March Madness…

Being a huge college basketball fan (specifically Kansas basketball), the next few weeks will be pretty exciting. With Kansas poised for a #1 seed, this might be their best shot in some time to win it all.

The last time they won the national championship in 1988 I was six and a half years old, so I mostly recall the game from highlight reels.  It’s easy to miss the little nuances and side stories of the game in those highlights, but thanks to these YouTube clips I came across below, I can see exactly what people watched as the game unfolded.

It’s pretty cool to see players like Danny Manning (now back at KU on the team’s staff), the same announcers who are still around now (Jim Nantz) and coach Larry Brown in what turned out to be the last game before he went to the NBA. Also check out Garrison Keillor introducing the matchup… pretty hilarious stuff.

[youtube]mnDakUD-C-A[/youtube]

…Even when you know what happens, the last few seconds in an extremely close game are still tense.

[youtube]JHyskaZrvic[/youtube]

Implications of Payola…

Payola still exists.  Now what?When you think of payola, it’s not uncommon to think back to the olden days of radio when manila envelopes arrive at stations not-so-secretly stuffed with stacks of cash enticing program directors and DJs to play that ‘new hit.’

But payola has been an ever-present reality in the radio industry for years. To many it came as no surprise then late last week when the FCC ruled against the top labels and radio station conglomerates such as Clear Channel for providing stations with kickbacks for the music they play. It is obviously still big business with lots of money at stake here, so when such a ruling comes out, its sure to send ripples through the already hurting industry.

One such ripple is the ruling that stations must devote a large chunk of airplay to independent artists… for FREE! This in some ways might be a huge boost to all those indie rockers and jazzers out there who scramble to even a bit of air play. But for once it might actually benefit the listener (that is, the music consumer and fan) who in the last decade or so has been forced to retreat to alternate methods of being exposed to new and quality music (i.e. the internet, iPods, satellite radio and so on).

For an industry that is so hellbent on resisting change and evolution to new business models and distribution (i.e. the internet, DRM-less digital music, file sharing, affordable records and on and on and on…) could this actually save the RIAA from itself?

All people really want is good music…so is this democratizing the radio a first step to something bigger? So what are the implications and where do we go from here? Check out the following tidbits I’ve collected that help explain the ruling and what it all means. What do you think? Let us know.

NPR’s Talk of the Nation discussed payola ruling.

New York Times discusses fines and also provides some historical context.

Stereogum and Pitchfork discuss from the indie rock perspective.

The Hollywood Reporter discusses settlement as well.

Salon’s series on Clear Channel from awhile back.

Finally get an explanation on what’s so wrong about payola from a Slate article from a few summers ago.

UPDATE 3\19:  It appears that potential the increased fees for internet radio has hacked off a few other entities, namely NPR. Check out this blog entry to see how it might affect them.

NPR Song Of The Day: The Besnard Lakes, ‘Disaster’

The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse is out now.
The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse is out now.

Here’s a piece on on The Besnard Lakes’ “Disaster” from its album, The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse, for NPR’s Song of the Day. To listen to the song and read the essay go here.

Continue reading NPR Song Of The Day: The Besnard Lakes, ‘Disaster’

Old Things That Are New To Me — Okkervil River

Okay so they’re not really that old. I am behind the curve, but that is sort of the point of my occasional confessional “old things that are new to me.” So beyond being aware of their name for awhile, I think I am really only hearing Okkervil River for the first time recently. So when a remastered “deluxe” edition of their 2005 album Black Sheep Boy came across my desk the other day I decided to give them a go. Between the great artwork on the packaging and the opening title track I was hooked.

Sort of a mixture of summery indie pop and darker, Neil Young-inspired alt-country rock, this band, led by singer-songwriter Will Sheff is able to be infectiously melodic, emotionally visceral and yet still rock out with solid authority. Despite coming to them later than most, gotta say they’re pretty great.

