what a day that was: news

I'm more partial to the smaller venues and bands, but if The National and their dozy pop-rock are the biggest act of the year I've either underestimated their popularity or this looks to be a down year. Who exactly are the rest of those bands?

2013-02-19

2013 Juno nominees are here

2013 Juno Award Nominees

Zzzz. This one's in Regina though!

Carly Rae Jepsen should win a bunch of awards, I guess. Single of the Year definitely, that could hardly be a contest.

Strange to see Rush nominated in 'Group of the Year' with bands that couldn't hold a candle to them. Sheepdogs are the only other nom in that category that isn't totally off the mark.

Breakthrough Group of the Year is an interesting category: Hey Ocean!, Monster Truck, The Pack a.d., Walk Off the Earth, Yukon Blonde. Walk of the Earth would be a cool winner, since they're pretty much an all-web thing.

2013-02-16

Here's Everything You Need ('Need') to Know About the Harlem Shake...

The Daily Swarm - Here's Everything You Need ('Need') to Know About the Harlem Shake...

2013-02-11

Hey, the Grammy awards were on las-zzzzzzzz......

In one of the few categories I actually cared about, "Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media", the winner was the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo soundtrack, which is excellent. One of the best all-around categories, I thought.

2013 Grammy winners

2013-02-07

CBS Email To Grammy Peformers

CBS Email To Grammy Peformers:

Every year CBS' Standard And Practice group issues a warning to Grammy performers and presenters dubbed affectionately, the ‘Wardrobe Advisory’, and almost every year some performer intentionally or via a "malfunction" falls well beyond (or below) CBS' stated decency standards. This year, CBS and The Grammy's decided to get specific with warnings that include: "Thong type costumes are problematic....avoid exposing bare fleshy under curves of the buttocks and buttock crack. Bare sides or under curvature of the breasts is also problematic."

So... no side boob? Why bother watching?

2013-01-29

The Daily Swarm - Mark Lanegan Joins QOTSA for New Album, Completes Classic Line-Up...

Hey, there might be some decent music from my musical heroes this year after all!.

Now, all we need is a release date...

2013-01-21

The Oldest Recording Ever

Bobby Owsinski's Big Picture Production Blog: The Oldest Recording Ever

Talk about old school, here's a captivating PBS Newshour segment about the restoration by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory...

Very interesting.

2013-01-15

HMV Canada is fine... for now anyway

Definite sign of the times when yesterday seemingly every Canadian news outlet ran the story about HMV going into 'administration' (as they must call it in the UK) and not bothering to mention that the Canadian stores are under different ownership. This link has been updated since yesterday, but I imagine that some damage has already been done.

This is what happens when understaffed/intern-staffed newsrooms simply pick up wire stories from Reuters and publish them verbatim on their websites.

I just can't help but note the ironic congruity of two outdated media services - newspapers and brick-and-mortar music stores - swirling down the tubes together.

2013-01-12

The Daily Swarm - The Beatles' 'Love Me Do' Is Now Public Domain in Europe...

2013-01-10

The Daily Swarm - Why David Bowie's New Album Cover is So Radically Awesome...

I disagree, obviously.

Vigilant Citizen: Thought of the Month (01/13): Mass Shootings and Mass Media

Thought of the Month (01/13): Mass Shootings and Mass Media

During the coverage of Sandy Hook, news sources continually referred to the massacre as the “second deadliest shooting in History” as if it was all a competition and, even stranger, as if he somehow fell short of #1.

2012-10-16

Space Leap of Faith - Bad Astronomy

Phil Plait has an interesting take on the recent Red Bull publicity stunt - Space Leap of Faith

On Sunday, skydiver Felix Baumgartner stepped out of a high-altitude balloon and plummeted 40 kilometers back to Earth. I wanted to watch it live but missed it due to an appointment I had to keep. I heard it was heart-pounding, and Twitter went nuts over it. I wish I had seen it!

Still, my feelings on it are mixed. While I really am glad it got people excited, I couldn’t shake the feeling it wasn’t more than a stunt. A cool stunt, but a stunt. It was plugged as a way to learn more about spacesuits and all that, but I had my doubts. Having it sponsored by a sugary caffeinated energy drink marketed to teens also made me a bit wary.

2012-09-28

The Daily Swarm - The Beach Boys Have Been Fired from The Beach Boys...

I guess no job is secure in these tough economic times... Seriously though it might be time for Mr. Love to have his pills checked.

2012-08-18

The Daily Swarm - Paul Ryan May Like Rage, But They Sure Don't Like Him...

The comment section is about as dumb and polarizing as you would expect.

2012-07-30

Buried RIAA Report Shows the Majority of Music Piracy Happens Offline...

Ha! Why is this not surprising?

The Daily Swarm - Buried RIAA Report Shows the Majority of Music Piracy Happens Offline...