Please see this. Sorry about the quality, but this is from a crappy camera phone.
P.S. Please see this for more context.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Monica!!!
April Showers...
This is one of my favorite completely non-posed photos I have ever snapped, and this was with a crappy camera phone! w00t!
P.S. This has nothing to do with music, but I have always loved this picture, and I finally figured out how to get it off my crappy phone. So, STFU!
P.P.S. Please see this for more context.
Friday, December 22, 2006
META: Why Does Google Think DHMBIB Readers Are Interested In Amanda Congdon???
BREAKING: Area Music Blogger Is Paranoid Other Music Bloggers Are Lurking
Last week, I joked that Gerard was lurking around my blog, and that Chris Ott may have "outed" himself in response to my earlier post about conflict-of-interest disclosures. I also noted Gerard's subsequent denial of Ott's "disclosure". Later that day, Idolator returned to the "who is Gerard?" subject to highlight Gerard's denial that Ott was Gerard.
Then, later again that same day, Idolator posted a piece about Technorati's "Popular Music" page, which post was headlined, "Bloggers Outside Of Music-Blog World Have No Idea Who Cold War Kids Are". When I saw that, I thought to myself two things: 1) "I could've written that headline, except it would've begun with 'BREAKING:'"; and 2) "Is it possible Maura is lurking around here too?"
Granted, lots of bloggers subconsciously absorb the phrasings and stylizations of other blogs they read and enjoy. Hell, I'll be the first to admit that I owe a lot [e.g., "Area Blogger"] to the snark of The Onion. And I loves me some Idolator. So, I can't really complain if I'm giving as good as I'm getting [whoa!]. It's all good.
Maura, if you're reading, hollaback girl! [Plus, I could use some advice.] Brian, same to you dawg!
Friday, December 15, 2006
BREAKING: Country musicians decide they'd rather sell records, play concerts, live, than criticize President
And so comes the inevitable. Frankly, I'm surprised it's taken this long.
The National Enquirer [a highly-respected source of music-industry-insider news, of course] is reporting that the Dixie Chicks have decided to split after the Grammy Awards in February. This should be taken with a huge grain of salt, of course -- but is it telling that the Chicks have not updated their website or MySpace page with even a perfunctory denial?
I'm sure I don't need to rehash what happened to get the Chicks to this point -- but you know I will...HA!
The Chicks were the top country "group" with a substantial mainstream crossover audience and were on top of their game in 2003 when singer Natalie Maines told a London audience that she was "ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas." This occurred on the eve of the invasion of Iraq, when passions about the war were intense and President Bush still enjoyed substantial support, especially among the Red State voters that made up most of the Chicks fanbase. Country radio and country fans mostly boycotted the Chicks from then forward, and the Chicks all received many death threats. Three years and much career frustration later, the Chicks returned with their most critically-acclaimed CD to date and a documentary film about their harrowing ordeal, but the fans still stayed away.
According to the rumors, Chicks [and sisters] Emily Robison and Martie Maguire are tired of dealing with the controversy and the threats. Some fans have even more cynically suggested that this is all about money -- the lack of CD sales and concert revenues makes it more difficult to create and promote new music and still enjoy that "rockstar" lifestyle. Whatevs.
We all saw this endgame coming, but I'm still saddened by the rumors. I respected the Chicks for standing up for their beliefs in the face of harsh criticism. And I enjoyed their music.
I also see great irony in this outcome. If Natalie had made her statements last week, would the reaction have been so intense? Or is it more likely that the reaction would have been more like, "Speak the truth, sister!" After all, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw both slammed President Bush after Hurricane Katrina, and their 2006 tour grossed $89 million.
Timing, Natalie, it's all about timing.
* * * * *
On December 8, the Chicks found out that they were 5-time nominees for Grammy Awards. One of those nominations is for "Not Ready To Make Nice" in the "Song Of The Year" category. A defiant song about the Chicks' rough three-year rollercoaster, "Not Ready To Make Nice" is a natural for this award -- and is also a great song, BTW. How will this rumor affect the voting? Tune in February 11 to find out.
Saturday, December 9, 2006
Disclosure
I recognize that any blog about a commercially-available product or service should disclose any potential conflicts-of-interest the author[s] may have. This does not necessarily mean the author must blog under her/his "real name", even though that in and of itself can help the reader quite a bit in making a judgment about potential conflicts. It's the conflicts themselves that are important. Idolator has been hammering this point home specifically in reference to the Gerard vs. Bear music blog, whose anonymous author ["Gerard"] refuses to identify her/himself and -- more importantly -- any potential conflicts [A&R rep for a label? Chief programmer for KROQ? Manager for My Chemical Romance? etc.] s/he may have.
Fair enough.
I own 80 shares of stock in Time Warner Inc. [NYSE:TWX] Even though Time Warner sold its music business to Edgar Bronfman, Jr., and most of my posts will be about music, there is of course the chance that I will blog something that has some relation to the TW empire.
Thank you for listening.
P.S. AOL is waaay cooler than MSN.
Hello. I am Rob Murphy. This is my blog.
Hello. I am Rob Murphy. This is my blog.
I will be blogging mostly about things related to music. I have always been a music lover, and I have worked for several years as a DJ, both of which have required me to acquire and maintain both a large collection of music and a large database of knowledge of music-related stuff. I may occasionally blog about other things, such as celebretainment, tech, politics, media, and life in general.
I hope you enjoy my blog.
-- Rob
P.S. Don't hate me because I'm bloggerful!!!
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