it's a good thing I like to dance
I can’t stop looking at this painting by local artist Nik Harron called “A Field Remembers The Rain”. I contacted Nik and he’s going to allow me to use one of his paintings for a future album cover. Enjoy!
You can see more of Nik’s paintings here: http://nikharron.com/category/paintings/
Every once in a while I find an album that I absolutely love. I always intend to write a review of this music but I rarely get to it. Sometimes though I come across a review that captures my own thoughts about the album really well.
I came across such a review of R.E.M.’s latest tonight that I want to share with you written by a writer I’ve been reading for a long time, Brian Q. Newcomb.
Here are some highlights from the review:
For bands with staying-power, no matter how far afield they run from what their fans expect, the challenge is to strike that precarious balance between giving music listeners the “new thing” they desire, without straying so far off that they cannot follow.
R.E.M.’s earliest experiments and bolder creative efforts over the years have earned them a fan base willing to go along for the journey, to see what new horizons the band’s muse will suggest. Still, they seem to want to bring it all together here, on this their last contractual album with their long time label, Warner Bros. Records
***
“Collapse into Now” is both a summary of R.E.M.’s winning templates, and an expressive effort of the band living in the present.
…this latest installment from R.E.M. is certainly the best all-around effort from the band in the last 15 years, although the hard core rock fans will no doubt still hold “Accelerate” in higher regard. To these ears, “Collapse into Now” provides a keen synthesis of R.E.M.’s diverse sounds into a complete and concrete whole.
Read the full review here.
You’d think everyone would have heard of a popular musical artist who just came off a 3-year, 168 show tour that grossed over $96 million, wouldn’t you?
Via Lefsetz:
Everybody does not know who Leonard Cohen is. He never even had a hit!
But Leonard Cohen just completed a three year tour.
There were 168 shows. And a total gross of 96+ million dollars.
There were 55 shows in 2010 alone. And the average attendance was 8,150. And the average ticket price was $104.30. The only acts in the Top 50 with a higher average ticket price were superstars, Bon Jovi, Paul McCartney, the Eagles, Roger Waters, Whitney Houston and Cher. Leonard Cohen is number thirty on the chart, higher than Eric Clapton, Carrie Underwood, Elton John and the Jonas Brothers.
Everybody knows that Leonard Cohen is an artist.
Everybody knows that Leonard Cohen is about meaning first.
Sure, everybody knows he’s not going to live forever, that this might be their last chance to see him, but they EMBRACED IT!
Everybody knows what’s got value, what touches their hearts, what lasts. Ignore the hypemeisters, because everybody knows.
The truth.
The moral of the story? Forfeit the quick buck now of meaningless art for the rewards of artistic longevity.
I’ve reviewed Luke’s music before (read) because I’ve been a fan for a long time. Have a listen to his latest and then lay down the 12 bucks and buy it. You won’t regret it. For fans of Andrew Peterson, Steve Bell, and Bruce Cockburn… among others.
Press play and enjoy…
Site: http://lukebrindley.com/
Twitter: @lukebrindley
Here are the lyrics to my favorite song so far – click on track 9 (Broken Land) above:
Broken Land
i’m standing outside the tunnel that goes under the river
been looking through the city for the real life giver
i musta been to every courthouse – every clinic in this county
i turn away from temptation – the devil still found me
what haven’t we tried what dark corners unknown
to keep from feeling empty, broken hearted and alone?
i’d be lying if i said i have answers for you
but I’ve heard rumors of redemption, maybe they’re true
honey take my hand through this broken land
the soul stompers drum like thunder
in the independence day parade
sequins flashing, cymbals crashing
just beyond the barricade
now the veterans of every american war
down thru the last century
they should have a parade for the lovers that made it
together into their 70′s
honey take my hand through this broken land
won’t you take my hand through this broken land?
i was raised in the pews of a dozen small churches
tongues of fire conjured when the choir would sing
beyond the din of the deceivers and the orphaned believers
i heard the lord knockin so i let him in
now that refuge of hope has been torn down for years
and my spirit still fights with my flesh
but if you cornered me in my clearest moment
asked me if i’d do it again, i’d say yes
honey take my hand through this broken land
This incredible video is the creation of some 250,000 contributors from over 170 countries. Hit the pause button any time during the video and you can see what one of those 250,000 people was thinking.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBmky9Tx2UM
If you’d like to know more about how this was made, take a look at this:
My favorite music industry writer, Bob Lefsetz, in a recent post:
Never forget that music led. Napster was about music. Napster was the best thing that ever happened to music. It allowed all that unreleased stuff to come out of the vault, it paved the way for MP3 ubiquity and now streaming. To fight Napster with lawsuits and CDs is like fighting Facebook with the Girl Scouts. Never overlook the network effect. That’s what’s gonna blow up new music.
***
We’ve become so lowest common denominator that we’ve missed the point. And too many old school people believe the way to break an act is written in stone. Work with usual suspect producers, get it on the radio and TV and then hype it to high heaven in any other media that will have you. If this were working so well, the music business wouldn’t be in trouble.
Don’t focus on piracy, that’s missing the point. Piracy killed the old model. But piracy also demonstrates demand. More people want more music than ever before. More people own more music than ever before. More people are listening to more music than ever before. And to focus on success as sales of recorded music or concert tickets is completely missing the point. Once you get all those eyeballs there are a million ways to monetize.
Read the rest here. If you are a songwriter or in a band you need to be reading Bob Lefsetz every day.
When music shows the qualities of sturdy songwriting and timeless melodies, we call it Beatlesque… after those most famous of musical Brits, The Beatles.
When a government introduces legislation that impedes our free rights as citizens, we call it Orwellian… after the much referenced novel “1984″ written by George Orwell.
When we’re presented a picture that portrays scenes of idyllic American life, we call it Rockwellian… after the popular American painter, Norman Rockwell.
So when I came across this feature at NPR a few days ago that showed Rockwell’s paintings beside the original photographs on which they were based, I couldn’t help but notice a common feature of each set. Can you see it? (Click on the photos to see a larger version)
What’s interesting to me in each one is that Rockwell’s paintings are grittier than the original photos. He was able to paint more emotion into the scenes than the actors were able to portray in the photo shoot.
In the first one, the ball player looks more forlorn and dejected. In the second, the coffee shop server goes from a cheery-cheeked college boy to a grizzled, cigarette-smoking, middle-aged man. In the third, the man points more wildly, and the woman is more obstinate. There is a better conveyance of emotion in the paintings.
In each of the paintings the scene looks real, as if it were a moment captured in time. In each photograph the scene looks contrived.
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