The Default Thread: Music Edition.

[bmack86]

I just really want to read about the period where Bob was a writer for wrestling.

[kitt kat]

That's probably one of the most entertaining sections.

[cormaic]

Liars are working on a new album: http://www.pitchfork.com/news/45136-...out-new-album/

I think I'm more excited by the prospect of a tour, but still, great news.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

This is an interesting idea to support new music, though it's obviously a total crapshoot.

A NEW WAY TO DISCOVER AND SUPPORT BANDS
Soundsupply is committed to finding the best albums to deliver as high quality bundled downloads. All participating bands have joined together to collectively share their music in a new, irresistible fashion. Buying this bundle supports these artists and helps to usher in a revolution in music distribution.

You get 10 albums for $15. i guess even if you only like 3 of them it's still a good deal.
http://www.soundsupp.ly/

EDIT: just watching the trailer, several of these sound pretty promising! I guess the idea is that they'll change the selection of albums every few days.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

I checked out the samples for all the albums and was so pleasantly surprised I decided to buy. I hope this thing has legs and they offer more varied genres, because it's really cool.

[ghostpunk]

Being in an indie rock band is expensive, u guize!

http://www.time.com/time/specials/pa...094923,00.html

We're brothers who front the New York City-based indie rock band Two Lights. It's going well. In just over a year we've partnered with a manager who's helped break artists like Blur and The Smashing Pumpkins. We have a booking agent. Our first single has played on major radio stations in New York City and our hometown of Portland, Maine. A Fortune 500 company wants to use our music for a marketing campaign. We've gotten notice and good reviews in the indie press in New York and abroad.

We've been mentored by former British rock stars, posed for photo shoots, hung out with models, worked with Grammy-nominated producers and rocked some of the top clubs in New York (places like the Mercury Lounge and the Highline Ballroom), opening for some of our favorite bands.

This is our dream. We're living it.

And we're broke.

No, we haven't spent all our earnings on drugs and limos and parties (although we have definitely been to some parties...). So far, there haven't really been any earnings.

Instead, there have been big expenses. It turns out that breaking into the world of rock and roll is like launching any career in a field with high barriers to entry: It's expensive. And unlike law school or medical school, the school of rock doesn't offer financial aid (not even loans).

And yeah, we're learning a lot — but some of the lessons are pretty daunting. Here's a scene from a fun evening Abner had this year:

Our manager has snagged me an extra VIP pass to a show by a Grammy-winning British pop star she also manages. We make our way through the NYC crowd (2,000 or so jammed into the venue) toward the door that leads backstage. An imposing bouncer guarding the door sees our passes and steps aside, opening the door for us. This is the good life, I think.

What meets me backstage is nothing like what I pictured. No fountains of champagne, no elegant lounges. It's just as dingy as the venue itself, with a printed sign taped to the star's dressing room door. The band is hanging out on a couch that someone obviously found on the street, and there are some catered snacks that look like they could have come from the NYU dining hall I try to avoid.

It occurs to me that if any part of me is doing this for the good life, I should let that go. I'm sure this pop star's touring budget is substantially bigger than our own, but so are her expenses. Hmmm...

It wasn't always so. Once upon a time, the suits at the record labels funded the enterprise. Your band would play local clubs in a major city, make a buzz, and an A&R (artists and repertory) guy would sign you and write you a blank check. ...These days, you have to build your own following first: Produce music, and prove you can sell it. Then maybe someone will kick in some cash. ...Meanwhile, you have to pay your own way. And it's a challenge. Here's a quick rundown of our estimated costs to date:

•Training. Our folks shelled out for 15 years of piano and guitar lessons (times two of us!). These days, we're spending $250 to $500 a month on voice lessons. Cost to date: $30,000.

•Rehearsal: We rent a space in Brooklyn for $50 per three-hour session. Cost to date: $3,000.

•Gear. Our family has invested in dozens of musical instruments and other gear (pianos, guitars, drum sets, keyboards, mandolins, PA systems, amplifiers...). And, oh yeah, it cost more than $500 to move a piano down three flights of stairs and then up to Maine (a story for another time). Cost to date: $25,000.

•Recording. Our recent single, Summer, cost more than $1,000 to record — even though we did much of the recording and mixing ourselves. We've set aside another $5,000 for our forthcoming EP. Again, we'll save money by doing much of the work in Harper's home studio. Cost to date: $6,000.

•Performing. For gigs here in New York, we hire taxis to lug our keyboards, stands, guitars,basses, amplifiers and drums to and from the venue. Whatever cash we earn beyond that usually goes to our current drummer. And expenses soar when we hit the road. Cost to date: $1,000.

•Promotion: Once you have music out, you need to promote it. We pay a guy to send email blasts to databases of hip music blogs. Postcards, demo CDs and other materials are also essential. Cost to date: $1,000.

•Lost wages. The two of us each put about 20 hours a week into band-related work. Abner (still in school) could easily make $10 an hour working at a bar on weekends. Harper (a freelance writer) has to turn down writing assignments worth around $400 a week. Cost to date: $25,000.

•Living in New York City. Our cousin Abby lives in Atlanta in a house — a house! — with a couple of friends. They pay a third of what we pay for our combined living spaces. New York is absurdly expensive — but the band's future demands that we live here rather than, say, our hometown in Maine. All told, we estimate that decision costs us an extra $1000 a month. Cost to date: $18,000.

Total (estimated) cost to date? $109,000. Ouch!

In short, the School of Rock is expensive. Then again, class can be a lot of fun, and some of the homework is pretty cool. And of course, if we do graduate — if we make it in the music business — we'll soon be earning a lot more money than even doctors and lawyers. Or so we tell ourselves...

