I Give “Crazy Heart” a B/B+
Posted: February 28, 2010 Filed under: Cinema | Tags: Crazy Heart Leave a comment »That movie was definitely worth the $10.75. I like how MPomy puts it in his comments on the film: “This is a love letter to American music; singing, songwriting and guitar playing.” And the desert scenery was a perfect setting. After the flick, we both felt a jones for the Southwest.
Tickets: AvA, Crazy Heart
Posted: February 27, 2010 Filed under: Cinema, Concerts | Tags: 930 Club, Angels & Airwaves 2 Comments »Tickets went on sale today for the May 6 Angels & Airwaves show at the 930 Club, and I bought one. In these situations, I normally buy two tickets, on the thinking that I’ll find someone who’ll be interested in attending the gig with me. For Angels, though, I had trouble imagining any immediate pals who’d be especially into it.
Anyway, I’m looking forward to the show. I bet the live act is polished. One thing I’m not sure of is the crowd. What will the median age be? I’m guessing 30. My sense is that Blink’s popularity peaked in at the turn of the century, and I bet the median age of their fan base back then was about 20.
I also got a movie ticket today: Crazy Heart. I can’t remember the last time I went to the movies.
$10 Million for #Phish in 2009
Posted: February 26, 2010 Filed under: Artists | Tags: money, phish 1 Comment »Phish made $10 million in 2009, according to Billboard’s recent “Money Makers” list. On the ranking, which Billboard says is “is based on the artist’s share of revenue as opposed to total dollars generated,” Phish placed 37th, ahead of Bob Dylan and behind Andrea Bocelli.
The methodology looks decent to me. They tally up revenue from tour, record sales, streaming, royalties, and so on. Then they estimate the artist’s cut. No estimates on merchandise, which is sort of weird.
For live shows, they assume artists will net 34 percent of total box office. Sounds fair enough, maybe even conservative, although what the heck do I know. Google’s net profits over the past 12 months, come to 27 percent of revenue.
How does Billboard‘s number line up with other estimates of Phish financials? Pollstar recently gave the band a $37 million tour gross. Under Billboard‘s formula, that looks high. If you assume that every penny of Billboard‘s revenue number for Phish came from touring, that would imply a $29 million gross.
Bottom line, assuming Billboard is close to reality, the guys had a pretty good 2009. And that’s not counting t-shirts. I bought three at the December 5 gig in Charlottesville.
The Universe and a Beer
Posted: February 25, 2010 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Carl Sagan Leave a comment »DSL is presently on the fritz, so I’m now turning to this evening’s other entertainment: ‘Cosmos’ and a cold one.
I Owned PiL on Vinyl
Posted: February 24, 2010 Filed under: Listening | Tags: Public Image Ltd. Leave a comment »The only thing I’ve got this evening is that I learned, via Pitchfork, that Public Image Ltd. is touring. They’re even playing a date at 930 in May.
I remember buying one of their records in the 1980s, back when the band had a video on MTV for “Rise.” I think the song holds up.
Trey and Genesis
Posted: February 23, 2010 Filed under: Artists | Tags: Genesis, Trey Anastasio 2 Comments »I wonder what’s up with this:
Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio is inducting rock group Genesis into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next month.
Is Trey a Genesis fan? I guess we’ll find out. Maybe he was the one who put the “Lamb” on the Festival 8 countdown list.
Musical Microblogging: 022210
Posted: February 22, 2010 Filed under: Recording | Tags: musical microblogging 1 Comment »This is a riff that I wrote a few years back. I think I jammed it with RPG Productions as part of a longer song, although I can’t seem to find that recording. Anyway, I plan to trick this one out a bit.
Multiverse
Posted: February 21, 2010 Filed under: Videos | Tags: Multiverse, National Gallery of Art Leave a comment »We took a walk today through “Multiverse,” a work at the National Gallery of Art that features 41,000 computer-programmed LED (light-emitting diode) nodes.
If it Doesn’t Feel Real, the Game Falls Apart
Posted: February 20, 2010 Filed under: Deep | Tags: deep thoughts, Kids Leave a comment »Via @nybooks, a snippet from the March 11 New York Review of Books:
Gopnik speculates that early childhood prepares us for both the appreciation and creation of art: imaginary play among children hones the ability to entertain counterfactuals—the alternative worlds out of which art, and invention of any sort, are primarily made. It requires discipline to stay in the imaginary role one has assumed, to project psychologically what it means to be a mother, a firefighter, a soldier, a prisoner. If it doesn’t feel real, the game falls apart. Imaginary play is a rehearsal for understanding the minds and intentions of others, a basic survival skill.
The Simple Stuff
Posted: February 19, 2010 Filed under: Deep | Tags: deep thoughts Leave a comment »With the blog hopper all but empty this evening, I went and dug up something out my email archive. This was advice on bass playing that a friend gave me a few years ago, around the time I bought the Spector. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind me sharing.
If you ever want some intense bassline learnin’, go get some of the old Motown stuff that had James Jamerson on it (which is just about everything). Or Earth Wind and Fire. Some of the songs sound kinda [lame] by today’s standards, but the bass lines are immortal. It’s like a whole ‘nother song back there! Oh, and of course, listen to John Entwistle. That guy was playing light years ahead of everybody and still kept it simple (except on “My Generation” – that’s serious voodoo). And then round it out with some good old fashioned AC/DC to bring it on back home. The older I get, the more I love the simple stuff.
