The New York Times Magazine feature “The Day the Music Burned” by Jody Rosen published June 11 has brought to light important details about the inferno that destroyed an invaluable popular music archive in 2008 at Universal Studios in Hollywood. Of equal significance are Rosen’s revelations about the cover-up of the disaster by Universal Music Group (UMG).
The profound loss of an estimated half-million popular song masters going back six decades is of immense concern to people all over the world. Millions who have grown up with, listened to and appreciated the music of the jazz, blues and rock ’n’ roll greats are just now learning that the original studio recordings—including some that have never been heard or released—of their beloved artists perished in the fire and have been lost forever.
Moreover, many of the musicians themselves are finding out for the first time that their master tapes have been destroyed. The day after the New York Times Magazine exposé was published, musicians and managers reacted with bewilderment, frustration and anger. For example, Irving Azoff, the manager of the jazz rock group Steely Dan, said: “We have been aware of ‘missing’ original Steely Dan tapes for a long time now. We’ve never been given a plausible explanation. Maybe they burned up in the big fire. In any case, it’s certainly a lost treasure.”
By the end of the week, the LA Times and Billboard were reporting that legal action was being prepared on behalf of many artists. UMG responded by neither denying nor confirming the Times Magazine report, saying, “While there are constraints preventing us from publicly addressing some of the details of the fire that occurred at NBCUniversal Studios facility more than a decade ago, the incident—while deeply unfortunate—never affected the availability of the commercially released music nor impacted artists’ compensation.”
How was it possible that a giant media corporation like UMG could conceal the full impact of the devastating fire from the public for more than a decade?
The answer to this question lies in the rot and neglect of 21st century capitalism, the corruption of the business and financial elite and the complicity of the corporate news media.
The New York Times Magazine feature “The Day the Music Burned” by Jody Rosen published June 11 has brought to light important details about the inferno that destroyed an invaluable popular music archive in 2008 at Universal Studios in Hollywood. Of equal significance are Rosen’s revelations about the cover-up of the disaster by Universal Music Group (UMG).
The profound loss of an estimated half-million popular song masters going back six decades is of immense concern to people all over the world. Millions who have grown up with, listened to and appreciated the music of the jazz, blues and rock ’n’ roll greats are just now learning that the original studio recordings—including some that have never been heard or released—of their beloved artists perished in the fire and have been lost forever.
Moreover, many of the musicians themselves are finding out for the first time that their master tapes have been destroyed. The day after the New York Times Magazine exposé was published, musicians and managers reacted with bewilderment, frustration and anger. For example, Irving Azoff, the manager of the jazz rock group Steely Dan, said: “We have been aware of ‘missing’ original Steely Dan tapes for a long time now. We’ve never been given a plausible explanation. Maybe they burned up in the big fire. In any case, it’s certainly a lost treasure.”
By the end of the week, the LA Times and Billboard were reporting that legal action was being prepared on behalf of many artists. UMG responded by neither denying nor confirming the Times Magazine report, saying, “While there are constraints preventing us from publicly addressing some of the details of the fire that occurred at NBCUniversal Studios facility more than a decade ago, the incident—while deeply unfortunate—never affected the availability of the commercially released music nor impacted artists’ compensation.”
How was it possible that a giant media corporation like UMG could conceal the full impact of the devastating fire from the public for more than a decade?
The answer to this question lies in the rot and neglect of 21st century capitalism, the corruption of the business and financial elite and the complicity of the corporate news media.
Reed goes on to list some of the artists.
I'm surprised because he doesn't note one of the biggest group of artists. MOTOWN was acquired by UNIVERSAL right around the time Diana Ross returned to the label for WORKIN' OVERTIME -- she was made a shareholder at the time because it had to meet some quota for minority ownership as part of the deal when Berry Gordy sold MOTOWN.
So we're talking about Diana Ross -- both after her return and before -- we're talking about Diana Ross & The Supremes, we're talking about Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Four Tops and so many others.
Here are some of the artists Reed notes: Judy Garland, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Al Jolson, Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Willie Dixon, Bo Diddley, Etta James, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy, Little Walter, John Coltrane, Count Basie, Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Art Blakey, Sonny Rollins, Charles Mingus, Ornette Coleman, Alice Coltrane, Sun Ra, Albert Ayler, Pharoah Sanders, Buddy Holly, Etta James, Benny Goodman, Cab Calloway, the Andrews Sisters, the Ink Spots, the Mills Brothers, Lionel Hampton, Ray Charles, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Clara Ward, Sammy Davis Jr., Les Paul, Fats Domino, Big Mama Thornton, Burl Ives, the Weavers, Kitty Wells, Ernest Tubb, Lefty Frizzell, Loretta Lynn, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Bobby (Blue) Bland, B.B. King, Ike Turner, the Four Tops, Quincy Jones, Burt Bacharach, Joan Baez, Neil Diamond, Sonny and Cher, the Mamas and the Papas, Joni Mitchell, Captain Beefheart, Cat Stevens, the Carpenters, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Al Green, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Elton John, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Buffett, the Eagles, Don Henley, Aerosmith, Steely Dan, Iggy Pop, Rufus and Chaka Khan, Barry White, Patti LaBelle, Yoko Ono, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, the Police, Sting, George Strait, Steve Earle, R.E.M., Janet Jackson, Eric B. and Rakim, New Edition, Bobby Brown, Guns N’ Roses, Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige, Sonic Youth, No Doubt, Nine Inch Nails, Snoop Dogg, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Hole, Beck, Sheryl Crow, Tupac Shakur, Eminem, 50 Cent and the Roots.
