First Great Tune/Album of 2010?

After making huge leaps with '59 Sound, New Jersey band The Gaslight Anthem saw their Boss-inspired rock gain them a new level of stardom. And the new album, if the bloody ridiculously infectious foot-stomping single American Slang is any indication, should be a keeper.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSBhrinnwVs&feature=related

The litmus test? If it has been played repeatedly 8 to 10 times in a row, as was the case with the obsessive Glasvegas period in late '08 and The National from time to time.....but well worth listens.....

The Gaslight Anthem are expected to tour much behind the album, but have one Canadian date lined up at Montreal's Osheaga festival, Osheaga being a word which in English means, "We will crush any rock festival lineup Toronto could possibly concoct this or any fricking year!" The lineup thus far: Pavement, Arcade Fire, The National, Weezer, Stars, Metric and The Gaslight Anthem for starters, with more acts to be announced......oh sure, Toronto does get a rock show with Jethro Tull, so take that Montreal!

But to sum up, Gaslight Anthem good, new single American Slang effing good.....

Is The Ticket Worth The Album Or Vice Versa?

The traditional music machine has always said that the artist makes the album, releases the album, sells the album and tours behind the album. The album sales are just a small portion of the money an artist makes, the lion's share is on the road.

Seeing how record sales continue to slump the old-fashioned way, a few artists have decided that they will dangle their new album with a catch, the latest being Sarah McLachlan.

In a press release issued on Thursday, McLachlan announced that she'll be releasing her first studio album in seven years in June. The album, called The Laws Of Illusion, will be anticipated by fans. However, McLachlan is sure to pad the record sale number crunchers simply by doing something very creative and clever. Those who pre-order her album before the release date will be given access before the general public to tickets on this summer's Lilith Fair, one of the biggest tours of the season featuring a horde of different acts and genres with McLachlan the ringmaster.

So while those who go to concerts are often in possession of the new album, McLachlan and her people are almost guaranteed a strong opening couple of weeks for the record, something that has become increasingly difficult with the amount of product, the quality of product, and the ability to often access the songs online moments after its release or even before it's slated to hit stores.

YouToonie?

It won't affect the six Beakers now will Benson Honeydew reap any royalties from this virtual step forward, but YouTube are considering a way that would compensate independent music artists for making videos that would appear on YouTube. There's no word on what the details or compensation would be, but artists interested are asked to seek out the Musicians Wanted program on the site.

The channel still has a hard time deleting content posted from live performances which violates copyright laws but some labels try their darndest to do just that. Type in Led Zeppelin and O2 for the 2007 performance and you would be hard pressed to find any links to Stairway To Heaven or Black Dog among others.

The labels and YouTube made peace somewhat recently by agreeing to have their videos placed on the channel. The money is then generated from a 20 or 30 second commercial prior to the video airing.

Pop band OK Go appears to be one of the first groups to jump on YouTube's bandwagon, but how this leads to more cash is anyone's guess. More freedom perhaps from the often airtight, unimaginable record contracts young bands are only too eager to put their John Hancock on.

Good Summer Concerts?

The summer is on its way, judging by the fact it's going up to 14 Celsius today and t-shirts are now being dusted off. The summer also means that artists often make hay while the sun shines for three or four months, using the various amphitheaters (sheds) around North America to entertain in the open air. And this year will be no different, with a smattering of big names revealing tour details this week.

The biggest one in terms of anticipation would be Lilith Fair, resurrected after more than a decade dormant. Sarah McLachlan is the mainstay on the tour but Toronto will see Kelly Clarkson (whoop), Ke$ha (whoop's sixth cousin twice removed), Mary J. Blige (very good), LaRoux (not bad) and Lights (good). The daylong show would have worked better probably on Toronto Island among the trees and grass (the kind one mows) but beggars can't be choosers.

Sting will bring a 70-piece orchestra with him to the same venue to play reworked Sting songs, so that dramatic resonance of Do Russians Love Their Children Too? is sure to make your spine tingle. That or cause you to loosen your bowels. An orchestral album he put out last year is the reason for this, but thankfully it's this and not slow jazz-oriented interpretations of Roxanne.

Aside from U2, the other bigger gig for that concrete jungle once named Skydome is the Eagles and Dixie Chicks, the first shows for the latter in many years and perhaps a sign a new album might be in the works. The Eagles will deliver the exact same show they've given for ages, without any personality and with plenty of note-for-note studio-perfected hits. One can only hope the roof is opened for the show.

No word yet on Virgin Festival yet, but hopefully the debacle of last year's relocation is put to rest once and for all by organizers. Oasis-gate in 2008 and relocate-gate in 2009 should mean a calm, tranquil two days for this year. Or not.

I'm Bad, I'm Bad, I'm Unpreviously Released

This is the lesser talented of the Jackson clan, the enigmatic Tito, who perhaps even had less musical chops and muscle than former Yugoslavian heavyweight Tito.

Which brings me to the new Sony Music deal which Jackson's estate and the label agreed to, basically a huge, huge windfall for both parties which will see many reissues and re-releases as well as some previously unreleased material, three albums worth full apparently. The 200 Million smackers will definitely help Jackson's estate in their ongoing debt repayment program while Sony Music will see the Jackson brand continue to flourish for years after his death.

Basically, Jackson is this generation's Elvis, meaning the catalogue of hits will be reworked in so many different packages and formats that the quality will be replaced eventually (if it hasn't already) but an awful amount of quantity. The This Is It DVD alone was a great win for all parties and you can bet that perhaps more of that 120 hours of footage will be released in the future in some boxset/compilation/online archive membership.

When most bands can issue an album and reissue it six months later with demo versions of hit singles and/or non-album "cutting room floor" bores tacked on, and fans still buy it, it's a license to print a bit more money than the music industry has had in recent years. This doesn't include the "deluxe version" and then the deluxe remastered version, the genius of this being Elvis Costello who has approximately four versions of each studio album on the market now.

Regardless, the coffers will continue to fill, and Tito will continue to drink.

Heavens to Betsy...too long between posts

If you're wondering where I've been the last little while, the writing and recording process for the above album was a real bitch. Not to mention the album cover art. To get such small cattle in the background was arduous and tedious at the same time.

However I am back after much work and busy days. And onto different musings:

Lady Gaga is charging $175 (okay that's top price) for her July concert at the Air Canada Centre. To put that into perspective, that is more than Springsteen's three-hour concert ticket price and more than Tom Petty's top ticket price. To put Lady Gaga in the same price range as the Eagles and Simon & Garfunkel is insane. Well maybe not in the case of Art Garfunkel, but still....

Canadian Music Week took place where I was covering Steel Panther, who rhymed South Korea with an STD, indeed a turn of phrase not seen since Dylan Thomas or Wilde. However waiting for three hours outside the main performance area was insane as no media list was reportedly ready until 10 pm. Note to self: getting there at 7:30 to see the opening acts is not a good idea if you are not allowed in until 10 pm. And the fact it was at such a remote venue from the downtown core made it almost unbearable. But I did get paid.

CMW in previous years did not accept my media accreditation form for Billboard.com, stating that Billboard was not a Canadian based magazine. After all, the idea behind music festivals is to not promote your artists or talent to the world, but to make sure that every magazine on Bloor Street (and Bloor Street only) has VIP access to everything.

Tom Petty's tour will visit Toronto's ACC in late August as previously mentioned. The new single doesn't quite have the same oomph as perhaps that from Highway Companion, but it's a slow bluesy stoner ditty which probably works well in concert.

I promise not to be so long between posts next time. But it is my blog after all. But I will post more.