Digital Revolution Helps Preserve Classic Music

We hear so much about how the digital revolution is hurting the music industry by making everyone’s favorite tunes accessible with the click of a mouse button. The big money behind the music industry has been in the news a lot in recent years as they attempt to track down internet users who are illegally downloading music so they can take legal action against them.

What I have not heard as much about is how the digital revolution is actually contributing to the preservation of music like classic rock, thanks to innovations like the "Guitar Hero" games and ringtones for cell phones.

Today I stumbled  onto an article that was focused on the massive amounts of money the wireless industry makes from things like ringtones, ringback tones and games for phones.

I shared some thoughts recently about the new generation of classic rock fans that were introduced to the music of an older generation by way of video games. I suspect that there may also be a few new classic rock fans that heard their first classic rock track while browsing through ringtones, in search of something "cool."

Getting back to that article I mentioned:  I don’t know the age of the author but what I found kind of interesting was that he loves ringtones, uses them on his own phone, and when he get specific about the ringtones he uses for his own phone, they are all classic rock tracks - Don Henley, ZZ Top and the Beach Boys.

Although the digital revolution may be hurting the music industry in some way — and there does seem to be a lot of debate about that — there’s little doubt that it is also a great benefit to be considered as well.

The way things are starting to look these days, I doubt I have to worry much about my favorite music dying out before I do. Rock on.

Classic Rock Ringtones

Tags: Classic Rock, Digital, Ringback, Ringtones

New Life For The Vinyl LP Record

I’ll be the first to admit that I did not see this coming. It appears that the old vinyl LP record is making a comeback. And it’s not only old albums that are available on vinyl. New albums are being released on the venerable format from artists like Amy Winehouse and The Shins.

I guess I first started to notice this trend on David Letterman’s show. He regularly displays a musical group’s CD on the show when he announces their performances and lately I have noticed that he has been hauling some big LP covers out onto his desk for the camera.

I was one of those people that welcomed the digital music era with open arms. Although some say that they can hear a difference between digital music and the "warmer" sound of the old vinyl records, that is something I have had a hard time making my mind up about.

What drove me crazy about the old vinyl records was that I could never seem to banish the hiss and pops that resulted from dirt, dust, scratches or whatever else it was on the surface of the record that interrupted my listening pleasure no matter what record-cleaning gizmo I tried. The sound of interference-free digital music ushered in a new era of peace and harmony between myself and my music collection.

Apparently there is a perception among some of today’s young music fans that vinyl is cool, and is the new in thing in some circles and that’s fine with me. I think music fans have the right to choose their tunes on whatever format they prefer and those producing the vinyl are keeping up with the times by offering records in different colors and including useful bonuses like certificates for free digital downloads of the music that is on the record that was purchased.

I’m still somewhat on the fence on whether vinyl sounds warmer, richer or better when compared to digital music, but I’d be willing to give it a listen some day. It has been a couple of decades or so since I have heard anything on vinyl, so it would probably be easier for me to pick up on any differences now. I’ll be sure to report back if I get a chance to spin an LP or two on a turntable somewhere.

Tags: CD, Digital, Format, LP, Record, Vinyl

Rush: Old Band Backs New Music Format

You don’t hear a whole lot about Audio DVD’s or Super Audio CD’s any more but that does not mean work is not being done to introduce new audio formats for the distribution of your favorite tunes.

 Rush is one of the bands that is getting behind the idea of a new format that is called Music Video Interactive or MVI for short. It’s kind of ironic to see a band that has been around 30-plus years ending up as a major force behind the introduction of a new format.

MVI uses standard DVD disks for the time being but there are plans to make it available on HD-DVD and Blu Ray disks in the future.

For the moment, MVI releases are available from Rush, Linkin Park and The Flaming Lips.

Pandora.com - A Pretty Cool Idea

I’ve always dreamed of a radio station that I could control myself. Sure, you can play your own CDs or MP3s or whatever, but for me there is just something different about the radio. Maybe it is the anticipation of not knowing what’s coming next, I don’t know.

Anyway, there’s a new service out there on the web called Pandora and it’s a very innovative and cool idea.

It’s an online radio station (more or less) that allows you to control the music that it plays for you. You select an artisit that you like and the system then begins building a list of music that it thinks you will like based on that selection.

