Best drum solo ever

Thomas Lang plays the drums better than popular favorites like Neil Peart.

Trent Reznor on the music industry

Trent Reznor inspires me as a musician and reminds us all that we must take destiny into our own hands. He recently gave an interview where he spoke at length about the changes in the music industry that are taking place faster and faster.

Trent: I think it's just an awkward time right now to be a musician. The reality is that people think it's okay to steal music. There's a whole generation of people, that's all they've known. I used to buy vinyl. Today, if you do put out a record on a label, traditionally, most people are going to hear it via a leak that happens two weeks — if not two months — before it comes out. There's no real way around that. I'm truly saddened because I think music has been devalued, so that it's just a file on your computer, and it's usually free. But we can't change that. What we can do is try to offer people the best experience that we can provide them. Will it work? I don't know. But I think it's a great way to get music out to people who are interested. At the end of the day, all I care about is the integrity of the music, and that the feeling of those who experience it is as untainted as possible. I'd rather it not be on an iPod commercial. I'd rather it not be a ringtone that you have to get with a free cell phone or any of that bullshit.

How long do you think before the labels are out of business?
Trent: I mean, who knows? I remember a time when it felt like, being on a major label, our interests were aligned. At times, it's a pretty well-oiled machine and the luxury is that I feel like I've got a team of people who are taking care of the shit I don't want to think about. I don't care about the radio guy, I just want to make music. But those days are gone. Because, mainly, that infrastructure is broken at the moment. How long before [record companies] are irrelevant? Who knows? They seem to be doing everything they can to make sure that happens as quickly as possible.

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2007/10/trent_reznor_and_saul_williams.html

Extreme Unicycling

Kris Holm goes wild on the unicycle with radical tricks, crazy mountain unicycling and a super show of his skills.

Radiohead makes it official: record labels are dead

The name "record label" tells you how old the model of the music labels is.

Labels never really knew how to identify talent and instead would typically hedge their bets by taking money from a single successful artist and using it to fund a dozen prospective musical groups. One of these twelve could be promoted enough to turn a profit and keep the chain going.

This model doesn't benefit established artists who have formed a large fan base so now the better bands are walking away, increasing their fan base by distributing less expensively, releasing music when they want, and removing the excesses of a useless middle man.

Slayer classic

When it comes to bands with energy to bottle, this video clip from 1990 shows what Slayer was doing a long time ago. These concerts were a joy to experience before anyone understood the incredible feeling they conveyed.

TRIVIA FACT: In the first Persian Gulf War, many Air Force pilots would get psyched up by listening to Slayer before unleashing bombs on Iraq.

Pop punk energy

My bassist told me to check out the bio and history of The Offspring, a band that has been very successful at the pop punk format popular with the kids these days. Frontman Dexter Holland skipped out of a PhD program to dedicate his time to the band as it gained momentum and now they've sold over 30 million albums and toured extensively.

Their production quality and simple riff structures work effectively in this format and allow a genuine California energy to emerge. The music is a powerful mix of angst, hope, determination, frustration working towards harmony, and a desire to break free of monotonous destructive patterns, while lyrics range widely and often discuss social issues without sugar coating them.

I'm not sure what lasting effects this potent combination will have, but the energy in the second half of this live performance is worth bottling.

Alice in Chains underrated

The lasting relevance of Alice in Chains suggests they were underrated while active. Their reformation is just to get more money from old material but previous recordings capture their best moments.