Web 2.0 is for Music Lovers

My friend at the beach just got his first cell phone last week, but he nevertheless prides himself on having graduated months ago to Web 2.0. I myself have been cellular for...well, almost three years, but can't seem to advance past Web 1.5.

Yes, I've got a blog, but I haven't settled on a focus and I don't post my own digital images. Sure, I have a wiki to enable a writing collaboration, but it's password-protected (so Web 1.0!). I read several blogs and online news sources, but haven't bothered setting up a single RSS feed.

Likewise, I have a sonicliving account to track live music in the Bay Area, but still depend on my largely analog social calendar. My fog-swaddled friend chides me for it, this flirting with the promise of Web 2.0, but not following through. Instead of spending hours writing up a list of the next three months worth of shows, I could type in a few dozen bands and venues into any one of the several sites created for this purpose, like track50, upcoming.org, last.fm and Pollstar and let Web 2.0 do the work for me.

Do I have a lot of time to kill? Am I holding onto a nostalgia for some aspects of the analog world? Do I want to feel like I'm creating something, choosing the shows that I attend rather than having them tube-fed to me? Or am I just plain lazy and noncommittal? Is it (e) all of the above?

Eh, who's got time to think of these things, it's almost time for the headcount in my personal prison of pen and paper.

Kelly Clarkson Ups the Wattage

Johnny Marr joining Modest Mouse, that's one thing. But the image above is something altogether different. If I didn't see it on Pitchfork, I'd never believe it.

Someone alert the guys at the Advanced Theory blog*.


*For an explanation of The Advanced Theory, see this Chuck Klosterman piece from 2004.

Oh Hipsters, Where Art Thou?

It was decidedly not cool to be seen at The Dixie Hummingbirds show at Great American Music Hall on Sunday. There was no line of artfully dressed kids with asymmetrical haircuts waiting for the chance to score extras from the puffed-up ticketholders at will call. There were no 21-year-olds from Santa Cruz lamenting their inability to get on TicketWeb before the show sold out. And though KUSF did offer a pair of tickets to the show during their Friday afternoon Garage Sale, it is unclear whether anyone had actually shown up to claim them.

In fact, the sidewalk was eerily empty and the venue not much different. Among the six dozen or so people that attended the show were about ten or twelve people under 50. The audience was predominantly white, largely male, and of retirement age.

Paul and I encountered the same scenario back in October of 2002 when we witnessed Solomon Burke's mindblowing performance at Great American along with probably the same 70 or so people. Sunday's show was nearly as memorable, as Paul conveyed much more eloquently than I could hope to on his blog yesterday.

Why was this show, one of the best I've seen this year, not on the hipster music lover's radar? As Paul notes, he was the only Sonicliving user to express interest in the show. On further inspection, only two people have expressed interest in the Dixie Hummingbirds among the site's thousands of users -- myself and someone named Luke. In contrast, The Shins have 592 fans on the site, Postal Service 512 and Interpol 472.

If hipsters pride themselves on having a broad palette when it comes to musical tastes, why do they sport such an egregious blind spot when it comes to genres like Soul, Gospel and Jazz?

The hypotheses are wide-ranging. It has been postulated in some circles, and not without some anecdotal evidence, that despite appearing to take cues from black culture, your run-of-the-mill hipster is really at odds with, confused by, and even afraid of black culture. I can't think of many experiences I have had that would put the lie to this idea, but then again, the hipster does exhibit at least a passing interest in hip-hop, though hipster tastes tend to run away from the more earnest artists and toward the self-conscious and ironic acts in the genre like Handsome Boy Modeling School and Lady Sovereign. And the audiences at these shows skew white, middle-to-upper-middle class.

Another hypothesis has it that Jazz, Gospel and Soul are more or less nostalgic and relatively static genres at this point. Some will obviously disagree here. Feel free to jump in, Paul. But that hasn't stopped hipsters listening to rock 'n roll, supporting 70s revival bands -- of which crowd Wolfmother are the current darling -- or buying new releases from past-their-prime acts like New York Dolls and Pere Ubu.

So how does one explain the fact that hipsters will cram into the Hollywood Bowl to see Brian Wilson perform 'Smile', but nary a one shows up to see gospel and soul living legends of the caliber described above?