Here is the video for the second track on the album, “For Real.” Its not my favourite song on the album by any means…in fact it sort of is the one radio-friendly, made for climatic titular scene at the end of a Greys Anatomy episode, but still not bad. I wish they had other songs I could more easily link to. Alas…
[youtube]JDd4KezAFv8[/youtube]

Talkin’ Bout the Young Style…

One band I’ve been going back to a lot these days, Peter Bjorn & John seems to be blowing up with the youngsters right now. There has been a lot of buzz around this Sweedish chamber pop group with a love for sweet melodies. Their third album Writer’s Block came out in Europe last fall and has been out here in the States since early January, but everyone seems to be digging them, without any over hype burnout. … and rightfully so.

Drew Barrymore and Lily Allen like them therefore I should too!

The trio capture a healthy mixture of ’60s rock, new wave, and power pop but put just enough of their own spin on it to allow them to bubble to the top into something a bit more original. Nothing overtly groundbreaking here, but just some really catchy and flawless tunes.

They have been making the public radio and indie radio circuit plugging their album and upcoming tour, from NPR, to KCRW to even AOL Music’s Spinner.com and subsequent podcast The Interface. It was there I came across their brief stripped down performance. Here are two of those songs, including the infectiously perfect pop gem, and break out hit single “Young Folks.” Download full podcast here.

Paris 2004
Young Folks

February 2007 EP : Clouded Spaces, Falling Skies

And we’re back! With the second installment of the year long series hello.music. We proudly present to you this months release: Clouded Spaces, Falling Skies.

February is an extra special month, because this album was created not only for our monthly EP release but also for the RPM Challenge, an effort to get musicians to create an album from scratch in only 28 days. It’s been a busy month, but we think we have stepped it up and elevated our own sense of quality. Check it out, tell your friends, enemies, families, cohorts, cronies, etc…

hello podcast

To hear all of our music, you can also subscribe to our monthly released podcast of all our albums here. Or find us at iTunes here. Feel free to leave comments, and let us know what you think.



UPDATE: At the beginning of the month, NPR’s All Songs Considered host, and All Things Considered director Bob Boilen did a really great feature on the RPM Challenge. Now that the month is over, he follows up with NPR’s Melissa Block and RPM organizer, Dave Karlotski about the experience. You can check out both stories here. And while you’re at it, take a look and a listen to other friends’ efforts: Robin Hilton, Bob Boilen, Thomas Pierce. ~HelloMike

—–

Past EP’s

Temporary Setback :: January 2007
Clouded Spaces, Falling Skies :: February 2007
First Pull Up, Second Pull Down, Third Take Away :: March 2007
Ancient Telephones :: April 2007
The Cavalry Arrived Again :: May 2007
Designed In Anticipation Of His Centennial Years :: June 2007
The Rundown :: July 2007
The Ninth Great Fire :: August 2007
Empty Bottles And Dog-Eared Books :: September 2007
I Can Fix Things In The Morning :: October 2007
We Are Full Of Useful Noise :: November 2007
The Last Duel :: December 2007

February EP release is coming soon…

hello.music

Hello boys and girls,

You might be wondering “Where is my Feb. EP?”, and “Why is it not up yet?” , and “Why do you hate me?”. While these are all valid feelings to have in the late hour, there are reasons… As you probably have gathered we have been hard at work (some of us) at getting the album ready for the RPM challenge that have been going on for the entire month of February. The deadline is today at noon, so now that that is ready, done, and in the mail, I can build this months web EP release page. So hold your horses, I promise it will be in your slimey webbed hands by this afternoon.

Also don’t forget you can recieve this album as a part of hellocomein.com’s podcast in iTunes here.

-Aryn

edit: I just realized that this is our 100th post!! Get out your party hats and celebrate! oh how far we’ve come from the beginnings…

A long day of electioneering and other exciting phone calls

Hello fans!

So as you may have noticed from my lack of input and collaboration of late, I’ve been gone, far, far away… Where was I you ask? We’ll I’ll tell you! I have been working once again as a trainer for the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners getting another few hundred college kids ready to troubleshoot problems that can arise with Chicago’s new(ish) electronic voting systems. So after the many long, long days that culminated into the grand finale that was yesterday, I am done. Its been a very interesting experience working and seeing just how much time and energy (and money) goes into our democracy in this country.

