December 2008

Tom Whalen Poop 05

Buy new or used through Amazon The Hold Steady – Separation Sunday (French Kiss) When I was in my early teens and first “discovering” rock n’ roll and the unique salvation it represented, all of my favorite songs and albums bled into one singular experience, a looping hits compilation of sensation and memory that was so pure, romantic and uninhibited, and one that contrasts so distinctly with the detached, exhaustingly analytical way I approach most music these days, that I have a hard time even remotely identifying with it. Years before I bogged myself down with trivia, music was a…


What "long tail"?? Most music didn’t sell a single copy in 2008

According to a study by the UK royalties agency most music didn't sell a single copy in 2008. But I’d say figures are more likely to be accurate for these items, the 13 million tracks offered for sale on the internet, rather than the notoriously prone to under-reporting LP/CD sales. So much for the long tail. (guardian.co.uk)




Let the guessing games begin…

See if you can figure what percentage of these: NPR Listeners Pick The Year’s Best Music : NPR Music CDs will be on our own PoOPlist 2008 (my bet is 75 to 80%). Depressing? Affirming? Discuss…



Techdirt: Why A Music Tax Is A Bad Idea

Techdirt: Why A Music Tax Is A Bad Idea Just as innovative businesses and musicians are working out how to make this digital music thing work, Warner Brothers wants to reward the failed business model…