A screen capture from Sam Martin’s latest video…

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It’s amazing how little is happening musicwise this week (these days). The biggest bit of news is that The Waiting Room is undergoing some sort of transformation, according to their weekly email blast. I’ve reached out to one of the club owner’s asking for details, but got no response, and since they virtually have no shows this week… well, we’ll just have to wait and see. What more could they do to the place?

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A few days ago, Reb Lowry of All Young Girls Are Machine Guns (AYGAMG) emailed saying she launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the pressing of a two-song 7-inch single. She’s trying to raise two grand. You can help her out here.

That is if you’re into “fashion statements,” as Neil Young described vinyl in an interview that is catching fire on social media. I’ve seen the quote a dozen times in a dozen different online publications, always taken out of context. Here’s the full quote, which isn’t nearly as negative as everyone thinks, from the source, The Frame, 89.3 KPCC:

“[There’s been] a little vinyl resurgence — you might point to that. But let’s face it: this is a convenience-oriented society and vinyl is not a convenient thing. It’s a niche and it’s a great niche and it’s a wonderful thing and I hope people continue to enjoy vinyl and it continues to grow because it’s a good thing. However, a lot of people that buy vinyl today don’t realize that they’re listening to CD masters on vinyl, and that’s because the record companies have figured out that people want vinyl. And they’re only making CD masters in digital, so all the new products that come out on vinyl are actually CDs on vinyl, which is really nothing but a fashion statement.”

If vinyl is a “niche” market, what would you call the market for the PonoPlayer, Young’s latest business venture that everyone is saying is a piece of shit? Among the critics, technology hardware reviewers Ars Technica, who called Pono “A tall, refreshing drink of snake oil.”

Among Ars‘ findings in their review: “As most audio-obsessed geeks will tell you, research and tests about high-res audio tend to make Neil Young and his Kool-Aid salesmen sound like fools. In many cases, higher-rate sampling can make audio sound worse. (Go down a real frequency rabbit hole here if you want.) Hell, Mr. Young must know by now that his older, degraded ears are less likely to pick up higher-range frequency audio than any of his potential customers.”

Harsh. Ars concluded: “No amount of testing (with PonoPlayer) made 192kHz/24-bit FLAC audio sound noticeably better than high-quality MP3s.” Plus, Pono doesn’t have a “hold” button? What?

Let the battle rage on. Apple owns this market and will until Spotify begins to produce its own (unnecessary) player, which I have to believe is just around the corner.

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Sam Martin has a new video out called “I Like to Hide” from his new album, A Notion In an Ocean. He shot, edited and directed the whole damn thing. Sam’s music reminds me of Harry Nilsson. I have no idea how Sam will take that comment, but it’s meant as a compliment. And if you don’t know who Nilsson is, Google him. You’re missing out.

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What else.

There might not be shit happening in Omaha this week (month) but there is in Lincoln. Tonight is the kick-off of Lincoln Exposed — three venues tons of Lincoln bands. Tonight’s sched:

Duffy’s Tavern

8:40-9:20 – Domestica
9:40-10:20 – Kerry Eddy and the Current Situation
10:40-11:20 – This Machine Kills Vibes
11:40-12:20 – Life is Cool
12:40-1:20 – Blue Sky Angel Parade

Zoo Bar

8-8:40 – Root Marm Chicken Farm Jug Band
9-9:40 – Omni Arms
10-10:40 – Powers
11-11:40 – Red Cites
12-12:40 – Universe Contest

The Bourbon

8:20-9 – Melon Company
9:20-10 – Floating Opera
10:20-11 – Emily Bass
11:20-12 – I Forgot To Love My Father
12:20-1 – The Dancing Dead

Check out the full festival calendar here: https://www.facebook.com/events/904564312896270/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

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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 © 2015 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Quiet news day today. Who else was headed to Lincoln for Morrissey tonight? I’m as bummed as the rest of you about the show’s postponement (but not cancellation). Based on the announcement, it may not be until 2013 before it gets rescheduled.

