Ertegun had a hand in landmark recordings of the rock and R B eras, helping define the music industry artistically and in a business sense. More important, he understood the need for artist development - standing behind musicians until they found their voice and audience. It's artist development that makes the most lucrative careers, from U2 to Madonna, Green Day to Foo Fighters.
But today, that concept is largely rejected by the industry. In a painfully cosmic twist, Ertegun suffered what eventually was a fatal injury when he fell backstage at a Rolling Stones concert in October. The passing of Ertegun reflects his changing industry.
He's a guy who will never be replaced, dedicated to quality and artistic integrity. That's what makes music fans, and that's what slipped away even more this year. Trying to get a grasp on the music industry in 2006 is like grabbing handfuls of sand and feeling it slip through your fingers.
That's always not a bad thing. "We're right at the cusp of an explosion of freedom," producer/songwriter T Bone Burnett told me this year. "I think you're seeing it among musicians, especially with the breakdown of the whole distribution system that we've all been laboring under for the past 50 years.
A lot of musical freedom and a lot of personal freedom is coming out of that." Quite true. The digital revolution is bad news only for the bloated, profit-driven part of the music industry.
There is far more music out there than anyone can listen to, all available with a (legal or illegal) mouse click. The industry still works when there's quality; look at the takeoff of The Fray from Denver (platinum album, two Grammy nominations), as well as big-label successes from My Chemical Romance and others. Digital downloading continues to grow and while declining, CDs are far from dead.
Former label exec Justin Goldberg put it best in the music documentary Before The Music Dies: "You're talking about an industry that has been bloated by the luxurious opportunity to have the entire nation replenish all of their existing record collection on CD," he says of that era. "The profits were just astounding. You had an industry that got very used to that and created a whole universe around those profits that was just unrealistic.
" The musicians have adapted to the brave new world. It'll be interesting to see how long it takes for the industry to follow. I wasn't able to attend some concerts that probably would have been on this list (Flaming Lips at Red Rocks, Social Distortion, Zappa Plays Zappa).
But there were still plenty of great shows: Jeff Beck: (Lecture Hall, Sept. 21) Searing electric blues delivered by a guitar master in a career- spanning set. One of the best concerts I've seen ever.
Tool: (Coors Amphitheatre, Aug. 30) The band and its music galvanized 18,000 people into one pounding groove. With new songs mixed with vintage cuts, the band elevated the place.
Nine Inch Nails: (Red Rocks, May 30) A sober Trent Reznor raged just as hard as the old days and guitarist Aaron North brought anarchy and chaos to the stage. Ray Davies: (Paramount Theatre, July 6) Playing Kinks classics and his new solo album, Davies charmed the crowd and delivered exhilarating music. The Who: (Pepsi Center, Nov.
14) It'll never be as good as when John Entwistle was alive (let's not even talk about Keith Moon), but Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend still squeeze out the sparks. James Gang: (Red Rocks, Aug. 11) Fans got to spend time with Joe Walsh in a night with minimal hits and lots of guitar on little-heard cuts like Midnight Man.
Rise Against: (Invesco Field, July 23) In a short but powerful set, frontman Tim McIlrath mesmerized the Warped Tour audience. Real band, real songs, a real career awaits them. Crosby, Stills, Nash Young: (Red Rocks, July 17) Neil Young's new material from Living with War and the strong antiwar bent inspired the rest of the band to step it up.
Tom Petty/Pearl Jam: (Pepsi Center, July 3) Not earth-shaking or society-changing, but great songs by veteran bands having a ball. Reportedly filmed for a DVD. Bob Dylan: (Fillmore Auditorium, Oct.
24) His least- invigorating concert here since 1999 still beat most artists for breadth and depth of songs. My Chemical Romance The Black Parade: With Queen-like guitars and matching ambition, this offers superb songwriting, sweeping song structures, guitar solos and complex lyrics. T Bone Burnett The True False Identity: One of rock's most thoughtful songwriters returns with political paranoia and 21st-century angst that combines noise, lyrics and melody into one of 2006's most edgy discs.
Tom Waits: Orphans: Waits' leftovers are often better than his A-list music. Three discs stuffed with touching ballads, quirky rockers and the most accessible performances of his marvelous career. Mark Knopfler, Emmylou Harris All the Roadrunning: Knopfler duets with Harris to stunning effect, especially on This Is Us.
Tool 10,000 Days: Tool stays ahead of the game, making sounds that others will copy next year. A crushing bit of heavy art-rock. Bob Dylan Modern Times: So what if many of the tunes are stolen from earlier blues greats?
Dylan makes them new again. The Flaming Lips At War With the Mystics: Without preaching, singer Wayne Coyne asks big philosophical questions wrapped in even more experimental pop textures. The Twilight Singers Powder Burns: Eerie soundscapes reflect the devastation in New Orleans, where this album was recorded post-Katrina.
Greg Dulli brings the harder edge of his former band, Afghan Whigs, to the Singers' sound.
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