Sobchak Security

Un articolo interessante apparso oggi sul Tennessean (quotidiano del Tennessee)

What a long, strange trip it’s been for Americana music.

By RYAN UNDERWOOD

As a genre that has long served as a kind of artist-and-audience catchall for rootsy sounds that never fit well with mainstream country or rock, Americana seems finally to be slouching toward its own version of commercial success.

Or at least that’s the tune that organizers of the seventh annual Americana Music Conference, which opens today in Nashville, will be humming over three days of industry seminars and musical showcases.

Artists who run the gamut from Bob Dylan and Kris Kristofferson to newer acts such as Ryan Adams and Sheryl Crow serve as the inspirational guideposts for an entire class of artists who are attracting flocks of well-heeled followers to a music style that’s begun to find a coherent voice.

Jeff Green, executive director of the Nashville-based Americana Music Association, the organization putting on this week’s conference, said the typical Americana consumers tend to be older, well-educated males with plenty of disposable income.

“They own their own home, they make good money, they’re well-educated,” said Green, as he gleefully scrolled through the slides of a PowerPoint presentation that offered findings from a new audience survey commissioned by the association for this year’s conference.

With the second-highest average income of any radio format segment, Americana listeners tend to lean left politically, shop at Whole Foods, drink bottled water and prefer Volvos and Porsches over Chevys and Fords, according to the study, conducted by The Media Audit, an audience research company.

“For advertisers trying to reach a certain life group, the Americana audience is a very efficient one,” said Green, who used to work in radio and is now pushing station owners for further broadcast exposure of Americana music.

Jessie Scott, program director for Cross Country, Channel 12 on Washington-based XM Satellite Radio, said that, in her view, it’s hard to nail down a typical listener profile.

“They’re rugged individualists,” she said, only half-jokingly. “It’s a difficult group to categorize with a traditional demographic or psychographic profile. The people could be truck drivers or they could be Ph.D.’s.” Cross Country serves as XM’s main Americana outlet and has grown to an audience of about 500,000.

Scott said the bright line that ties her audience together is a respect for well-crafted lyrics as well a desire for a certain level of honesty and authenticity that runs through the music.

In some ways Americana is developing as the country-flavored version of alternative rock.

During her six years programming the station, she’s seen the term “Americana” evolve from a kind of dumping ground for singer-songwriter types — typically from Nashville or Austin — who didn’t play well on mainstream country or rock radio to a format with its own brand recognition.

Green and others point to signs that Americana is gaining more acceptance among mainstream audiences. These include the growing crowds at Americana-heavy music festivals such as Manchester, Tenn.-based Bonnaroo, MerleFest and Austin City Limits, and the Grammys’ adding a category for Americana music at this year’s awards show.

John Schoenberger, editor of the Americana and triple-A (adult album alternative) radio charts for the Radio & Records trade publication, said that despite the positive momentum, the format has more work ahead if it wants to develop a commercially viable format.

“There’s a certain amount of tightening up and a commercial veneer that’s needed,” Schoenberger said. “Americana is where triple-A radio — stations like (Lightning 100) WRLT in Nashville — were eight to 10 years ago.”

One thing Schoenberger thinks will help bolster the format is the eventual rollout of HD Radio, a technology that allows traditional broadcast signals to splinter off several stations in the same market. The main stumbling block for widespread adop tion is the $200-plus receivers needed.

Clear Channel Communications, a major radio station owner based in San Antonio, has been programming Americana on a handful of new HD Radio stations.

Schoenberger and Green said it’s a smart move by companies like Clear Channel because Americana listeners tend to be early adopters of new technology. At the same time, they tend to have been disenfranchised by the vanilla playlists of mainstream radio.

“As down-home and rootsy as Americana is, the majority of listeners have the disposable income to go out and buy one of these HD receivers,” Schoenberger said.

But Schoenberger said radio is still undeniably the route to commercial music success.

Americana has penetrated traditional broadcast radio, but it tends to be restricted to noncommercial college and public stations or specialty blocks of programming at nonpeak times on commercial radio.

Green wants to see that exposure grow — which is why his organization commissioned the Americana audience survey in the first place.

“We’re the only radio format that has really played the new Dixie Chicks or Johnny Cash albums. You’re talking about some icon artists here,” Green said. “It’s sad in one way because these artists deserve exposure, but it’s exciting that Americana is where people are going to hear this music.” •

A new study of Americana listeners will be presented at this week’s Americana Music Conference, which opens today in Nashville.

