Hey Parrotheads!

(Yes — this means you, Casey.)

Jimmy Buffet has released two of his upcoming live albums exclusively on Apple’s iTunes Music Store nearly a month before the CDs will hit store shelves. “We are happy to announce that Jimmy Buffett will be releasing ‘Live in Auburn, WA’ and ‘Live in Las Vegas,'” notes Buffet’s record company. “Both releases will be available exclusively at Apple’s iTunes Music Store beginning September 30th. The live CD’s will also be available October 28th at your favorite record store, or here online at mailboatrecords.com.”

(via MacMinute)

Love, Natalie

A definite must-read: a letter from Natalie of the Dixie Chicks:

Dear Reader:

I am taking the time out of my very busy rock and roll life to write you this letter. As I am sure you can understand, being me is a full time job. I can’t just drop everything every three days because someone needs a quote or statement about a quote or statement we may or may not have said. It’s just draining me of time and effort I need to put toward other things. For one, I as a taxpayer have to get busy earning money to help pay off the latest \$87 billion dollar addition to the national debt! Also, I have a huge list of phone calls to return.

I’ll list a few just so you get the idea.

Message 1: Saddam Hussein called and wants to know where his weapons of mass destruction are. Listen Saddam, I already told you, I don’t know. You’re going to have to call the White House on that one.

Message 2: Country radio called and wants to know if it’s true that you’re leaving country music? This one must be a prank call. I mean, how can you leave a party now when the hosts had shown you to the door six months ago.

(via Atrios)

Moonshine Run

The winter before I left Anchorage, my brother was playing bass for a bluegrass band called “Moonshine Run”. One evening they were performing at a coffeehouse in town, so I headed down to see them. I brought along a MiniDisc recorder, and they were kind enough to let me plug into the soundboard and record them. The next morning they were playing and being interviewed on a local radio station, and I added that to the end of the disc.

A couple months ago, Rick ran his MiniDisc player into the ground. Since I wasn’t using mine, I handed it to him along with a stack of MiniDiscs with one condition — that he get me a copy of that recording.

This weekend Rick stopped by for a bit, bringing with him a CD of .mp3s that he’d made from the MiniDisc. I just got them copied over to my Mac, and now I’m sitting here listening to Kevin and his friends play some good old down-home bluegrass. It’s great — every so often between songs I can hear Kevin laughing in the background.

Beware: You might be next!

Beware!

Nice editorial cartoon from the New York Times looking at the recent lawsuits by the RIAA against people sharing music files over the internet via file-trading networks.

I particularly liked the disclaimer at the bottom of the cartoon:

WARNING: Do not forward this column through e-mail, make photocopies to send to a child in college, tape it to your dorm-room door or put it on a bulletin board in your office — or you may be receiving an unexpected knock on your door.

(via Anil)

Who's on stage?

Okay, this is it — the last one. Mostly because it’s the last version that I know of, but hey, that’s okay. This one comes from one of the best TV shows of all time, the Animaniacs (specifically, epsiode #59, midway through “Woodstock Slappy”). If there’s anyone out there who can get me an .mp3 of this scene, I’d love it!

Update: This clip has been posted on YouTube! Who knows how long it’ll be there before the copyright police yank it, but it’s there now…. (via MeFi)

Who’s on stage?

Skippy and Slappy are at Woodstock. Roger Daltrey is onstage singing….

SLAPPY: Skippy, what is the name of that group playing on stage?

SKIPPY: Who.

SLAPPY: The name of the group.

SKIPPY: Who.

SLAPPY: The group on stage.

SKIPPY: Who.

SLAPPY: The group playing on stage.

SKIPPY: Who.

SLAPPY: You’re starting to sound like an owl, Skippy.

SKIPPY: Who is on stage!

SLAPPY: That is what I’m askin’ ya’, who is on stage?

SKIPPY: That’s what I said.

SLAPPY: You said who?

SKIPPY: I sure did.

SLAPPY: So tell me the name.

SKIPPY: Who.

SLAPPY: The name of the group.

SKIPPY: Who.

SLAPPY: The group on stage.

SKIPPY: Who.

SLAPPY: The name of the band on stage!

SKIPPY: Who!

SLAPPY: You’re doing that owl thing again, Skippy!

SKIPPY: I’m not, Aunt Slappy, I’m telling you Who is on stage.

SLAPPY: So tell me.

SKIPPY: Who.

SLAPPY: So tell me.

