We just did a huge facebook fundraiser for a guitarist and songwriter (songwriters are supposed to be the ones raking it in, man, all those putative royalties) because he'd lost his house and he and one of his kids are having severe health problems, and he was so deep in the hole he was never coming out. One of the premiere players, from the 70's onward. And yet.
The revenue streams are all jacked up, man. There's flotsam and jetsam everywhere, and right when you think you've got it worked out, it turns out there's a giant dam. Someone's making money, but it's often not the musicians.
Or Tom Waits who made more money from suing Frito-Lay than he did with his music.
Didn't he also make a fair amount of money when "Downtown Train" got covered and became a hit?
Also, didn't Iggy Pop make a lot more money when Bowie released his version of "China Girl" than Iggy did off his own music? (Bowie and Iggy wrote the song together for an Iggy album, so he got royalties from Bowie's version.)
Didn't he also make a fair amount of money when "Downtown Train" got covered and became a hit?
Yep, and some of Tom's later albums like Mule Variations have sold very well. Also, he's got a real sweetheart deal with Anti records where his royalties are much larger than the industry norm. But he really gave that label a lot of credibility and visibility by joining them. But he made his first million from Frito Lay.
Also, didn't Iggy Pop make a lot more money when Bowie released his version of "China Girl" than Iggy did off his own music?
Absolutely. Let's Dance was a huge, huge hit. You've got to remember that a lot of Iggy's early albums with the Stooges were out of print for a longish chunk of time too.
For the Mark Lanegan fan who has everything: [link]
Getting back to musicians with day jobs, I was walking home last night, and did a double-take. There was a house for sale and the realtor listed was "Aimee Mann"! Not the same one, though: [link]
On the other hand, Bill Janovitz from Buffalo Tom really is a realtor: [link]
I thought that both members of The Kills were in The Dead Weather. I was wrong but it got me thinking, are there any bands that are entirely contained by other bands?
The Creatures. (A side project for Siouxsie and the drummer of Siouxsie and the Banshees.)
Speaking of, their song "Standing There" is an awesome rant against sexual harrassers.
Damon & Naomi were the rhythm section for Galaxie 500 and Magic Hour.
Just because it's Saturday I'm posting two somewhat rare Brian Wilson productions up on Buffistarawk.
Guess I'm Dumb by Glen Campbell. Brian wrote this is as a thank you to Glen when he went out on the road with the Beach Boys after Brian had a breakdown. It's from smack in the middle of Brian's Pet Sounds era and it's a very Pet Sounding song, except its got Glen's lead vocals. Gorgeous song and production.
The One You Can't Have by The Honeys. Seeing as Brian was obsessed with Phil Spector it was inevitable that he'd toy around with girl groups, and he did with the Honeys, which included his wife Marilyn on vocals. Great song, with lots of distinctive Brian-ish touches.
