Take My Picture

Jim Marshall

(Feb 3, 1936-March 23, 2010)

Rock and Roll's most notable photographer

died in his sleep Tuesday night.

He was 74.

Here are a few of his most famous images:

Johnny Cash at San Quentin

Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock

Grace Slick and Janis Joplin

Exciting New Music Coming!!!

March

9th Gorillaz--Plastic Beach (See previous related blog for link to hear ENTIRE album)

30th Erykah Badu--New Amerykah Part 2: Return of the Ankh

30th Usher--Raymond vs. Raymond

April

6th Jakob Dylan--Women and Country (Hear "Everybody's Hurting")

6th Slash--Slash

20th Willie Nelson--Country Music (Hear "Freight Train Boogie")

27th Melissa Etheridge Fearless Love (Hear title track)

27th Hole Nobody's Daughter

May

4th Broken Social Scene Forgiveness Rock Record (Hear "World Sick")

4th Court Yard Hounds (that's 2/3 Dixie Chicks, Maines is semi-retired)

18th The Black Keys--Brothers

25th Stone Temple Pilots Stone Temple Pilots

? Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Mojo

? Devo Title TBD (Hear "Fresh")

June

1st Jack Johnson To the Sea

? Maroon 5 Title TBD

? Mark Ronson Title TBD

Also, Christina Aguilera's Bionic and a new album from Katy Perry are schedule for release.

Not sure on the dates there.

Here's the question:

What album by what artist are you MOST excited about???

Hear...Under Great White Northern Lights

NPR Music page's Exclusive First Listen:

The White Stripes'

Under Great White Northern Lights

Lady Gaga and Beyonce: Telephone

Lady Gaga (featuring Beyonce) Telephone

Okay. Don't be scared. We're going to do this together.

0:02 Barbed wire fence. Edgy.

0:20 "Jackie Brown" like titling. Cool.

0:28 Wait. What's this? A prison for lesbians?

0:31 Oh, I see. "Prison for Bitches". Okay?

0:47 Duck Tape Pasties!!!

1:06 Um...I feel dirty watching this.

1:09 Fuzzy Fishnet Hooey!!!

1:11 They said "dick"? Why do I find the word "Penis" more offensive?

1:12 "Too bad." Ha! You made me laugh. But I still feel dirty.

1:14 Scene 2: Ext. Exercise Yard, Day.

1:21 Now I feel dirty AND scared.

1:29 Um...okay? Smoking Ciggy Shades, chains, and white Go Go boots.

1:32 Product Placement No. 1: Lady Gaga Headphones.

1:55 Wait...is that a chick? I thought that was Steve Buscemi.

1:58 Grossiest Lesbian action since Monster.

And Monster could've been hot without the makeup. This is just...ick.

1:59 Good. She got a phone call. End Scene.

2:04 No, really. End Scene.

2:07 Production Placement No. 2: Virgin Mobile.

Virgin Mobile makes me feel dirty.

2:09 And...emphasis on Product Placement No. 2.

2:11 Helicopter? Now where are you taking us?

2:14 Back inside? How long is this intro?

2:17 Product Placement No. 3: Diet Coke Hair Rollers. Um... resourceful?

2:23 Oh no she di'n?!

2:26 What's Gaga gonna do? She's slicking back her hair like Kenickie.

2:28 Apparently that's all she's going to do. Okay.

2:40 Still don't get it. Let's get to the song already.

2:47 Good. She got a call. End Scene.

2:53 Finally!

Let's just watch a while, shall we? Tough parts over...right?

3:37 Is she still singing to Beyonce?

4:11 Crime Scene tape is a nice touch.

4:15 Man, Gaga's pushing some Virgin Mobile. We get it!

4:18 Freaky Head Bobble.

4:19 Stop doing that.

4:23 Product Placement No. 3: HP Lappy.

4:24 Is this Beyonce's arrival?

4:25 Nope.

4:28 Product Placement No. 4 (this is getting ridiculous) plentyoffish.com

4:31 After Effects Eyebrow Raise...creepy.

4:33 Very Gene Kelly.

4:37 Back to Product Placement No. 3 to view Product Placement No. 4.

4:42 Ah! P*Wagon. Kill Bill P*Wagon!

4:48 There! There's Beyonce.

4:51 She looks like a mannequin. She delivers her line...like a mannequin.

Maybe, she's just committed to the character.

5:07 Product Placement No.--what is it--5? Little Debbie Honey Bun.

5:18 "Once you kill a cow, you gotta make a burger."

5:20 "Trust is like a mirror..." Okay, who wrote this?

5:45 No. 6: Polaroid Camera...they still make those? Who uses those?

Serial killers?

5:53 Really? Another scene? Really?

5:54 "These boots are made for a'walkin..."

5:59 Blatant Boobage!

6:04 What's with the subtitles?

6:05 Floating Poison Sign.

6:08 Nice. Batman. Smack! Pow!

6:09 Ha! Now the subtitles make sense.

6:15 Okay. He drank it. He's dead. End Scene.

6:20 Thanks.

Let's just sit back and let things happen again.

I'm getting tired. And the ladies seem settled

into Pop Diva mode here. Should be safe.

6:28 Let's make a sandwich? Gaga, you're not making it easy for me to relax and enjoy the video.

6:37 Product Placement No. 7! (Are we really up to 7?)

