Steve Jobs is a cultural icon. I can’t think of another CEO who could have been eulogized and mourned like Jobs was – it was on par with the death of Princess Diana. To use the cliché he was a rock star.
Walter Isaacson is a very fortunate man – he was given free access to Jobs, friends, associates, etc. to write a very candid biography and timed to be released shortly after Jobs’ death. It has been a huge best seller.
I thoroughly enjoyed it. I feel like a know the man – the genius, the visionary, the charmer, the asshole.
I have to admit that I am sucked into being fascinated by Jobs and Apple. I have lots of Apple products in my family and I write this blog on a 5-year-old MacBook (which is a testament in itself). I think Apple products are the best, but I also know they are not perfect and they are priced like a luxury item. In general I am underwhelmed by the iPad. So I am not a complete sucker for all things Jobs and Apple. But I still remain fascinated by Jobs.
I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in how to run a business. I recommend this book to anyone who loves their Apple products. I recommend this to anyone who is interested in successful people. I recommend this to anyone who reads rock star biographies (most of the books I read).
What did I learn? As a business person you need to be focused on something other than profits. For Jobs it was about creating great products through an enduring company – the proverbial company built to last. With that focus things like profits, shareholder return, market cap, etc. will take care of themselves.
However, there is some magic here – you must have that “vision thing” and Jobs had that. Do we all have that as business people if we just dig deep in our hearts and souls?
I also learned about drive. Jobs knew what he wanted and pushed as hard as he could to get it. Did he push too hard? He was hard on people. He was candid – more than “brutally candid,” he was cruelly candid. Could a kinder more gentle Jobs been just as successful?
He did what he did without typical “hard skills.” He was not a programmer and he was not an engineer. He did not even have conventional managerial skills. Apple was not the originator of any of its great products or ideas – they just executed and monetized it better than everyone else.
He had weird habits around eating, hygiene, spirituality, etc. So weird they would be socially crippling to most.
So in the end I am more fascinated with Jobs today after reading this book than I was when I started and I am inspired to do more with my own life – that is about all you can ask from a biography.
I received an odd transmission for the holidays. Have the twisted psyche of Charlie Moonbeam whistle through you ears and corrupt your soul. It will put you in a Yuletide mood. Check it out here.
A couple of yea’s ago I stumbled on Wheedle’s Groove “Kearney Barton” album on emusic. I had no idea what it was. It was new, but retro in a Daptones sort of way.
I had no information about this “band” other than I knew it was from Seattle.
That album was amazing. It had a very solid soul cover of Soundgarden’s Jesus Christ Pose.
Fast forward to 2011’s Black Friday Record Store Day and I see that this set will be available.
Now I know the Wheedle’s Groove story. Turns out that Seattle was yet another northern destinations for the great Black Diaspora. Seattle had a vibrant music scene – it was no Motown or Memphis, but remember it is the home of Jimi Hendrix and Quincy Jones.
Wheedle’s Groove is a catch phrase to capture the funk and soul scene in Seattle. It turns out the mysterious Kearney Barton album was the result of an impresario gathering members of the old scene for a revival. There was a concert, a documentary film and an album of new material. There was not a single label like Motown or Stax, but there was a studio, whose producer, Kearney Barton, who was the glue for the whole scene.
This special box set pulls together some stunning original singles and reissues them as vintage reproductions. The scene was diverse with James Brown imposters, Meters inspired groups, soul divas, etc. It is literally like stumbling across a lost funk and soul civilization.
And what is Wheedle? Turns out there was a local children’s book with a Muppet-like character named Wheedle (actually a grumpy Sasquatch). Wheedle eventually became the mascot for the Seattle Supersonics and came to represent the black music community of Seattle.
Below is a short video that shows off this amazing little box set:
I don’t know squat about Vijay Iyer other than a couple of years ago I picked up one of his albums on emusic and found it delightful. Not sure why I picked up this release earlier this year but I find this album equally fun.
