I used to be an album man. I would only digest music in the form of the long-player, not really focusing on individual songs, but rather holistic artistic achievement. I was into a solid record, much more than I was into individually great songs. Since I started DJing this has changed.
The reason I was so album focused was because I felt like listening to one song of a band was not an accurate representation. People put out albums for a reason, because the whole is supposed to equal more than the parts. Contextually it’s important to understand the castle being built, rather than the individual grains of sand. Great bands build fortresses, fortresses of rock.
The album was an important part of what made me buy turntables and subsequently because a DJ. I hadn’t been buying music, only downloading, and buying great big 12’ records had a new appeal. Gigantisized album art, special versions, the ability to find rare and unique albums by digging through bargain bins. But more importantly, putting on a record was a commitment. Halfway through you’ve gotta get yourself out of your seat and flip it over. There is a certain consciousness to it that is so much more purposeful than throwing an MP3 on iTunes.
As I became more interested in DJing I bought Scratch Live, DJ software than lets you interact with MP3s in the same way you would with vinyl. I was still buying records, but now I could download Madonna songs without having to throw down $7 bucks for a song I only want to own because drunk girls like to dance to it. It would save me tons of money!
Indeed, Scratch Live has more than paid for itself, especially thanks to Oink. Oink was the most ideal music downloading interface that has ever existed- a community where you could find whatever you could imagine in incredibly high quality audio. The entire discography of most artists was available on Oink, from rare singles to the most popular albums. If there was something you wanted that wasn’t there, you could make a request, and odds are some anonymous soul would have that rare record you were looking for. It was like a candy shop.
In addition to Oink, the whole music blog phenomenon made digital DJing even easier. As a new band or single hits the internet, tons of blogs report on it and make it available for download. While each blog tries to keep a unique feel, a great song ultimately gets posted and reposted until everyone is gushing over the same set of bands.
This phenomenon is nothing new, a great band is going to get press. Magazines function in the same way, regurgitating the press releases of a select few artists. However the internet adds a whole new dimension in that it makes it incredibly easy to get your music out to the public. A buzz band takes on a whole new meaning when all it takes is a few well-placed MP3s instead of press releases and PR agents.
Ideally this is a good thing, but the problem has to do with DJ culture, the art of the remix, and myself. 6 months ago I thought D.A.N.C.E. by Justice was the greatest thing since toast. It’s a fucking great song, I played it during SXSW at a barbeque place and there were 60 year olds tapping their toes. However since then there have been probably 50 remixes. Some of them are good, some of them are bad, and a few even improve on the original. But the way these remixes get shotgun blasted across the blogosphere kills the original song. Every DJ was playing D.A.N.C.E. for a few solid months before the single was even released, then everyone was playing the MSTRKRFT remix, then the Alan Braxe remix, and then the Eli & Diplo remix.
While the whole blog-remix phenomenon has made remix production a much more distributable artform, it has really hurt the album. Before M.I.A.’s album was leaked on Oink a month before its release, I had already heard about half of it. Those leaked songs were remixed until I found the versions that work best for my purposes. So when the album actually came out, I ended up being really disappointed. People talk about Kala and say they love it, and I disagree with them. I like about half the songs, coincidentally the songs that were leaked, and the remixes even more.
Now perhaps these songs were leaked and furthermore remixed because they are more DJ friendly and that’s also why they appeal to me. The online remixing community is creating these alternate versions of songs to satisfy the needs of DJs, and although it is beneficial it kills albums like Kala for me. By becoming conditioned to wade through all these remixes for the one that fits my aesthetic I find myself less interested in that second half of M.I.A.’s album- I have the impression that it isn’t going to have that killer track to play out, because if it did that track would have become part of the canon of remixed blog tracks.
Which brings me to the idea of the canon and how it reinforces the single and the remix of the single while degrading the album. I’m so busy trying to keep up with this canon and occasionally trying to add my own pieces of flair that it becomes difficult to sit back and enjoy albums as castles instead of a collection of sand that I use to build dance parties.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Fear the Blogosphere
Monday, October 29, 2007
Birthday
Today is/was my birthday. The 28th. I'm 22 now. "What did you do for your birthday?" Well I cleaned. So did everyone else in the house, for fucking hours. It looks good in here though. There wasn't a post about the party, but if you don't know, you never will and if you do know, then you know. After cleaning I went to dinner with my family, and then I came back and wrote a song about the Iraq War which I am forgiving myself for just recently getting irrevocably pissed off about, then I went to the Draughthouse and had a beer and then me and Trip went back to his house and listened to Mt. Eerie pts 1-4 and then we listened to Mt. Eerie pts. 5-6. It was special. I've been doing some thinking and while I don't have anything definite laid out, I just want everybody to know that everything bubbling in my head has started clicking and I don't know exactly how, but this next year shit is going down (in a good way), so look forward to it.
