Johnnie Taylor - "Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone"

One thing that has been lost in music is the intimate lounge and small room performances that used to take place. This live performance of Johnnie Taylor from the exceptional 'Wattstax' documentary, provides a glimpse into what exactly made soul music so alluring.
-Sa'id

Economic Crises Gives Studios The Green Light; Raises Premium On Acting and Writing

For a long time now, the studios have wanted to curtail the paydays for movie stars. Indeed, it's a key component for their plan to restructure the film industry's fledgling business model. But the studios have never had the right opportunity (or justification) to do so, that is, until now. The current financial shit-fall that's echoing around the world has finally given Hollywood studios the green light to low-ball movie stars. In her recent piece on The Daily Beast, Kim Masters reports on the paltry $250,000 that was offered to Scarlett Johansson and Mickey Rourke by Marvel Studios, the studio behind Iron Man 2. Until this stink bomb of an offer was dropped, Johnson and Rourke could have expected to clear seven figures, easily. I mean, what's the going rate for a sequel to a hit franchise? But it isn't just the offers that are raising the eyebrows of studio helmers and having movie stars across LA scurrying to check their bank account balances, it's the caveat that came with the offers: 'take it or leave it, we have other options!'

Crises offers opportunity. So it should really come as no surprise that major Hollywood studios would use the current economic crises to push ahead with their long-time desire to slash the salaries of movie stars. Gone are the days of Will Smith paydays, (well, for everybody except Will Smith). Yep. Talent will now have to take a drastic cut in salary and compensation, because the business model of the film industry, as we've known it for the past 15 or so years, is now in hospice. However, things aren't all bad. There are two 'bright sides' to this. The dramatic salary cuts for talent will inevitably place even more of a premium on great acting and even better writing.

Pay cuts across the board means that tier 2 actors (famous names but non-superstars) and tier 3 actors (respectable 'working' actors with minimal fame) are gonna have to compete with each other, more than ever before, for plum, decent paying roles. And let's not forget, that all actors are going to have to make up their losses in volume, which means that tier 1 actors will be regularly swooping down and snatching up spots that would normally have not met their standard paydays, and would have therefore easily gone to tier 2 thespians. In effect, Marvel Studios' hard-line offers have set in motion the leveling of the ubiquitous acting playing field, and has initiated a potentially more complex casting process -- one in which actors will be forced to do more call-backs and screen-tests than usual... OH SHIT! Are we headed back to a time when actors did exclusive multi-year (indentured servant-like) studio deals? SAG, please say it ain't so...

Fact is, there is an ideological shift that's been brewing in Hollywood for a long time. It's actually a shift to an old ideology -- you know, the one that deems talent as merely an interchangeable (easily replaceable) business expense. The shift to this ideology has been subtle for some, but more obvious for those who recognize good acting when they see it. The thing is, overall, the quality of acting in film, and especially television, has been going down, way down, over the past decade. This is no accident, the studios realized long ago that the movies are one of the most fundamental activities of popular culture, and that therefore, people are going to go to the movies no matter what, even if the stories are shit and even if there's no big name stars in them. Well, be prepared because this ideological shift is about to gain even more fervor. But again, I have to maintain that this ain't all bad, because it will undoubtedly lead to more competition for roles, which will in turn lead to a higher quality of acting.

Finally, with the meat cleaver being leveled against the earning power of actors, you can expect to see better writing. Studio helmers know movies go even better with quality stories. They also know less qualified actors all but destroy great stories. Moreover, since decent television is being ran out of town by reality shows, quality writers will have no choice but to move more into film. And well, now since the studios can get superb talent on the cheap, they'll also being looking to secure great writing for next to nothing. Hence, it's the beginning of a new premium for top writers as well.

-Amir Said

Components of Leadership

"The most important component to effective leadership is humility...The second, is discipline; the third, the will to succeed." -Amir Said

'Examined Life': Philosophy of the Moment

If you've never taken a philosophy course above level 100 in college, chances are philosophy isn't your bag. Yet everyday, on some level, philosophy informs our most basic decisions. Which is precisely why philosophic thought is especially worth examining in the mist of the current world climate. In the face of global economic turbulence, what new role is philosophy taking in shaping shaping our lives? Moreover, how is philosophy informing the self examination of our lives?

