A deckhead is the underside of a deck in a ship. It bears the same relationship to a compartment on the deck below as does the ceiling to the room of a house. Here at Deckhead we are all about music, fashion, art and everything in between. If you would like your work to be put up please e-mail us. We deckheads put up music for promotional use, if your music is up and it's not fine by you, please email us and we will take it down in a flash. :-D Also, if you do find music here by any particular artists, please do go support their live show, whether it's in an art gallery, a club or at a concert. IF you can't do that, you more than likely will be able to buy their music online, at Juno or Beatport. You can also download from your iTunes. If that fails, go old school and buy their EP or Album from a CD store.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008 Chapter 1 - London
So here I am, sitting backwards on the Eurostar from London to Paris, for a crazy week with the frogs of France. London has been great so far, been drinking most nights, seen three Chelsea games (unfortunately they were only on TV), but they were with crazy Chelsea Fan, with tattoos all over their bodies.
The main highlight of London was definitely the shopping, besides blowing most of my credit card, I found some pretty nice shops, where the clothes were not overly expensive. The two main ones were the obvious Topman and the less known in Sydney All Saints, both of these shops have a nice touch of class to them, while staying stylish. However, the most impress thing that I saw was in the Nike store, where you can design your own pair of Nike sneakers! The Nike iD’s studio is within Nike Town shop, which is situated at Oxford Circus. It only costs 80-200 pounds for a pair of your own unique sneakers, the bad thing is they do not ship your shoes overseas, and considering it take 4 weeks to get shipped, I couldn't get a pair :(. Unfortunately for us Australian's we will have to wait until 2010 for something like this to open :(!
Another highlight of the trip so far, which has also damaged my funds, is the Alcohol and going out side of things. The main pub that we have been going to is Walkabout, which are a series of Australian themed bars throughout London, having Tooheys new on tap, and bottles of Bundaberg rum behind the bar, kept our pallets wet, and our heads rather sore the next morning. Having been to Fabric on my previous trip, I was not overly blown away on this trip, the night was a Drum & Base / Breaks night, with Andy C headlining. It was good to go see something different to your usual electro or B-more set that I am used to seeing, although I felt like a fool trying to dance to this music. All the Djs and Mcs were putting out a great vibe that everybody was feeling.
The other feature of our adventure was the street art that we encountered, within two hours of being in London, 2rise took me to one of his favorite spots to "graff". Seeing him do his thing, and also looking around at the various artworks, has helped me to build a better understanding and appreciating of the art form, seeing the time and effort that these boys put into their work is very commendable. I still have a hatred for those people that scribble on walls, but the art form of this work can be very amazing, at the bottom of one of his artworks I even got a shout out!
Another form of street art that I enjoyed was the busker's that were around the London Eye, although a lot of them were painted mimes, they all had a creative outlook on their characters. The Salvador Dali artworks that were around the London eye were also amazing to view.
The major disappointment of the trip so far was definitely the much hyped Camden markets, having heard rave reviews from various English TV shows, and other people, it just seemed like a trendy version of a market you would find in Thailand or China town, with tacky shirts such as "Just Did It" and "Cheer Up Emo Kid". Even the surrounding stores were a let down, with most of them being franchises such as Footlocker, that you could find on most streets in London.
My 3 best buys of the trip so far include: *A book about the Mighty Boosh * Chelsea home jersey (obviously) * A pair of Monkee Genes, which are like Cheap Mondays but better quality and a much nicer and comfortable fit.
I must admit, I did get a tad homesick, when I got messages/calls from various munted people at Parklife, telling me how amazing Diplo, Boy 8-bit, Fake Blood etc were!
Since this is a music blog, I suppose I should tell you the two parties in Paris that we have lined up, the first one is on tuesday night at the Paris Social Club, its an Ed Banger Records party featuring the 17 year old Bobmo, and the second party later in the week is a Diesel party featuring Crookers, Bloc Party Dj set & The Ed Banger Records crew. It will be interesting to see which Ed Banger Djs will be playing besides Busy P, and also how crazy these French kids get when they party.
Okay for those hypem users & music seekers, I have not downloaded anything for two weeks, so the tracks that I have to post will be existing tracks that I have by these Artists, so excuse me if they are a tad old. But here are just a select few tracks from some of the artists I will be seeing over the next week! Bobmo - To The Bobmobile (Kazey & Bulldog Remix)
18/12/08 Let the Experimentation Begin: EMI Music Splashes EMI.com
18/12/08 Let the Experimentation Begin: EMI Music Splashes EMI.com
EMI Music is now unwrapping a revamped EMI.com, an experimental destination designed to deliver content, foster discovery, and tighten fan relationships. The beta-stage site features content from a range of EMI artists, both past and present. Typical artist collateral includes track clips, videos, biographies, discographies, and images. "EMI.com is designed to be a learning lab," explained Alex Haar, vice president of Digital Special Projects at EMI Music. "It will help us gain even more knowledge about consumer preferences and choices."
The site architecture is pretty straightforward, at least in its initial iteration. The broader roadmap is a bit difficult to decipher at this stage, EMI.com Screenshotthough the label pointed to continued upgrades ahead. That includes widgeting functionality, ecommerce components, and exclusive content. "This is the beginning of a longer-term experiment," Haar continued. "In the coming months, we will continue to add content and features to the site."
The testbed fits into a newer attitude at EMI Music, one that includes digitally-focused approaches from executives like Douglas Merrill (Google) and Cory Odrejka (Second Life). Both are strong proponents of data-driven decision-making, an approach that takes advantage of unprecedented levels of fan information and tracking. But whether a label-branded destination is the best place to understand the fan EMI.com Screenshotremains questionable, especially given the branding backseat that major labels assume.
