Archive for the 'News' Category
Chick Corea: Artist of the Year? Is This Really 2009?
Author: Anthony Medici
Time to get back to work. The holidays are mercifully over. I was able to use a lot of my unused leave at my real job (and just to repeat, I do not work in a record store, nor do I work for Princeton Record Exchange alas). I took last week off from blogging and just kicked back to listen to music and read, so far as I could in between all the usual holiday hoopla. During that time, I managed to listen to 54 CDs and LPs (rather uncharacteristically, I decided to keep track) and read several interesting jazz books. I’ve been wondering: is this too much, or not enough? A vague feeling of guilt hovers about me (probably due to my parochial school upbringing): was this time well-spent?
Let me review briefly what I listened to and read, and you can form your own response to the question I’ve asked myself.
read comments (0)Foo Fighters Too Big For Their Britches? And Other Fan Casualties.
Author: Jeff Boule
Before you get mislead, no fans or audience members were harmed in the making of this blog. But it ain’t pretty.
The Year in Review: Highs and Lows, Including the 5 Worst Jazz Magazine Cover Stories
Author: Anthony Medici
This is the time of year when we look back, take stock of what was, both the highs and lows, and look forward to what the new year brings. Let’s start with the Top 5 Worst Jazz magazine Cover Stories of the Year, shall we? Read the rest of this entry »
Throwdown: Downbeat v Jazz Times, Dec 08-Jan 09
Author: Anthony Medici
I thought it might be fun, and perhaps even instructive, to make some head to head and round by round comparisons between our two heavyweight jazz mags, Dowbeat (DB) and Jazz Times (JT), as they compete for the hearts, souls, and dollars of jazz fans. JT clearly wants to lead the pack, as last week I received their January 2009 issue, while my copy of DB that came in the mail a few days later was only the Decemer 2008 issue. Apparently the DB group are either laggards or have undue respect for the calendar. I noticed that DB’s individual copy price is $4.99, while JT come sin at a bargain price of $4.95 an issue. I wonder what DB does with its extra 4 cents? Read the rest of this entry »
Turkies, Stuffing, and Thanksgiving
Author: Anthony Medici
Sated with good food, good company, and plenty of music listening, it was not easy to put on my blogger’s mantle, but then I saw the cover of the just-issued Jazz Times and, well, I was roused to blog a bit. Our pals at JT seem pretty much determined to prove my point that much of what passes for feature writing in their magazine is simple puffery, fed by the blast furnaces of PR hot air. What else can explain yet another cover story on Tony Bennet? The ostensible reason this time is Mr. Bennett’s new Christmas album with the “Basie Band.” How’s that for advancing the art of jazz? Read the rest of this entry »
SHERAZADA UPDATE!
Author: Leigh Silbernagel
Last night i saw ADAM BIENER of SHERAZADA.
He told me that they have a new bassist and drummer.
They will have new merchandise available soon.
they are heading back to the studio to start writing, recording and mixing, mastering and cutting new tracks.
They have 4 shows coming up.
-leigh Silbernagel
KANYE: 808’s & Heartbreak
Author: Leigh Silbernagel
Kanye West: 808’s and Heartbreak
The songs that are not about heartbreak are your classic Kanye self-swagger tributes: powerful tracks with stylistically well-done use of an auto-tune that showcases Kanye’s impressive vocal range and control. Ranging from the resolved, empowerment-anthem: “Welcome to Heartbreak,” to the unexpected throwback early 90s beat “Paranoid:” Kanye knows what he does best, and he delivers it once again.
KANYE: 808′S and HEARTBREAK
Author: Leigh Silbernagel
The songs that are not about heartbreak are your classic Kanye self-swagger tributes: powerful tracks with stylistically well-done use of an auto-tune that showcases Kanye’s impressive vocal range and control. Ranging from the resolved, empowerment-anthem: “Welcome to Heartbreak,” to the unexpected throwback early 90s beat “Paranoid:” Kanye knows what he does best, and he delivers it once again. Read the rest of this entry »
VALENCIA NEW VIDEO POSTED
Author: Leigh Silbernagel
Valencia’s brand new video for “Where Did You Go?” is available now on their MySpace:
-leigh silbernagel
As many know, the MTV show Total Request Live, known by its nickname TRL, ended its ten-year run on November 16. Many fans and musicians, who made their big breaks appearing on the show, attended the “Total Finale Live” special. I’m guessing millions more saw it on television. It was a poignant ending without the fact that it was the end of a series. Deeper thinking, though, reveals something more painful. It is the official end of an era that has been struggling to stay alive for years, its absence seen but never spoken of despite being so obvious…the end of “M” in MTV. Read the rest of this entry »
Why Our Jazz Magazines Are Bad…And May Not Get Better
Author: Anthony Medici
Well, it seems as if I have created a bit of a kerfuffle as a result of my post, “Why Our Jazz Magazines are Bad… and Bad for Jazz.” Who knew? It’s nice to know our little blogspot is getting some attention. In fact, Lee Mergner, editor of Jazz Times, on another website that I happened to come across by chance, huffed and puffed and, showing way more energy than in anything I have read by him or his staff of high-powered writers lately, tried to blow our post down. He didn’t even come close. The fact is, such an apoplectic response tells me that I have struck a nerve, and that the nerve was worth striking. One line from Lee’s blog post really caught my attention:
“For the record, I believe firmly that JazzTimes and Downbeat are much better magazines than most people in the jazz community realize.”
