“Let’s face it. Nobody’s selling records anymore. The record industry died before you did. Congratulations, John.”

Billy Joel inducting John Mellencamp
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

From HARP Magazine: Attendees at this year’s SXSW in Austin are in for a treat: at 3:00 pm on Friday, March 14, the “sixth occasional” Rhino Records Musical Aptitude Test (RMAT) will be held. Aspiring pop/rock experts will test their skillz to determine who is the most knowledgeable about all things musical and arcane—geek out, kids!

What’s more, folks at home can take the trivial challenge over the Internet.

From Frank Mayeran, Revolving World contributor:

According to multiple UK news sources, Sir Paul McCartney will finally be releasing the Beatles catalog to the Apple iTunes store. It is rumored that the deal is worth $400 million! The bulk of the money will go to Sir Paul, and the rest is to be split between Ringo, the surviving widows of John & George, Sony EMI, and of course, the previous owner of the catalog, Michael Jackson. While a time frame has yet to be released, Sir Paul himself had hinted back in November to a 2008 release.

Those three magical voices of rock and roll, Crosby, Stills and Nash (no Young) will be at the Meadow Brook Music Festival (in Rochester) on Saturday, July 19. These guys still manage to put on show worth seeing. Congrats to Mr. Stills for a full recovery from prostate cancer surgery.

According to Billboard: Wal-Mart plans to price the 15-20 best-selling titles at $10 each, hits and current titles at $12, top catalog titles at $9, midline catalog titles at $7 and budget releases at $5.

While Wal-Mart maintains that the proposed price drops are a healthy move for the customers, the deal has stirred up much concern in the labels, prompting a music industry executive to say, “The decision might come down to: Do we give up 20 percent of our business (i.e. Wal-Mart) in order to not lose the entire business?”

Weren’t prices originally supposed to come down for CDs after they made the transition from vinyl? It’s hard to have too much sympathy for the labels when most have been re-buying the same music over multi-platforms (vinyl, cassettes and CDs) for years without a break.

In 1969, the rock magazine Creem published its first issue…and it was a homegrown Detroit product. Long live Lester Bangs (portrayed so delisciously by Phillip Seymour Hoffman in “Almost Famous”).

Iggy and the Stooges will be performing for Madonna at this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. Before you say huh? too quickly, remember that they both have a Detroit connection. Maybe she can return the favor when The Stooges finally get inducted.

According to CNN: Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger escaped an assassination plot hatched by the Hells Angels in 1969, a new British Broadcasting Corp. documentary claims.

From Frank Mayeran, Revolving World contributor:

Apparently there’s a theme on this blog this month. Unfortunately we lost another great musician today. Canadian guitarist, Jeff Healey succumbed to cancer last night in a Toronto hospital. Healey was known for his amazing blues and jazz guitar work with the Jeff Healey Band and he got some well-deserved notoriety when he and his band appeared in the film “Roadhouse” with Patrick Swayze. Healey shared stages with the likes of B. B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughn and had high-profile career throughout Canada, earning a Juno award for entertainer of the year in 1990 and a major hit with the song “Angel Eyes.”. He suffered from retinoblastoma, a form of cancer that resulted in him losing his eyesight asa baby, but he never let that slow down his musical career. The cancer recently returned and ended his short life at the age of 41.

From Frank Mayeran, Revolving World contributor:

Mike Smith lead singer and keyboard player of The Dave Clark Five passed away yesterday, two weeks prior to being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. According to an article in the U.K.’s Telegraph; The Dave Clark Five “sold more than 100 million records, sold out five consecutive world tours and made a record 18 appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.”

Note: The Dave Clark Five’s first major hit, Glad All Over, knocked the Beatles’ I Want To Hold Your Hand off the No1 spot in 1964.