Here is a sample of some findings:

• Median age: 45 years old
• Average household income: $72,628
• Male listeners: 59%; female listeners: 41%
• Auto brand they’re most likely to buy or drive: Volvo
• Homeowners: 74%
• Key Americana artists include: Ryan Adams, Steve Earle, Nanci Griffith, Emmylou Harris, John Hiatt, Jim Lauderdale, Willie Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver, Todd Snider, Susan Tedeschi

Ad esempio i carri impiegati nei colpi di stato.

Mentre sto scrivendo, in Thai-fucking-Land si sta, appunto, consumando un colpo di stato, orchestrato dall’ex-generale Sonthi Boonyaratglin e da militari a lui fedeli. Bene dico io, fate il vostro colpo gobbo del cazzo, ma almeno esibite qualcosa di meglio che relitti degli anni cinquanta.

Il protagonista cingolato di questa tragica pagina di cronaca e’ infatti ancora una volta l’M41 Walker Bulldog, un carro leggero prodotto dalla Cadillac (…) ed entrato in servizio nell’Esercito USA quando alla Casa Bianca governava un certo Ike.

Negli anni sessanta era anche noto come l’Urna di Big Minh, in quanto si palesava nelle strade della capitale sudvietnamita in concomitanza delle elezioni.

Ecco un paio di scatti di repertorio:

Colpo di stato a Saigon, Repubblica del Vietnam, 1963

Colpo di stato a Bangkok, Thailandia, 2006

Qualche dato tecnico:

Armamento:

1 cannone da 76mm
1 mitragliatrice media da 7.62mm Browning M1919
1 mitragliatrice pesante da 12.7mm Browning M2HB

Propulsore: Continental AOS 895-3, 6cyl a benzina, raffreddato ad aria da 500 hp
Velocita’: Oltre 70 Kmh
Autonomia: 200 km
Equipaggio : 4
Peso: 26 tons

Detto cio’, ho sempre adorato questo piccolo AFV! Non so esattamente il perche’, ma lo trovo cool…

Meglio tardi che mai…

Southern women breaking up with Bush

POSTED: 12:18 p.m. EDT, September 7, 2006

MACON, Georgia (AP) — President Bush’s once-solid relationship with Southern women is on the rocks.

“I think history will show him to be the worst president since Ulysses S. Grant,” said Barbara Knight, a self-described Republican since birth and the mother of three. “He’s been an embarrassment.”

In the heart of Dixie, comparisons to Grant, a symbol of the Union, is the worst sort of insult, especially from a Macon woman who voted for Bush in 2000 but turned away in 2004.

In recent years, Southern women have been some of Bush’s biggest fans, defying the traditional gender gap in which women have preferred Democrats to Republicans. Bush secured a second term due in large part to support from 54 percent of Southern female voters while women nationally favored Democrat John Kerry, 51-48 percent.

“In 2004, you saw an utter collapse of the gender gap in the South,” said Karen Kaufmann, a professor of government at the University of Maryland who has studied women’s voting patterns. White Southern women liked Bush because “he spoke their religion and he spoke their values.”
Anger, frustration building

Now, anger over the Iraq war and frustration with the country’s direction have taken a toll on the president’s popularity and stirred dissatisfaction with the Republican-held Congress. (Watch why the GOP is an elephant around a candidate’s neck — 2:47)

Republicans on the ballot this November have reason to worry. A recent Associated Press-Ipsos poll found that three out of five Southern women surveyed said they planned to vote for a Democrat in the midterm elections. With control of the Senate and House in the balance, such a seismic shift could have dire consequences for the GOP.

Democrats need to gain 15 seats in the House and six in the Senate to seize control.

In a sign of how crucial races in the South will be to the GOP national strategy, Bush was traveling to Georgia on Thursday to help former Rep. Max Burns raise money in his bid to unseat Democratic Rep. John Barrow. The president also will give a speech in Atlanta.

Knight lives in another congressional district considered competitive. Republicans hope to oust Democratic Rep. Jim Marshall, whose district was redrawn by the GOP-controlled Georgia Legislature to make it more conservative.

