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Thursday, October 22, 2009Thursday's Earful: Jim Morrison; John Cale
By: David Schultz
 I am stymied by which of these story puzzles me the most.Surely, you've come across the story associated with the picture on the left. In 1997, rock historian Brett Meisner posed for a snapshot at Pere Lachaise cemetery and the spirit, or ghost if you will, of its most famous resident, Doors lead singer Jim Morrison, decided to make an appearance. Those who believe in the hooey that is Ghost Hunters can revel in the fact that the photo apparently isn't doctored. Many will try to debunk the ghostly phantasm as nothing more than a trick of the light. However, if Jim Morrison's death was a hoax and he's still wandering around the planet, it would be hard for him to show up at his "grave" as a ghost. The appearance of a ghostly Lizard King pales in comparison to the news that founding Velvet Underground member John Cale had to cancel an appearance at the Museum of Modern Art to discuss "Dyddiau Du," his recent media installation in the Wales Pavilion at the Venice Biennale due to a sports related injury. The 67-year-old musician apparently competes in skyscraper stair climbing races and hurt his knee while training. The man responsible for the unsettling drone on "Heroin" and the relentless organ on "Sister Ray" is now a StairMaster God. Fascinating. Labels: Jim Morrison, John Cale, The Doors, Velvet Underground Monday, July 07, 2008The Eleven Most Resonant Live Performances Of All TimeBy: David Schultz Give or take a couple days, this article pretty much marks my third anniversary with Earvolution. Over those three years, I’ve seen a whole host of shows and been part of audiences who walked away from them with a wide range of feelings and opinions. As for the artists, regardless of the size of the venue or the composition of the crowd, once the show is done, they’re usually off to do it again in another city for a different audience. Outside of the expansion of the musical horizons of the fans in attendance, one thing all these shows have in common is that no matter what transpired, very little changed in the macrocosm; in the long run, a single show rarely has much of an effect on the world. As great a personal thrill as it may be to hear a phenomenal band for the first time at South By Southwest, to see the growth and increasing popularity of favorites like Tea Leaf Green, U-Melt and Grace Potter & The Nocturnals or simply to be in the room while My Morning Jacket kills at Radio City Music Hall, it takes a very rare performance to resonate outside of the range of the venue where it took place and affect more people than those who happened to be in attendance. That’s not to say it doesn’t happen. What follows, in no particular order, isn’t a list of the best live concerts ever staged. That would be a somewhat academic exercise, populated as it would be with large scale efforts like Woodstock and Live Aid. Rather, this list – which in the spirit of Spinal Tap goes to 11 – consists of a group of performances that had relevance beyond the notes that were played and resonated well beyond the time and place of their occurrence. U2 – Live Aid (Wembley Stadium), July 13, 1985  When U2 took to the Wembley Stadium stage as part of the London half of Live Aid, they really weren’t that big of a deal. Once they were done with their 20 minute set, the world – which was watching – had a sense that Bono wasn’t your average run-of-the-mill lead singer and that U2 were head and shoulders above their new wave brethren. Looking as if he’d been awake for the last three days, Bono led U2 through a torrid and inspired “Sunday Bloody Sunday” but it was their unforgettable version of “Bad” that proved lastingly memorable. Halfway into the song, Bono made his way from the monstrous stage down to the massive sea of people on the stadium floor and plucked a female fan from the audience onto the scaffolding. With The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. playing on, Bono held the girl in his arms and danced with her while she unsuccessfully tried to stave off hysterics. Running back onto the stage, Bono riffed on Lou Reed’s “Walk On The Wild Side” and The Rolling Stones’ “Ruby Tuesday” and “Sympathy For The Devil” and by the time they wound up the song, hadn’t left enough time to finish their planned set. At the time, U2 believed they had blown their opportunity; it turned out to be a defining moment for a band that's had many. The BBC may have been partial to Queen’s performance and the image of Pete Townshend and Paul McCartney carrying Bob Geldof on their shoulders might be the event’s defining image but everyone who saw U2 steal the show at Live Aid recalls it as their first step on the path to becoming one of the most important bands in the world.Michael Jackson – Motown 25: Yesterday, Today & Forever, March 25, 1983  Madonna notwithstanding, Michael Jackson is the defining superstar of the 80s and his coronation to becoming the self-proclaimed King of Pop began with the performance of a single song. To commemorate Motown Records’ 25th anniversary, many of the label’s most revered performers, including Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Diana Ross gathered together for an NBC TV special. As part of the show, Michael Jackson, who with Off The Wall had established himself as a solo act, reunited with his brothers as the Jackson 5 for a medley of hits