Monday, October 05, 2009

Life 0-30 in Pictures.

Dead on except life at 30, my life was way better at 30.

Posted via web from Joe Shockley

Saturday, October 03, 2009

The Death of Multitasking and Rebirth of Unitasking

http://www.dumblittleman.com/2009/10/death-of-multitasking-and-rebirth-of.html

You mean having Tweetie, iChat, Mail, Safari and iTunes open while I'm building a FileMaker DB is less productive? Damn!

I'be been saying this for a while now, nice to have some science backing me up. What we need is focus not the constant flow of mlutiple activites and tasks.

Posted via email from Joe Shockley

Friday, October 02, 2009

Florence & The Machine - You've Got The Love (The xx Remix)

You've Got The Love (The Xx Remix) by Florence And The Machine  
Download now or listen on posterous
You've Got the Love (The xx Remix).mp3 (6773 KB)

It's more of a cover really. Injecting a Two Step vibe with Romy and Oliver sparing on vocals and making this track their own. Love it.

Enjoy!

Joe

Posted via email from Joe Shockley

Thursday, October 01, 2009

5-year-old boy plays "Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash

Cute. Take that Yo Gabba Gabba!

Posted via web from Joe Shockley

Ableton - Novation Launchpad - Pretty Slick Device!

It's confusing to watch this in action with this tailored version of Live, but I'm curious to get my hands on it.

Posted via web from Joe Shockley

The Sky Drops - Truth Is

"The Sky Drops are gaze-grunge duo Rob Montejo and Monika Bullette. This Delaware twosome unearths an ocean-size of sound -- a superforce of guitar, drums and vocals. "What a Loveless-era My Bloody Valentine kicking Elliot Smith from his grave would sound like (with a twist of lemon)." - Andrew - fan of The Sky Drops"

That sums it up.  I stumbled upon this duo yesterday and immediately found them to be familiar and fresh at the same time. Takes me back to the mid 90's but keeps me present with their stripped down duo sound and straight ahead drive. The vocals are really the key, they help to lift up the overall mood of the songs, they could've easily and lazily gone a more sludgy direction. They have a 5 Song EP which has another stellar song called 'Now Would Be' that is well worth checking out.

'Truth is' comes off their debut Long player "Bourgeois Beat".

Truth Is by The Sky Drops  
Download now or listen on posterous
06 Truth Is.mp3 (8043 KB)

Enjoy!

Posted via email from Joe Shockley

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Where is Art & Entertainment headed?

John (http://johntooker.posterous.com/) sent me these two links last night...

http://www.wbur.org/2009/08/20/basement-musician

Here are some thoughts after reading them:

I agree with Amanda Palmer. She totally has the right idea.  Why the hell should you not be compensated for the art you create? The idea of every artist or band being a street a street performer and saying "Yo, give me some money!" might be a  bit hard for some to adjust to, but it does make a lot of sense. 

Marqui Adora (http://www.marquiadora.com) rarely played shows for this exact reason. We quickly got tired of haggling Promoters to get paid at the end of the night after playing with 10 other bands on a tiny stage not large enough for a drum kit let alone a 4 piece band and a shit PA. We knew we were never going to be singing with a record label and endless touring when no one knows who you are wasn't really appealing either.  John and I continually said there has to be a better way. We went the music licensing route and even though we had some successes, when the well ran dry on placement opportunities, we quickly realized we had no real fan base, not one large enough to support us, and it was time to get day jobs. And although the music industry is in flux, some really awesome things are happening as a result. For one, John and I know a shit ton about how to fix and troubleshoot an Apple Computer and Danny knows how to expertly make your mouth water while preparing food in the kitchen. Howard can make a new tooth for ya.

With the basement musician guy... he is just as silly to me as Jonathan Coulton (http://www.jonathancoulton.com), but he has good ideas, just like Jonathan. And for that matter so did Radiohead with their Thumbs Down webcast videos during In Rainbows.

These videos got me excited to go see them live. And many bought the Box Sets. I paid five bucks for the record, even after getting the whole thing free a week or two before it's "Official" release.

The key here is both artists are taking chances and go about their business in ways that make the most sense to them.  Neither of their approaches will work for everyone but they will work for those who put in the time and energy to build relationships with the fans/customers.

"Bob Lefsetz says it's all about the live show, what about recorded music and all the money I spent buying recording gear and the time I spent learning how to do it on my own? Does recorded music have value any more?"