SKIPPY: Who.

SLAPPY: The name of the group.

SKIPPY: Who.

SLAPPY: The group on stage!

SKIPPY: Who!

SLAPPY: That’s what I’m asking you!

SKIPPY: And I’m telling you the answer.

SLAPPY: Wait, Skippy, let’s start over. Is there a band on stage?

SKIPPY: Yes.

SLAPPY: Does the band have a name?

SKIPPY: Yes.

SLAPPY: Do you know the name of the band?

SKIPPY: Yes.

SLAPPY: Then tell me the name of the band on stage.

SKIPPY: Who.

SLAPPY: The name of the band!

SKIPPY: Who.

SLAPPY: The band, playing on stage!

SKIPPY: Who.

SLAPPY: That’s what I want to know!

SKIPPY: I’m telling you!

SLAPPY: Who is on stage.

SKIPPY: Yes.

SLAPPY: Who is?

SKIPPY: Yes.

SLAPPY: Oh. So the name of the band is Yes.

SKIPPY: No, Aunt Slappy, Yes is not even at this concert.

SLAPPY: Then who is on stage?

SKIPPY: Yes.

SLAPPY: Who is?

SKIPPY: Yes.

SLAPPY: That’s just what I said, Yes is on stage.

SKIPPY: No, Yes is not here. Who is on stage.

SLAPPY: Whaddya askin’ me for?

SKIPPY: I’m not!

SLAPPY: Wait, let’s try this again. Do you see the band on stage?

SKIPPY: No I don’t see The Band, that’s a different group entirely.

SLAPPY: On stage, Skippy. Look, see the band?

SKIPPY: No I don’t.

SLAPPY: Get rid of those John Lennon glasses and look! There, there’s the band!

SKIPPY: No, that’s not The Band. The Band is performing later on. Who’s on stage.

SLAPPY: You tell me.

SKIPPY: Who.

SLAPPY: The name of the group on stage.

SKIPPY: Who.

SLAPPY: The name of the group!

SKIPPY: Who.

SLAPPY: The group on stage!

SKIPPY: Who.

SLAPPY: The band!

SKIPPY: No, The Band is performing later. Right now, we’re listening to Who.

SLAPPY: That’s what I wanna know!!

[Cheering]

ROGER DALTRY: Hey, you squirrels are funny, man. Come on up here and take a bow.

SKIPPY: Yeah! Far out!

SLAPPY: Oh brother…

(Thanks to my friend Rick for tracking this down on videotape so I could finally see it after being told about it for years…still looking for that .mp3, though!)

Universal dropping CD prices

It’s about damn time.

Battered by online piracy, the Universal Music Group, the world’s largest record company, said yesterday that it would cut prices on compact discs by as much as 30 percent in an aggressive attempt to lure consumers back into record stores.

Under the new pricing scheme, Universal would lower its wholesale price on a CD to \$9.09 from \$12.02. The company said it expected retail stores to lower CD prices to \$12.98, from the \$16.98 to \$18.98 they now charge, and perhaps to as low as \$10. When CD’s first arrived on the market they cost \$15.98, and have climbed from there.

This has been far too long in coming — but at least it’s finally starting.

Bumbershoot '03: Mon, Sep 1

Leftover Salmon

Finally, we made it to the end — day four of Bumbershoot is over and done with. After this post, no more Bumbershoot babbling until sometime next year!

I made sure to get to the Seattle Center right around noon today, as I was looking forward to both of the first two big acts in the stadium. First up was Leftover Salmon, having a blast with some good down-home bluegrass. They were obviously having a blast, and had a small lineup of three can-can dancers who came out on stage every so often to liven things up just a bit more. Not a bad way to get the day started in the least.

Nickel Creek

After Leftover Salmon left the stage, we had the requisite half hour wait in the sun as the stage was struck and then re-set for the next act. I was so glad I’d remembered to grab a bottle of water on the way out today, otherwise it would have been way to hot at that point. Eventually, Nickel Creek got onstage and started their set. Sara (their fiddle player) is quite the cutie, isn’t she? I was really enjoying their set, unfortunately, I had to take off about halfway through — I needed more food and less pot smoke (the clouds of marijuana drifting by were noticeable all weekend, and this morning I think I was surrounded by pot smokers, and it got a bit much for me).

Karsh Kale

I’d picked Karsh Kale as a possibility, so after grabbing some food, I headed over to the Bumbrella stage to check them out. Seemed to be fairly good Indian-flavored pop, unfortunately, it turns out that I showed up just in time for their last song. Ah, well — the one song was good, at least.