including “I Want You Back,” “Never Can Say Goodbye” and “I’ll Be There.” After completing the mini-set, Jackson remained alone on stage and spoke about the magic moments of the past. For as much he liked the old songs, he also liked the new, which at the time meant those on the recently released Thriller. With an off screen band playing Quincy Jones’ super-funky rhythm, Jackson picked up a black fedora from the floor and proceeded to deliver the performance of his career – a blistering version of “Billie Jean” that included the debut of the moonwalk. It’s hard to explain the impact of those three backwards steps but for weeks after NBC aired the special, kids would spend hours trying to duplicate Jackson’s mindboggling moves. Propelled by that one performance, the video for “Billie Jean” went on to shatter MTV’s then impenetrable color barrier and Thriller went on to become an International phenomenon. Dancing like he’s floating above the stage, this - not the ashen, surgically disfigured subject of child molestation allegations - is the Michael Jackson that most of us prefer to remember. Even if the performance seems a little dated twenty-five years after the fact, it contained everything set Michael Jackson apart and launched him to the highest stratosphere of superstardom.Bob Dylan – Newport Folk Festival, July 25, 1965  This is the famous “Dylan Goes Electric” performance that angered the traditionalist folkies and left Dylan vilified in certain circles for daring to plug in his guitar and play electrified blues. Backed by Paul Bloomfield, Al Kooper and other members of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Dylan’s heavily debated set consisted of only three songs, including “Maggie’s Farm” and “Like A Rolling Stone,” and was booed lustily throughout by a stunned crowd that felt betrayed by Dylan’s rejection of the folk ideal. At least that is how the myth goes; to this day, there is no clear consensus as to the reasons behind the crowd’s reaction. In contrast to the widely held belief that the crowd immediately turned on Dylan for plugging in, people who were there claim the poor sound system, not the music, provoked the heated response while others believe that the boos were directed at host Peter Yarrow for cutting the set short. If the latter is correct, Yarrow caught a raw deal as Dylan and his band had only rehearsed three songs. Whatever the crowd’s motivation, Dylan going electric sent shockwaves amongst the folk community who treated Dylan like he was a traitor to their cause. The anger would dog Dylan for months, most famously at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester – a show incorrectly attributed to having occurred at the “Royal Albert Hall” – where he was greeted with catcalls and proclaimed “Judas” by a vocal fan. In his typical fashion, Dylan remained unfazed by the whole controversy but decades later, his Newport Folk Festival set still provokes discussion over its significance and meaning.The Rolling Stones – Altamont Speedway Free Festival, December 6, 1969  Don McLean proclaimed the day Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper perished in a plane crash to be the day the music died. In that vein, The Rolling Stones’ 1969 performance at the Altamont Speedway is the day the Sixties died. As documented in Gimme Shelter, The Stones’ dream of a Woodstock on the west coast was a doomed effort from the start. Poorly organized, shoddily executed and marred by random outbursts of violence, The Rolling Stones took the stage well behind schedule and when they did, faced a hostile and restless crowd. By the time Hells Angel Alan Passaro, a member of Altamont’s “security” crew, stabbed and killed Meredith Hunter at the front of the stage while the Stones played “Under My Thumb” – not “Sympathy For The Devil” as legend would have you believe – the hippie ideals of the 60s had been exposed and for all intents and purposes the Woodstock generation was dead. From a performance standpoint, Altamont is far from the Stones’ best, quite possibly their worst as they spent an inordinate amount of time trying to keep the unruly crowd from rioting and had to often stop midsong to attempt to restore order. Aware that someone in the audience had been knifed by their security, The Stones considered aborting the show. Fearing the mayhem that might have occurred had they stopped, they soldiered on and presided over the end of an era. Four months after Woodstock galvanized an entire generation, Altamont threw away all the goodwill; an impressive legacy for a single performance.The Beatles – The Ed Sullivan Show, February 9, 1964  Given the ease with which a video or live performance can be accessed on Youtube, it’s hard to recall an era where visual images of the artists you heard on the radio weren’t widely and immediately accessible. Part of the allure of the early days of MTV – back when they weren’t a reality TV channel - was the sheer fact that you could see what the band looked like and, depending on the video, watch them perform. Prior to The Beatles appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, America had only caught limited glimpses of The Fab Four on news broadcasts documenting the overseas growth of Beatlemania. With the possible exception of Elvis Presley’s appearance on the same show years earlier, The Beatles’ appearance on Ed Sullivan was the most anticipated television performance in the history of music. More than 73 million people