In Examined Life, filmmaker Astra Taylor speaks with eight of the most important philosophers of our time (including Cornell West, Peter Singer, Slavoj Zizek, Judith Butler, Kwame Anthony Appiah, and others), and discusses the impact that this particular historic moment is having on our individual and collective philosophies. The feature-length documentary, which initially opened on February 25 at the IFC Center in NYC, started its national roll-out March 5, and is expected to play across country throughout May. For more information on where and when to see the film go to: Examined Life's official website.

-Amir Said

Serius Jones - 'Life As Serius'

There are many different ways to essentially do the same damn thing. In hip hop/rap music, marketing and promotional tools are often duplicated without any sense of character or individualism. When rappers began doing their own "movies," it was immediately clear to me that the norm was going to be some half-assed cliched look at life in "the streets." And though I have seen a couple of decent "do it yourself" street videos, for the most part, I have yet to be impressed... That is, until now.

In Life As Serius, rapper Serius Jones and directors Winfield Ezell, Jr. and Dave Wilson bring us a "do it yourself" film that delivers a distinctly honest and glaring look at the life of a black male trying to make it in seemingly opposing worlds. The movie scorns the exhausted "king of the hustle and streets" approach, and instead focuses on offering a fair and well-rounded glimpse at Serius Jones' story of family, school, crime, and friendship. The tone and flow of Life As Serius is just as much "matter-of-fact" as it is subtle. Nothing appears overstated or contrived. Moreover, the message, which clearly underscores the balance of this impressive work, is that in order for one to truly make it in the music industry (or indeed life in general) they must embrace they're own unique nature and then proceed accordingly with perseverance. If Serius Jones sticks to this formula, he will undoubtedly see many measures of success.

-Amir "Sa'id" Said

Serius Jones presents Life is Serius[The Movie] from IrunsNY on Vimeo.

RIAA "Bloodbath" Clears Way For Permissive Sampling

Due to steadily declining CD sales and a weakened economy, music industry revenue plummeted from $14.5 billion to $8.5 billion, between 1999 and 2008. In that time, changes and staff reductions at the RIAA, the music industry's largest trade group in America, have been ongoing. But the recent round of job cuts at the RIAA, which are expected to come down as early as next Tuesday, are being called a "bloodbath" by an insider source at hypebot.com. In addition to some positions being limited by attrition, layoffs are expected to claim anywhere between 31 to 90 of the company's 104 employees, or at least no less than 30% of RIAA's entire workforce, according to CNET News.

Recent woes at the RIAA are just the latest example of the cost the music industry is having to pay for years of bad policy. Wild West style mergers and acquisitions has left just four major labels (Universal, Sony, BMG, and Warner) that dominate recorded music. After industry consolidation, the "Big 4" wasted no time in limiting and centralizing their product. C- and B-list artists, who through their creativity and individuality had long maintained decent and core fan bases, increasingly found themselves without a label home. Moreover, the labels shifted from an album-based product model to a singles-based product model; in the process, they ushered in a wave of new "copycat" artists and an era of low-quality music. Furthermore, using their nearsighted, greed-based zeal for any revenue even remotely associated with recorded music, the Big 4, (through there strong-arm representative, the RIAA), went after Napster.

Though the RIAA won their court battle against Napster, effectively shutting down the giant internet file sharing company, they effectively lost the sales war...in a big way! Because of their absolute ignorance of the actual flow of technology and the power of the world's most unstoppable vanguard that is the internet, the Big 4 not only shot themselves in the foot, they managed to hit both ankles, a knee, and a pinky toe boot. Soon after the Napster victory (loss), once again, in their nearsighted gluttoness, the RIAA announced plans to sue as many as 30,000 individuals for file sharing infractions. Apparently, the greedy blokes didn't realize what this would all mean: the advent of new and better music file sharing services; the creation of a culture that feels "entitled" to free music; and absolute litigation hell.

Well, after five years, the RIAA has been forced to deal with the reality of the culture and climate of free music that they indeed mostly created. Here, it's important to note that the RIAA could have gone into business with Napster. Heck, they could have bought Napster. But to them, the upstart company did not respect their right to rip off artists, centralize product, and stem quality of popular music. How dare Napster!

What does this all mean for sampling?

It's clear that labels are, and have been for a while, running out of money. Through in a rotten economy, and they're no longer in trouble: they're in crisis! Here, it's important to point out that there are only so many cuts that the industry can make before their business model completely collapses. Will there be more mergers? Sure, of course. In this environment, merges are the last line of survival before bankruptcy. However, there is a tremendous amount of difference between mergers and acquisitions that are based on a company's plan to expand and mergers and acquisitions that are based on a company's desperate attempt to survive.

