Wal-Mart to Shut Down DRM Download Servers While the Music from Terminator 2 Plays in the Background

By Nobodaddy on

This is it. I can already hear the strains of our readership's Crystal Castles ringtones as our Toby Keith-listening step-daddies and Josh Groban-adoring mommas frantically call our new-fangled smart phones about this DRM (pronounced "derm," right mom?) Download changeover thing that their neighborhood Wal-Mart store just sent them an email about. I might as well get you up to speed now, so you can calm the old folks down and get them off the phone before they invite you and your girlfriend to another dreadful dinner at Outback Steakhouse.

So, basically Walmart.com's music download store went DRM free in February of 2008, and surprise, surprise, now they're telling customers that they can no longer support the DRM-laden downloads that they eagerly sold them prior to the inevitable transition. This is, of course, no surprise to us young folk. You may recall that iTunes offered a paid upgrade to MP3s after it made the DRM-free transition and still supports the tracks it sold with DRM. And other download services like Napster and Rhapsody were forced to extend their transitions after complaints from consumers. Wal-Mart's changeover is, if anything, a little overdue.

But still, consider the email that got sent to Wal-Mart's customers, which states that on October 9, the company will shut its servers "that support protected songs and albums purchased from our site." Unless you back up your files by burning them to CD, you will "no longer be able to transfer your songs to other computers or access your songs after changing or reinstalling your operating system or in the event of a system crash." Okay. Now, think about how your mom uses the term CD and DVD interchangeably all the time. See? This is gonna be a mess. Below is the full text of Wal-Mart's email. After you read it, you should probably look at your Google Calendar and free up a Saturday sometime soon, cuz you've got some DRM songs to burn and some grade-C steak to choke down. Oh, and don't pick up a 10 pack of CD-Rs... from Wal-Mart.

Full text of Walmart.com's email:

We hope you are enjoying the increased music quality/bitrate and the improved usability of Walmart's MP3 music downloads. We began offering MP3s in August 2007 and have offered only DRM (digital rights management) -free MP3s since February 2008. As the final stage of our transition to a full DRM-free MP3 download store, Walmart will be shutting down our digital rights management system that supports protected songs and albums purchased from our site.

If you have purchased protected WMA music files from our site prior to Feb 2008, we strongly recommend that you back up your songs by burning them to a recordable audio CD. By backing up your songs, you will be able to access them from any personal computer. This change does not impact songs or albums purchased after Feb 2008, as those are DRM-free.

Beginning October 9, we will no longer be able to assist with digital rights management issues for protected WMA files purchased from Walmart.com. If you do not back up your files before this date, you will no longer be able to transfer your songs to other computers or access your songs after changing or reinstalling your operating system or in the event of a system crash. Your music and video collections will still play on the originally authorized computer.

Thank you for using Walmart.com for music downloads. We are working hard to make our store better than ever and easier to use.

By Mike McHugh on Jun 5 2009

It’s been 11 long years since Faith No More last took the stage, but in anticipation of their upcoming European tour, frontman Mike Patton is just happy to be playing music again after all those years of relative inactivity. “It’s been tough, man. Real tough,” Patton said in a recent interview with Rolling Stone. “11 years on the sidelines, doin’ bullshit material with bullshit people. It’s good to be back in the game. I’ve paid my fuckin’ dues, and now it’s time to fuck the Big Time in her fat ol’ backyard, baby.”

The post-Faith years have not been kind to Mr. Patton. Following the group’s 1998 breakup, the hammer-throated singer has become dejected and reclusive, popping up only every few hours to release a new album or score a Jason Statham movie. A string of go-nowhere bands like Fantômas, Mr. Bungle, and Peeping Tom kept him fed as he fought to break back onto the charts, but with each paycheck came its own humiliation. Soon the financial constraints became so great that Patton was forced to collaborate with anyone who crossed his path, from John Zorn and Merzbow to Björk and Neil Hamburger. “I’m not proud of things I did to keep myself alive, and I’d forget them forever if I only could,” Patton told RS, fighting back tears. “I just hope if I ever have kids someday that they don’t find out about all the disgraceful shit I had to do to get by. Fuck. Never fuckin’ again, man. I’m a goddamn star now.”