watched as The Beatles played “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” “All My Loving,” She Loves You,” “I Saw Her Standing There” and “Till There Was You.” The Beatles appearance, the first of three consecutive performances on the Sullivan show, officially launched Beatlemania in America, changed how a generation viewed the new wave of rock and roll musicians and inspired a legion of rock stars to pick up guitars and begin their own career. It is one of the defining moments in rock and roll history.Phish – Newport State Airport (Coventry), August 14 & 15, 2004  It wasn’t a secret; the three day destination event was going to be the last performance of Phish before they went on an indefinite hiatus and every able bodied Phish phan with the ways and means to get to Coventry hopped in their renovated VW bus and made their way to Vermont. Given the logistical difficulties presented by the weather and the overwhelmingly sentimental emotions brought out by the event, Coventry’s mystique has grown to epic proportions. Phish attracted tens of thousands to the campgrounds for their own Woodstock style bon voyage. However, poor weather turned the grounds into a disaster area and if you hadn’t made it to the campgrounds early, you were being advised not even make the effort. Leaving their vehicles where they could, fans trekked as far as 30 miles by foot to be there for the band’s final shows. Visibly emotional, Anastasio gave away their signature trampolines, wandered out to perform in front of the stage and prompted possibly the largest glow stick war ever battled. Phish finished six sets over two nights with “The Curtain” and from the moment they took a group bow, fans have been clamoring for a reunion. At this year’s Jammy Awards, Trey Anastasio, Mike Gordon, Page McConnell and Jon Fishman caused a modest amount of excitement just by appearing together on the same stage for the first time since Coventry. Given recent statements by various members of the band, rumors are flying that the long awaited Phish reunion may become a reality.The Doors – Dinner Key Auditorium, March 1, 1969  Even hardcore fans as well as their staunchest apologists would be hard pressed to refute the fact that Jim Morrison’s performance at the Dinner Key Auditorium in Miami, Florida marked the beginning of the end of The Doors. By most accounts, Morrison showed up the show drunk and belligerent and his demeanor didn’t improve once the band took the stage. For nearly an hour, Morrison alternated between singing verses of the songs and berating and inciting the audience. He then drifted on to the topic of love and nakedness before allegedly exposing himself to the crowd. In hindsight, whether Morrison actually showed the audience his Lizard King is irrelevant: everything went down hill for The Doors from this point on. The controversy over what by all means was reported as an erratic and substandard show erupted a couple days later when the Dade County police issued a warrant for Morrison’s arrest, charging him with indecent exposure and public profanity. In the avalanche of negative publicity that followed the incident and its resulting legal morass, venues cancelled shows on The Doors’ upcoming tour, radio stations dropped the band from their playlists and in the 18 months before Morrison’s case went to trial, The Doors immediate popularity waned considerably. The incident would help perpetuate the rebel shaman myth surrounding Morrison and time would restore The Doors to their proper place in the classic rock echelon. Although Morrison lost his legal battle while he was alive, fans refuse to give up his fight. To this day, Doors fans continue to pester Florida congressmen to posthumously pardon Morrison. In the end though, The Doors at the Dinner Key is the exception to the adage that one bad show won’t kill a band.Nirvana – Sony Studios (MTV Unplugged), November 19, 1993  When Nirvana performed before an intimate audience and MTV’s cameras at Sony Studios in New York City, no one ever imagined that they were playing the set that would ultimately serve as the public eulogy for Kurt Cobain. Wanting to go against the grain of the increasingly stale Unplugged formula of playing acoustic versions of a band’s greatest hits, Cobain, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic learned a few eclectic covers to go along with select numbers from Nevermind and their recently released In Utero. Cobain didn’t approach the acoustic performance lightly, characteristically butting heads with producers who didn’t like the setlist and steadfastly refusing to give an inch. This distressed MTV who wanted a rowdy unplugged rendition of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” instead of a guest appearance by the Kirkwood brothers to perform three engrossing covers from the Meat Puppets catalog. When the show aired in December of 1993, it was well received but not hailed as visionary or transcendent . . . until April of 2004 when the show, especially Cobain’s haunting rendition of “All Apologies,” served as a final and enduring reminder of Cobain’s troubled soul.The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Monterey Pop Festival, June 18, 1967  There was once a time when the world, or in this case America, didn’t acknowledge Jimi Hendrix as the most innovative guitarist of his time and he needed a showcase to establish himself as the preeminent talent of his time. With Otis Redding, The Who and Janis