Magic Slim and the Teardrops

Since I’d missed Karsh Kale, I figured I’d head over to the Blues stage to catch the last half of Magic Slim and the Teardrops. Found a good open spot on the hill, kicked back, and half-dozed in the sun while listening to some good old Chicago-style blues. Not much better than relaxing to the blues on a good warm day, sometimes.

Carnival ride

At this point, I was starting to get overheated, so I figured I’d stop into the EMP and catch United States of Electronica. Unfortunately, the line to get in to their show was incredibly long, so instead, I just wandered around in the “Fun Forest” carnival area for a little bit, watching people on the rides. It’s a cute little carnival area — not much to it, but what’s there is at least decent. None that I was really interested in hopping onto myself, but entertaining to watch for a while.

Carnival ride

It had gotten to about 3:30 in the afternoon by now, and I realized that there was nothing on my schedule for the next few hours that I was really excited about seeing, and I’d about hit my overload point. After three and a half days, I finally hit a point where being in the middle of all those crowds in the hot sun was the last thing I wanted to do. Since I had a good five hours before R.E.M. came on stage (who I was excited about seeing) I figured that taking a break would be a good idea, so I hopped the monorail, came back to the apartment, and took a nap for a few hours. Very, very glad I did, too. I’m not sure I’d have made it through the rest of the day if I’d tried to stick it out.

R.E.M.

The nap did a good job of rejuvenating me, though, so roundabout 8pm I headed back out to the Seattle Center and got into the stadium about twenty minutes before R.E.M.’s set started. It took a bit of jostling through the first few songs before I found a decent spot, but eventually a good space opened up, and I was able to see most of the show pretty clearly (though the pictures really don’t do it justice). They filled the full two hours that they’d been given plus some, when they decided to toss in a few extra songs “just because we can.” Absolutely incredible show, and they finished off with “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (and I Feel Fine)”, which blew me away. Awesome show.

All in all, another really good Bumbershoot weekend. Tons of sun, tons of incredible music, and a lot of fun.

And that’s all, folks.

Bumbershoot '03: Sun, Aug 31

Black Eyed Peas

And here we go again — day three of this year’s Bumbershoot!

I was running a little late on my way out the door this morning, so rather than spending any time wandering when I showed up, I went straight into the stadium and made it in about halfway through Black Eyed Peas’ set. While I’ll freely admit that hip-hop isn’t my strongest subject, the bill for today’s “Hip Hop 101” show was too good to pass up. About all I really knew of Black Eyed Peas was the single from a couple years back with Macy Gray, “Request Line,” but I thought they did a fairly good job. They even got Reggie, the lead singer for Maktub, up on stage with them for one song, which was cool to see.

De La Soul with Tribe Called Quest

After Black Eyed Peas finished, we were treated to about 30 minutes of standing around in the hot sun and waiting — very glad I actually thought to put on sunscreen this morning. Eventually, though, old-school hip-hop pioneers De La Soul hit the stage. They’re a group I’ve known of for quite a while now, and they had a blast playing with the audience and getting everyone involved. At one point they were listing off some of the many artists they’ve worked with over the years, mentioned Tribe Called Quest…and then brought one of the members of Tribe onstage with them for a couple songs. At first I thought it was Q-Tip, but then I think I heard them say another name, so I’m afraid I’m not entirely sure who it was. Still, a fun show. I took off after De La Soul, though. The third act for that bill was Common, who I’ve not heard of, and I needed to find some shade for a few minutes.

Dangerous juggling

During my wandering, I happened upon a street performer who I remembered from my first year at Bumbershoot. I think his name is David Kelley (though I could be wrong), and he finishes his act by balancing upon three boards stacked on eight wooden blocks on top of a free rolling section of pipe, while juggling three machetes and holding a pointy stick in his mouth with a spinning plate on the stick. Pretty damn impressive each time I’ve seen it. Even more entertaining, though, was that he had picked a helper out of the audience to hand him the knives, stick, and plate once he was on the blocks. However, after handing the various implements of destruction to the kid, David stepped back, as if the kid was supposed to do the trick. Amusing in itself, but even more so when the kid shrugged and started to try to step up onto the contraption! David quickly assured the kid (and his parents) that he didn’t need to make the attempt after all.

