scratchapella

happy happy berfday! how old are you now?

sang-il chook-hwa buddy

oops didn't see this one let's go cubbies!

beautiful day in chicago today, sunny, 40/50 degrees, clear. . . i really didn't think they'd make it past the braves. . . let's go cubbies! (kken where are you watching the game?)

oops. . . keep hope alive

wow, i used a lot of smileys

i had the loveliest time with everyone i saw saturday night! i hadn't been to an outdoor massive in over three years. . .and there was barely any rain. . . the industrial pond/lake/harbor was an interesting setting. . .setups on the beach were nice. . .music was. . .good. . .i don't remember specifics about anyone's set that night , so i'm not going to get critical . . .though it made my night when donny burlin (i think it was him) played that schneider light 3000 track in the sonic soul area. . .but what made the party tight was all the people i was with throughout the night. . . candy count that night: 5.4. . .but i ended up with just 1.4 by then end of the night. . .gave the others away. . .

i thought you were from the southside?

what happened to groovetech? has anyone else had this problem? i've been trying to get on it for days. . .

i wish i was writing my thesis about this topic instead. . . .

again, another article conflicting w/my earlier stated opinions. . .but like i said earlier, i'd been fed all that RIAA lit for a long time before i came to that opinion. . . breaks label owener here says, "" The sooner people realise music is for free the better. If anyone thinks they can support a family from selling records, think again. The internet-age is upon us, and music will soon be free". --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It doesn't take a mastermind champion to work out that over the last year or so the worrying trend of record labels going bust, superclubs closing and magazines such as Muzik, Ministry and Seven ceasing publication point towards a dance music industry imploding upon itself. It all points towards a decline - a sort of recession of the clubbing industry if you like, and it isn't good news for any of us. Back in the early 1990s, the internationally renowned corporation Ministry of Sound was but a fetus, but soon grew to become the world's first superclub and an internationally recognisable brand. This represented new beginnings for dance music and an acceptance by the rest of society that this clubbing lark was not going to go away. People may resent such marketing nowadays as dance music was originally meant to be the anti-thesis for corporate pop, but without it; the industry would never have become so successful. But what we are witnessing now is an example of an industry over-exposed. There is now too large a supply of DJs, record labels, clubs, and promoters - and not enough demand. A smaller scale example of this would be Ibiza. For the last 15 years or so, the island has become the centre of clubland, where hit records are discovered, where DJs are made superstars and where tens of thousands of clubbers come to party. For the last few years, Ibiza's tourism industry has suffered. Some blame international terrorism, deliberately misleading television documentaries, lack of consumer confidence, or clubbers choosing other holiday destinations like Ayia Napa or Kavos. But what is evident is that there are too many promoters all fighting for the same piece of pie. Too many cooks spoil the broth, and with less clubbers in Ibiza than ever before, the market should respond to cut supply. But in the 2002 season there were more promoters than ever before, resulting in many going bust and clubs half-empty. People feared the death of dance scene was just around the corner. Record companies have also witnessed falling sales figures and in due course many have gone bust. Serious, Manifesto, Strictly Rhythm, RNS, and more have all ceased trading. Even what was once thought as indestructible big record labels are struggling to stay afloat. DJmag is writing this feature after hearing rumours that even veteran label Hooj Choons is to cease trading. Thankfully the label that brought Café Del Mar to the masses is still alive and kicking record boss Red Jerry told DJmag - just. "We have a tough time," Red Jerry reveals, "but we are still trading even though at times we have clung on by our fingertips". The same story can be heard throughout clubland - from promoters, record labels, and club owners, the times are certainly hard. Red Jerry even offers advice to those who think that it is a mere short-term trend and that it may reverse: "Anyone who thinks they are going to make money five years from now by selling 12 inches ought to think again" he warns. "Seismic waves are ripping through the industry and it is make or break time. We have to evolve and respond to the market, or we won't survive". Smaller labels are struggling as well. London based breaks label; Rat Records will close its doors early next year DJmag can reveal. Rat boss Ollie Wood gave DJmag a more straightforward explanation for the decline in sales figures: " The sooner people realise music is for free the better. If anyone thinks they can support a family from selling records, think again. The internet-age is upon us, and music will soon be free". Is the record companies fear of Internet downloads taking over traditional record shopping to become a reality? As Red Jerry points out this will mean an end to the middleman in the music industry - no more distributors or record companies -as artists will soon be able to access their audience via the internet. Last week DJmag reported on the growing trend of record labels adopting sales policies via mp3 downloads. Hooj Choons is too about to offer such a service, but as Rui Da Silva (Kismet Records boss) points out to DJmag, the mp3's can be copied as many times as the customer wishes because policing copyright infringement laws on the internet is very difficult. Does this mean that eventually even producers and artists may not see any financial reward for bringing us such wonderful music because of internet freedom? Surely even an artist with an unlimited supply of passion needs to pay the bills.

