this and start stealing/buying this album IMMEDIATELY!

Start with the title track, the album’s opener. And then check out the rip-roaring "Hillbilly Highway". And the tracks Shawn Colvin covered, "Someday" and "Fearless Heart". And the intimate "Little Rock ‘N’ Roller", not quite as good as Seger’s "Turn The Page", but one of the great road songs.

But, Mr. Earle has never done anything quite this good AGAIN!

Oh, he’s someone to be admired. He cleaned himself up. Doesn’t limit himself to narrow genres. It’s just that he hasn’t made MUST LISTEN music since. Until now.

One of the worst ways to make music is with the thought of a hit in mind. That’s too much pressure. Want to make something great? Do it when you’re inspired, when you feel your muse. Or under deadline for something irrelevant. A song for a friend’s wedding. Something that’s not meant to be ubiquitous. THEN you might come up with something great.

And "Satellite Radio" is great.

Top of my shift-frog in my throat-sleep in my eyes
Startin’ to drift-cuppa hot joe–checkin’ the sky
Never can tell-makin’ my list-checkin’ it twice
Fasten my belt- flippin’ my switch-checkin’ my mic

It’s a story song. He didn’t have to invent the lyrics out of thin air, they were already THERE! And you don’t have to be a deejay to relate to what he’s saying. Getting ready for work. But, the concept of making a list… We always wonder, do the deejays CARE?

That’s what’s wrong with Sirius. They’re stars, not deejays. XM has pros. There are too many amateurs on Sirius. The unknown king of New Country, Scott Lindy, is better than most of the names on Outlaw Country, he picks ’em better, because this is his one and only life, it’s not a sideline.

But it’s not a sideline for Steve Earle either. He must remember when radio was king. Because he’s taking this deadly SERIOUSLY! Hell, he played Leon Russell’s "Stranger In A Strange Land", only a FAN would spin that!

And that’s what makes US a fan. When the deejay reaches deep into his memory and pulls out a song that only we thought was special.

Turns out "Satellite Radio" is on Steve Earle’s soon to be released album, "Washington Square Serenade". But you can’t hear it online, not anywhere I searched. Hell, I had a tough time FINDING his MySpace page. And it only had one track, and it wasn’t "Satellite Radio".

Is there anybody out there? One-two-three on the satellite radio?
Big daddy on the air, are you listenin’ to me? On the satellite radio
At the galaxy’s end where the stars burn bright are you tunin’ in and turnin’ on?
Is there anybody listenin’ to earth tonight on the satellite radio?

Nobody’s listening. There are two services, and over 100 channels on each. Sure, they’re gonna merge, but the result will be worse, it’ll be more like Sirius. Tight playlists, not enough pros. It won’t be like it used to be. Now.

You need satellite radio. To enrich your life. If you can’t find a channel or two or five that hooks you, you’re DEAD!

If you can only get one, go for XM, playlists are broader and you can GET IT! Sirius drops out. But there are bright spots on the New York service too, like Scott Lindy and Steve Earle.

And not only is nobody listening to satellite radio, they’re not listening to Steve Earle. He’s positively cult. After reading this, you might be inspired to fire up your browser and check "Satellite Radio" out. But you can’t, because those in charge seem to be lost in the 1990s.

Now the album is just the invitation, to the artist’s world. And once someone ventures in, after finding what they like, they’ll give you ALL their money. But you’ve got to get them in first. By letting them hear your music.

One of these nights-play the right song-telephone rings
Stone in the sea-shot in the dark-splittin’ the air
Listen to me-kindle the spark-answer my prayer

P.S. You can steal "Satellite Radio" P2P. I got a great version ripped at 192 kbps – BETTER than iTunes is gonna sell it!