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I’ve been listening to the new Neil Young & Crazy Horse album Psychedelic Pill for the last couple of days and can whole-heartedly recommend it for any Neil fan. Fantastic stuff, including the 27-minute opening song “Driftin’ Back” and 17-minute “Ramada Inn,” which are among the best jammers he’s done in years. His lyrics have never been so rooted in the every day, as if he feels Father Time leaning over his shoulder…

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In this week’s column, how Super Storm Sandy may have changed the outcome of next week’s election. It’s in this week’s issue of The Reader or online right here. It’s almost time to vote, people…

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Father John Misty a.k.a. Josh Tillman, toured with David Bazan and Richard Buckner before joining Fleet Foxes as their tour drummer, but even Tillman says his FF tour of duty was merely as a hired hand. I’ve never been a Fleet Foxes fan — their music is too unstructured (and boring) for my tune-hungry ear.

On the other hand FJM plays psychedelic folk songs with a slight alt-country lilt and lyrics that teeter close to the edge. To me, the music off Fear Fun (Sub Pop, 2012) sounds like a cipher of Grant Lee Buffalo (who remembers that ’90s relics?). Gorgeous stuff. Check out the video for “Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings” below and hear it live tonight at Slowdown Jr. when FJM plays with singer/songwriter Le Sera and Jeffertitties Nile. $10, 9 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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

A few notes on a quiet Wednesday:

I heard back from the two Kickstarter artists I called out in yesterday’s blog entry. Both said they haven’t forgotten me. One is going to come through with some vinyl at O’Leaver’s on Friday. So maybe Kickstarter is the new model, eh? Without the data on the number of artists actually fulfilling their Kickstarter promises, it’s hard to say, though things seem to be pointing in that direction.

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Neil Young and Walt Mossberg.

Interesting interview with Neil Young at the Dive Into Media conference of All Things D (right here). Neil talks about his mission to “try to rescue the art form that I’ve been practicing for 50 years.” He’s talking about the inferior quality of mp3 files and how he wants to see the quality improved. “You can’t associate poor quality with convenience.”

Young said it’s all about creating a new device that will play high-quality music files, sort of a high-end iPod. And he says he was working on such a device with Steve Jobs, but that not much has happened with the project since Jobs’ death. “Steve Jobs was a pioneer of digital music,” Young said. “His legacy is tremendous. But when he went home, he listened to vinyl. And you gotta believe that if he lived long enough, he would have eventually done what I’m trying to do.”

As for music piracy, says Young: “I look at the Internet as the new radio. I look at radio as gone … Piracy is the new radio, that’s how music gets around.”

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I listened to the new Lana Del Rey album this morning on Spotify. Her voice lands somewhere between Stevie Nicks, a Perry/Aguilera-esque pop starlett and Lili Von Shtupp of Blazing Saddles (I don’t buy the Nico comparisons). It’s been fun reading the unbridled hate for this young lady throughout the blog-o-review-o-sphere. I guess you could argue that she would have been better served staying under the radar rather than appearing on SNL, but a few million dollars gained from the exposure is a few million dollars, I suppose, especially if you manage to hold on to some of it after your nova-bright star burns out. It’s a shame that her producers allowed her to use her kitty-cat voice so much on songs like “National Anthem.” It’s not so much that you feel embarrassed for her as much as you feel embarrassed for yourself for listening to it. Conversely, the three singles that preceded the full-length release — along with a couple others — are striking. She could have been the next big thing, and she may still be, but after hearing this full length, I doubt it… unless she can pull herself away from the big-label handlers… People seem fixated by her past, which I couldn’t give two shits about. That said, imagine how differently her music would have been perceived if Del Rey was a sexy, dirty, strung-out musician living on the fringes. Imagine if Courtney Love had released a couple of these songs a year or so after Kurt’s death, before she cleaned up…

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Tonight at The Waiting Room it’s up-and-coming Americana indie band Blind Pilot with Midwest Dilemma. $12, 9 p.m.

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Tomorrow: A special announcement about Lazy-i and its future. Don’t miss it!

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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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.