In case you were wondering, Roland's product support department closes for lunch from 1-2 PM Pacific time.

I declare that honey roasted peanuts are one of the best things to eat on an empty stomach.

What is a Juggalo?

A fan is someone who only likes the music either because it's the fad right now, or because they want to conform. Fans don't see the true message of the music, just the outer layer. Fans are quick to forget you as soon as the next big sensation comes along. They also will hound ICP for autographs and see them only as big famous stars.

This guy is a regular sociologist! He must have done his thesis on rap-clown subcultures.

I declare that pretzels are the worst thing to eat on an empty stomach.

More shirts! These are much better, now that I've learned the secret of using textile medium to create durable acrylic fabric paint that won't wash away.

shirt 1 in progress - This was probably the original t-shirt idea we had. It's definitely from last year. I had tried this before and failed miserably, so here was my chance to make it right.

shirt 1 final - Not too shabby.

shirt 2 - Came up with this after rejecting a bunch of dumb slogans. Note that it is a Universal Studios security shirt, courtesy of a certain friend of ours who shall remain nameless in case that was against policy or something.

shirt 3 - By far the most popular to date. It's a high quality shirt, so it feels good to wear in so many ways.

shirt 4 - Nothing special. It's getting harder to think up good phrases to put on shirts. Maybe I'll start making stencils of animals or something.

I want to be the Hold Steady when I grow up.

The last (and only previous) time I saw Enterprise was maybe six months ago. It's on today, and it's the same episode I saw - the one with the green alien hooker slave babes.

This happens to a lot of people I know. I believe it's a phenomenon that should be studied scientifically. I wonder what causes this tendency to see the same episodes of certain shows over and over? It's not all shows - shows that I watch frequently do not have this problem. It only seems to happen with shows that I catch once in a long while - but again, all shows that fit this category do not exhibit the same freaky broken-record replay syndrome.

Can you tell I've had a lot of time to think today?

YES YES WHOOOOO

LOS ANGELES, California (Hollywood Reporter) -- "Futurama" has a future.

Comedy Central has resurrected the former Fox animated series from "The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening and David X. Cohen. At least 13 new episodes will be produced -- the first since the series' original run from 1999-2003.

The new batch is part of a deal the cable network made with 20th Century Fox Television last year to pick up syndicated rights to the existing "Futurama" library of 72 episodes. Comedy Central also had an option to air any new episodes produced.

New and old episodes will begin airing in 2008 on Comedy Central. Actors Billy West, Katey Sagal and John DiMaggio have agreed to return as voices for "Futurama."

"We are thrilled that Matt Groening and 20th Century Fox Television have decided to produce new episodes of 'Futurama' and that Comedy Central will be the first to air them," said David Bernath, senior vice president for programming at the network.

"There is a deep and passionate fan base for this intelligent and very funny show that matches perfectly with our audience, and it is great that we can offer them not just the existing library but something they've never seen as well."

"Futurama" isn't the first series to return to air after cancellation. The Fox animated series "Family Guy" returned to the network last year after getting a second wind on DVD and late-night cable.

"Transformer" has the fattest beat, and I think the intro was culled from a game show theme song. That is all.

incredibly apt

hot dog, we have a weiner

hey guys.
I was hoping you'd be up for a show in 26th with [name of band].
www.myspace.com/[name of band].
Let me know soon if you're interested.
Thanks.
-mike

Who would've thought? My first show booked through myspace.

I still hate it.

Red Sox acquire designated Johnson from Indians

They're really trying to keep baseball interesting these days.

makin' pasta, makin' pasta

Just got back from a great night of Music Trivioke, which means we played music trivia for about 2 hours and then did karaoke for about 4 hours. Here's the play-by-play:

"Ain't Too Proud to Beg" - Temptations

Yeah, I pretty much owned this one.

"Mr Brightside" - The Killers

I only did this because they didn't have "Change Your Mind". It was either this or "Somebody Told Me", which I've never really liked. This was my warm-up so it was just kind of ok.

"Cecilia" - Simon and Garfunkel

Ben and I tried to do this together. I knew that I had the harmony part down cold from many road trip singalongs, and I was confident coming off the Temptations number. So I thought we had this one in the bag - well ... we got up there, and the song starts, and it's way high. I mean, at least a third higher than the studio track. Which meant I couldn't sing the harmonies I wanted. So I went back and forth between some harmony and some melody, which was ok because Ben pretty much switched when I did. Overall, it was pretty terrible. I'd put it on par with last week's failed attempt at "Under Pressure", which almost certainly means that duets are not the way to go.

