The Last Drop

Hello world!

admin — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 02:32:18 +0000

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

The Witch Hunt Begins

admin — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:34:00 +0000

I’ve been casually following the lawsuit of the woman in MN who was accused of file sharing on Kazaa some 50 billion years ago. Low and behold the labels win. Massively. In MN?! I thought y’all were nice. Anywho, it’s now game on for the record industry. With precedent, who knows who or where they can target next (college campuses seem like a ripe playground for picking off innocent freeloaders…).

Kazaa! You now owe $2 million.

Cut Me Some Slack

admin — Thu, 28 May 2009 05:22:00 +0000

And they did. The major labels are finally learning. The internet is not your enemy. You just have to find a way to harness it. Even if you kill a few start ups in the process of learning this tale, it’s nice to know that someone somewhere is listening. A whole heap of start ups are renegotiating their licensing terms with the major labels to positive effects. Even though I left Imeem in the wake of LastFM (and will be moving again soon…wait and see on the right nav), it’s good to see that they are not dissolving. And it’s good to see that record labels are trusting start ups to secure a longer term vision of the music landscape and the way we all will interact.

Here’s to new best friends. May they learn to love one another, even if they have occassional cat fights (oh Napster…).

New Issue: Lady Gaga

admin — Thu, 28 May 2009 05:20:00 +0000

Lady Gaga, The Fame – Yeah. You are seeing this correctly. Even I have to give it up for Yonkers. Gaga is taking over the world little by little. And you know what? I don’t actually mind. I mean, she’s not artist-of-the-decade material. But I cherish her showmanship. Plus I can’t wear unitards and admire anyone who chooses to solely wear them.

Is it bad that I thought she was Swedish for the longest? I’ve been known to enjoy Swedish pop and well, who else would spawn a Lady Gaga? And the lyrics ( “Let’s have some fun/This beat is sick/I wanna take a ride on your disco stick”)? Did I mention she only wears unitards? If that doesn’t scream Norse, what does? Even if she is American (and from New Jersey), she definitely has her own aesthetic as an electro/dance siren. Now, this aesthetic gets a bit tired for an entire album. But for those first 5 or 6 songs, it’s entirely listenable. And if you happen to be at the gym or say running 26.2 miles for the fun of it, sometimes you can use a helpful 14 song dose of club reality.

Go ahead, give “Womanizer” a run for its money. But feel free to skip “Just Dance” as we’ve all heard quite enough.

New Issue: The Pains of Being Pure At Heart

admin — Mon, 11 May 2009 05:24:00 +0000

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart – Has it been two months already? Well, there is no excuse. Especially since I’ve had at least 5 posts sitting in my queue with at least 5 more albums to review. What can I say? Life has been..life. But I still do care. And I’m still listening to music (and seeing shows – thank you Bimbo’s). And now summer is upon me with my myriad periods of vacating. Thus, I better put SOMETHING on this blog or all may be lost. So here, a remnant from the not so distant past. Complete with the header sentence and I had pretyped.

You should get an award for just typing the name of the band and the album. Remember the Cure? Yeah, we ALL do. And yet TPOBPAH try to slip one on us here in the first decade of the new millenium. Admittedly, some of us were fooled, especially since so many artists are gently stealing from the late ’80s/early 90s and repurposing as “the future” (Kanye, please, the robotic singing, skinny jeans, and flat top hair style is not genius. You can find most of these elements in a good Cosby Show episode. I recommend the seasons with Lisa Bonet). But their sound is consise enough to find little room for mistake for futuristic progression. Rather, it delves into a bit of mimcry that is tough for me to digest.Enjoyable? Mostly. Pushing any new boundaries? Hardly. I guess that’s why it’s so painful to be this pure.

German Know-How and Pastries

admin — Sun, 10 May 2009 16:05:00 +0000

So the only things I love more than music are baked goods. It’s true. I went on a baking tear in London and never looked back. Last week – two strawberry rhubarb crumbles. For real (both are in season, what’s a girl to do?). So what could be better than music or a baked good? A musical service with a baked good name. Leave it to the Germans – a demented sense of humor. But I like it. Like last.fm and and the Pandora’s of the world, Mufin has many tools to help sift through the plethora of music available and provide relevantt recommendations. What I like most about Mufin is that 1) the main technology behind all of their applications was developed by Joseph von Fraunhofer. What a name. and 2) it’s a back end application. Thus you are tied into one application and resentful whenever a new technology or site pops up.

