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Bob Dylan's 'Shadows Of The Night'
March 6, 2015
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"Look, when I started out, mainstream culture was Sinatra, Perry Como, Andy Williams, Sound of Music. There was no fitting into it then and of course, there's no fitting into it now."
-- Bob DylanHey, have you heard? Bob Dylan's new album includes such standards as "Autumn Leaves," "Some Enchanted Evening," and "The Night We Called It A Day."
No, that news is not from a 'Saturday Night Live' Weekend Update. It's real. You know that by now because of all the media attention Bob gets on any album release. Of course on this one, he's getting even more because of the songs he chose to record.
I've been a Bob Dylan fan since I was a young teenager. I learned to play guitar because I wanted to be able to sing and play every song on his 'Bringing It All Back Home' album. It was poetry like I'd never heard, coming from this incredibly unique and passionate young voice, blowing out of the speakers, insisting you LISTEN to what he was singing.
And then came possibly the greatest single of all-time, "Like A Rolling Stone," and Bob was crowned the poet laureate songwriter worldwide.
I'm not going to write about all the reasons why Bob Dylan is such a great artist. Too many people already have.
What I want to say at this point in Dylan history, is as much respect I hold for him (as so many do), I find his new album 'Shadows Of The Night' one giant bump in Dylan's long road/body of work.
The fact that Dylan is doing these songs is a nice nod from him to the artists who originally made the songs hits, and the songwriters who created them. But, in my opinion, a nice nod just isn't enough to cover such standards when your voice is obviously not in its prime, and it's difficult to carry the melodies as they were originally intended.
I don't know who the market is for this album, and I'm sure Dylan doesn't care. He's always done whatever he wants, the critics and fans be damned.
After listening to the album my only thought was 'Why did he do this?" Oh yeah, he wanted to, so away he went.
Maybe Bob just forgot what he said so many years ago above, "There was no fitting into it then and of course, there's no fitting into it now."
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 2ROCK & ROLL HOF GETS INDUCTION SPONSOR
Wasn't it Neil Young who warned us about corporations' encroachment into rock and roll? Yeah, probably Neil, and a dozen others.
It all makes no difference now. As the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame readies the 30th anniversary of its annual Induction Ceremony, to be held April 18th at Cleveland's Public Auditorium, the organization will also host another milestone this year -- its first corporate sponsor.
Klipsch Audio, an Indianapolis-based headphone and loudspeaker manufacturer, has signed on as the presenting sponsor of the RRHOF Induction Ceremony for the next three years, as well as naming rights for the Klipsch Audio Stage at the Rock Hall Museum in downtown Cleveland, in which Klipsch product will be integrated throughout. Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Announces First-Ever Induction Sponsor----------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 3
THE STORIES BEHIND THE MUSICWant to know who "Dude Looks Like A Lady" is about? Find out the answer to that and more: 29 Bizarre True Stories Behind the Most Popular Music Ever
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 4
A GOOD QUESTION INDEEDIs A Single Global Release Day The Right Thing For Every Artist?
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BETWEEN THE GROOVES
BUH-BYE NETWORK TV AGAIN:
Internet-connected televisions are catching on faster than projected, and are squeezing out Blu-Ray disc players as a way to access streaming and Internet-based content in the process. Read the whole story … and according to new research from The Diffusion Group (TDG), Netflix streaming has increased 350% during the last 10 quarters, growing from two billion hours in Q4, 2011 to seven billion hours as of Q2 2014. Netflix 2014, Domestic Dominance, International Escalation, presents TDG's latest analysis of Netflix and examines subscriber growth and hours streamed, and offers domestic forecasts for both through 2022. The report also discusses Netflix's new frontier, international service introductions. For additional information, please visit TDG research here.ROCK BAND IS BACK:
GamesIndustry.biz reports "Harmonix has been meeting with media this week at GDC to confirm that Rock Band 4 is indeed in development, and it's slated to ship later this year." Read moreWATCH THE APPLE WATCH:
Apple's upcoming wearable is expected to ship more than 15 million units worldwide this year, according to Strategy Analytics. Read moreLESS IMPORTANT THAN ALMOST ANY AWARD SHOW:
The MTV Movie Awards. Nothing more than a publicists' free-for-all as they get to capture media exposure for their clients.----------------------------
THE 'A-SIDE' - THE BONUS TRACKSGeorge Harrison Memorial Tree Replaced
Shania Twain Announces Final Tour
Prince Teases First Date of 'Hit and Run' US Tour
Jay Z Blocked in Bid for Streaming Company
Bob Dylan Has Recorded Another Album of Sinatra Songs
Kurt Cobain's Childhood Home Can Be Yours For $400,000
Brian Wilson to be Honored by Norah Jones, Brandon Flowers at 'Brian Fest' Benefit Concert
Equal And Transparent Streaming For All - A Proposal For Our Industry [Emily White]
David Gilmour Plans New Solo Album for Fall
Brian Wilson Tribute Concert Planned for Los Angeles
Does Music Subscriber Growth Cripple Profitability?
