(Check out this post and others over at The Record Crate)

OK, that may be a lie.  It may have been my own sweat, or the thousands of people around me, but I can conclude that it was hot, it was sweaty, and it was a damn good concert.  I was surprised to enjoy this little blast from our musical past on Saturday night, as Snoop Dogg and Friends (coming to a kids show near you) played the perfect show for the crowd: a continuous mix of classics, covers, and small chronic breaks.

I don’t think I would normally find myself at a Snoop show, but in such a small venue it was difficult to resist.  Definitely the strangest part of the event was the before-opener showing of Malice in Wonderland, the mini-film set to be released in March with a re-release of the album (featuring Jay-Z, Lil Jon, Soulja Boy, Pharrell, and a few others).  Check out the trailer below.

We were treated to the first few chapters of the film, echoed by cheers and swaying Snoop chants.  We all lost some energy with the opener who catered to the angsty 13 yr old (http://www.myspace.com/dephonicsounds), but found it again when Snoop made his appearance on stage, followed by such classic covers as 50 Cent’s – P.I.M.P.

Thanks for coming Snoop, I’ll probably never be that close to you again.

http://www.myspace.com/snoopdogg
(photo nicked from the Sun Journal)

Turns out the man was Nstinct himself, an Oakland rapper offering a smooth, slightly hyphy style, his beats influenced by electronica. The lyrics were average, but the overall flow and sound was something I could definitely party to. Here’s to the to the artists out there pushing their art in public, meeting their fans on the street, standing behind their work and making their name. Its tough work at first, but thats how it should be done. I bought “Already There” with the remaining $5 in my wallet, said Good Luck, and we parted ways. Should you be walking around the Bay, remember: Go Buy Nstinct.

images via colin maisonpierre and visitingdc.com

So, he assigned his book A Bagful of Locusts and the Baboon Woman: Constructions of Gender, Change, and Continuity in Botswana and the chapter that caught my eye was “The Baboon Woman”: Of Coke Cans, Beers, and the Construction of Gender.  He discusses the historical context of brewing beer in Botswana when he was there in the 70s doing field research.  I’ve been telling people since I was little that beer is good for you — largely based on the fact that my dad told me that as a kid while drinking a Guinness and talking about the amount of vitamin B.  Finally, I’ve found a professional gathering data about alcohol consumption and the history behind it all.

"A woven beer strainer. It is filled from the top with the fermented grain mash. With the stone affixed to the bottom, it is turned until the beer is squeezed out into a pot standing below" (Suggs, 2002, 47).

Suggs talks about the social construction of beer as “a food item that was much prized, a drink which, when shared, cemented marriages between patrilineages and rewarded labor cooperation within them. [...] beer was also a privilege of the esteemed.  It was in this sense a symbolic indication of social wealth acquired via seniority.  Produced by women, it was consumed primarily by men.  Thus, it represented not only the power of women’s productive and reproductive capabilities, but also the power of senior males in the control and distribution of life’s blessings” (Suggs, 2002, 46).

He continues that “In the precapitalist economy, the brewing of beer was an inexpensive way to diversify the diet: traditional sorghum brews are not filtered and are quite nutritious as a food item” (Suggs, 2002, 46).

I TOLD YOU SO!  Ok granted this is the unfiltered beer from Botswana that’s nutritious and delicious but obviously it has to be true of main-stream beer in Europe and the States…obviously, we should all drink up.

A Hoppy Pipper

Each floppy disk used in the paintings has a history and story of its own. It represents the increasing pace of the modern life cycle, where objects are created, used and disposed of quicker than ever. To challenge this notion, as these personal artefacts of life are cast aside, the obsolete are now given new life and a renewed purpose by using them as a medium for art.

In the same fashion that people have made CD players out of old turntables and iPod cases out of classic GameBoys, Gentry has a knack for adding beauty to pieces of plastic and metal that people might otherwise have completely forgotten about. Check out some of his artwork below, or at one of his shows, should you ever get the chance.

(Check out my other posts at The Record Crate.)

When I was in middle school, I had an entrepreneurial friend who sold burnt CDs. Singer, as we called him, was the first person I knew to own a CD burner and immediately see its earning potential. His method consisted of shadily trolling the hallways between classes asking passersby, “Would you like to buy some She-Ds.” Yes, he had a bit of a speech impediment at that age. However, without a formal education in economics, he understood that he could create a viable market by selling cheap copies of popular albums. So, when I was 12, the choice was between buying music for $15 a pop at Sam Goody or paying Singer $5 for a copy of the new Smash Mouth. Let’s just say I have a fine collection of CDRs with sharpie smudged titles.

A couple of years later, Singer’s business was wiped out. At the end of the 90s, everyone’s computer had a CD burner and we all got wise to Napster. Even Singer’s desperation deals, offering a smattering of CDs for unbeatable bargains, could not revive his bootleg operation. MP3s became the most easily accessible commodity around and friends started substituting Sony Walkmen for iPods. In the early 2000s, my choice was between buying a CD player and CDs for around $60 and $15 respectively (CDs seem to always be $15), or buying an MP3 player for around $300 and never having to worry about buying music again. Although, I have gone through a few iPods (the unforeseeable expense of having items lost and stolen), I sided with the long-term cost-effective option.

Now, ten years later, things are slightly though not fundamentally different. Instead of Napster, I rely on a series of websites and music downloading services to fill my headphones. HypeMachine informs me about new music, Grooveshark allows me to stream a wide range of searchable artists and albums, and a host of other sites fill in the cracks. I am not using peer-to-peer sharing, but I am still not having to pay for new music.