Yesterday was election day, and per usual myself and fellow trainers, lawyers, police investigators, and other official types were all cramped into a room downtown answering telephones troubleshooting issues that come up. It starts out with the calls like “No judges showed up at my precinct what do I do?” , or “When are you sending over my coffee and donuts?” or “Where is the television in our equipment so I can watch my training video?” and after a few hours turned into calls like “So and so is outside handing out materials for whatever aldermann” and “i just voted and the judge there was telling people who to vote for” and “Can you pick me up and take me to the precinct?, it’s icy out and I don’t want to walk.” (unfortunately we don’t offer that service)

The municipal elections bring out the best in Chicago politics, with politicians (or maybe just people supporting them in hopes to get that patronage gig at the end of the tunnel) trying to influence people into casting their hard earned votes towards them. This can happen simply by having an expensive sound truck outside the polling place constantly shouting phrases and reasons and “vote for jim person for ward wherever!” over and over. Or it can be from poll watchers handing out pamphlets directly outside the door of the polling place to try and influence that voter just before he or she votes. Or it could be from a judge who while issuing the ballots makes a “suggestion” towards one candidate or the other. From the calls we get it seems like everyone is doing this and at the same time calling to tell on the other guy for doing the same thing.

Now I wonder how many of these calls are truthful reports of what is going on or just people out there trying to use the system in whatever advantage they can to get that little edge to win. We take all of them as serious, documenting, sending out one of our investigators to check out the situation, but its really hard to tell if what people are telling you over the phone is actually what is going on. Quite amazing, you never think that in our modern age of elections (or maybe I am just naive) that it is possible to have a candidate who will hire two large intimidating men to stand outside of a precinct to “greet” voters as they show up to vote.

Well it just goes to show that elections are a big business these days, from the cost of the equipment, to the cost of training the people to run the elections, to the cost of a job for the few lucky people who get elected or get that patronage job for making that one crucial observation to push their candidate over the edge. Its been an interesting day/month, time to get back to the music.

hello.music round eight — Morning Tiger

hello.musicIt’s come down to the wire. With a last minute entry I have an all new version of “Morning Tiger” a song I wrote awhile back but shelved when I couldn’t think of how to expand or write lyrics for it.

[audio:http://smallgoodthing.org/audio/morningtiger.mp3]

I always loved the ending swell of synths and keyboards. It was very cinematic in a Jim O’Rourke kind of way (listen to his album Eureka for proof).

Anyway, a friend and co-worker said he loved it and wanted to take a crack at the lyrics and melody. When it came back from Robin, I wasn’t sure what to expect because we had never collaborated musically before. But his vocals and general tweaks to the mix really brought out the best in this song. Normally when I write, it had always been with my former bandmates in mind: writing for our former singer Kelley Gaunt, or a groove with Aryn and Greg in mind, or to serve as an improv vehicle for me.

So in a way it was strange to hear a song I had conceived alone in my bedroom or living room turn into something new and different. It might be one of my new favourites now.

We’ve got roughly 2 nights left to make any last minute things on these songs, pick our song order, album cover etc. Get the champagne ready.

NPR Playback

NPR PlaybackMany people (well the 2 people who read this site not named Aryn or Greg) might have figured out by now that I work for as a production assistant for NPR…specifically podcasting. One of the myriad projects I work on is an original to podcast show called NPR Playback. This concept was pitched to our podcasting illuminati to come up with a way to curate a podcast that looks into the NPR archives.

I came up with the idea to look back a quarter century after determining that the connective spine would have to give the listener a logical timeline so they were not alienated by strange time jumps or unmeaningful anniversaries. There is something simple and clean about that 25 year mark: a quarter century has in some ways a special ring to it in a way that is much more meaningful than those 18th year rememberances.

Every month looks back 25 years on sort of rolling calendar (in this month’s case February 2007 equated to February 1982) so that whatever month it was, we would have some new story to tell. What has been interesting is hearing the ebb and flow of news, politics and social trends and how they all interlock and evolve over time.

Today we finally published the February 1982 episode. Now in our sixth month we have started to get a bit of traction on the potential this podcast can have in showcasing weird and offbeat stories from the past. Think of it like “NPR Loves the 80’s!”
Take a listen here…or for all the past episodes, subscribe by pasting this link here into iTunes. Hope you enjoy.