When I started at Berklee, I got a job in the jazz department at Tower Records. This was before iPods, before MySpace, and at a time when people were still asking what we had on cassette. The jazz department was up on the third floor, and nobody wandered in there unintentionally. As such, it was somewhat remote, and it gave the employee ample time to discover great music. As a new Berklee kid, I...
Repost: Twitter isn’t “over,” I’m over it.
I was in the audience for John Mayer’s interview at last week’s ASCAP Expo in Los Angeles. And in his follow-up post, he challenges folks to respond, repost, and continue a conversation (in more than 140 characters). Listening to John speak, I was mostly impressed with the fact that he’s equally smart and interesting. Without a guitar, he’s still thoroughly engaging. I...
RockGeek Fact of the Day #0420
There should never be free music.
Anytime you give a track away, people should be buying it -- and the currency of choice is an email address. Second to that, let them pay with a tweet, by becoming a Facebook fan, or creating a post about your music. Any of those currencies may actually be more valuable than the 99 cents they may (or may not!) want to spend.
There’s 1 for you 19 for me …
The music for “Taxman” was inspired by the theme song for the popular 1960s TV series Batman, which was recorded by the Surf Rock group The Marketts earlier in 1966 and hit #17 in the US. George was a big fan of the show. Thwap! Kapow! Bam!
From the Beatles cartoons, 1967 ….
And this … with Eric Clapton, Live in Japan 1994.
I bought new music.
RockGeek Fact of the Day #237
Two very cool people have birthdays today: Leon Russell and Marvin Gaye. Both geniuses, and both worth sharing a couple clips from. Leon Russell just finished recording an album with Elton John. Elton has often declared Leon to be “a god.” Marvin Gaye was a brilliant songwriter and performer who met an untimely demise at the hands of his own father 26 years ago (yesterday). These are...
An open letter to the Texas Rangers
To Whom It May Concern: I’m Scott Feldman — no, not that Scott Feldman, another one. Â I live in Boston, and I’m a Red Sox fan. Â As you might imagine, being a Sox fan is required by law here in Massachusetts. Â But to share a name with your star pitcher presents some obvious difficulties. I was writing to ask if perhaps you could arrange a meeting between your pitcher and me...
Pickled Herring
Reprinted with permission by Bob Lefsetz. Read more at www.lefsetz.com Every Sunday morning my father went to Sam’s. Well, first it was Max’s, then he and his partner had a fight and it became Sam’s. What I remember most is the pickle barrel, with half sours that you can’t buy anymore, no one puts in that amount of TLC. And the chive cheese. Made by hand. As much as you...