One senior record label insider said: “Ours will be a file that you click on, it opens and it would have a totally brand-new look, with a launch page and all the different options. When you click on it you’re not just going to get the ten tracks, you’re going to get the artwork, the video and mobile products.”

Record companies have a trick up their sleeve for downloads | Timesonline

21-MAY-2009: WINDOM EARLE / ANGRY PARROTS / JENOCIDE @ green room (Montreal)
23-MAY-2009: OVER THE TOP – Tiny Masters, Windom Earle, The Superstitions (Toronto)

Hello everybody! It’s Tom Scharpling, the host of The Best Show On WFMU, heard every Tuesday night from 8-11 PM EST over at WFMU (91.1 FM/www.wfmu.org) .

WFMU is in the middle of its fundraising marathon, and I will be doing my second and final marathon show this Tuesday March 10th from 8-11 PM EST, asking for your pledges to keep WFMU up and running for another year.

Remember, WFMU is COMPLETELY LISTENER SPONSORED. We don’t take sleazy corporate grants or government subsidies or any of that stuff so that we can bring you freeform radio that is 100 percent free – that’s the beauty of not having ties to The Bad Guys.

Would anybody else allow us to do 35 minute Scharpling & Wurster bits? Or take some of the calls we take? No! WFMU is the only place in the world that would give us the freedom that makes the show what it is.

Yes, we’re doing a fundraising show this Tuesday March 10th. But it’s going to be anything but boring. We have GUESTS!

The amazing TED LEO makes his return to The Best Show marathon, playing songs for pledges! This is his third year doing this, and it’s an absolute highlight. And this year he’s going to be joined by a few awesome people. The wonderful AIMEE MANN will also be on hand to play some songs for your contributions!

That’s enough, right? Wrong! The one and only super comedian and host of VH1′s Best Week Ever PAUL F. TOMPKINS will be in the studio!

And last but not least the legendary author/actor/computer spokesman JOHN HODGMAN will join us with some very funny surprises! It’s going to be a show for the ages, so do not miss it!

So call and pledge 1-800-989-9368 or pledge online at www.wfmu.org this Tuesday March 10th between 8-11 PM EST!!

In addition to your money going to a worthy cause, you get stuff back. Everybody who pledges 75 bucks or more automatically gets The Best Show On WFMU’s MIRTH MUSIC AND MAYHEM: A PREMIUM IN THREE PARTS. This is our best premium to date, and one that people will be talking about for years! Allow me to break it down for you:

The MIRTH part of the pack is an ALL NEW SCHARPLING AND WURSTER CD, with stuff written and recorded for this CD. This marathon is the ONLY time you’ll ever have a chance to get it — it goes out of print as soon as the marathon ends!

The MUSIC part is insane — an all-star various artists tribute to the Paul McCartney album RAM called “TOM” featuring ALL NEW AND ORIGINAL RECORDINGS from artists like:

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE
TED LEO
AIMEE MANN
PORTASTATIC
DANIELSON
DUMP
THE BLACK HOLLIES
THEHANK IV
THE BARBARAS
JAMES PANTS
THE SPIDER BAGS

and so many more!

They recorded these songs JUST FOR THIS CD, and once my marathon show is over, IT IS GONE FOREVER. Talk about collectable, right? RIGHT?!

And finally the MAYHEM part of the deal: A really cool ENVIRONMENTAL TOTE BAG with the famed ‘Dogmo’ logo on the side and a FRIENDS OF TOM MEMBERSHIP CARD that you can only get during this marathon!

So if you want it, YOU MUST PLEDGE DURING MY SHOW THIS TUESDAY MARCH 10th BETWEEN 8-11 PM EST! That is the only way to get my premium! The RAM tribute, the Scharpling & Wurster CD, the tote bag — they all GONE after Tuesday night! So pledge!

And the number to pledge is 800-989-9368, or do it on your computer at www.wfmu.org DURING MY SHOW this Tuesday March 10th from 8-11 PM EST!

Oh, another thing – anyone who pledges $1000 or more to my show gets an insanely special premium: “Taste Of Newbridge”, a limited edition TEA blended by T Salon & T Emporium just for this marathon! It’s a high-end tea combining ‘a black tea base with notes of caramel, chocolate, vanilla and a touch of Mandarin orange rind!’ Each tea comes in a container featuring customized Best Show packaging and a quote from Philly Boy Roy! The retail value on this is almost a hundred bucks, and this is the ONLY chance to ever get it!

There are also a ton of prizes and whatnot that you get for different pledge levels. There are also prize levels at $150, $365, $500, $1000 and $3000, and the station takes care of you big-time with a TON of awesome prizes and shirts and CDs that you can’t get anywhere else for those respective levels. AND IT’S TAX DEDUCTABLE! You can check them out over at www.wfmu.org/marathon/pledge.php

And you don’t have to pay the pledge when you make it – the station will send you a bill in the mail. So if you want to pledge but don’t have the money in your hand tonight, don’t sweat it! Just pledge now and pay later!