A careful reading of the RIAA's recent woes reveals that they haven't the money, resources, and/or man power to continue to fight any of their terror-style litigation battles. And I've long maintained the inevitably of the end of the "non-law" regarding sampling. I've written before that the music industry's attitude towards sampling and sample clearance would become increasingly laxed, eventually leading to most forms of sampling being considered "fair use" or something in the like, where some forms of sampling are legally permissive without the need of permission and/or clearance. The RIAA bloodbath is just more evidence of the inevitable.

-Amir Said

Musical Nourishment

Many 20- and 30-somethings are betraying their kids. Worst part is, most (if not all) don't even know it...In fact, many don't even have kids yet. Bizarre? Nope, stick with the kid for moment.

The parent/child relationship is not merely a testament of love, it's an agreement. For better or worse, when a man and woman (intentionally or unintentionally) have a child, they in effect "sign on the dotted line" and agree to provide nourishment for their child.
But nourishment is to be provided in more forms, other than the standard food and shelter. And one form that is of particular interest to me is musical nourishment.

In today's world of hyper-active marketing, massive numbers of people willfully endure promotional practices that are designed to seemingly shame them into buying products, regardless of their quality or merit. The idea is to just pile-drive the concept of conspicuous consumption into people's minds; turning them into a zombie race of conspicuous consumers, who buy into to the "what's in" without any critical analysis of its worth. And all it takes to set this dastardly chain of consumption into motion is this: take one supposed "taste maker" and/or widely considered "hip" person, have them announce that they like something, (of course using some retro slang that they don't even understand, like "dope" for instance), and boom... product sold, zombies unite!

Parents are supposed to screen their children from becoming zombies. That is to say, in no small degree, they are charged with nourishing the musical education and understanding of their children. In the early part of our lives, mostly everything we learn about music comes directly and/or indirectly from our parents. Well, at least that's how it used to be. These days, the marketers, promoters, hype people, and the media-massives that back them, have figured out that the earlier you can convert someone to a zombie, the better the chance at suckering them into buying woeful products for the rest of their lives! So as it is, on the pop side of things, kids are shot at with boy-band bullets and stabbed with out-of-tune (and autotune) tween Madonnas. On the "urban" side of things, (read black, hip hop/rap, and R&B), the youth are strangled with winey, often incoherent vocals, meaningless concepts, and rampant duplication. And yes, bi-partisanship is in full effect in hip hop/rap and R&B; underground and commercial!

Sometime ago, the notion was passed on that kids are not supposed to like, relate to, feel, and/or understand the music of their parents. Here, I have to provide some sobering context. This "hate your parents music" complex is rooted in the fact that during the middle of the twentieth-century, many white teens were breaking away from the chains of American-style racism, and consciously (publicly) listening to black music, then known as "race music." By the late 1960s/early 1970s, public attitudes towards race and music in America had all but inverted. And the children of these "radical" parents of the 50s, 60s, and 70s received a musical nourishment that underscored as much as 30 years of the highest quality of American popular music. It was these children who would go on to develop hip hop/rap music. It was these children that would get together and form groups like Metallica and Nirvana...

So what about the children of today and the children of the soon tomorrow? Are their parents, the now 20- and 30-something retro hip-stylers, going to be able to provide the quality musical nourishment that they deserve. Probably not. Moreover, by then, these parents will be so accustomed to labeling their own kids as "haters" (some do already) that the brightest kids will simply reject their parents and see to their own musical nourishment. I mean, let's open up the hood on this one: will the children of now be impressed with their parents and their music, finding a new level of respect for their parents? Or will they be so utterly unimpressed with their parents musical choices that they begin to question and reject other qualities about their parents? My grandmother really liked Mahalia Jackson and Aretha Franklin... My mother really liked Mahalia Jackson, Aretha Franklin, and The Miracles... I like Mahalia Jackson, Aretha Franklin, The Miracles, and Curtis Mayfield. But 10, 20, 30 years out from now, will the then "grown-ups" like Lil Wayne and Drake? That's not a knock against these two, it's a valid question from someone who received a great deal of musical nourishment and did NOT ignore and/or reject it...

And as to why I'm not so easily impressed by any of the so-called "R&B artists", of today, well, below, I present to you Aretha Franklin.

-Amir Said

Genius and Brilliance

"Genius is seeing breaks that put you ahead. Brilliance is possessing the ability to create those breaks that put you ahead." -Amir Sa'id

Virgin and TRL: Ain't So Mega Anymore...

