Tuesday's flotsam

Random thoughts for Tuesday morning. (I would've done this yesterday, but I was too distracted by Opening Day. And the Red Sox even won. Sports Guy has it covered.)

- A follow up to yesterday's post. I took class with David Vendetti, who gave me that, ahem, oddball yoga link in class amid other gems. It was the first time I'd gotten to take with him since I've been home, and it was fantastic. He has a natural lightness in his teaching, complemented by an almost encyclopedic knowledge of human anatomy, and yoga mechanics, history, and practice. It was a very challenging set of poses, but I always felt like I was floating, even when I was falling on my head. Highly recommended to any and everyone. (I'm not the only one, Boston Magazing voted him Best of Boston last year.)

- Current listening- Broken Social Scene, excerpts from "feel good lost". Disclaimer- I really don't have much of a taste for most of what loosely falls into "alt-rock". I reflexively call Belle and Sebastian "Belle and SadBastard" (thanks John Cusack). I feel like a lot of it's an in joke and I'm out. So if you generally like it, do ignore me anytime I bring it up. That said, I'm like what I'm hearing here- all instrumental, very unpretentious and understated, with just enough odd sounds to keep you engaged. If I ever have another house party, this is definitely part of the soundtrack, just about 1 am. And temping in collegeville, a tune called "Love and Mathematics" feels just about right.

Side note- what is up with RealPlayer? How is it that Darcy, and a myriad of others can, on their own, get a live recording to the web sounding nearly studio quality, and one of the digital economy's 800 pound gorillas makes studio music sound like it's on an AM radio? I don't get it. Not at all.

- Speaking of web music, Boston Globe reported yesterday that the remaining big labels are trying to change the ITunes price structure, making new singles more expensive and older recordings cheaper. Just when you thought record execs couldn't get dumber...

"Last fall, Edgar Bronfman Jr., chief executive of Warner Music Group Corp., suggested that Apple should allow different download prices for songs and even give the labels a cut of iPod sales."

Let me get this straight, you release the new DreamyBoys crap album instore for $10 in the first week, basically forcing retailers to take a hit to sell it, while at the same time making it MORE expensive online, biting the digital hand that saved your ass online (ITunes), and gambling that the extra 10 cents you'll make on that download will offset the buyers you're driving to retail (where you make less profit) or, more likely, less legal means of getting the music. Oh, and I doubt the artists sees any extra cash. A lose, lose, lose scenario... in other words record companies behaving as usual. And are you going to start asking for a cut of every boom box too, just because?

I think the only way we could have a less competent federal government at present would be to let record executives run it.

- On a happier note, come support independent musicians locally...

Olu Dara, loft trumpeter in the 70s, now sly, smart roots singer in the oughts, but best known as Nas' dad, comes to the Regattabar on Friday and Saturday nights. Tickets are damned expensive (a sad trend since the Blue Note club took over the R), but he's worth it. If you can't make it, hear him here, via the radio station we all wish was in our city, KCRW.

Callithumpian Consort, Steve Drury's great Boston contemporary music group, presents "SEX AND VIOLINS", featuring Reich's "Violin Phase", solo pieces by Bartok and Berio, and improvisations. Friday, 7:30, Lily Pad.

Then hang out there for yours truly and the quartet at 10pm.

PROGRAM NOTE: Unfortunately, blogger doesn't have a native "category" section like typepad does, and I dearly want one. So, at the end of each post I'll put a "File under", and hopefully later sort things accordingly. Stay tuned...

file under: yoga, music, goto gigs