Five questions for Islands--9-28-08
 

Are you pleased The Unicorns' 2003 album, Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?, has become a cult classic?

Not at all. Actually I sort of wish it would shrivel up and blow away. The only thing I like about it is how we out-Fleetwood Mac'd Fleetwood Mac. Every song on that album is about how much we hated each other and trying to guess how much longer we had until we'd kill each other.

http://www.metro.co.uk/metrolife/mus...5&in_a_source=

It's amazing Christine McVie survived as long as she did surrounded by those massive egos but she held her own musically.

http://back-spin.blogspot.com/2008/0...tracks_27.html

Ion's LP 2 CD converter – making old records cool again. All of us dream one day of being able to shovel our dusty copy of Frampton Comes Alive onto our iPod. But seeing as buying it on CD risks you being seen doing so by other members of the general public, the best course of action is nabbing this Ion LP 2 CD converter.

Obviously having more than one big–selling 70s or 80s album comes in handy, so you can really make full use of it. All you need to do is stick an LP on, shove in a blank CD and burn at your leisure.

There's also Mac and PC software, so you can bosh everything from Fleetwood Mac's Rumours to Phil Collins's No Jacket Required onto iTunes or Windows Media Player.

It's available now over at Firebox and down your local Maplins for £300. A small price to pay to bring your childhood and questionable MOR record collection back to life.

Essentials
Ion LP 2 CD
Price: £300
On sale: Now
Contact: Firebox

http://stuff.tv/news/Gadget-of-the-D...LP-2-CD/10927/

Juno Award-winning singer/songwriter Serena Ryder's third album, Is It O.K, will be released on Nov. 11 through EMI Music Canada.

The album, which will be released in the U.S. through Atlantic next year, was produced by John Alagia (Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer). It was recorded at Village Recording Studios in Santa Monica, Calif., which is where Ryder's favourite album, Fleetwood Mac's TUSK, was made.

"I was in Stevie Nicks' vocal booth with candles all around and stained-glass windows and mirrors everywhere," Ryder says. "It was totally fabulous. I definitely felt the energy. I wanted to tap my veins into the walls, you know?"

http://www.chartattack.com/news/6088...-asks-is-it-ok

What I would give to enter that booth....:nod:

This Syndey Morning Herald article is about a drawing of Malcolm Turnball sitting on the floor, smoking pot, with a Fleetwood Mac album next to him. It reminds me of what Stevie said in DR about their fans having grown up and matured and not sitting around on the floor smoking dope anymore.

Michele

http://blogs.smh.com.au/newsblog/archives/2008/10/

"It was definitely a reaction against all that stuff. And now, of course, you put Fleetwood Mac on the radio and you go, 'And what is so bad about Fleetwood Mac? I mean, this is a fine song. This Fleetwood Mac song is not a bad song at all.' You know, the Eagles, I'm still, you know, not a huge fan but I've seen them play live." —Exene Cervenka on the origins of X [Sound of the City/VV]

" Rumours "
 

Hey guys:
This is Earl The Pearl, a new member.
Iam glad to be a part of your Fleet, Mac on.:wavey:

Hi Earl. Welcome aboard!

Michele

Stephin Merritt of Magnetic Fields was influenced by Tusk:

http://cableandtweed.blogspot.com/20...n-merritt.html

Question: So, you know, you were obviously listening to Psychocandy when you recorded this, but do you generally let other albums influence your work so thoroughly?

SM: (Long pause) Um, well, people keep pointing out to me that I’m living in one big Fleetwood Mac Tusk, um, so I guess Tusk has influenced me in the long term, maybe more than any other record. Uh, uh, hmm. Yeah, I wouldn’t be me without Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk or Tom Wait’s Bone Machine. Um, but a lot of music that I’ve incorporated has been singles rather than albums, especially Phil Spector.

Excerpt from Interview with Jock Bartley of Firefall

Posted on November 3rd, 2008 by Simon Barrett in Interview, Music Reviews, Reviews

http://www.bloggernews.net/118466

What went wrong, what happened to Firefall, and what brought about reassembling the alumni after so many years

Firefall burned brightly for 4 or 5 years, we had some albums that went Gold and Platinum, plus a string of singles that charted well. Maybe one of the greatest thrills for me was being the opening act for Fleetwood Mac, we did that for about 6 months. There I was, sharing the same stage with the worlds most famous band. There are not many people that can claim they have played in front of a 100,000 crowd. Yes, looking back, it was luck and timing. But we had hit the big time.

We also gradually self destructed. three of the band members had drinking and substance abuse issues. That combined with being screwed by our record label made for a bad situation. The record business was an ugly one back in the 70’s, it didn’t seem to matter that you were selling millions of albums, we had sold something like 5 million, yet we were still broke, in fact we owed money!

The labels were taking 90% or even 95% of the revenue, sure, they supported you on tours, but then you had to repay them, and that was coming out of your 5%. The average hit band was living in poverty!

The bottom fell out before we even knew it. Atlantic wanted money out of us, even though they had made millions from us, we had sold over 5 million albums, and done who knows how many concerts. With this as the backdrop the group disintegrated.

When we created Firefall as a legal entity we had included a rider that should any member leave the band they lost the rights to use the name. It was not long before I realized that I was the only one left!

The 80’s saw a big change in the musical landscape, Punk, Disco, and various other styles really put a brake on rock music. The fans were not there, and neither were the labels or backers. But I decided to soldier on, and have assembled a great team of players. And best of all, we are friends, and we have fun playing together.

Firefall did their own version of "Crying in the Night". It wasn't released until 1995 when it came as a bonus track to their 1980 album.

This excerpt is from an article about the dear, departed 8 track.

http://www.postgazette.com/pg/08314/...pid=newspanel8

Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Sunday, November 09, 2008
By Ced Kurtz

By the time the CD came out in 1982, the eight-track was widely consigned to attics, basements and flea markets.

Late-period releases can be valuable. For example, Bruce Springsteen's "Live/1975-85" was one of the very few box sets to be released on vinyl, cassette, compact disc and eight-track tape.

The last widely issued eight-track tape, most agree, was Fleetwood Mac's "Greatest Hits" in November 1988.

But some won't stop (pause, click) believing. There is a cult of eight-track aficionados. One of the best sites for eight-track culture and lore is www.8trackheaven.com.

This London Independent article on Scandinavian music mentions a Springsteen/FM mash up.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-en...ia-950686.html

There are increasing signs, especially on the New York fringes where rock, rap and electro merge, that dance music is diversifying. Brooklyn hipster Kotchy's quirky blend of house, hip-hop and rock currently earning him comparisons to Pharrell. The A side of discotised single "She Made It Easy" (Civil Music) exhorts listeners to "dance buck naked"; the B side is a breezy Bruce Springsteen/Fleetwood Mac mash-up titled "Bruce Fleetwood".

Excerpt from Montreal Gazette Article about Big Spenders -- albums that were expensive to make:

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazett...f-ab0583f89f21

1979

After placing a copy of Rumours in every pair of hands in the Western world, Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham overreaches the grasp of his audience with Tusk, a singularly different double album said to have cost $1 million in 1979 dollars.