Bootie's mildly disturbing photoshopped flyers. We heard the Eminem/Smiths one tonight.

I think my favorite flyer is the Bjork/Robert Smith meld.

'80s nostalgia.

The recording industry was slow to act, but over the last year and a half it has belatedly started trying to cash in on it all. Performers lost in the pop wilderness for a generation suddenly decided to get in touch with their old, often estranged mates, and get the band back together in the name of art, commerce or both. A raft of once-popular acts, from the danceable R&B group New Edition to the pop idols Duran Duran and George Michael to the more self-serious Tears for Fears to the standard-bearers of teenage angst, the Cure, all shook off the dust and signed new recording contracts in the past 18 months or so, releasing CD's of new music in some cases for the first time in 15 years. In the footsteps of Motley Crue's double album, the stylishly snarling Billy Idol, the dark darlings New Order and the famously burly rapper Heavy D will be releasing new albums as well.

All have returned with attendant fanfare, sweeping across red carpets and past screaming fans at radio station visits and showcase concerts.

Yet despite the grass-roots enthusiasm and VH1 dogma - not to mention millions of dollars in marketing - the 80's are not selling. People may be donning the once-again fashionable styles of the era (even leg warmers and Flashdance tops) and dancing to the bands of their youth, but they are not going to the store to buy the albums. For the industry that bet on the revival, it's mourning in America.

We Hate the 80's (NYT)

I forgot to mention that he'd also read the Bubblegum book, David.

Cool flyers. I like the Britney/Bowie one.

blah blah blah end of the CD format blah blah download blah.

blah.

Well, this article is interesting anyway:

[link]

Petersen and many other music-biz insiders agree that, in the next decade or so, the CD will very likely be surpassed as the album format of choice.

"The new format is no format," predicted Petersen, a 24-year industry veteran who also owns a record label, a recording studio and a music-publishing company. "What the consumer would buy is a data file, and you could create whatever you need. If you want to make an MP3, you make an MP3. If you want a DVD-Audio surround disc, you make that."

Hey, congratulations, Hayden. Great news.

We Hate the 80's (NYT)

My friend at Atomic Books is quoted in there and the Hate the 80s show my band has played a couple of times is mentioned!

Congratulations Hayden and family! Feb. 9 is my Texas dad's birthday too.

Is this the right show?

It is indeed, JZ. Thanks! If G can get it that would be great. (I guess I could do it, but he seems to be in the loop already.) Terrific show, and since it was broadcast the sound is really good for a bootleg, so as a fan of RT he'll definitely want it, as will you & David. Some of the live tracks on Watching the Dark came from these shows -- and it's always bugged the hell out of me that they didn't use the Bayou "When the Spell Is Broken," which is completely awesome, instead of the live one they used which is not only inferior to this but also to the studio version. Okay, work calls. If I can get a copy I'll do whatever I can to repay you & G, whether that takes the form of music, books, or whatever.

David, did I get Beg, Scream and Shout from you? I listened it today while I was in my waste-of-time Walking for Fitness class, and managed to finish 22 laps in 35 minutes.

David, did I get Beg, Scream and Shout from you?

Yes, indeed you did, at my strong urging.