There are only a few topics I blog about that interest the largest number of readers. Posts about race and Sarah Palin tend to stir things up. Immigration, not so much, surprisingly. Regular readers didn’t like the music blogging, although female readers seemed to like the Hanson posts. And the 64-comment post on synesthesia was a fluke.
That’s the way it is. When a blogger builds a reputation covering certain topics, those are what people expect to read when they come to his/her blog. Today, I have the pleasure of combining music and politics. A couple of months ago, it seems like I was reading a story every day about some rocker “offended” that John McCain played one of his songs during the campaign. Big babies. Clearly, they were not McCain supporters, and clearly, they were raging liberals.
So, when I hear about an artist type – musician, actor, or whatever – supporting McCain, I simply must blog about it.
Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry, Dave Wedge of the Boston Herald tells us, is a McCain supporter. Lead singer Steve Tyler (he of the generous lips) gets all the attention, even as he approaches senior citizenship. But for a while, I had a crush on Joe Perry.
A “lifelong Republican,” Perry says he decided to go public for McCain after “seeing so many people come out for Obama.” He has his parents to thank for instilling a “work hard” ethic and encouraging him to be positive. Not that it matters in the scheme of things, but I’m glad Perry went on record that he’s a Republican. He’s a rarity among rockers.
As much as I try to suppress the enthusiasm, I like hearing about “conservative” celebrities. Hollywood is a liberal bastion. They own it. As far as I’m concerned, they can have it.
Every now and then we hear about an actor or musician who isn’t a left-leaning friend of Streisand. I knew Kelsey Grammer, Chuck Norris, Bruce Willis, Jon Voight, Pat Sajak, Patricia Heaton, Angie Harmon (formerly of “Law and Order”), her husband Jason Sehorn, former cornerback for the New York Giants, and Gary Oldman (Sirius Black!) voted for Republicans. And Stephen Baldwin (brother of Alec) and Kirk Cameron are conservative Christians.
But soap opera veteran Susan “Erica Kane” Lucci of “All My Children” is a Republican? And Dennis “Easy Rider” Hopper? That’s good, because I really like him. (No, not in that way.) And little Ricky Schroder and “The Rock”? (See Celebs Who Lean To The Right)
Before I interviewed the band Hanson last year for a couple of articles, I had a feeling the Oklahoma-bred, homeschooled brothers were conservative.
Confirmed.
Well, we’ll all commiserate with one another on November 5, 2008. I have a feeling Barack Hussein Obama will be America’s 44th president. The status of that prediction will be a big, fat:
For 17 years, Jeff Price owned an independent label called spinART Records. He managed to do great things, but that was before the so-called digital revolution. In 2004, Price realized the label was no longer sustainable.
“The advent and general adoption of the Internet, digital media and hardware took control of the global music industry away from the record labels and media outlets and handed it to the masses,” he writes. (Source)
Rather than cursing the masses and resisting changes brought on by the Internet, Price decided to adapt. He wanted to stay in the music business but needed to make money. “[W]hat could I do to remain in the music industry under a model that would not rely on selling music (the exploitation model),” he asked himself. “And thus the idea for a new model was born, turn distribution into a service for a simple up front, one time flat fee.”
Digital Label
Price created a service called TuneCore, which allows artists to upload songs and create albums. TuneCore places these albums in online music stores, and artists keep all the profits and all their rights. And they can cancel their accounts at any time. The catch? Well, if you want to call it that, TuneCore charges 99 cents a track, 99 cents a store per track, and $19.98 a year per album for storage and maintenance. Not a bad deal.
Wednesday, December 12: Do you know any secular bands that incorporate “Christian” themes and imagery in their music? I’m taking suggestions for future “Glimpses of God” articles. Drop names in the comment section, or e-mail me at lashawn [at] lashawnbarber [dot] com.
7:25 a.m. PT: The digital music player has enhanced the listening experience for consumers. We can download our favorite tunes for free in some cases, legally or illegally, and we can carry them everywhere in small, compact gadgets. We no longer have to trek to brick-and-mortar stores to buy music on compact disks. We don’t have to wait several days or weeks for CDs we ordered to arrive at our doorsteps.
The music: We want it how we want it, and we want it now. Instantaneous. And no shipping fees.
We’re modern-day hunters and gatherers, foraging through an abundant mass of products set loose by the Internet and rapidly changing technology. The abundance is almost decadent. As long as you have Internet access, you can find almost anything anywhere. And if you know where to look, you don’t even have to pay for it.
But how does this abundance look from the artist’s point of view? Every time someone downloads a copyright-protected song without permission, an artist’s and/or record label’s rights are violated. Every time someone opts to buy a single song instead of an entire album, the artist’s intended message may be lost in the process. That’s what rapper and producer Jermaine Dupri thinks.
An Album: A story with a beginning, middle, and end
I don’t know anything about Jermaine Dupri or his music. I probably wouldn’t like it if I listened to it. But he has a point.
