Music News?

Obviously, first and foremost, condolences and R.I.P. to the family and friends of the great Carrie Fisher (author, actress, screenwriter). I still remember standing in line to watch "A New Hope" in 1977 in Chattanooga, Tennessee - I am a Star Wars lifer and Carrie Fisher wasn't just great in Star Wars, she was also a great writer and I will never forget her in Blues Brothers (Curl Up and Dye).

So, I am trying this format to communicate the music stories that speak to me every day (instead of just posting the links). Usually, I want to say more than is allowed in a Tweet.

Oh, I am also going to start a podcast soon, more on that as I get it all setup. As you can guess, it will be called "I Hate Radio" which is my response to "I Heart Radio."

Oh, and every Tuesday I put out new Spotify Playlists, this week's playlist is my LAST playlist of 2016 and is called "Red Kismet Kill." It includes songs by everyone from Lou Reed to Joy Division to Nine Inch Nails. You can listen to it by clicking HERE.

Explore, Enjoy, and Share Music!

Vince Clarke

Vince Clarke is one of the most successful musicians of all time, yet very few people know who he is. Let me fill you in:

* He was one of the founders of Depeche Mode (who were a great success) 

* He was one of the two members of Yazoo (or Yaz for us Americans) (they were a great success)

* He is one of the two members of Erasure (who have been a huge success for decades).

Anyway, here is a cool interview "M" Magazine did with Vince recently. Enjoy, because he is normally very reclusive.

Oh, and Erasure have announced a new box set covering their 30 years performing music together (congrats!).

Also, I did a feature on the Yazoo album "Upstairs at Eric's" which was hugely popular in my early college years. You can read that feature HERE.

Why Is Rock Dying? Is Rock Dying?

A friend was asking people earlier today on Twitter what people should do to reverse the decline of Rock music. 

This was my response:

Also, several months ago, I did a series of interviews with some folks who are in a position to present more educated responses:

* Allen Bargfrede of the Berklee College of Music (did the largest study to date on streaming economics). You can read that interview HERE.

* Rain Perry, songwriter and Director of the Documentary "The Shopkeeper." You can read that interview HERE.

* Benji K. Rogers founder of Pledge Music and one of the main proponents of using Blockchains to solve music's attribution and bookkeeping problems. You can read that interview HERE.

Wrapping Up

Okay, that is all I have for today. 

Hope everyone is basking in the post-gift glow.

What is your favorite Vince Clarke project?

Do you think rock music is dying? How should it best reconstitute?

Let me know what you think, join the debate, leave a comment!