Showbiz Sandbox 648: Judging This Year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Nominees

February 20, 2024

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced their 2024 nominees, including some musical acts previously shortlisted for inclusion. Musician and music writer Sal Nunziato joins host Michael Giltz to argue over which of these acts should be included in the Hall of Fame and why. Plus they give us a rundown of their favorite albums from the past year.

Meanwhile, “Oppenheimer” solidified itself as the obvious and only leader during this year’s awards season by winning seven BAFTA awards, including Best Film. At this point, the movie seems destined to top the upcoming Academy Awards.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the math behind this year’s movie release schedule, how Microsoft is spreading some Xbox love and ESPN is going long on college football.

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Showbiz Sandbox 606: Beyoncé Makes Grammy History As Harry Styles Wins Album of the Year

February 8, 2023

Though Beyoncé led the 2023 Grammy Award nominations with nine nods, in the end she did not win the top prize for Album of the Year for “Renaissance.” Much to the dismay of some, that honor went to Harry Styles for “Harry’s House,” though Beyoncé did break the record for the most Grammy wins ever. We have a run down of all the winners and big surprises at this year’s Grammys.

We’re also joined by Sal Nunziato, whose blog Burning Wood has become a must-read for music aficionados. He and Michael Giltz discuss their favorite albums from the past year, and for once they are in agreement on most of them.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including why a Bruce Springsteen fanzine ins calling it quotes after 43 years, Spotify continues to struggle with profitability and how “80 For Brady” tries to woo older moviegoers back to theaters.

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Showbiz Sandbox 572: Picking The Best Music From The Past Year

February 15, 2022

In an age when everyone with GarageBand and a kazoo is releasing a record, finding good new music isn’t always easy. Sal Nunziato, the curator of the Burning Wood music blog and the drummer for The John Sally Ride, tells us about some of the best music he’s discovered over the past year. Nunziato listened to hundreds of records each year to create his list, always coming up with a few surprises like Micky Dolenz and Brian Wilson.

None of the performers at this year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show made Nunziato’s list, but that’s because most of the hip-hop artists on stage released their best music over 20 years ago. Even so, it was nice to see the NFL finally invite hip-hop to the big game.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including how the Academy Awards are allowing fans to vote for their favorite film, Disney continues to grow their streaming service and MoviePass raises the curtain on its second act.

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Showbiz Sandbox 468: A Rundown of This Year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Nominees

November 10, 2019

Next year’s nominees for placement into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio include candidates considered in previous years, including Depeche Mode, Judas Priest and Todd Rundgren. They join new nominees such as Pat Benatar, Dave Matthews Band and Whitney Houston, among others. We speak with Sal Nunziato, a music blogger and drummer for the band The John Sally Ride, to get his encyclopedic thoughts on which of the nominees should actually get the nod.

We also discuss the pros and cons of streaming music services. There is no dispute that it’s great to have an archive of music, not to mention new releases, all available for listening within a few seconds. On the other hand, it’s also nice to support the music we really like by actually buying physical copies.

Meanwhile, the video game industry made some headlines this week after a Chinese team won the latest “League of Legends” world championship. At the same time the latest “Call of Duty” release has generated some controversy since it is set amidst the Syrian Civil War and depicts child soldiers, the killing of civilians, among many other issues.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including why Woody Allen dropped his lawsuit against Amazon Studios, HBO Max sets its subscription price and technology is allowing filmmakers to cast the late James Dean in an upcoming movie.

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Showbiz Sandbox 427: Debating This Year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Nominees

October 15, 2018

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio announced next year’s nominees for induction into it’s prestigious institution, setting off the annual bickering over who should or shouldn’t get in. Is the British heavy metal band Def Leppard more deserving than the gothic rock darlings The Cure? Bands such as Roxy Music and Radiohead with their lengthy history seem like no-brainers, but what about popular acts like Rage Against the Machine who only ever released four albums? We take an educated and opinionated guess on which nominees we think should make the cut.

In China, box office began to slow down considerably in August for the same reason grosses decline in other parts of the world; a lack of hit movies. It doesn’t help that subsidies from online ticketing platforms are now being blocked by the government, as is the practice of distributors buying bulk tickets to their own films to boost box office.

