I was reading "Relix" and found out that Mudcrutch had a new EP.\u00c2\u00a0 I immediately fired up my computer and started searching Rapidshare.\u00c2\u00a0 I needed to steal this yet-to-be-released live recording.\u00c2\u00a0 I needed to hear the 15 minute take of "Crystal River".<\/p>\n
But it didn’t come up immediately.\u00c2\u00a0 So I decided to do a little research.\u00c2\u00a0 When was the project going to hit the marketplace?\u00c2\u00a0 After all, magazines work with a long lead time, labels give editors product long before it’s commercially available.<\/p>\n
I found out the EP had been released on Amazon on November 11th.\u00c2\u00a0 Even worse, I found out it had been available on iTunes since October 17th.\u00c2\u00a0 How come I didn’t know about it?<\/p>\n
I saw Petty and the Heartbreakers do "Breakdown" at the Whisky in ’77.\u00c2\u00a0 I can quote you every word of "A Woman In Love (It’s Not Me)".\u00c2\u00a0 The initial solo record is truly classic.\u00c2\u00a0 And even though I’m not in love with all the Heartbreakers material thereafter, the Mudcrutch album was a revelation.<\/p>\n
One that seems to have been completely forgotten in the cultural morass.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to listen to "Crystal River".\u00c2\u00a0 It’s a distillation of the San Francisco sound, filtered through the U.K., all the way to Gainesville.\u00c2\u00a0 Hear it once and you’d desire to see the band live.\u00c2\u00a0 Of course, you’d want to hear a live take.\u00c2\u00a0 But could you find out about it?<\/p>\n
How do acts establish a direct connection with their fanbase?\u00c2\u00a0 How do they entice listeners to join their e-mail list, with authentic e-mail addresses?\u00c2\u00a0 That’s the number one lesson of Radiohead’s "In Rainbows".\u00c2\u00a0 Give away something desirable and you get the right to make contact with your fans thereafter.\u00c2\u00a0 At MIDEM the co-manager of Radiohead said the "In Rainbows" release allowed the band to collect 3 million e-mail addresses, and ultimately play to 60,000 in San Francisco as opposed to 25,000 the previous time through.\u00c2\u00a0 And isn’t live where it’s at?<\/p>\n
You’ve got to forget about television.\u00c2\u00a0 Even radio and mainstream media.\u00c2\u00a0 There’s too much noise, dedicated music fans have tuned out.\u00c2\u00a0 Only the casual are paying attention.\u00c2\u00a0 Which is why most acts with hit records can’t tour, no one truly cares.\u00c2\u00a0 Petty must see he’s solely in the Tom Petty business now, that it’s about collecting fans around him.<\/p>\n
Point being, if I don’t know there’s a new Petty\/Mudcrutch EP out, what are the odds people are aware your new record is in the marketplace?\u00c2\u00a0 Are they reading the reviews in the failing "New York Times"?\u00c2\u00a0 Or watching the fading MTV, whose viewership just declined by 23%, despite supposed "Hills" mania <\/p>\n
\nWall Street Beats Up Sumner Redstone, Rupert Murdoch: Cuts Estimates for Viacom, News Corp.<\/a><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n