Per the label’s website (ACT): “Tirtha” effortlessly blends Indian musical traditions with contemporary jazz in this innovative trio setting, creating a musical conversation that stretches across both, continents and centuries.
Well that just about says it. This is a piano, guitar and tabla trio (with occasional Indian vocals). That alone should grab you attention. The piano is pretty straightforward jazz styling and the tabla is pretty straightforward Indian. But the guitar pulls it all together. Sometimes Indian, other times rock, and yet other times jazz.
I had kind of forgot about this album until today when I was browsing for something to exercise my new Grado headphones and this was the perfect fit.
PS – ACT has some of the best album art around!
Despite the Kindle, the iPad, etc. the physical book store is still relevant. I was browsing in Barnes and Nobles yesterday and I tripped on this magazine. It was about a year ago that I discovered the Oxford American. That issue was also their Southern music issue focused on Alabama.
I read about half that issue before I lent it to the one and only Charlie Moonbeam. He convinced me that because he was an Alabama native it should be in his possession and I acquiesced.
My daughter was in search of an appropriately colored Moleskin when I nearly wet myself at the sight of this issue of the Oxford American. My wife and daughter were already in the buying queue when I rushed them in a near incoherent state – “here buy this – I must have it.”
I still have not yet broken it out of its plastic bag so hopefully there will be a follow-up post with a review of the contents. For now merely savor this amazing cover with the one an only Howlin’ Wolf.
Just when you think you know a genre you are reminded of how ignorant you really are. I picked this up at Half Priced Books in Highland (St. Paul MN) yesterday based on the fact that I knew Larry Coryell was a great jazz guitarist and because the cover was so outrageously 70s. Change the guys and this could be an Earth Wind and Fire album cover. So based on that I figured it was worth my $4.00 investment.
- Well it turns out this is an outstanding jazz rock fusion album – on par with anything Return to Forever, Mahavishnu Orchestra, or Weather Report was putting out at the time (mid 70s). Although it echos those bands, it does have an original sound-perhaps a bit more accessible than those bands.
Coryell’s playing is diverse – from funky to metal. I particularly like that it has a trumpet player on it – Coryell’s tone mixes well with the horn. The other big time player on this is Alphonse Mouzon on drums/percussion. He was dominant player of the time (Weather Report, Miles Davis, etc.)
I did a little research and sure enough this was a pretty influential band within the genre and this LP is considered one of their best. As best I can tell it is not available on CD or digitally. Highly recommended.
I have had the good fortune of seeing the “good” Ryan Adams over the years. Last night was one of those “good” nights in Minneapolis. This was a solo show – just Ryan, two guitars and a piano. He played a wonderful cross section of his career – I am way too lazy to keep a set list so see here. He spun the wheel from Whiskeytown to his most recent LP.
Ryan was in a slow and savor it mood. When you grab a piece of caramel you have two choices gobble it down or let it melt in your mouth – this was a melt in your mouth show. Ryan took his repertoire and down shifted. A song like “New York” that was first presented on record as a fast up-beat rocker was presented here as a dirge. As a long time fan I was delighted by this deconstruction.
Ryan played his songs earnestly but between songs he was wonderfully goofball – telling bad jokes, offbeat stories, and singing to himself as he moved himself from one position on stage to another. When singing a song he took himself seriously, but between songs he did not – gleefully poking fun at himself. Even at one point extemporaneously composing and mocking his own songwriting cliches.
As a long time fan, I felt I had been invited into Ryan’s living room for a jam. He played a generous 2:45 hours. Although that was extended by stories and stumbling tunings. He even made muffed tunings a hoot by delightfully cursing his guitars and the cool humid air that was torturing them.
He mocked the end of his show saying ” this is the part of the show where I being planning my exit strategy” but totally delighted the Minneapolis crowd by finishing the show with a Bob Mould song (naturally an obscure one). Just prior to that he showed his glam rock cred by covering a tacky Ratt song. Chuck Klosterman would have been proud.