Joplin and Big Brother & The Holding Company making their first major American appearances, it took an iconic performance from Jimi Hendrix to overshadow all that came before. At the insistence of Pete Townshend, Hendrix headlined the last night of the festival and responded by giving the performance for which he will always be remembers. Playing his guitar behind his head and with his teeth, Hendrix pulled out every stage trick in his arsenal before setting his guitar on fire, worshipping reverently before the flames before picking it up and smashing it along with the band’s equipment. Often confused with his Monday morning performance at Woodstock, the Monterey set, which includes “Purple Haze,” “Hey Joe” and covers of “Like A Rolling Stone” and “Wild Thing” is the iconic Jimi Hendrix set; it’s been the focus of a D.A. Pennebaker documentary and Jimi Plays Monterey is one of the many posthumous Hendrix releases. Jimi at Monterey is permanently ingrained in the collective unconscious of classic rock fans and it is the 45 minute set by which all others will ever be measured.Janet Jackson & Justin Timberlake – Reliant Stadium (Super Bowl XXXVIII), Texas, February 1, 2004  This seemingly innocuous little halftime show between halves of the New England Patriots/Carolina Panthers Super Bowl affected the world more than any other performance on this list. Possibly trying to mimic Mick Jagger’s de-skirting of Tina Turner at Live Aid, Justin Timberlake exposed Janet Jackson’s right breast and the resulting “wardrobe malfunction” changed how live music is presented on the public airwaves. The ill-advised publicity stunt, timed to correspond with the line in “Rock Your Body” where Timberlake proclaims he’ll have you naked by the end of this song, not only gave birth to the delightfully inaccurate term “wardrobe malfunction,” it riled up the FCC who levied enormous fines on CBS and caused a Puritan-quality overreaction of rampant censorship throughout the entire broadcasting industry. Certain ABC affiliates refused to show Saving Private Ryan on Veteran’s Day due to concerns over FCC fines, networks enacted time delays on any live musical performance, Howard Stern left terrestrial radio for the unrestricted airwaves of Sirius Satellite Radio and two years later, the NFL censored certain words from The Rolling Stones’ performance of “Start Me Up” and “Rough Justice.” Timberlake emerged relatively unscathed: although he did bow to pressure to act contrite and gave a penitent apology at that year’s Grammy Awards. Jackson wasn’t so lucky and this little exploit ankled her career, which was already in need of resuscitation. An impressive legacy for a performance that lasted less than ninety seconds.James Brown, Boston Garden, April 5, 1968  Labels: Beatles, Bob Dylan, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Michael Jackson, Nirvana, Phish, The Doors, The Rolling Stones, U2 Tuesday, July 10, 2007Parisian Manager Claims Jim Morrison Died In His Nightclub
In conjunction with the 36th anniversary of Jim Morrison's death, a Parisian nightclub owner is casting doubts on the final scene of the mythic figure's life. Per the legend, The Doors' singer's corpse was found in a bathtub by his girlfriend Pamela Courson. In the absence of foul play, no autopsy was performed, leaving the official cause of death a small mystery.
Sam Bernett, the manager of Paris' Rock 'n' Roll Circus club, now claims that Morrison didn't die in the tub but rather died of a heroin overdose in the bathroom of his nightclub and that the singer’s death was covered up to avoid any investigation by the police into the nightspot’s drug activities. "The club was full of dealers," says Bernett. "Jim disappeared to the lavatories at around 2am. Then, about half and hour later, a cloakroom attendant came up to me and told me someone was locked in a cubicle and wasn't coming out. It was then that I got a bouncer to smash the door down. I recognised the U.S. Army combat jacket and the riding boots which he never took off. It was Jim Morrison." The club owner, now 62 years old, claims the singer was then hauled from the club to his hotel room by bouncers under orders from a representative of the club’s owner Paul Pacini. "I was told ‘We saw nothing, we heard nothing, we shut up! Ok? It’s what we better do to avoid a scandal.'" A spokesperson for France’s Police National says they will consider the new evidence. Although Bernett's story may cloud the issue of where Jim Morrison died, conspiracy theorists should take note: it does confirm that Jim Morrison is in fact dead. Labels: Jim Morrison, The Doors Thursday, April 19, 2007Florida Governor Contemplating A Pardon For Jim Morrison
Charlie Crist, Jeb Bush's successor as governor of Florida is reportedly "seriously considering" pardoning dead rock star Jim Morrison for his 1969 conviction for indecent exposure. Refusing to let sleeping dogs or deceased singers lie, the Doors Collectors Magazine petitioned the governor and may have the Republican politician questioning the legality of the possibly "bogus" accusations. Ray Manzarek reiterated Morrison's innocence, saying that he only pretended to expose himself at Miami's Dinner Key Auditorium. "He taunted the audience," said the Doors' keyboardist. "'I'm going to show you! I'm going to show it to you!' Then he took his shirt off, held it front of him like a bullfighter's cape, [and] wiggled it around as if there was something going on behind it."
