Without a doubt, the music industry is a-changing. For the first time ever, musicians are able to manage their own marketing, promotion and distribution to the entire broadband-connected planet. CDs haven't even completely died yet and the IPOD is already obsolete. It's anyone's guess where this is all going, and Gerd Leonhard is brave enough to make his guess public.

Gerd Leonhard just released a collection of his own blog postings and papers in a FREE e-book called Music2.0. In it, Mr Leonhard made predictions about how the music industry was going to mutate once mixed with the new technologies. You can get the book here.

I'm about a quarter of the way through Music 2.0, and it's a really interesting read. I'd say it is essential reading for people in the music business; especially for independent artists. Really Especially for Older Independent Artists who grew up with music being something you bought at Target on a cassette tape and listened to in a Sony Walkman. The paradigm shift is equal parts traumatic and exciting.

It's interesting to see what Mr Leonhard predicted correctly. One thing he points out is something I've ranted about for years; the changeover of music from a product to a service. The music subscription service I've bitched about for years is finally available thanks to the Verizon/Rhapsody merger, but he predicted this years before I did.

I'm excited to read his current predictions and imagine what things will be like if he is correct when Music 3.0 comes out...

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Labels: Book Review, Music Industry, Predictions

If you live in the Minneapolis / St. Paul area, there's a handful of names you-you-you outta know, even if you aren't involved with the local music scene. Mark Mallman is one of them.

Imagine you are at a great show, and the band reaches the crescendo at the end of the night; the penultimate build-up to the penultimate climax, and you swear the energy being conjured is so intense that even the walls of First Avenue couldn't possibly contain it...

...That's how Mark Mallman starts the show, and the energy goes up from there.

Make sure to check out his Wikipedia entry. to find out about the Marathon 26.2 Hour and 52.4 Hour SONGS he did. And if you ask me, he was robbed for not getting into the Guinness Book of World Records for the "Longest Pop Song". Trust me though, Mark is able to take that 52.4 hours of energy and squish it all into a half hour show.

The shows are part musical live performance and part...something else. Ever seen someone ride their keyboard like a horse, twirling a microphone cord over his head like a lasso? Ever seen an enactment of a keyboardist approaching his keyboard in the wild, using a chair to fend off it's attacks while he plugs it in? Ever see a keyboardist hold his keyboard out to the bass player so she can kick it to make some improv musical effects?

If you haven't, then you haven't seen Mark Mallman live. And you-you-you really outta.

Musically, Mark Mallman mixes Pop Rocks with Orange Fanta and shakes the hell out of it. In other words, a sweet, sticky colorful mess that will haunt you for days. But check it out yourself: you can hear his latest work "Between the Devil and Middle C" on his website http://www.mallman.com/, (check out his blog while you're there...) and you can buy it directly from the (Mall)man himself: http://www.tradebit.com/download.php/826791.

And finally, this message from the Man of Mall himself:





Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Labels: music reviews, Praise

This is awesome:



Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Labels: Funny, Ubercool, Videos

Here is an interesting study which looks at how people determine what music is 'popular' and what is not:

http://www.livescience.com/health/060209_hit_songs.html

Interestingly, the findings were that people decide what is popular by looking at what other people think is popular.

I mentioned this in a previous blog post, I'm just glad someone else did the research to back me up.

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Labels: Cultural Observation, Culture, music

This book has been on my list for a while now, as research for my own writing. I was talking with Roger at Magus Books, and asked him if he knew of any books similar to my "Demonslayer's Handbook" - an urban fantasy set in modern-day Minneapolis. He suggested Emma Bull's "War for the Oaks". (Careful, the Wikipedia entry is laden with spoilers.

Emma Bull writes in the introduction of "War for the Oaks" that she doesn't read author's introductions until after she's finished the book. After reading her own introduction, I would agree. I wish I hadn't read her introduction before reading the story. Sadly, I cannot tell you why without spoiling the book for you. You can choose whether or not to learn from my mistake, and I'll try to judge the book without any bias from the intro.

"War for the Oaks" is deeply steeped in Minneapolis, and in music. Emma Bull's taste in music is great, she constantly drops band names and song references throughout the story. Same with locations; you won't forget the story takes place here in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul. The story bounces around to some of the best locations in town.

"War for the Oaks" is heavily steeped in the 80's. Fashions that are laughable today are considered quite stylish for the time period when the story took place. Jean jackets with turned-up collars, and high-tops? Yikes. Been there, worn that, stole back the pix and burned them. It made me realize that unless you want your story tied down to a specific time period, you should be less specific with your fashion descriptions. But, "War for the Oaks" nails the fashions of the 80s perfectly.