[bmack86]

If I could play guitar like John Fahey I'd be content dropping out of society and living in the woods with my guitar, my bow and my teepee. Guy was magical.

[Gribbz]

Here’s a Young Jon Stewart, Moshing at a Dead Kennedys Show

Irish Willis Peele snapped a lot of photographs of Virginia "speed punk" band Front Line back in the 1980s, including this one, from a Dead Kennedys show in Richmond, Va. Peele says the guy in the center is William and Mary student Jon Leibowitz — who later moved to New York and now has a pretty successful comedy career under the name Jon Stewart. In case you're wondering, it adds up — Stewart was at William and Mary until 1984. No word on his favorite DK song, though. "MTV Get Off the Air," maybe? [Filthy Pit, hat tip to Grady]

http://gawker.com/5880063/heres-a-yo...-kennedys-show

[bmack86]

Is Spiritualized's I Think I'm In Love a riff on Miles Davis' Yesternow?

Listen and report back.

[bballarl]

Is Spiritualized's I Think I'm In Love a riff on Miles Davis' Yesternow?

Listen and report back.

I think you are right.

[buddy]

I listened to Public Strain excessively when it came out R.I.P. Christopher Reimer

[SoulDischarge]

That "Tonight I'm Fuckin' You" has to be the definitive death knoll for subtlety, wit, and innuendo in pop music.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

My brother just texted me:

"have you heard gotye? Is he as good as I think or has my taste in music just gone gay?"

[GolfWang]

The hardest part about listening to Gotye is telling your parents that you're gay.

[Alchemy]

Hahahaha

[nosurprises12]

Cool little write-up and video on TinyMixTapes today about Frippertronics:

Though Robert Fripp’s name will be forever associated with the bloated titan of prog-rock, King Crimson, his most fruitful work was arguably done in a series of collaborations with everyone’s favorite electro-whiz, Brian Eno. Fripp & Eno released a few alums in the early 70s that paired Fripp’s laser beam guitar melodies with Eno’s penchant for quite reflection and treated pianos to mixed results. The records weren’t terrible, far from it, but inconsistency was the name of the game with Eno’s contributions feeling a bit color-by-numbers and never living up to the massive potential Fripp’s playing brought to the table. But this meeting wasn’t a total wash; the sessions gave birth to what was later dubbed “Frippertronics,” a system of reel-to-reel tape recorders that Fripp used to weave guitar lines into dense webs of sound. With this setup, Fripp was able craft improvised ambient experiments in real time and finally give full voice to the ideas only hinted at in his previous works. So without further ado, here is the man himself, live from October 1979, with a remarkable performance showing how powerful only a guitar and tape recorder can be in the hands of a genius.

[samiksha]

Hello. I am looking for an album by Matthew and the Arrogant Sea called Family Family Family Meets the Magic Christian and I was hoping someone here might have it.

[TallGuyCM]

My Bloody Valentine reissues coming in May. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE TOUR!

http://pitchfork.com/news/45879-my-b...irmed-at-last/

[TallGuyCM]

Confession: Until recently I thought the song Helpless by Sugar was Collective Soul or something. I probably should have kept that to myself.

[nosurprises12]

Soooo awesome: http://www.troygua.com/work/le-petit-prince/

[kreutz2112]

The new Usher song "Climax" is the fucking jam.

[TallGuyCM]

Whoa. I happened upon this band while listening to Slint radio on last.fm, and this album is amazingly good. Not in the same ballpark as Spiderland, nowhere near it. But it's much better than Tweez and with quite a few similarities to Slint, albeit a good bit heavier. From what I can tell they're from the same scene that Slint came from, so that makes sense. I had never heard of them before today though.

[LickTheLizzard]

Can't think of where else to post this, and I didn't want to make a thread. I SAW IAN MCKAYE AT COACHELLA during fIREHOSE.

[bmack86]

Whoa. I happened upon this band while listening to Slint radio on last.fm, and this album is amazingly good. Not in the same ballpark as Spiderland, nowhere near it. But it's much better than Tweez and with quite a few similarities to Slint, albeit a good bit heavier. From what I can tell they're from the same scene that Slint came from, so that makes sense. I had never heard of them before today though.

Chris, I can't believe I just saw this. Rodan was produced by Bob Westin and they only put out Rusty. Such a good album

[TallGuyCM]

Yeah, I imagine I'll revisit it several times in the near future.

[Neutral Milk Hotel]

Can't think of where else to post this, and I didn't want to make a thread. I SAW IAN MCKAYE AT COACHELLA during fIREHOSE.

I did too. In shorts and carrying around his two-year-old. Bizarre, to say the least.

[TallGuyCM]

A certain board member met and got a pic with him. He should post it...

[LickTheLizzard]

I just stopped and stared for a minute, and then ran as fast as I could to tell someone.

[cutterbutter]

Bro got a picture with Chris from Girls. He was just walking around the grass at the outdoor once there set was over.

Saw Bob Mould at Yuck, and many other noisy bands.

O YEAH TOTALLY FORGOT. We both met Dennis before fIREHOSE just hanging out and he said Refused will be playing in the LA area in September. Can you say FYF Fest? Yippee! This should probably go in that thread huh.

And, the dudes from Justice were watching housse de racket in front of us in the VIP seciton, and I'm pretty sure the dude with the mustache fell asleep sitting up.

ANNNDDD hasselhoff was fucking everywhere. A chant broke out when they put him on the screens at the main stage for arctic monkeys.

[TallGuyCM]

Cool little article about the stories behind 10 famous album covers. I'm sure you've heard the stories of most of them, but a cool read.

http://flavorwire.com/284025/the-sto...mous-artists#1