Rather than have his legal team looking into the proprieties of the convictions of inmates sentenced to death or looking into updating the State's beleaguered voting system, Crist announced that they will review the 38 year old conviction to determine whether they will clear the long-dead singer's name. Who knows, if Jim is cleared maybe he'll come out of hiding in Oregon for the ceremony? Labels: Jim Morrison, The Doors Monday, March 05, 2007The Top 10 Corporate Moments In Rock By: David SchultzMore than 25 years ago, John Mellencamp began his career under the name John Cougar, a name he claimed was foisted upon him in a calculated A&R move to boost album sales and increase radio airplay. Once he had achieved a modicum of success, Mellencamp secured the return of his true surname, spending the next decade releasing material as John Cougar Mellencamp. In 1991, Mellencamp finally shed the Cougar, seemingly regaining every ounce of his artistic integrity. Given Mellencamp's tireless efforts to rid his populist work of any corporate influence, the ultra-ubiquitous use of his latest single "Our Country" in conjunction with the promotion of the Chevy Silverado bears every indicia of "corporate sellout." Long gone are the days when PETA member Chrissie Hynde goes to a Gap outlet and knifes a bunch of leather jackets simply because the shopping mall mainstays requested her consent to use one of her songs in a Gap commercial. To say that the profitable nature of the record business has skyrocketed since the days of Buddy Holly and "Rock Around The Clock" would be an understatement of gargantuan proportion. The evolution of the "music business" has oftentimes seen the focus placed more on business than music. Basic corporate concepts such as skillful marketing plans, profit maximization and good old Gordon Gekko greed, once inimical to the artistry of the music profession, are now commonplace. On one hand, debuting "Our Country" as a placard for the automotive industry could be considered good marketing, but it also qualifies as just another moment in the uncomfortable marriage between art and commerce . . . and not even one of the more egregious ones. What follows are the ten most severe instances of the artistic vision coming under attack by the corporate mindset. 10. Ed Sullivan Tells The Rolling Stones and The Doors To Keep It Clean  Given Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" at the 2004 Super Bowl, it seems almost quaint that CBS and Ed Sullivan once worried about suggestive lyrics being sung on The Ed Sullivan Show. In 1967, The Rolling Stones were slated to make an anxiously anticipated appearance on the legendary variety show and sing "Let's Spend The Night Together." Concerned that the lyrics, tame by today's standards, could prove offensive, CBS censors asked Mick Jagger to change the words. Under threats of being taken off the air if he sang the "offensive" lyric, Jagger complied, rolling his eyes while warbling "let's spend some 'time' together." [The BBC wasn't as prudish] Later that year, the Sullivan show made a similar request to another high-profile artist, but with much different results, Worried that the line, "Girl, we couldn't get much higher," from The Doors' "Light My Fire" promoted drug use, CBS asked The Doors to change the lyric. Playing live without a delay - ah, the trusting pre-wardrobe malfunction era - Jim Morrison got right up into the camera and, much to the dismay of CBSand Sullivan, not only delivered the line unedited, accentuated "higher." The network's crusade to protect tender sensibilities from suggestive rock and roll lyrics didn't succeed. In the aftermath, the two songs went on to be played on classic rock radio a few hundred thousand times without corrupting the nation's youth. However, the same Puritan attitudes exhibited by CBS and those that monitor and oversee network television persist today; Janet Jackson's left breast has not been seen in public since 2004 (at least not without a hand covering it) and the repercussions of her "wardrobe malfunction" are still being felt on network TV and commercial radio.9. Sony Infects Its Customers' Computers In The Name Of Combating Illegal Copying  In 2005, according to the New York Attorney General, BMG Music placed XCP and MediaMax DRM copy restriction software on a number of CDs, including releases by Trey Anastasio and the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. The software installed its own CD playback software and prevented the music from being downloaded onto the purchaser's computer in an iPOD compatible format. While Sony portrayed their effort as an ideological blow against the illegal copying and exchanging of copyrighted music, it seemed more of a thumb in the nose to the increasingly popular proliferation of Apple's iTunes. In making sure that their programs went undisturbed and iPOD unfriendly, Sony installed cloaking software that not only rendered them undetectable, it interfered with the way Windows played compact discs, opened security holes that