saw ‘Baby Spice’ returning to the limelight the other night. Maybe she ran out of her Spice Girls money or maybe she just craves fame, attention, and status. Fair enough, I thought. However, her video is a remake/rendition of Downtown. No element was new, the video revolved around her appearance and, to make matters worse, her voice/singing was very unprofessional. I only mention this as an example. It symbolises a growing trend in showbiz.

My Web log seems to have transformed (maybe even devolved) into a bunch of articles that attract my attention. A quick look at the archives will reveal that I used to write much more in here, but I digress. Maybe blogs have just lost their appeal or style.

Here is an article which repeats that theme of ‘music under stress’. I would like to share it with the readers.

You’ll still have a hard time finding vinyl 45s or their modern counterpart, CD singles, in record stores. For that matter, you’ll have a tough time finding record stores. Today’s single is an individual track downloaded online from legal sites like iTunes or eMusic, or the multiple illegal sites that cater to less scrupulous music lovers. The album, or collection of songs — the de facto way to buy pop music for the last 40 years — is suddenly looking old-fashioned. And the record store itself is going the way of the shoehorn.

OW times are changing. One article which caught my attention suggests that the music industry is evolving from traditional album delivery to singles and ringtones. Can this supply the required revenue? It seems unlikely, but change is inevitable no matter how much they try to rewrite the law and litigate. On the textual publishing side—as opposed to media—yet another giant is giving up on paper distribution. It welcomes nothing but the digital era, which essentially means that its existence will be electronic. Again, revenues and jobs are unlikely to sustain their scale.

Starting next month, InfoWorld readers won’t be waiting for the postman to ring twice. Or even once, for that matter.

The tech publication is ditching its print version and will no longer be distributed via mailboxes, according to a blog posting by the vice president and general manager of Infoworld.com. Instead, the content will solely live online.

NTERNET radio is still in danger. The major record labels cannot cope with or accept disruptive technologies, so they decide to use money and power change rules (or more more precisely—rewtrite the law).

This is an interesting debate because the same thing has been happening with proprietary software vendors (even though it’s a lost cause). In the case of radio, broadcasters unite and fight back.

There is no greater enemy of the music business than the music industry itself. Never before in the history of mass entertainment have we witnessed an industry who worked harder to destroy itself. Maybe once upon a time, music companies tried to expand their business and reach wider audiences, but those days ended long ago…and if the RIAA has its way, they’ll be gone for good.

Good luck beating the RIAA. I bet they know many people in the Establishment, so this battle will be a hard one to win.

T turns out that Larry King, whom I recently mentioned, is not the only technophobe in showbiz. Have a look at this one.

According to Starpulse.com, O’Reilly dubbed all iPod users “geeks” and implied that those who bought one were socially inept.

In a move illustrating how in touch he is with young people he spluttered: “I don’t own an iPod. I would never wear an iPod. Did you ever talk to these computer geeks? I mean, can you carry on a conversation with them?”

Related: Ballmer’s iPod

The title of this post is a bend of the lyrics “I’ll live a lush life in some small dive” from the song Lush Life, which is among my personal favourites. Why did I choose it? Because it radically contrasts what I’ll discuss here.

When I go out clubbing, I like to experience change. Going out is about breaking a routine. Sometimes I go to rougher places where I can get my mouth dirty rather than a posh bar or a so-called gentelemen’s club (or anything akin to it). The type of people whom I meet is fascinating and at times even inspiring. It gives a nice break from the ordinary and otherwise banal life.

When it comes to literature, on the other hand, I don’t fancy quite the same contrast. Frankly, I no longer follow sports and ‘celebrity’ news. I don’t read tabloid either. Some days ago I received another request for my address, for a free preview (prerelease) of a book. The last time I turned down the offer, but friends argued it was silly. In hindsight, I should have probably accepted the offer that was there. It was a book packed with sophistication. This time for a c change, the book appears to be tabloid-style, with sheer disdain for George Bush.