Music News by Crazy John Kerecz

 

This month I have four new items about artists and issues in the music community and culture. This month we still see the affects of Micheal Jackson death, new passings, new technology, and a celibration that is 40 years old and still going. Now to our news items:

 

Whitney Houston fills the O2 hole left by death of Jackson

 

With the King of Pop's death suddenly a replacement was needed for Jackson's tour at London's O2 Arena.

 

. Reports say the company (AEG Live) is on the verge of signing Whitney Houston and Robbie Williams to fill some of the 23 dates Jackson was to perform in early 2010.

Jackson's This Is It tour at the O2 had been due to start on 13 July but he died just as the finishing touches were being made at the dress- rehearsal. Since then, AEG has scrambled to find replacement shows at such short notice.

 

Both Whitney Houston and Robbie Williams have multi- platinum careers to their names and a musical style well-suited to selling out  high capacity stadiums.

 

Through the 1980s and 1990s, Whitney Houston was one of the world's biggest-selling acts, thanks to her soul pedigree and powerful voice which sold records by the bucket-load. Her rendition of Dolly Parton's "I will always love you", the title track for the 1992 movie Bodyguard, in which she appeared as a soul diva alongside Kevin Costner, became one of entertainment's best-selling singles, and the Recording Industry Association of America still ranks her as the fourth best-selling female artist in history.

 

Founding member of 'Space' collapsed while crossing the street

 

Saturday, 1 August 2009 Drummer Andy Parle, a founding member of one of the most distinctive bands of the Britpop era died suddenly in the street in his native Liverpool.

 

42 year old Andy Parle was behind the distinctive sound of Space, whose album Spider went platinum. He was seen to fall while crossing the road after visiting a chip shop near his home at 11.30pm on Saturday night. Police said they were treating the incident as "unexplained" and urged witnesses to come forward.

 

Parle was a major figure on the Liverpool punk scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s when the city was a powerhouse for new talent. He played in a number of groups and was renowned for having a vast record collection. His distinctive drumming style, along with the band's inventive arrangements and clever lyrics were among Space's key features.

 

Following Parle's departure in 1997, Space went on to record the equally well-received album Tin Planet in 1998 which included the hit "The Ballad of Tom Jones".

 

Apple tablet PC to resurrect the album

 

The major music labels are planning a new digital album format that will debut with a tablet-like personal computer from Apple Inc in September. The labels are attempting to revive the multi-track album format with new software that packages songs, traditional album liner notes, music videos, and other interactive extras as part of a premium-priced package.

 

The music industry first proposed the idea of an enhanced album format to Apple in 2007, But Apple decided to design its own version of an interactive album, which is expected to be launched with its new unnamed tablet-like device this fall. The Apple album project has been code-named 'Cocktail' and the format is expected to work with other Apple devices like the iPhone and iPod.

 

. The partnership between Apple and the music labels is tinged with irony as it was the technology company that effectively marked the end of the multitrack album format in 2003, when it opened up its iTunes Music Store.

 

The new interactive format, which could feature extras like interviews with the artist while making the album, would be sold at a higher price than digital albums now.

 

Woodstock, 40 years after

 

There was no glitzy marketing campaign, no elaborate special effects, no live internet streaming: just 32 world-famous musical acts, 500,000 fans, and three days of "peace and music" which turned into the most famous pop music festival of all time.

 

Now, 40 years after Woodstock, there are still celebrations going in it’s name. One will be on the site of the original event on Saturday, August 15, 2009 at the Bethel Woods Music Festival in Bethel NY starring the Heroes of Woodstock:
Levon Helm Band, Jefferson Starship, Ten Years After, Canned Heat, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Mountain, Tom Constanten and Country Joe McDonald.  Also the whole week this location will be host to other parties such as the one on the adjoining camp grounds that my band 7th Layer will be playing at. For more information on this years or nexts events if you missed it go to http://bethelwoodscenter.org/ and http://www.myspace.com/seventhlayer .