Jenny Lewis Solo Again

(Jenny Lewis just banged out her new record in 3 weeks)

Locked up in Van Nuys California, Jenny Lewis recently got back from her world tour with Rilo Kiley and holed up in a studio to make her next solo record. The mantra was pure and simple. The recordings were all analog, no Pro-tools. No embellishments.

She invited members of her own family — i.e. sister Ana on strings, father Eddie Gordon on bass harp. Then she invited music friends like Elvis Costello for a duet (”Carpetbaggers”), M. Ward, Benji Hughes, Zooey Deschanel (of She & Him), and a TON of other musicians for some new flavor.

(Rabbit Fur Coat — Jenny’s last solo record. A Starworks favorite)

Acid Tongue is her follow-up to Rabbit Fur Coat, her last solo record, a collection of beautiful songs and narratives. The title track, “Rabbit Fur Coat” is a beautiful hummable short story in itself. The new album will be released September 2008 and we hear it has a whole new body of good tales, with songs like “The Next Messiah” and “Jack Killed Mom”.

Here’s some dates were she’ll be performing this September:

9/16 – Fox Theatre- Boulder, CO
9/17 – Ogden Theatre- Denver, CO
9/19 - Epiphany Church, Chicago IL
9/20 – Anchor Inn- Omaha, NE*
9/21 – Ryman Auditorium- Nashville, TN*
9/22 – Bijou Theatre - Knoxville, TN*
9/23 – George’s Majestic Fayetteville, AK*
9/24 – The Lyric Theatre - Oxford, MS*
9/25 – Cain’s Ballroom - Tulsa, OK*
9/26 – Austin City Limits - Austin, TX
10/2 - Sixth & I Historic Synagogue- Washington, DC
10/4 – Apollo Theatre- New York, NY

(*with Conor Oberst )

Nas + Alife

(Last night: DJ Green Lantern spinning pre-show Nas)

Nas is about to drop his new record with another controversial title which I’d rather not type on this blog. What better way to create attention than hold a word of mouth small secret show? And what better spot than Lower East Side’s alife Rivington Club — the sneaker ambassadors of the scene. Great night. Artists KR and ESPO were in attendance. I must say Nas did meander on some politics in between songs, of which I truly respect his energy in the matter. I will have to hear the entire new record before I fully expand on his new state of mind.

(Nas steps to the mic)

The highlight of the evening (in addition to hearing new tracks) was when he busted out some of his classics in the tiny backyard of the sneaker store — “NY State of Mind” and “Made You Look”. Simply brought the house down. One of those reasons you love living in New York City.

As far as the term “viral” goes for the party last night — all the footage, photos, and clips are ALL OVER the internet today. Well done guys.
J

Domino’s New Website

Domino Records has a new website. I used to comb through it alot for business reasons, but now it feels like a genuine hang-out… a place to park yourself and wander through videos, blogs, new artists, etc.

New functions include the “recent albums” and “recent singles” section. Domino hand-picks some top-of-mind singles for you to peruse. It has that sensibility of walking through a record store by throwing lots of visuals in front of you (in an orderly fashion). The only reason I ever entered a Virgin Megastore anyway was to walk down the hall of “listening stations” and get lost in the headphones. After scanning some tracks and vibing on record art, I’d choose which artist would walk home with me. This site offers the same experience, except in the comfort of your home.

There’s a video player too (that lets you grab HTML code and embed it on your own blog, MySpace, Facebook, whatever). If you choose to log in, the site allows you to assemble playlists. There’s also updated tour dates for the bands in their stable. It’s a good concert listing to follow.

Below is an example of a Domino embedded video. Check out the song too (from The Kills new record). HIT “PLAY” BELOW!

Jump into the rabbit hole yourself at Domino Records Official Site.

RIP: Virgin

Another Virgin bites the dust.

(Virgin Records, Union Square, NYC)

The Union Square Virgin Records opened 10 years ago to spice up the area. Last year, Virgin’s billionaire honcho Richard Branson began to lease (on the down lo) the 12 existing megastores to Vornado Realty and Related Properties last year until they find a proper replacement. Have you noticed how many banks are popping up all over the place by the way? Creepy. Whoever takes over the monster stores, I think Richard will be happy to move on to his next visionary idea (which will hopefully nurture music), and gets the noose out of his neck while this aspect of the biz crash & burns.

Let’s see where we’re at in this state of the music store game:

Tower Records? Gone.
Sam Goody? Gone.
Beat Street? Gone.
Coconuts? Gone.
FYE? Gone.
HMV? Gone.
Colony (Times Square)? Gone.

Bleecker Bobs? Alive.
House of Oldies? Alive.
The Golden Disc? Alive.
Disco Rama? Alive.
J&R Music World? Alive.

That means the Speciality stores are still hanging on — except for Rocks in Your Head in Soho, which sadly shut its doors in 2006 (I can’t imagine the rent they endured until the very end). It’ll be missed. Truly. New York Times claims that 80 Record stores in Manhattan and Brooklyn have closed down since 2003.

(Virgin, Times Square, NYC)

But back to the big boys. It’s official that the Virgin Megastore in Times Square will be shutting its doors in February 2009. Aside from Union Square and Times Square Virgins, no major decisions have been made on the other spaces but i think I can hear the funeral march regardless…

For all those “suits” that fought the shift, the day has arrived. Time to get EVEN MORE creative with how we push new music.
J

Pandora Radio

I’ve got a new favorite website AND radio station.

Maybe I’ve been in a black hole and am the last to find out about this website/radio station but I’m addicted and love it. Pandora is a radio station from the MUSIC GENOME PROJECT. The MUSIC GENOME PROJECT started on January 6, 2000 by a group of musicians and music-loving technologists who came together and assembled hundreds of musical genres into a very large Music Genome. You go to the website and type in a song or artist and Pandora will create a radio station with similar music just for you. You can create several “stations” or edit your stations and you’ve just created a customized playlist.

Easy, simple, free.There is much more on the site, where you can research artists and bands, learn about upcoming music festivals, view videos and even share information with other members. Try it before signing up…Pandora.com…but I bet you get addicted too.