Read More......Friday, October 26, 2007
10/26 Party
Just so you know, the party tonight is at Rancho Relaxo, not Sophie/Annecy/Hannah/Lace's. So be there and costumed.
Read More......
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Oink Shut Down
The 'devious soul' behind Oink that is currently in jail right now is a 24 year old computer guru. I mean, this dude helped solidify a revolution of music distribution worldwide. Yes Oink was the first place leaked cds went. Yes Oink was incredibly efficient at dispersing said leaked cds. Does this success hint at anything?
The thing that the media always tells you is how down record sales are since Napster came along and how horrible file sharing is to the artistic community. I'm calling bullshit on that. The only thing that's 'down' is the thickness lining the asshole who already had billion-dollar real estate holding's pockets.
Artists do not make most of their money from the record companies. Not that it's the only source, but for a great example, dig Steve Albini's (he produced In Utero and the Pixies, kiddies) 'The Problem with Music'. Artists and bands basically have to deal with the record companies to whore themselves out because, up until lately, it took a huge, far-reaching corporation to get your stuff out of shithole, USA. Today, we have the internet, and anybody able to afford the bandwidth (read, cheap) and the skills (read, hard to come by) can put their stuff out on equal ground.
Has the recording industry ever considered that the reason that music sales are down so much is because they've sacrificed the very goods that they are hustling for a quick, not a lasting, buck? How many Jamaicans do I have to hear through an Autotune patch? How many 'punk' songs are really relevant in the way punk was in the 70's that arent about the same tired shit they bitched about 30 years ago? How much empathy can i really feel, once i've reached puberty, for a cartoon character engineered to suck the dollars out of my pocket? I mean, as much as kid will deny it, they love 'punk' music as it is today because their parents make them, by knowing what it's supposed to be about. Rock and roll broke in the 50's, everybody, it's nothing new.
There's a real reason record sales are down. Consider that it's pimping the virgins who don't really know what they're doing to a market who actually appreciates, beneath it all, talent and originality.
Oink might be down, and some forward thinking, bright young mind might be stifled by big $$$, but god damnit, Radiohead are going to make you fuckers realise, the music belongs to all of us, and you're not helping us anyway, so fuck off.
Now go buy a ticket to a band you marginally care for.
DJ/Rupture on Oink and file sharing
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Oh Fuck
OiNK just went down
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=071023114749.r2nlwb1u&show_article=1
A testy exchange with Kevin Eubanks
Yo Kevin, this site is really a beautiful thing. I stumbled on it by accident, but was compelled to write you. I am a music student at the University of Texas (just a BA). My problem is discipline. Drums is the instrument I mostly practice now, and while sometimes I can get in a groove and practice an hour and a half maybe 6 days a week for a couple months at a time (which leaves me happy with my progress), other times I fall off the wagon and practice much less. Right now I've had 3 bad weeks of practice in a row and am in a total rut. This is more of a wholistic question, but I would really like some sort of consistant discipline in my brain and was wondering if you knew how a person aquires that. I know thats kind of a strange and vague question, and on some level it has to be different for everybody, but I graduate soon and am going to have to decide if I want to go on tours and get involved in the whole indie circut thing, or if there is something else I should be doing. I think the stress of the not knowing is making it harder for me to practice in the short term, and maybe I'll just come through this, but its hard to know what to do. peace from Austin, Ethan
Discipline is a remarkable thing. It can be used to focus your energy and allow you to develope and gain direction in a select period of time. The main thing is to be consistant and be respectful. Respectful of yourself. The lack of discipline really show a certain lack of self respect. I don't mean any offense to you. please take this in the right way, a positive way. It's just a matter of perspective. You have this creative energy and you use the drums to release it. Apparently you have more creativity that wants to come out but without practice, which leads to opportunity, you will not have the ability or the chance to do so. And in your own mind it is you yourself that is preventing this from happening. Why do you have such little respect for yourself and your dreams? It is in your power to do whatever you want, even if it is little by little day by day. Face yourself and don't take the easy road bc there really is nothing easy about it. You can invest in yourself by exercising some discipline or maybe never trust that you can ever do what it takes when it really comes down to it. Inside you will know why you feel the way you do about yourself, one way or the other. Your problem is not discipline, it's self respect and being lazy. I say all of this out of respect for a fellow musician whom I wish the very best for.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
BORIS...
