Band as marketing gimmick?

[koganbot]

A friend sent me an email consisting entirely of this subject line:

Selena Gomez' Scene: "band" as marketing gimmick to establish legitimacy, or too unattractive to be pictured w/ so cute a gal in a CD booklet? (just got CD today!)

ugly?

Comments

Re: Photo !

[house-junkie.livejournal.com]

I m doing better. Been through financial wasteland for 18 months but December was good.
Have internet service again !
Am FB-ing like crazy... got to catch up with your many many posts here at LJ though!

Trouble is, I dont listen to music on the radio much these days. I get my stuff mostly from www.beatport,.com or fgrom You Tube ! A list of MY favorite tracks would rerad almost as if I m living on another planet.
Musically, I guess I am.
About the only mainstream ish radio musuic I hear is stuff from Rihanna, Madonna, R. Kelly, Bruce, Mary J. Blige, Keysha Cole, Amy Winehouse, Katy Perry...

At FB my writer friends (especially Mark Kemp and Marc Campbell) have introduced me to three new bands that I like. Arcade Fire, Drive By Truckers, and The Ex. I like The Ex best of those.

At FB they also post many other posted You Tube vid clips, almost always RS / SPIN type stuff, or even more alternative. A lot of nerd bands -- I never liked nerd bands and still dont.

I see that Chuck writes at Rhapsody. I follow him there and occasionally comment. But I miss being able to converse with him about music the way we used to do.

Bill Holdship tells me Chucvk is living in Austin, TX. Doing what ? Why ? Whats the gig ?

Re: Photo !

[koganbot]

I think Chuck and his wife were looking for new scenery, and since she's from Texas and her family's there, and Austin's a good music city, that's where they ended up. At least I think those are a couple of the reasons. Chuck's back to freelancing.

The pop charts have been mega strange over the last couple of years in that lots of music aimed at the charts was amazingly good, but little of the good stuff actually hit. This doesn't bode well: the majors don't feel they can invest much in artist development anymore, so a performer who doesn't hit fast gets dropped; Cassie, one of my and my lj friends' favorite r&b singers, has had her second album in limbo for the last two years, meanwhile one amazing leak after another keeps turning up on the Web. Here's "Summer Charm," a sweet, strange floating vocal over a half-speed Spector beat, not like anything else. I don't know how she does it, with hardly a voice, but she's consistent: she sings, I pay attention.

I haven't heard the Ex recently. First I heard of the Drive-By Truckers was when our old WMS–Radio On buddy Don Allred reviewed Southern Rock Opera for the Voice. Chuck was big on that album too. My friend skyecaptain is the fellow who helped jump-start the Arcade Fire's career when he gave their first album a rave review for Pitchfork. This is funny - I'm as out of it in regard to indie rock as you are, at this point, but I know those two bands.

I discover some good music through The Singles Jukebox, which adopted the old Radio On format; so a lot of music that I don't comprehend well will get reviewed from multiple perspectives, and I learn to hear better (though right now the Jukebox is ensconced in its end-of-year playoffs, which are pretty fascinating, but if you want to see the day-in, day-out reviewing, scroll back to November).

Chuck often posts on Rolling Country, but of course you can always write him directly, too.

Re: Photo !

[house-junkie.livejournal.com]

Frank...

Thanx for the links. When I have time I will surf them.

You Tube is a great source. You not only hear the band, you can SEE them.

From my odd plabnet, I found many tasty acts at You Tube. Among them are the best Barcelona rock band I ve ever heard, Gossos (Dogs); from France, Noir desir Renan Luce Caroline Crozat Brigitte Fontaine Olivia Ruiz Francis Cabrel Gerald De Palmas and of course Mylene Farnmer.

House music: Chus & Ceballos, Sebastien Leger, Mark Knight, Abe Duque, Tom Stephan, Midnight Society, Celeda, Lula, Gabriel Robella, Filthy Rich, DJ Heather, Kings of Tomorrow, Richie Santana, Victor Calderone, DJ Deka (from Boston) and of course Danny Tenaglia, David Morales, Louie Vega, Marshall Jefferson, Robert Owens, Ultra Nate, Crystal Waters, Todd Terry and Junior Vasquez.

Tranny singers also flourish in house music: Celeda, Jade Elektra, Carmen Xtravaganza, Roxy, Anthony Lamont, and Kevin Aviance.

I will write Chuck art edcchucky@yahoo.com.

>>>>>>>>> M. F.