Indie Music Chatter

Anyone who has at least a semblance of good taste in music will most probably be listening to Radiohead’s newest album right now. In Rainbows was released a few days ago on their official website — and yes, you cheap mofo, the electronic version can be had for free if you want.

Radiohead is testing the limits of indie style distribution and publicity with In Rainbows. First of all, marketing the album is very unconventional in that the existence of the album was only announced a couple of weeks before its actual release. Then there is the fact that the band has left it up to its fans to decide how much they want to pay for the album. Yup, you can get it for free if you’re cheap (a physical boxed set of the album will be made available this December though). This simple decision alone has left the recording industry reeling from the ramifications of Radiohead’s move. Even though the band is not the first one to really explore the avenues of self distribution (Prince and Ani DiFranco have done it before), their decision has, nonetheless, bode ill tidings for the well established (and creatively stifling) corporate setup. If Radiohead succeeds in this endeavor it could signal the death of the music industry as we know it. Radiohead would have sent a clear signal that the middleman could now be cut off and the artist can now directly communicate and distribute his music to his fans.

I hope this is an experiment that Radiohead succeeds in.

Radiohead, In Rainbows

Beth Ditto is proudly carrying the torch for all of the brave and controversial women rockers who came before her. If you still doubt if Beth Ditto can rightfully claim the rock chick crown then just look at the daring cover she agreed to do for NME.

It takes a lot of guts to have your picture taken nude flaws and all. It’s pretty obvious Beth has a healthy body image and more than that, she is giving girls all over the world a clear message that you don’t need to be reed thin to feel sexy.

Beth Ditto, NME, women rockers

After a full day of seriously thinking of what CDs I’m going to order this month in Amazon, I finally decided to get the last two albums from Snow Patrol. As you may notice it had been years since Final Straw and Eyes Open was released. I purposefully did not order those two albums simply because the band became too popular for my taste. I’ve been a big Gary Lightbody fan since the release of Songs for Polar Bears. I can honestly say that I got on the Snow Patrol bandwagon from their debut.  I knew that Lightbody is a music genius as evidenced by two superb albums (the aforementioned Songs… and  When It’s All Over We Still Have to Clean Up) and his  equally awesome side project Reindeer Section  (I’ll blog about them soon).

However, the breakthrough success of Final Straw left me reeling. I was hearing Snow Patrol being uttered by people who I I describe as music lemmings — blindly following music fads just because it makes them “cool.” Here was a band that I am so in love and their songs are being sung by people with questionable music tastes! It was just a bit too much for me.

Ironically enough though, what made me change my attitude towards Snow Patrol was the song they contributed to the Spider-man 3 movie. Okay, nothing defines being a corporate whore more than giving your song to a summer movie. But it made me think that popularity should not — and does not — affect how the band makes their music. They are still making awesome songs that are still consistently a cut above whatever pop crap other bands are churning out there.

It made me realize that being popular is not a good reason for hating on a band. It’s quite idiotic, really.

Snow Patrol, Final Straw, Eyes Open

Ok, The Smashing Pumpkins may not be considered as indie artists. Billy Corgan, for all of his “indie” posturing, is as indie as Aerosmith. But, nevertheless, I respect the band and their music. Siamese Dream is a classic and so is Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness.

It was with great anticipation that I was waiting for Zeitgeist, the Pumpkins’ comeback album. Tarantula was not that bad and I was hoping that the whole album will have stronger cuts. But that anticipation has turned to revulsion for me — and I think it’s safe to say that recent news about the album’s release has also turned off many fans of the band.

According to a recent report, Zeitgeist will have four, yes, four different versions. Three of the versions will have bonus tracks and the fourth one won’t have anything. Here’s the deal, the first two versions (with two different bonus tracks) will be available at Target and Best Buy. The third version will be available on iTunes, while all of the other retailers will have to settle for the fourth vanilla version of Zeitgeist.

This is a great disservice to the fans of the Pumpkins. This is one of the most corporate moves I have seen a band make. To support the big retail chains that have killed off independent music retailers is a slap to the face of many music fans who never, ever buy their music from these stores. This is what has led me to write this particular entry. I hate it when artists like The Smashing Pumpkins take advantage of their fans.