Guns N' Roses? They were on Geffen's label which means Cher's 80s and 90s work is gone. Sheryl Crow? That's A&M -- which became the label owner of ODE -- which has Carole King for the bulk of her 70s recording career (including Tapestry). A&M would explain Joan Baez's inclusion on the list because it's not from her folk hey day (VANGUARD isn't owned by UNIVERSAL). I'm going to assume the Geffen label is the reason Joni Mitchell's on the list. I don't think WARNER'S let go of REPRISE. Joni was on GEFFEN for four albums (WILD THINGS RUN FAST through NIGHT RIDE HOME).
It also covers Tina Turner's career -- her comeback is on EMI which UNIVERSAL owns -- in fact, it covers all of Diana Ross' career because she was on EMI in Europe her entire career -- they distributed both MOTOWN and RCA. It covers U2 -- ISLAND is on UNIVERSAL. It covers Nanci Griffith -- MCA is on UNIVERSAL.
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Wednesday, June 19, 2019. ExxonMobil gets attacked in Iraq, Tulsi
Gabbard calls out war on Iran but other elected Dems, presented with a
huge gift, don't appear to grasp what's taking place.
Democrats in elected office? Not the brightest bunch. You get the feeling if Mr. Ed strode into Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's office, they'd ask him if he had an appointment.
They wouldn't be amazed by a talking horse, they wouldn't be interested or even notice. They'd just be, "Sir, do you have an appointment to see the Speaker?"
What's the point? Here's the point: Who is running things?
That really is the key question.
You have John Bolton and the Secretary of State agitating publicly for war with Iran. You have Donald Trump doing what exactly?
Next year, he faces re-election. Who is going to vote for him? That’s a question that the Democrats should be raising. They probably won’t. They’re not really anti-war – not the bulk of them. So they don't appear to care about a war on Iran to that factor.
But how about this: John Bolton has not been elected to any office. Mike Pompeo has not been elected to any office.
Repeatedly, Donald Trump keeps making noises that scale back on the war lust of Bolton and Pompeo.
Why?
Is Donald not the president? Is Donald not the one who should decide -- on the Executive Branch side -- whether Congress needs to be consulted about declaring war?
If he's in charge, why isn't he pulling the leash on John and Mike?
He doesn't look like he's in charge.
Who's in charge? That would be a pretty strong campaign commercial.
If it were done straight forward -- no snark, just serious concern being expressed -- it could reach even some Trump supporters.
If the man who is currently the president of the United States is not the one making the decisions, why you want him back for four more years? If he can't even control his underlings, why would anyone see him as strong or worthy?
War with Iran is not needed. It's not wanted. I pray it won't happen. But the current climate should have resulted in a Democratic response. Clearly, we can't count on them to be anti-war. This is the party that promised to end the Iraq War if we gave them one house of Congress in the 2006 mid-terms. We gave them both houses and they continued the war. In 2008, Barack Obama ran for the presidency and was elected for being opposed to the Iraq War (he really wasn't, Elaine and I were face to face with him before he was in the Senate so peddle that crap elsewhere) and he was going to bring all US troops out of Iraq. He had two terms as president. He left with US troops still in Iraq. And US troops are still in Iraq.
So it's apparently too much to hope that anyone -- even fake asses like Barbara Lee -- will call out what's going on in terms of, "We don't need another war!"
So how about they call it out based on the fact that no one watching can figure out what the hell's going on.
Democrats in elected office? Not the brightest bunch. You get the feeling if Mr. Ed strode into Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's office, they'd ask him if he had an appointment.
They wouldn't be amazed by a talking horse, they wouldn't be interested or even notice. They'd just be, "Sir, do you have an appointment to see the Speaker?"
What's the point? Here's the point: Who is running things?
That really is the key question.
You have John Bolton and the Secretary of State agitating publicly for war with Iran. You have Donald Trump doing what exactly?
Next year, he faces re-election. Who is going to vote for him? That’s a question that the Democrats should be raising. They probably won’t. They’re not really anti-war – not the bulk of them. So they don't appear to care about a war on Iran to that factor.
But how about this: John Bolton has not been elected to any office. Mike Pompeo has not been elected to any office.
Repeatedly, Donald Trump keeps making noises that scale back on the war lust of Bolton and Pompeo.