so this contradicts my earlier stated opinions, but interesting nevertheless. . . . -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RIAA WATCH Deaf, Dumb, Blind and One Foot in the Grave: The Real Story Behind RIAA Propaganda By BILL GLAHN A musician friend of mine who releases his albums on his own label recently asked me, "What about the little record company, like mine? If people can get all my songs for free, then who will buy the CD?" My heart just about sank when I heard this question coming from him. I didn't expect it to come from someone who is a religious reader of this column, a personal friend, and frequent correspondent. But I wasn't surprised, considering how much the major media has regurgitated the RIAA line that P2P file-sharing is killing the music industry. If you believe the often quoted line that sales are down 31% in the last three years, a period in which Internet down-loading of songs has become a world-wide phenomenon, it's easy to make the assumption that P2P is the cause. And that the tough road which artists who are promoting and selling their own wares engage in will become even tougher. But is that a legitimate assumption? Or is that as big a leap as saying birds can't fly because pigs have a monopoly on air space? Here's a few observations from an unbiased observer. The Single factor: A number of years back the major labels stated that singles weren't profitable and made an (un)conscious decision to kill the format. They claimed that singles lost money and were only used as a promotional tool for albums. The truth of the matter was that singles weren't as profitable, so why settle for 3 or 4 bucks when you could squeeze the public out of 17 or 18 for an album. After all, in CD format, the manufacturing costs of both were about the same. Tom Petty took his label at its word and said if singles were a promotional tool that lost money, then he would put his next one up on his web site for free. With no manufacturing costs, his label wouldn't "lose" money if he promoted his album that way. This was several years before P2P technology. The label demanded an immediate retraction of the MP3 from his site and their true goals were exposed. Any customer that wanted the one song would just have to pay $17 for it whether they liked the rest of the album or not. The Dumb factor: So what do the majors market in an era of few singles? Acts specializing in singles. Boy bands. Pop tunes. The most frequently named artist in the RIAA subpoenas by far was Avril Lavigne. The second was Michael Jackson. Let me clue the record industry in on something here. If you weren't one of the 50 gazillion people that bought the Thriller album in the almost two decades since its release, you ain't gonna buy it in 2003 just to get "Billie Jean." Consider that Madonna, Pink, and Lil' Romeo made the list. Now consider that Jimi Hendrix and John Coltrane didn't. The Deaf factor: Aw hell. This one doesn't need explaining. The Blind factor: Downloads were in full swing in 2001 when industry wide sales of singles in the United States totaled a little over 2 million units. The pitiful showing was due to one thing and one thing only. The major labels weren't releasing any singles. But the industry just wouldn't budge when it came to entering the download market. A few more singles were released last year and sales doubled to over 5 million. Still no movement on the majors part other than a few over-priced and poorly configured download sites which were label affiliated and exclusive. Enter iTunes this year. In 3 months iTunes has sold over 10 million downloads at a dollar a pop. The thing to consider here is that iTunes is currently only available to MAC users, an infinitesimally small portion of the home computer market. AND iTunes isn't part of the world wide net. Their sales are limited to customers in the U.S. I think what is illustrated is that greed will blind you from reality. Toni Basil, Kajagoogoo, and Hooked On Classics all made money for the industry. They didn't do it by selling albums. People aren't going to pay album prices for one-hit wonders or career popsters. The "lie-through-your-teeth" factor: The RIAA says sales are down 31% as if the 5 major labels were the only record labels in existence. No doubt that sales are down significantly for them. They released 25% fewer new releases during the slump. Take into account that the economy has been in the toilet for much of that time and average incomes continue to slide and the other 6% doesn't seem to be out of line for an industry that sells exclusively non-essentials. Which brings us to... The youth factor: The first jobs to go in a sliding economy are the ones held by teens and young adults, the primary focus audience for the majors. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that "in July 2003, the labor force participation rate for young men (16-24 years of age), which has declined steadily since 1995, was at its lowest July point on record, 70.0 percent. The July 2003 participation rate for young women was 64.5 percent, the lowest it has been since 1975." So why is it that the majors, always looking at things in terms of "markets", continue to ignore the multitude of older artists with followings ranging in age from 30-90 (save a stable of proven million sellers with major label careers dating back to the Jurassic age)? For one thing older artists have been around the block and don't look at label contracts the same way a starry-eyed youth might. Either assume that those artists are too smart to be coaxed into slavery contracts or refer back to the dumb factor. The Indie factor: About a dozen independent music stores were questioned while preparing this article. They were about evenly split on whether or not their businesses had increased or decreased over the last 3 years. But none stated anywhere close to a 31% hit. ALL stated that they had an increase in sales of independent releases during that period. Most stated that major label releases were moving in the direction of the Wooly Mammoth. The most successful operations stated community involvement, a move toward local talent and independent releases, and (get this) an increased focus on import singles not available in the U.S. as reasons for increased sales. In the most extreme example, Doyle Davis, co-owner of Grimey's Pre-Loved Music in Nashville, states a whopping 250% increase in sales over the last year. A lot of the store's success is attributed to co-owner Mike Grimes' strong ties to the local music scene (he played in the Bis-Quits and Bare Jr and owns Nashville's Slow Bar) and Davis' extensive knowledge of music (he worked for the Great Escape, the leading used CD/comics store in town for 15 years). Plus a healthy stock of indie rock, classic funk (Davis' fave) and reggae (think Lee Scratch Perry) along with local artists. With major label execs making tens of millions of dollars a year to steer their corporations into the dumpster, I wonder what a pair like Davis and Grimes would be worth to deliver just one year like that. The price factor: You can buy a DVD of an old movie at Walmart for $6.88. A re-issued catalog CD costs twice that. If it has been re-mixed and re-mastered and some fluff thrown into the packaging it can cost three times as much. Tough choice when the consumer is contemplating where to spend their entertainment dollar? Think not. All of this brings us back to my good friend's concerns. He was on a major label at one time. He never made a dime off the deal. If he makes a dime on his own, he's 10 cents ahead. He makes great records. He'll never sell 500,000 copies of one though. There is a multitude of reasons for that and none of them have to do with P2P downloads. As Janis Ian has pointed out, there's plenty of free water available but bottled water is still a huge industry. That 12-year-old girl in New York that the RIAA sued last week lived in low-income public housing. How many 18-dollar CDs does the RIAA think she's going to buy? Lost income? I don't think so. Lost opportunity? You bet. (Rev. Keith A. Gordon contributed to this article.) Bill Glahn writes the RIAA Watch column for CounterPunch. His Husgow Record Guide appears at www.mondogordo.com Feature articles appear in BigO magazine.