Voters like Knight could prove to be spoilers. The 66-year-old real estate agent doesn’t particularly like Marshall, a hawkish Democrat and former Army Ranger, but she said she’ll vote for him because she likes his conservative Republican opponent, former Rep. Mac Collins, even less.

“I’m going to go for the moderate, and these days that tends to be Democrats,” Knight said.

Sandy Rubin, a high school teacher in Macon, voted for Bush and said she’s also likely to vote for Marshall. Rubin said the GOP’s focus on issues that appeal to social conservatives, such as gay marriage and abortion, have turned her off.

“I care about job security and education. The things I hear the Republicans emphasizing in their campaigns are not things that affect me or my family,” said the 39-year-old mother of two.
Women disillusioned with war

The movement of some Southern women away from the Republican Party tracks with national poll results showing that women have become more disillusioned with the war and were more likely than men to list the conflict as the important issue facing the country.

Nationally, the AP-Ipsos poll found that only 28 percent of women approve of Bush’s handling of the war. Bush did better in the South, but only slightly — just 32 percent of women in the region said they approve of his handling of the war.

“I never did understand why we went into Iraq and didn’t instead clean up the mess in Afghanistan first,” Knight said.

Teresa Cranford, 39, also of Macon, said her support for Bush was lukewarm in 2004, but she ultimately voted for him so he could finish the job in Iraq. As the death toll has risen, so has her discomfort.

“I’m a mother and that makes me think differently about it,” Cranford said.

Lynn Hamilton, 44, said she still supports Bush even though her backing for the ongoing war has waned.

“As a mother you worry, ‘Am I going to lose my baby boy?”‘ said the Gray, Georgia, resident. “A mother’s view about war is often going to be a lot different than dad’s is.”

Neither Cranford nor Hamilton has decided how they plan to vote in the midterm elections, although neither ruled out voting for a Democrat.

“I’m not a straight party-line Republican anymore,” Cranford said.

Still, some Southern women remain stalwart supporters of the president and the Republican Party. At a watermelon festival in Chickamauga, in the mountains of northwest Georgia, substitute teacher Clydeen Tomanio said she remains committed to the party she’s called home for 43 years.

“There are some people, and I’m one of them, that believe George Bush was placed where he is by the Lord,” Tomanio said. “I don’t care how he governs, I will support him. I’m a Republican through and through.”

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh la gattaaa, io l’adoro!

Chan Marshall (aka Cat Power) @ work

Sono capitato per caso sul forum di p2pforum.it. In un thread si discuteva del caso Grokster e degli artisti che si erano espressi contro. Non entro nel merito della cosa perche’ non m’interessa, volevo solo mettere in evidenza alcune ROTFLANTI reply, che dimostrano l’ignoranza di alcuni p2pers in materia musicale.

Il post iniziale:

“Un’azione senza precedenti è stata intrapresa da 54 popstar che hanno inviato una lettera alla Corte Suprema il 24 Gennaio per sottolineare la necessità di ribaltare il verdetto delle corti di Appello nel caso Grokster secondo il quale i produttori di software p2p non possono ritenersi responsabili per le violazioni di copyright degli utenti che usano i loro prodotti.

E fin qui, tutto ok, un banale copy and paste. Ora leggiamo alcune delle illuminanti repliche:

ROTFL reply 1 di Mother: Allora io conosco-ho sentito per radio in tv o mezzi simili: la Crow, gli Eagles la Lavigne perchè è molto sponsorizzata ultimamente, Dido, Jones… (5 su 14, non male) Il resto senza p2p e quindi senza questo articolo non sapevo nemmeno fossero al mondo….ma siamo sicuri siano cantanti…

ROTFL reply 2 di sheva777: ma a parte un paio ed un rudere, tutti gli altri chi li ha mai sentiti mi fanno pena, poverini, stanno morendo di fame.

ROTFL reply 3 di bloody: Certo che si lamentano proprio loro,cantanti semi-sconosciuti che magari grazie al p2p potrebbero avvere un pò di pubblicità…O forse tutto questo è già una manovra pubblicitaria??

ROTFL reply 4 di LeXus (pure mod!): e‘ proprio vero…cantanti semisconosciuti ke pur d farsi un pò di pubblicità si inventano di tutto….Senza contare ke proprio qste categorie potrebbero esser avvantaggiate xke potrebbero iniziare a farsi conoscere un pò di +….E poi ke dire….pur di guadagnare uno spicciolo in + si inventano di tutto….