Bob Dylan signed a deal to offer a previously-unreleased collection, Live at the Gaslight 1962, exclusively at Starbucks for 18 months beginning in August. This might have had some reason to rankle back in the days when there were locally-owned record stores in every town, maybe. Where they exist, they tend to cater to specific tastes (and this has been the case for a very long time), instead of cross-pollination like in the 1960s and 70s.

Starbucks is a better coffee shop than any of the major US record chains have ever been at being record stores, with the possible exception of Tower. Starbucks is becoming better at selling records than any of the major US record stores. (A quarter of all sales of the Ray Charles disc Genius Loves Company were made at Starbucks.) I don’t say this as a defense of all things corporate or as a particular admirer of Starbucks, because those record stores are corporations, too. They just don’t care about quality, which is largely why they’re becoming extinct.

In this part of the world, we’re down to two chains that still charge close to US$20 for most discs, when you can find them. Given the choice, I find Starbucks far more comfortable.

The Times has reported that EMI has secured the DVD rights to the Live 8 concerts, which excuses me from watching until I can skim at my own preference. Caroline switched over to MTV briefly after this morning’s Wimbledon coverage. Madonna’s performance was cut for an advertising break, which reminded me why I shouldn’t be watching MTV for anything that I might potentially care about.

I could never have the patience for festivals anyway, because music needs focus. 12-hour sets lose the point. Once, the festivals were a great value for money and there was possibly a genuine sense of communion (it was before my time). But less can be more, a lesson that had to be relearned over and over throughout the last 3 decades.

I don’t decry the political objective of Live 8. I’ve just come to think that any kind of extended group thinking has the potential to degrade art.

I’ve been away from this blog for the better part of the last six weeks. Happily, my vision is greatly improved, having returned to almost a normal state. Much has happened outside of my life since my last post—Pink Floyd, as one example, are indeed reuniting to play Live 8 (although without, to no surprise, Roger Barrett). And the Queen has a new iPod mini.

While I was out I was greatly frustrated by not being able to read properly (skimming was all I could comfortably manage initially), but in the last week or so I’ve found myself capable of finishing books, so the next few posts are going to be centred on those books.

I take a few days off to rest my eyes, and Deep Throat reveals himself, the Live 8 rumours turn out to be true, the EU constitution gets resoundingly shot down and the chimes of Big Ben stop.

List of Live 8 performances so far. No Pink Floyd, and no Spice Girls.

Words from one of the premier Watergate observers, Harry Shearer.

Dean Haglund of The Lone Gunmen is appearing at the Cleveland PopCultureFest on 12 June.