permitted viruses to enter the user's system and transmitted certain data to Sony/BMG from the user's computer. When the problems became known to Sony, they acted arrogantly and denied culpability, drawing the ire of Attorney Generals in New York and Massachusetts. By the time Sony was finished making sure no one publicly or privately duplicated their music, they ceased implementing the software, had to offer "patches" the fix the damage done to their customers' computers and faced a class action lawsuit.8. The Fan Club Pre-Sale Goes Corporate Many artists have made a practice of allowing registered members of their fan club to purchase tickets for their shows in advance of the general public. For most fan clubs, membership is free and takes only a minute to complete the online form. Savvy marketers that they are, The Rolling Stones were one of the first artists to take the concept one step further, charging a hefty membership fee for inclusion in their fan club. Other bands like The Who, U2 and recently The Police picked up on the practice, which amounts simply to a premium payment of usually $60 or more, for the right to buy advance tickets. Sad enough that bands found a new way to extract money from their fans' wallets, corporate marketers have recently latched on to this trick. For the recent Best Buy sponsored reunion of The Police, members of Best Buy's Rewards Program had the opportunity to purchase tickets even before The Police's fan club, whose membership fee is $100. Norah Jones' recent concert at the Theater at Madison Square Garden was practically sold out through the Target pre-sale by the time tickets were made available to the rest of her non-Target shopping fans. Corporate sponsorship has become an accepted practice within the touring world, but when purchasing preference of quality concert tickets becomes a Best Buy, Target or any other corporate benefit, it's the fans who will truly suffer. 7. The Grateful Dead Removes Their Soundboards From the Live Music Archives Inherent to The Grateful Dead's mystique was their willingness to permit their fans to bootleg and trade their live shows. Long before other bands would recognize the benefits to be reaped from the free exchange of live music, The Dead created the model from which they would work. With the advent of the Live Music Archives at archive.org, Deadheads entered the digital age, flooding the site with multiple copies of nearly every Dead show ever played; all with the permission and consent of the venerable San Francisco band. The Grateful Dead were not the first band to change their mind about the availability of their shows on the Archives, but their about-face stung their fans the most.  Citing the detrimental effect on present and future archival CD and DVD releases, the Grateful Dead, upon the initiative of Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart, revoked the consent that permitted the Archives to act as a conduit for the exchange of the Dead's shows, denying fans the opportunity to obtain the music for free so that it could be sold to them in the future. "When the music was given away for free to trade, the band was making so much money touring that the music was not as valuable to them," explained Marc Schiller, who assists the Dead with their online marketing. "Apple iTunes has made digital downloads a business." The Dead underestimated the angry, aggrieved response from their fans: like dire wolves they howled vociferously, adamantly pointing to Jerry Garcia's numerous statements that the music belonged to the fans. Bassist Phil Lesh even chimed in to express his bewilderment over the entire issue. Ultimately, a compromise was reached: fans would still be able to freely download shows recorded by their peers but the better-quality soundboard recordings would remain available as streaming audio only - that is, until the Dead decide to release the show commercially and remove it from circulation. 6. John Fogerty Gets Sued For Plagiarizing Himself In 1985, John Fogerty, the most identifiable member of Creedence Clearwater Revival, released Centerfield, the album that marked the high-water mark of his post-Creedence recording career. As Fogerty had assigned the copyrights to his CCR material to Saul Zaentz' Fantasy Records as part of a deal to get out of his contract, he was loathe to play his old material lest he generate royalties for Zaentz, a man he despised. Once Centerfield, which contained the scathingly derogatory "Zanz Can't Dance" (ultimately changed to "Vanz Kant Danz"), became a certified hit for Warner Bros., Zaenz retaliated as only a scorned corporate mogul can. In a fit of pique, Zaentz sued Fogerty for infringing the copyrights he held on Fogerty's Creedence Clearwater Revival material. Claiming that Fogerty's hit single "Old Man Down The Road" sounded too similar to Creedence's "Run Through The Jungle," Fantasy Records sued Fogerty, marking the first time in history that a label sued a musician for sounding like themselves. Although the Court declined to set a precedent that a musician cannot plagiarize from himself, Fogerty did win at trial. With guitar in hand, Fogerty took the witness stand and took the jury through the songwriting process of each song, showing that a musician can have an archetypal sound without borrowing from past successes. As Fogerty hadn't played Creedence songs in years, seats for the gallery were filled for his performance/testimony. "I was accused of ripping off myself," Fogerty later marveled. "The little boy in me envisions the day I'll actually segue from 'Old Man' right into 'Run Through the Jungle.'" 