If you aren’t able to make your pledge during my show, you can email me your pledge and I will write it up for you! Just send it to toms@wfmu.org, and give me your full name, mailing address and pledge amount.

Remember the date — this Tuesday March 10th from 8-11 PM EST. We will be joined by TED LEO, AIMEE MANN, PAUL F. TOMPKINS and JOHN HODGMAN all live in the studio, helping raise money to keep WFMU on the air for another year!

I’m counting on you! This Tuesday night March 10th between 8-11 PM EST! 800-989-9368! www.wfmu.org! Do the right thing and strike a blow for The Good Guys!

Thank you.

Tom Scharpling.

PS — Also, do me a favor and SPREAD THE WORD ON THIS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE! Post it to message boards! Put it on blogs! Twitter! Facebook! MySpace! Friendster! Tell anyone and everyone you know about the WFMU marathon!

Windom Earle begin their three-night stay in Newfoundland at The Ship on November 13 alongside A/V and The Kettle Black. They play CBTGs on the 14 with BA Johnston, and return to The Ship with him on November 15.

from Holding out for a hero | The Scope

You can catch Windom Earle and Hamilton’s B.A. Johnston together with The Gideons at The Capital Bar on Nov. 22.

from The art of the dance party | The Brunswikan

It’s slick. I don’t fault the piece on a technical or creative level. It is executed with great care and amazing attention to detail. I surely can’t slag it for using Windom Earle (my brother) as the soundtrack.

The leap the viewer has to make, if you poke around long enough to find out, is that “Having everything you want in a phone may be a stretch, but a place that has everything definitely exists.” I can’t imagine someone being rewarded or swayed by the payoff of returning to Nova Scotia after watching it. Nothing against Nova Scotia, but would it be able to move anyone home?

Lastly, I also understand the name of the faux product is a riff on the Apple iPhone phenomenon…

Pomegranate:

The pomegranate (Punica granatum) is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing to between five and eight metres tall. The pomegranate is native to the region from Iran to the Himalayas in northern India and has been cultivated and naturalized over the whole Mediterranean region and the Caucasus since ancient times. It is widely cultivated throughout Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, India, Syria, Turkey, the drier parts of southeast Asia, Peninsular Malaysia, the East Indies, and tropical Africa[1]. Introduced into Latin America and California by Spanish settlers in 1769, pomegranate is now cultivated in parts of California and Arizona for juice production

…but I think I can think of a better name which actually has a local connection:

Blueberry

Nova Scotia, also a major producer of wild blueberries, recognizes the blueberry as its official provincial berry.[14] The town of Oxford is known as the Wild Blueberry Capital of Canada.

It recently came to my attention that due to the prolific quality of his work, a Mr. Jack White of a rock band called the White Stripes is considered by many a genius. Having never heard this group who, as I understand, are quite popular in the Western world, I was able to catch them in action this summer when they played in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, where I’d been camped while tracking an albino caribou. It instantly became apparent to me who the genius in the duo is. Creating from a zone of pure focus, while implying an inability to summon anything more than sub-rudimentary patterns from her drum kit, Ms. Meg White is a genius in the department of rhythmic revelation.

From the Get Mean with Todd Rassmunen column Mean Magazine (August-September 2007)

(Meant to post this…ah…last year)

Stairway to Hamilton was recorded in Halifax—where he lived for a spell before returning to Hamilton two years ago—with Dave Ewenson at Echo Chamber. Noticeable on this album is the beefed-up sound on his party tracks, which benefit from the musical input of Windom Earle’s Stephan MacLeod.

From The Coast.

One of the world’s most innovative comedians, Zach Galifianakis, joined up with comedian AD Miles, record producer Jon Brion and Fiona Apple (yes, that Fiona Apple) to record the ultra-danceable track “Up In Them Guts”. We guarantee that it’ll soon to outpace “You Look Mahvelous” by Billy Crystal but will never touch anything by Joe Pesci.

The flip is by Teddy “Rockstar” Leo! Yes! Ted Leo went into the studio with his Pharmacists and recorded “Rock’n'Roll Dreams’ll Come Through” which is a song that was originally made popular on The Best Show on WFMU and featured on “New Hope For The Ape-Eared” CD by Tom Scharpling & Jon Wurster.

Both tracks are exclusive to this single. The first 500 are on picture disc!

The Zach Galifianakis/Ted Leo 7″ from Chunklet.

“PARANOIA: Never Enough” – written specifically for this event and this release. I wrote it on Thursday in Rhode Island, we recorded it on Friday in New Jersey. Hope you enjoy.

“Mourning in America” – it’s about race as a campaign issue. If it makes it onto our next LP, it will no longer be campaign season, but the frustrating irony is that in a few years time, it’ll probably be “timely” again.

“I Got Your Number” – it’s pretty explicitly about media manipulation of political thought, I think. I also think it’s about time Cock Sparrer got a reassessment and a bit of the respect they deserve in the Punk Pantheon.

