The Delightful Obnoxiousness of Man Man

I'll try not to write about every show I see, but this one definitely takes the cake.

You just hear the name, and you know the show is going to be ridiculous. Man Man is a group of 5 dudes from Philly - that sound like a gang of 10 year old boys who decided to form a band...a good one. You know the whatchamacalits and thingamajiggers you played with when you were a kid? Yeah, well they had those...and face paint.

The most grown up thing about this band was the lead singer's mustache, which has caused a cult following. Several people in the crowd, women included, sported mustaches that would make even Mr. Monopoly guy jealous.

And the music? This may sound weird, but it sounds like music the the Oompa Loompas would dance to on their nights off. Listen and see what you think.

Free Internet=New Music

Musicians for free internet? What the hell does that mean? Does it mean musicians for stealing people's wireless? No - although that would be way more humorous.

Basically Comcast, Verizon, AT&T, etc. are tossing around the idea of charging content providers (like me) extra to guarantee more web traffic. So, where do Michael Stipe, OK Go and Death Cab come in?

The reason why these artists and others are so up in arms is because some of them made their careers just by posting something on the internet (Tapes n Tapes escalated because of mp3 blogs, Sufjan spread like wildfire over internet radio)...

Musicians don't have the financial means to pay for for the kind of traffic they are getting for free on the net.

"It could be a pretty sad world where money alone buys the ears and anybody that can't afford it, can't get proper placement, is pushed off to the ghettos," said Derek Sivers, owner of CD Baby.

The FCC says it is currently investigating the big internet providers and looking for "discriminatory practices" - a new law may soon be in the works.

SXSW Day 2 Shows: A Night of Some Seriously Good Music...And Scenery

I'm slowly but surely catching everyone up on SXSW...here's what I saw the second day.


RJD2 - There wasn't much energy from the crowd on this one...but he was still awesome. Played Ghostwriter to end it (the now token song on some insurance commercial I think). He's got a lot of talent and surpasses the typical DJ by far. Go see him - and talk to him too because he's a cool guy(how could you not be with a name like Ramble?). Whether or not you're an electronic music person, you're bound to find a song you'll like.


Cloud Cult - Hands down, one of the best shows I saw. I've never heard of them before - there are keyboards, a cello, a violin, a trumpet, guitar, bass, a fog machine (the clouds, duh), and ART. They have 2 professional artists painting on stage while they play. After the show- the 2 pieces go on sale. HOW BRILLIANT OF A BUSINESS IDEA IS THAT?!? In a time when artists feel like all they're doing is losing money to illegal downloading, these guys combine two things (paint and the concert experience) to earn some cash. The art is pretty good, too. The music is beautiful and heartfelt, and what was going on during it was even more so.

And of course, there's my favorite...
The Octopus Project - It's like watching a children's book play itself out - Their amps have sea monsters on them, which they cover with green bags that they have crafted into looking like monsters as well. The guys wear black slacks, black ties and like...seafoam green shirts? (I totally just said seafoam). And Yvonne, who always ends up being the star of the show (literally because she is so mesmerizing), wears a dress and heels.
She plays the theremin, which forever I thought was called a wand, which just reinforces the children's book analogy - she is like...the fairy of the sea creatures - sounds lame, but I swear it's true.
I guess I should talk about the music, too. Rolling Stone said it best, calling it a "space dance quartet". It's electronic including samples, a drum machine, drums, bass, keyboard, guitar and theremin. The beats are hard hitting but danceable. You'll definitely want to move. Watch a couple minutes in to see the theremin action.

SXSW Day 3: Online Radio

So right now, you are probably sitting in your cubicle listening to your Rhapsody account or the station you created on Pandora - and you're probably not thinking about the fact that very soon internet radio could disappear. No more find other bands I like, no more embed this station in my blog (like I did below), no more try out that random band that CJ talked about at lunch for free. Nada.

Basically, the RIAA has pushed for this bill to go through Congress that includes a revised fee schedule for internet radio. The fees are so high that, according to Pandora founder Tim Westergren, they will make "online radio a non-viable business."

Westergren has made a passionate plea for our help. He's also included a link with all our congressmen's addresses. There are 50 million people that listen to online radio - so people are confident that this will change.