Is it because the shows and bands in question have not been sanctioned by the all-important tastemakers? Or is it rather that hipsters share an all-consuming fear of being caught at the wrong show? While they ridicule the masses for taking what is spoon-fed to them by corporate-owned radio and big advertising, hipsters blaze a new path by taking their cues from a few select websites and blogs, as well as...uh...certain radio stations. But different stations, different magazines. Some even not owned by corporations. So, if you're keeping track, the cachet lies in some Statement of Ownership document on file with in the basement of the SEC. Disney doesn't dictate my musical tastes! New Times Media does!

But my high horse has begun to saunter off the trail.

Truth is, it was nice not to have to fight the crowds to see a great show last Sunday, but it is a bit depressing for the state of the American musical landscape that our compatriots in Europe are still better and more thorough at sifting through our music and finding the gems than we are. You can bet that The Dixie Hummingbirds, and certainly Solomon Burke, have a built-in audience over there. It's sad to think that acts like this have to earn their living flying back and forth to The Netherlands.

A Tale of Two Ditties

As has often occurred in my many years of appreciating a diverse range of musical genres, I sensed last night, as I looked around the sparse, seated crowd gathered to see the Dixie Hummingbirds at Great American Music Hall, that I was almost certainly the only one who had been to, or even considered going to, the Kool Keith show at Mezzanine the night before.

Granted it was a Sunday, but this here was an early-evening crowd. Dinner at 5:30, a drink or two, take in a show, and be home and in bed before 11. They wouldn't have cottoned to the previous night's schedule. Not many people would, which brings me to one of the the central problems with rap shows.

My friend Paul out at the beach has a pet peeve when it comes to live music. He doesn't like to be misled about when the show is going to start. An all-too-common problem at rock shows, it's taken to a whole new level by the rap community.

When I arrived at the Mezzanine at 11 pm, admittedly already a bit tired, the act on stage was already riling the crowd with promises that Kool Keith would soon be taking the stage. Their last words to the crowd suggested that he would be next up. Another act, a 'special guest' and a couple of upstart 'friends' who must have been owed favors later, and it was 10 minutes of 1 am, and no sign of 'The Black Elvis'. He finally took the stage at 12:55 after several of the aforementioned guests and friends made the crowd jump through a series of hoops -- chants, hand waving, cheers -- so many, in fact, that you'd think that James Brown was appearing next on a double bill with Jesus. Some in the crowd had grown restless enough by this point to either leave or shout epithets at the calvalcade of pseudocelebrities parading across the stage.

In contrast, when I arrived 15 minutes after the scheduled start time for the Dixie Hummingbirds/Emmitt Powell and the Gospel Elites show on Sunday, the opening act had been on for -- who could have guessed -- 15 minutes. As Paul might have remarked, it was an oasis of civilization in the vast desert of artists' contempt for fans.

Why should the paying fans be compelled to work harder than the musicians? Why should they have to beg them to get their ass out of the backstage area, their noses out of the food spread -- or whatever else someone might have their nose in backstage -- and go out and do what the crowd is paying to see them do? Why must the crowd endure an unscheduled amateur hour of all the artist's friends, relatives, creditors, bookies or whoever else can strongarm him into five minutes with the mic?

The sad part is, the Kool Keith show, while not sold out, was pretty full and drew an energetic, young crowd. Don't get me wrong, he put on a pretty good show when he finally took the stage. But the Dixie Hummingbirds absolutely killed -- delivering one of the most rewarding and memorable shows of the year to a significantly older crowd numbering in the dozens. My friend at the beach and I were reminded of a Solomon Burke performance a few years back, also at the Great American, that drew about the same number. Two of the better performances I've seen in San Francisco, both completely escaping the imagination of the youth. We were among the probably ten or fifteen people under 50 that attended the show that were not wearing a Great American Music Hall Staff t-shirt. That's just a plain shame for all those youngsters who missed it.

You can read a great account of the show here. And next time you see a gospel or soul show advertised at Great American, do yourself a favor, don't miss it.

Oh A's! A's Oh!

What in God's Great Dominion in happening with the OAKLAND A's these days? A spirited and longer-than-usual run through the playoffs notwithstanding, their behavior has been very erratic of late.

First they allow Ron Washington, their infield instructor and third-base coach of 11 years, to take a managerial job elswhere in baseball. And not just in the National League or another AL division, but with the young and dangerous AL West rival Texas Rangers! Players have expressed their happiness that Wash will have the opportunity to pass his knowledge on to a whole new set of players, but how happy will they be when Texas is heading to the playoffs in a few years and the A's are spending October trying to ascertain whether there is any kind of nightlife in Fremont? (Hint: There's not.)