After years of indifference from the mainstream public, Patton was ready to quit the music industry all together until life mercifully gave him a second chance when Faith No More reunited earlier this year (TMT News ). “It’s a real relief, ya know. I mean, I figured I was gonna spend the rest my life sloggin’ out Whoppers at the BK or, even worse, puking up little pieces of my larynx everyday with that shrimpy saxophone blowin’ faggot Zorn,” Patton said, laughing and flexing. “Fuckin’ yes! Goddamn I feel like a fucking titan! You wanna see how many pushups I can do, dipshit journalist? I can do so many fucking pushups, motherfucker! WATCH THE LEAD SINGER OF FAITH NO MORE DO PUSHUPS, PRICK!” (The rest of the RS article is pretty much detailed descriptions about each of Patton’s pushups, except for one aside where Patton talks about how much he enjoyed the movie Up.)
06.10.09 – London, UK – Brixton Academy
06.12.09 – Donington Park, UK – Download Festival
06.13.09 – Interlaken, Switzerland - Greenfield Festival
06.14.09 – Milan, Italy – Rock in Idro
06.16.09 – Berlin, Germany - Kindl-Bühne Wuhlheide
06.19.09 – Nickelsdork, Austria – Nova Rock Festival
06.20.09 - Eichenring Scheeflel, Germany – Hurricane Festival
06.21.09 – Neuhausen ob Eck, Germany – Southside Festival
06.22.09 – Frankfurt, Germany – Jahrhunderthalle
06.24.09 – Helsinki, Finland - Kaisaniemi Park
06.25.09 – Arendal, Norway – Hove Festival
06.27.09 – Borlänge, Sweden – Peace and Love Festival
06.29.09 – Moscow, Russia – B1 Club
06.30.09 – St. Petersburg, Russia – Jubileeny
07.01.09 – Riga, Latvia – Dream Factory
07.03.09 – Roskilde, Denmark – Roskilde Festival
07.04.09 – Gydnia, Poland – Heineken Open'er Festival
07.05.09 – Turku, Finland – Ruisrock Festival
08.08.09 - Zambujeira do Mar, Portugal – Sudoeste Festival
08.14.09 – Burgas, Bulgaria – Spirit of Burgas
08.15.09 – Bucharest, Romania - Sala Polivalenta
08.16.09 – Budapest, Hungary – Sziget Festival
08.17.09 – Prague, Czech Republic – Tesla Arena
08.20.09 – Hasselt, Belgium – Pukkelpop Festival
08.21.09 - Biddinghuizen, Netherlands – Lowlands Festival
08.22.09 – Erfurt, Germany – Highfield Festival
08.23.09 – Oberhausen, Germany – Area 4 Festival
08.29.09 – Paris, France – Rock en Seine
09.01.09 – Tel Aviv, Israel – Fair, Trade and Convention Centre

Photo: [saba♫dija]

Franz Ferdinand Release Dub Remix LP, But They Also Announce North American Tour with Green Day. So, Wait. Does This News Make Them Hip and Credible or Money-Hungry and Disposable? You Decide.

By Nobodaddy on Jun 5 2009

Okay. Pop quiz, hot shot. Franz Ferdinand. Are they (A) ultra-hip, forward-looking glam-rock elevators?

(Hint: In the wake of the release of their relatively well-received third record, Tonight: Franz Ferdinand (TMT Review), the esteemed Glasgow quartet completed a stellar North American Tour, which saw sold-out shows from coast to coast, as well as a poised and impressive appearance on David Letterman. Then, this week, they followed all of this success up with the release of Blood, a dub version of Tonight mixed by Tonight producer Dan Carey, which was filled to the brim with nine incredible versions of Franz originals and one additional song, “Be Afraid,” a version of “Dream Again.” Talk about badass. This might even earn them the Jonny Greenwood Stamp of Approval.)

But wait! Don’t answer so fast.

Because there is also another choice. Could they be (B), tepid torch-bearers of rock ’n’ roll’s, uh, 21st-century breakdown who are content to play to pierced and “opinionated” 15-year-olds, young parents who fill their Rhapsody playlists with songs they hear on local alternative radio, and outdoor-venue-patronizing hackie sack enthusiasts before turning the oversized stage over to the shmaltziest big-budget rock headliners on earth, who use some vague notion of pouty politics to sell three-chord throwaways before they’re too old to look “young”??

(Hint: I’m not talking about Wilco.)

That’s right. Franz Ferdinand is following up the release of their experimental dub record by touring the U.S. again later this summer as the opening act for Green Day. Confused? Me too. Bye bye, Greenwood stamp!

Blood tracklist:

1. Feel The Pressure
2. Die On The Floor
3. The Vaguest of Feeling
4. If I can’t Have You Then Nobody Can
5. Katherine Hit Me
6. Backwards Of My Face
7. Feeling Kind of Anxious
8. Feel The Envy
9. Be Afraid

Green Daytes:
08.08.09 - Houston, TX - Toyota Center
08.09.09 - San Antonio, TX - AT&T Center
08.11.09 - St. Louis, MO - Scottrade Center
08.12.09 - Kansas City, MO - Sprint Center
08.13.09 - Omaha, NE - Qwest
08.15.09 - Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
08.16.09 - Salt Lake City, UT - ESA (Energy Sol Arena)
08.18.09 - San Jose, CA - HP Pavilion
08.20.09 - San Diego, CA - Cox Arena
08.21.09 - Las Vegas, NV - Mandalay
08.22.09 - Phoenix, AZ - US Air Arena
08.24.09 - Sacramento, CA - Arco Arena
08.25.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Forum
08.26.09 - Los Angeles, CA – Forum

Polvo Sign To Merge… Again

By Jon Lorenz on Jun 4 2009

For the second time in 19 years, Chapel Hill's noisy math rock legends Polvo have signed to Merge Records. The band originally released two albums with Merge back in the early ’90s, but its subsequent albums were released via Touch and Go. And now, after spending a good part of March and May recording in Carrboro and at Echo Mountain in Asheville, NC (with Brian Paulson), the band has emerged with In Prism, the group's first album in 12 years, set for release on September 8.