Good question. I ask my self that question whenever I go into my office and see 10's of thousands of dollars worth of recording equipment, instruments, computers and shelves full of 12" records and CD's. I ask myself that question whenever I think of how many times I listened to "The Downward Spiral"  , "Broken" and "The Slip"; or the number of times I walked to school listening to "Disintegration""Pornography" and that Ethyl Meatplow record; or the time I spent dissecting "Fook", and the many drives to anywhere just to listen to "Either/Or" and "XO";  Or how about the trips to Orlando with "Ruby Vroom"  or "The Bends" as the soundtrack or the number of times I just sat down with headphones to take in "In Rainbows" or even most recently "xx". Of course these recordings have value!  Look at how much use I got out of them!  I see the music landscape becoming more interesting everyday and I think the value of recorded music is still there and is expanding in the form of royalties through services like Spotify. Not that Spotify is the end of the line, but it's a big step in the right direction when it comes to this topic.

Which leads me to my next topic...

Ownership vs. Access.

As for Art and Entertainment as a whole, I feel really comfortable with the idea of owning very little but having access to everything. I've been doing that for years with Movies (The Theatre, Netflix, iTunes etc.) and now with Spotify I'll be doing it more so with music (don't worry eMusic, I still love you). The People who really want the access will pay for it via subscription or buy the Album/Song/Movie out right, those who don't will tolerate the Ad's because really, they don't care that much anyway, otherwise they would own the record/movie themselves. I feel the same applies with Books, TV, Radio and all forms of art that can be digitized.  When on demand services mature and every play/stream/download is accurately accounted for and reported to the rights holders and collections services, the amount of revenue generated as whole will be insane, even at fractions of a penny per download. And of course Labels, Publishers and Movie Studios will find their place again by delivering prominence and front page placement. It will all level out

You can't buy the Statue of Liberty, but you can pay admission and see it in person... while you're there you can buy a print, a postcard, a t-shirt, go home and download the screen saver or desktop img, etc. This applies to the Album and seeing a band live.  You can't own the band (well, ok maybe you can), but you can own a copy of the album digitally, a t-shirt, a poster, blah blah blah. And there will always be diehards who want a collectable, like a CD, Vinyl or A Super Duper Blue Ray ultra amazing 5.1 more real than real Audio/Video 3D DVD 128 Page Full Color (to big for your book shelf and takes up so much space on your coffee table that you can't actually place a cup of coffee on it) Enhanced Box Set Thingy.

We (bands this means you) just have to stick around long enough to capitalize off of all the changes ahead of us.

-Joe

Posted via web from Marqui Adora

Where is Art & Entertainment headed?

John sent me these two links last night...

http://www.wbur.org/2009/08/20/basement-musician

Here are some thoughts after reading them:

I agree with Amanda Palmer. She totally has the right idea.  Why the hell should you not be compensated for the art you create? The idea of every artist or band being a street a street performer and saying "Yo, give me some money!" might be a bit hard for some to adjust to, but it does make a lot of sense. Marqui Adora rarely plaid shows for this exact reason. We quickly got tired of haggling Promoters to get paid at the end of the night after playing with 10 other bands on a tiny stage not large enough for a drum kit let alone a 4 piece band and a shit PA. We knew we never going to be singing with a record label and endless touring when no one knows who you are wasn't really appealing either.  John and I continually said there has to be a better way. We went the music licensing route and even though we had some successes, when the well rain dry on placement opportunities, we quickly realized we had no real fan base, not one large enough to support us, and it was time to get day jobs. And although the music industry is in flux, some really awesome things are happening as a result. For one, John and I know a shit ton about how to fix and troubleshoot an Apple Computer and Danny knows how to expertly make your mouth water while preparing food in the kitchen. Howard can make a new tooth for ya.

With the basement musician guy... he is just as silly to me as Jonathan Coulton, but he has good ideas, just like Jonathan. And for that matter so did Radiohead with their <a href="">Thumbs</a> Down webcast videos during In Rainbows. Those videos got me excited to go see them live. And many bought the Box Sets. I paid five bucks for the record, even after getting the whole thing free a week or two before it's "Official" release.

The key here is both artists are taking chances and go about their business in ways that make the most sense to them.  Neither of their approaches will work for everyone but they will work for those who put in the time and energy to build relationships with the fans/customers.

"Bob Lefsetz says it's all about the live show, what about recorded music and all the money I spent buying recording gear and the time I spent learning how to do it on my own? Does recorded music have value any more?" 

