BLOGSCHU

MMM

So with Lisa in Las Vegas watching Celine Dionne (psych!), it fell to me to do new music Monday. Sorry I am a little late.

I took my daughter Gracie to a Young Money show at Oracle arena this past weekend. Young Money is a partnership between the hip hop artist Lil Wayne and Universal records. The sold out show featured a slew of hip hop and related acts. At 4 hours of music and at least 10 named performers, there is a lot to talk about. We were really there to see Young Money’s most rapidly ascending performer, Nicki Minaj. She rocked, as did Lil Wayne and especially Rick Ross, but I’m only going to talk about a guy that was a little farther down the list- Mix Master Mike. MMM became important to me for two different reasons in the mid 1990’s. First, as the resident DJ for the Beastie Boys, I saw him, alone on stage with nothing more than a few turntables and a few copy’s of Rush’s Tom Sawyer, silence, stun, and ultimately explode 20,000 rabid hip hop fans. And second, he is from Sacramento. That’s right, one of the best hip-hop DJ’s in the world is from Nor Cal!

This time he was on stage collaborating with the drummer Travis Barker. Their 45 minute set, DJ and Drummer, delivered to me what was one of the top 10 performances of any kind I have seen live. Since MMM was already on that list from his performance at the BBs show in the 90’s, I have to shout him out. If you EVER have a chance to see Mix Master Mike, run don’t walk. He is a magician with sampled and dj music. This week, welcome to the world of Mix Master Mike.

First a video of MMM in his own domaine. See what he does with two records.



Then a video of him supporting Travis Barker. What we saw had less rapping and more sounds, but this gives you some idea. All non-drum sounds are my man MMM.

Airplanes, the Internet, and Singing Alone

A few years ago, I found myself contemplating life and the world’s greatest advancements with my 100-year-old great grandmother Ethel. We sat together on her well-worn couch, covered with the same white, crocheted blanket that had been there for as long as I could remember, and we talked about her life stretching back over the past century. When I asked her what the greatest invention had been during her lifetime, she answered without a moment of hesitation: “the airplane.” Ethel grew up on a farm and her family had to travel for days to get back and forth from the city to sell their crops. They traveled by horse and cart and she would have to sit in the back, bumping along for hours with the honeydews and ears of corn. I imagine her lying down, looking up at the sky, unable to even conceive of the fact that one day people would be flying up there in airplanes. That's the crazy thing about the future: no matter how hard we try to visualize it, it always exceeds our wildest expectations.

When my great-grandkids sit me down in sixty years to ask what has been the greatest innovation in my lifetime, there is no doubt that I will say, “the Internet.” For better or worse, it has transformed our world. And just as Ethel could not have envisioned an airplane from the back of the cart, I cannot predict where the Internet is going to take us next.

Take music for example, the Internet is constantly changing the way we access and experience it. Just this past weekend you could take in the Coachella Music Festival from the comforts of your own home via YouTube without camping for the weekend in the 100-degree heat. That is certainly easier, and more convenient, but is it better? Is it really the same to watch Arcade Fire drop 2,000 LED-enhanced blow-up beach balls into the crowd rather than be there?

">

Ok, yes, I am glad that thousands of people captured that moment and posted it on the Internet so that I could watch it but of course it isn't the same as being there.

The Internet facilitates the transference of experience but what happens when it manipulates the experience? Check this out:

(If you are interested in how this virtual choir came to be, you can check out the composer and conductor at his 2011 TED talk.) A virtual choir? Doesn't that defeat the very purpose of being in a choir? These people are singing alone, in their bedrooms, offices, and living rooms. I have participated in choirs for most of my life and you simply cannot compare the impact of singing in a group of hundreds of people at the same time to singing alone. Yes, on the listening end we get to hear the voices come together but it is sad, and almost eerie, to watch the people each singing separately into their computers. To me, music should always be about bringing people together. I don't want future generations to only create and experience music alone.

Here in Los Angeles, I live very close to the LAX airport and I often find myself driving on a road that takes me right under the flight path of the thousands of airplanes that land there every day. This past Saturday, I was driving on that road, blasting the new Foo Fighters album, and as I watched one of those giant airplanes fly impossibly overhead I realized that Grandma Ethel was right: the airplane truly is a spectacular innovation. And as I hit "replay" on my iPod to listen to the song "These Days" for the umpteenth time, I also realized that great music will always prevail, no matter how it is delivered to us.

Here are some of my favorite songs that I listened to this past week:

"These Days" is the song I was blasting in my car while the airplane flew overhead. I know I posted a Foo Fighters' song in my playlist last week but I cannot get enough of their new album, Wasting Light.

The Canadian indie rock band Hey Rosetta has been quietly gathering major accolades for the past five years but they hope to make some noise with their recently released album Seeds. And make some noise they do: "Yer Spring" is an epic, soaring song that just keeps building.

Jane's Addiction is back! "Been Caught Stealing" = one of my favorite rock songs ever. This alternative band from Los Angeles has had its share of ups and downs over the years - the shuffling of different members in and out of the band is hard to keep track of - but in their most recent configuration they plan to release a new album in August 2011 and "End of the Lies" will most likely be the album's first single.

I came across Abigail Washburn a few days ago after reading a tweet from NPR and watching this stunning video that she made in an abandoned 19^th-century building in New York City with Mason Jar Music. Her music is very unique: a combination of Appalachian melodies and traditional Chinese folk songs, all played on an old-time banjo. Enjoy “City of Refuge” from her recently released album of the same name.

