In case you haven’t noticed, this hot mess of html has been on hiatus for the summer. And how is this particular break different from my earlier, sometimes longer, yet unofficial hiatuses, you may ask? It’s not. I mean, sure, there are some new variables — spotty Internet connection, vacations, a Twin Peaks bender, etc., but you don’t want to hear about any of that, right? And I trust you all have been dealing with this break just fine and are enjoying the summer as I have, at fun outdoor concerts and swimming holes, rolling around in poison oak, and the like.
You Don’t Even Need to Take Your Paper Out
I heard about this thing called Spotify a couple days ago. It’s a European music service that’s planning to crawl up on our shore early next year (right now, it restricts access if you have a U.S. IP address). Maybe you’re familiar. According to this other guy’s blog, users can stream any of the service’s 6 million songs for free and even organize them into playlists, but they have to listen to an ad every half hour or so.
Six million sounds like a lot, but iTunes has 10 million, and in my experience, only has what I search for about 60 percent of the time. And eMusic, “iTune’s cheaper, cooler cousin” (according to a Rolling Stone quote on its site), has more than 6 million songs (not sure how many more), but only about 30 percent of what I want. I canceled my eMusic subscription after just a few months because I was clogging my hard drive with a bunch of stuff I only sort of wanted. Granted, when I buy music over the Internet, I’m typically looking for things I can’t easily find at record store, or random Neil Young songs that pop into my head that I decide I need that minute. Maybe my taste isn’t “cool.” And maybe I’m asking a lot, but it’s the Internet. The Internet is supposed to have everything I want. Instantly. However, if you’re looking for the new Wavves record and don’t like stealing, eMusic rules.
Spotify sounds different, more like Hulu, which also has a limited selection and ads, but is free. There are concerns — that people like owning things rather than streaming them and that the business model won’t be able to sustain the costs of royalties. I have other concerns, but I’m pretty sure they’re boring.
ee Music
Lately, I’ve been riding a rad wavve of Judee Sill and Julee Cruise music. There’s a Sill tribute coming out September 22 called Crayon Angel: A Tribute to the Music of Judee Sill. Frida Hyvonen takes on one of my favorites — “Jesus was a Cross Maker” (hear it at Stereogum). Daniel Rossen (Grizzly Bear, Department of Eagles) did “Waterfall” (it’s over at Pitchfork). Judee Sill put out two records (Judee Sill and Heart Food) of rapture/redemption-rich Laurel Canyon-style material in the early 1970s before dying of a drug overdose in ‘79. An additional album, composed of demos and rarities, came out in 2005 on a double-disc called Dreams Come True.
Here she is singing “The Lamb Ran Away with the Crown.”
According to a few only slightly questionable online sources, Julee Cruise (who plays a large role in the eerie hum of Twin Peaks) is working on a new album coming out this year. I think her last one came out about seven years ago. This is exciting news! Also, she’s married to the editor of Guideposts. Just throwing that out there. Fun fact!
You’re going to love this:
