Sunday, June 07, 2009
Updates
Ok.. by now a lot of you are probably wondering what's going on with that new record I previewed on MySpace a few months ago..., so I thought it's time for an update. Basically we've been in a "Polvo delay" the last few months.
I hear the new stuff they're doing is incredible, at least in terms of composition and setting new records in multi-tracking, but as a result it's taking far longer to complete than was first anticipated, pushing Mr. Paulson's schedule further and further behind and thereby pushing the finishing of the MDID record to the back burner. I'm hearing that the tarp may be coming off soon and hopefully we can get our little thing finished by the end of June, which probably puts us on track for an October/November release date. (there's the mastering, manufacturing, cover prep, promotional work etc all to be done before the thing can actually "come out" ), Plus there's at least a 4 month delay in getting it on I-Tunes etc.
In the meantime I've been doing some home re-recording of a few songs from the very first record, with an eye towards a 25th anniversary remake of that LP. Haven't decided yet if I'll actually sell it or just make it available online for anyone who wants it.
By they way, you can hear one of the remade songs, "The Quiet Man" on the new Pox World Empire Compulation III CD.
The new Star Trek movie? Meh, it was entertaining enough, with all it's little winks and nods to the old TV series, but it just didn't give me the impression of a lasting re-boot for the franchise. Besides, I couldn't get past seeing the evil Siler from Heroes every time the new Mr. Spock came on screen.
The local "art house" theaters (2 out of the 3 remaining screens in Chapel Hill that play "indie" movies") are currently up for sale with the owners being coy about whether they have potential buyers. My favorite video rental chain (Visart) has closed 2 out of it's 3 local locations, leaving only Carrboro open. The owners blame Youtube, Hulu, Netflix, Widescreen HDTV, and the rise of cable company "on demand" movies for drastic dropoffs in movie tickets and video rentals. (Yes, we are guilty of contributing, The ease of selecting an HD movie for the same price you paid at the video store without the whole "late fees" thing, which I invariably ended up incurring, was just too convenient.) We tried to make up for it a bit this past week by driving (well Jeanne drove) to the Carrboro store and renting the first 3 seasons of Weeds, which we watched all in the space of about a week and a half. Mildly entertaining ensemble show that tries to be "shocking" and funny but there's a bit to much suburban desperation and not enough laughs. I found it hard to sympathize with the drug dealing MILF lead character, and never being a regular pot smoker, didn't pick up on all the winky wacky weed references. This is definitely one of these that's better to watch several in a row.. not sure if it would hold up for me as a weekly half hour.
Anyway all these closings are just another reminder that it's a changing world out there for the creators and producers of all entertainment "products" , not just music. I think I know now how folks must have felt in the 50's as television gradually replaced radio as the home entertainment of choice. My dad was a casualty of that, being forced out of his job as a radio engineer in the 50's. He actually took to repairing TV's for awhile (he was a man who could change with the times!, but when tubes were replaced with solid state condensers, technology won it's battle over him and he got out of the "entertainment" business altogether.)
Unfotunately my business requires me to work in front of a computer all day long so I'm not eager to have computer delivered content also dominate my leisure time.
I'll miss the dusty video store even more then the musty theaters, both of which suffered from a bit of a lack of, shall we say, "modernization"
Oh, and by the way, get off my lawn.
I hear the new stuff they're doing is incredible, at least in terms of composition and setting new records in multi-tracking, but as a result it's taking far longer to complete than was first anticipated, pushing Mr. Paulson's schedule further and further behind and thereby pushing the finishing of the MDID record to the back burner. I'm hearing that the tarp may be coming off soon and hopefully we can get our little thing finished by the end of June, which probably puts us on track for an October/November release date. (there's the mastering, manufacturing, cover prep, promotional work etc all to be done before the thing can actually "come out" ), Plus there's at least a 4 month delay in getting it on I-Tunes etc.
In the meantime I've been doing some home re-recording of a few songs from the very first record, with an eye towards a 25th anniversary remake of that LP. Haven't decided yet if I'll actually sell it or just make it available online for anyone who wants it.
By they way, you can hear one of the remade songs, "The Quiet Man" on the new Pox World Empire Compulation III CD.
The new Star Trek movie? Meh, it was entertaining enough, with all it's little winks and nods to the old TV series, but it just didn't give me the impression of a lasting re-boot for the franchise. Besides, I couldn't get past seeing the evil Siler from Heroes every time the new Mr. Spock came on screen.
The local "art house" theaters (2 out of the 3 remaining screens in Chapel Hill that play "indie" movies") are currently up for sale with the owners being coy about whether they have potential buyers. My favorite video rental chain (Visart) has closed 2 out of it's 3 local locations, leaving only Carrboro open. The owners blame Youtube, Hulu, Netflix, Widescreen HDTV, and the rise of cable company "on demand" movies for drastic dropoffs in movie tickets and video rentals. (Yes, we are guilty of contributing, The ease of selecting an HD movie for the same price you paid at the video store without the whole "late fees" thing, which I invariably ended up incurring, was just too convenient.) We tried to make up for it a bit this past week by driving (well Jeanne drove) to the Carrboro store and renting the first 3 seasons of Weeds, which we watched all in the space of about a week and a half. Mildly entertaining ensemble show that tries to be "shocking" and funny but there's a bit to much suburban desperation and not enough laughs. I found it hard to sympathize with the drug dealing MILF lead character, and never being a regular pot smoker, didn't pick up on all the winky wacky weed references. This is definitely one of these that's better to watch several in a row.. not sure if it would hold up for me as a weekly half hour.
Anyway all these closings are just another reminder that it's a changing world out there for the creators and producers of all entertainment "products" , not just music. I think I know now how folks must have felt in the 50's as television gradually replaced radio as the home entertainment of choice. My dad was a casualty of that, being forced out of his job as a radio engineer in the 50's. He actually took to repairing TV's for awhile (he was a man who could change with the times!, but when tubes were replaced with solid state condensers, technology won it's battle over him and he got out of the "entertainment" business altogether.)
Unfotunately my business requires me to work in front of a computer all day long so I'm not eager to have computer delivered content also dominate my leisure time.
I'll miss the dusty video store even more then the musty theaters, both of which suffered from a bit of a lack of, shall we say, "modernization"
Oh, and by the way, get off my lawn.
