Puck

Music sales topped a record 1.5 billion units in 2009, and overall music purchases were up 2.1 percent. Then why shouldn’t the music industry be celebrating?

In 2009 sales figures released this week by Nielsen SoundScan, a decade-long trend continued: digital sales were up while sales of physical product, including compact discs, were down significantly. Though overall sales increased, most of these increases were in digital singles, which cost a fraction of an album. The biggest sales losses were in albums (both CD and digital), down 12.7 percent overall to 374 million.

via Turn It Up: Music sales for 2009 are up — but numbers are deceiving.

I just noticed that all the links on an old post are broken. The post promos an album by Atman that features a remix I recorded of one of their tunes (actually several, if you want to get technical about it). So here’s the tune, Luminous Bliss, since it’s apparently no longer available commercially.

Yo, check out these fine grooves from Tobias Palmer. Very fine work.

Q-Burns Abstract Message is one of my favorite remix artists. He recently did a mix of Youssou N’Dour’s “Wake Up,” which you can stream or download here. I really like the on-page player; if you create an account and log in, you can post comments which show up on the player’s timeline. Q-Burns writes that the N’Dour remix project is

part of a campaign spearheaded by IntraHealth OPEN, a non-profit organization focusing on open source technology and how it can be used to advance health care in Africa.

Q-Burns is one of eight artists who contributed mixes to the project. Check ‘em all out here.

My friend Shawn, AKA Cottonmouth, just launched a new blog called Hip Hop Hump Day. Every Wednesday, he’s going to post a hip hop tune to get you through to Friday. And knowing Shawn, it’s going to be something you’ve never heard before but will be glad you did. Brother-man has excellent, eclectic taste and digs deep into the digital bins, so check it out.

And if one a week just ain’t cutting it, you can always come back here and search my archives for collaborations between Cottonmouth and DJ Funken Wagnalls (AKA me).

As a drone lover, I rejoiced to learn about the Buddha Machine. It looks like an old transistor radio and plays a variety of looped recordings performed by fm3. An iPhone app is available from the fm3 site, as well as some loops. Click the play buttons at random intervals to stream dreamy ambient music. The free loops include synth washes, piano and electric guitar, all quite lovely.

I’ve been listening to Clothesline Revival’s Of My Native Land for a couple of years now and I love it. Clothesline is Conrad Praetzel and Robert Powell, some fine guests and a bunch of public-domain field recordings by the legendary John Lomax and others. The field recorded vocal tracks are by Leadbelly and others.

Unlike, say, Moby’s effort to go old-timey,which comes off like, well, a house DJ trying to go old-timey, Praetzel and Powell are true musicians–they never push the originals places they don’t want to go. Praetzel is responsible for the beats and he’s correct to refer to himself and Powell as “neo-traditionalists.” Instead of fast-forwarding the country, roots and blues tracks into the future, the duo take downtempo electronica and psychedelia into the Wayback Machine. The result is lush, understated and emotionally intense. The intensity hits its highest peaks in “Turtle Dove,” with its gorgeous vocal by Wendy Allen, and the slide-guitar vs harmonica smackdown “Wade in the Water.” (If anybody can clue me in about where to get more Wendy Allen–much, much more–I’d be grateful.)

In short, Of My Native Land is highly recommended. Check out the samples, along with a couple full songs in mp3 format, on Praetzel’s site, Paleo Music.

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I think the general public, that gang of knavish sprites, is finally catching on to the hell that is digital rights management. The issue appears to be slowing creeping into the mainstream press. (Other than news about kids and single moms being sued by the RIAA, I mean.)

I could be wrong. Easily. Have sales of iPods really declined? No. And if jah people were really concerned about the creative commons (and DRM is the anti-cruise of creativity), they’d stop buying iPods. (I just bought a Sansa; it’s OK; at least as good as any generation of iPod I’ve tried.) In any case, I blame DRM Hell on the Beatles breaking up and the “Sue Me, Sue You Blues.” (Copyright is an old bane, by any measure. Victor Hugo, the modern inventor, was clear that ownership should only extend through the lifetime of the creator; screw the blood-sucking heirs.) Read the rest of this entry »

Riverfalls remix by DJ Funken Wagnalls

I mixed up The Sea and Cake for an acidplanet contest back in 2003, but it was only posted on AP for a few days before I realized that I had entered it in the wrong category and took it down. Listening to it again for the first time in years, I still think it’s a good mix, so here you go: download or stream, as you please. You’ll find the original version of “Le Baron” on their One Bedroom album. Their new album, Everybody, was just released, with the usual lineup, on Thrill Jockey. Funkendub says check it out–they’re one of the best bands going.

a musical offering by DJSkrotekkki

I’m not sure what all goes on in the mind of DJSkrotekkki, but it is surely wondrous strange. I’ll let him speak for himself:

My latest assault on the sonic front emerged from the trenches of a creative block. After countless months had come and gone without any progress being made on another music project, I thought something less demanding and more “fun” might un-jam the rifle, knock loose the crust of mud, blood, sweat, and grime that had accumulated on it during its time on the battlefield – something like… a cover song. Being a fan of the sardonic, ironic, and just plain hilarious (and being unsure of my own vocal abilities), Right Said Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy” seemed to be the perfect target. The fact that I’d had the idea in my iron sights for a while didn’t hurt either.

The song’s structure is such that I could throw all sorts of things into my rendition of it, providing an opportunity to experiment with a plethora of production tactics. And test my pipes.Honestly, I’m not sure how to gauge the vocal performance. Given the constraints (or were they restraints?) I was working within, I suppose they’re okay. After all, they are intended to be humorous and definitely succeed in that regard.

More work went into the music than I’m willing to admit – or type about. However, I will list the hardware and software used and abused during the (de)construction of the song: bass guitar/amp, guitar/amp, microphone, Goldwave and Fruityloops. I also sampled the kick from Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer”, drums and sounds from Skinny Puppy’s “Left Hand Shake”, various sounds from Microsoft Instruments, and of course, a Timothy Leary interview.

Bring your lawn chairs and enjoy the battle.

And here’s DJSkrotekkki’s “I’m2Sexy” for your download and/or streaming pleasure.