Polvo, who reformed in 2008 at the Explosions in the Sky-curated ATP, are scheduled to play a couple fests this summer, including the Seaport Music Festival with Obits and XX Merge in July with a round of legendary Merge artists including The Magnetic Fields, Superchunk, Lambchop, Spoon, and plenty more. Polvo will also be touring in the fall to promote In Prism, so keep an eye out for a TMT update.

In Prism tracklisting:

1. Right the Relation
2. D.C. Trails
3. Beggar’s Bowl
4. City Birds
5. Lucia
6. Dream residue/Work
7. The Pedlar
8. A Thousand Waves
07-22-09 - 07/26/09 - XX Merge*
07-31-09 - Seaport Music Festival#

# Obits

* Lou Barlow, The Broken West, Richard Buckner, The Clientele, Destroyer, Erectus Monotone, The Essex Green, Guv'ner, Imperial Teen, The Ladybug Transistor, Lambchop, The Magnetic Fields, The Music Tapes, Oakley Hall, Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band, Pipe, Portastatic, Radar Bros., The Rosebuds, Spent, Spoon, Matt Suggs, Superchunk, Tenement Halls, Telekinesis, Versus, M. Ward , She & Him, American Music Club, Wye Oak

RIP: Sam Butera, Saxophonist

By Shane Mack on Jun 4 2009

From New Orleans' Times-Picayune (via The Daily Swarm):

Sam Butera, the hard-driving, hard-swinging New Orleans saxophonist who was Louis Prima’s longtime musical partner, died Wednesday in Las Vegas following a long illness. He was 81.

Mr. Butera joined Prima’s band in 1954. With singer Keely Smith, they built one of the most popular acts in the golden age of Las Vegas. Mr. Butera cooked up the arrangements that gave the likes of “Just a Gigolo,” “I Ain’t Got Nobody” and “Jump Jive An’ Wail” maximum impact.

“Louis’s ace-in-the-hole was Sam Butera,” said Gia Prima, the fifth of Louis’s five wives and the singer in his band from 1962 to 1975. “That animal attraction that they had, with Sam’s honking sax and Louis’s jumping and jiving—without Sam, Louis couldn’t have pulled it off.”

- Sam Butera Wikipedia entry

I Have It! Yo La Tengo to Release Some More Popular Songs

By Mr P on Jun 4 2009

Yo La Tengo, the 25-year-old Alternative Rock Band, are set to release their 12th full-length, Popular Songs, the follow-up to 2006's I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass (TMT Review) (not counting Fuckbook) on September 8. The album was recorded earlier this year in Hoboken and Nashville by members Georgia Hubley, Ira Kaplan, and James McNew with producer Roger Mountenot. Described by Matador as "the bravest musical statement to date in a career full of ‘em," Popular Songs is purported to be stylistically varied and "at the height of their creative powers." But, to paraphrase Thom Yorke, how can we be sure?

To find out, we turn in fact to Thom Yorke, front man of another Alternative Rock Band, who got a sneak preview of the new Yo La Tengo album earlier this week.

So, what's the deal? Is the new Yo La Tengo album all it's cracked up to be?

Yes. It's fantastic. It's their bravest musical statement to date in a career full of 'em.

Oh, really?

Yes, I truly believe Yo La Tengo are at the height of their creative powers.

Well... boy, I guess that's all I need!

Wait, don't you want to ask about the new Radiohead album? We've been tinkering in the studio lately.

Thom, this is about Yo La Tengo, not you. Newsflash: not everything revolves around you.

Newsflash: I hate your guts!

There you have it, folks. Check out "Periodically Double or Triple," the first MP3 from Popular Songs. Tracklisting and a Buy Early Get Now campaign will be announced shortly via Matador's Matablog. Also expect a fall tour, but in the meantime:
06.04.09 - Paris, FR - L'Alhambra
06.07.09 - Hamburg, DE - Imperial Theatre
06.08.09 - Berlin, DE - Babylon (seated)
06.11.09 - Amsterdam, - Bimhuis
06.12.09 - Brussels, BE - Botanic, Orangerie
06.15.09 - London, UK - Queen Elizabeth Hall
07.13.09 - Brooklyn, NY - Keyspan Park/Coney Is

07.17.09 - Chicago, IL - Pitchfork Festival

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