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11-26-10 Footnotes
Show 261: Annual Turkey Shoot, Reviews of Bruce Springsteen & Sharon Van Etten
Listen to the MP3 Stream of this show: (link)
Download the Podcast: (Download the MP3)
1 The digital music site eMusic has angered some listeners and labels in recent weeks. They moved from subscriptions to a tiered pricing model similar to iTunes that will include higher priced major label songs. After making this announcement three of the biggest indie labels in the business decided to take their music elsewhere. Domino Records, Merge Records and the Beggars Group, which includes Matador, XL, Rough Trade and 4AD, have not elaborated on their decision to leave, but Jim and Greg suspect it’s because of this new deal with major labels. In their statement, eMusic explained that this change was necessary for their long-term sustainability.
2 What’s the best music town in the country? Some would say Chicago. Some would say Seattle. But according to Songkick.com, it’s Austin, TX. Austin has always touted itself as the live music capital of the world, and now they’ve got this to back it up. In their survey of live shows per capita, Songkick also put Madison, New Orleans, Las Vegas and Denver in their top 5. Some surprising winners, especially when you scan down to find that New York and L.A. didn’t even make the cut. And it’s interesting to note that these cities had lower average ticket prices than bigger markets.
3 It’s time for the annual Sound Opinions Thanksgiving Turkey Shoot. It’s the perfect way to say thanks…thanks that we never have to listen to the year’s biggest musical turkeys again. There are plenty of lousy records released each year, but calling some of those out would be like shooting fish in a barrel. Since we’re shooting turkeys here, Jim and Greg only pick out albums that they expected to be much better. Here are this year’s biggest disappointments:
Jim
Tom Petty, Mojo
Sleigh Bells, Treats
Christina Aguilera, Bionic
Greg
Kings of Leon, Come Around Sundown
Bettye LaVette, Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook
Peter Gabriel, Scratch My Back
3b Jim and Greg next hand the rifles over to some of our listeners. They take down these turkeys:
Kyle from Minneapolis, MN: Joanna Newsome, Have One On Me
Lynn from Alpharetta, GA: Katy Perry, Teenage Dream
Corey from Adel, IA: Johnny Cash, American VI: Ain’t No Grave
4 Bruce Springsteen fans are always hungry for more of The Boss. And they get it with the release of a new box set, The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story. But what about folks who don’t belong to the “Cult of Springsteen”? Greg loved hearing the reissue of that 1978 album. The previously unheard recordings illustrate Springsteen’s sound right after his hit Born to Run. It’s a mix of the romanticism of that record and the leaner, meaner rock of Darkness. Greg gives it a Buy It rating. Sound Opinions listeners know Jim is no Bruce-lover. But he counts Darkness as one of the better albums. And, going back to these unreleased tracks, it’s even clearer what an anomaly it was. The songs on The Promise reissue are full of the Born to Run era, over-the-top schmaltz. So Jim says Trash It
5 The final review of the week is of Epic, the 2nd album by singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten. Jim and Greg both saw Van Etten perform at this past year’s Pitchfork Music Festival. While Jim was unimpressed, Greg highly anticipated this new album. And, it doesn’t disappoint. The first record was largely about a troubled relationship. On this one, Van Etten is much stronger and more confident, even in her orchestrations. Despite Jim’s feelings about the Pitchfork show, he also loves this album – all 7 songs of it. Very few women in indie rock have pipes like this singer. Epic gets a double Buy It.
Songs Featured in Show #261
Clinic, “Walking With Thee” Walking With Thee, Domino, 2002
Steve Earle, “Guitar Town” Guitar Town, MCA, 1986
Ohio Players, “Jive Turkey” Skin Tight, Mercury, 1974
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “Jefferson Jericho Blues” Mojo, Reprise, 2010
Kings of Leon, “Molly’s Chambers” Youth and Young Manhood, RCA, 2003
Kings of Leon, “Birthday” Come Around Sundown, RCA, 2010
Sleigh Bells, “Riot Rhythm” Treats, Mom + Pop/N.E.E.T., 2010
The Soft Boys, “Cold Turkey” A Can of Bees, Two Crabs Universal, 1979
XTC, “The Disappointed” Nonsuch, Virgin, 1992
Joanna Newsom, “’81” Have One On Me, Drag City, 2010
Katy Perry “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” Teenage Dream, Capitol, 2010
Johnny Cash, “Ain’t No Grave” American VI: Ain’t No Grave, American/Lost Highway, 2010
Johnny Cash, “Hurt” American IV: The Man Comes Around, American/Universal, 2002
Bettye Lavette, “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” Interpretations, Anti-, 2010
Christina Aguilera, “Not Myself Tonight” Bionic, RCA, 2010
Peter Gabriel, “Heroes” Scratch My Back, Real World/Virgin, 2010
Bob Dylan, “Turkey Chase” Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, Columbia, 1973
Bruce Springsteen, “Because the Night” The Promise, Columbia, 2010
Bruce Springsteen, “Outside Looking In” The Promise, Columbia, 2010
Sharon Van Etten, “Save Yourself” Epic, Ba Da Bing!, 2010
Sharon Van Etten, “Don’t Do It” Epic, Ba Da Bing!, 2010
Gorillaz, “On Melancholy Hill (Instrumental)” Plastic Beach, Parlophone, 2010
Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz, “The Telephone Song” Getz Au Go Go, Verve, 1964
The Rolling Stones, “Tumbling Dice” Exile on Main St., Rolling Stones/Atlantic, 1972
Brian Eno, “Paleosonic” Small Craft on a Milk Sea, Warp, 2010
Brian Eno and John Cale, “Been There Done That” Wrong Way Up, All Saints Records, 1990 |
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