Good question. I ask my self that question whenever I go into my office and see 10's of thousands of dollars worth of recording equipment, instruments, computers and shelves full of 12" records and CD's. I ask myself that question whenever I think of how many times I listened to "The Downward Spiral", "Broken" and "The Slip"; or the number of times I walked to school listening to "Disintegration""Pornography" and that Ethyl Meatplow record; or the time I spent dissecting "Fook", and the many drives to anywhere just to listen to "Either/Or" and "XO";  Or how about the trips to Orlando with "Ruby Vroom"  or "The Bends" as the soundtrack or the numbers of times I just sat down with headphones to take in "In Rainbows" or even most recently "xx". Of course these recordings have value!  Look at how much use I got out of them!  I see the music landscape becoming more interesting everyday and I think the value of recorded music is still there and is expanding in the form of royalties through services like Spotify. Not that Spotify is the end of the line, but it's a big step in the right direction when it comes to this topic.

Ownership vs. Access.

As for Art and Entertainment as a whole, I feel really comfortable with the idea of owning very little but having access to everything. I've been doing that for years with Movies (The Theatre, Netflix, iTunes etc.) and now with Spotify I'll be doing it more so with music (don't worry eMusic, I still love you). The People who really want the access will pay for it via subscription or buy the Album/Song/Movie out right, those who don't will tolerate the Ad's because really, they don't care that much anyway, otherwise they would own the record/movie themselves. I feel the same applies with books, TV, Radio and all forms of art that can be digitized.  When on demand services mature and every play/stream/download is accurately accounted for and reported to the rights holders and collections services, the amount of revenue generated as whole will be insane, even at fractions of a penny. And of course Labels/Publishers/Movie Studios will find their place again by delivering prominence and front page placement. It will all level out

You can't buy the Statue of Liberty, but you can pay admission and see it in person... while they're there they can buy a print, a postcard, a t-shirt, go home and download the screen saver or desktop img, etc. This applies to the Album and seeing a band live.  You can't own the band (well ok maybe you can), but you can own a copy of the album digitally, a t-shirt, a poster, blah blah blah. And there will always be diehards who want a collectable, like a CD, Vinyl or A Super Duper Blue Ray ultra amazing 5.1 more real than real Audio/Video 3D DVD 128 Page Full Color (to big for your book shelf and takes up so much space on your coffee table that you can't actually place a cup of coffee on it) Enhanced Box Set Thingy.

We (bands this means you) just have to stick around long enough to capitalize off of all the changes ahead of us.

-Joe

Posted via email from Joe Shockley

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Thom Yorke and Flea... didn't see that coming.

"hi
in the past couple of weeks i've been getting a band together for fun to play the eraser stuff live and the new songs etc.. to see if it could work!
here's a photo.. its me, joey waronker, mauro refosco, flea and nigel godrich.

at the beginning of october the 4th and 5th we are going to do a couple of shows at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles.
we don't really have a name and the set will not be very long cuz ..well ...we haven't got that much material yet!
but come and check it out if you are in the area. we've also got locals Lucky Dragons playing.
all the best

Thom"

This could be interesting. I know Flea is way into Jazz and Mauro Refosco is from Forro in the Dark which is a worldly affair, Joey Warnoker is a well established session drummer (Beck, Smashing Pumpkins, Elliot Smith, R.E.M, etc.) and Nigel Godrich... well, he's helped Radiohead sound cool since The My Iron Lung EP. So... yeah I'm curious to hear these shows.

Joe

Posted via email from Joe Shockley

Monday, September 28, 2009

The xx Live in Brighton

Still loving this record, check the link for all 7 parts of the video.

Posted via web from Joe Shockley

Light Peak transfers at 10 Gbps & could be the only connector your need.

So you're telling me that I could have one cable that handles handles everything? Cool, Bring it!

Posted via web from Joe Shockley

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Drum processing with Depeche Mode

I found this interesting, especially since I just saw Depeche Mode a few weeks ago. What's most interesting is the number of processes the drums will go through before it reaches your ear.

When I saw the band I thought for sure the drums were sampled, meaning the drummer was triggering the drum sound from a sampler every time he hit the drum. From a live performance standpoint using ableton in this way is certainly a better option than playing triggers. To be able to have that processed sound with a live kit is really the best of both worlds and allows a drummer to have a much more expressive palette to play with.

Of course now this means I have to tear down my electric kit, set up my acoustic, plug in bunch of mics, run them to an interface feeding Ableton and then run the signal out to a PA. Sounds like a lot of work... "Hey John..." :)

Posted via web from Joe Shockley

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

5 Crappy Musicians Whose Music Will Get You Laid

bands that will get you laid ab092209

Kick ass music and having sex do not go hand in hand. Any guy whose high school girlfriend would not let him so much as touch her without Boys II Men crooning their cardigan-flavored R& B in the background can attest to this fact. Face it; you just can’t coax a lady into your carnal thunderdome (aka your parent’s basement) to the strains of Black Sabbath. But here are some horrific “music makers” who’ll get the job done.