The story revolves around the main character, Eddi McCandry, but thankfully is not told in first person. Eddi is chosen as a magical saviour in an upcoming war and assigned a Faerie bodyguard. In the first half of the book, the "War" is only a minor backdrop; shadowed by the relationships and band drama surrounding Eddi. She resigns herself to her fate as the chosen one, and goes about constructing a new band amidst shifting relationships, and coming to terms with the bodyguard who won't leave her side. The second half of the story gets more involved with the actual war, some of which spills into the real world, and climaxes with a classic showdown/duel of Good Vs Evil at First Avenue!

Emma Bull does a great job of making the other-world characters feel other-worldly. Their method of speech is proper Victorian, and their manners and customs are notably different than that of humans.

As far as *research* goes, I'm glad I read "War for the Oaks". It was enlightening to see how another author approaches shifting between different realities, and descriptions of Minneapolis areas. Her writings on band politics and technology are accurate, which makes sense, since Emma Bull was in a local band or two.

As far as *entertainment* goes, "War for the Oaks" is a good story for those who want a Disney faerie tale crossed with 1980's Minneapolis urban fantasy.

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Labels: Book Review

"The Legend of Old Gregg" was brought up last weekend. After a bit of sifting on youtube, there are plenty of references to the show, plenty of clipped-out highlights, and most of them misspelled the name as "Old Greg". But I was able to track down the original show, which is divided into 4 pieces. The whole thing clocks in around 27 minutes. If you don't have that much time, check for "Old Gregg" on youtube, and see what all the fuss is about. After watching it, you will understand how Bootsy Collins got the Funk, and you'll know what people mean when they yell out, "I'm Old Gregg!"...


PART ONE:




PART TWO:




PART THREE:




PART FOUR:




Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Labels: Funny, Videos

Every now and again, I flip back through the archives here at conradzero.com, and yesterday I came across this easily forgettable post from a year ago. Back in March 2007, Gizmodo announced their position on the RIAA's unethical tactics, and posted an accurate and meaningful manifesto which called the RIAA out on their own bullshit.

If you are a musician, or even a music fan, you owe it to yourself to know the truth, and at least skim through the manifesto. You should understand who the RIAA are, and what they are doing. Once you know what they are doing, you won't need to be told that it's unethical. You'll understand why established bands like Nine Inch Nails are leaving their labels. You'll understand why new bands like Jagged Spiral have no interest in being 'signed'.

The RIAA served their purpose when we had nothing else, but for years they have actively fought against using the internet as a method of music distribution, and when they finally (begrudgingly) put their music up on the internet, they poisoned it with DRM.

This is the point where we don't need the RIAA anymore.

The parting could have been avoided if they simply gave the customers what they wanted (and were more than willing to pay for,) internet distribution of music that we could purchase and play on our own terms. They wouldn't give it to us, and the internet opened another method of music distribution, so this is the point where we say "Goodbye RIAA, it's been great! So long!"

The parting could have remained amicable if the RIAA hadn't decided to become unethical. Unfortunately, the RIAA decided to rewrite and twist the laws of this country to their own ends, and to start unfairly suing their own customers and innocent people.

So this becomes the point where we don't need OR WANT them anymore. This is the point where we say, "Piss off RIAA, you really screwed up that relationship! Fuck you!"

What saddens me most is that all this bullshit gets between the musicians and the consumers. The desperation of consumers to get at music they want is being held up by the greed of the RIAA to restrict access, and control how consumers use the product they sell.

It didn't have to be this way, but the RIAA made their choice. They went to the Dark side. They chose...poorly.

It doesn't have to continue to be this way, but that's for YOU to decide.

What can YOU do about it? Simple. Don't endorse the behavior. Don't fuel the RIAA's efforts. Now that the RIAA's antics are public knowledge, people don't have the right to be ignorant. Anyone purchasing music from the RIAA labels is endorsing, enforcing, and promoting this behavior. Likewise for artists who sign contracts with RIAA labels.

Trust me, there is SO MUCH independent music out there, that the RIAA labels and artists could all die today, and you wouldn't miss them for long. Finding the music you like is half the fun. Check out local bands, and "indie" labels. Look at myspace, pitchfork, Hype Machine and such. If you like music, there's plenty to pick from, lots of it better and lots of it worse than what the RIAA provides, and much of it is in your hometown!

If you want music to thrive, the best thing you can do is to give your money directly to the artists - go to their shows, go to their websites, and buy the art directly from them. The worst thing you can do is give money to the RIAA. Don't fall for I-Tunes. Don't fall for Rhapsody, Zune or Napster. Support websites that support independent artists:

emusic
mp3tunes
Magnatune
Garage Band
CD Baby
Yes, even Amazon.com.

If you know of others, please comment them!

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Labels: Call To Action, DRM Sucks, Music Industry