Alan Williams - NMM World Exclusive!

Alan Williams, singer-songwriter, rising star on MySpace and YouTube, has taken ill, and it seems pretty bad. I won't say what and why exactly (he is a UK ex-pat who now lives in this country, so US health law is in play). Please hope and pray that he makes a full recovery.
We first met online about a year ago when we were looking for info on Scotch crooner Jim Diamond, who Alan grew up on, and I only discovered the previous year (more info on that on the Ph.D. site). Alan's voice mirrors Jim as a result. Alan is a cult figure on the indie scene who was destined to reach greater heights. He will be 27 in weeks. He is happily married to Becky.
Keep Alan in mind during this trying time. I know I am.
There will be no posts for at least a week as I'll be away, and getting online will be almost impractical anyway (I'm addicted and need to get out, but I need to keep in touch with Alan on his condition). I'll just have to hold out and hope for the best. Good luck. Thanks.

Katy Perry - New artist of the year

I didn't think there'd be a major new artist good enough for me to write on, but I found one. Katy Perry, who's making waves with her quasi-LGBT hits "Ur So Gay" and the latest "I Kissed a Girl". I caught some of that last one on VH1 and thought it was hilarious. Parents are up in arms. She's gonna be around a while.
We do feel cheated with the new video because she doesn't actually kiss a girl on air. I see it all the time on Jerry Springer anyway, so it's nothing new.
Katy used to be a Christian artist named Katy Hudson, but now she's making Amy Grant sound like Vestal Goodman! This oughta get people here! With that early album, she might pull an Alanis and distance herself from it. Some might think she sold out and sold her soul to the devil, like my mama said! (The generation gap is alive and well forty years on!)
Katy Perry is the hottest thing from Santa Barbera since Santa Barbera!
Then again, she's tame compared to Avenue D!
She's even a Queen fan, which is good for me.
I heard of her when I had to go to the Capitol site. I saw her and just assumed she was another Lily Allen. Turns out that Katy's a different animal from her US stablemate.
One of the Boys is out 17 June.

Roger Hodgson - Rites of Passage

Also saved from emusic:

This was his first release overall since his accident a decade before, and his first and only official live album to date. Like now, he is mainly alone on keyboard and guitar. I hope he goes back to Supertramp one day. None of us are getting any younger! A 1997 release on Voiceprint. Some of the tracks are sung by others in the band, much like Rick Davies did back in Supertramp on his songs. "Smelly Feat" is one example. Hodgson's solo track record is sporadic. The rest aren't on emusic because they're on major labels, though many mp3 sites have most or all of them anyway.

The Twin - Yum Yum

Saved from emusic (album deleted)

The Twin is really none other than Boy George, with the most makeup he's ever worn! This album is reggaeton/dance hall/electronica/electroclash/whatever. A different animal from Culture Club ("This ain't the '80s, mate!", he says in one song), along with a mock-Rasta accent. One guilty pleasure on this set is "Fire Desire", a duet with techno duo Avenue D, who come off as a surrogate Li'l Kim and Foxy Brown. The lyrics are X-rated! I laughed when I first heard them! It can be embarassing! There should be a Tipper Sticker on the cover! Boy's freakish clown look is clearly inspired by his late club friends Trojan and Leigh Bowery (who BG played in his Broadway flop Taboo), and has been copied in the gay clubs (as I saw in a local LGBT magazine). He brought it to Vh1's I Love the '80s Strikes Back. It could be in a gay circus! "Here Comes the Girls Part 1" was already on another CD, so just Part 2 is here. If Boy can straighten out his latest legal mess, there should be another album and DJ tour soon (he's doing a regular tour, but he won't come Upstate [see earlier blogs], not even Ithaca).

This album is very rare on CD, but is still on itunes and amazon.

Where I've been

emusic
amazon
amazon UK
iTunes (as Sposato2007)
MSN
mp3sale.ru
YouTube

I can't remember any others. You can Google me. These are the ones I go to most.

Reviews and ads

One thing the real Melody Maker was known for was want ads and reviews. I have reviews on amazon.com, iTunes, emusic, amazon.co.uk, and other places. You can Google my name and you might find them. The emusic ones might be tricky, but my e-mail address might lead you to those. Use quotations for best results. If there are too many reviews for a certain album on amazon, or the album's a bootleg or officially out of print, it may show up here. Stay "tuned". However, I am no David Fricke, Neil Tennant, Frank Rich, Ron Sheffield, or Kurt Loder. I'm just like you. I also have a few things pop up here and there. It'd take too much time to get them all here. Also, for most of them, I legally gave them the rights to my reviews, so I couldn't put them here anyway. That's how it works to protect you and them.
As for ads, you can use the paper, Craig's List, MySpace, Goldmine, Rolling Stone, Facebook, Gumtree, Postaroo, local and national music and entertainment magazines and papers, the bulletin boards at shops, or wherever. Many bands and careers of yesteryear like Genesis and Kajagoogoo would not exist or be the same without MM ads. MM and NME merged, and Mojo will sometimes recall an MM article. To many people, it's like when Marshall-Fields became Macy's. It was heresy and treason!
I've only read a few articles of MM in my life, but I know it's had an impact.