One of those people is Tim Quirk, Executive Editor of Rhapsody. He's confident that there's no way these fees will stay this high - and Rhapsody will continue to be a major hub for internet radio users and paid promotion for musicians.

For inner lawyer in all of us (and don't pretend like there isn't), here's a blog post from an attorney familiar with the process.

SXSW Day 2: Google and Music

Lately, there's been a lot of negativity towards Google and YouTube because of copyright and royalties, but I'm not gonna get into it.

Instead, I'll tell you how using Google can help bands...for free

FREE FREE FREE

Blogger - All bands need to have a web presence...whether it be myspace managed by your 13 year old sister or a site your bassist created in the back of the van while on tour (both would be even better). Blogger is easy because it provides templates for you, so you know it won't look like crap, and the WYSIWYG editor (your piece of tech lingo for the day) makes writing a piece of cake.

Google Analytics - Put Google Analytics on your site. It will give you tons of info - including where your visitors are coming from. Then, you can book a show there.

Google Earth - Map out your tour with Earth.

AND OF COURSE...

YouTube- Make a ridiculous video, like, I dunno, treadmill dancing?
And post it. Then, over 9 million views, a 100 spot move up on Billboard, and a performance on the Today Show later, maybe Gary Lightbody will call you up and ask you to tour with Snow Patrol.

Other things you can do...

Wikipedia Yourself - Make sure your band has an entry on wikipedia...and make sure it's at least a little legit.

iTunes - Get your cd on iTunes, and make everyone and their mom review it. Then, make an iMix with 8 well known bands and 3 songs from your band.

SXSW Day 1 Shows: You Know You Wanna Dance

First show I saw was The Rapture - and let me just say that they put it best:

"People don't dance no more,
They just stand there like this -
They cross their arms and stare you down
And drink and moan and dis."

Absolutely true. For some reason, people are ashamed of dancing at shows, but let me challenge you to think about it a little differently -

Think of dancing as a way to say thank you - thanks to the band that plays music that makes you forget all about those TPS reports you forgot to pull, the girlfriend who just dumped you by text message, and the money you don't have that you spent to actually go to the show. Thanks to the band that makes you want to throw your hands up in the air and scream lyrics at the top of your lungs. Thanks to the band that makes you want to bring back the MC Hammer...actually they probably won't want to take credit for that, but you know what I mean. Every time you bob your head, tap your foot or give a little fist pound - you are showing your appreciation. So, stop being lame and give in to the radness of The Rapture.

If you haven't seen them - go. It's a giant dance party - and not one with a bunch of hip hoppers making you feel stupid because you can't spin around on your head - but one with people who dance like they just don't care. It's just plain fun - so go dance and say thanks to Gabe, Luke, Vito, and Mattie.

Also, best concert to take your crush to because they will make you kiss your neighbor...not joking.

The other two shows I saw were Oxford Collapse, who are always great, and Blonde Redhead, who I have so much love for, but are total buzz killers. Don't end your night with them.

Playlist #2 - The "For the Unfortunate That Couldn't Attend SXSW" Mix

These are all the bands I saw (sans Cloud Cult, which you will hear about later)...with a little extra love for my boys Delta Spirit and Austin natives Octopus Project

Come to the Musick's Cube (Cube O' CJ and Patrick) if you would like to hear this mix....

1. Drop Kick The Punks - The Faint
2. Music is Happiness - The Octopus Project
3. Cheer It On - Tokyo Police Club
4. Ghostwriter - RJD2
5. Sister Saviour - The Rapture
6. I'll be OK ft. Slug - Aesop Rock
7. Dispenser - Cursive
8. In Your Volcano - Oxford Collapse
9. Muscle'n Flo - Menomena
10. Because It's Not Love - The Pipettes
11. Streetwalker - Delta Spirit
12. On the Prowl - The Gossip
13. No Radio - Dirty on Purpose
14. Raised By Wolves - Voxtrot
15. Frenchy, I'm Faking - Architecture in Helsinki
16. Red Sea - Asobi Seksu
17. Elephant Woman - Blonde Redhead
18. People, Turn Around! - Delta Spirit
19. Rorol - The Octopus Project