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Neil Young and Chris Rock and WTF?
So I'm sitting here listening to the new Neil Young record "Prarie Wind", and it is super good. It might be the best thing he's done since Harvest Moon. But I'm barely into it when I hear him name check Chris Rock. For reals! The exact line comes about 1:57 into No Wonder and goes: "That song from 9/11 keeps ringing in my head, I'll always remember something Chris Rock said." I can't really make out the next line, so I've tried to enlist the powers of the internets to help me figure out what is going on here. I still don't know, but I did find these interesting nuggets:
- Young's full birth name is reportedly Neil Percival Kenneth Robert Ragland Young.
- Young's tour buses operate on biodiesel.
- When filming the motion-picture The Last Waltz, Young appeared on stage with one nostril clearly filled with cocaine. Band leader Robbie Robertson later had to pay several thousand dollars for the cocaine to be rotoscoped out of the film, lest rock audiences be "offended." Robertson called it "the most expensive cocaine I've ever bought." When asked about the incident many years later, Young replied, "I'm not proud of that."
- Since 1995 he has been part owner of Lionel, LLC, a company which makes toy trains and railroads.
- He has directed four movies under the name "Bernard Shakey"
- For a couple of years, I have maintained that neilyoung.com is so awful, he must do it himself out in his barn. Turns out, I was right. Now I feel bad for making fun of it. If I made a record, he wouldn't make fun of how bad that was, would he? I think we all know who is the larger man here.
edit: The mp3 link is now fixed.
Elf Power
There was a period of time in the late 1990's when I was seriously entertaining notions of moving to Athens, GA and stalking the bands associated with Elephant Six. Sadly, the whole concept has been discarded, but a few bands continue to soldier on. Elf Power has always been considered one of the 2nd-tier E6 bands, but I think that has more to do with the hype around bands like Neutral Milk Hotel and the Apples in Stereo than actual talent. They make the fuzzed out pop music you would expect, but are more accessable than some other E6 bands.
This is pretty much the greatest thing ever
For a $100 donation to Hurricane Katrina relief, Brian Wilson will call you and answer a question. Also, he will match your $100 donation. I so want to do this, but know that in a moment of panic my question will be something like "Is the largest regret of your career not being on Full House with the other Beach Boys?" and I will hate myself for the rest of my life. But seriously, this is really really cool of Brian Wilson.
Technorati Tags: music katrina brian+wilson beach+boys charityPaul Duncan
I first heard about Paul Duncan on Friday when I found an advance of his new record, and have listened to it about 20,000 times since. According to those who were there, Paul was a big hit at the CMJ festival last weekend in New York. Be Careful What You Call Home comes out October 18, and I guarantee you will like it if you enjoy thoughtful Idaho / Havergal / Jim O'Rourke style music with light electronic flourishes.
MP3 Paul Duncan - Oil in the Fields
Technorati Tags: music mp3 paul+duncan37 Signals, can you build me an HTML editor?
I've been using HomeSite to build websites forever, but seeing as how Macromedia left it for dead about five years ago I have been looking at alternatives, and it isn't pretty out there. After the decidedely unpleasent experience of browsing various poorly-designed websites comparing features and screenshots of about 6 text editors, I downloaded and tried a couple. While I know programers like to customize their workspaces there is no need to have a preferences window like this. Why can't someone design a text editor that is elegant and powerful at the same time? Is that too much to ask?
Technorati Tags: html code web+design
If your morning was not everything you had hoped it would be...
Consider listening to the two mp3s posted here at Said the Gramophone. One is a Little Wings cover by Mount Eerie (and friends), the other is a Neutral Milk Hotel song that is not nearly as well known as it should be. I've probably listened to these two songs 30 times now this morning. Have a great rest of the day.
Technorati Tags: music mp3 neutral+milk+hotel mount+eerie little+wingsXXL
XXL is actually a very cleverly disguised nom de plume for a collaboration between Xiu Xiu and an Italian band called Larsen who by all accounts lead some sort of cult (I am not sure if this is literal or figurative cult. I secretly hope it is literal). I know I've posted some Xiu Xiu before, but since they are pretty much the most important band making music today, I think I'll be forgiven if I post some more. Plus, I wanted to point out how this Pitchfork article here drafted a set of rules to create an indie rock fantasy team that made it pretty much impossible for Xiu Xiu not to be the highest scoring band.
MP3 XXL - Paw Paw Paw Paw Paw Paw Paw
Technorati Tags: music mp3 xxl xiu+xiu larsenMy favorite MP3 blogs OPML file
If you are using an RSS reader, you should check out the OPML file I just put together of some of my favorite MP3 blogs. You should be able to import this into your feed reader and have some nice new blogs to check out. I've tested this on FeedDemon, but since this is the first time I've made an OPML file myself, there is a good chance I've screwed something up and this will end up burning down your house.
Technorati Tags: mp3 blog opml rssVarious P2P apps going down today?
I saw an interesting little note in the Digital Music News newsletter this morning:
WinMX Goes Dark, Signs Point to RIAA Response
Popular P2P file-sharing application WinMX appears to have gone dark,
potentially a response to a recent RIAA cease-and-desist letter. Details are
very light at press time, though the WinMX site is unreachable at this
point, and calls to the office of controlling company Frontcode Technologies
have so far gone unanswered. Meanwhile, sources point to a possible
relocation by the company from Toronto, Canada to Port Vila, Vanuatu, which
mirrors an earlier location shift by Kazaa. The winmx.com domain is
currently registered by a "WinMX Technology Associates," located at "PO Box
50, Port Vila, VU."Elsewhere, a Reuters report noted that the New York headquarters of eDonkey
"appeared to be closed," though so far that site remains live, at least at
the time of publication. The company, owned by software development firm
MetaMachine, has recently been ranked as the top P2P search engine. The
company also received a cease-and-desist from the RIAA, which contained
threats of heavy penalties for continuing its service. If either firm
officially closed its doors, the RIAA is likely to make an announcement on
the matter.
I don't use either of these services, but if the RIAA has managed to shut down two of the largest file-sharing apps, that is very big news indeed.
Technorati Tags: music p2p RIAA WinMX eDonkey Kazaa technologyThe White Birch
Today's MP3 is stolen from songs:illinois, which you should totally be reading. The White Birch are from Norway, and make better American folk music than most American folk musicians. I've only really heard one album (Star Is Just A Sun) and a couple of songs from their new record Come Up For Air, but every song I have heard from them has been really solid. They are masters at making tranquil, pretty little songs that can easily be looped for hours on end without getting old.
MP3 The White Birch - Seer Believer
Technorati Tags: music mp3 Norway white+birch