Up Close and Personal

I’ve gone back to listening to podcasts lately during my commute. One of the several with which I am experimenting is Evil Genius Chronicles by Dave Slusher, which so far seems to frequently feature the music of Michelle Mallone. (In fact, I think the term “raving fanboy” is not out of place here…) Edit - I'm listening to old archives of the podcast and slowly catching up. The Michelle Malone focus was a short-term feature in Fall 2006...but I stand by the term "raving fanboy." I’m not particularly recommending either the podcast or the music (though her tunes are not bad) – but in an interview with Ms. Mallone, Mr. Slusher commented that his anniversary is coming up, and he’s considering paying her for a “house concert” for the occasion. This intrigued me.

A brief mention by the comedy music duo Paul and Storm on The Bob and Tom Show provided a description of such a thing – contact your favorite “indie” band directly, and have them perform in your living room. (Or garage, or backyard, or wherever.) With no cost for renting the space, minimal equipment requirements, and no promoter taking a middleman cut, the performers get to keep 100% of the money, which means they can afford to ask for less. Meanwhile, the host gets an intimate and personal show, shared only with his friends. The price per person will certainly be more than the cost of a ticket to a regular show by that same band, maybe even much more – but it may well be LESS than a ticket to a major band.

In this digital age, where independent bands are better able to publicize themselves without the aid of major record companies, this may become a very common thing. Tickets for Jimmy Buffett or Paula Cole () may cost me as much as $200 just to take my family of four to a huge auditorium – but if I can get a couple dozen friends together, we might all be able to enjoy the Minstrels of Mayhem (ahem!) or the O’Danny Girls in person…and sit close enough to see their faces without binoculars.

Video Killed The Radio Star

Once upon a time, the most important characteristics for pop music stars were their voices and their ability to compose. You didn’t have to have both – you could sing someone else’s music, or compose for someone else’s voice – but you usually needed something special in one category or the other.

Physical attractiveness was useful, of course, but not critical. Cass Elliot was the butt of jokes about her weight…but nobody laughed while she was singing. Jim Morrison and Mick Jagger became sex symbols because of their musical talents – certainly not because of their faces. Yvonne Elliman, Steve Tyler, Alice Cooper, Phil Collins…some very popular singers are not merely unattractive, but downright ugly! Nobody cared all that much, since the closest you could get to them was the front row of a concert, and their sound was really your only connection with them.

Over the last 20 years or so, though, that has changed. Sure, the stars always worked to enhance their appearance. Some bands used their appearance to attract attention – KISS springs to mind. When MTV made pop music a video art form, though, appearance became more and more important. Since then, it has gotten worse. Madonna does some pretty good songs, but she’d have never made it without showing herself off. Brittney Spears and Jessica Simpson could probably lip-sync old Buddy Holly tunes and still be popular - in fact, that might be an improvement.

I think American Idol has finally finished the job, though. Clearly, an unattractive person is never going to make the final few rounds in Idol – he or she will be probably never even be a finalist, and will certainly not get the votes to stay til the end. And for unknown reasons (though my personal guess is that the U.S. has lost its collective mind), not only is Idol the most popular show on TV, but the winners and some of the more popular losers have truly become respected and popular musical stars. Since the recording studios can only really plug a certain number of stars, and since they like a sure thing as well as anyone, those manufactured icons of glitz are pushing aside other great singers – potentially better artists, but not able to make the cut on screen.

It probably doesn’t matter in the long run. The Recording Industry Ass. of America, with their “anti-piracy” attacks on their customer base, may well kill the entire industry anyway. But are karaoke singers writ large really supposed to be the future of music?

My apologies to The Buggles for the title of this entry.

Back to the Blog

It's been quite awhile since I've posted.. I'm going to try to keep up with this a little more often, even when I don't really have much to say. If I don't, though, you'll just have to forgive me.

Today, for example, I don't really have much to say, so I'll just talk about what I'm watching and listening to lately. I got a couple great CDs for Christmas, Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Tommy. They're fantastic, but they got me to thinking about some of the other classic albums that I love but don't have...so this weekend I bought a copy of Rumors by Fleetwood Mac. Listened to it in the car today...still a wonderful album.

I spent quite a bit of money this weekend, actually. We also bought an "Elliptical" (what a silly name!) so we can all exercise in the house, now. Not great fun, but I need all the motivation I can get to exercise, and it's good for all of us.

I also dropped $45 at a friendly little poker game. Whatever happened to Dealer's Choice poker, where you could play all night on $20, and maybe win a little, maybe lose a little? Now, the only poker anyone plays is Texas Hold 'Em tournaments, with designated payouts for the last few left at the table, and everyone else goes home broke. Not nearly as friendly as it used to be! Of course, I might be a little biased, since I've played twice now, and haven't won a dime. I did better, though. The first time, I came in 7th of 8 players, and this time I pulled 6th of 11. Maybe next time I can finish in the money...

Anyway, I guess I'll go do a little walk on the elliptical...I want to be free by 9, so I can relax and enjoy the next hour in Jack Bauer's busy life!