Meanwhile, the rush by every media company on the planet to launch their own streaming platform has created an environment where consumers might begin to push back against having to pay for so many subscription services. WarnerMedia is the latest to announce plans for a streaming play.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the nominees for the National Book Award, guitarist Lindsey Buckingham sues Fleetwood Mac and a new television series will depict the formation hip hop legends Wu Tang Clan.
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Showbiz Sandbox 362: What’s The Flipping Problem With Record Store Day?

April 17, 2017

This year’s Record Store Day is just days away, but what began as a way to support independent record stores has turned into a covert commercial endeavor for those reselling the event’s exclusive vinyl releases at exorbitant prices. Sal Nunziato, a former record store owner himself, joins us to discuss why he’s never been all that fond of the annual promotion.

These days Nunziato is a music blogger and drummer in the band the John Sally Ride. Their new album, “A New Set of Downs” will be released later this year, but in a unique twist, is already available on platforms such as Spotify and Soundcloud. He’ll tell us all about it.

Meanwhile, even though ESPN has lost 12 million subscribers in the past six years, the cable sports network is still very profitable, generating $11 billion per year for its owner, Disney. But with skinny cable bundles and online streaming eating into its subscriber base, ESPN is girding itself for an unknown future.

Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news stories including the launch of YouTube TV, Spotify finally signs a new deal with a major record label, and Harry Potter wins big it at this year’s Olivier Awards.

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Showbiz Sandbox 340: Bob Dylan Is A Poet and We Didn’t Know It

October 18, 2016

When Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature last week there were cries of joy and jeers of contempt over the decision. Music Journalist Sal Nunziato joins us to ponder whether Dylan’s work is in fact literature. He explains why, out of all the musicians that could have received such an award, it had to be Dylan.

Nunziato explains who out of this year’s 19 nominees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame should actually get in. Will Kraftwerk finally make the cut? Joan Baez seems like a no-brainer and nobody would be shocked if Pearl Jam makes it through on their first attempt, but what about bands like Depeche Mode and hip-hop stars such as Tupac Shakur?

Meanwhile, there’s never been more ways to listen to music thanks to streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. Now Amazon has entered the world of music streaming and hopes that soon every song request begins with the word “Alexa.”

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including an expansion of the latest Harry Potter franchise, Billy Bush reaches a settlement to depart “Today” and Netflix gives comedian Chris Rock a huge payday.

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Showbiz Sandbox 304: The Music of 2015 Was Good, Not Great

December 14, 2015

Sal Nunziato, former co-owner of the shuttered record store NYCD, is now a musician and popular music blogger. He joins us to weigh in on his favorite albums of 2015 and unlike Rolling Stone magazine, Adele’s latest release didn’t make Sal’s list. Who better to get a state of the industry report on the music business?

The end-of-year awards season continued to kick into high gear as the Golden Globes announced their nominees. The SAG Awards may matter more however, since some of the guild’s members actually vote for the Oscars. Even after these nominations the Oscar race continues to be wide open.

With “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” opening this week it’s impossible to avoid news about the eagerly anticipated sequel. Disney’s secrecy over the project reached new heights when the studio held its press junket without first showing the film to the media.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including Melissa McCarthy’s sitcom is canceled, “Dirty Dancing” is being adapted into a television musical and Apple presses pause on its plans to offer a live streaming television service.

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Showbiz Sandbox 19: The Beatles Get Mono (and Stereo!)

September 7, 2009

The focus is on music this week, with guests Bob Bolien of NPR’s All Songs blog and Sal Nunziato, former independent record store owner, and now freelance writer and blogger. Bob and Sal talk about the new Beatles box sets, how they find new music, and how the music industry is changing. . . or not changing enough. Boilen can also be found on twitter at twitter.com/allsongs. You can find Nunziato’s writing on the Huffington Post on a regular basis.

In movie news, the Telluride Film Festival is under way. This festival is the charming little sister to the major film festivals and is where such films as “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Brokeback Mountain,” and “Capote,” first launched their extended Academy Award campaigns. Back in California, writer/director Nick Cassavetes is suing New Line Cinema (the studio that produced “The Notebook,” which Cassavetes helmed) claiming that the studio owes him money for writing a draft of a script that he was attached to direct. New Line had no comment… Read more