Opener Jessica Lea Mayfield was predictably bad. I had listened to her album “Tell Me” for breakfast – it is a very good album, but it is good because of the arrangement/instrumentation. I knew if she tried this solo it would be questionable and unfortunately it was.
I have been listening to Bitches Brew for about 30 years. First as a vinyl, then as CD, and then as the CD set #6 in the Miles Davis complete sessions sets. But recently I picked up a 180 gram audiophile pressing at the Minnesota Record Show. There was a lady there who had a boatload of vinyl re-releases for a reasonable price.
I have been sitting on this one for a couple of weeks and listened to it if for the first time tonight – wow does it sound dandy. As many times as I have listened to this album it sounds fresh again. This is one of my top ten albums of all time – so to hear it fresh again is a real privilege.
For those not familiar – this was Miles at his most innovative – reinventing jazz for the umpteenth time. This was Miles attempt at rock, funk and jazz. This was Miles selling out. Funny thing is that Miles did not sell out – he merely invented a new genre – jazz rock.
I can’t even being to tell you how outstanding this album is – it is a certifiable classic. And for me it is a thrill to hear it and feel it like it is the first time. The fact that I am getting to listen to a clean analog version of this classic is beyond belief. Long live vinyl!
This might be The Black Keys version of ZZ Top’s Eliminator. Not that it sounds like ZZ Top, but that it could be the breakthrough album that brings them to big time rock and roll fame. The Black Keys remind me a bit of AC DC in that they have been making the same album for the 10 years – perfecting the sound with each album (that is a complement).
Just to make sure I re-listened to Rubber Factory. Production values have increased since then, keyboards have been added, and background vocals added, but ultimately this is classic dirty white-boy 70’s bloose.
I like the Black Keys, but I also realize how derivative they are. But as Bob Dylan says “steal a little and they put you in jail, steal a lot and they make you king.” The Keys are kings. The fourth track, “Little Black Submarines” is a classic example – even my non-music fan wife, upon walking by my listening room, said – “it sounds like any second they are going to break into Stairway to Heaven.”
The Black Keys hook up with Danger Mouse a few albums ago was a match made in heaven. D-Mouse add just a enough sugar and cream to the Keys’ bitter coffee to make it desert. Ultimately the Keys’ do not sell their souls, but sweeten their sound in a way that makes it more original – more contemporary. An appropriate nod to the hip hop culture that they rightly fit into despite being a rock and roll band.
My only disappointment is the cover art. I love El Caminos and instead the album is littered with great photos of mini vans. I was really hoping for a montage of the real deal. But despite that, it is a cleaver analogy of the album. Each mini van is old slightly rusted, but sparkling clean. The epitome of a un-cool suburban vehicle, yet so practical. Hey someone throw me the Keys!
For a treat here is are real El Camino:
How does a CD get into the Target rack? Recently I was at Target and I saw Hank 3 Ghost to Ghost in the rack. How did it get there? This is a an independent release in a major retailer. A few days later I saw it at Best Buy. This mystified me. I was so amazed it was sitting in the racks at Target that I had to buy it (the fact it was a double disc for $9.99 helped too).
Hank 3 is Hank Williams the 3rd – grandson of the father of modern county music Hank Sr. Hank 3 stands closer to the innovative pedigree of his granddad than is pop leaning daddy.
This is not traditional country or even pop country – at best it is punk country. The first CD is pretty classic cow-punk. Hank 3’s voice is like his grandpappy’s at points, like Dylan’s at other points, but always with an amphetamine edge. This is country on meth. I am a long-term fan of alt-country – but this is much edgier than typical alt-county. Hank 3 make Ryan Adams seem like James Taylor.
CD 2 is much more atmospheric – almost a like a movie soundtrack. Although it has a few songs that could fit on CD 1.
Overall if you are a fan of country, punk, rock and you like all of that edgy you will like this release.
Axl's Catch Groove 