Desi In Toronto

Heard the Barry Taylor’s “Barry Interesting Survey” on edge.ca this week and the question was :

“Who is a better song writer? Jack White or Kurt Cobain?”

Of course, he asked this question smack in the middle of edge.ca’s honouring Nirvana’s release of Never Mind which kind of rankled a lot of listeners.

Here is my humble opinion on the matter.

I think Jack White is a better song writer than Kurt Cobain. I mean, only Jack White can take a Mariachi Band and make it sound so fucking cool.

But here is one thing that Jack White cannot do. He can NEVER, EVER become a spokesperson for a generation simply because his songs and his whole personality is “populist” in nature. There is nothing wrong with that image, in fact I like Jack White’s flamboyant style of singing and performances. But Cobain’s music and his lifestyle is what legends are made of. His music struck a cord in everyone (including my mom, who loved Smells Like Teen Spirit – probably because it grew on her when I listened to the song 20 times a day!!). His rejection of the media only fueled that rebel image which appealed to all the young “rejects/Gen-x” of 1992 when the economy was reeling from the Gulf War I and the recession.

Both Jack White and Kurt Cobain excel in their respective areas. Only, Cobain’s music was able to transcend beyond the sound into the lives of millions of youth. Jack’s music will remain only in our CD players.

Changing the topic but not the subject, I am going to see My Bloody Valentine tonight in Toronto!!!! Have been waiting eagerly for that show for the last month. Will be posting about the show tomorrow. Stay tuned.

I know I have posted this before but each time I hear it, it just proves how transcendent music really is…….

In the last few years I have been very impressed with the movies coming out of Bollywood. My favourites this year have been :

» Johnny Gaddar

» Dharam

» Page 3

» Bheja Fry

» Chuk De India

» Eklavya

» Mithya

and so on. I know some of these movies have been from 2007 and 2006 but what the hell. I saw them this year.

But the one thing I think all these movies lacked was “listenable” music. I mean, don’t get me wrong. The music in some of these movies has been outstanding but none of them had the kind that I would listen to while I was at work or on my commute (which is a kind bellwether of how much I like music from a band i.e. if I play it in the car or not). The music in all these movies without exception has been the kind to put on at parties or in the background at home while I am tinkering about the house so that I don’t have to pay attention to it.

But lately I have been listening to music from the movie Rock On. I have no idea what the movie will be like and frankly I don’t care. But the music from that movie…….wow!!!

Finally, finally some good Hindi/Urdu rock. Something I can listen to while working or while driving around. So far I have been really impressed with the music. Not with the lyrics, though. I mean, could the lyrics on some songs be more juvenile? The best songs have the worst lyrics. Oh well.

There have been commendable attempts at making rock music from India and Pakistan but I have always thought that what lacked was production. The music either sounded like it was being made in a corner tea stall or in a big open air stadium where you had to push the ear phones into your ears to hear a drum beat.

Another problem I had with the rock music from South Asia has been lack of raw power of music. The desi rock music has always been “melodious” which just makes me want to smack my head to the wall. But as evidenced by “Zehreelay” from the album, the music packs a punch.

Even the harmonious numbers have this “looping” that blends really, really well with the music. “Ye Tumhari Meri Baatein” is a prime example of this, kind of reminds me of Yo La Tengo, who use feedback loops and construct songs around the loops.

All in all, I really like this album. Even my 5 year old daughter loves this album although she likes to stick to the opening song “Socha Hai” which kind of leads to our which-song-to-play fights.

UPDATE (16th Sep 2008) : I have been informed that I have been a little overzealous in comparing music from Rock On to Yo La Tengo. I totally agree with that statement. Hindi/Urdu rock is a few light years away from Yo La Tengo. My apologies!!

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LONDON – A Pink Floyd spokesman says founding member Richard Wright has died. He was 65.

Wright died today after a battle with cancer at his home in Britain. His family did not want to give more details about his death. The spokesman is Doug Wright, who is not related to the artist.

Richard Wright met Pink Floyd members Roger Waters and Nick Mason at college and joined their early band Sigma 6.

Sigma 6 eventually became Pink Floyd and Wright wrote and sang some of the band’s key songs. He wrote “The Great Gig In The Sky” and “Us And Them” from Pink Floyd’s 1973 “The Dark Side Of The Moon.”

Well, time marches on and the geniuses of yesteryear continue to fall. Richard, you will be missed. RIP.