Jimmy Buffet

jimmybuffettab092209 5 Crappy Musicians Whose Music Will Get You Laid

Why You Hate Him

If you’ve ever walked into a room where Jimmy Buffet music was playing you may have asked yourself, “Did a dog just shit in here?” Finding Buffet music is exactly like finding a pile of poo in the middle of the living room carpet. Also, very much like dog crap indoors, Jimmy Buffet music is a shameful act perpetrated by a creature who should know better.

Buffet is a self-described “pirate”, “beach comber” and super easy going dude. He’s also a two-faced, money-grubbing, baby boomer jerkweed (a rarity, we know). While Jimmy’s wailing on about the pleasures of the simple life, he’s about as corporate as you can get. His turned his song “Margaritaville”  into a chain of restaurants.  He partnered another restaurant concept, “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” with the Outback Steakhouse people. He has a beer made by Anheuser-Busch. Got a company retreat coming up? Jimmy will play it, bringing that slightly salty taste of laid back oceanic breeze to your corporate gathering.  It’s the perfect way to wrap up your day long lecture on how to use Twitter to market cigarettes to 14-year-olds.

How He Will Get You Laid

Jimmy Buffet encourages drinking, which fits because Buffets’ music is the kind you’d only consider stomaching if you were really drunk. Plus research shows traumatic experiences bond people to each other. Once that special lady has had enough of Jimmy’s blunt force trauma delivered to her ears. All she’ll want to do is get drunk, cuddle and try to forget.  At that point, you’re well on your way to wasting away in Coochieville, if you know what we mean.  (We mean you’ll be fuckin’.)

Jack Johnson

jack johnson ab092209

Why You Hate Him

Before you kids get too cocky about how much the Baby Boomers suck, take a good hard look at Jack Johnson, because he’s our Jimmy Buffet. The guy is so damn chill he won’t even wear shoes.  He comes from Hawaii, a place only fictional characters like Magnum P.I. or Dog the Bounty Hunter come from. Not quite rocking, not quite funk, Jack’s music aspires to nothing more than background, like audio wallpaper. The kind of music that insidiously slips it’s blandness into your subconsciousness while you’re dining at Red Lobster. Like Mad Cow Disease, it gestates in your brain over decades until one day in your middle age you have an unstoppably psychotic need for Tommy Bahama wear.  “I NEED SILK PALM TREES AND HULA GIRLS ON MY BODY NOW!” you’ll unexpectedly scream in the middle of the mall, your teeth bared, mouth foaming and eyes wild. “THAT WAY EVERYONE WILL KNOW ABOUT MY ‘NO WORRIES’ ATTITUDE!!!” you’ll cry, right before sinking your teeth into a puppy.

How He Will Get You Laid

Sensitivity by association. A woman hears you cranking Jack Johnson in your hybrid and assumes you are a gentle and conscientious lover instead of  the twice convicted sex offender you are.

Maroon 5

maroon 5 ab092209

Why You Hate Them

There is something about the music of Maroon 5 that makes you want to punch your penis. Repeatedly. It’s a sensation you can’t really describe, but you suddenly just hate your penis so much you can’t stop punching it, which strangely enough makes your voice approximate the tenor of Maroon 5 front man Adam Levine. But you can’t argue with Maroon 5’s success. After Ellen DeGeneres, Adam Levine is the most successful lesbian in showbiz.

How They Will Get You Laid

Maroon 5 is the ultimate suburb rock; suburban girls draw to it like America Eagle moths to Jamba Juice flames. You see, the typical “suburban girl” may have all the same parts as a regular girl, but she’s far more skittish than a regular lass. Safety is this girl’s ultimate aphrodisiac. She wants some soulful rock that’s not as hard as Nickleback and not as ethnic as Stevie Wonder. Something you can crank in your PT Cruiser convertible after a meal of BONELESS SWEET CHILE GLAZED WINGS™ at the TGIFriday’s in the Galleria. Back in the Cruiser, you two park outside the Target and talk. She opens up her deepest secrets– like this one time she came in contact with a homeless person and how even thinking about it now still really scares her. She’ll fall asleep as Songs About Jane makes its 127th spin on the car player. You won’t have sex but back at school on Monday you’ll tell everyone she totally gave you a BJ and when she gives up denying it she’ll tell everyone you tasted like Axe body spray.