Samsung loses smartphone crown to Apple
Samsung swings big with overhauled Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge
How 5G will push a supercharged network to your phone, home, car
Connected TVs Edge Out Blu-ray As Streaming Gateway
How to transfer any media file to your iOS device
Apple Watch already wins prestigious design award
Why Smart Home Companies Should Think Like The Clapper
What to expect from Monday's Apple event
Short News Items ...
MUMFORD STUFF:
When Ted Dwane showed up to begin working on the new Mumford & Sons album, he was confronted with a surprise: a roomful of synthesizers. "I didn't expect we were going to do the same thing again," he tells Rolling Stone, "but this was crazy!" Read More
MADONNA TALKS:
Madonna has some advice for Kanye West, who produced several tracks for her new album, 'Rebel Heart.' "Don't go to awards shows for justice," she says in interviews for Rolling Stone's new cover story. "That's like trying to find a needle in a haystack." Read More
YOUTUBE HONORS:
Hypebot reports: "YouTube is thanking artists who have shown significant growth in viewership and engagement by honoring them with a YouTube Music Award (YTMA). YTMA recipients were selected by the fans, as award criteria was based on collective interaction over the last six months." Read more.
MACCA, ET AL:
Ever since word trickled out that Joe Perry, Alice Cooper and Johnny Depp have formed some sort of band, details about the Hollywood Vampires have been scant. Now comes word that Paul McCartney has contributed a version of "Come and Get It." Read More
BRIAN & THE BOYS:
A couple of months after Brian Wilson releases his upcoming album, No Pier Pressure, the singer-songwriter will hit the road for a summer tour. Wilson's former Beach Boys bandmates Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin, who recorded the No Pier Pressure song, "Sail Away," with him, will join him on the tour. Folk singer Rodriguez, who was the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary, Searching for Sugar Man, will serve as the tour's opener.
Leaving Us
Albert Maysles, the director who, alongside his brother David, revolutionized documentary filmmaking, died at the age of 88 Thursday night. The Criterion Collection, the video company that distributed many of Maysles' films, confirmed the news in a Facebook post on Friday. The filmmaker had been battling pancreatic cancer recently and had fallen ill last month. The brothers filmed Gimme Shelter, the engrossing story of the Rolling Stones' ill-fated 1969 concert at Altamont. Filming from the stage as the band played, the duo captured the murder of Meredith Hunter, an 18-year-old fan who was killed by the Hells Angels; their portrait of violence and chaos at Altamont Speedway became an epitaph for the optimistic, late-'60s movement. Maysles was also a cinematographer behind iconic music documentaries such as 1968's Monterey Pop and 1977's The Grateful Dead Movie.
Quotes of the week
Artie Lange has been depressed ever since he found out that Maroon 5's lead singer is dealing with a terrible tragedy from his past. Watch Artie Lange Rip Adam Levine
The B-Side - 'Blips'
THE ONION (www.theonion.com) STORY OF THE WEEK:
Catching Up On 2 Seasons Of 'House Of Cards' Depressingly Manageable
SOMERVILLE, MA—Noting that he only needs to watch 26 full episodes of the political drama, local man Ben Atwell revealed Thursday that catching up on the previous two seasons of the Netflix show House Of Cards should be depressingly manageable. Read the rest and laugh
The Music Industry Past, Present & Future, And The Internet I answer questions on EconTalk
I did an interview about the industry and the Internet at EconTalk with host Russ Roberts. Russ is also a professor of economics at George Mason University, blogs at Cafe Hayek, and has written three novels that teach economics. He's also the co-creator of the Keynes-Hayek rap video. (And if your understanding of the economic meltdown that occurred needs to be enlightened, this video will do it)
In the interview we talk about the evolution of the music industry, the impact of the digital revolution, and I give my reasons for believing in the virtues and potential of the Internet in enhancing the music industry. I point out, as I have many times here in the newsletter, that the internet allows numerous artists to make money from their music and it can enhance revenues from live performances by expanding an artist's base. We also discuss the challenges facing record companies and I suggest that the full potential of the Internet as a distribution channel has yet to be fully exploited. There's a lot of ground covered, but based on the comments already posted of those who have tuned in, they've enjoyed it.
Read more about it by clicking here.
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Smart Marketing Consulting Services has been in business sixteen years, and consults clients in the music, entertainment, attraction, media, and technology industry on branding, marketing, online exploitation, maximizing new media, and more.
"And the beat goes on, the beat goes on ... drums keep poundin' rhythm to the brain."
"Work is life, you know, and without it, there's nothing but fear and insecurity." -- John Lennon
"When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of entertainments, when serious public conversation becomes a form of baby-talk, when, in short, a people becomes an audience and their public business a vaudeville act, then a nation finds itself at risk: culture-death is a clear possibility." -- Neil Postman
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