rocked me so hard. I think i fell in love with their merch girl. hubba hubba. Me + Boris' merch girl = soooo heavy (lol!)
Read More......Friday, October 19, 2007
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Ethan's In Rainbows Review (Part 2) + SXSW 07
I just wanted to say that in hindsight that review could have been done in about 50 words and still expressed what I was trying to say. Anyways it was fun to write.
Check out what Jeff dug up. I had never seen it before. Its kinda a slow version and I'd like to think I'm a better singer now, but for posterity's sake...
Monday, October 15, 2007
Ethan's In Rainbows Review (Part 1?)
this might be part 1 in a 2 part series. I've only been listening to the record for a few days (well, obviously), maybe 4 times through so far. I read a Rolling Stone review that came out the 10th and it was kind of hilarious because the guy didn't really have anything to say besides "Its really good." He said something about how its classic Radiohead as if it was more of the same, which its not.
The thing that makes In Rainbows better than any other Radiohead record for me is that its relaxed. Its this unassuming "best record of the past XX years" that I really see standing the test of time, and I think this is the key to that. For me the biggest crock among the "best record of the past XX years" was the first Arcade Fire CD. That record hit you over the head with these grandiose (pompous) indie cliches. It was a right place at a right time thing with the vocal melodies maxed out and I never really got into it, or why we let Canadians be the next big rock band. As opposed to the English who are our brothers in rock and roll without being our little brothers.
So "In Rainbows" accomplishes everything the other Radiohead records do as far as being dark/beautiful and shows mastery of everything they've done from general chord progression/melody writing to meticulous dense electronics, and adds these extra elements, and it does it all without trying to hard.
At no point is this record ever like "here's the B section of this song" in the way Paranoid Android does (still a great song, this record is just better). Its much more natural, and the reason can only be because they have all gotten better as musicians and continue to get better playing with each other. Maybe the best example of this is the first track 15 Step. It was a funny feeling before I had heard this record at all, because although I had bought the download, I saved it for 10 PM that evening because there was a listening party at Vidhisha's place and I thought it would be cooler if it was my first time to hear it there. Needless to say I was nervous, as I am with every Radiohead album ("What if it's not amazing??") It was not only a relief but instantly awesome to get Idioteque version 2.0 and then have it evolve into something different a few times. First you get like a sort of Thom-does-soul melody line over it, which has never been heard before, then you get this chord progression that the first time through sounds like mostly major chords but when the same vocal melody comes back later (just once) with the pitched electronics it sounds heavily minor.
Track 2 Bodysnachers is a banger too. I think its actually by definition what a banger is for the British. It fucking rocks and any fears left over on a first listen are totally dispelled (..."what if this record only has one good song on it and the rest are just ok??" as if we forgot who we were dealing with.) The first time I heard this song I was worried that maybe it moved through the sections too fast, but thankfully I am a seasoned listener and had a feeling that one in particular would sound better after a few listens which it does.
Another thing I like about this record is the way it incorporates genres. Maybe I need to go back and listen to it more to jog my memory, but Hail To The Thief was really a Radiohead record in the sense that every track sounded like Radiohead. I remember being disappointed that they hadn't really tread new ground with that one although now it sounds like a stop in a procession where they were perfecting something specific (which a record is supposed to do). If they had made the same record again I think HTTT would have aged much less well and people would have thought of it as a great collection of songs, but the one where Radiohead quit making these great leaps forward. Now another thing worth mentioning becomes that these guys don't sound like they've made even close to their last great record. They are all pushing 40 but its a new paradigm where they could make new creative music until they are in their 70s, you know, why not. It's this completely sustainable model (just write great music every fucking record) and IMO the maturation of what it means to be a rock band.