UPDATE : Just wanted to add as form of trivia that Richard was fired from Pink Floyd by The Final Cut and rehired as a session drummer for The Wall before he was bought back into the band for A Momentary Lapse Of Reason. He was the only Floyder to have made money out of The Wall.

Went to see Margot And The Nuclear So And So’s last night at the Horseshoe Tavern.

First impression? The band was tight and played absolutely superb music. I was afraid that the new material that they were going to introduce would put me to sleep. But the new stuff was really good. Waiting eagerly for their new album now. Their set was really good but short. And they started at 10:45pm on a week night!!! Don’t they know half of their audience doesn’t have a life and need to get to work early next morning!!?!

The musicians looked like they just got off the street. The lead singer looked like his second job was busking at the corner and he just strolled in to sing a few songs before he went back to his main job. There were a total of 8 musicians on the stage which is why it was surprising that the music was so good. There were a few mistakes here and there but on the whole they played as true professionals. I also liked the diversity in the group. There was a woman, Mexicans and Chinese.

And can we please request all musicians to stop saying things like “I love Toronto. I could live in Toronto for the rest of my life. Toronto rocks” and so on. I know you are going for yells of agreement but it just makes you look pathetic.

On the whole a great evening.

Wow!!

Right from the word go these guys just rocked. The concert started at 9:10pm and they did not let up until 10:45pm. The music was awesome, the showmanship by Chris Martin and Will Champion was exceptional and the way they engaged the crowd was captivating. The quietest of the four was Berryman, the bass player. The liveliest was, according to me, the drummer Champion. Probably because he was really into the concert.

One thing I noted was that they really attempt to connect with the fan on personal levels. From performing a couple of songs (acoustic, of course) in the nose bleed section to commenting on a person s camera (“Hey! I have that camera. Isn t it great?”). I always have respect for musicians who make the whole show somehow about the audience and not about themselves.

On the whole, I highly recommend their concert and will probably go see them again.

…..as the English would say, bloody brilliant!!

….aaaaaah, brilliant!!

Now if only they did not charge $200 for each ticket!!! They are coming to Toronto and I cannot go and see them cause the tickets are quite expensive. Do you know what the front row is paying? $1100!! And I am pretty sure the show will be sold out.

Just finished watching Metal : A Headbanger’s Journey.

The documentary ended up confusing me to bits. The confusion is what kind of music do I like? I mean I am likely to nod my head listening through my headphones to the song Raining Blood from Slayer and to the song Sound Of Silence from Simon and Garfunkel.

I hum to the music of Kishor Kumar and to the music of My Bloody Valentine.

I tap my foot to the music of Mohammad Rafi & Lata Mangeshkar and to the music Sonic Youth.

So having watched the documentary on Metal and how there are people out there who are totally hooked on to one genre of music and how they are totally able to immerse themselves completely in that genre while ignoring the rest of the music styles, is a complete mystery to me. I am sure there are millions like me out there……just not here in Mississauga, Ontario.

The first time I heard his music was on the sound track of Natural Born Killers. I remember listening to the song burn (the video is not for the faint hearted) and feeling goosebumps all over me. Ever since I have been collecting Nine Inch Nails albums. My admiration for the guy went up a number of notches when he said this at a concert :

He totally recoganises what is wrong with the music industry. Their business model that’s worked for a few decades is failing and failing miserably. Instead of helping the fans of music and assist them in their passion, the music industry is alienating their consumers and then they wonder why they are loosing out on sales. Radiohead showed what a popular band could accomplish by bypassing music labels.

Reznor tried the a similar formula (I believe he tried this before but without the Nine Inch Nails brand name) with his new album titled Ghosts with a key difference. The album is in four parts. The first part is free for download, a kind of sampler (which Reznor put on The Pirate Bay) . Then there are tiers. You could download the entire album for $5 or you could get a set of CDs and download for $10. Or you could pay $75 which includes download, CDs, data CD, a DVD and a blue-ray DVD. Or you could have taken the limited option worth $300 which is now sold out.

So, I did what was expected. I first sampled the first CD and absolutely loved it. I then went back to the site and paid $5 and downloaded the rest of the album which I have listened to atleast 10 times in the last 5 days.

Why oh why can’t the music industry listen to us, the fans. I would be willing to part my dollars for a product that I think is worth it and not moan later about getting ripped off. That’s why I had stopped purchasing music in the traditional way. I sample (from torrents and myspace) and then I may or may not make a purchase. If the purchase is out of my reach, I make no attempt to buy the music. If RIAA or CRIA want to pursue a case against us fans for not buying their product (and lets not kids ourselves, the artists (especially the no bands with little or no recognition) have no control over their products once it leaves their hands), they are only hurting themselves in the process.

