I wrote a little about this show here: link

- Jonathan

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Rawley's band 728B: link

- Jonathan

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Back when we were the vanguard of the nascent Lipscomb grunge scene, I got the idea for a joke.  After the first song of a performance, a band is greeted by a tepid response.  Instead of asking for louder vocals or whatever, the band asks the sound man: "Can I get a little applause in the monitors?"  Actually, I think my rocking days were over by the time I got that inspiration, but maybe Matt put that line to use when I gave it to him.

Anyway, today's article titled "On Stump, Low-Key Thompson Stirs Few Sparks" by Adam Nagourney in the NY Times jogged my memory about that joke:

Twenty-four minutes after he began speaking in a small restaurant the other day, Fred D. Thompson brought his remarks to a close with a nod of his head and an expression of thanks to Iowans for allowing him to “give my thoughts about some things.”

Then he stood face to face with a silent audience.

“Can I have a round of applause?” Mr. Thompson said, drawing a rustle of clapping and some laughter.

“Well, I had to drag that out of you,” he said.

- Jonathan

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While riding the stationary bike yesterday I watched the most interesting documentary that I've seen in a while. It was part of PBS' Independent Lens series titled "HIP-HOP: Beyond Beats and Rhymes." The filmmaker Byron Hurt examines the issues of violence, misogyny, and homophobia in hip-hop and rap music. The musicians themselves tended to make the excuse that they were only responding to market demands, giving the people what they want...or at least giving the record executives what they will pay for. Its sort of a chicken or egg question since we know that marketing tends to shape public demand as much as public demand drives what content companies market.

- Jonathan

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Personally, I think this is great (video via Mark Elrod)...Harding U. students shaking their booties on stage with Robert Randolph & The Family Band, in violation of the school's ban on dancing. It's ridiculous to have concerts like this (funk/soul) on campus but then expect no one to dance. Reminds me of when James Lashlee and I danced on stage with Sonic Youth at the Cannery in Nashville in 1990. Lipscomb new nothing about it. It was our first mosh pit experience too. Also David Yow, lead singer for the opening band The Jesus Lizard, dropped trow on stage as was his custom.

- Jonathan

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Via Techcrunch, this looks interesting...Amie Street:

Amie Street, which launched in July, has a brilliant DRM-free music sales model. Bands upload music, which can then be downloaded for free by users. As songs become popular, the site starts to charge for it. They start at $0.01 and go up to $0.99. Users looking for popular new stuff go right to the more expensive songs.

- Jonathan

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Via TechCrunch, this looks interesting: Streampad. From the description on TechCrunch:

...a Web-based media player that gives users access to their digital music library from any computer. Similar to Songbird, it streams your personal library from the Internet but it runs completely inside any browser.

Streampad is a free service. Users download a Java desktop application that stores the metadata from all MP3 and AC3 files (protected and unprotected) it finds on your computer, including those that come from iTunes. Then, when that same user logs into Streampad from another computer, they can listen to music streamed directly from their home computer.

- Jonathan

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I (Lisa) have really enjoyed Jack Johnson's music this year. Today I ran across the video to my favorite song "Taylor" ......definitely not what I expected . Ben Stiller is featured and really cracked me up. The next time I crank the song up in my minivan it won't be the same. Here's the video :

- Lisa

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From an article of the same title by Ricardo Baca in the Denver Post:

Much of Christian music's integration into the pop culture mainstream comes via the rockers who happen to be Christian - as opposed to the Christian rockers who wear their faiths on their sleeves and crosses around their necks. Each group of musicians is writing about what makes them tick, but one crafts its art with more subtlety, yet its intentions are never fully hidden by metaphor.

Is it a conversion tool? Or is it simply art? Indie rockers from Dave Bazan (Pedro the Lion), Jeremy Enigk (The Fire Theft, Sunny Day Real Estate), Jeff Mangum (Neutral Milk Hotel) and Sufjan Stevens have developed secular followings regardless of their faiths - and it's not always an easy road with certain listeners turned off by any mention of a god.

Which is where Page France comes in. The Maryland band's music is soft and sweet, melodic and melancholy, literate and lush - and heavily laced with Christian symbols, ideals and history.

"David Bazan from Pedro the Lion won't even say he's a Christian because of what (evangelical Christianity) has come to mean culturally," said Beaujon. "Part of the cost of the political polarization is that Christianity has become a really loaded term, and it's hard for people to reconcile the basic fact that rock 'n' roll came out of the church."

Many bands, including The Fray, who hail from Denver and are enjoying nationwide popularity, purposefully avoid religious issues in their music regardless of their devout faith. Other musicians' message is a baseball bat to the head. Then there are those in the middle - Page France, Stevens, Bazan & Co. - whose moderate approach leaves them scrutinized from both sides.

"Dave Bazan has been pigeonholed, and I worry about Page France in the same sense," said Lewis. "Here's a band that makes beautiful music. They're just being sincere, but when you go into a public sphere, you have to be ready to deal with that."

Though I've always been an avid fan of music, I've never been an avid listener to contemporary Christian music. Pedro the Lion and Neutral Milk Hotel are two of my favorite bands ever. I listened to Page France on myspace. It sounds OK.

- Jonathan

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Another web site recommendation (though I haven't personally tried this one yet): http://www.lala.com/

This site reminds me of bookmooch but for cds. Some differences: with la la, each trade costs a dollar and you can listen to the music before requesting a trade.

- Jonathan

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