“April 3, 2008 - Apple today announced that the iTunes Store surpassed Wal-Mart to become the
number one music retailer in the US, based on the latest data from the NPD Group. With over 50
million customers, iTunes has sold over four billion songs and features
the world’s largest music catalog of over six million songs.”

Not sure what is worse, the fact that itunes is the #1 retailer for music or the fact that the title was taken from Wal-Mart.

I have posted before regarding my fear of digital media and how easy it makes censorship and 1984 type of control. So it is no surprise that this announcement is nothing that I will be celebrating. And before anyone gets on my case…yes I have downloaded a ton of digital music and have even used itunes. And I do love the convenience of my ipod. So I am fully aware of my semi-hypocritical criticism of the digital age.

What it comes down to is awareness and caution. In this new age we need to be aware of how easily ideas can be changed and the meaning lost with the click of a mouse. And unlike paper or vinyl once it is changed that is the new history. While I support and love that fact that the digital age provides opportunities to many artists that previously did not exist. I believe that the preservation of our history and arts depends on maintaining the pressing of records and even CD’s, and the printing of books on paper.

So in closing I encourage everyone to find the balance between the old and new. Use your ipod and download new music. At the same time make the effort to collect support and preserve the truly great works by purchasing CD’s, books, even vinyl albums.

JDK

p.s. Yes I shop at Wal-mart too…but I don’t like it!

Raconteurs - Consolers of the lonely

Without notice and without fanfare the Raconteurs released their latest effort “Consolers of the Lonely” on March 25th.

In a word… fantastic.

Drawing from a influences in blues, roots, rock pop and folk this album takes a page from the Lennon/Mcartney how to book for musicians. For those who think there is nothing good in the music business today I say listen to this album. Jack White is truly one of the most talented and certainly one of the smartest people in the business today.

From kick ass alt-rock tunes like Salute your solution & These Stones Will Shout, to passionate Dylan-esque ballads like Carolina Dreams & Many shades of Black. This album is a tapestry of tone and soul.

As far as production this is probably the best recorded best mixed album I have hear in a long time. Vintage crunchy guitars, crystal clear piano strings and horns, and rolling Hammond organ topped with the powerful dueling vocals of White and co-frontman Brendan Benson. A sound and feel that draws from a pre pro-tools pre anteres era. Consolers of the lonely is a benchmark for what a rock album should sound like.

This album is proof that there is still new exciting ways to make music and that you can take old ideas and make something new and great.

So my friends I urge you to do yourself a favor and purchase this album…you will have no regret!

JDK

You are...

Today I want to share with you some thoughts that have had and continue to have a significant impact in my life. Take it as you will, but I do hope that my observations and knowledge can have a positive effect in your lives.

You are what you say you are and your life is what you say it is.

Let’s think about that for a minute. If I am what I say I am then every thought, every word and every action I take each and every minute of every day sets the tone and determines who I am and what my future holds. By declaring that I “am” broke and have no money; then I will “be” broke and have no money. Declaring that my life “is” hard; then life will “be” hard there is no doubt about it.

Now you are thinking “how”. How can I say, how can I believe that I have or am what I can not see and touch. “How?” Think about how, for what is how but another expression of who and what you are. Ok that is confusing. Think of it this way; by asking “how” you are stating what you are, lost and confused. And that is what you will continue to be until you change your way of thinking. Quite simply if you are saying you “don’t know”, then you “won’t know”. If you continue to comment on what you can see and touch, you will perpetuate those things.

I have seen this truth so many times in my life and the people around me; my parents, my ex-wife, co-workers, friends and myself. Trapped in a vicious circle of doubt and negativity, believing that they are cursed, life sucks and the whole world is against them. I lived under that shadow for a long time.

The truth is the only one working against you is you.

There is an answer to all of this. A way to be everything you want to be and have the life you dreamed of having, and it is so simple. Remember, you are what you say you are and your life is what you say it is.