5. EMI Sees Things In Black And White – Not Grey  Before DJ Danger Mouse became a household name as the skinnier half of Gnarls Barkley, he stood poised to become a highly publicized defendant to a copyright infringement suit at the hands of EMI. Mixing Jay-Z's raps from The Black Album with musical snippets from The Beatles' White Album, Danger Mouse, nee Brian Joseph Burton, created the cleverly-named The Grey Album. Danger Mouse pressed only 3000 copies: none of which he sold, giving them away to his friends instead. However, in the age of the Internet, The Grey Album became a digital success story with copies being downloaded in record numbers. By exposing Beatles fans to Jay-Z and vice versa, Danger Mouse's 2004 venture transcended the lines that usually bracket musical genres, creating an interpretive work to be enjoyed by everyone . . . except EMI Records. While Sony Music/ATV Publishing, a venture between Sony Music and Michael Jackson, own the publishing side of The Beatles catalog, EMI controls The Beatles' sound recordings on behalf of Capitol Records, Inc. At the peak of The Grey Album's success, the hyper-vigilant EMI sent cease-and-desist letters to Danger Mouse and independent retail outlets carrying the album, effectively ceasing distribution of one of rock's most inventive musical works. The concept of reworking Beatles music and vocals in fresh combinations wouldn't be forgotten though. Two years later, EMI would release Love, a recombination of Beatles music overseen by producer George Martin and his son Giles.4. Ticketmaster Crushes Pearl Jam  At the apex of their early 90s success, Pearl Jam got the bizarre notion in their head that tickets prices for their shows should be kept reasonable, somewhere around $20. Raining on the grunge rockers parade, Ticketmaster's service charges rendered such a dream relatively impossible. When Ticketmaster proved to be killjoy, remaining inflexible on Pearl Jam's demands that they soften their policies on excessive service fees, Pearl Jam refused to play any arena that sold tickets through Ticketmaster. Quickly, they learned that practically every arena in the United States had an exclusive ticket sales agreement with Ticketmaster and that the corporate behemoth threatened lawsuits against any promoter or arena that breached it by using another distributor. Left with no method of selling tickets, Pearl Jam cancelled their 1994 summer tour and brought an antitrust suit alleging that Ticketmaster used a monopolistic domination of the ticket distribution industry to secure a near 30% markup on tickets sales. In the band's view, Ticketmaster was taking unfair advantage of adolescent passion while unreasonably exploiting a marketplace in which they had no competition. Pearl Jam may have won a fleeting battle when Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard testified before Congress but ultimately Ticketmaster would win the war. By 1995, Congress decided against further investigating Ticketmaster's business practices and Pearl Jam's antitrust lawsuit proved unsuccessful. In 1998, heeding the complaints of their fans, who had difficulty acquiring tickets through alternative distributors, the grunge godfathers returned to Ticketmaster arenas. A true victory in every sense of the word for Ticketmaster, their service charges have doubled since the conflict ended.3. Geffen Sues Neil Young For Not Sounding Like Neil Young In 1983, David Geffen enticed Neil Young to sign with Geffen Records for considerably less money than Shakey was being offered elsewhere. The incentive that brought Young into Geffen's fold was the assurance that he could make whatever records he wanted without commercial restraint.  Right off the bat, Young explored the new found territories of his freedom, testing the patience of his new label by experimenting with computer generated synth-rock and recording Trans, which gave the world an opportunity to hear what might have happened had "Mr. Soul" been recorded by robots. For his next effort, Young recorded Everybody's Rockin', an album of middling Fifties-style rockabilly tunes. Despite the fact that Young was exerting the exact creative freedom promised to him, Geffen wondered exactly they were getting out of their deal and sued Young for making "uncharacteristic music with no chance of commercial success." Even though Trans and Everybody's Rockin' peaked respectively at #19 and #46 on Billboard's album charts, Geffen seemed miffed that