Justin Timberlake

jt ab092209

Why You Hate Him

Remember when Michael Jackson was in every teenager’s bedroom. Stop; let me try that one again: do you remember when Michael Jackson was in every teenage girl’s bedroom…in poster form. Ever since Billy Jean, a jaunty tune about child abandonment, a generation of Swatch-wearing, Blossom-dressing, converse wearing girls wanted to toss away their chastity like losing scratch tickets.

Then Michael Jackson became well, Michael Jackson and the world’s female population thought they’d never love another white, thin-boned, falsetto singing, non-threatening dancer again.

Then came Justin Timberlake.

You can’t hate on JT too much. After all, he had the good sense to suck all of the talent out of Britany Spears and discard her on the side of the road, leaving Kevin Federline in his Geo Metro convertible to find her deflated, lifeless carcass and declare, “I’d like to put my penis in that!” A pro for JT: his music definitely gets your girl hot and bothered. The downside: he’s probably having sex with her right now.

How He Will Get You Laid

Justin Timberlake can’t stay and do your girlfriend forever. Eventually that tour has got to move on to Buffalo, and when it does your girlfriend will be totally crushed. JT’s absence will leave a great sucking hole in her heart, a hole you can fill with delusional pity sex. Ah yes, sweet pity sex.

Van Morrison

van morrison ab092209

Why You Hate Him

The first time you heard Van Morrison’s “Moondance” coming over the car radio your dad said, “your mom and I used to be into this song,” which was dad’s way of saying, “I used to get into your mom while we listened to this song. Bottom line: I fucked your mother.” Now you can’t listen to “Brown Eyed Girl” without imagining your pasty parents smashing their doughy bodies against one another while conceiving your brother, whom you also hate.  Also, he used to be a Scientologist.

How He Will Get Laid

Van Morrison songs, or audio ruffies as they are also known, have long been a sure fire way to cajole young women into salty, awkward sex.  Every teenage boy once owned a Van Morrison Greatest Hits CD placed strategically within his domicile so when his chaste girlfriend came over to “study” old Van was spinning in no time. Like magic, Mr. Morrison’s spongy Irish-soul would have Missy NoSex clawing the guy’s back in procreative fervor. “Oh my God,” she’d scream right before biting into his bare shoulder, “this is the kind of inoffensive soft rock everyone at the office can agree on. I need you inside me NOW!”  Van Morrison acquires so much tail for young men in the English speaking world, if you never pitched woo to a girl over the strains of “Moondance” you’re a gay Eskimo. Morrison creates the kind of sweet memories of high school and college sexual conquests you’ll pine for once you’re married and your wife has refused you sex for leaving a wet towel on the bathroom floor.  Still that Scientology thing blows. Once you know the best erotic experiences of your life were powered by L. Ron Hubbard, it kinda sucks the joy out of it.

Read more from Cole Gamble at his site, Fun With Cole.

Just ridiculously funny.

Posted via web from Joe Shockley

Jack White pulls a Kanye

Jack White: Taylor Swift Fan or Comedic Genius?

Posted via web from Joe Shockley

Monday, September 21, 2009

Music: The xx - Crystalised

Kristen and I are loving this record. It's like Tricky meets all of your favorite 80's and early 90's goth/progressive bands (The Cure, Echo & The Bunnymen, Sisters of Mercy, Siouxsie and The Banshees, etc.) The Songs are relatively simple and some show signs of modern R&B influences on the vocals which raises a caution flag for me, but all in all it works together alarming well. It's passed the repeat listen test and is now moving into the obsessive listening phase.

Pitchfork has a review and the whole record streaming via Lala: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13400-xx/

more on the band can be found here: http://thexx.info/

Enjoy!

Posted via web from Joe Shockley

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Place a phone call -- via Twitter... This could get interesting.

I'm not sure how this will play out with the Cell providers, but I kinda like the idea of being able to reach people in so many different ways using one handle. more at the link above.

Posted via web from Joe Shockley

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Music: The Hidden Cameras - In The NA

Heard this one this morning via the KEXP song of the Day Podcast

It seems there are plenty of bands out there who still want to produce interesting videos. This one is pretty well done, it's well off center and worth a view or two. The intro really doesn't do much for me as stand alone audio, but with the video it adds a creepy 70's "art" feel.

What I love about the song is the Analog synth right from the get go and the strings that fly in and out of the mix almost like seagulls at the beach. Lyrically there's not much there, but musically the song is fun and exciting, Like something from the early 80's but still very 2009.

The Radio Edit minus all the intro wank is below.

To play mp3s in your browser, you will need to have Javascript turned on and have Flash Player 9 or better installed.

Posted via web from Joe Shockley