How The Music Industry Garnered Record Profits in 2008

On Medialoper: How The Music Garnered Record Profits in 2008

How have they done it? According to Frederick Stamphammer, the RIAA’s Vice-President of Digitization — and the man seen by most insiders as the key figure behind the transformation of the music industry into a virtual profit machine — it was by seizing the opportunity afforded by the internet nearly 10 years ago.

How to Save Pushing Daisies

On Medialoper: How to Save Pushing Daisies

Here’s the idea: guest star Crispin Glover invents a Time Machine — disguised as an easter egg in an iPhone App called “Easter Egg” — that allows Emerson, Olive, Chuck and the Piemaker to go around in history and solve the mysterious or controversial deaths of famous people: JFK, Kurt Cobain, Howard Hughes, Harry Houdini.

Noel Murray Talks To Medialoper About Popless

On Medialoper: Noel Murray Talks To Medialoper About Popless

As someone who has been reading and (very) (occasionally) writing rockcrit for a long time, this was a new spin on solving the age-old problem of criticism in general: can I trust this person’s opinion? Popless turned out to be a internet-age combination of blog-based introspection and old-school critical judgments, and if I didn’t know where my tastes and his intersected previously, I sure as hell do now.

The Lies of The Hold Steady and Drive-by Truckers

On Medialoper: The Lies of The Hold Steady and Drive-by Truckers

It’s a lie. It’s all a lie. Rock & Roll does not mean well. It’s mean, and it’s dirty and it’s nasty and it lies lies lies. It lied to me when I was younger, and led me in the wrong direction so many times and in so many ways. Saved by rock & roll? Hell, my life was almost ruined by rock & roll! Almost. But not quite. And yet, it comes right back with its lies. Rock & roll lies to everyone, including middle-aged men. Especially middle-aged men who have their best life ever right now. Get thee gone, Satan!

J.J Abrams Star Trek Footage Presentation

On Screen Junkies: J.J Abrams Star Trek Footage Presentation

What to do? Reboot! Reimagine! Reengage! Not another series: too much work to power up a series only to find out that noone cares. Better to risk it on a film. And bring in somebody whose very name would excite the die-hards and intrigue everybody else. Say hello to J.J. Abrams, whose involvement with Lost, Mission Impossible and, yes, Felicity, meant that he might have the right combination of sci-fi acumen, action chops and storytelling smarts to revive Star Trek. Or kill it forever.

Please Wait For Infinity While Your Page Loads

On Medialoper: Please Wait For Infinity While Your Page Loads

My question is simple: when did this happen? When did a rotating circle become UI shorthand for “your request is very important to us, please wait?”

22 Musical Moments To Die For

On Medialoper: 22 Musical Moments To Die For

Featuring moments from:
The Clash, Replacements, Banarama, Aerosmith, My Bloody Valentine, Otis Redding, Secret Machines, Velvet Underground, Led Zeppelin, Smashing Pumpkins, The Smiths, Dan Bern, Bob Dylan, XTC, The La's, Brian Eno, Nirvana, Rolling Stones,& Bob Marley