Once upon a time in ye olde, pre-digital days, music fans would have to trek to their local record store on a certain day, usually a Tuesday, to acquire new music It was the only way. And in the great new documentary "Good Copy Bad Copy" the sample-happy artist Girl Talk reminisces on those long gone days when some of his fondest memories were formed. In the film he recalls when as a kid being accompanied to the record store with his parents to buy the then new Nirvana CD Nevermind and how sadly that this nostalgic relationship no longer exists for most young blossoming music fans today. Directed by European Andreas Johnsen the ever engaging Good Copy Bad Copy, which so far has only been seen on the Danish Broadcasting Corporation television station, is a well worth watching documentary about music, copyright, and culture, and where it is headed. The one-hour documentary also features interviews with Danger Mouse, Siva Vaidhyanathan, Lawrence Lessig, and others. Below is a clip from the film. Fittingly this film, which is supportive of copyright free file sharing, is available for free download. You can access the torrent of the XviD version at The Pirate Bay on the site goodcopybadcopy.net However, since the film producers have still only recouped a quarter of their production costs, they do request a donation - but only if you liked the film. And I think you will.
state of Rock and Roll, I turned to my fellow record store employees to guide me. (Seriously, is there any better place to work if you are a music junkie? Didn't think so.)
And can I just say that 
No doubt you're already aware that Paul McCartney played a surprise free show at Amoeba Music Hollywood on Wednesday, June 27th.
Keala C Ramos used to work at the 
And the media item today most likely to both help generate interest in a drug previously not too popular and to also most likely speed up changes in its legal status is the front page article in Wednesday June 27th's San Francisco Chronicle about the Mexican "sacred weed" Salvia Divinorum with a bold heading about the LEGAL, INTENSE, HALLUCINOGEN that reportedly "when chewed or smoked causes intense hallucinations comparable to LSD or "magic mushrooms"" and "is available all over the Bay Area, mostly in smoke shops and herbal stores.
Out today is the newest album from 
your Arms." Not being anything close to a fan of reggae, I actually really liked this album. So now we have her newest album "Theology." The album consists of two discs. An acoustic "Dublin Sessions" disc, and a full band disc "London Sessions." The album does not really fall into any category. But it is for sure a Sinead O'Connor album. 
to see a documentary of her much like the one of the Dixie Chicks. Most artists seem to keep their beliefs to themselves in order to sell more records. Sinead is the second biggest selling artist in Ireland. Next to Enya of course. 
If you turn on your favorite radio station or webcast Tuesday, June 26th, and you are surprised to hear nothing but dead-air, pure silence - be forewarned that it will not be technical difficulties you're experiencing. Rather it will most likely be that your favorite webcast or radio station is participating in the national planned "day of silence" -in protest of the new webcasting rates that look likely to go into effect within three weeks and, if so, will have serious consequences on streaming music online. As you already know the future of Internet radio is in immediate danger because royalty rates for webcasters have been drastically increased by a recent ruling and are due to go into effect on July 15 (retroactive to Jan 1, 2006!). So in protest traditional and online radio stations are protesting by going silent. In addition to the 'silent-treatment' protest some stations around the country, including WFMU in Jersey City, will make their protest by not going silent, but rather by boycotting all RIAA/Sound Exchange music and only playing indie artists outside the RIAA governed titles. 
