Latest Amoeba Music shopping spree: You should all go buy these NOW! And while I love Newbury Comics, Amoeba Music is the greatest music store on the planet. Perhaps the galaxy, and likely the universe...

Back when I lived in Hollywood, I spent most of my time working from home. The boss-man didn't want to incur unnecessary overhead, so in exchange for picking up the cost of my phone and internet, I never had to commute more than 10 steps from "home" to "work." For the most part, it was pretty sweet. But...

50 years ago today, JFK became our 35th president. Watch the speech that started it all...

It snowed in Boston.  One reporter saw a guy named Noah putting snow tires on his ark.  Shoopa Shoopa.  Knowing that I was going to be spending a large amount of time outside snowblowing/shoveling/cursing my life, I used Rdio to make a lovely playlist. Here’s what was in my ears while...

For anyone that’s a marketing consultant, you know the three steps to discomfort…. You submit an invoice to a normally happy client. They come back to you with: “what have you done?  Why am I paying you this much?” You show them everything you did, which they...

My computer is a few years old, and I was starting to panic.  Should this computer die, I’m totally lost.  My entire professional life (not to mention a lot of other stuff) resides inside it’s Apple-y glow.  I’m approaching the hard drive’s capacity, and I know...

After a while, pie sucks. It doesn't take much skill to buy a frozen crust, plop fruit and sugar inside it, and bake at 350 'til golden brown. Anyone who does this, and claims to have "baked"...is a liar.

Over the weekend, I saw a very cool band play. At times, their shtick began to take away from their music. It was as if they had to make sure they got the gimmick represented at every opportunity...

So why hasn't the band put it all back together, hit the road, and capitalized on the adulation? And why has Steve Perry remained suspiciously out of the limelight for so long? It makes a cynical marketing mind wonder how "planned" the spontaneous appearance at the Word Series truly was...

OK, so I stole this title from Led Zeppelin, but it's really the best way to describe what's going on in today's music industry -- and especially in its marketing. I'm amazed by the continual insistence on the "next big thing" being hyped long before the current big thing has been proven...

Here’s your easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide …. Be an outsider. If you’ve never worked in politics, government, or gone to jury duty — all the better! Have a silly skeleton in your closet. You dabbled in witchcraft?  Fabulous! Don’t let the facts stand in your...

So there’s all this hype and rumble around the new Elton John/Leon Russell album.  Some love it, some hate it, and most agree it could’ve been better.  I’ve been an Elton fan for a LONG time.  In fact, I’ve seen him in concert 32 times.  But the single greatest...

Here in the new music industry, the paradigm is shifting. There's a clear lack of synergy between the next-gen music makers and the major label gatekeepers. As a result, there's a clear lack of revenue caused by and resulting from illegal file-sharing by the disenfranchised youth movement. While some may claim a certain Luddite pretense by those in control of the industry, it's easier to claim that they're disconnected and reluctant to embrace new technologies. Maybe you've heard this bullshit before? I thought so.

I work a lot.  Probably too much.  That’s not to say I deserve pity or commendation.  It’s just that sometimes it’s easier to keep working than it is to just stop and relax.  The vicious circle of “get it done today, or have it waiting for you tomorrow” is...

The big news perking through the indie music world is that Bandcamp will start charging musicians to provide free downloads. When you read a bit deeper, the company needs to cover the costs associated with providing a fully featured free toolset that was developed and adopted by a massive...

I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before, but I love my iPhone. Actually, I’ve loved all my iPhones, and upgrading to the new iPhone 4 was a no-brainer for me. 7 hours in line on the day of release didn’t deter me in the slightest!  Hey, I’m a trooper.  Patience is a...

I love timely musical references.  Maybe it’s the radio geek in me, I dunno.  Here’s Wynton Marsalis and Sarah Vaughan performing “September Song” with the Boston Pops from the early ’80s…posted today September 1st...

Back in college I waited tables.  I’m fairly certain it goes hand-in-hand with attending music school.  One of those establishments was The Cheesecake Factory.  Being there 40+ hours per week got you very familiar with the menu.  While that may have been a detriment to my overall and...

I get asked a lot of questions, but lately this one has risen to the top:  ”Can you recommend a good/cheap/fast place to get shirts made?”  Every single band feels that after they’ve recorded some tracks and booked a few gigs, they need to have t-shirts to sell.  And while...

I wanted to come up with a more profound title, but I couldn’t.  Although, a declaration of true love seems pretty emphatic, don’t you think?  Staying up with the trends in the music industry is important to me.  In particular, I remember the brouhaha surrounding Qtrax.  They...

I had an interesting conversation today. While the topics ran the gamut of marketing “disciplines,” the recurring concept being debated is that of appropriate voice. And I have to admit, the debate continued long after the conversation ended. Because it was somewhat of a lazy...

The other day I accepted an offer to do a guest lecture at NYU. More specifically, it’s in the “Clive Davis Dept. of Recorded Music” of the Tisch School of the Arts. For me at least, that’s all kinds of impressive. I’ve guest-lectured a bunch of times at...

Palm trees were gently swaying. There was brilliant sunshine glistening off of the water. Folks were laughing, frolicking, and cavorting. And me? I was responding to a series of emails despite the automated away message that clearly explained I was far from any device with an apple on it....

While this might come across as something, I’d carve into an oak tree during the last week of summer camp, it’s really more of a professional statement.  In a recent Digital Music News post, I read the following: “80 percent of all records released are just noise —...

OK, I know, you expect to read music stuff here.  Maybe something about Topspin, or a rant against illegal downloading.  Screw all of that — today’s Mel Brooks’ birthday!!!  Just watch, laugh, and think of your favorite fart...