I guess Billy Corgan has dried up his bank accounts and wants to suck the money off his fans. The world is a vampire indeed.

Smashing Pumpkins, Zeitgeist, Siamese Dream, Best Buy, Target, iTunes

I was particularly interested in the comment that Sally posted in my previous blog entry A Trip To a Music Store — and Why I Never Go There Anymore. She was quite correct in her observation — and it’s something that I actually share with her.

One thing I failed to mention in my post is the reason why I still manage to visit record stores despite my frustrations.

I love watching people shop around for CDs. I enjoy looking at what people take from the shelves, making my own random observations about who they are through the music they listen to. I particularly love seeing people who get as excited as I am for those obscure releases. I remember this cute girl who immediately grabbed a Sleater-Kinney CD she saw and looked at me with a goofy grin on her face. I felt like we were both sharing a moment without even talking to each other or even knowing each other. I feel that a bond is established when we listen to artists that not a lot of people know about. It’s like secret club composed discerning lovers of good music and the CDs that we buy are the tickets to admittance.

sleater-kinney, CD, blog

Every time I go to a record store I am immediately reminded of why I have sworn off brick and mortar music shops altogether (unless it’s second hand CD shops) and have come to rely on online shopping as my main source of getting my CDs.

I went to “Store One” to get a copy of Black Rebel Motorcycle’s Baby 81 as well as the new Manic Street Preachers album Send Away The Tigers. A friend told me that both albums were already available in said music store. I went inside had a cursory look at the shelves facing the door (the “new releases” section) and not seeing the two albums I went to the customer service booth to ask for both CDs. The girl manning the booth gave me a look that I have become quite familiar with. A look of bewilderment — like I am talking to her in some strange indecipherable dead language or that I have suddenly sprouted horns on my head that are tipped with foam dice. To break the spell, I asked her again and she finally found her tongue with an answer that have become a de riguer partner to her look, “We don’t have those titles.”

I knew that I was being taken for another ride down Bullshit Lane so I took the time to browse through the CD shelves and, true enough, after a mere minute and a half, I had both albums in my hands. Both albums were there and there were multiple copies of each title. I was so pissed that I decided not to buy any of the CDs that day. I just didn’t want to tarnish my memory of those two albums by associating them with a stupid store clerk.

I personally think that the slow death of brick and mortar CD stores all over the world could be partially blamed on inept CD store staff. By not knowing the answer to simple music related questions, they inadvertently turn off potential buyers. In my dream CD store, the clerks are all music snobs like Jack Black’s character in High Fidelity. My staff would sneer at the pedestrian tastes of some customers, refuse to sell wonderful hard to find albums to people who we deem not worthy of the album, and play cool music all day as our public service, educating all of our customers and exposing them to amazing songs from little known artists.

But then I wake up and realize that it will be a long time in coming so I just open my browser, go to my favorite online store and just order another batch of CDs without any fuss.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Manic Street Preachers, CD stores

There’s no denying it, music piracy is still a very prickly topic to talk about. It has achieved the mythic status of politics and religion as a subject that should not be discussed. As the debate rages regarding subject even artists themselves are being forced to take sides in this intellectual debate.

But one artist that really put forward a very interesting opinion with regards to “theft” is Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy. In an interview with Wired Tweedy had this to say about piracy, “A piece of art is not a loaf of bread. When someone steals a loaf of bread from the store, that’s it. The loaf of bread is gone. When someone downloads a piece of music, it’s just data until the listener puts that music back together with their own ears, their mind, their subjective experience. How they perceive your work changes your work.”

What Tweedy said makes a lot of sense and echoes my own sentiments (now you know where I stand in this debate). I just hope that the record companies finally realize this basic piece of logic, too. What we need is not a witch hunt but a basic understanding of what the internet and file sharing has brought in order to change the status quo and find a happy medium between technology and old, obsolete laws.

Jeff Tweedy, Wilco, Wired, music piracy