Last night I saw Van Halen with my friend, who is a local DJ. Prior to the show, we had dinner with record executives from Capitol and Interscope. Both are older guys who have been in the business for more than 40 years. The conversation was fascinating, and I heard a lot of stories about guys like Brian Wilson (actually, all of the Beach Boys), George Martin, and even Barry Manilow. There were also a lot of stories about who's a great guy and who's a dick.

As you'd probably expect, part of the conversation revolved around changes to the industry and how to adjust to the shrinking number of labels. One thing that struck me was their inability to grasp how the Internet has altered the landscape and the opportunities it presents to artists, particularly those who are just getting started. Granted, these guys were old, but the extent to which they were out of touch with current technology was remarkable.

Must have been fascinating. I'm jealous. I don't expect you to kiss and tell but I'm wondering if "Mike Love" and "dick" were used in the same sentence.

Frequently. Don Henley too, but that shouldn't surprise.

George Martin sounds really cool, BTW. One of the guys I was with talked about being at a record release party in the 70s and seeing Sir George sitting in the corner alone. He went over and introduced himself, and they ended up chatting all night.

Fantastic! Sir George walked right past me in the LOVE lobby last year just before the start of the 5th anniversary show. I didn't want to intrude on his night out but I would have loved to say "Hi" (and get a picture with him). Oh, well.

My friend (who brought me last night) and I have been best friends for almost 30 years, so I've heard a lot of stories over the years. It was interesting to hear the perspective of folks who are on the label side of the industry though. My favorite part of last night was how excited the guy from Capitol still got when talking about the Capitol building and Studio 1A. He has to be close to 70, and he was like a little kid.