i can't believe no one's posted this yet . . .vic, i'm ashamed of you . . . everyone should go hella early to hear buster spin the opening set!

mmmm! was it lou malnati's? or gino's? i could eat lou's every day! :threadjackedsmiley:

are you sure it's on embassy row? there's one on 22nd, below k, by bally's. i heard it's not very authentic/good. . .the menu's mixed with vietnamese, chinese, other asian cuisine. . . and hella expensive. . .though, these days, i'd even go to chipotle if they were making kimchee jjigae

only if you promise not to drink

10.23

i just don't get it. . . .why don't you like richie hawtin?!

ohnohedidn't! why don't you like richie hawtin?! even if you don't like techno, you've got to respect the skills . . . i'd be the first to plan a roadtrip for this. . .and tronic treatment finally! on a weekend. . . but i've got a huge conference that weekend

thankyou tini!

i visited IC for you. . .it'd been a while. . .but this is what one kid has listed for the "major" events going on this october: 10.1: DJ Ink @ Big Wig 10.2: Lee Burridge @ Transit 10.2: Hisham Samawi & Naveen G @ Big Wig 10.2: Mogwai @ Metro 10.2: Bob Mould & Richard Morel @ Smart Bar 10.3: Hit the Deck Benefit Party w/ lots o' great DJs @ Smart Bar 10.3: Lee Burridge @ Transit 10.4: DJ Dan, Alex Peace, Mike Steele & HRME @ Spundae 10.4: Dayhota @ Smart Bar 10.5: Fischerspooner @ HOB 10.8: DJ 3D @ Big Wig 10.9: D:Fuse, Jay Prasad, Chris Gin @ Big Wig 10.9: Ladytron DJ Mira Aroyo @ Smart Bar 10.10: Localized @ Vision 10.10: Timo Mass & Loco Dice @ HOB 10.10: Heather @ Smart Bar 10.11: LTJ Bukem, Makato & TC @ Progression Sessions @ Spundae 10.11: Colette @ Smart Bar 10.11: Behrouz @ Narcisse 10.11: Traxx @ Tini Martini 10.15: Phantom 45 @ Big Wig 10.16: Seb Fontaine @ Johny Curley's Birthday @ Transit 10.16: Recess 1 yr b-day with Marcel, Tolgar, JohnEVolution, Dissolvant, Nosmo 10.16: Speedy J @ Bottom Lounge 10.17: Mark Farina @ Zentra 10.17: Peaches @ Metro 10.18: Scumfrog, Gianni, DJ Jes @ Spundae 10.22: Chemical Bros (DJ Set) @ Transit 10.22: A-Sides @ Big Wig 10.23: Cajmere @ Slicks 10.24: Miguel Migs, Metro Area, Mr. Scruff, DJ Spinna @ Metro & Smart Bar 10.24: Terry Hunter & Mark Grant @ Zentra 10.25: Little Louie Vega Live, Miles Maeda, Lego, Justin Long @ Metro 10.25: Crobar Opening 10.25: George Acosta, Jimmie Page @ Spundae 10.26: KMFDM @ HOB 10.30: Marco Carola @ Daniel Vigorito @ Transit 10.31: Boy George @ Zenra 10.31: John Acquaviva (7-Hour Set) @ Smart Bar

i'm sooooo happy for you! mmm. . .let's see. . .it's been a while. . .but inside-chicago.com is a good place to start. . .i actually know the kids (not really kids) that started IC. . .they were pushing some good music and events in the beginning. . .but now i think they're all about spundae and promoting their events . . not sure. . . but spundae @vision is still worth checking out, i think it's a saturday night party. . .check the lineup first though. . .i didn't dig the crowd so much last time i was there. . .it's right above the loop and next to exalibur, so the "drop-ins" kinda ruin the vibe. . . places i would take vicman if he were in town : monday - smartbar - best house night in town, residents include lego, dayohta, justin long. . . the guests dj nights hotness as well monday - danny's - for more downtempo, IDM, abstract/minimal techno, experimental edm, etc OH! and red dog is good monday nights too, another house party! tuesday - big wig - illmeasures crew throwing a new techno party, shouldbegood wednesday - big wig - bass by the pound use to throw a lovely broken beats party here, anything 3/4. . .i think it stopped though, you'll have to check though i remember, now on thursdays, relode crew (also on IC) started a new breaks night also at big wig. . .called recess? or skool? somefinklikedat. on fridays. . .check listings for zentra, transit (iffy about that place). . .pure/redNofive maybe. . . those are all club names i mentioned, bytheway, didn't want to confuse you with the party names. . . if you get a chance, pick up the the most recent UR, it's a free reader you can pick up anywhere (like the city paper). . .that has comprehensive listings check IC fsho though and tell marcel and lindsay scratchapella says HI! yay!!! i'm sooo happy for you! i wish i could go w/you!

i didn't go. even though buzz was cancelled that night, i still wouldn't have gone. the crowd/vibe at a show is important to me. talib kweli in a venue like that wouldn't have been a real hip hop show. kslik, if you're into underground hip hop, five has a lot of good upcoming events. . .jeru the damaja this wednesday for instance. . . peanut butter wolf in a few weeks. . .

how much are you charging?

it's at dream! tonight. . .10 dollars. . .but the website says t-shirts, throwbacks or athletic gear strictly not allowed. . .what kind of hip hop show is that going to be?