Kenny Rogers Caught In A Joe Vs The Volcano Audit

Kenny Rogers has sued Capitol Records for failing to pay him his owed royalties. TechDirt has a piece on the ordeal.

Rogers originally performed an audit, which took more than a year to get going with Capitol. On many levels he found royalties that weren't paid, some put into a "suspended file", over-charges for a music video, etc. When his negotiations to get paid, went nowhere (in the middle of the ordeal, he found out that people he was working had left the label) and he felt he was being led down a black hole, he sued the label.

He was also questioning where all the money the label received in the settlement suits with companies such as Napster, Kazaa, AudioGalaxy and Grokster went. That money was suppose to be shared with the artists. No one would let him in on where the money was stashed.

The sad thing about this whole process is that Rogers is probably doling out tons of money to accountants and lawyers to get him what should be rightfully his. Unfortunately this "accounting" has been going on since the beginning of the legacy labels. Transparency has never been part of their business practices. I'm in the Gambler's corner. I hope this one pays off.

The Kid is Gone

It's not like it wasn't expected. He had a brain tumor, but that doesn't make it any less sad.

Gary Carter passed away this afternoon. His daughter shared the news on the family website. He will always be known as The Kid to us Mets fans. His upbeat attitude was a counterpoint to the bad boy image that saddled the '86 Mets.

I remember hearing Gary say there is no way I am making the last out of this game. The game he was referring to was Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. His hit kept the team alive and allowed them to win it on that more than frequently played error by Bill Buckner. His enthusiasm should have been bottled and sold.

We will miss the Hall of Fame Kid.

Dory Previn, Composer of The Songs From Valley of the Dolls Dies

Dory Previn, who is best known to me for co-writing the songs for the movie Valley of the Dolls passed away at age 86. She will forever be attached to her ex-husband Andre, although he, like Frank Sinatra left his wife for Mia Farrow.

(Theme from) Valley of the Dolls and the movie were big hits in 1967. It's one of my top ten movies of all time. The theme song's lyrics and music greatly portrayed the melancholy, confusion, disgust and yearning for a different life that the main character Ann Welles goes through in the course of the story. The phrasing and unfinished thoughts were a very different take from most pop songs at that time.

Gotta get off, gonna get
Have to get off from this ride
Gotta get hold, gonna get
Need to get hold of my pride

I'm not sure if the song was written that way, or it's the way Dionne Warwick performed it. Judy Garland was originally cast in the film and I think expected to sing the song. Dory has said that the lyrics were inspired by her own struggles with pills.

The highlight of the songs has to be Come Live With Me which is sung by Tony Scotti, who later went on to found Scotti Bros Records. Here is the second performance of the song during the movie which is a duet with Patty Duke. It takes place in a sanitarium and brings the Tony Polar character to life.



John Williams who composed the score for the movie has a interesting post on his site about the music.

Dory Previn went on to release several solo albums, which included her intense lyrics as on the song Beware Of Young Girls. It was written about Mia Farrow.

Whitney Was Barely Cold When Sony Raised Price of The Ultimate Collection

This post on Hypebot reported that the wholesale price of Whitney Houston's The Ultimate Collection was increased by Sony in the early morning hours on Sunday. The record company argues that it was incorrectly priced and therefore they were just correcting an error.

Even if that's the case, the timing is bad and it seems like it's really in poor taste. If they can't break new acts, they raise the prices on the acts who gave their lives strengthening the record company.

Remaining Beach Boys at the Grammys

Just added: The Beach Boys are performing at the Grammys. The lineup includes surviving members Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, David Marks and Bruce Johnston. They are scheduled to perform with Foster the People and Maroon 5. Does this make me want to watch the Grammys?

Congratulations Giants!

I don't think my palms have sweat that much since game 6 of the 1986 World Series.

BORING

Madonna Halftime = Boring Performance

Kudos to the staging. That was amazing.

Peace Love And Soul

Don Cornelius apparently he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. I remember watching Soul Train on Saturday mornings. Don created and hosted the show. It was a sort of ritual to watch Soul Train and American Bandstand. I think musicians lip synched on both shows and got minimal amount of time to speak. There were always people dancing.

Do you remember the SNL skit Samurai Hitman? There are two cabbages which represent Don Cornelius (red cabbage) and Don Kirshner (green cabbage). Samurai John Belushi is being hired to kill them both at a Benihana Restaurant downtown. He demonstrates on the cabbages.