All Virgin Megastores located in the U.S. are set to be closed by the summer. For real, who didn't see this coming? Honestly, who DID NOT see this coming? I remember several years back I made a quick dash to the Virgin Mega Store in Times Square. Then it was new... Right across the street on the corner was TRL (Total Request Live), MTV's kiddy-bop-pop machine T.V. show. The management of Virgin Mega Store at Times Square couldn't have been more encouraged by the presumable synergy that TRL provided. Here they were, two over-sized media spawns; one a certified television brainwash show, the other a heavy-handed retailer with ties to a woefully mismanaged record label. Both poised to induce an already ultra-consumed public into buying, buying, buying... music... and music-like products... or any widget they saw fit to peddle.

First, TRL fell. Well, actually, they hadn't fallen as much as they had dragged slowly down the cliff of a giant mountain. Carson Daly wouldn't last for ever. He was an excellent ring leader, but the people at MTV new the future was in the tween to teen crowd. Thus, Carson Daly's days were numbered from the first time he took the mic. Fast forward, and all the teens and tweens were gone. And all the advertisers were missing, too. Were did they go? Yep, that's right folks, the party moved right on over to the internet. O.K., to be fare, as the tweens became teens and the teens became adults, the daily "fluff" and "hype" potion began to wear off. And most of the once hardcore TRL-ers boogied outta Times Square, presumably to places like Myspace, Facebook, and Youtube.

Next, Virgin Megastore went down. But were they ever really up? In New York, rent kills...seriously. Nobody escapes that fact, real estate is New York City's oil. And so, if you're going to develop any real estate with the word "mega" in it, it damn well better be a high-rise with plenty of office spaces to rent out. And if it's anywhere near Times Square, it might be a good idea to throw in a couple of luxury condos...just sayin'. So the first time I ever walked into the Virgin Megastore at Times Square, (en route to buy, well, I forget), I noticed that the place was stocked with CDs, DVDs, music accessories, and random apparel. What I didn't see, however, was any office spaces or luxury condos, or even affordable apartments. That's when I knew: Virgin Megastore was not going to last very long. (Yo, Mark Ecko, if you're reading this, I think you're dope, I fully respect everything that you've done...But dig this: holding down a lease on 42nd Street between 7th Avenue and 8th Avenue? Shiiiiddd. Even the The Lion King couldn't sustain that lease.) But I digress... Sure, Virgin Megastore was doomed either way. Again, rent kills in New York, so you better own and flip, or generate money and skip. But fact is, nobody wants to schlep over to a warehouse in the busy section of a fast town. Moreover, the real beauty of a music store is how it briings music lovers of common taste into to close proximity of each other. Hmmm... Hey, wait, you can do that online...

Thus, though it may look like the Virgin Megastore chain and TRL are victims of the "Economic Tragedy of '08," the reality is that both media spawns are victims of a shifting culture. A culture whose participants, it would appear, are bent on being able to choose their form of brainwashing and bandwagon jumping. (Just kiddin'. No, I'm not... For real, just kiddin'... Well, O.K., for some people, no, I'm not...) And "choice" is exactly what the Virgin Megastore chain and TRL did not provide. Both just centralized their product offerings, (even though the centralization in music is kind of an oxymoron). Neither provided anything particularly "new" and/or engaging. I once traveled to two separate Virgin Megastores looking for two specific Led Zeppelin albums. Of course neither store had them. But I was told by sales associates that they could "order it for me, and they'd call me when it arrived." (I ordered the albums myself from Amazon.com and received them 48 hours later.) TRL increasingly became more and more paranoid that their tweens were growing up, (um, that's because they were), and as a result, the show became more and more predictable: guests began to mimic the style of other guests; hosts begin to mimic the style of other hosts; and crowds just struggled to keep up with the giant cardboard "applause" signs.

So now these two media spawns will be no more. Virgin Megastore is dead, and I hope the idea of a "mega music store" has died along with it. (Well, iTunes lives, but at least it's not a brick and mortar eyesore.) TRL, on the other hand, isn't really "dead" dead. Remember MTV's Club MTV or The Grind? Yeah, those were just early prototypes for TRL--MTV hadn't yet figured out the whole "maximize profit by controlling the audience thing." No, MTV could "retool" and spin TRL out as something new, if they wanted to. But I doubt that will happen, I don't think MTV is that foolish, after all, they did get out of the video business and into the television/movie making business rather quickly.

For details of the Virgin Megastore U.S. closings, see report in The Wrap.

-Amir Said