If the world is not getting their music suggestions from sites like the failing Imeem, and Lala, as well as  the diminishing MySpace, where do they get it from? Are we dealing in word of mouth?  Is it a menagerie of smaller music-related sites, or is it radio?  Obviously the social side of music sites aren't doing the job.  But I believe there is a reason for it.  Music has not diminished.  It is still being listened to and enjoyed although I really believe that its current wide-scale model is a devalue of bands and notable albums.  Instead, music is enjoyed now and completely forgotten later.  A song works well now but is never heard from again later.  It's heard on TV, it's heard on friends' iPods.  Not much else after that.  I'm not even sure that anyone could put together a 20th Anniversary for an album released in this day and age.  While I don't doubt for one nanosecond that people love their music, I do believe highly the multi-track album is literally a  worthless concept in this time.

Let's face it.  Now, when an album moves 10,000 units, labels are overjoyed.  But back in the '70s, if an album moved that number nationally, it would be a disgrace.  And many regionally popular bands moved more than that in just the region they were from.  So why the problem now?  It's all about the song.  Nothing wrong with that but right now, songs rule supreme.  Albums are nothing.  Bands are nothing.

There is a time-line in place.  Those of us who have grown up during the valuing of bands and their respective albums are nearing retirement age over the next 20 years, with many of them ALREADY in retirement.  This bodes badly for labels who still hope to resurrect the album back to points seen back in time.  Retirement, for many people, represent a downshift in discretional cash spending, which means that grand reissues cannot be acquired because money is better used elsewhere.  And for those of us who remember that era but are approaching our own retirement dates, well, we're the last of that breed.  What follows us are song lovers, not album enthusiasts.  And ask any of them whether they care about any one band, you'll likely not get an answer that satisfies other than “yeah, they were good.”  But ask that same person if they'd buy an album by that band, they'd likely say no.  Bottom line?  When we're gone, this band/album model disappears and the interest for Deluxe Editions of old favourites will slip into a cashless black hole.  Talk about an end date for a now valued catalogue.  Yep, that great album has a shelf life in sight.  Come 2030, who will care about that golden era of Rock 'n' Roll?

Saying this, I suggest that labels begin to revisit their rich (for now) back catalogues and crank the accessibility to full throttle.  Make Deluxe Editions of them all, and make digitally available every tune ever recorded during the '50s through the '90s.  And I mean every song no matter how obscure.  Do this while those of us not yet at retirement age can still shell out money for these things.  When we enter retirement, our money flow slows to what can only be referred to as a crawl, if that.

On earlier posts, I suggested a label retrench to concentrate on songs from bands.  Scout the bands, all of them.  Take the time to hit all the bars and shows.  Find those bands that can be something and sign them to song contracts or leases.  Rather than signing a band to a full deal, give them the opportunity to create songs that will strike the public's fancy.  It's much easier to market a song than to push an album of songs.  You can acquire the songs of ten good bands for the same concentration that a label would apply to a band years ago.  Nurture them and use the marketing muscle of the labels to get these out into the world.  During the course of a year, if a band is doing well and has cranked out ten moderate or wildly successful songs, collect them into an album and repackage as a “collection.”  Re-release them digitally or into whatever media works in the future and value them more by adding 2 or more songs NOT released earlier.

This is a new frontier and the label that adopts a new model might just survive.  Those that don't will fail...miserably!

This is the final week of voting for the best career album from Queen. This has been an active Poll so obviously Queen is well-liked. Continue to send in your votes for the best album by sending your emailed votes to The Best of Queen Poll. I had in my mind what I thought would be the hands-down winner but I'm being proven wrong.  My own choice (Sheer Heart Attack) has shown a lot of muscle at the start but so has Queen II, both albums I would have figured to be somewhat ignored.  Later albums that have brought in various new styles within the Queen sound  have fared well also.  Personally, I thought sure that A Night at the Opera would take out all comers but its been 'not-so-fast' for that one just as it has been for A Day at the Races.  Of course, all of that may change with a new flurry of votes for those classic best sellers. 

We will have some reviews up on Wednesday when we come back. See you then.

You can stream six songs from the new New York Dolls album, Cause I Sez So, released by Atco Records on May 5 (check out our review of the album below). We hope that you enjoy the songs.

New York Dolls - Cause I Sez So - Listening Party Stream

Caroline Records will release several iterations of Gathering 2008 by Killing Joke, in several volumes, Part One and Part Two.  In addition, there is planned a Limited Edition that likely ties these together into one set.  This is slated for release on June 30.