Wonder Bread

6:42 Now I get it. No. 8: Miracle Whip Mayo.

6:47 "Stop rollin' stop rollin' I don't want to watch anymore."

7:01 I thought he was dead already.

7:10 Her bangs look like a telephone.

7:12 She loves those heels.

7:15 Squish!?

7:19 Kill this guy already and let's move on to the next Product Placement.

7:25 Thank You. Next!

7:29 Not another close up? And a line? Come on.

7:31 Random sequence of weird shots. Killing spree.

7:43 How much longer?

7:49 At least Beyonce makes a pretty 30s style pinup.

I'm just gonna watch her for a while.

8:21 Finally...I am actually enjoying this thing!

Pop music is like a drug. It's not good until you're addicted to it...then it's too late.

I knew I should've quit back at Miracle Whip.

8:38 Does this outfit remind anyone else of Shania Twain?

8:57 What is this? Are they the ghosts of Thelma and Louise?

9:02 Song over. There's still :30 left?

9:16 Told ya. Ghosts of Thelma and Louise.

Well, we made it through. Wait...

9:18 "To Be Continued..." Really?

9:19 Oh! Now you bring back the helicopter?

Can Gorillaz save Abbey Road?

Some of you may already know, EMI is in a world of trouble. (Most recently the record company was successfully sued by Pink Floyd, and the band Ok Go just split on them to release their album independently.)

Virtually up to their ears in debt, the record company actually considered selling off one of its major assets, Abbey Road. The studio made famous by the Fab Four in 1969 was -until recently- at risk of being sold and inevitably demolished. (Did your mind just play back Joni's Big Yellow Taxi? Mine did.) Petitions circulated the UK, urging the National Trust to purchase and preserve the studio.

There's good news from Reuters this month. Now it seems EMI has every intention of keeping Abbey Road among its list of assets.

"How?" you may ask, and you are wise to do so. "Well, with a little help from their friends," I punningly reply.

This month EMI has released the third studio effort from multi-million selling group, the Gorillaz. EMI has high hopes for the album, Plastic Beach, a potential cash-cow dragging the record company out of debt.

After all, the band's previous two albums earned a combined 4.1 million in the US alone. Worldwide, their debut sold over 7 million copies! They earned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for ringtone sales. (Really. Look it up.)

With solid "hits" like Feel Good Inc. and Clint Eastwood, these albums were must haves.

However, it seems this time around, instead of infectious hook lines and fun poppy melodies, Damon Albarn has decided to take a more grown up approach. Plastic Beach may require more than a few "listens" from even the most avid of fans. (If you are interested in hearing the album, check out this link: Listen.)

So let's talk marketing strategy, shall we? With few obvious "hits" (first single Stylo with a video featuring 3D versions of the band's animated personas--and of course, Bruce Willis lookin' badass--may be the exception), what's a fledgling record company to do?

These days you can't just release an album. You have to have some presence online. EMI has done just that with Plastic Beach; the CD/DVD version of the album actually unlocks "Special Content" on gorillaz.com, a site previously used for promotion alone. They call it "The Plastic Beach Experience". Wallpapers, screen savers, games, and access to Gorillaz live stream all available upon verification of purchase.

Can Plastic Beach save EMI?

Despite the great effort by the Gorillaz, I'd say it's doubtful. Frankly, Plastic Beach may be too good to go big. It's not an album for the masses. I doubt a few extra cartoons on the website are enough to bring in the masses. And face it, EMI is a record company; they need the masses.

It's a good thing EMI has also just released Corinne Bailey Ray's The Sea and Lady Antebellum's (Number 1 on the charts; never heard of 'em) Need You Now.

Technology Obsessed!

I'm obsessed with the technology at my fingertips. Addicted to Facebook. Watching three seasons of Lost in a week to catch up (it's got to make sense...I just KNOW it!). Logging into Gmail five times a day to see what Bible verse my mother in Mississippi has forwarded me this time.

Obsessed.

And going through withdrawal.

Amy took my Mac with her to the library (on the condition that she use it to watch her class lectures...and NOT to watch Lost). So here I am. At home. Alone. With nothing to do and no YouTube.

Decided I would read a book. I don't do that often enough. It's a really good one too. Ripped: How the Wired Generation Revolutionized Music. By Greg Kot. A must-read for all the musicians out there.

Just read an amazing David Byrne quote:

"Taking music from town to town and playing it for people has been around for centuries. It was thriving before we were alive. And it will be around long after we're dead. It's an experience that cannot be digitized."

This quote poses an interesting debate. Within myself. And the way I see it, like Sawyer (couldn't resist one more Lost reference), I have three choices:

a. Use the technology I have to CONNECT. (I have the phone. I should call my mother. Thank her for the latest inspirational video she sent.)

b. Use the technology I have to ESCAPE. (I could call my friend Irma instead. Nothing bu fun there.)

or

c. I could do nothing. Continue my debate with myself, lying on the couch. Doing nothing!

Today, I chose the later option. Only for a little while. Flipped through the three fuzzy stations on my cable-less boob tube. Decided to get on with my day. A trip to the bank, with my iPod. Jamming to some J5. A little Willie Nelson. A bit of Al Greene.

My debate continued. Couldn't be drowned out. Not even by the Beatles.

I stopped here. In the Second Cup on the Danforth to write this blog.

We all do what we can.