We watched Oscar-nominated documentary Jesus Camp last night. It was frightening to see just how serious the radical right is about the ongoing Culture War in this nation.
There are many poignant (or scarring, depending on one’s point of view) moments in the film. One of the most telling is the scene from New Life Church in Colorado Springs. Pastor Ted Haggard appears in the film and we learn, among other things, that he has a standing call every Monday with President Bush. Of course, Haggard has since been embroiled in a high-profile scandal involving homosexual prostitution and methamphetamine use. Oops.
I kept asking myself throughout the screening, “How did the filmmakers get this kind of access?” In the interview presented above, Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady say they came to the film with no pre-determined agenda, which is a bit hard to believe given their status as sophisticated New Yorkers. Agenda, or no, the film is near perfect in its revelations.
“But when the smoke dissipates and bills are late, it’s time to think about handshake smiles and lipstick spittle in the wind” – Arthur Yoria
I attended Arthur Yoria’s record release party at Rudyard’s in Houston on Saturday night. A good time was had by all, and I feel it was worth climbing aboard a jet to be there.
Yoria is a unique voice from a city famous for them. Perhaps to help set himself apart from the previous generation of Houston singer-songwriters–players like Guy Clark, Rodney Crowell and Lyle Lovett–Yoria says he’s “post-singer-songwriter.” In truth, he sounds nothing like these Texas gentlemen. On some of his slow songs he strikes an Elliot Smith chord, on others he sounds a little like M. Ward. Yet, he can can turn on a dime and deliver an upbeat pop song with the best of them. The guy’s a unique talent.
Yoria’s new album, Handshake Smiles, is available for purchase from his MySpace page. If you’re a fan of song craft, you’ll want to own this disc.
SIRIUS Satellite Radio will launch a channel dedicated to music from the Grateful Dead this summer. Grateful Dead Radio will play music from the iconic group around the clock, including live shows from the band’s archives, bootleg performances from fans, previously unreleased recordings and special shows hosted by members of the band.
SIRIUS, which broadcasts more than 130 channels, already has a handful of other channels dedicated to individual artists, including Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and Frank Sinatra.
“Grateful Dead’s importance in the history of rock n’ roll is undeniable. In the 60s they helped to define a generation with their music and their creativity, in the 70s they virtually pioneered the concept of ‘jam bands,’ and in the 80s and 90s they were among the preeminent live touring bands. They have continued to amass a significant and extremely loyal fan base to this very day,” said Scott Greenstein, President, Entertainment and Sports, SIRIUS.
I’m always amazed at Yonder Mountain String Band’s ability to move asses with no drummer anywhere near the stage. Not many string quartets rock, but YMSB does.
This September 2nd the Colorado band is going to rock even harder with the addition of Jon Fishman to the lineup. Phish’s drummer will attack the kit at Red Rocks in a show the band is calling the “biggest of their lives.”
Yonder’s bassist Ben Kaufmann remembers that “Phish’s music inspired me to
pursue a life making music of my own. The chance to play music with Jon Fishman, at Red Rocks no less, is both a great honor and the fulfillment of a dream. He is without question my favorite drummer.”
“Headlining the world’s greatest music venue, which happens to be twenty miles from where we became a band and still live, with this lineup is monumental for us. We are thrilled,” says Jeff Austin.
Margaret Brown’s directorial debut Be Here To Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt is a tender film that features classic footage of the enigmatic Texan on- and off-stage. Willie Nelson, Steve Shelley (from Sonic Youth), Lyle Lovett, Steve Earle, Guy Clarke and Kris Kristofferson also appear in the film. Clarke has a buzz on in the film in honor of his old drinking buddy. Van Zandt passed away in 1997, at the age of 52.
Upon publication of Elmore Leonard’s 41st novel, Up in Honey’s Room, the author spoke with Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg, Book Editor for The Wall Street Journal (paid sub. req.).
Speaking of his early ambitions and what the process of writing a script is like, Leonard says:
I wanted to write movies until I started to do it. Then I found out there was very little pleasure in it. There are all these people involved, changing your story all the time. Writing a book, I’m the only one I have to please. To write a movie you are taking in writing. You are given scenes that someone wants to see, some studio executive with no story sense. In 1993, I wrote my last screenplay, an original for director William Friedkin. It had to do with a lot of money that would be in a house in Miami Beach for one night before it was picked up and laundered. But some burglar, just looking for a TV, enters the house and takes the Igloo cooler full of cash.
Friedkin said he didn’t want any money laundering. And he didn’t want any references to drugs. I thought well, I’ll have to think of a new premise for this. I woke up at 5 a.m. at the Sunset Marquis and in five minutes I saw a televangelist raking in the money by healing a cute little girl of stuttering. When he gets home he and his girlfriend have all this money coming in. This is the money that goes into the Igloo cooler and is taken by this burglar. I wrote it, but it needs work.
Mr. Leonard, 81 years old, started out as an ad copywriter in Detroit in 1949. He didn’t give up his day job until 1961, at which point he figured he could make a living full-time as a writer.
Visit Leonard’s website to hear him read from his latest work.
The Crimea are offering a download of their self-funded sophomore album, Secrets of the Witching Hour, for free via their website. The new release features a guest appearance from Regina Spektor and production from The Cure’s Dave Allen.
Warner Bros. released the band’s debut album, which yielded a top 40 song, “Lottery Winners on Acid,” and sold about 35,000 copies, predominately in the U.K. But when Warner dropped the band in the fall, the Crimea decided to self-finance this follow-up.