That brings me to the second piece of news. Rumors abound that the A's have finalized plans to move 25 miles to the south of Oakland and very likely will change their name (currently The OAKLAND Athletics) to correspond with their new home city, the name of which escapes me at the moment.

What will they think of next? It's a scary proposition, because they have several other big decisions to make this off-season, including whether to resign Frank Thomas and Barry Zito, not to mention naming a replacement for outgoing manager Ken Macha. The way things have been developing lately, I fully expect their choice to be Dusty Baker...or maybe Ken Mehlman.

Hey Charles Krauthammer...

Wanted to pass on this fantastic piece of writing found on The Huffington Post.

Oh Macaca!

How fitting that the battle for the Senate came down to 'Macaca'. If George Allen had kept his mouth shut about the young Webb aide who was videotaping his campaign trail appearance on August 11th, instead of feeling the need to ridicule him -- well, Dick Cheney would be breaking ties in the Senate for the next two years. Instead, Allen and many other Republicans just couldn't help themselves in the waning months of this election season. I guess there's only so long that you can hide your character flaws -- and those the Republicans have in spades.

So the left would like to take this opportunity to thank S.R. Sidarth for being the flint that ignited George Allen's three-month-long self-immolation. And those 16-year-olds in the Congressional Page program for being too damn tasty for Mark Foley to resist. Also Ray Meier for showing absolutely no respect for the intelligence of his constituents. And why not Conrad Burns, for just being Conrad Burns. And Rick Santorum for finally making it crystal clear to his constituents how his name made it to the Urban Dictionary. While we're on that subject, why not throw in thanks for now former GOP Congressman Chris 'Count' Chocola of Indiana.

But I can't bring myself to thank Don Sherwood, who rightfully got the boot after it came out that he not only kept a mistress, but continually assaulted her over the course of a five-year affair.

Finally, a Non-Disastrous Election!

Today is a giddy day -- it almost feels too good to be true for those whose political inclinations tilt left of center. Yesterday's drubbing in the House races and governorships was so complete it caused long-shell-shocked Democrats to wonder when the rug will be pulled out from under us.

Then we wake up this afternoon to discover that Donald Rumsfeld has resigned and we have almost definitely taken the Senate. Bush seems dazed, Rove is nowhere to be found, Fox News is facing an existential crisis and Hardball's Chris Matthews is pretending he's been buddy-buddy with the Dems all along.

The Republicans are holding on to hope that there will be a recount in Virginia. This will be a true test of George Allen's already flagging presidential ambitions, as the ability to steal an election is a prerequisite for Republican hopefuls. Unfortunately for him, the Secretary of State in Virginia is a Democrat.

But while the Democrats appear to have a solid majority in the House and look to take the Senate as well, there are nonetheless several disappointing results from yesterday's action.

1. Bob Corker beats Harold Ford Jr. Now we have to ask ourselves, did Corker's incredibly cynical and almost inarguably racist attack ads have an effect on the momentum of the race?

2. California somehow reelects Schwarzenegger. I could have sworn his approval rating was in the 20s not too long ago. One can only assume that Phil Angelides couldn't even get elected to head The International Arabian Horse Association.

3. California votes down funding for alternative energy. Just goes to show how susceptible the populace is to large corporate-backed advertising budgets.

4. Crazed arbiter of the bravery of elected officials Jean Schmidt wins reelection in Ohio. She'll be back in the House railing against yellow-bellied, highly decorated war veterans who happen to be Democrats in no time.

5. Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, Tennessee, South Dakota, Virginia and Wisconsin vote to ban same-sex marriage. Only Arizona votes down its ban.

6. As was pointed out to The Bossman, Nevada reaffirms its stance that women are suitable for purchase, but not weed. South Dakota also says no to drugs.

7. Arizona takes the bold stand that English should be our national language.

8. Michigan votes to further restrict affirmative action. Bad Michigan! Bad Michigan!

9. Republican John Kyl wins a Senate seat in Arizona that was starting to look like it might go blue. A loss for the left, but a victory for headline writers all over Arizona.

10. Talk about depressing, at last count, 48% or 110,317 of voters in Florida's 16th District saw fit to mark their ballot next to the name of a guy who admitted to inappropriate behavior with 16-year-old House pages.

11. Joe Lieberman's Republican support puts him over the top versus Ned Lamont. Now Joe waits for the Democratic leadership to come begging for his vote. What a sell-out dirtbag.

Meth, Boytoys in The White House?