events planned to help raise awareness including one in San Francisco (home of numerous webcasters including the wonderful electronic music , "extremely independent" 
So I spent this past Thursday, June 21st - the longest day of the year, in Hollywood. And it was just one of those perfect days. You know, one of those days you have when everything goes just perfectly? Being the first day of summer, I guess, the weather could not have been more desirable: sunny and warm but never too hot, and certainly not a trace of that smog that is so often unfairly associated with LA. But besides the weather, every single person I encountered that day in Hollywood was genuinely warm and friendly and a pleasure to be around. Even the tragic bums along Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards all seemed to have vanished for the day. Not one person asked me for money all day. The opposite happened in fact: not once but twice glancing down at the pavement I found money - a quarter on Vine and a crisp new dollar bill blowing on Sunset. Damn! There really is gold on the streets here, I thought. What a perfect day. As I happily walked I couldn't help but remember in my head all of the songs about Hollywood and LA (there is even a 
for my trip down from the Bay for the day) I ran into Amoebite Kara who was walking her cute and affectionate little dog. The last time I was down in LA - several months previously - she had just gotten the miniature pooch who she had rescued by adopting from an unfortunate homeless woman who could no longer take care of her pet. At Amoeba Music that day I spent the day hanging out and meeting many Amoebites for the first time like Irene (who works in the office and was sporting a cool Virgin Prunes t-shirt) and some that I knew from before like KP, Tim Ranow, and Ilene. It was about my sixth trip to Amoeba Hollywood since it opened and I tell you the cavernous store never fails to amaze me. It is truly a music fiend's dream! And despite the good amount of time I spent digging in the crates of the endless rows and rows and sections and sections of music, I still only barely scratched the surface of the store's seemingly never ending inventory.
I don't know if any of you have seen my new favorite show yet, but you need to check it out if you haven't. The 
Silverman Show. It is a situational musical comedy. They two boys are roommates in a small flat in New York city. The other characters are a horrible manager and an obsessed nerdy fan neighbor girl. It has a bit of the uncomfortable humor of shows like the Office. It's just brilliant. I have only watched the first episode but I am already obsessed. The first episode is about Jemaine's search for a girlfriend and the shooting of their first video. Each episode has a couple musical numbers. But don't be scared. It really works. 
The new compilation "WAR II (the turd hunt continues...)" - the sequel to the 2003 anti-war compilation "
broadcasting over the Bay Area (its signal is pretty good) with quality radio - including lots of live studio performances. This will be the second time the DJs of Mass Destruction perform on DJ Trinity's show. In fact we turned part of the last KFJC performance (2003 release party for "WAR: If it feels good do it") into a music video - featuring Bush/War footage mixed with the KFJC performance. The video originally appeared on the enhanced CD section of the 2CD Amoeba Music Compilation Vol. V 2 set. This video, which was produced by 
Hip Hop Slam's Nausea Girl, can be viewed below. The video at top of this page, produced by ALF, was made for the new WAR II: the turd hunt continues. The audio track for this video is the opening track on the 14-track new WAR II CD.
Icky Thump, it's a fantastic record. If you read my blog, you are
already sick of hearing about the White Stripes, so I'll make my comments brief. 
Murder is one those words that I hear everyday and have for years and years and years - to the point, I fully admit, that I have become totally desensitized to its real meaning. Yep to me, the more I hear the word murder and especially the more I read it in yet another newspaper report, the more and more detached I seem to become from it. It has lost its initial intended meaning to me. In fact right now as I type this and just think of the word MURDER in my head, I cannot help but hear the refrain from that classic 1993 dancehall reggae hit by Chaka Demus & Pliers (Murder She Wrote) echoing happily in my skull "murder she wrote, nah nahnah, murrrrder she wrote." So to me murder or that six letter word
spelt backwards - redrum (popularized by The Shining) is just another empty meaningless word or even worse, alternately it is a sexy catch-phrase, repeated in songs I hum, the theme of entertaining movies I watch, video games I play, books I read, and juicy headlines in morning newspapers I read as I sip my comforting coffee. So ultimately murder to me (and maybe to you too?) is just another hollow disposable word - nothing more, nothing less. Unless, unless, that is, of course, that the word "murder" is directly connected to me personally or to someone close to me. 
So as I sat on the BART the other morning reading a small short article in the Bay Area section of the San Francisco Chronicle under the heading "Two Murders In Oakland Over The Weekend" about a couple of unrelated fatal street shootings (one of them "gang related") to be totally honest - it barely registered in my consciousness - just the same ol, same ol to this jaded soul. Until, that is, the location of one of the murders jumped off the page at me ("Fairview Ave. in the 100 block, north of Lake Merrit"). Damn! I realized that this was directly outside the apartment buidling where I stay. Later that day from talking to folks in the immediate East Bay neighborhood I found out all the killing's tragic details: that the murder happened on Friday night at 9:25PM. That it took place directly opposite the church (ironically) when a car screeched to a halt in the middle of the street with two guys audibly arguing inside. Both got out, still arguing loudly, and one shot the other nine times before hopping back into the driver's seat to speed away leaving the body of a 29 year old man bleeding to death on that chilly Oakland night. 