Kurt Vile is a prolific guitarist and singer from Philly - he has released four full-lengths and two EP's in less than four years. You might have heard his song "He's Alright" over the credits of the most recent season of "Eastbound and Down" on HBO but it's the songs from his most recent album, Smoke Ring For My Halo, that everyone is clamoring for at SXSW, Coachella and the other music fests that he's been hitting lately. And that's where you will find "Jesus Fever."

Here's an extra bonus song: As long as we're talking about Jesus, let's end this playlist with "Atheists Don't Have No Songs" by Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers. Everything about Steve Martin is creative and funny: his movies, his songs, his books, his website, his twitter feed. This song is a great combination of his comedic and musical genius.

Can't see the playlist below? Click here.

Nostalgia

I am on my way back (literally typing this on the airplane!) from visiting my parents in St. Louis, where I enjoyed a lovely spring break with my daughters. I always look forward to returning to my hometown: hanging with old friends, running through the great Forest Park, having drinks at the famous Blueberry Hill, and sitting in the backyard with my parents enjoying wine and good conversation.

While I was home, I took some time to look through our old record collection which is now, sadly, shelved in a closet in an unused bedroom. Sifting through the albums was like going through a time warp, revisiting records that span the first half of my lifetime. Some records are classics and some are just plain hilarious; I snapped some photos to share a few with you:

As a child of the early 1970's, Simon and Garfunkel were on constant rotation in our house along with Elton John, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, CCR, The Eagles, etc. These are the sounds of my childhood.

I played the hell out of this album and I loved it when MTV played the "Hungry Like the Wolf" video.

 

Here's a bit of trivia for you: What was Paul McCartney's final top-10 hit in the U.S. to date? I'll bet you never would have said "Spies Like Us." Me neither! This album made me laugh when I saw it.

If anyone can tell me who these guys are, and what this album was doing in our house, I would really appreciate it.

 

For this week’s Music Monday, in keeping with the "nostalgia" theme, I’m sharing new songs from some old, familiar faces. All of these songs are from their upcoming albums:

“The Afterlife” Paul Simon
Simon & Garfunkel formed in 1965, Simon started his solo career in 1970, latest album will be released 4/12/2011.

“Make Some Noise” Beastie Boys
The group formed in 1979, latest album will be released 5/3/2011.
Speaking of Beastie Boys, check out this video, you might recognize a few faces.

“Longing to Belong” Eddie Vedder
Joined Pearl Jam in 1990, Vedder started releasing solo music in 2001, latest album will be released 5/30/11.

“Rope” The Foo Fighters
The band formed in 1994, latest album will be released 4/12/2011.

“Will Do” TV On the Radio
The band formed in 2001, latest album will be released 4/12/2011.

Can't see the playlist below? Click here.

Happy Birthday to my brother Ben who may, or may not, read my blog.

The Rigors of Wine Marketing

The business definition of marketing: the process through which goods and services move from concept to the customer.

Though the marketing of wine is rife with rigors and stress, it will not likely appear anytime soon on tv’s ‘Dirtiest Jobs’ shows.

After all, wine is considered by many (though not you WOMers) to be a luxury item, right up there with Versace, Chanel #5 and hand-made fly fishing rods.

When comparing the marketing requirements for such products with wine marketing, one soon discovers wine is thankfully in a unique category. Haute couture requires acquiescing to the well-documented pressures of Paris, Milan and New York runways. Chanel #5 requires the stamina of a circus barker, standing in front of the perfume salon at Saks squirting the coveted scent on the jewelry encircled wrists of high society. And fly rods? You must stand thigh deep in an icy mountain stream with a tobacco spitting guide who pretends to hope you catch a fish so he can claim the rod is worth the price.

Then there is wine marketing. The dauntless task often calls on the shoulders of the hapless winery owner.

Oh the hardships encountered! Take for example ‘Taste of Vail’ happening April 7-9. It is a symbiotic marketing relationship between the ski resort, Vail Valley restaurants and wineries from around the world, shamelessly marketing their wares to happy attendees. It can become a real drag for winery representatives, what with the free lift tickets, rental skis and room discounts dangled before them. The lamb & pinot noir tasting event held outdoors in colorful booths lining the quaint streets of Vail Village; the outdoor picnic on top of Vail mountain, pouring wines and sharing food and laughter with enthusiastic guests, most still in their ski boots. Take a run down the mountain, then back up the lift to taste yet again; the Grand Gala, where beautifully attired après ski types wander among tablesby the exhausted wine marketer pouring the best from the cellar alongside Vail’s finest chefs offering up their favorite nibbles. All the while, a cover band plays adjacent to the dance floor, offering a respite from the burdens of tasting.

The poor, flummoxed wine marketer sucks it up, he (or she) is a trooper. He knows the year’s daunting work schedule lies before him, Vail is just the first. On to Taos soon for more of the same. Then the Aspen affair, followed by that challenging Caribbean wine cruise, or will this year be to the Greek islands? Summer is burdened with charity wine auctions, fall is marked by the Yosemite Valley wine dinner held at the historic Ahwahnee Lodge.

The mere anticipation of all these upcoming marketing opportunities sends the relentless wine marketer into a cold sweat. Yet he (or she) knows only too well that diligent focus and perseverance are the only path. No sense feeling sorry for oneself. Somebody has to do it.

Salud amigos,
Jim

Huichica 2011

It's finally official! The line-up for Huichica 2011 has been announced and tickets go on-sale to the general public tomorrow, April 5th. Full details can be found here: http://huichica.com/

This week's Music Monday is devoted to the unique artists who will be performing at the Gundlach Bundschu winery on Saturday, June 4th. It promises to be an incredible event.

Fruit Bats

J Mascis

Sonny & The Sunsets

Richard Swift

These United States

Breathe Owl Breathe

Tu Fawning

David Williams

Can't see the playlist below? Click here