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January 4, 2007
Shorties
AfterEllen interviews singer-songwriter Sarah Dougher.
AE: What do you think of the music industry right now as far as treating women?
SD: I don’t see it as a very dynamic industry. People that don’t have access to underground media or record stores are getting less and less access to alternatives to mainstream music, which is sad to me. And both men and women [musicians] are being shafted as a result. I don’t know that anything has really changed since the GoGo’s.
Singer-songwriter Stephen Malkmus talks to the Arizona Star.
He's inspired by the harmonies on some Christian-rock albums. But "not the lyrics," he says.
Malkmus says he sometimes actively hunts down "obscure Jesus music" on eBay and elsewhere.
USA Today reviews six online music services for discovering new music.
John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats talks songwriting with the Sydney Morning Herald.
"I lose interest in a song if I don't do something with it," Darnielle says. "What I'm thinking of now is sort of fresh and alive for me. It's like if I'm cooking, I'd rather use fresh ingredients."
Empty Mirror Books offers a character key to the characters un Jack Kerouac's writing.
The Herald Sun interviews singer-songwriter Lily Allen,
How are things going in the US?
Not sure. My album is out there January 30. I'm going back to do some promo, which should be really exciting . . . not. It's weird there, you start on one side and work your way over.
Does being British help?
I don't know. I can't speculate because I haven't released the album. I have a core group of fans who know me from MySpace (website), I don't know about the general American public.
Pulse of the Twin Cities talks to a local drummer and bass player to find out more about the rhythm section of bands, and the individuals who make them up.
The Stranger solicits opinions on My Morning Jacket and Band of Horses.
The radio jockey loves Band of Horses. He acknowledges the similarities and admits that there are many people who think Bridwell's vocals are too much like James's. But he also says, "My Morning Jacket are Southern rock. Along with Kings of Leon, they are carrying the torch handed to them by Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers. Band of Horses are more folk-tinged, a freak folk. All that matters is if it's good."
The CBC examines the resurgence of vinyl albums.
"Indie bands around Edmonton used to put out records almost like vanity pressings," Liukko said. "Well, that's starting to get a lot harder to do, because the pressing plants are now pressing tonnes and tonnes of major-label vinyl again, which wasn't happening throughout the 90s."
Dose wonders if 2006 was "the year Canadian indie music died."
Atlanta's Creative Loafing lists its 2007 Fiction Contest winners, complete with short stories.
My Morning Jacket's Jim James talks to the Los Angeles Times about the Sony rootkit debacle.
"They learned their lesson the hard way," James said. "They told us that it wouldn't mess with your computer. We [protested] when they tried to put that stuff on there, but we felt helpless. Labels should want to sell an artist, not make people scared because a record will screw up their computer." The band's management burned clean copies of the album to mail to anyone who complained. But the damage to "Z" was done. "Z" sold 186,000 copies, but the band had to earn back the respect of its fans.
Kottke posts his favorite links of 2006.
CMJ interviews the assistant director of Asthmatic Kitty Records, Michael Kaufmann.
THERE’S A WIDE VARIETY OF MUSIC COMING FROM ASTHMATIC KITTY, SO THE LABEL DOESN’T REALLY HAVE A PARTICULAR “SOUND.” HAVE YOU SIGNED ANYONE BASED ON A DEMO YOU RECEIVED?
One demo has lead to a signing, at this point. We got a demo from the drummer of the Blue Öyster Cult. This wasn’t the signing.
see also:
Largehearted Boy's favorite albums of 2006
2006 Year-end Music List Compilation
this week's CD & DVD releases