This is the way to fight corporations!!

NEW YORK – Back in the day, fans would have congregated at midnight at their local music stores to get first crack at a new Radiohead album.

How old-fashioned. Instead, the release of Radiohead’s seventh studio album, “In Rainbows,” was received Wednesday with online hysteria from fans, the blogosphere and music websites. It was Radiohead Day in the virtual world.

There had been no advance reviews for “In Rainbows” because it was only 10 days before Wednesday that the British quintet announced the imminent release of their latest opus.

Sending shock waves through a downtrodden music industry, the band said they would release “In Rainbows” themselves online. Without a record label contract (their long-term deal with Capitol Records concluded with 2003′s “Hail to the Thief”), the band decided to let fans choose their price, from one pence to infinite.

Very early Wednesday morning, “In Rainbows” was available for download (DRM-free) from www.inrainbows.com. The downloading was apparently mostly glitch-free as “In Rainbows” was simultaneously unleashed upon fans, critics and industry executives alike.

In the brief lead-up, fans had energetically debated what the proper price should be for the new album. (A lavish box set is also available for about US$82, but won’t be shipped for weeks, and the band plans a traditional CD release early next year.) The band’s manager, Bryce Edge, said earlier: “We believe if your music is great, the people will pay for it.”

Was this a watershed moment for the music industry? And would the 10 tracks of “In Rainbows” be good enough to warrant the fanfare?

The first question remained unanswered Wednesday. A spokesman for Radiohead said figures on how many copies were purchased or what prices were paid were not yet available, and might never be.

Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails may soon follow Radiohead’s example. The singer announced on the band’s website on Monday that NIN is now free of any recording contract, stoking expectations for a Radiohead-like album release. “Exciting times, indeed,” wrote Reznor.

I love the fact that other big name bands are getting on the bandwagon (bad pun, I know). I have already downloaded the album (paid $7.50) and, no, there is no way I am putting this album on torrents or on my page for others to download. As per the band, if you think they do not deserve money for their music, then pay only 1 cent!!

BTW, I have listened to the album. definitely no OK COMPUTER but it is really good. I now wish I had paid more!! Got to love Radiohead

Is this the beginning of a revolution…..

The band Radiohead is apparently coming out with a new album; the first after its original record deal was completed. It appears that, like many other musicians, they’re realizing that the traditional recording industry business model doesn’t quite make sense for them. While there was some buzz about an apparent hoax website about the band’s new album, it turns out the real thing is a bit more interesting. That’s because Radiohead is doing two smart things. It’s telling fans they can name their own price for digital downloads. You just pay the band however much you think the downloads are worth and they’ll be happy. But that’s not all (though, that’s what most folks are focused on). Rather than just offering up the content, they’re also trying to give people a reason to actually buy something else. In this case, it’s a “discbox,” which will include the new album on both CD and vinyl, as well as an additional CD of seven extra songs and photos, artwork and lyrics. The whole thing will be packaged in a nice container.

So rockstars are really not as dumb as they look or sound.

Brian May, the lead guitarist from rock band Queen, is close to earning his doctorate in astrophysics — more than 35 years after quitting his studies to become a rock star.

His thesis, “Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud,” is the last component of his PhD studies, and May expected to complete his work on Wednesday.

I always knew he had an interest in astrophysics but I never knew his interest extended to a PhD!! Anyway, I love the closing para.

Earlier this month, the writer of such Queen hits as “We Will Rock You” and “Fat Bottomed Girls” was granted an honorary doctorate from Exeter University in Devon, England.

Here is a band that built their reputation as a “peoples’” band. Here is a band which has millions and millions of dollars. Here is a band that still makes hit albums.

And yet they worry about not making money from albums released 2 and a half decades ago!! Its Napster all over again.

Pathetic.

Harmonix confirmed back in July that the legendary rock band Metallica is coming to Rock Band (PS3 and Xbox 360). Also earlier this month both Red Octane and Activision came up with a similar announcement for Guitar Hero III that is scheduled to be released on Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 platforms.

But what’s this? We just got word that Metallica is currently suing the above mentioned companies for copyright infringement. According to the band’s lawyer, what the three companies is planning to do is actually under the “licensed music to player” system otherwise known as LM2P network.