On a deeper level, the new executive set faces an incredibly difficult challenge. After all, understanding fans is one thing; getting them to buy stuff is quite another. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking loudly, thanks to an accelerating nosedive in the core CD. That is putting the pressure on executives like Merrill to create Google-like moments, quickly.
EMI Music has been reshaping its executive cast, though outsiders appear to be playing a heavy hand in EMI.com. According to the label, EMI.com was designed and implemented by Shamsa Rana, managing director of Imdad Capital Ltd. On its website, Imdad describes itself as a "strategic advisory and turnaround" firm, one focused on privately-owned media companies. "Imdad prefers to work with the portfolio companies of private equity houses and/or those companies that are privately owned," the company describes. "Private companies on the whole have a stronger appetite to drive through change."
Imdad appears to be a one-woman show, based on website information, though digital media firm Perform is credited with building the site.
18/12/08 Breaking: Verizon Wireless Pushing Major HD2 Advertising Campaign
18/12/08 Breaking: Verizon Wireless Pushing Major HD2 Advertising Campaign
Verizon Wireless is now joining forces with Clear Channel Radio on a nationwide, multicast digital radio advertising campaign, according to information shared with Digital Music News on Tuesday. The US-based wireless giant will push advertisements across HD2 stations, essentially sub-channels delivered across the same frequency as the main broadcast.
In total, the campaign traverses 21 multicast stations, as well as online equivalents. Most American cities are covered by the arrangement, including New York, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Boston, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, San Diego, and Washington, DC.
The music-focused campaign will feature songs and interviews from upcoming artists, and drive fans towards premium, V Cast packages. Clear Channel is a founding member of the HD Digital Radio Alliance, a group dedicated to advancing deployment of digital stations within the United States.
18/12/08 Wall Street Bounce Buoys AAPL, WMG, LYV, TKTM...
18/12/08 Wall Street Bounce Buoys AAPL, WMG, LYV, TKTM...
A major market bounce buoyed a number of music-related stocks on Tuesday, including Apple, Warner Music Group, Live Nation, and Ticketmaster. At the bell, the broader Dow jumped 359.61 points, or 4.2 percent, to land at 8,924.14. A number of factors generated optimism, including a surprise rate cut by the Federal Reserve, as well as continued indications that the government will pursue an aggressive stimulus strategy.
Apple (AAPL), struggling with its own retail demons, lifted a mild 68 cents, or 0.72 percent to $95.43. The mild uptick follows a downgrade by Goldman Sachs on fears of softening demand for items like MacBooks and iPods.
Elsewhere, a distressed lot move upward. Warner Music Group (WMG) jumped 24 cents, or 8.86 percent, to $2.95; Ticketmaster (TKTM) gained 53 cents, or 9.48 percent, to $6.12; Live Nation (LYV) improved 15 cents, or 4.11 percent, to $3.80; SanDisk (SNDK) added 16 cents, or 1.77 percent, to $9.18; and Sirius XM Radio (SIRI) improved nearly a penny to 15 cents, a 6.23 percent increase.
The Orchard (ORCD) lost 23 cents, or 10.27 percent, to $2.01; and Source Interlink Companies (SORC) dropped a penny, or 5.88 percent, to 16 cents.
17/12/08 Harvard v. The RIAA: Faceoff Moves to January...
17/12/08 Harvard v. The RIAA: Faceoff Moves to January...
A mounting battle between Harvard University and the RIAA will have to wait until January, thanks to a procedural decision issued this week. Just recently, Harvard Law School professor Charles Nesson offered to defend accused file-swapper Joel Tenenbaum, a graduate of Boston University. The first hearing was initially scheduled for Monday, though Nesson is apparently not legally permitted to argue in a Rhode Island court.
That pushes the hearing to January 6th, according to information shared by Harvard Law School. "This just further underscores how deeply unfair it is to pit the powerful Goliath RIAA legal infrastructure against the small David, or Joel, defendants," Nesson said.
The Rhode Island venue creates some complications, and the Nesson team is now trying to find a local lawyer. "The goal, before Jan 6th, is to get an attorney licensed to practice in Rhode Island to argue on our behalf," student Debbie Rosenbaum told Digital Music News. In the meantime, the RIAA will have access to a Tenenbaum household computer, an early victory for the trade group.
17/12/08 Chinese Democracy: This Story Keeps Getting Worse...
17/12/08 Chinese Democracy: This Story Keeps Getting Worse...
Without an unauthorized leak, Guns N' Roses may have never released Chinese Democracy. But despite a major, Best Buy exclusive, sales were far lower than expectations. In fact, a closer look reveals that Best Buy is now saddled with roughly one million purchased and nonreturnable discs.
According to a report surfacing Tuesday in the Wall Street Journal, Best Buy paid millions in advance for a stock of 1.3 million discs. So far, Chinese Democracy has sold just over 300,000 after a sharp, second-week dip. That compares unfavorably to AC/DC's Black Ice, a Wal-Mart exclusive that has quickly crossed platinum.
The disparity obviously represents a serious disappointment for Best Buy, a company now dialing down forecasts amidst slower consumer spending. The company recently reported double-digit declines across CDs and DVDs over the past few months.
So here I am, sitting backwards on the Eurostar from London to Paris, for a crazy week with the frogs of France. London has been great so far, been drinking most nights, seen three Chelsea games (unfortunately they were only on TV), but they were with crazy Chelsea Fan, with tattoos all over their bodies.
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