The band plans to make up for the “lost income” by growing their fan base, a move that will lead to increased concert and merchandise sales.
Paradoxically, the band says it hopes that its campaign could lead to another major-label deal. “I don’t want to burn any bridges,” says drummer Owen Hopkin. “I love the music industry.”
The newspaper business has been buzzing ever since learning of Rupert Murdoch’s five billion dollar bid to purchase The Wall Street Journal. So it’s not surprising that Richard Silkos of The New York Times managed to schedule some quality time with the media mogul recently. He turned up some interesting facts on the enigmatic Aussie in the process.
When Mr. Murdoch bought the struggling 20th Century Fox studio in 1985, Hollywood viewed him as just the latest arriviste, doomed to be suckered by the industry’s vagaries. Wrong. Murdoch restored the studio and used Fox as a springboard to start his Fox television network and a passel of cable channels and other ventures around the globe.
News Corp’s 175 newspapers contributed just 15 percent of the company’s $21.3 billion in revenue in the nine months ended March 31, 2007.
Mr. Murdoch, who clearly sees himself as a populist, says he is most energized when he is taking on “the elites†— words he practically sneers when he says them — in what he perceives as a career-long battle to offer consumers more media choices.
Murdoch regularly dines on a lunch of whitefish and spinach at the Fox commissary.
Murdoch socializes with (and seeks the counsel of) Mark Zuckerberg, the 22-year-old founder of Facebook and Google co-founder Sergey Brin.
Murdoch and his third wife Wendi Deng, 38-years his junior, are planning to move into a $44 million penthouse on Fifth Avenue next year. It is the most expensive apartment in New York and was once owned by Laurence Rockefeller.
While it’s easy to admire Murdoch’s ability to build a business, and easy to recognize that he’s an interesting, perhaps even complicated, man, it remains difficult to get around the right wing propaganda thing. Sure, there’s a market for it, but that doesn’t make it right.
New York City-based music publicist Ariel Hyatt gives out a ton of great advise for free on the web. Her latest piece on Band Letter covers “Nine Critical Things You Should Know About Publicity Before You Make Your First Move.” Her writing exposes her thinking for bands in need of a publicity. It’s a great way to affirm her thought leadership in the industry, and generate new business.
This is how she defines publicity:
A music publicist is hired as a member of your team to represent you to the media. Media is defined traditionally as editors and writers at newspapers, magazines, dailies, weeklies, monthlies, college newspapers, and television. Some publicists may also cover radio for interviews on tour stops, but if you want to get on the radio charts (like CMJ), you will need a radio promoter. Some publicists also cover Internet PR, like my company, but not all traditional publicists do! A publicist’s job is to liaise with the press. They are not hired to get you a booking agent or gig, a label deal, a distribution deal, or any other type of marketing deal. That is what a manager is for. They will not get you played on radio, either. This is what a radio promoter is for. A well-connected publicist, however, may be able to hook you up with all of the abovementioned things, but it is not in her job description.
Ariel also offers these gems, “All Publicity is Good Publicity,” “Publicity Does Not Sell Records” and “Publicity is a Marathon, Not a Sprint.”
This Berkshires Week piece from 2003 provides some interesting background on her career. Ariel also maintains a stream at Live 365, where she showcases the talent on her client roster.
I’ve been buying and listening to a ton of new music. You might say I’m doing my part to keep the economy afloat.
“A Weekend In the City” by Bloc Party
“I’ll Be Here Awake” by Arthur Yoria
“What I’ve Seen” by Dan Rockett
“Short Goodbyes” by Dave Pellicciaro
“Get Yr Blood Sucked Out” by Viva Voce
“The Nature of Maps” by Matt Pond PA
“Live in Montana” by Meat Puppets
“Change In the Weather” by Eric Lindell
“Welcome to Haiti – Creole 101” by Wyclef Jean
“Live at the Old Quarter, Houston, Texas” by Townes Van Zandt
“Substance” by New Order
“Rumor and Sigh” by Richard Thompson
“The Duhks” by The Duhks
“No Depression” by Uncle Tupelo
“West” by Lucinda Williams
“Friend Opportunity” by Deerhoof
“23” by Blonde Redhead
“Rose Hill Drive” by Rose Hill Drive
“How We Operate” by Gomez
“Hopes and Fears” by Keane
“Be He Me” by Annuals
“Alive & Wired” by Old 97s
“America Master Series: Best of the Sugar Hill Years” by Guy Clark
“Cassadaga” by Bright Eyes
“Beyond” by Dinosaur Jr.
“Let’s Just Be” by Joseph Arthur & The Lonely Astronauts
“Another Fine Day” by Golden Smog
“Hello, Dear Wind” by Page France
“Because of the Times” by Kings of Leon
“Elko” by Railroad Earth
“Chinatown” by The Be Good Tanyas
“Live at Massey Hall 1971” by Neil Young
There’s a lot to discuss with a list like this. Too much for one post. Especially when you consider I’ve also been buying EPs (via iTunes) from bands like Wolf Parade, Coldplay, Sun Kil Moom, Josh Rouse, Jesse Malin, Two Gallants, Orenda Fink, Tapes ‘n’ Tapes, Klaxons, The Kooks, The Kills, The Rakes, The Radio Dept., Earl Greyhound, Beirut, Souls She Said, Yo La Tengo, The Rapture, The Good, The Bad & The Queen, Amos Lee, Ray LaMontagne and Tokyo Police Club.