Reunions

Here are bands I'd like to see get back together:

ABBA (a lot of people would agree!)
Black Sabbath
Culture Club
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Genesis (one last time)
Gentle Giant
Renaissance
Supertramp
Talk Talk
Yes

Who would you like to see reunite?

Record stores

The indie (or chain) record store of old is a dying breed because everybody, even me, comes here online (this is the last one today; my arm hurts!).
The last full fledged one in Syracuse I fell out with before they pulled up stakes and went west. The Sound Garden in Armoury Square doesn't have used tapes and vinyl (some new Argentine CDs though). I get bored at the second-hand bookstore and fye. eBay and such are too easy! Some things can't be downloaded. I need more imports!
In the past few years, I've gone out of my way to Off-Centre in Utica, Last Unicorn in adjacent New Hartford (RIP), Last Vestige in Albany (see newer post), and Disc Go Round in Guilderland nearby. I just went to Pulaski where The Disc Connection is the last one standing in all of Oswego County. I was worried it was gone because they changed their number when I first called, and found the right one recently, saving a wasted trip. These stores appeal to hipsters and the middle aged alike. I'm not necessarily either! The owner prefers good ol' wax, but sells special things on eBay to turn a profit in his rather sleepy, provincial and sometimes snowy little town. Would Charles Kuralt have stopped by?
I know these stores are in and around New York City, and I couldn't find an indie close enough when I was there a few weeks ago (I did look some up). I saw one of our sort coming blocks from one in the Chinatown/Bowery wing with his labelled bag, but it was almost time to catch the charter bus home, so I didn't even bother to ask. At least I finally got to Virgin Megastore in Times Square! Maybe next time.
I know someone who could open such a place, but he's not up to it right now, so he just has an occasional yard sale or will do special orders. He'll also turn up at the semi-annual trade show at the Ramada Inn. I have my own fish to fry, so I can't do it either.
Remember to give love to your brick-and-mortar today!
There's an article in Syracuse New Times.

Central New York Performing Arts Centre

I like to announce the founding of the Central New York Performing Arts Centre (CNYPAC). If Destiny USA don't go through with something of their own, I'd go public on a grand scale with the idea. It's just that I'm not fond of cameras, and I'm not even famous yet!
Deciding on a site depends on where all the people are. If much of the Carrier campus is empty with work outsourced to Mainland China (go fig!), I'd like to enquire about that. They already named the Dome at SU, of course. We don't have a large venue like the big cities. Even the Dome can't compete, though Old Man Boeheim has it half of the year anyway! I also have connections to someone in property, though it may cause conflict of interest and collusion (legalese!).
This would be on par with Finger Lakes CMAC out west and SPAC in Saratoga Springs. I don't have half the money to make the first move! Gotta win the lottery first!
This would prove to the LiveNations and Harvey Goldsmiths of the world that we are not just the provinces anymore! We need a Wembley or Madison Square of our own Upstate!
Maybe even build it at OCC, like CMAC at FLCC.
Doantions through PayPal can be found at my Ph.D. , Naked Eyes , and Buggles sites.

No Yes?!!!

I wanna see Yes again, but they're too far this year. I saw them at the NYS Fair in '04, but that might not work this time. I've looked into buses and trains to (I don't own a car) and lodging in Hershey, PA; Wantagh, NY (Jones Beach, Long Island), and Atlantic City, NJ (my grandmother said it's not safe at night). It's too expensive and complicated. The bad economy and gas prices are gonna effect the live scene. Even Paul McCartney at Madison Square in '05 had some empty seats way in the back near me.
If someone near me has a ticket to spare and is willing to bring me with them, there just may be a chance.

UPDATE!: The tour has been postponed until further notice (likely after the holidays). Jon Anderson is in hospital for respitory failure, and needs to rest. We love him and want him to get better, so we'll have to wait. Please send him your love on MySpace.
This article will stay to prove a point; that my region is derided by the promoters and bands for the metro areas. When things pick up for Yes, maybe there'll be more time to fit CNY in again.

Please play Central New York!

Here's a list of people I want in my area that are on the road this year:

Asia featuring John Payne
Fleetwood Mac (Early 2009)
The Australian Pink Floyd Show
Boy George (update on the way)
Def Leppard (it's a go!)
Duran Duran
Roger Hodgson
Elton John
Kajagoogoo
The Machine (Pink Floyd tribute)
Paul McCartney (tour not yet announced, yet I'm willing to travel to Toronto or New York again)
George Michael
Alanis Morissette
The Musical Box (Genesis tribute)
Naked Eyes
oasis
Ozzy Osbourne/Ozzfest
Queen + Paul Rodgers
Rush (again)
John Wetton & Geoffrey Downes: iCon (Asia spinioff, saw Asia in April)
Yes (see next blog)
Marillion

Hefiorels eclectic music: Buggles - Video Killed The Radio Star

Hefiorels eclectic music: Buggles - Video Killed The Radio Star

Début

I've been procrastinating, but I finally decided to get with the times and start my own blog. This will be a music related one, even though there are tons!
I chose the New Melody Maker as a tribute to the classic UK magazine, and is not really connected to it, or the guitar. If I have to, I'll come up with a new title.
I'll add to this as much as I can.