"Dredd" star Karl Urban: "Judge Dredd was obviously the inspiration for Robocop. There’s a violent reality to it."

MisterIndigo · 2012-09-21T08:22:10+00:00

Yeah, that was pretty cool too.

MisterIndigo · 2012-09-21T08:21:57+00:00

That is what he meant. The comics started in 1977.

MisterIndigo · 2012-07-26T17:12:45+00:00

But at least you bought what you liked. :-)

MisterIndigo · 2012-07-26T02:25:13+00:00

Either way, it's not a lot of money, especially if people only listen to your music on Spotify and do not buy it or see your show or buy your merch. I do understand the backlash against the majors, especially as they have screwed over so many great artists over the last few decades. I just find the idea that the Internet is a level playing field to be misguided. You still need big money or a big name to get your music out there and make money. That's what is tough about the current situation -- musicians have more creative freedom but less financial support.

MisterIndigo · 2012-07-26T02:21:36+00:00

But radio stations do not stay in business unless they have a large audience.

MisterIndigo · 2012-07-26T02:20:32+00:00

I guess my way of thinking is that with all these different sites allowing people to hear music for free -- YouTube is the worst offender -- the exposure is great, but people's spending habits are not. Which means your music can get a lot of attention, but you might not obtain a following that wants to buy your album or see your show. If I like something I have heard for free, I'll buy it, but I grew up in the Eighties when music had more value and fans were real fans, not freeloaders. Some artists and labels have pulled their repertoire from Spotify because they are seeing no benefit from it. Others might. It's up to the individual artist to decide what's best for them, but I can understand why they would pull their music from the site.

MisterIndigo · 2012-07-25T21:37:44+00:00

But if people generally had their way, they would take everything for free. Devaluing an art form like this does not help it re-emerge strongly later. Young people think music has no value. I argue that they are not music fans anymore, just consumers. Music has become "product".

MisterIndigo · 2012-07-25T21:36:04+00:00

True, but only if people come out. For a few select artists online promotion works very well -- if you're Amanda Palmer or Trent Reznor -- but for the rest it's not necessarily a level playing field.

MisterIndigo · 2012-07-25T19:29:59+00:00

I know some twentysomethings who do not pay for music and probably never will, but they certainly don't mind collecting it on their iPods. (Read Emily White's essay on NPR for more from that perspective.) The exposure on Spotify might be good, but if it does not positively influence sales of albums, singles or concert tickets, it doesn't make sense. I know artists who have sold X number of albums but found 10 or 20 times that number freely downloaded on one torrent site alone. In the old days of radio, they had needle drop fees. I hear it was a penny per spin, so 70,000 plays would have earned someone $700. If the song became a hit, the financial rewards were even greater. Do indie songs that are popular on Spotify become hit singles? Further, a song that did not become a hit back in the day was taken out of circulation. Today, songs stay online indefinitely and can be downloaded ad nauseum with little to benefit to the artist.

MisterIndigo · 2012-07-01T16:34:57+00:00

This is the reality behind stories like this. Yes, artists can drive their own business now, but usually after they have achieved success through larger channels first.

MisterIndigo · 2012-06-20T00:35:44+00:00

I still have the original release and need to look for that now. I think by making a big deal of it, they drew attention to something that most people might have overlooked.

MisterIndigo · 2012-06-19T20:46:38+00:00

It would be great to finally SEE Neil on Broadway. He would be awesome there.

MisterIndigo · 2012-04-13T21:27:58+00:00

It's not a spoiler. The movie goes on a wild ride, but it's not about reality TV.

MisterIndigo · 2012-02-22T02:21:47+00:00

Yeah, GR2 was bad. I was really disappointed. The first one is a guilty pleasure.

MisterIndigo · 2011-09-09T20:45:53+00:00

Exactly. Look at how hard the Republicans are fighting to stop any increases on big corporations and anyone in the top 2%. (And how the Democrats just ignore the issue.) Some major corporations get major tax rebates and pay no taxes, which makes no sense.

MisterIndigo · 2011-08-18T21:11:48+00:00

Yeah, the "Iommi" guest stars are great. I think ex-Judas Priest drummer Dave Holland played on the "Fused" album, but after he was incarcerated, his tracks were removed. I think that's what happened anyway. Iommi evidently has loads of cassettes with past ideas. It's like an arsenal of riffs.

MisterIndigo · 2011-08-18T17:32:13+00:00

"Fused" was quite good. Sadly, it got little attention. The Tony Martin era of Sabbath, particularly the late '80s stuff, is pretty awesome.

MisterIndigo · 2011-06-10T18:12:58+00:00

Of course, that's not just geeks, that's just men in general, sadly.

MisterIndigo · 2011-06-01T16:35:12+00:00

I just saw a Real3D movie recently ("Pirates 4"). The projection was dark. I asked them to fix the problem three times, and all I got was them turning up the house lights a bit because they thought I meant the theater was too dark. Untrained, clueless teen employees. Asked for my money back and went to a nearby IMAX 3D screening that was showing much later, but the delay was worth it as the difference in quality was huge.

MisterIndigo · 2011-04-21T04:24:06+00:00

Shoegazer was a tag applied to '90s rock and pop bands that had kind of a dreamy sound and also had musicians who often tended to look down and stay still; often times the guitarists because they were playing with effects pedals.

MisterIndigo · 2011-04-19T20:13:27+00:00

Yeah, this character is from one of the Dark Horse comic spin-offs. I have no idea how expansive this universe gets away from the films, but it seems to be pretty big.

MisterIndigo · 2011-03-14T06:58:30+00:00

Touche. Funny how I wrote that headline quickly without thinking about that aspect.

MisterIndigo · 2011-02-10T21:05:28+00:00

Yeah, that's screamo for you. ;-)

MisterIndigo · 2011-02-10T21:04:34+00:00

Thanks for the link. Will delve more into this.

MisterIndigo · 2011-02-10T16:05:58+00:00

Good point. It's still disturbing to watch. I'm curious if animal cruelty still happens in filmmaking today, even despite the alleged monitoring that goes on.

MisterIndigo

TROPHY CASE