Tag: musica

I take my music seriously, and so should you.

Posted on

It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World

This headline-writing warmup exercise is brought to you by the 1963 Stanley Kramer directed classic by the same name.

But if there ever were a better time to say it’s a mad mad mad mad world, I’d rather be channeling Mel Brooks. Though Brooks had no part in the aforementioned flick (He was coming of age as the 2000-year-old man w/ Carl Reiner), dude is hilarious — and I am overjoyed to report that he is in production on Spaceballs: The Animated Series. Excpect it sometime next year on the Cartoon Network.

OK – have a great day, and as the promo button said, “may the schwartz be with you.” You’ll need the Schwartz for sure if you’re reading Brooks’ son Max’s book, World War Z, in which he survives zombie domination.

(And a Ferris Bueller stinger — on [Islamofasc]-ism, it seems — to roll out of bed to. Stay the course.

Ferris Bueller - "-isms" [ 0:24 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Posted on

Sufjan Stevens, the Wiltern, Los Angeles

Here’s a taste of the sweet sounding Sufjan Stevens concert last night at the Wiltern in Los Angeles. I knew I’d be blown away, having previously missed Sufjan several times both here and in Chicago — but, wow — the band, er, orchestra was incredibly tight and on it — a new song — Majesty Snowbird (Tad posted it here) — was monumental. The guy is just a disgustingly brilliant talent and wonderful musician.

Jump below to hear the set-closing “The Tallest Man With the Broadest Shoulders” and listen to the audience clap along in 11/7, 6/8, 5/4 and whatever time signatures as the 15-piece orchestra fills in the holes with wings a-flutter.
YouTube has a ton of Sufjan video, especially from the Town Hall shows at the bottom of September/early Oct. Below is a great quality video of this new “Majesty Snowbird” phenomenon.

(If below audio doesn’t work click here for Tallest Man, click here for Jacksonville.

Sufjan Stevens - The Tallest Man, Broadest Shoulders - Wiltern, LA Oct 9 2006 [ 6:39 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Posted on

Can a Trademark a Day Make Apple’s Competition Go Away?

Russell Shaw takes his obsession with Apple’s “iPod” trademark addiction to ZDNet in this expose of Apple’s latest USPTO encounters and recent C&D letters to the likes of Podcast Ready for daring to use the “P” word in his article: “EXCLUSIVE: Apple Trademark Office docs point to REAL reasons for” Podcast” controversy“

we have Apple, maker of the iPod, trying to get right with the Trademark office about achieving formal Trademark and related mark protections for iPod AND its sought-after IPODCAST applications.

Not only would this restrict ANY individual or company from using the term “podcast” or “podcasting,” it would also put a lock on, for example “iPod socks,” not to mention T-shirts declaring “iPods suck.”

Dave Winer proposes a start-up idea for a “real podcast player” that would put Apple’s DRM to shame.

AOL/Netscape’s Jason Calcanis is rightfully dismayed: “Anyway, Apple didn’t come up with the concept of Podcasting but they have benefited from it immensely.”

Former MSFT evangelizer Robert Scoble wonders if team Apfel will up and sue his new employer, Podtech.net

Todd Baur at the Apple Blog asks if Apple is going to sue the framers of the Constitution for proposing the First Amendment: “When the iPod was introduced, no one would have associated pod with an MP3 player. Now that the little guy has become the king, there is no argument that the term is almost synonymous with music players.”

Posted on

Silver Jews in L.A. Sept. 12 2006

The live audio from this show has been procured and formatted for your aural pleasure! Like many Joos aficiondos around the world, I waited like 17 years (drinking several thousand beers) for the chance to see David Berman perform with a full band in concert. And it was fantastic. MP3s of the entire show are at SecretSquirrel (.zip) — the sound improves after the 4th track.

Check out this groovy DCB profile in the September Jewish Journal of Greater L.A.

Even more fun — this podcast interview of David in his hotel room while on tour last spring, at Nextbook.

Silver Jews -- How to Rent a Room -- Music Box, L.A. Sept. 12, 2006 [ 2:57 ] Download