If you don’t like a particular artist, you can give it the “thumbs down” and it will stop playing that song and not play anything else from that artist.

I’ve just started playing with it and I began by telling it I like Rush. In addition to the Rush songs it has played, it also played songs from Asia, Evanescence, Led Zeppelin and Crossroads. Needless to say, some of them got the thumbs up and some got the thumbs down.

It appears that Pandora is available as a free, advertising-supported service or a service you pay for which eliminates the advertising.

So far I’m pretty impressed and plan to keep on listening.

[tags]pandora radio, internet radio, web radio station[/tags]

Keeping Up With Neil Peart

There are occasions when the world does, as the saying goes, seem to be a small place. Little glimpses into the personal details of other lives remind you that there are many connections between us that we may not often think about.

It was with some surprise and a few small smiles of recognition that I read the latest news posted by Rush drummer Neil Peart on his personal website. As a Rush fan of many years, I always find interesting the little tidbits of information concerning their recent activities, and if I might say with regard to some of Neil’s motorcycle stories, antics.

Neil has taken to discussing many of his personal experiences and feelings about music and sometimes a lot more, on his website in recent months. It’s no surprise that the primary lyricist for Rush can put a few words down quite effectively and I always enjoy reading what it is that he decides to share with the world.

Apart from a few updates on song-writing activities with his Rush band mates, a new “recording” drum set and the fun he has been having writing music and recording with a fellow by the name of Matt Scannell form Worcester, Massachusetts (I’m originally from Massachusetts myself, a few towns northwest of Boston), Neil mentions a few things of the sort that kind of make you go: “Wow, really?”

The first was his mention of his long-time passion for the fragrance of the lilac flower. I too, since childhood, have been particularly fond of that aroma that makes itself available for a few short weeks in late May or early June in this part of Southern New Hampshire.

I believe that my fondness for the lilac flower began in fourth grade when I had a hopeless crush on a girl in my class who wore perfume (or something) that reminded me of that very fragrance. Each year in May, I, as Neil once famously penned “commit my yearly crime,” (yes I know Neil actually wrote “weekly crime” and to him, I extend my apologies) and pull my pick-up truck (its height is better suited for this caper than the car) up to a stand of blossoming lilacs on some local road and break off a small branch with a cluster of flowers.

The lilacs occupy a vase in a prominent spot on the kitchen counter for a few days so that I may stick my nose into them occasionally as I pass by and be transformed again back to my fourth grade classroom. They never last long enough, either on the counter or in the ground and are gone too soon, leaving me without that particular pleasure for another year.

In another passage, Neil mentions that he is not much of a sports fan. Something else the rhythmic Canadian and I have in common and something that makes me feel a little more alienated from the public-at-large each year. Locally, it is a rarity for the weatherman on TV to complete a forecast without at least a brief mention of the conditions that are expected for the Red Sox game. It might just be me, but it seems as if people are more sports-crazed now than ever.

Finally the fact that I am an aging drummer, although I hesitate to use that word in association with my abilities in an article that features so prominently the legendary Neil Peart. Still, after almost 20 years since last sitting down behind a set of drums, I one day hope to make some room for a kit of my own to play purely for the enjoyment of it.

Neil’s writings are well worth keeping abreast of for any Rush fan, and it’s amazing to me how these little glimpses into his life reveal a few similarities to my own. Thanks, Neil and please, keep on writing.

[tags]neil peart, rush, matt scannell[/tags]

Newly Refurbished, The Cars Ride Again

I did not expect to hear that Boston Area 80’s rock group The Cars was back together again, but apparently that is just what has happened. There are, however, only two original members in the new line-up this time around with guitar man Elliot Easton and Greg Hawkes playing keyboards.

Making up the rest of the band is well-known rocker Todd Rundgren, Kasim Sulton on bass and drummer Prairie Prince who was with the Tubes.

It’s hard to imagine The Cars without their original and memorable front man, Ric Ocasek, but according to at least one review of their recent performance in California, the overhauled version of the band sounded pretty good.

Back in their heyday, the band was on the radio a lot in the Boston area where I grew up and had a view videos to their credit on MTV as well, if I recall correctly.

While I never considered myself a big fan of The Cars, I have always liked just about all of their stuff and still listen to it from time to time when the mood strikes me.

It will be interesting to see how far the new group can take the band in the future.

