The slugline over the Apple photo read “A big moment in music history. And you’re part of it.” Did they mean the end of recorded music history?

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Did you follow the Apple announcement yesterday?

Needless to say, I’ll be replacing my broken-screened iPhone 5 with an ultra-slim 6 sometime in the next two weeks. And how about the Apple Watch! Gotta have one of those, right? Starting at $349, maybe not. I’m waiting to hear the first Apple Watch joke, something along the lines of “It works like the iPhone; if you’re on AT&T it drops a few minutes out of every hour…” *rimshot!*

But maybe the most interesting announcement was when Tim Cook trotted out U2 and then proceeded to give away the band’s new album, Songs of Innocence, to anyone with an iTunes account. I figured something like this would happen eventually, albeit with indie labels like Saddle Creek and Sub Pop. And I said that when it happened “…its success will breath new life into an already-established (though waning) act, who will see its biggest crowds ever on tour, generating merch and back-catalog sales for the label and causing the music industry to rethink (again) how it does business.”

Who would have thought that U2 would become the poster child for this model? But the fact is, U2 didn’t give away its new album. The Wall Street Journal had the skinny behind yesterday’s give-away. From the article:

“We’re not going in for the free music around here,” Bono joked on stage.  Apple didn’t pay a traditional wholesale price for each of the 500 million albums. Instead the company paid Universal and U2 an undisclosed lump sum for the exclusive window to distribute the album. Universal plans to piggyback on the big push for Songs of Innocence to promote the band’s 12 older albums, a critical factor for a veteran rock band.”

The article went on to say the album’s first single would be used “as a central element of a global, 30-day television advertising campaign for its new iPhones and Apple Watch. The campaign is believed to be worth around $100 million, according to a person familiar with the talks.”

Of course most people who download the CD from iTunes for free won’t know the financial backstory, and will assume U2 just gave it away, further enforcing the idea that recorded music has become (or is) essentially worthless. Especially when it just “shows up in your iTunes library” like magic.

I think we’re only a year or so away from an era when all the monster pop acts — Shania, Katy Perry, Gaga, Jay Z, (i.e., the VMA acts) — will give away downloads of their new albums as a matter of course, just to get the music out there before they go on tour, just like U2 has done. I’m not sure where that leaves the little guys (and labels) who still count on revenue from album sales.

And at what point does the RIAA quit going after people who illegally download music, figuring what’s the point when some bands are giving it away and it’s all available online via Spotify anyway….?

Bleak.

As for the quality of the new U2 record, someone online equated U2 to Coldplay yesterday when all this was going down, and goddamn if that comparison isn’t apt. The new U2 album indeed sounds like a Coldplay record. You have to wonder if Bono and Co. ever listen to their older stuff and ask themselves when the spark went out? Can you believe there was a time when U2 was considered subversive? I still remember the first time I heard tracks off War on Z-92, spun by none other that Slats Gannon, who knew he was playing something new and different. What pups we wall were back then…

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Catching up on some news that went down while I was out… Jeremy Buckley announced that there will, indeed, be an 11th Annual Lincoln Calling Festival this year. With Buckley’s role in Vega, I thought perhaps last year’s fest might have been his swan song.

Buckley’s current status with Vega I cannot say here, other than it has indeed changed since last year. None of the parties involved are willing to go on the record as to who is running Vega these days, though it’s common knowledge that Eli and Carrie Mardock are still involved in the day-to-day operations.

The dates for Lincoln Calling are Oct. 7-12. Venues include The Bourbon, Duffy’s, Zoo Bar, Yia Yia’s Mix, Fat Toad Pub, The Cask, Tower Square and Vega. And the bands announced so far:

A Ferocious Jungle Cat
Ages and Ages
All Young Girls are Machine Guns
Annalibera
The Baberaham
Bailiff
Bonehart Flannigan
The Bottle Tops
Bud Heavy and the High Lifes
Christopher the Conquered
Churls
DEERPEOPLE
Evan Bartels Band
The Fabtones
Flannel Channel
Found Footage Festival
FREAKABOUT!
Gerardo Meza
Gloom Balloon
GloWorm
Halfwit
Hank & Cupcakes
Homegrown Film Festival
Joshua Powell and the Great Train Robbery
The Kickback
Lars and Mal
Manic Pixie Dream Girls
Matt Cox Band
The Melon Company
Oketo
Powers
The River Monks
The Ro Hempel Band
Root Marm Chicken Farm Jug Band
Sidewalk Chalk
Sol Seed
Thirst Things First
Universe Contest
White Mystery
Zoolarious Comedy Showcase

I’m glad to see that DEERPEOPLE is on the bill. I was introduced to this band via Lincoln Calling years ago, and caught their set this year at SXSW. Definitely worth seeking out when you’re wandering O Street that week.

Buckley tells me more details are forthcoming, more bands are being confirmed. Stay tuned, and follow along at the LC2014 Facebook page.

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After two cancellations, Hear Nebraska is finally going to host their finale showcase for this year’s Live at Turner Park Series tonight, and it’s a doozy: Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship and Snake Island are the featured acts. Get some food and booze and head on down. The music starts at 6 p.m. and it’s free.