Each person has the opportunity to compete in many different categories. The competition is fierce! Competitors walk/work the runway and are judged loudly and with much enthusiasm on their styles as well as their "realness"-- how flawlessly they pull off drag.
Ball gangs, each headed up by a Mother who is the most revered, respected member of the House and who provides emotional and aesthetic support to each member. Each House is really like a family. Members know where they can go to get support and advice, whether it's on life or makeup.
You know how they say that the Golden Age of Hip-Hop was the years (approx) 1988 - 1993? Well the Golden Era of Yay Area (da Bay mayn) hip-hop would have been a lil later, namely 1991-1997 a time when major labels and big indies (when they still had money and duplicated CDRs were not even an option) were signing Bay Area artists left, right, and center. It was when the Luniz (signed to Noo Trybe/Virgin) released their classic "I Got 5 On It" and the even sicker remix featuring Shock G, Richie Rich, and E40 etc. Check the remix video here and if you like these videos, this is just part one of a new series showcasing classic Yay Area Rap videos. Add comments, complaints, feedback below. And be warned that some contain explicit language or images!
out now-
out june 26th
I remember the first time I heard about 
Today is the big exciting day of the new White Stripes album "Icky Thump." I am going to let my fellow blogger Miss Ess review that one. I like what I have heard so far. But that girl is like their number one fan. Not in a creepy Kathy Bates Misery kind of way. But almost. I will spend some time today talking about two smaller albums coming out. First up is the new album by 
Northampton, England. He has been releasing singles for a while now, slowly gathering his fans. This is one of those albums that I was immediately drawn to and liked right away. But I also knew that it would become one of those albums that my love would continue to grow for. Now listening to it for the 4th or 5th time I am quickly falling in love. It is kind of amazing that he used no computer or fancy programs to make this album. I can already hear people complaining that the album is too electronic and computer generated sounding. But like I said, no computers. He did it mostly himself with tape loops.
The album feels very warm and fuzzy. He is obviously influenced by some of the shoe gaze of the 90's like My Bloody Valentine and Lush. But also by the early electronic groups of the same period. And on some of the songs I even hear a bit of Beach Boys. Which is weird for me to even notice, since I happen to hate the Beach Boys. But I do hear it. However, it does not ruin the album for me. You can also hear a bit of Sigur Ros or Album Leaf or maybe some Postal Service. The album is consistently good. There is not just a couple good songs. It consistently works. James is bound to find his fans in the U.S. just as he has abroad. He has sort of a nice soothing pop voice. Kind of like Ben Gibbard from Death Cab for Cutie and Postal Service. It mixes nice with the electronics. It is less cold and distant than you would expect with this sort of electronic instrumentation. He will quickly make his way into your heart. I think.
Los Angeles based documentary film-maker Doug Pray (Hype!, Scratch, Infamy), whose latest release "Big Rig" - a documentary about the subculture of contemporary truck-drivers - premiered at Austin's SXSW fest in March: and whose latest production "Surfwise" - a documentary about the family dynamics of a unique surfing family, says that the distinct common thread between each of his documentaries is that each tells the story of misunderstood individuals. "They're all subcultures... groups (that) have been misperceived. I see their characters as underdogs," he said. His first film was the 1996 documentary "Hype!" which was literally about the hype behind the North West's underground "grunge scene" and how exactly that music was transformed, neatly packaged, and sold to the gullible masses. His next and even better known film (which won numerous awards) was "Scratch" about the the rise and history of the hip-hop DJ/turntablist. It was followed by "Infamy" a documentary about six graffiti artists plus one anti-graffiti activist. 
band.