Budding developers, have at!

Stockpile: Santogold

admin — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 06:38:00 +0000

Santogold, Santogold – This was another “I’ll pass on the mainstream release to hear the quirky remix album”. I had about heard enough of Santi White by the time I had left London in September last year. I even went to her show at Scala (quite impressive actually) and was a fan. But the overexposure of almost an entire album was too much for me to handle. So instead of actually buying the album, I went with the Diplo sponsored collabo Top Ranking. Mind you, this was the same approach I (less intentionally) made with Jamie Lidell to much success (try Multiply: Additions on for size if you haven’t had a chance). And to quite honest, I think Top Ranking improves upon the original. But I was shocked to hear how vastly different the recordings were. Where Top Ranking gets it kick from hard nocking beats and deft island inspired mash ups, Santogold is much more straight forward in its rock ambitions. It’s hard for me to truly appreciate all of the reviews on how forward thinking the original was when the remixes elevate her sound. But it is interesting to hear a fresher take on new wave rock. And her voice provides a great instrument that very few vocalists (moreso among women) can match in intensity and range. Even Jay Z took notice. Santogold stands on it’s own in spite of the ambitious Top Ranking and I give ample credit to Santi for bending her “genre” as many ways as possible.

New Issue: Dr. Dog

admin — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 02:53:00 +0000

Dr. Dog, Fate – Screw the ’60s. The ’70s are back. I know, I just got off of my Animal Collective raving and now I want to put it all behind me for an MD of canines? Hold up a second. This whole animal band name project is starting to gain some momentum. But inevitably I will have to run into a band that is just a dog (bad pun very much intended). Alas, that day has not come and Dr. Dog is opening up a new decade of retro references. Sure, you’ve probably heard ” The Old Days” and couldn’t stop humming along. But maybe a one hit wonder? Nope. All goodness, if a little too sweet at times. I’m still amazed that so many young artists are able to tap into the sounds and recording styles of later eras without sounding trite or shallow. Dr. Dog, much like Fleet Foxes, are able to tap into the layered vocals and melodies of their ’70s influences, yet remain novel in songwriting. Some songs are a little too Paul McCartney a la Wings for me – piano driven classic rock all wrapped up in a big smile – but all in all, I like taking a break from the break-neck pace of the new millennium to sample a throwback ’70s attitude. Please do too!

Cleaning Up Music on Myspace

admin — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 22:40:00 +0000

Could it be that there is actually some thought and order being placed on the ever chaotic Myspace? Well, not the entire site. But the most important part of it – MySpace Music – is trying it’s hardest to clean up the junkyard image of it’s parent and to actually provide lots of content that is worthwhile. Like all music, not just the new stuff, from the big 4 labels. Quite an undertaking. Plus adding in album pages (I thought those things were dead…) for those iconic releases that predate ringtone rap.

OK, so the site is still hard to navigate and full of blaring ads (predominantly from the “I have so much cash to burn I’m inviting everyone to the bonfire” Apple). But underneath it all, the service is getting better. Not great, but better. And I am thoroughly impressed with CEO Courtney Holt’s thought process in regards to the ever expanding linking of music online. As much as I want music to be democratized from the current label down attitude, people still have to make money in the process.

The Junkyard Dog ain’t so nasty anymore

Top Drops: February

admin — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 19:05:00 +0000

Too many to count. Mainly catchup from 2008 but also a strong top 10 contender for 2009.

Portishead, Third - Yeah, yeah I was hiding under a rock for a while. But at least I can recognize genius. Even if it’s close to a year late. If you are as bad as me (or worse, I won’t tell…) get this album now before you are publicaly shamed.

Erykah Badu, New Amerykah Pt. One – Experimental of a different kind. Less complete than the Collective and more… Erykah like. I saw her in concert and she couldn’t stop yapping about her chakras. I guess she’s moved on to fighting against materialist concerns. But she still doesn’t complete a thought often. Lucky for her it still all sounds good.

Ani mal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion – Animals are good for your. You can read about it in JAMA or something. Anyway, my health has been restored and I’m feeling more bouyant than ever. If you don’t get this same feeling from “My Girls” then something is wrong with you.