Are We Going Back To The Future ???

Thursday, June, 12, 2008 by Mel Phillips.

WINS is running a story about a Long Island doctor who has converted his DeLorean into an electric car.  Dr. Dave Delman now pays the lowest gas prices per gallon of anyone in the U.S. - zero, nada, bupkus as in $0.00 per gallon.   On the heels of that story, guess what configuration of music has made a comeback, jumping 36% in one year?  If you guessed vinyl, not only are you delusional but you are also right.  The DeLorean was featured in “Back To The Future“, a time when people listened to music being played on LPs.  Are we going back to the future???

When a music retail chain recently made a mistake in ordering a special edition of R.E.M.’s “Accelerate” CD-DVD using an “LP” code, they found several boxes of vinyl discs sitting outside their outlets.  They sent some back, put a handful on their shelves and 20 albums sold the first day.  That retail outlet in Portland (OR) is now testing vinyl sales in Oregon, California, Washington and Alaska.  This inspired Best Buy to test vinyl at some stores and Amazon.com which has been selling vinyl since they started their website, created a special vinyl-only section last fall.  Melinda Merrill, spokeswoman for the Portland retail chain, Fred Meyer, says “it’s not just a nostalgia thing.  The response from customers has just been that they like it, they feel it has a better sound.” …

There are those that say that the compression used in digital recordings weakens the quality of the sound, that analog recordings on most LPs are continuous and produce a truer sound.  Then you have the people who just like the experience of putting a needle on a record, having two sides to listen to and reading liner notes.  Nielsen SoundScan is predicting that vinyl album sales could reach 1.6 million at the end of the year which still pales in comparison to the 450 million CDs sold last year.  Some major artists are looking for a piece of that LP action as Elvis Costello and others are issuing LPs and encouraging fans to check out their vinyl albums.  Amazon.com reports that Madonna’s “Hard Candy” is one of their best-selling LPs…

(Read my “Commentary” for a wrapup of yesterday’s Performance Rights Act hearing)…

10 Timeline Memories:

1. 1665]  The Redcoats rule New York:  England installs a municipal government in New York, formerly the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam…
2. 1792]  Naming rights:  George Vancouver  discovers uncharted land in Western Canada and names it after himself.  Vancouver, BC is discovered…
3. 1923]  Free at last:  Harry Houdini  frees himself from a straight jacket while suspended upside down, 40 feet above the street in New York City…
4. 1939]  Premiered on this date:  The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum  is officially opened in Cooperstown, N.Y.  Most of the original members, chosen in 1936 (Ruth, Cobb, Wagner, Mathewson and Johnson) are in attendance.  This July 27th Rich “Goose” Gossage, Dick Williams, Bowie Kuhn, Walter O’Malley and Billy Southworth will join those greats…1965]  Sonny and Cher make their first TV appearance on “American Bandstand“.  This clip from another appearance features the duo…1981]  “Raiders of The Lost Ark” starring Harrison Ford premieres…1992]  “Batman Returns” premieres…
5. 1942]  Happy Birthday Anne:  In Amsterdam, Anne Frank gets a diary for her 13th birthday…
6. 1955]  I only have ice for you:  After a run of 3 years, “Mr. Peepers” starring Wally Cox airs for the last time…
7. 1971]  Wedding Bells:  Tricia Nixon  and Edward F. Cox say “I Do” in the White House Rose Garden.  They celebrate their 37th anniversary today…
8. 1978]  Guilty as charged:  David Berkowitz  is sentenced to 6 life sentences, one for each of the 6 murders he committed…
9. 1997]  Interleague:  Major league baseball begins interleague play (yechhh!!!) as Texas (AL) hosts San Francisco (NL)…
10. 2002]  ‘Happy Trails’:  Bill Blass  dies of throat cancer at 79…2003]  Academy Award winning actor Gregory Peck dies in his sleep from cardiorespiratory arrest at 87…

Music Memories:

• 1965]  Released on this date:  “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” - Rolling Stones…
• 1965]  Number One on this date:  “Back In My Arms Again” - Supremes (5th consecutive #1 hit)…1977]  “Dreams” - Fleetwood Mac…1988]  “Together Forever” - Rick Astley…

Commentary:

There were four people who testified at yesterday’s Performance Rights Act hearing  in Washington:  Nancy Sinatra, Commonwealth Broadcasting President/CEO Steve Newberry, ICBS Broadcast Holdings President/CEO Charles Warfield and American Federation of Musicians President/CEO Tom Lee.  To no one’s surprise Nancy Sinatra and Tom Lee supported the recording artists and Warfield and Newberry took the side of broadcasters who are opposed to paying performance fees for playing recorded music.  So now that this 3-hour hearing has ended, what now?  Well, if it were up to the Commerce Department, although they favor performance royalties, they also favor setting fixed license rates rather than royalty rates negotiated by the parties or established by Copyright Royalty Judges.  Where this thing goes from here is anyone’s guess…

“Happy Birthday…happy birthday”:

Bun E. Carlos (57), Len Barry (66), Marv Albert (67), Jim Nabors (78), Vic Damone (80), former President George H.W. Bush (84) and David Rockefeller (93)…

Timeline Countdown:  3 days until Father’s Day, 10 days until summer and 23 days until July 4th…

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