Commentary

Adam of Sophistpundit shares his observations about the difference between good albums and albums with good songs.

I always really liked Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, but thinking about just the songs on it, I couldn't bring myself to call it my favorite of their albums. As an album, however, I think it is their best--in as much as it holds together so well and the songs flow seamlessly from one to the other.

What most intrigued me about this post is how Adam applied this idea to another realm of creative activity- television shows:

It got me thinking about something else, too. I've had this idea about television shows for a long time. I've thought to myself; what a wonderful opportunity a television show is. If you had the patience to treat a show like a really long movie or a book brought to life, you could do great things. What I mean is, write out everything before it ever hits the air. Instead of having a show of episodes and seasons, just have one gigantic, overarching plot leading to the end. And then, when you're done, no matter how popular the show might be by that point, do not give in to the temptation to continue.

Reviews

Elisa Camahort reviews Richard Thompson's recent performance at the Carriage House Theatre at Villa Montalvo. She came with high expectations and did not leave disappointed:

Richard Thompson gave a nearly perfect concert last night. He came on, spent two straight hours playing and singing...and telling jokes when he had to replace a broken string. He rocked; he sang ballads; he took requests from the crowd; he led singalongs; he did two encore sets. And he sang two of my requests and launched into one of my favorites just when I was thinking I'd like to hear it. Best of all he totally wowed my S.O...which means it will be easier to convince him to go back with me to see Thompson again the next time he's in town.

The remainder of the review is so well-written and so thoughtful that even though I've never heard of Richard Thompson, I now want to! Elisa's blog also has another fine review for the new album by Kate Bush.

In a short post entitled No Pleasing Some People, Andrew Ian Dodge of Dodgeblogium makes note of an interesting paradox: while websites like Garageband make it easier for musicians to review each other's music, sometimes the reviewers reviews aren't always appreciated. His conclusion? "Being nice is not always the best thing."

The Deputy Headmistress over at The Common Room has been listening to Christmas CDs. Most pleasing to her ears are A Child's Christmas in Wales read aloud by its author, Dylan Thomas, and Dream a Dream by Wales' Charlotte Church.

Personal Reflections

It's been said that every life has a soundtrack. Sally Swift of Daily Sally recounts the place that Bob Dylan's music has in "one of the signal, if not defining moments of.. (her) Boomer youth." The story begins like this:

While I was at Penn in the late 60s, I escaped Philadelphia almost every weekend for several summers to a classmate's family vacation home at the very tip of Connecticut on Long Island Sound. ... Each home was on such a small lot, the bedroom windows of one were virtually spitting distance from the next. One morning in late June... my friend Karen and I were awakened far too early by music coming from the open window directly opposite ours. ... We listened, confused, and said to each other, "God, that's incredible. I didn't know Dylan had a new record."

I'm sure I've telegraphed the punchline. There was no new record, at least not yet. It was Dylan himself, a house guest of the next-door neighbor, sitting in his room, playing and singing. Was he still composing? Playing for his own pleasure? We never found out. We just lay there and listened, entranced, as he sang, to himself and to us. ... "Lay, lady, lay, lay across my big brass bed, Stay, lady, stay, stay with your man awhile..."

The Assimilated Negro describes his participation in an ad campaign involving the gangster rapper known as "50 Cent":

In the spring of this year, myself and a few other music professionals were asked by the incredibly smart people at Snap Marketing to help them brainstorm an experiential marketing campaign. One that would link their client Glaceau/VitaminWater with the forthcoming Anger Management Tour and VitaminWater spokesman 50 Cent.

The moral of the story is this: don't underestimate "the power of a good story, tied in with a proactive, open-minded, and creative approach to marketing and self-promotion."

Analysis

Speaking of rappers, 50 Cents' erstwhile producer, Dr. Dre, is the subject of a post by yours truly entitled "The Spin Doctor". It's my response to a Spin magazine article that attempts to explain Dre's longevity and remarkable success.

And last but not least, Clyde Smith over at ProHip-Hop offers his take on the recent spate of profiles of rapper/producer turn industry exec, Jay-Z. In short, he wonders if the tale is becoming stale from repetition.