Mute Records have the S/T M83 scheduled for vinyl LP release on June 30.

Mute Records will also release Wait For Me by Moby on June 30 in both CD and LP versions.

Century Media will release CD and LP for No Time to Bleed by Suicide Silence, scheduling for June 30.

Vinyl LP is being planned for Defying Gravity by Keith Urban.  This is pegged for June 30 by Liberty Records.

Eagle Vision will release a BD (Blu-ray) DVD of Live at Montreaux 2003 by Jamiroquai on July 7

Hip-O Select is planning a CD and a DD collection title for Michael Jackson called Hello World – The Motown Solo Collection.  This collection is planned for August 18.

The Very Best of Don Henley will be released on June 16 in both CD and a CD/DVD Deluxe Edition.

As a reminder, Interscope will release the new Black Eyed Peas album, The E.N.D. (Energy Never Dies) on CD and vinyl 180g 2LP in a gatefold packaging, on June 9.

Another reminder is that the 2009 Rolling Stones Remasters continue with the next batch of CDs being released on June 9.  Those titles are Some Girls; Emotional Rescue; Tattoo You; and Undercover.  Already available (May 5) are Sticky Fingers; Goat Head Soup; It's Only Rock 'n' Roll; and Black and Blue.  Coming up, Dirty Work; Steel Wheels; Voodoo Lounge; Bridges to Babylon; and A Bigger Bang are being scheduled for July 14.  There are big plans being made for the eventual release of their masterpiece, Exile on Main Street.  That will happen later in the year. I just picked up Goats Head Soup at my local Best Buy (all they had, the bastards) so I'm a little anxious to hear it. Maybe just as well. If it isn't up to par, it might save me some money. I really wanted Black and Blue though.

Fuel Records will release a collection of songs from Faron Young on June 9.  It will be called Faron's Greatest Hits and will be a remastered 12-track set.

Interscope is releasing a collection for The Wallflowers called A Collection: 1996-2005.  It is planned for June 16.  The set is a 16-track collection with two bonus cuts (“Eat You Sleeping,” an outtake from the Breach sessions; and “God Says Nothing Back,” a previously unreleased demo track from their Rebel, Sweetheart album.

Mercury Nashville will release a Developing Artist album by Holly Williams called Here With Me.  It is slated for a June 16 release.  The legacy of Holly is that she is the granddaughter of Hank Williams, and the daughter of Hank Williams, Jr.  Pedigree!

The BD release of The Biggest Bang by The Rolling Stones is scheduled for June 16.  The DVD will feature the complete concert  from their show in Austin, Texas as well as a tour documentary (Salt of the Earth – 70m).  There is also a bonus 8m mini-doc, as well as three bonus songs (“Let's Spend the Night Together,” “Rain Fall Down,” “Rough Justice”) included on this BD.  Audio specs include uncompressed PCM Stereo and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1.  The Bigger Bang BD arrives from Ume.

Hear Music will release One Man Band DVD by James Taylor on June 16.  The DVD will  feature 19 songs and feature stories and bonus outtakes.  The show was filmed in concert at The Colonial Theater in Pittsfield, MA.  This retrospective DVD will add rare personal video footage and photographs form Taylor's personal archives.

History has been very worshipful of New York Dolls. Their original lineup produced two memorable albums with a strong debut that is as influential today as the day it was released. On their newest album, the wonderful to hear Cause I Sez So, David Johansen, Syl Sylvain, and the three new additions to this classic band, provide 12 tracks that will continue to have us in awe of them.

Ambient music is a set apart genre not normally visited byu the average Rock fan. It requires more than the usual involvement but can yield multiple satisfying results. Steve Roach has been making quality ambient works for decades. This 2CD Dynamic Stillness is his latest interpretation and is worth the investigation.

This Brooklyn band has created some exciting music that is exciting to hear in every way. With a string of self-released albums and EPs, they have already made a mark in the heart of New York City. What's best is that they have made ALL of their music freely available, downloadable from their site. If you feel the band's music is worth money, they have a way that you can pay for their music. We invite you to click through to their website and to their MySpace and Facebook pages to get a fill of their music. Recently, Dead Heart Bloom had an awesome song ("New Messiah" - one for the iPod, believe me AND a FREE download) featured on Terminator: The Sarah Connors Chronicles.