Yeah, Las Vegas is a little tacky (the strip), but so what? I’m looking forward to it. I’ve never seen the city, only the slot machine-filled airport on a layover.
You may recall that I mentioned attending two concerts on Hanson’s “The Walk Tour” so far. Well, I have an opportunity to attend a third. Just by “coincidence,” Hanson is playing in Las Vegas this Thursday night. All I have to do is let the publicist know I’ll be in town and…but I won’t.
The only thing stopping me from going to the venue, possibly walking in the door past a long line of excited girls and young women, and talking to the guys before the show is…pride. I’m too old to be any band’s groupie (although they don’t make me feel like one – last time I saw them, I didn’t want to bother them with picture-taking, but one said, “Hey, guys, let’s take pictures!” – yeah, I had my camera with me, buried deep in my bag, but they didn’t know that), and I don’t want to give the appearance of being a groupie, either. (But if I were 20 years younger…) Those guys are so nice, though.
Anyway, I look forward to having dinner with fellow Christian bloggers that night. I’m not sure if it’s too late to sign up for GodBlogCon. If not, come on out! My presentation is on “writing well in the new media,” or something like that.
Update (11/7): A reader writes: “Life is short…go to the concert!! Don’t worry about the groupie thing…you never know what God is up to…maybe He needs you at the concert. Enjoy Vegas!”
Ladies, aren’t they adorable (esp. the one on the left)? They look tired, though. A 3537-city tour of 30+ cities (OK, I give up. Even they don’t know!) and walking a mile barefoot before each show, can do that to you.
Sort-of-Related Update (10/27): As much as I try to avoid blogging on weekends…I had to share this. Actress Jada Pinkett, Will Smith’s wife, sings lead in a “nu metal” band called Wicked Wisdom. That’s rich!
Tuesday, November 23: Lots of advice on where to live, where to visit…and the men. That’s a bonus tip.
Please keep sending recommendations, and thanks again.
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Charlotte-Douglas International Airport has free wireless. Who knew?
I think I’m going through a cool (as opposed to sad) mid-life crisis. If I live to be 80, that is. This meeting-Hanson stuff was a wild idea for me (I even had a “special request” song announced and played for me at the Charlotte show – sweet sixteen again, I’m telling ya), though it may not seem like a big deal to anyone else. Now I’ve got it in my head to go to the United Kingdom.
The thing is, I don’t want to go over there as a tourist. I want to live either in England or Scotland for a year. Or two. I work from home, so all I need is a laptop and Internet access. Wild idea, going alone. There’s so much I want to see and do, and I plan to visit Germany, Spain, and wherever else I can roam. I just feel a strong urge to do something bold and different now. I’m not getting any younger.
I’m announcing this publicly because I need your help. I don’t know anything about the UK. Can you recommend a decent and affordable area in England or Scotland? Do you or anyone you know have an apartment or house for rent or sublet? Drop me an e-mail at lashawn [at] lashawnbarber [dot] com.
Update (10/21): Thanks for the responses! Good recommendations so far. Keep sending them. I’m not partial to any particular area, though I don’t want to live in London (too expensive!). I’m doing my own research, but it doesn’t replace firsthand knowledge from people who live in or have visited the UK. Thanks, readers.
The Nanny State rolls on. And a Republican signed the bill.
I was exposed to my father’s cigarette smoke the whole time I lived in his house and rode in his car. It didn’t kill me, obviously, and I didn’t develop second-hand smoke-related health problems. I hate cigarette smoke, but I have neither the desire nor the inclination to tell people what to do in their own homes and cars.
Speaking of father, I’m visiting family down south, one of my favorite places on the planet. Music-filled weekend begins…now. You know what I found out? Lightning does strike twice in the same place.
Rest easy, everybody.
Update (10/12): In a surreal moment last night, I was listening to my mother (a sort of physician’s assistant working for a group of surgeons and up to her elbows in blood all day) and Isaac Hanson discussing his recent surgery to remove a blood clot and the medication he’s taking. I bribed her into coming to the Charlotte show with me. I’ve attended two concerts for “The Walk Tour” so far (one was “work”), and I may leave it at that. I’m no groupie. Then again, it’s hard not to go when someone puts you on the guest list and you get to meet privately with the band. I don’t have the willpower to turn that down.
A long and somewhat rambling post about the long tail as it pertains to independent bands.
The Internet has revolutionized retail. It’s also changed the way people work and play. To be sure, the Internet has its drawbacks, but that’s the risk of revolution. The good news is that we’ve only begun to reap the benefits of a world untethered from traditional selling, marketing, buying, and consuming.
The Long Tail
In a book I highly recommend called The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More, Chris Anderson, editor of Wired magazine, wrote about a statistical model called the long tail. The head consists of best-selling products, also called “hits,” and the long tail is “non-hits,” products that sell in smaller quantities. Products in the head may sell millions per year; those in the long tail may sell only one or two a year.
