Label to be Labeled

Why does Sean Kingston have his own record label? Ok, I understand that any joe-shmoe can start a record label as long as they are willing to put up the funds but I have a sinking feeling (and correct me if I'm wrong) is that this is a supported and funded subsidy of Sony Music. Now this is not a complaint specifically about Sean Kingston rather it's my disgust with the whole industry. These days every artist has their own "record label". What gives these kids the right to manage and control the success/failures of other people. They are not their maker nor their musical mentor nor their business consultants. It makes sense to give Led Zepplin and Sonic Youth their own boutique labels. BUT those are boutique labels, allocating a specific team to manage their clients file personally. It makes sense that Bad Boy Records is run by P. Diddy/Diddy/Puff Daddy. And it makes sense that roc-a-fella and Def Jam are controlled by Jay-Z. But what does not makes sense to me is these subpar musicians that have one seminal record under their belt being given potentially millions of dollars in advertising expenses and recording expenses. WHY!?!??!?!?!?!??!?!?
Realistically, if you step back, it isn't as complicated and ridiculous as it seems. In name, these "record labels" are "artist" owned. But really these are not real record labels, they're still controlled by the parent company directly. The big companies just want to inflate their artists both in ego and in status. Giving a "record label" to their artist does two things. One, gives the artist a ridiculous amount of confidence. Two, gives the public a sense of power from the artist. When it comes down to the paper work, these artist have 1% influence. They are not important at all. Why do artists allow this to happen to themselves? because they are puppets. Puppets to the higher power that is their master over their souls.

Old Age - Aretha Franklin

This weekend I had the great honour of seeing Aretha Franklin perform live
at the Toronto Jazz Festival. It would foolish to expect a 20 year old
Aretha Franklin to show up and dazzle the crowd. But it didn't matter to
the crowd, they loved every moment of it.
No, Aretha Franklin is no longer the greatest singer in the world, but she
still is the Queen of Soul. She might not hit the notes, she might not have
the stamina to carry the show. But this is where professional musicians and
amateurs and seperated. 3 songs in, I could see that time has caught up to
Aretha and she was tired to the bone. But to the average listener you
wouldn't be able to tell the difference. She let the band carry the song
and she hit certain lines and notes here and there, while inbetween getting
her strength back. And not once did she let the pain show, not once did she
give up. A lesser musician would have been done right then and there.
Either giving up and not knowing what to do. No, this is the strength that
is Aretha Franklin today. She can no longer live off her voice or her body
anymore. What she now lives on is her name and what's inside of her. People
come to see her because they still love the happiness that Aretha Franklin
brought to their lives. But why they still are happy at the shows is not
because she can sing but because of the charisma that she still has. You
can't manufacture that. She is still a sassy old gal and the fans love it.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Find out what it means to me
I think we all found it.

Seeing her on stage at the age it makes me wonder what i'll be doing if I
ever get old. I don't expect to playing my bass my whole life, nor to I
expect to be on stage when I get old. What I do expect is to continue to
make music on a piano. In terms of musical tastes, I'm still going to
listen to Master of Puppets until I die but i don't expect to be
headbanging. It's strange, although my main instrument is the bass I still
consider myself a pianist rather than a bassist.

