Okay in today's assignment, you are (using any available computer) to log on to the Internets. Then see if you can locate the song called Barack Obama by Reggae artist Cocoa Tea. Hint: you might want to check for it on Apple's iTunes.
For extra points (and great enjoyment) you should download it and listen to it in its funkified entirety.
That is all.
The festival got some rain a couple of days, but not when I was there.
Seth Godin's thoughts on the mistakes made in the music business is spot on. Apple is one company that has actually benefited from the switch to digital music, or so they say. That seems right. When I bought my first iPod, about four years ago, I had an 'Ah ha!' moment. I re-discovered my love for music, an epiphany that paved the way for me to switch my computing life completely to Apple. Yes, Apple completely understands our love for digital music.
Or does it?
A few weeks ago my brother visited me from Panama. One of his goals was to buy an iPod and open an account on the iTunes music store. He already had an iPod that I'd given him, and which I had loaded up with all my music. Even though the iPod had 40 GBs of tunes he quickly became dissatisfied. He wanted to buy his own music. But, because Apple doesn't allow people in Panama to use the iTunes music store, he had to resort to using illegal services like Limewire. While it was free, he wasn't satisfied because the quality of the files he acquired wasn't always good, and it was too cumbersome to transfer the music to his iPod. He wanted to buy music legally, but he simply couldn't do it.
So I set him up with an account that has my U.S. based credit card. Now he can buy music (which I pay for, although he claims he'll pay me back). :) And so now he's happy. He says he's re-discovered his love for music. Too bad his friends in Panama (or the rest of Central and South America) can't do the same.
Meanwhile, as my brother was buying a new iPod nano, I was buying a satellite radio. It was an impulse purchase so I really had no idea how much I would like it. The quality of the sound is great, and I now have a steady stream of new music pouring into my house. I am absolutely blown away. As soon as I hear something I like I walk over and look at the display to find out who the artist is and the song name. At first I was tempted to buy every new song I liked, but I kept myself in check. Why buy the music? I already own lots of music. As long as I'm hearing lots of new stuff I'm perfectly happy. As long as I'm in the United States, that is.
The satellite radio won't work in Panama when I go down there to visit my brother. Oh well, maybe one day the music industry will be all smoothed out and we'll be able to have our music wherever and whenever we want to.
Dick Morris is a big player in the music industry, but like many music executives he had no vision whatsoever (or maybe it was lack of initiative). Wired Magazine explained that he liked to "rail against criminal-minded college students and
low-life punks who steal the music that his artists work so hard to
create." But he "admits to being fairly ignorant about technology" insisting
that his job was to nurture the creative side of the business.
Yep, and Nero's job was to fiddle while the flames rose. What a stupid statement: Complain about what you don't control, while you say that the one thing you could control is completely incomprehensible to you. No wonder the music industry is in shambles. But, I am glad.
If there are two words that don't belong together it's "music" and "industry."
Simplify Media purports to make your iTunes library available to you (or any of your 'friends') online. And it works with both Macs and PCs.
How well does it work? Not sure because I haven't tried it, but if it works too well it might face a legal challenge. And if the online music service suffers death-by-litigation then perhaps someone say (paraphrasing Othello) that Simplify Media connected people with music --"not wisely, but too well."
Jazz Fest brings some amazing acts to town, which results in a lot of spur-of-the-moment jam sessions. Like the one that John Mayer describes in this great article (in which he says he likes Jazz Fest precisely because he can stretch out and be a musician rather than a 'pop star'). Back when the Talking Heads were still together I remember seeing David Byrne standing among the throngs at Tips checking out a local band. And that was just on some random weekend, not during Jazz Fest.
Anyway, Jazz Fest 2007 is officially over and so all of the out-of-town musicians have left. But that hasn't diminished the output of great music here one iota. New Orleans is always overflowing with great musicians. Hell, a lot of them perform on street corners. Dan Baum's post about Loose Marbles gives the background on a group that I've often run into while strolling in the French Quarter.
Stumbling across bands like Loose Marbles is one reason I'd find it hard to ever leave New Orleans. Dan Baum also has a great post about the O. Perry Walker Band Trip, which provides an inspiring peek into how we produce our great musicians. New Orleans may not be at the forefront of business and industry. But it's the premier breeding ground for every form of jazz music, and has been for a very long time.
Even colossal disasters can't take that away from us.
The weather was great for the first weekend of Jazz Fest. On Saturday, Becky and I rode our bikes from Uptown and toward the end of our 6 mile trek, as we were huffing along the Jeff Davis path, Phil Radecker came up behind me. "Get out of the way Svenson," he said while maneuvering around me like a man on a mission. Last October Phil's mission was enduring chemo treatments for Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. He's fine now and obviously focused on returning to a balanced life, which in New Orleans means attending Jazz Fest. As soon as we parked our bikes, Phil put on his special shirt, bid us goodbye and made his way into the crowd.
Becky and I had no formal battle plan, but we did have a pocket sized program.
Jon Cleary and Rockin' Dopsie were at the Acura stage, which is where we met up with Ray Abadin, a law school classmate who practices law in Miami but comes to Jazz Fest every year with his wife Kim for musical redemption and spiritual rekindling. We also met Mike the Fireman from Chicago who comes here every year. I didn't see this guy, but I know he was somewhere in the throng.
One of the greatest moments this year was on the opening Friday. They held a jazz funeral for Ed Bradley, the reknowned reporter for 60 Minutes, and a longtime fan of the Fest. The funeral was attended by Bradley's widow, Jimmy Buffet, Rita Coolidge and other musicians. An official memorial to Bradley will now be a permanent part of the yearly event, as it should be.
This morning I went to the Camellia Grill for breakfast. To my happy surprise there was a notice on the window that Harry Tervalon was back for a two day appearance. I met a woman in the line who had come to town to do volunteer work for a couple of weeks (and, of course, go to the Fairgrounds to hear some great music). She said her employer back in California was happy she could come to help out for a few weeks. She seemed pretty happy about it too.
Last year's festival brought a lot of wonderful people to town, but it seems like this year the good vibes are even stronger. Maybe we're further down the road than we realize. The Army Corps of Engineers is still struggling, but apparently the "Corps of Mindlessly Joyful Dancers" seem to be doing quite well:
The Times Picayune reports some outstanding news: The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance is relocating from Los Angeles to New Orleans.
The New Orleans Jazz Fest schedule is up for this year, and it includes some major headliners such as Van Morrisson, Steely Dan, Brad Paisley, Norah Jones, Counting Crows, and Harry Connick, Jr. The Fest takes place over two weekends: April 27 - 29 and May 4 - 6. Check the official website for more information.
Check out my friend Rebecca's My Space site, and listen to her song Santa Fe. Rebecca is an amazing singer/song-writer. She's living in Austin now because of the whole post-Katrina thing.
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