A half-dozen cool things in music, from two points of view:
A half-dozen cool things in music
June 27, 2008 at 4:36PM
Billy Bragg, Cedar Cultural Center. He masterfully mixed humor with political passion like I wish more American musicians would. Having no chairs was a brilliant move by the Cedar; it kept energy high and the mood free-form.
Bon Iver, Rock the Garden. He turned his recorded masterpiece ("For Emma") into a compelling live performance with just a percussionist and an occasional horn as an accent. They brought profound energy and texture to a simple and humble collection of songs.
80/35 Festival, Des Moines. This Iowa boy is proud that Des Moines is showing up the big cities with a July 4-5 blast with 44 acts -- from the Roots and Flaming Lips to Yonder Mountain String Band and Pieta Brown, plus free stages outside the gates for local bands. What an ingenious setup.
DAN JENNEY, MINNEAPOLIS
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Motley Crue, "Late Show With David Letterman." The stage fog, Vince Neil's bling, Tommy Lee's necktie and tattoos, the gratuitous babes sitting on amplifiers, the distortion, the volume -- and Dave knew each band member by name. What a scene and sight! I don't even remember the song from the new CD, "Saints of Los Angeles." Led Zeppelin's income from "Stairway to Heaven." Portfolio.com has calcuated the revenues from radio play (2.9 million spins), recording and download sales, and ringtones. The total earnings come to $562 million -- and counting. That's a whole lotta loot.
Fjord Escorts, Spin magazine. Reporter Adam Sachs probes the Swedish indie-pop phemonenon and discovers that it's funded by the government. He interviews the minister of trade and officials at Export Music Sweden and the Swedish Arts Council. Hipster acts such as Miss Li and Loney, Dear (now on Sub Pop) received support to make sure they were marketed effectively abroad. All this makes U.S. bands wonder what ever happened to the National Endowment for the Arts.
JON BREAM, STAR TRIBUNE