Golgo Bordello

Next up on my music list was Golgo Bordello, who were…well, they were certainly entertaining. The music was very loud, fast, raucous gypsy/cossack type music, and while they weren’t the best singers or musicians I’ve ever heard, they more than made up for in pure insane energy. The lead guy was tearing all over the stage, and at a few points added to the percussion by slamming his microphone on the stage hard enough to dent it — by the end of their set, the only mic he could find that still worked was the one that had been attached to the bell of the saxophone player’s instrument. Completely crazy, was the verdict of more than a few people I heard talking as we all walked away afterwards.

The MASS Space Harp

I meant to catch the end of Chuck Prophet’s set at the blues stage, but didn’t end up making it over there in time. So instead, I hung around to see just what the deal was with the Space Harp, an art/music installation at the base of the Space Needle. This turned out to be a fascinating show. The Space Harp itself (or, technically, Earth Harp) is a huge stringed instrument, with the strings reaching from a platform at the base of the Space Needle to a point about halfway up the Space Needle, at about the 250 foot level. Each string has a wooden stopper at some point to tune it, and they are played by being rubbed with rosin-coated gloves. Quite an impressive piece of work, and their compositions (assisted by drums and electric violin) were very fun. Definitely worth the time to see!

Sliding at the International Fountain

This little bit of childhood ingenuity was probably my favorite part of the entire day. At some point, some kids had discovered that with the relatively smooth slope of the bowl of the International Fountain, if you wet the stone down, then you can sit your butt down on a frisbee and go sliding down the side of the bowl! There was a group of about six kids doing this, occasionally joined by older kids (from teens to twentysomethings) who couldn’t resist the urge to give it a shot.

Sliding at the International Fountain

I ended up sitting and watching this for at least a good half an hour. At any given point, you’d have two or three kids running into the fountain, filling water bottles, and then running back up to dump them onto the slide area to keep it nice and wet. Meanwhile, there was the occasional cry of glee as one of the kids went zooming by. Sometimes they’d coast to a stop at the bottom of the slope, but every so often one would have the right amount of momentum to send them careening directly into the jets of water from the fountain. So much fun to watch, and probably to do, too — though I didn’t ever give it a shot myself.

Tired carnival worker

I ended up having to take a break for a bit and run back into downtown Seattle to get more batteries for my camera. Once I made it back to the Seattle Center, I took a few minutes to wander through the video game area by the carnival. There are a few little-kid rides in the building, and there was an older gentleman, clearly ready for his shift to end, resting on one of the Dumbo cars. I noticed him on my way out, and grabbed a quick shot.

Dancing at the drum circle

Impromptu drum circles have a tendency to pop up all over Bumbershoot, at all times, and with all sorts of spectators. Generally, you’re more likely to have a fairly large crowd of hippies gathered around and dancing, but this one caught my eye because the dancers were primarily your average trendy Abercrombie and Fitch or Gap dressed teens. While it made me laugh, it was also pretty cool to see some of them drop the pretension for a bit and just cut lose, have fun, and enjoy the beat for a while.

Evanescence

The two big headlining bands for the evening stadium concert tonight were Cold and Evanescence. Cold I don’t really know at all, and the only thing I’d heard from Evanescence was their single off of the Daredevil soundtrack, which got a resounding “Eeeehhh…” from me when I heard it. Having seen both of them live now, I can safely say that contrary to the promo copy in the Seattle Weekly’s event schedule, Cold sounds like every other modern pop metal band out there, and Evanescence sounds like every other modern pop metal band out there if the other bands had female singers. Neither of them were really bad per se, but they didn’t do much to really impress me, either. Considering how happy Evanescence said they were because local radio station The End was willing to “try something different” when they started playing Evanescence’s single, the only real difference I could see between them and any other modern metal was that they have a female vocalist. If people are hungry for strong, heavy, female-led music, as seems to be the basis for much of Evanescence’s popularity, I’d quite happily recommend any given Pigface track that has Meg Lee Chin on vocals, or the Kidney Thieves, or probably quite a few other bands that I can’t come up with right now.

But then, Pigface and the Kidney Thieves aren’t mainstream enough to be picked up by MTV or radio. I guess people will just continue to be sheep instead…

Anyway, enough grousing. Another good day done. Not as strong as yesterday, but not a bad day by any means. Tomorrow brings a strong opening with the alt-country/bluegrass sounds of Leftover Salmon and Nickel Creek, and a strong end to the weekend with Wilco and R.E.M. Should be fun!