Harmonix wasn’t able to provide an initial statement regarding the matter but the counsel for Red Octane and Activision had this to say:

Our company paid a licensing fee to feature the track ‘One’ by Mein Guitar Hero III. We don’t understand why Metallica would turn around and sue us, unless they’ve gone from insane to completely bats*** insane since 2001, but we’re confident that the law and our contracts will be enough to have this thrown out.

What a lousy bunch of money grabbers!!! Now their songs are beginning to loose their meaning.

So there is this band from Sheffield that has a ridiculous name – The Arctic Monkeys;

The band is only a few years old and they are already have been put on a pedestal by the British music press as the best of the best;

The band has been named the best even though they have only released 2 albums and 1 EP;

The band members’ age ranges from 20 to 21. What could they possibly know about life?

However, when I first listened to the song “I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor”, the song just blew me away. The song is a “good ole” rock and roll song but within it was the interplay of the lyrics, the melody and the thrashing guitars which came out of nowhere in the chorus. And it didn’t end there. The rest of their songs on “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I Am Not” are mind blowing to say the least. It’s no wonder that the British press loves this album. The songs are full of fun and infectious melodies and loud guitars.

But another reason to really like the band is their seemingly complete disregard for the rule book of the music industry. They simply don’t care about the music executives (although I am not sure what they are going to do now, since they are a huge commodity). They built their base from the ground up. I read somewhere that the pattern they followed (totally unintentional, I am sure) is probably the new way of marketing a band. They allowed fans to swap their music, they never invited any music big wigs to their promotional gigs only fans were invited, they did not sign to any label (Indie or mainstream) although they finally signed to a label which is run from an apartment! and they do not like music critics at all. I mean which band do you know out there that comes out with a sophomoric effort (an EP) titled “Who The F*uck Are The Arctic Monkeys”. That’s just a finger to the music industry. And you have to love the band for just that point.

So, they just got lucky with their first album. It was a big hit in England and Australia to the point where they set the record for the fastest selling album in history of music in England. Their singles have constantly been at the top 5 across the world (except US). So they will probably fail like The Strokes and The Libertines with their second album. Well, not true. Their
second album “Favourite Worst Nightmare” is even better!! The first song Brainstorm starts with a bang and never lets up. The drumming, the guitar and the bass just pound and pound to an almost distorted sound (although they never distort their music) and then come the melodies. Their music is just an mix of different styles and that’s one of the things I really like about The Monkeys. It’s like they have taken a part Sex Pistols, a part of The Clash, a part of Ramones and a part of Oasis and churned it all together to create this music. My favourite song from this album is “Fluorescent Adolescent” a song about musing of an older woman, over extravagance youth and the lyrics are, surprisingly for 20 year olds, really intelligent.

Their on stage performances have come under fire, though. This is because they just stand or, at the most swing, in one position and belt out their numbers. I was mildly surprised by this as their songs seemed like the band would be really swinging it on stage. So I went over to YouTube to have a look at them myself. And…..it’s true. They just stand and sing. However, the difference is that the way they sing is really infectious. If I could be so taken by a recorded performance, imagine how the audience at the show would feel. I saw in one of their performances where the audience is literally walking around the stage and dancing with the boys just singing like it’s all a part of the show!! I think that maybe one of their charms. A band that has a lot of interaction with the audience is always appreciated.

Anyway, I will be keeping an eye on this band. I just hope they have a bright future ahead of them. You never know, they may be the next White Stripes.

Here is another thing that really riles me.

As declared by the esteemed RIAA and it’s sister concern here in Canada, downloading music is illegal. Their argument centers within the idea that music created by artists is copyrighted and owned by RIAA and it’s affiliates. How this situation came about, I will leave it to the experts to
decipher. But I still have a hard time understanding how the artists sometimes have to thank a company for letting them use the lyrics even though the artist has written them.

Anyway, here is my justification for downloading music. Keep in mind that I listen to mostly Indie artists and classic rock.

First of all, I agree with the fact that downloading music is definitely detrimental to the artists. By downloading an album from the Internet free of charge, you are denying actual money flowing to the creators of the music you enjoy. But the cold hard reality is that barring the U2s, the Bob Dylans and The Pink Floyds, most of the artists do not really see much money from the sales of their albums, let alone their singles. The reason are multitude but one really stands out.

