Ghost Media

Dr. DVJ: Happy Birthday MJ!

Happy birthday to Michael Jackson, who turns 49 today!

I guess it's been a while since Motown hit-making songwriting team The Corporation  wrote  "ABC".

YouTube Fridays: Inaugural Edition

Today we begin a new weekly feature here on the Ghost, which will feature musicians and music industry people picking their two favorite videos on YouTube.  This inaugural edition highlights the exquisite tastes of Skychief, guitarist for electro-popsters Walter Meego . 

Escort: All Through the Night:  Fucking awesome.  Escort's been killing it music-wise for a little
while now...who'd have thought they'd be so darn good at videos too. [Editor's note: yes, Skychief did just use the words "fucking" and "darn" in adjoining sentences.]

 

Steely Dan: The Making of Peg:  Second to stealing music, the best thing about the music internet is
watching your favorite bands.  It's even better when you get to watch
those bands in non music-video format.

 

 

Off The Subject: Campaign Edition

Once in a while Ghost gets lured into the savage world that exists outside of music and something just screams for a post. 

If you're ever wondering how slanted journalism takes place by staying just barely withing the lines of ethical conduct, note today's righty standby Drudge Report.  All day today there has been a large type headline screaming: "OBAMA WIFE SWIPES HILLARY?" with subheadlines quoting Michelle Obama as saying "If you can't run your own house, you can't run the White House."  What a cold slap at Hillary Clinton, right?

Uh.....no.  Fortunately someone took the time to dig up the whole transcript, which clearly indicates that she was talking about making sure to spend time with her kids despite a busy campaign.  Here's the full text:

"One of the most important things that we need to know about the next president of the United States is, is he somebody that shares our values? Is he somebody that respects family? Is a good and decent person? So our view was that, if you can't run your own house, you certainly can't run the White House. So, so we've adjusted our schedules to make sure that our girls are first, so while he's traveling around, I do day trips. That means I get up in the morning, I get the girls ready, I get them off, I go and do trips, I'm home before bedtime. So the girls know that I was gone somewhere, but they don't care. They just know that I was at home to tuck them in at night, and it keeps them grounded, and, and children, the children in our country have to know that they come first. And our girls do and that's why we're doing this. We're in this race for not just our children, but all of our children."

And that, folks, is shady journalism at it's finest.

And now back to the music....

Dr. DVJ: The "D" Stands for Deja Vu

I thought about posting this fantastic mp3 from the new  Justice album, but then I thought "I already posted about Justice". Fuck it. I was listening to Los Angeles' fantastic music show  Morning Becomes Eclectic  and they played the track, so, after being confirmed, more funk for you to dance in your cube to.

Listen to "New Jack" from †  by Justice

Lollapalooza Through Jim DeRogatis' Eyes

Daft Punk Overtakes Egypt for "Coolest Pyramid" Title

Anyone who saw Daft Punk's climactic set at Lollapalooza was left with the same question......something along the lines of "What the fuck??".  The band unleashed their hypnotizing set from atop one of the most insane looking (er.....only?) futuristic pyramids on the planet. So now, courtesty of Mixmag  (via Pitchfork via Daliy Swarm, via my aunt who lives in Tulsa,  blah blah blah) take a peek inside the control center, and read about the tools they used to get Grant Park moving.

1. ABLETON
"The show revolves around Ableton Live software on custom made super-computers, which we remotely access and control with Behringer BCR2000 midi controllers."

2. SCREENS
"Next to the ethernet remote computer screens there are four Minimoog Voyagers, the classic analog synthesizers. They're a 30-year old design."

3. MOOGS
"We can mix, shuffle, trigger loops, filter, distort samples, EQ in and out, transpose or destroy and deconstruct synth lines. We keep some surprises on the side too!"

4. VISUALS
"There's a direct connection between our rig and the lights and visuals of the show. The light and video engineers can also add or control layers during the show."

5. SYNTHS
"Inside the pyramid are synthesizers and remote controls connected to the rest of the music equipment and computers, which are in rack-mounted towers off stage."

6. TEAMWORK
"Working the music equipment, lighting and video equipment, and building the pyramid for each show takes around 10 people, including both of us."

The Peculiar Music Industry: Merv Griffin Edition

Entertainer and businessman Merv Griffin, who just died at age 82, knew how to make a buck.  When he created the massively popular game show Jeopardy, he was smart enough to compose the theme song and ever-popular "thinking music" himself.  He estimated that the task took him about 30 minutes.  What's so genius about that? The songs have earned him approximately 80 million dollars in royalties. 

Internships Blow Unless They Don't....

Industry blog Hypebot point out that Mercury Records is hiring interns in Chicago, among other cities.  Click here for details...

Thriller: Disturbing on Many Levels

Ever wonder what life would be like if you got thrown into a Filipino prison?

Dr. DVJ: Chinese Company to Own The Beatles? Tough Dumplings

(More peculiar musings from Dr. DVJ)

Could it be? The music business blog Hypebot is reporting that Chinese firm China Mobile Ltd. is to become the majority stakeholder in EMI as a part of the deal involving the buyout of EMI by Terra Firma Capital Partners (Read the Forbes story here ).

I briefly researched China Mobile Ltd. on  Yahoo Finance trying to find out if it was a government owned company and couldn't find out. One way or the other, it does make me sad to see the crown jewel of the publishing world and of English music transferring in to the hands of a Chinese company. Anyone got a few billion laying around to keep John Lennon's legacy in the hands of the western world?