“Nobody’s Driving” – apparently Amebix is getting back together. I applaud that. Hugely inspirational. Daryl K. introduced me to them way back when we were in Citizens Arrest. After repeated listens to the EP with just the previous three songs, I felt like it needed another. I spent the afternoon yesterday doing a more elaborate version of this – two guitars, two tin whistles, an air organ, backing vocals, etc. – but wasn’t really feeling it. I recorded over it by just playing and singing it live and alone – one guitar and one voice. Be forewarned – unless Touch and Go somehow manages to do some mastering to this before it gets posted, the first guitar chord comes in a little hot – if you’re listening in headphones, you might want to turn it down a notch when “I Got Your Number” ends.

Rapid Response Digital EP with 100% of the proceeds will be split evenly between Minneapolis Food Not Bombs and Democracy Now! organizations.

Over here at CBC Radio 3, we’ve sifted through thousands of entries and found six themes by six independent Canadian artists that we want you to rate for us on our blog. Will any of these five be in contention for the title?

:: Windom Earle “Get On Into It” (Halifax)
:: Eden Fineday (Vancougar) “The Speed of Sound v.2″ (Vancouver)
:: Matthew Barber “Double Overtime” (Toronto)
:: Grant Johnson “Flight Of The Zamboni” (Winnipeg)
:: John Mullane (In-Flight Safety) “Battle For Middle Ice” (Halifax)
:: Carolyn Mark “Dirty Little Secret” (Victoria)

from Live on CBC Radio 3: Hockey Night In(die) Canada!

For More information:

Facebook • Halifax Locals • The Coast • Infomonkey • KiJiJi • Craigslist

If you’re going to get into a situation like this (especially a Windom Earle show) expect to get drenched with sweat; not only yours, but that of the people around you too.

—Pat Garrity

There’s something about a recording that when you feeling like you’re going your voice is going on tape you’re liable to, well, do some little thing, make a little slip in saying a word or something in the song that just won’t be perfect. It’s human nature I guess to be a little bit nervous or something when you’re facing a tape recorder. But there’s nothing to it. You’re only just singing as you would anyway.

—Dan Norman Cummings

HPX NEEDS YOU HELP

Please take a minute to read this and write an email to help us get support for our funding application.

BACKGROUND

Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) has never had enough funding for any festivals and events.

Halifax Pop Explosion has not received funding in several years, because we stopped applying because the city would only come up with $750.00 or so. In other cities, events like ours would expect between $5000 and $15,000.

In March 2007 HRM adopted a new policy which lead us to hope we would be considered for Hallmark status, which would result in significant recurring funding. We applied for $10,000 this year, and we were turned down. No reason has yet been officially given.

Halifax Pop Explosion is a large, internationally recognized event, drawing over 16,000 people in 2007, with over 135 bands from eight countries. Over 25% of our advance tickets were sold to people coming from out of province. We have a significant role to play in the development and promotion of our music industry, as a tourism draw, and as the critical annual music event that maintains Halifax’s status as centre for excellence in new and innovative music.

WHY THE HALIFAX POP EXPLOSION IS A HALLMARK EVENT:

HPX is a tourism event. We are one of the largest annual music events in Atlantic Canada, are a national leader in the youth tourism segment, and we sell over 25%of our advance tickets, and no less than 15% of our total ticket sales, to fans from outside HRM.

We continue to receive significant international coverage for our event, on par with the coverage received by most other Hallmark events. The majority of our out of town ticket sales result in overnight stays, and it cannot be denied that our sales show that a material share of our total participation comes from overnight tourists and visitors.

The Halifax Pop Explosion is the most important new music festival in Canada, and as such provides Halifax with a tremendous competitive advantage in terms of attractiveness for youth and young adults, as a tourism destination, a cultural centre, a centre for music excellence, and a place to go to college and/or to create a life for oneself.

Creative people know about the Halifax Pop Explosion. Destination Haifax has been using the festival to market the city for over two years. We have been here for sixteen years, and have become an integral part of the cities image as a “hip and happening” destination, whether acknowledged by the city or not.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

It is not too late. HRM has money in reserve that can be used to fund HPX as a Hallmark event.

We need you to write an email that talks about:
- why the Halifax Pop Explosion is important to you
- why the festival is important to the Halifax
- why the committee should reconsider Hallmark status for HPX at their meeting of June 18th, 2008

Keep it positive! There is no issue with the Film Fest or Jazz Fest getting support, the issue is that Halifax Pop Explosion deserves it too.

Send an email by FRIDAY JUNE 13:

To: Sheila Fouger, Chair – Special Events Advisory Committee fougers@halifax.ca
CC: Waye Mason, Executive Director, HPX – waye@halifaxpopexplosion.com
CC: Peter Kelly, Mayor – kellyp@halifax.ca

and post your letter on your locals messageboard, your facebook page, your myspace, and/or your blog!

Thank you in advance for your support.

via Halifax Locals

…she comes across as a touch slow, as if she’d been hit in the head with a blunt object before she got to the studio. Or, at least, as if she should have been.

—Carl Wilson on Scarlett Johansson covering Tom Waits

Lost in translation | globeandmail.com