Local Commotion October Updates

... and no, I'm not going to call it fucking "Rocktober."

Just got back from the Tool concert last night... Wow. Interesting experience. On the upside, I enjoyed watching some brilliant musicians play some wicked tunes. On the downside, the Hartford Civic Center sounds like a subwoofer trapped in a dumpster. Not to mention it's kind of weird seeing thousands of drone-like Tool fans mouthing the lyrics to a band who advocates thinking for yourself.

Anyway, I'm thrilled -- THRILLED -- that my interview made the cover this week. It's only the second time that's happened (not counting the Band Slam/Snow Slam previews I do), and I get all giddy about that shit. It's definitely a high point of my writing career so far.

Enough blabbing. I'm here to tell you about some updates I made this morning! I've got new shit for the fans and new shit for the bands. Something for the holes and something for the poles. You know how it go.

• For the Fall season, I've put some new tunes up on the Local Commotion MySpace, which is basically a jukebox/soundtrack to this blog and the Advocate column. I focused on a "creepy" theme for the autumn! You may have never heard of these groups or genres, but believe me, the sounds and textures are a perfect fit.
• I've separated the categories in my links section on the right-hand side. I also shrank the font to make it a little more readable. Let me know if you don't like it and I'll change it back.
• I've created a new links section for blogs! There are so damn many CT-related music and arts blogs out there -- it's about time I started spreading the love. Like cream cheese. I had jalapeno cream cheese on a cheddar bagel from Lox Stock and Bagel in West Hartford this morning. Mmmm. I'm hungry again just thinking about it.
• I've finally begun linking (and expanding) the link sections for Record Stores and Labels, and I created a new section for Promo Agencies. If you're a musician, or in a related field, please send me links to help fill out these sections -- and pass the word along to other CT people looking for local music resources.

Thanks for reading.

(Image courtesy of Scary Bunnies.)

New Tracks on Local Commotion Radio!

Get over to the Local Commotion MySpace and do your homework!

Music fans will dig this.

http://pandora.com/

It creates a "radio station" for you based on your likes and disklikes. Really easy to use, and awesome sound quality! FREE!

Thanks for the link, Olympia, you cyberslut whore.

Eliot Spitzer, You're My Hero

A lot of people (including me) rant and rave about how control of the media has been taken away from the people, and no longer represents their interests.

Here's proof.

I've been tracking the radio payola scandal for a while now, and this is another big-yet-obvious revelation. According to this Yahoo News article, Sony and Warner have already agreed to big-money settlements, and today Universal did as well.

Why are they paying? Because they've been bribing radio station employees to rotate certain songs more heavily. They've also been engaging in "fraudulent call-in campaigns" to skew a song's popularity.

Some of the Universal artists whose songs were payola'd: Nick Lachey, Ashlee Simpson, Brian McKnight, Big Tymers, and Lindsay Lohan.

ALL SHITTY MUSICIANS.

On the downside, the stuff these labels were giving to radio reps and Program Directors was pretty tame (Yankees tickets, Miami hotel rooms, preferred seating at U2 concerts). I was kind of hoping it would at least be hookers and blow.

Homegrown: The Local Music Radio Show

Robert DeRosa, of ThinManMusic fame (the CT label that releases CDs by excellent artists like The Sawtelles and Frank Critelli), also has a radio show! It's called Homegrown (nyuk nyuk), and it focuses on local musicians.

Homegrown broadcases on WESU 88.1 FM from 5 - 6 p.m. every Thursday. If you're out of range, you can tune into the webcast (god, I love the internet) at:

http://www.wesufm.org/

EDM Radio Show -- With a Webcast!

James Fusion spins an EDM radio show on Weslyan's WESU station. Check out his website for links and MP3s of prior broadcasts!

http://www.jamesfusion.com/

Fusion Radio airs every Wednesday night from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm EST on 88.1FM WESU. If you're out of range, you can catch a webcast at: www.wesufm.org

Here's last week's playlist:

1. MARCO BAILEY / START SESSION / PORNOGRAPHIC 2. STEPHANE SIGNORE / ANOTHER LIFE / PLANET RHYTHM 3. JIM FISH / FLAWED SURFACE / HUMANOID 4. MVP / BIG / GOODFELLAS 5. RODELL & FISH / TURN OF THE BUBBLE / DRUMWORKS 6. PREACH / PHO BANG / PATTERNS 7. PREACH & OLIVER GIACOMOTTO / CLEARLY H2O / PATTERNS 8. PREACH / TIMEPORT / RELIC 9. PREACH & OLIVER GIACOMOTTO / GOLDFISH / PATTERNS 10. LUKAS & MARTYN HARE / SIMPLY ROUGH / TREMORS 11. HERTZ & ROWDY SPARKS / HERTZDISASTER / BEAT DISASTER 12. MISJAH / AFFLICTION / MANKIND 13. JIM FISH / STATE OF MIND / HUMANOID 14. REDHEAD / FLY CARGO / PORNOGRAPHIC 15. BANDO / ELEMENTAL DRUMS / PORNOGRAPHIC 16. TOM HADES / CYCLOTRON / PORNOGRAPHIC 17. MARY-TEX / SCHLAUF / PORNOGRAPHIC 18. MARCO BAILEY / POLE POSITION / PORNOGRAPHIC 19. MARCO BAILEY / TWEEKIN / PORNOGRAPHIC 20. OLIVER KLITZING / BE SATISFIED / HEADLINE 21. POUNDING GROOVES / 26 (MARK BROOM RMX) / PG REMIX