Another free show going on tonight is at Slowdown Jr. where locals Lars and Mal and The Derby Birds will be performing. This one starts at 9.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Frightening screen capture from the Bloodcow Kickstarter video.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Well, Bloodcow launched its Kickstarter campaign yesterday. They’re trying to raise $8,900 so they can release their 4th album, Crystals & Lasers, on vinyl and other formats. I know there’s some folks who are “anti-Kickstarter,” but I see it as a chance for fans to pre-order a release at a pretty decent price and get some other tchotchkes along the way.

If there’s one disappointment with Bloodcow’s Kickstarter it’s the lack of creative premiums. They’re only offering the usual war chest of goodies — vinyl, CD, T-shirt, play at your house, producer credit, etc. I was hoping for something more becoming of a Council Bluffs band of self-proclaimed Xenu followers. Come on guys, where’s the “Spend a night with Bloodcow at a classy Council Bluffs strip club” or “Have your picture taken with Bloodcow at the BLACK ANGEL OF DEATH” or “Hand-etched Bloodcow tattoo by artist Karl Nicholason” or “Guest role in Aaron Gum-produced drag queen video” or “An actual Bloodcow” (I’m not sure what that is).

Without those, I’ll probably just go in at the vinyl/t-shirt level. You should, too. Check it out.

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Dereck Higgins, Murphy (self-release, 2014)

This morning Omaha songwriter/musician Dereck Higgins (InDreama, Strange Attractors)  posted a link to his latest release in Bandcamp, Murphy, the follow-up to his Flyover Country album. Higgins says he might release the all-instrumental Murphy on vinyl late this year or early next year. The record is named after a buddy Higgins knew in high school who had a party spot along the Elkhorn River. Check it out.

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Death Cab for Cutie announced on its website today that longtime member Chris Walla is leaving the band. No reason was given for his departure. This Saturday’s Maha Music Festival will be among the last times you’ll be able to see Walla on stage with the band. DCFC also announced that its new, yet-to-be-titled  album has been recorded with producer Rich Costey (Mew, Interpol, Cave In) and is slated for release in early 2015. Wonder if they’ll be playing any of the new material on Saturday?

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The second in Hear Nebraska’s Live at Turner Park concert series is tonight at 6 p.m. and features local hip-hop artists AZP and BOTH. The concert is free and a fun way to check out Turner Park’s new concert stage. Find out more here.

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Also, tonight’s Record Club at the Shop @ Saddle Creek features Death Cab for Cuties’ seminal 2003 release Transatlanticism. Record Club is a chance for folks to get together and listen to an album in its entirety, then discuss it afterward. Fun! The needle drops at 7 p.m. More info here.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Who remembers The White Octave, a band fronted by Criteria’s Stephen Pedersen before he formed Criteria? Well, believe it or not, they’re back. From a press release received this morning:

The White Octave emerged in Chapel Hill and Durham, NC in 1998 from demos recorded by guitarist and songwriter Stephen Pedersen, formerly of Omaha, NE band Cursive. Material came together quickly for The White Octave, as the trio’s chemistry became evident to all who saw the band perform. Bob Weston was enlisted to record the group in the fall of 1999 at Mitch Easter’s brand new Fidelitorium in Kernersville, NC. The gentlemen read Chunklet and dined on Prissy Polly’s BBQ, and the record that resulted was quite good. It was issued by the Deep Elm label in the year 2000.

The product, the band’s debut Style No. 6312, is now being rereleased on vinyl by Broken Circles. “In addition, the track sequencing has been restored with ‘Looking Past Sky’ being added, letting the album be heard as the band originally intended for the first time. Also, the LP will feature reinterpreted artwork by band member Lincoln Hancock.”

Vinyl and digital out September 16, 2014, on Broken Circles. If that wasn’t enough, The White Octave also will be reuniting to play Hopscotch Fest in Raleigh, NC, on September 6.

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A little travel tip: There’s nothing going on in Austin on a Monday night in July. Nothing. Figured maybe there would be some gig at one of the 6th St. haunts that are on fire during South By Southwest, but it was a ghost town. Beerland was doing karaoke. Mohawk was closed “for cleaning.” A glance at the austin360 website showed zero activity Monday night. But what did I expect?

Anyway…

Contrast that with what’s going on in Omaha tonight.

On my list is Matthew Sweet at O’Leaver’s. This show has been sold out for months. Opening is The Lupines. I’m seeing two listings for start times — 9 and 9:30. Be on the safe side and get there at 9. I’ve been told that this gig was purposely undersold to make for a comfortable show-going experience (Is there any other kind at O’Leaver’s?). See you there.

Stir Cove’s website doesn’t list any openers for tonight’s Arctic Monkeys show, which starts at 7:30. Odd, but maybe typical. I’ve never been to a Stir Cove show. I’ve also never been an Arctic Monkeys fan. But I know there are a lot of them around here. Weather should be perfect.

It also should be perfect for the inaugural showcase of the Hear Nebraska Live at Turner Park series. A joint effort by HN and mid-century lifestyle boutique Hutch, the summer concert series “proudly presents authentic, original Nebraska music at Midtown Crossing’s Turner Park, Wednesdays, July 30-Aug. 20, 2014.” Tonight’s concert features Skypiper and Life is Cool.  The free concert  runs from 6 to 8 p.m.

Also happening tonight is a special benefit concert for tornado-ravaged Pilger, Nebraska, at The Waiting Room. Performing are Matt Whipkey + Band, Monday Mourners, Clarence Tilton and The Sons of The Waiting Room. $8, 8 p.m.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.