The left was upset, and rightfully so, with John Kerry last week when he landed his goofy ass on national TV sticking his foot back where he kept it most of the 2004 campaign, thus breaking the string of 87 straight Republican missteps without a single Democratic distraction.

But with the way that the GOP's family values have been coming home to roost lately, it couldn't last. This week, yet another sweaty, teeth-gnashing sex scandal on the right, with evangelical Ted Haggard admitting to buying crystal meth (but not actually taking it) and getting 'massages' from a male prostitute.

As Think Progress reports, our President and/or his aides have met with Haggard on a weekly basis, and he was reputed to be very tight with Bush. Haggard himself has said "I’m a right-wing religious conservative...I joke that the only disagreement I have with George Bush is on what type of truck to drive.”

So does that mean we can conclude that GW also enjoys massages from working men and likes to get a little tweaked every once in a while? Well, we know he used to be into the coke, how much of a stretch would it be to move on to crystal? And someone in The White House was giving Jeff Gannon a daily press pass, was there more to the story than his softball questions in the press room?

Are the rest of us finally getting clued in on what it means to be 'born again'?

Not Midterms Again!

Well, the midterm elections are just six days off, and the left has reason for some guarded optimism. Depending on whom you consult, Democrats are expected to win somewhere between 7 and 230 new seats in the House and between 3 and all 55 Republican seats in the Senate.

The GOP is clearly reeling from the Foley page-fishing scandal, the failure of their Iraq policy, the strong* economy, the effects of the Abramoff scandal, the harsh light that Hurricane Katrina shed on the woeful socioeconomic and racial gaps in this country, the fiscal disaster of their economic policies, the woeful cynicism and outright lack of respect for the intellect of the electorate as embodied in their political advertising, their nearsightedness on international diplomacy and environmental issues, the hypocrisy of their stance on 'family values', their shameless plays on racial sensitivities both in campaign speeches and ads, their small-minded view on immigration, and the foul stench of sleaze, hatefulness and small-minded fear mongering that generally follows them wherever they go.

Meanwhile, the approval rating of the Republican-controlled Congress falls somewhere between the numbers for Dick Cheney and Idi Amin. The Republicans are trying to distance themselves from the increasing obvious failures of their Commander-in-Chief, but even the notoriously lazy American electorate is just conscious enough to realize they've given these guys six years to try out their ideas and have gotten nothing back but excuses and pleas for patience. The cynical plays on peoples' fears and the less-than-accurate attacks on anyone or anything that threatens them are no longer producing the desired effect. The people have finally realized that when the baby answers to Damien and has three sixes emblazoned on his scalp, it make sense to throw it out with the bathwater. And with that realization, we may finally be turning a corner. Hopefully not the same corner we thought we were turning back in 2004.

That having been said, here's the current list of Bossman's Nov. 7 endorsements:

National Offices
The Bossman did not punch his ballot (or more accurately, connect any arrows) for the Senate and House primaries as the woefully uninspiring Dianne Feinstein and Nancy Pelosi were running unopposed. Now that there are a few choices, I'll take the Greens, Todd Chretien for Senate and Krissy Keefer for House District 8.

State Offices & Propositions
Governor -- Phil Angelides (as Michael Dukakis was to GHW Bush, Angelides is to Schwarzenegger); Lt. Governor -- John Garamendi (Don't really care about Lt. Governor, we learned how much they really do from watching Benson, but I'd rather not see Tom McClintock one heartbeat away from running the state)

1A -- no; 1B -- yes; 1C -- yes; 1D -- yes; 1E -- yes; 83 -- no; 84 -- yes; 85 -- no; 86 -- no; 87 -- yes; 88 -- yes; 89 -- yes; 90 -- no

We only disagreed with The Bay Guardian on two State Props: 1B and 86. 1B is a costly bond measure aimed at repairing roads. The Guardian thinks it is too much cost for too little long-term benefit. I think it's better than waiting in vain for Sacramento to come up with a truly forward-thinking alternative. Prop 86 is a tax on cigarettes that The Guardian admits is regressive (meaning it disproportionally affects the poor). They argue that the money raised will go to programs that benefit the poor, so that makes it worth it. That argument doesn't fly for me. We should be funding those programs with the financial support of all taxpayers, not just the poor. Sounds like a classic case of we know how to spend their money better than they do.

Local Measures
Yes to All (A-K)


*Does not reflect the realities of some subgroups of the American electorate including: the poor, the lower middle class, the middle class, the upper middle class and the marginally rich.