Jacksonville Rocks

Wow, I did not expect to hear that a classic rock station would be the most popular station in any market, let alone anywhere in Florida, but apparently, that is indeed the case in Jacksonville.

Classic rock station “Rock 105″ was the was the leader of the Jacksonville market last year.

I’ve been to Jacksonville only a few times on the way to other locations in the Sunshine State and spent as much time as it took myself and my family to have a bite to eat in what had to be the worst Denny’s restaurant in the country (which also happened to have the bitchiest waitress I had ever encountered).

Anyway, beyond the dreadful Denny’s, Jacksonville seemed like a pretty cool place. And now I find out it is actually even a cooler place than I thought.

You Wanna Hear The Next Rush? Take A Little Mindwalk

So I’m cleaning up a little bit around my kitchen this morning and I have the TV going in the other room tuned to the local Fox channel since I want to hear when the weather report comes on.

They are talking about a band that will be performing as part of the morning news show that is on and they mention that the members of this particular band are 13, 14 and 11 years old.

“Oh great, this ought to be really great stuff,” I’m thinking sarcastically to myself and figuring they are rappers or something.

I then hear the host ask them what kind of music they play. I cannot hear the response in the other room since the kid they are talking to sounds a bit soft-spoken. I then hear the host say something like, “Straight-up rock and roll” and then asks what artists have influenced them.

This time I just make out what the kid says, and although I don’t know who the first band was that he mentioned and can no longer remember the name, the second and third influences I hear the kid mention are Kansas and Rush. Now they’ve got my attention.

I go in and see these young dudes getting ready to play. There’s the 11-year-old drummer with his double-bass drum Neil Peart kit, the bass player with some keyboards at his disposal (how Geddy Lee!) and the guitarist with what I thought was a Fender of some type but turned out to be a Carvin.

They start playing one of their originals that sounds to me like it has a lot of Rush influence, but the problem is that is sounds like crap. I don’t mean the kids’ performance, which actually sounds pretty damn good – really great considering how old these guys are!

The problem is the sound set-up in the TV studio, which obviously was not designed to provide quality sound for visiting rock and roll bands. Even so, I can tell these young guys have some serious talent in their possession.

The band is called “Mindwalk” and they are based somewhere in Massachusetts. The show’s host comes back after the performance and mentions that these guys have done some recording in a studio in Groton, Mass., which is right next to the town I lived in before moving here to New Hampshire.

The host also mentions that their website is www.mindwalkband.com and of course, I have to take a peek and download some of the MP3 files they have.

Listening to the downloaded MP3’s really tells the story since they’re nice, clean studio recordings. Of the five song snippets available for download, I was most impressed with their rendition of Rush’s YYZ and U.K.’s Presto, simply due to the fact that those are two songs I am familiar with, and these kids pull them off fabulously.

These kids are amazing. I don’t know how they found each other, but it’s a good thing that they did. They have a bright future ahead of them and a damn fine supply of accomplishment already behind them.

I’ve seen some bold claims from other bands about their being the “next Rush,” or whatever, but amazingly enough, these young guys called “Mindwalk” already may be the next Rush. It’s a little scary to think about just how good they will be in 10 years. These kids are the future of “real” rock music.

More Smart Kids

Yet another article turns attention on the growing number of today’s young people who are discovering and embracing classic rock as their musical preferance.

Like most of the other articles I have come across on this subject, there is some speculation that these kids are choosing classic rock due to the lack of good music being made these days, and I think that is a big part of it.

Another reason is real simple and that is because so much of the classic rock that refuses to die is just damn good music, and that’s reason enough to keep on listening to it.

New Album From Ray Davies

As this article points out, how long has it been since the Kinks have been played regularly on classic rock radio, with the exception of Lola or You Really Got Me?

I always thought the Kinks were a pretty cool band, and that aforementioned hit, Lola has to be one of their coolest songs.

Kinks fans may be happy to hear that Ray Davies is releasing a brand-new album entitled Other People’s Lives.

Getting this album completed was something of an ordeal for Davies who was working on it in the midst of a divorce and was battling with his former record company.

Worse yet, he ended up fighting for his life due to serious complications that arose as a result of a gunshot wound to his leg which he suffered at the hand of some low-life mugger while he was in New Orleans mixing the album.

I rather hope he enjoys some great success with this new album after all he’s been through to get it out the door.