Why?
Is Donald not the president? Is Donald not the one who should decide -- on the Executive Branch side -- whether Congress needs to be consulted about declaring war?
If he's in charge, why isn't he pulling the leash on John and Mike?
He doesn't look like he's in charge.
Who's in charge? That would be a pretty strong campaign commercial.
If it were done straight forward -- no snark, just serious concern being expressed -- it could reach even some Trump supporters.
If the man who is currently the president of the United States is not the one making the decisions, why you want him back for four more years? If he can't even control his underlings, why would anyone see him as strong or worthy?
War with Iran is not needed. It's not wanted. I pray it won't happen. But the current climate should have resulted in a Democratic response. Clearly, we can't count on them to be anti-war. This is the party that promised to end the Iraq War if we gave them one house of Congress in the 2006 mid-terms. We gave them both houses and they continued the war. In 2008, Barack Obama ran for the presidency and was elected for being opposed to the Iraq War (he really wasn't, Elaine and I were face to face with him before he was in the Senate so peddle that crap elsewhere) and he was going to bring all US troops out of Iraq. He had two terms as president. He left with US troops still in Iraq. And US troops are still in Iraq.
So it's apparently too much to hope that anyone -- even fake asses like Barbara Lee -- will call out what's going on in terms of, "We don't need another war!"
So how about they call it out based on the fact that no one watching can figure out what the hell's going on.
He was going to be smart, he was going to put America first. Now the US is edging towards war on Iran and he appears to be either pulled along or unaware of the actions of his underlings.
This is leadership?
And why isn't Nancy Pelosi on every TV program asking, "How can he be planning war on yet another country when we don't even have a Secretary of Defense?"
That is a rather big issue, a rather glaring hole.
It's as though Christmas came early for the Democrats and everyone's decided not to shake the packages under the tree or even peak a little.
These are not national secrets. These are issues out there in the public eye.
Why is no one commenting on them?
Why is no one using them to underscore the message that Donald Trump is not a leader?
US House Rep and Iraq War veteran Tulsi Gabbard is raising important issues.
Here we go again! The US sending more troops to Middle East for what will be disastrous war with Iran. To prevent Trump and future presidents from waging war illegally (without Congress approval) we must sign my No More Presidential Wars Act. Join me: tulsi.to/iran10
I know both the importance of ntl security & the high cost of war. As president, I’ll improve intl relations w/ all countries & work to solve differences thru diplomacy. I see military action as the LAST resort & only w/ Congress approval, as per my No More Presidential Wars Act.
But Tulsi actually cares about these issues.
You'd think that the least even fake ass Congressional Democrats could do would be to point out that Donald looks as though he's addled or confused, as though anyone but him is leading and in what world do you allow your underlings to push for war when you still don't have a Secretary of Defense?
That should be the message. That would have a lot more effect than the nonsense of 'impeachment!' -- that ship really has sailed.
Looking at Elizabeth Warren's campaign Twitter feed, what's Dull Mommy offering over the last 24 hours? How to parent and give aways. And we've got nothing regarding a war on Iran.
War really isn't an issue that Elizabeth Warren feels comfortable addressing, is it?
That does not speak well for her should she become president.
At his campaign Twitter feed, Bernie Sanders is calling Trump dangerous and out of touch -- but somehow not connecting that the push for war on Iran by underlings while Trump appears to be repeatedly nudged towards it.
Beto O'Rourke is all over the map -- lending credence to Senator John Coryn's recent charge that Beto's not really in the race anymore.
Where are the leaders? There's Tulsi and we've noted her.
But for those Dems to chicken to object to a violent war on fake charges, can't they even notice that there's no Secretary of Defense and that Trump appears to be being strong armed into war on Iran? Because that doesn't look presidential, that doesn't scream "Leadership!"
That says he's as out of touch as Bernie maintains Donald is.
Meanwhile, in Iraq . . .
BREAKING: ExxonMobil set to evacuate staff from Basra in southern Iraq after their headquarters were struck by a rocket
#BREAKING: Rocket attack leaves two workers injured after it hit a compound housing major international oil companies in Iraq's Basra province
#BREAKING: Rocket hits foreign oil company headquarters in Iraq's Basra, two Iraqi staff wounded in explosion: police, oil officials bit.ly/2WUhP9Z
Please note, the last years have seen US troops die in Iraq -- under Barack and under Donald. And that didn't really upset the US government. But ExxonMobil threatened? That's going to upset them. The oil industry? That's going to upset them.
"Passion Play (When All The Slaves Are Free)," written by Joni Mitchell, first appears on her NIGHT RIDE HOME.
Magdalene is trembling
Like a washing on a line
Trembling and gleaming
Never before was a man so kind
Never so redeeming
Enter the multitudes
In Exxon blue
In radiation rose
Ecstasy
Now you tell me
Who you gonna get to do the dirty work
When all the slaves are free?
(Who're you gonna get)
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