Believe that you are what you want to be. Say, act and live your life like all you dreams have already come true. Train you mind to focus not on the fact that things “seem” to be working against you, but on the outcome you desire. For the universe is not working against you, only your thoughts are, if you let them.

Say that life is easy and life will “be” easy. Believe that you have everything you need and money comes easily and you “will” have everything you need and the money “will” come to you. I know it seem absolutely crazy! When the bank account is overdrawn, collection agencies are on the phone, and there is no food in the fridge. But you have to create the reality in your mind before it can be manifested in your life. You have to send out this energy in order for it to be returned to you.

If you want change, believe that it already exists.

So as you go through your day today remember that; you are what you say you are and your life is what you say it is.

JDK

Ticketmast-whore

Another blow to the average guy who just wants to take in a concert or other event. Ticketmaster can now double the profit as they charge their rediculous service fees on tickets and then charge again on the same tickets when they are resold by online "scalpers". I don't forsee any good for the average guy coming from this move.

Ticketmaster Buys Major ResellerThe Wall Street Journal, 2008-01-15In a bid
to fend off competition on multiple fronts, IAC/InterActiveCorp's Ticketmaster
has agreed to pay about $265 million for TicketsNow Inc., the country's
second-largest Web site for reselling tickets to concerts and sports events, the
companies said.The move is designed to let Ticketmaster and its clients tap the
explosive growth of the so-called secondary ticket market, which is led by eBay
Inc.'s StubHub site. The cash offer also comes after Ticketmaster's largest
client, concert promoter Live Nation Inc., said it plans to stop doing business
with Ticketmaster at the end of this year and to start a competing ticketing
service.While Ticketmaster sells the vast majority of the tickets resold by
online marketplaces such as StubHub, TicketsNow and Razorgator, the ticketing
company and its client venues generally see little or no income from those
secondary sales.Ticketmaster President and Chief Executive Sean Moriarty said
the company plans to share revenue from its new division with clients that own
venues or promote events, although he said details on how the money would be
distributed aren't final. He said the move highlights a shift in the way ticket
resellers are perceived, both by the public and by concert-industry
participants. Where resellers once were viewed as shady scalpers, now, thanks
largely to the Internet, they are becoming more respectable."Clients who five
years ago were not willing to allow a ticket to be resold now want a piece of
it," Mr. Moriarty said. The size of the secondary ticket market is hard to
judge, but estimates range from $2.5 billion to $5 billion a year in the U.S.Tim
Leiweke, president of Anschutz Co.'s AEG unit, the No. 2 concert promoter in the
country in revenue after Live Nation, said he welcomed the deal as a way for
venues and performers to participate in a market they previously couldn't
access. "We get to go back to the artist and say, 'Now, we can capture that
revenue for you, instead of StubHub,'" Mr. Leiweke said. "That's a big deal for
us."A secondary-market effort by Ticketmaster called TicketExchange has gained
only modest acceptance among consumers. "It's a good system but not a great
brand," Mr. Leiweke said. The TicketsNow acquisition stands to put Ticketmaster
into the secondary market in a significant way. TicketsNow is primarily used by
professional ticket brokers to sell tickets to customers; the Web site charges
buyers 15% of the sale prices, and it charges variable fees to sellers depending
on their sales volume and other factors.The acquisition raises potentially
thorny questions for Ticketmaster, which has previously sued brokers who use
automated programs called "bots" to scoop up tickets faster than regular fans
can, and then resell them for big profits on sites such as TicketsNow.
TicketsNow Chief Executive Cheryl Rosner said her site currently doesn't make
any effort to keep tabs on how its 800 registered sellers acquire the tickets
they sell. Mr. Moriarty said Ticketmaster would attempt to root out people who
used technology unfairly, although he declined to give specifics. TicketsNow
sold $202 million of tickets in 2006, Ms. Rosner said.

Merry Christmas

At this time of year more than ever I feel gratitude for the great country I live in, the great people in my life, and all that I have been blessed with in my life.

So with this note I wish you all and your families a Merry Christmas and nothing but prosperity in the New Year.

JDK