HOT: Saving Our Recordings
Jack White has again put his money where his analog-lovin’ mouth is, ponying up $200,000 to help finally make the National Recording Preservation Foundation “operational,” according to an NRPF press release. The NRPF came about when Congress approved the National Recording Preservation Act in 2000, but White’s contribution is its “first major donation.” The goal of the foundation is to save deteriorating “analog formats and media.” The ultimate plan is for these restored works (which include spoken word, speeches, radio broadcasts and other types of recordings) to be easily accessible to everyone, ironically through digitalization and online tools.
WARM: Craigslist: The New Spotify?
Has Duck Sauce — the duo of DJs/producers Armand Van Helden and A-Trak, known for dance hits “Barbra Streisand” and “Big Bad Wolf” — discovered that the best method for distributing music digitally is not iTunes or Spotify, but a classified ads site most use to either get rid of old stuff or find sex? Nope. But they pulled off a funny stunt recently when they posted an ad on Brooklyn’s Craigslist that simply stated, “new duck sauce available for sampling … for packaging quantities visit …” followed by a free download link to a remix of their single “It’s You.” Rumors that their next remix will be distributed in person via fake Grindr hookups could not be confirmed as of press time.
COLD: Llama Drama
Two dead musical icons whose “people” have gone above and beyond to milk their legacies will soon join forces. A few tracks recorded in 1983 by Michael Jackson (whose family green-lit a “concert film”/major motion picture cobbled from rehearsal footage right after he died) and Queen’s Freddie Mercury (whose bandmates honored his legacy by touring/performing with different lead singers) will be issued in two months, according to Queen guitarist Brian May. They weren’t ideal collaborators; the tension between them squashed whatever plans they may have had for the recordings. Or maybe it was the llama. According to a quote in NME from Jim “Miami” Beach, Queen’s manager, during the sessions, Freddie called him and said, “Miami, dear, can you get over here? You’ve got to get me out of here, I’m recording with a llama.”