they didn't sound like Harvest or Tonight's The Night and demanded the return of $3 million dollars advanced to Young. In response, Young countersued for $21 million, the value of the entire deal. Although the matter ultimately settled, Geffen Records lost some credibility as a label with a commitment to fostering artistic creativity. Backtracking from the allegations of the suit, Geffen later tried to justify it, "The truth is I fought with [Young] because I wanted him to do better work." 2. The "Special Edition" CD When music fans worldwide embraced compact disc technology in the Eighties, record companies salivated over the ability to sell them music they already owned, albeit in a higher-quality medium. Over the past 25 years, practically every major, minor and obscure album has been released on CD, leaving the labels with the quandary of having to come up with new music for the public to purchase. From this dilemma sprung the insidious creation of the "special edition" CD. Relying on fans' obsession to own the highest quality version of their favorite album, labels "remastered" them, tacked on a couple outtakes and re-released it in an effort to seek an additional $13.99. Already purchased Aqualung on CD? Well, too bad, because now you missed out on the "special edition" containing an interview with Ian Anderson and alternate versions of three songs off their earlier albums. The practice has pervaded practically any new re-issue. For example, although long available on CD, Arista re-released Patti Smith's Horses as a remastered special edition containing one solitary bonus track ("My Generation") and a "legacy edition" containing a second disc with a live performance of Horses. While nicely packaged and presented, the practice smacks of charging full price for an already available product with little fresh material. The practice has spread to Greatest Hits reissues as well. What better way to boost sales for Aerosmith's fourth Greatest Hits collection than to add on a couple rushed together new songs? Even when the re-issue does it right, like the "special edition" of Bruce Springsteen's Born To Run, the labels use the bona fide extras (e.g. concert footage, classic photos and copious liner notes) as an excuse to obscenely jack up the price. 1. Woodstock 99  Raping their own legacy and sinking to deplorable depths of capitalistic corporate behavior, Woodstock's organizers tried one last time to milk a dollar out of 3 more days of peace love and music. To counteract the storied legions of festival-goers who crashed the gates at the original Bethel, NY concert and its 1994 Saugerties, NY sequel, Woodstock 99 took place at the well-defended Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, NY. The fenced in, concrete covered space not only kept anyone without a $150 ticket (a steep price at that time) outside the gates, it also trapped in the 90 degree heat. Bringing life to the grizzly yet surefire marketing concept of selling water in the desert, the festival's organizers were more than happy to hydrate the sweltering fans - for $6 a bottle. Contrary to the spirit of brotherhood fostered at the original Woodstock, everything at Woodstock 99 was for sale, with corporate tents and ATMs set up throughout the grounds. By Sunday night, the breaking point had been reached. Limp Bizkit's "Break Stuff" seemed to inspire many in the crowd to recklessness and by the time the Red Hot Chili Peppers launched into Jimi Hendrix' "Fire," rowdy, lawless fans had attacked numerous booths, ruined a great deal of merchandise and destroyed the Woodstock myth beyond repair. Woodstock 99's desire to wring every last cent out of their franchise, to the point of turning the crowd into a dehydrated, captive mass of marketing targets for food, water and merchandise, created the circumstances that led to the perfect storm of revolt against the "noble" corporate goal of maximizing profits at the expenses of the most communal, anti-commercial festival in rock and roll history.Labels: Beatles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, DJ Danger Mouse, Grateful Dead, Jay-Z, John Fogerty, Lists, Neil Young, Pearl Jam, The Doors, The Rolling Stones, Woodstock Wednesday, February 07, 2007New Jim Morrison Vocal
Perry Farrell is working on his new record that will be released later this year. The record, Woman in the Window, will include a track that features a previously unreleased Jim Morrison vocal. The song will also be used as the theme song for Global Cool, an organization which is dedicated to raising awareness of the global climate crisis.
The Doors will also be honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and will finally get a Hollywood star. It is hard to believe they are just now getting a star. 2007 also marks the 40th Anniversary of the Doors' self-titled debut. Later in the year, their sophomore record will also celebrate the same birthday. Strange Days was released in October of 1967. Labels: Perry Farrell, The Doors
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