According to Anderson, the culture and the economy are “increasingly shifting away from a focus on a relatively small number of ‘hits’ (mainstream products and markets) at the head of the demand curve and toward a huge number of niches in the tail.”
For example, a large portion of online retailer Amazon.com’s book sales consists of books not found in traditional book stores. People still buy the hits, but demand for non-hits has grown, thanks to the Internet.
Just got word that Isaac Hanson was admitted to a hospital in Dallas yesterday, diagnosed with pulmonary embolism (blood clot). He’d complained of severe pain in his shoulders and chest. (Video – story’s after the annoying 15-second commercial)
Isaac suffered from a similar problem several years ago. Too much guitar-playing. Keep him in your prayers.
If you read this blog and the articles, you know that Hanson began touring for a new album in early September. I saw the brothers in concert on September 16 and chatted with them after the show.
Trivia: The band members, three oldest of seven homeschooled kids, were raised as evangelical Christians. I don’t know about Isaac and Taylor, but Zac told me that he considers himself a Christian.
(Hanson was on NPR last weekend. The clip is worth listening to, but the clueless reporter who wrote the story got some facts wrong. Isaac is the guitarist, not the drummer. That’s Zac. Taylor’s the keyboardist. A little research, people…)
Update (11:25 a.m.): As of 7:33 a.m. this morning, that NPR story contained errors. I looked at it just now, and the errors have been corrected. It’s been up since Sunday, but NPR corrected it only within the last few hours of this post. Power of the publicist…or the blog? Interesting…
Later… So far, all the people who said they hate my Hanson blogging are men. People who “like” or “love” it are all women. I wonder why that would be? Hmmm…
Update II (10/5): Isaac is recovering from surgery and may be released from the hospital today. He’s young. He’ll be ready to hit the stage in no time. In fact, I’m attending the Charlotte show next week as a guest of the band (I’m visiting family in the area). Like other occasions that involve good music and good-looking people (and no political discussions), I’m looking forward to it.
Wednesday, September 26: Ha! A part-time musician e-mailed to say he heard me on KSFO last week, was “impressed,” visited the blog and was “horrified” by my “near obsession” with “washed-up boy band” Hanson. First of all, I’m surprised it took so long for someone to e-mail something negative about my Hanson blogging. As I mentioned before, when I get excited about something, I tend to take it to the extreme. It’s dedication, not obsession.
Second, a lot of people confuse Hanson with being a 90s boy band because that’s when “MMMBop” hit its peak. Anyone listening to Hanson now (they write, sing, and play their own music) wouldn’t call them a boy band. Anyway, I thought the e-mail was hysterical. The reader/musician says he’ll strive to “increase awareness of music of substance, and attempt to resist mindless pop culture.”
Hey, you say “tomayto”, I say “tomahto.” My blog, my topics. Anyway, gotta jet for this TV thing, which has been bumped to 10:30 a.m.
Tuesday, September 25: Coasting through Alpha Centauri. Just wanted to check in with this. (Zef insisted we bring a laptop, so…)
Later… Going on the Tammy Bruce Show now (1 p.m. EDT). Might be on CNN tomorrow. I’ll let you know. Broadcasting from space! Talking about politics, not music.
Even later… CNN tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. with Tony Harris (maybe) to talk about this. I don’t see the controversy (when heard in context), but you know cable news shows.
I’m old enough to be a mother to all three, but this “old head” was rocking out last night/this morning at the Hanson concert with the teens and twentysomethings.
I’m writing a concert review, a companion to this piece, and the brothers were kind enough to answer a few of my journalist-fangirl questions backstage after the concert. Boy, oh, boy. I must decompress. And get some sleep!
(Pictured: Isaac Hanson, Taylor Hanson, ME!, and Zac Hanson)
It’s Friday, so it must be…Hanson time! I rediscovered them, and I like. I’m going to see them when they roll through DC next month. Want to come with? I’m trying to get “journalist” credentials.
Here’s a clip of the band, with youngest member Zac on lead vocals singing “On the Rocks.”
So, when I hear about an artist type – musician, actor, or whatever – supporting McCain, I simply must blog about it. 
Wednesday, December 12: Do you know any secular bands that incorporate “Christian” themes and imagery in their music? I’m taking suggestions for future “Glimpses of God” articles. Drop names in the comment section, or e-mail me at lashawn [at] lashawnbarber [dot] com.
7:25 a.m. PT: The digital music player has enhanced the listening experience for consumers. We can download our favorite tunes for free in some cases, legally or illegally, and we can carry them everywhere in small, compact gadgets. We no longer have to trek to brick-and-mortar stores to buy music on compact disks. We don’t have to wait several days or weeks for CDs we ordered to arrive at our doorsteps. 
Yeah, Las Vegas is a little tacky (the strip), but so what? I’m looking forward to it. I’ve never seen the city, only the slot machine-filled airport on a layover.
Tuesday, November 23: Lots of advice on where to live, where to visit…and the men. That’s a bonus tip. 
The 
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