Is this ethical? No. I acknowledge that in some way I am cheating the artist and benefiting/ being entertained by work that cost them to create and produce (though I’d like to believe that my favorite musicians don’t consider it “work”). However, I am thoroughly committed to listening and informing my peers about music. Also, I am an avid concert goer. So, in these ways I feel that I support musicians and their creations (or at least this is what I tell myself so I can sleep at night).

Why do I tell you all of this? To show you how I developed the position that I do not pay (often) for music. I doubt I am unique. I think there are millions of people who have a nearly identical music consumerism history (minus the CD bootlegger friend named Singer). These imagined masses have tasted the music industry’s forbidden fruits (leaks, bootlegs, torrents, etc.) and no longer believe in the $15 CD, the $10 iTunes download or the X priced all access music subscription. I posit that there are too many easily available free music listening services to ignore technology’s current state and revert to an outdated business model. And, by outdated model, I mean any product or service which depends on individuals directly paying for albums and songs.

The catalyst for the above story/argument/rant is an article from USAToday.com (who pays for journalism anymore?) titled MOG offers music subscription for $5 a month. The gist of the piece is that David Hyman, former CEO of music ID service Gracenote, recently launched a new music subscription service called MOG. This would be fairly unremarkable except that the service “charges $5 for monthly on-demand listening, compared with $12.99 for Rhapsody and $14.99 for Microsoft’s Zune Pass.” With this fee, the site provides streamable songs and albums, ”will find music based on your tastes”, and allows you to “discover new music based on playlists from MOG members or by viewing celebrity playlists from the likes of Paul McCartney, Tom Waits and Seal.”

To his credit, Hyman realistically states, “Maybe $5 is the right price, but it’s still going to be a challenge to get people to pay it.” However, my argument is that $5 is the right price if it’s 1999 and Singer is trying to sell you the new Green Day CD. Anything short of free is too much when internet users can easily find no cost alternatives. The sites I mentioned above, HypeMachine and Grooveshark, can satisfy 99% of your music needs. For those songs which you can’t find, a simple Google search will probably do the trick.

Unfortunately, this piece is an argumentative response rather a meaningful solution to the problem of current music consumerism. I wish I knew how to make digital music profitable. If I did, I think the music industry would award me with their version of the Nobel Peace Prize. Alas, I fear that advertising money is the only reliable source of revenue to expect from digital music. My friend and fellow anti-establishment cohort Lawrence “Graham” Jones sent me this very interesting article which elaborates on the issue of advertising in the internet age.

Ultimately, an economically viable music service seems as likely as a time machine. Both require  innovation to transport us to a distant and untenable past. And, while we can dream of such inventions, both seem highly unlikely.

You can find this piece and many more of my music and/or philosophy musings at Playtonic Dialogues.

I’ve never gotten the whole noise pop thing. The most exposure I’ve ever allowed myself was reading about and watching Nathan from Wavves trip his way through a set at Primavera Sound ‘09. You know how they say first impressions are everything? They’re right. Then I listened to their track “No Hope Kids.” Good song, but it didn’t do anything for me. Thanks Wavves, you ruined noise pop for me.

That is, until I got wind of the New York two-piece startup Sleigh Bells. Their story is pretty neat: male waitor waits on a mother and daughter. Dude says he’s starting up a group and needs a female singer. Mom volunteers daughter. Daughter and dude make crazy music. I’m sure this isn’t the first time a group has gotten together under these circumstances, but how many of these bands are in line to produce MIA? Trip on that, Waaves.

Sleigh Bells is everything I thought noise pop could be-but way more enjoyable. Sure it’s all cute and lo-fi, but their music has an unmistakable backbeat. I can see crowds of people actually enjoying themselves whilst listening to this music. Their live show is one that isn’t to be missed. Check out the band playing their ditty “Infinity Guitars” here:

Catch the duo at SXSW in March, the Pitchfork Music Festival in July and all across the country in between.

Happy listening.

(Picture Via Myspace)

(Catch this post and others over at The Record Crate)

Steele Films offers us a look into the mind of nationally renowned graphic artist John D. Miller.  As a designer, some important suggestions and thoughts I took away from this mini-documentary were:

-”Design should have the focus of business and the vision of art”.  So true.  The line between design and art is sometimes hard to see, but I think this quote sums it up for me.

-”Always push the client further than they expect to go”:  People can get all philosophical about the ramifications and meanings of design, but in the end its all about executing a communicative piece of work in a slightly unusual fashion.  Always try and give a client what they least expect.  True words of wisdom.

-”Pay attention to the quality of the printed piece”.  One can make something conceptually impressive, but if it doesn’t look good in the end, well, one didn’t fully succeed.

Via Hypebeast.

Because of the 1K member celebration, we handed out a special coupon code for 20% off EVERYTHING in the store.  How ’bout them apples.

Obviously there were a number of people who took advantage of the celebratory day.  I might add that I’ve become quite popular down at the city post office with all these visits.

But we’re not stopping here! We have another surprise in store for when we reach 1,500 members of the Facebook group. So go and invite your friends, family, ex-girlfriend, coworkers, roommates, and the celebrities you somehow friended on Facebook

Zac Efron loves JAQK!

Also, don’t forget you can pick up your super warm Good Luck beanie at Steez Boutique, located at 104 Church St in Burlington, VT.