Lee, if “most people in the jazz community” don’t see the value in what Jazz Times and your colleagues at Downbeat put out each month, don’t you think it’s time for you to start trying to understand why they feel this way, start trying to listen to their concerns and criticisms, and start trying to make the sort of changes your magazine needs to make to again become a relevant and worthwhile voice in the jazz community? Read the rest of this entry »
The Death Of Rock and Roll, and Progressive
Author: Jeff Boule
I was asked why my blogs do not appear weekly. The simple answer to this question is: life. I am currently rehearsing my solo acoustic show, I am also participating in my company’s Christmas show, so I have to learn three X-mas songs. This should prove interesting, as I am not a religious person.
But this week, even more extraneous circumstances have arisen that makes one think perhaps everything we are doing is pointless.
Does Keith Jarrett Belong in the Hall of Fame?
Author: Anthony Medici
The cover picture and cover story for this month’s (December 2008) DownBeat (DB) heralds Keith Jarrett’s election to the DB Hall of Fame (HOF). Does Jarrett belong in the Hall of Fame? Well, I suppose the immediate and obvious answer is: Yes. Yet I am uncomfortable with the selection. I have reservations. Indeed, I would like to borrow from the recent discussions regarding the Baseball HOF, and suggest that Jarrett, while he might belong in this venerable jazz institution, should be entered with an asterisk next to his name (figuratively speaking of course), in the same way that many have suggested that such baseball stars as Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGuire, and Pete Rose, were they to be inducted, also be awarded the asterick symbolizing a tainted achievement. Let me offer a few reasons why. Read the rest of this entry »
Anthony Hamilton: The Point of It all
Author: Leigh Silbernagel
anthony hamitlon/The Point of It All/ So So Def/ Zombra Label Group
The six-time Grammy-nominated R&B-soul balladeer croons a melodic picture of life using straightforward lyrics as his mellifluous paintbrush on his junior effort The Point of It All: “Talking about relationships again… everything from making love to building love; having arguments, just life!”
Come Backstage at Princeton Record Exchange
Author: Brett
Have you ever wondered what goes on behind those mysterious doors at Princeton Record Exchange? In our new web videos, we give you a sneak peek into the behind-the-scenes workings of our store, and a whole lot more!
Power of Music
Author: Leigh Silbernagel
4 Aug 2008– The paradox which fascinates me the most is that of music. Music is the only thing worth fighting for, living for, and dying for because of the power it has over the human soul, but never has music started a war (with the exceptions of the social revolution of the 1960s and the pop-revolution of the 1980s which then spawned the Religious Right’s overzealous counterrevolution). To the cynics among is, music is constantly delegated to the sidelines, constantly minimized as nothing more than a catalyst for pretentious attention whores’ way of drawing attention to themselves and fulfilling their obsessive compulsive need to be different and express themselves *insert sarcasm here.* I pity those cynics, for not being able to be a part of something larger than themselves. Rather than write a post about a new band that I like, or a concert that has already passed, this week I pose that we reflect on the songs that have mattered most to us throughout our lives. For myself, it is Guns N Roses, Sweet Child o Mine, among others of course. Here’s why that song means so much to mean, and no, it is not because it is on Guitar Hero. Read the rest of this entry »
The Return of Return to Forever: Going Nowhere?
Author: Anthony Medici
“FUSION LIVES!” trumpets the cover of August 2008 Jazz Times. “They’re Back!” screams the August 2008 cover of Downbeat. Two cover stories in the same month in the main jazz monthlies. What’s going on here? Well, for one thing, the hype machine is in Full Hot Air Mode. For another, the PR-driven, editorially compromised character of the primary jazz mags stands nakedly revealed. The Big Sell is on. Are you buying? Read the rest of this entry »
PREX on Fox Business TV
Author: Brett
For those of you interested in seeing some prex publicity:
WBGO: Lobotomized?
Author: Anthony Medici
In my blog last week I commented upon the bland, pasteurized and altogether uninteresting jazz music programming I encountered on WBGO (Newark) while visiting the New York area for the Vision Festival. I noted how I had always enjoyed listening to WBGO on previous trips to New York (I was born and grew up in New York City and still visit from time to time for special events and to visit family, so am up there a fair amount). I thought, possibly, that the yawn inducing music on the radio might have just been the result of a contrast with the white-hot intensity of the Vision Festival, which made WBGO’s programming seem so banal. Then I received a very polite response to my post from Cephas Bowles, WBGO’s General Manager, which shocked me! Read the rest of this entry »
Keith Kenny CD Release Party: Limit is the Sky
Author: Leigh Silbernagel
Keith Kenny CD Release Party: Limit is the Sky
June 17, 2008- Keith Kenny is a band that instills new respect for music’s ability to expand one’s horizons and way of viewing the world. Aptly titled, “Limit is the Sky,” Keith Kenny’s first CD (http://keithkenny.net/) is a celebration of classic blues rock combined with country influences, skilled musicianship and demanding instrumental part writing.
Read the rest of this entry »