If you didn’t know already the fate of internet radio is going to be decided on May 15th. A negative ruling on the matter may mean that great sites like pandora.com will no longer be able to operate because a new adjustment in royalty rates will force them into bankruptsy. A coalition of leading internet radio advocates have built a web site called savenetradio.org to provide a status of the situation as well as what action people can take to protest. Here a synopsis of the situation:

The Library of Congress judges that oversee copyright law’s statutory licenses decided that May 15, 2007 will be the date royalty fees owed by Web radio operators will be drasitcally increased. The Copyright Royalty Board changed rates from a percentage of revenue to a per-song, per-listener fee—effectively hiking the rates between 300 and 1,200 percent, according to a lawyer representing a group of Webcasters.

The president of Pandora and co founder of savenetradio.org, Tim Westergren, took me out to lunch about a year ago. You can read about our encounter on the Pandora blog …scroll to the bottom of the page to see “update from Portland.”

Like the Beatles I’ve been closely following Pete Townshends career for what seems like forever. Over the many years Pete has hinted at his dream of someday creating a musical “grid” or platform where masses of people could participate in creating an immediate and spontaneous piece of music without the need for musical training or ability. It’s the stuff of science fiction to be sure. In the early 70’s he attempted to write a rock opera about the whole idea called “Lifehouse.” As many know, that concept piece was sidelined but the music became part of The Who’s greatest album, “Who’s Next.”

Well Science fiction has finally met reality. Pete’s been working with mathmeticians and computer geeks to create music based on someones profile. Billboard.com tried to explain the technology:

The Method is an Internet-based software program that enables the user — or “sitter” - to generate music from unique, inputted data. The sitter can upload four strands of personal information into the system, consisting of a digital photo, a rhythm, a sound and a voice.

From what I understand Pete would like people to collaborate or mash up these musical “portraits” to create a collective musical experience.

Five years ago I might have said that Pete had a little too much brown acid back in the day. But now I think he just might be on to something really cool. High art to be sure.

What do you do if you have millions of dollars in the bank from being the bass player in one of the worlds most famous rock bands? Well, you develop your own signature metal detector of course! Ladies and gentlemen may I introduce the “signature” Bill Wyman metal detector. Bill’s special web site about all this is here: www.billwymandetector.com

Brian introducing Jimi at the fest.

2007 is the 40th anniversary of the epic Monterey Pop Festival and the mythical summer of love. To commemorate the event a blog has been set up by some of the original festival organizers. The blog format struck me as really unusual because most web sites that deal with this kind of nostalgia are just glorified retail outlets. It’s refreshing to see that the Monterey blog creators wanted to start a dialogue about the social significance of the event and to try to draw paralells to current issues in politics and music today. It’s really worth checking out: www.monterey-pop-festival.com

I’ve had a really fun time listening to this new compilation of Portland indie artists covering classic rock staples. The Joggers version of the Yes classic Long Distance Runaround is particularly inspired. You can purchase the CD here from the Arena Rock label. Here’s some additional info from their site:

Bridging the Distance: Portland, OR is a city of bridges that span both the Willamette & Columbia Rivers. The Portland musicians on this compilation span time & place in bringing us updated takes on classic songs. Likewise, local non-profit, p:ear, connects with some of the city’s transitional youth and helps them bridge difficult obstacles in their lives through a program of education, art & recreation. Proceeds from this compilation will benefit p:ear in their efforts.
www.pearmentor.org
The Decemberists - Think about Me
Originally recorded by Fleetwood Mac
(Christine McVie)
Pat MacDonald - The Harder They Come
Originally recorded by Jimmy Cliff
(Jimmy Cliff)
The Joggers - Long Distance Runaround
Originally recorded by Yes
(Jon Anderson)
The Snuggle Ups - Dancing in the Dark
Originally recorded by Bruce Springsteen
(Bruce Springsteen)
The Thermals - Tangerine
Originally recorded by Led Zeppelin
(Jimmy Page)
Christopher Walla - Shattered Dreams
Originally recorded by Johnny Hates Jazz
(Clark Datchler)
Viva Voce - Eye in the Sky
Originally recorded by The Alan Parsons Project
(Alan Parsons/Eric Woolfson)
The Minus 5 - That Smell
Originally recorded by Lynyrd Skynyrd
(Allen Collins/Ronnie Van Zant)
Talkdemonic - Sombre Reptiles
Originally recorded by Eno
(Eno)
The Minders - Don’t Bring Me Down
Originally recorded by Electric Light Orchestra
(Jeff Lynne)
The Kingdom - Sister Christian
Originally recorded by Night Ranger
(Kelly Keagy)
Lackthereof - What a Fool Believes
Originally recorded by The Doobie Brothers
(Lester Abrams/Rev. Patrick Henderson/
Kenny Loggins/Michael McDonald)
Whip - White Wedding
Originally recorded by Billy Idol
(Billy Idol)
Wet Confetti - Invincible
Originally recorded by Pat Benatar
(Simon Climie/Holly Knight)
The Dandy Warhols - She Sells Sanctuary
Originally recorded by The Cult
(Ian Astbury/Billy Duffy)
Point Juncture, WA - Pearl of the Quarter
Originally recorded by Steely Dan
(Walter Becker/Donald Fagan)
Blitzen Trapper - Crazy on You
Originally recorded by Heart
(Ann Wilson/Nancy Wilson)
Crosstide - (What’s So Funny ‘Bout)
Peace, Love and Understanding?
Originally recorded by Elvis Costello
(Nick Lowe)
Britt Daniel - Bring It on Home to Me
Originally recorded by Sam Cooke
(Sam Cooke)

I think it’s safe to say that I would qualify as a Beatle fanatic. Sure I try and keep it on the down low but get me liquored up and I’ll bore anyone with loads of useless Beatle trivia and commentary. Occasionally, sans booze, I can’t contain myself and I have to let my exuberance spill over.

Recently I was given the new Beatles “Love” CD which contains the sound track to the “Love” Las Vegas show. My initial read on this release (prior to hearing any of it) was that it would be a super cheesy, over produced piece of crap. Oh but how wrong I was.

To give a little background Paul, Ringo, Yoko and (sadly) George all approved the use of their music for the show provided that there was nothing new recorded. It all had to come from the Beatles’ master tapes. To add more cred, the whole soundtrack was assembled and produced by George Martin and his son Giles who painstakingly preserved the integrity of the music. To keep this brief, the song “mashups” are truly inspired and the re-mastering allows listeners to hear these tracks with new brilliant fidelity. “Love” is simply a must have for any Beatle lover.

LONDON (AP) - Keith Richards has acknowledged consuming a raft of illegal substances in his time, but this may top them all.
In comments published Tuesday, the 63-year-old Rolling Stones guitarist said he had snorted his father’s ashes mixed with cocaine.

“The strangest thing I’ve tried to snort? My father. I snorted my father,” Richards was quoted as saying by British music magazine NME.

“He was cremated and I couldn’t resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow. My dad wouldn’t have cared,” he said. “… It went down pretty well, and I’m still alive.”

Richards’ father, Bert, died in 2002, at 84.

Richards, one of rock’s legendary wild men, told the magazine that his survival was the result of luck, and advised young musicians against trying to emulate him.

“I did it because that was the way I did it. Now people think it’s a way of life,” he was quoted as saying.

“I’ve no pretensions about immortality,” he added. “I’m the same as everyone … just kind of lucky.

“I was No. 1 on the `who’s likely to die’ list for 10 years. I mean, I was really disappointed when I fell off the list,” Richards said.