Listening to the new Peter Wolf CD, "Midnight Souvenirs." Not a groundbreaking work, but good stuff. I have to admit that I have a soft spot for Wolf, as he used to live near my old neighborhood in Cambridge, almost 20 years ago now, and he was always really friendly.

I passed him while walking through Harvard Square just the other day.

Velvet Underground vs. Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell (Video)

My pal Tara over at Dangerous Minds found this mashup of Velvet Underground's "Venus in Furs" and Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell doing "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." As someone who considers VU one of the greatest bands of all time, and also has a lifelong love of old soul, I was expecting the worst but hoped for the strange. On that, I think it delivers.

Yep. Very strange.

"There She Goes" by the VU directly cops the opening to Marvin's song "Hitch Hike" so there is a connection there.

Did Brian Eno produce Clegg-mania?

Britain's gone mad for Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg over the past week, elevating the onetime longshot to frontrunner status in Britain's election. As it turns out, like David Bowie and U2 before him, Clegg had help from a good producer.

Pioneering glam rocker, ambient composer and pop producer Brian Eno signed on with Clegg as an advisor in 2007. Somewhat bizzarely, the 59-year-old was brought on to advise the Liberal Democrats about youth issues, but once again, it seems like Eno spotted a trend before it got big.

A-ha Breaking Up After Three Decades Together

Which prompts me to say I didn't realize A-ha was still together....

iTunes takes over a quarter of 2009 US music sales

The iTunes Store was the source of more than a quarter of US music sales during 2009, even when squared off against combined digital and retail competition, figures from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry show. Apple contributed to a modest 1.1 percent growth in domestic digital sales, and a 9.2 percent increase for digital internationally, pushing the sector to $4.3 billion. The music industry as whole has continued to decline however, falling 7.2 percent to be worth $17 billion.

Sales have been slipping every year since 1999. The IFPI cites piracy as one of music's "biggest obstacles," and suggests that local government clampdowns could help restore the industry to profit. 2009 sales dropped the most, proportionately, in the United States and Japan, which together accounted for 80 percent of the $1.3 billion in global losses.

Apple has few challengers in the digital arena; even Amazon and Microsoft are believed to have just fractions of Apple's share. Microsoft has not published much data from the Zune Marketplace, making it difficult to do an accurate comparison. At the same time though, iTunes is estimated to account for 69 percent of online music sales.

the Phonographic Industry

Is it wrong that I first read this as Pornographic?

Is it wrong that I first read this as Pornographic?

You're not the only one.

X-posted with Natter:

Hanson (yes, that Hanson) has a new song out called "Thinking 'Bout Somethin'," and the video is a tribute to the Ray Charles number in The Blues Brothers. The song itself is really catchy.