Album Review: Sounds of a Playground Fading - In Flames

In Flames is back, more focused and sounding tighter than ever before. When things are good, things are good. However, when things are bad, they are boring. This review is a going to be a little different. I'm writing this as I listen to this album track by track. Currently Where the Dead Ships Dwell just ended and we're now off to The Attic. If I back track a little, the two opening tracks are killers. No this is not the old In Flames of Whoricle but rather a new chapter in this very talented band's career. There are two major and sharp contrast that set this new album apart from In Flames of the past. One, the use of electronics/ambiance is a lot more prevalent. This is a natural conclusion one should come to when listening to the 2 previous albums, Come Clarity and A Sense of Purpose. Each successive album has relied more and more on these backdrops to carry the heavy guitars and drums. The second major point is Anders... holy crap where the heck have you been?!?!? He sounds absolutely incredible. Just listening to The Attic his sense of melody and pitch is bounds ahead of the days of A Sense of Purpose. Now Darker Times is on and here is another evolution in his voice. His death growls are no longer pitchy, they're deep and dark. He no longer sings from the throat of the devil, it comes from the belly of the devil. If there is only one merit in this album, it has to be Anders. Now back to the point of when it's bad, it's boring. After the second track, Deliver Us, we sorta fall off the train a little and lose the pulse. It's not bad, but when it comes to talented bands, hardly anything they make sounds bad. The problem they face is keeping interest in the audience. Here and there, there are little sparks of inspiration, such as the very end of All For Me, but not enough to continue the fire. But man have these guitars tightened up. With the departure of Jesper, it was not known how Bjorn would pick up the slack but luckily Niclas has come back and they have really picked up the slack. Man, without Jesper, you would have expected the guitars to suffer, but no way, these guitars soar. Ropes and Enter Tragedy are good examples. However, it still remain the same old recycled Melodic Death Metal we expect from In Flames. Now we're at the Jester's Door... and you know what. Anders really reminds me of Jon Davis now. Which is a good thing; deep, growly; evil vocals is definitely what this band needs. Ok, this may be unconventional but I think so far the best track is Jester's Door. It's so far from Melodic Death Metal but it maybe their best. There isn't even guitars in it. Ok, now A New Dawn which starts off very similar to Crawling Through Knives. OMG, ANDERS HE GREW BALLS!!!! Those are DEEP death growls. And thank god his whiny clean vocals from the Come Clarity days are gone. Those were annoying and very metalcore/punkish.

So, at this point I'm half way through A New Dawn and have yet to listen to Liberation. But I think I get the general idea of this album. It's a nice album. It's a very nice album. It's not a hard shift away from the core In Flames sound, but it is far enough to sometimes ask whether this is even melodeath anymore.... wow, A New Dawn has just taken the award for best song from Jester's Door. They really did save the best for last.

The In Flames of the past are gone and it's a good thing. I'm sorry I've listened to Colony and Clayman already. Those albums have been written, recorded, and shared with the world. It's time to move on. In Flames does not need to write another hashed out Lunar Strain.

Now, I'm on Liberation. and OMG
this album is beautiful. Regardless of where In Flames goes on from this point it doesn't matter. This album is an evolution, a personal diary of the journey of this band. From the opening track, Sounds of a Playground Fading, the title should be self-explanatory. It is a fitting title for this album. This album is a statement of the band, that the sounds of their childhood, of their youth are slowly fading away. In Flames are not the band they were when they started in 1993. They are a new band. From the good times to the Darker Times. They come out of this by climbing the Ropes. Through their journeys life happens and there Enter Tragedy. There is A New Dawn the band must face and at the end there is Liberation.

I can tell you right now, that those "true" fans of In Flames will bitch and complain about this album, but hell they've been complaining since Reroute to Remain. This is what In Flames is. This album is a perfect journal of the life of this band and their journey.

Yes, there are weak spots in this album. But as a whole this album couldn't be better. It's a beautiful time capsule of the band, a great piece of art.

To a metalhead the ending of this album may signal the demise of In Flames as we know them. But if this is the direction that their hearts take them, then there is no better way to convey this new direction to the fans like this album.

Music vs. Entertainment

Today will just be a short one to kill some time for me.
The argument of what music/art is and what is entertainment.
Are they the same or are they completely different elements.

At the end of the day, who really cares.
Art is there to be enjoyed therefore it is entertainment.
Entertainment people can be an art form so it also art.
I don't sit around listening to the music on billboard 100 but at the same time I don't mind that it exists (that might be a lie, but whatever).
All those pop stars/boy bands/girl bands/etc, have their place in society.
Is it crap? sure it is.
But at the end of the day, it's not hurting anyone (maybe the performer themselves, but that's a different argument).
Noel puts it best, "It's better than stacking shelves at Tesco, just don't call it music."

reading this back
i actually don't know if I believe this myself
Case in point, this post is completely useless
except I do believe in Noel's quote

Sounds of a Playground Fading

The album has been released or will be released soon in a country near you. The boys of In Flames are back. However, without any founding members. At this point, not sure what it comes down to. When I look at Napalm Death they shouldn't be calling themselves Napalm Death.

1. no original members
2. they're a death metal band now, not a grindcore band

to me it just seems ridiculous for Napalm Death to continue as Napalm Death, they should just change their name. Also another band that comes to mind is Sepultura. I'm sorta on the fence with this one. Yes no original members but they still are Brazillian thrash metal (regardless if it doesn't sound Cavalera-ly enough). And no, making crap music is not a reason for changing names. Their U2 cover is awesome btw. For me I'm not sure where I stand on Sepultura continuing as Sepultura. also I enjoyed A-lex. It was ambitious. A fail but artistically very interesting. So now back to In Flames. I don't think In Flames should change their name, considering Anders is still in the band. The headline might read "no founding memebers left" but really In Flames has been Andres at the forefront for the longest time. But it still is an interesting talking point for when a band should continue under the same banner or when it's time to move-on.

I'll be doing a review of Sounds of a Playground Fading shortly, once I take a listen

What I Would Give...

just to float through life, note to note, beat to beat.

Again, 2nd Time This Month.... WHAT?!??!?!?!

Seriously, the world of pop culture is so weird sometimes. Ozzy is set to be a voiceover actor for a kid's show. That in itself isn't too weird. He's playing an Earth Troll.... ok? but for some reason this earth troll lives in the sea........ WHAT?!?!!?!??!

Les Paul

There's a lot to thank Les Paul for.
Just ponder for a moment where we would be without his influence and innovations.

Saturday 4th

• The 22nd anniversary of military crackdown on Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests will be remembered by a candlelight vigil in Hong Kong. - The Economist

WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

"To die hating them, that was freedom." - Nineteen Eighty-Four

Why the hell was Bono hitchhiking????

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/oilers-forward-brule-picks-up-unlikely-hitchhiker---u2s-bono/article2044667/

this is the most confounding mysteries of rock 'n roll history ever.

Born This Way? Psshh, the original song was "born" this way also

So today Born this Way hit some record.... *goes to look it up....oh it's number #1... i'm assuming billboard. Regardless, breaking 1 million is sales in one week is actually impressive. How much of that is profit? Probably a lot less then you think. From what I've been seeing, lots of $$$ have been going into marketing. Regardless of that 1 million these days is still impressive.

Now, onto the real discussion because numbers are a tad boring. Everyone these days goes on about the liberating nature of the song Born this Way blah blah blah. Now there's nothing wrong with advocating gay rights (actually it should be encouraged) but if you think that Lady Gaga is some revolutionary with real intentions you are a fool to think is such a way. When it comes down to it, Lady Gaga is no Dylan, she is no RATM. Not in the musical or genius sense. In the sense that they live what they preach. Lady Gaga is no real advocate for gay and lesbian rights. She uses these avenues and audience base to sell her product. Since Elton did Disney, since Bowie is pretty much retired, and since the death of Freddie, the market for gays and lesbians has a large void on large stage. The only logical thing for big record companies to ask is how to fill that hole. This is where Lady Gaga steps in. What I'm trying to get at is, Lady Gaga advocates for human rights because it makes money not because it's her nature. She'll do whatever that makes her money. If the market needed a white, female to do NWA style gangsta rap then Lady Gaga would be doing that. Case in point, since previous this most is just speculation.

VS

If we assume all music and lyrics for Lady Gaga are not written by her, then we know that she isn't a true role model. That's obvious.
We are defintely not making the assumption that she writes the instrumental parts because she isn't that talented.

So let's assume Lady Gaga writes her own lyrics, which I have a hard time believing. Just because she's acredited with lyrics doesn't mean she writes them, it's just how big your pocket books are... as my drummer would say. So Lady Gaga writes these lyrics for gay and lesbian rights she really believes in. Ok, so why in the world would you put those lyrics to a backdrop that isn't even yours. I've never heard or met a musician who writes lyrics close to their heart and allows some flunky to take it and colour it in. It's your heart and soul, no one else should touch it. Which leads me to believe that these lyrics are either not genuine to her soul, or some record company told her to write on this subject matter (which still is not genuine).

Go be a Courtney Love (I can't believe I just said that). But to Love's credit she's honest about her short comings (which are a lot). She's honest about not being a true solo artist. That she always writes her music with a partner or a group. Which at the end of the day you can't discredit her for it. No one discredits Lars and James of being hacks because they can't write music without each other. No one discredits Mick and Keith, Perry and Tyler, etc etc. But the difference is, these artists write with other artists. Not the record hacks that Lady Gaga writes with. It would be better to write music with Billy Corgan, even though he is a complete ass, than to write with a company. Lady Gaga is no artists, nor does she have any interest in being in an artist, only if being an artist is a means to end for money.