Read it and be stunned, eMusic Claims Niche as Indie iTunes. Note, it makes no mention of K-Fed’s burgeoning career as a gold digger about town nor what footwear Kayne West is wearing at the moment. Now, for those of you not in the know it is even better than an indie iTunes for two reasons: on the most basic plan tracks cost less than $0.25 and there is no DRM. Trolls descending on the message board like an unwashed hoard each and every January is just cream in the coffee.
Archive for February, 2006
Hip Hop has jumped the shark, that or it is a formally accepted cultural expression now that the Smithsonian is collecting Hip-Hop artifacts. Go figure. If only I could find my neon two-inch laces…
via Boing Boing
C|Net posted an article yesterday, ‘Copyright criminals’ look to remix the noise–legally, which took a look at a recent documentary, Copyright Criminals, which details the growth of sample and remix based culture. In addition is discusses the recent efforts of Creative Commons to create an environment where artistic appropriation is not only legitimate but encouraged pointing to a contest that the documentary’s creators are running where artists are being asked to submit songs that re-purposed content from the film. Overall it is a cursory peak into what the current state of affairs is with regards to sample based musics.
The article raises an issue for me, and one that should really be under consideration by the DJ culture at large, how sustainable is sampling? Appropriation and re-purposing of content is a valid expression and should be encouraged as it opens a dialog about culture but the trouble is that often is does not return anything new to the canon, rather it introduces only variations that contain increasingly subtle differences. At its best remixing can create new perspectives on existing work and even draw attention to contemporary issues but at its worst remixing can approximate some of the worst written fan fiction, though both suffer the same problem: nothing new was created.
Certainly, the fiscal squeeze felt by independent artists has resulted in a renaissance of sorts with regards to beat making, particularly in light that the use of a six second loop could cost you upwards of $100k USD. Beat creation moves the art out of an evolutionary dead end as it forces the artist to create new works and thereby actually adding to the cultural canon. Possibly, Creative Commons could create an environment where new music is created to be consumed in various manners, be it sample or remixing, but the question is whether or not culture, by and large, has the inertia to move in the direction to create anew.
Being the curmudgeon that I am I think that it will take more than just a handful of artists working on the periphery to change things. It is more likely that industry groups like the RIAA will play nice only so long until they push for more changes to the current copyright law and in turn create even more artistic consolidation and maybe at that point people will tire of Kayne West mining the same old tired samples from the Seventies and clamor for some thing new. Then again, perhaps not.
I just found out guitarist / keyboardist / vocalist Ian Adams left The Ponys sometime in ‘05. Both of The Ponys’ albums are great but I actually liked his songs, two on each album, the best. I remember the first time I heard the sublime “Fall Inn” on Laced With Romance my jaw about hit the ground. It seemed totally out of nowhere because it sounds nothing like the songs that precede it. It also had me wracking my brain trying to figure out where they cribbed the intro from (”Then He Kissed Me” by The Crystals.) “I Love You ‘Cause (You Look Like Me)” from that album is pretty cool too. It always makes me think of that Seinfeld episode where Jerry dates look-alike Tracy Nelson. Adams also contributes “I’m With You” and the noisy “Shadow Box” on Celebtratrion Castle.
So kind of a bummer he’s no longer a Pony. But the good news is that Adams has a new band, Submarine Races, and their debut album will be released by In The Red Records on June 5. Their web site doesn’t have a whole lot on it but I found three demos at their Myspace page. Interestingly, the artist for two of the songs is tagged Look Sharp. The bio explains they had a hard time coming up with a name and that was one of their early choices. And what do they sound like? Not a whole lot different than the songs Adams does for The Ponys. “1 Forward 3 Back” and “Get Yourself Together” are very catchy garage rockers with a bit of a post-rock flavor. If you click on the lyrics link for “Paul’s Drum Solo” you’ll see that the song has been retitled “Ghosts and Worms.” It’s got a little sing-along girl group influence and is more straightforward than the other two. I really enjoyed all three and can’t wait for the album.
As a bonus, I also turned up a song by a pre-Ponys Adams project, Happy Supply, on the Twee Pop Love! blog. “Theme Song” sounds a whole lot like The Kiss Offs.
Single - Manifest by Karsh Kale
Published by February 27th, 2006 in Singles, Review and 2006. 0 CommentsManifest is the opening track to Karsh Kale’s forthcoming album, Broken English, and while I am eager to hear more this track is leaving me a tad less enthused. It sounds a little to rote for my tastes, as if Kale is just going through the motions: splash of Bollywood inspired beats and ballad as backing, topped off with some very flat and unmemorable rhyming from who I am guessing is MC Napoleon. Honestly, it sounds like he was just messing around in Garage Band making sketches.
Which brings me to the inclusion of rap on these types of albums. Sure, co-opting Hip Hop rhythms and breaks is fine but does it really necessitate the use of rappers to flesh it out or provide some sort of street credibility? To be blunt it makes it sound contrived and ultimately detracts from the overall artistry making it sound more like a advertisement for chicken soft tacos than a piece of work one would sit up and take notice of. Just drop it. Rhymes without reason just make you sound like you are composing by focus group; C+C Music Factory and Freedom Williams, anyone?
Even with this weak of a showing I still plan on picking up the album: one, because it is Karsh Kale and I know what he his capable of; and two, because it is Six Degrees and I’m a junkie. You can snag the track for free over at Six Degree Records and have a listen for yourself.
The Rogers Sisters - Preview Tracks
Published by February 26th, 2006 in Free Tracks, Singles and 2006. 0 Comments
Expect The Rogers Sisters’ third album, The Invisible Deck, out on the Too Pure label March 7. You can check out the first two tracks on their Myspace page. “Never Learn To Cry” will also be the first single. Their debut album, Purely Evil, sounded kind of like a spastic, garagey cross between The B-52’s and The Cure, leaning heavily on the former. I never heard their second one so I don’t know how it compares. “Never Learn To Cry” from The Invisible Hand sounds pretty slick and safe though. Kind of a meaningless comparison since so many artists are held up to them, but I thought of the recent Strokes. Not a bad song but not particularly memorable either. “Why Won’t You” is less inhibited and more in post-punk territory. Of the two, I preferred the second one. Might have something to do with who sings lead on each. Jennifer Rogers does “Never” and Miyuki Furtado takes over for “Why Won’t You.” Give them both a play and see for yourself whether or not you should be excited about this upcoming release.