The cost of the album is built is such a way that new or not so well known artists will see only a small part of return from the actual sale of the album. After the distribution and copyright costs are stripped, the artist may see only 10 cents to a dollar in return. So, if I download an album without paying, I am actually stealing only a small part of what the artist should actually be getting. I know I am the kettle calling the pot black but excuse me, the pot is WAAAAY blacker than I am. RIAA should first restructure it’s finances before it starts to make examples of people like me. Moreover, the more RIAA tries the go on the offensive and attack people, more innovative ways will come to surface for people to share music. They are fighting a losing battle.

Another aspect of “buying” an album that I fail to comprehend is the multiple formats that I have had to purchase for the same album.

E.g. Dark Side Of The Moon is a must have album in everyone’s collection. The first time my dad brought the album it was in an LP format. After a few years with the advent of walkman and tape recorders, we purchased a cassette format of the album. After a few years we purchased a CD player and, of course, we purchased Dark Side Of The Moon CD. After I moved out of the house, I could not take the CD with me as my mom and dad listened to it every now and then. In those days (early 90′s) CD writers were not the norm that they are now. Since I was a big fan of the album, I too eventually paid money for another CD.

So, for those keeping count, we paid 4 times for the same album. So at this stage if I loose my CD or it is destroyed somehow, what am I supposed to do? Pay for the album again? No fucking way!!! Especially now that DRM is the norm on legitimate music, there would be no way for me to put the album on my iPod, on my CD for my car, on my computer at work and on my lap top. Sorry, there is no way I am going to pay more money for this album.

As for my justification for downloading albums that I have not paid for, here it is :

Let me take the example of Sonic Youth. I had heard of this band before but after looking at the price of each CD (at around USD 25 per CD), there was no way I was going to “try” to sample and then decide. They have released more than a dozen CD over the course of 25 odd years. At USD 25 each we are looking at around USD 300 for all their work. No, thank you.

Recently I came across and downloaded all the albums of Sonic Youth with the expectation that I will probably like a few numbers and discard the rest. But their music just blew me away. And, GASP, I did not pay a cent for any of the songs that I have come to love and listen to number of times during any given time frame. So, I stole a large amount of money from the band.

Well….errrr…..No. That’s not the way I think of it….although a jury might think of it as stealing.

As I explained earlier, Sonic Youth would have seen very little of the money I paid for the music. But after listening to the full arsenal of the most amazing music, what they have gained is a fan. A fan who is willing to spend the CAD 100 required for their concerts (the band would see a larger part of the dollar from a concert rather than a sale of their album), a fan who has willing to buy their books, their art and other merchandise that they sell (and yes, I have bought a few items). And I don’t feel so bad about it because this how the bands really make their money.

But the strangle hold that the RIAA and it’s affiliates has over them, they really have no choice in how they would like their music to reach their fans.

Here are some links to go through :

1) The Problem With Music – By Steve Albini
2) Courtney Love Does Math – Courtney Love
3) The Internet Debacle – Janis Ian

So, we have someone supporting Internet radio broadcasters.

After the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) decided to drastically increase the royalties paid to musicians and record labels for streaming songs online, National Public Radio (NPR) will begin fighting the decision on Friday, March 16 by filing a petition for reconsideration with the CRB panel. The suggested new rates would increase to $.0008 per-play for 2006 (retroactively), $.0011 for 2007, $.0014 in 2008, $.0018 in 2009 and $.0019 for 2010, which could put some Internet broadcasters out of business and force public radio stations to quit streaming online.

So what does this mean for the artists creating the music? Absolutely nothing!! It’s a misconception that artists make their money off the sale of their music. This happens to only a few artists. Unfortunately for every artist who actually makes money off sale of his/her albums, there are 10 who see very little money from the sale of their albums. They make their money from concerts and concerts alone.

The music industry is a cut throat business. That’s another misconception!! The creation aspect of the music industry is a cut throat business. The distribution and sale of the music is another issue all together. The sale is controlled by RIAA and RIAA alone. They are the ones who govern over what artist to back, what the sale points should be, how the album released by an artist is to be distributed and, yes, what the cost price should be for the album.

And that’s why piracy exists. If the sale price of a music CD was under $10/-, there would not have been minimal piracy. If the sale points (on-line and on shelf) and sale controls (free of DRM) were deregulated, the competition would have ensured that it’s the artists who get rich. And not the fat cats of music industry.

This issue affects Internet Radio Broadcaster only. Not the people whose music everyone is fighting for. They are an ignored lot.