(For those of you keeping score at home, Ben did a fine version of "Baba O'Riley" and something else, and Van did something else and "American Girl" and it was cool. Abbie wailed a version of "If It Makes You Happy" that really just put the rest of us in our place. She also did a killer "Total Eclipse of the Heart" with Ben as the other dude. Or is it a girl? I can't remember. And yes, I am making pasta. Singing and dancing in a small bar with no A/C makes me hungry!)

You Are Fozzie Bear

"Wocka! Wocka!" You're the life of the party, and you love making people crack up. If only your routine didn't always bomb! You may find more groans than laughs, but always keep the jokes coming.

The Muppet Personality Test

link

I think this article misrepresents the issue. It's not that digital downloading robs artists - just a flawed execution of a theoretically better system. To wit:

Weird Al says his contract stipulates a lower royalty rate for digital downloads than CD sales. Depending on when that contract was signed, he may have had no interest in digital downloads whatsoever. Pre-Napster, there was little to no market for digital music. Now, we have iTunes, Rhapsody, Yahoo music, Napster 2.0, ringtones (clearly a huge cash cow - they charge $2.50 for 30 seconds of music!), and so on.

But if the contract was drawn up, say, prior to 2000 - well, who cared about digital music then? It certainly wouldn't have made any difference to Weird Al if he got 50% or 5% from downloads - and so the record company (in their cunning way) probably had a blanket royalty rate on any future distribution method. And it was probably very small, because neither party expected that to amount to anything.

Then we get to the numbers, which make reasonable sense. Except for this part:

First, many artists can record fantastic music of very high quality in their own home studios. So, for some artists the record label is more marketing firm than recording technician (or, the guy who pays for one).

So? First of all, the fact that a musician can record music at home does not necessarily mean that is the best choice for the artist or the label. It also doesn't mean the label doesn't pay for anything when a home record is made. Ultimately, it does not matter whether the money was spent on recording, marketing, or both - it is all recoupable according to the terms of the recording contract. That's how it works. I don't have a problem with that.

According to widely circulated data from the coverage of The Allman Brothers suit against Sony BMG, you could expect something like $45 of each thousand songs sold to be paid to you in royalties.

Ok, again - what are the terms of their contract? When was it signed? The Allman Brothers have been around forever. For all we know, their contract dates from 1979 and has provisions for 8-track sales. And why should we expect $45 for every 1,000 songs sold? What is the standard agreement for iTunes (since that's the only download service being discussed)?

An important point to keep in mind is that the artist is at least making money from digital downloads. I'm sure the record companies could find a way to disguise that income and exclude it from royalty calculations. But you know what? If you're not happy with your current agreement, you can take steps. You can renegotiate a contract (especially for someone as well-known as Weird Al). You can start your own [record label/publishing company/digital music service]. You can lobby to keep your music off of iTunes altogether, if you think that would somehow benefit you. Artists have lawyers on retainer (just like labels do) for situations exactly like this.

Eighty Five Percent! If they cut my income by 85%, I'd be making soup from old shoes down by the railroad tracks!

Mechanical royalties, while significant, are not even close to an artist's entire income; therefore, the statement that it would be cut by 85% is false. Mr. Yankovic (they couldn't even spell his name right) is also entitled to PRO royalties, merchandise and ticket sales, and who knows? Maybe he delivers pizza on the weekends. But the point is valid: he would lose a lot of money if fans exclusively bought through iTunes. Again, the problem is not with the system, but with the fact that he signed a contract stipulating those conditions.

I'm going to stop now. I think Weird Al's opinions were misrepresented in the article; he seems to be disappointed that his digital royalty rate is not very good, but I think he also realizes why that is and doesn't have some crazy idea that paying for downloads will inherently "rob" artists.

'The Queen Is Dead' had to be assembled in a slightly piecemeal fashion, with the snare and bass drum recorded separately from the cymbals and tom-toms.

This guy thinks like I do.

Dear applicant,

Thank you very much for your interest in the MTV/Rolling Stone project. We very much appreciate the time you took to prepare and submit all the necessary materials.

Unfortunately, we are not able to offer you a place on our show this season.

Please do not take this as any negative reflection on your writing ability or personal story. We simply received many, many times more applications from qualified candidates than we were able to accommodate.

We wish you all the best with your career and personal projects in the future.

Kind Regards,
The MTV/Rolling Stone Project Casting Staff

Bummer.

story

This makes me happy.

Peanut butter + Coca-Cola = breakfast

Michael Berg is awesome

I never expected this kind of reaction to be broadcast in the mainstream media. But there it is.

I just tried to cut my own hair. It's pretty much as dumb an idea as the entertainment industry (or perhaps the hairstyling industry) would have you believe.

I quit before it got too bad.

I declare the entire experience to be "rock and roll".

In a surprising turn of events, I think I like Mondays.

(up yours, Garfield!)