But anyways, yes, In Rainbows incorporates genres in a way they haven't really done before by them, and I think that is a really modern way to approach making a record. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi has this drum and bass connection whose greatness is in its understatement. Obviously the Johnny Greenwood Dub Connection can be heard pretty strong on tracks like Nude and House of Cards, and really hits different aspects of the genre, too. Nude gives you the heavy bass and sparse drumming that sticks the vocals right out front and HoC gives you the 5 minute perpetual motion groove on what amounts to like 4 chords. Dub is incorporated, but in no way is it Radiohead doing "here's our dub track", its fully incorporated. The textural electronics on HoC is totally a dub application but in something that is pretty specifically stepped in more modern processes (reminded me of Broadcast some, actually.)
Its worth mentioning that the vocal delivery is just effortless this whole record.
Anyways, lets call that part 1 and see if part 2 materializes, maybe from another Casa Vista Blogger. There is something to be said for the way the record was released, and I love that everyone got to listen to it without this round of press screaming "me first! read what i have to say about the record before you actually listen to what the musicians are saying with the record!" I try and disconnect from that as much as possible, but its amazing that for really the first time the band releases their record in such a way that that they forced that on everyone.
Friday, October 12, 2007
radiohead in rainbows artwork
its ok to get on the hypewagon when it really delivers (it does).
here's what i believe is the cover art for 'in rainbows'. i say i believe, cause i'm just comparing it to the discbox image from wikipedia (which of course, could be a fake).
-j
ps. and yea let me just say the hypewagon is a wobbly one, and who knows, this might prove to be totally incorrect.
let's hope ethan's album is released for free too, cause he captains the hype-pirateship with a course set for distant hawaiian shores.
PSYC'D
JEFFE
Thursday, October 11, 2007
W.A.S.T.E.
Your order is confirmed for the following:
Order Number WAS4929978
Order Date Fri 12th Oct 2007
Your Name Dan Gentile
Your Address 10209 Prism Dr.
Austin
78726
TX
USA
Description Qty Each Total
Download 1 £ 0.00 £ 0.00
Total Goods Price £ 0.00
Order Total £ 0.00
This transaction will appear on your credit card bill as WASTE PRODUCTS LTD. or a shortened version of this.
W.A.S.T.E.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
SUCCESSFUL RECORDING
tonight i had a sublime experience. An actually successful recording. The engineers were Phil Goetz and his roommate Doug, whose last name escapes me. We did the recording in my room and I didn't wear a shirt. They were perfectly cool with that. All tunes were played on Maggie's guitar (a gorgeous Epiphone signed by Donovan himself). I thought we lost a few good takes to clipping and other recording problems, but the hit ratio was actually damn near 100%. Anyways, the tracks have to get mastered, I'll throw em (or part of em) up somewhere as soon as thats done. I don't know what its called yet, I may rerecord some of my old stuff and get the track count closer to 13 than 8 and have full LPm but we will see
PSYCHED
ETHAN
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Red Rocket
...is an awesome band from Philly. Totally awesome dudes. We had our first RanchO event not at RanchO (due to neighbor concerns) at Charlie Alvorado's house on Saturday. It was a big hit, we got a bit of a different crowd and Charlie got this awesome bluegrass band to play outside, the name of whom embarrassingly escapes me. They fucking killed though. It was only like their second show, but they had their shit together. They played through a condenser mic and the sound quality was great. I love mixed bills.
The headliner was heavyish prog punk band from West Philly called Red Rocket (myspace.com/thisisprefuture) . Those guys are rad and their music is too. The next day we went to Polvo's (unshockingly Trip's idea) and Barton Springs (October in Austin = still 90 degrees outside). What a weird fucking summer this year. It was my first Barton Springs trip this year. I've been to the greenbelt a million times, but this was my first for Barton Springs. I was turned off maybe 2 years ago by the paying for parking and then the paying for going, but apparently you can park on the opposite side for free, so its not as bad as an event, when you are willing to pay 3 bucks to sit by a particular pool on a hill around a bunch of beautiful people.
Anyways, yea Red Rocket, yall better listen to their shit and go see em next time you get a chance!!!
Sunday, October 7, 2007
free loop way
Shot in Los Angeles last weekend. The music is from La Monte Young. Looplooploop.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Tips for going to shows at Emo's Austin
Howdy everybody
My girl called me the other night around 8 o clock saying she was one her way to a show at Emo's in Austin, TX. That's right, you know the place. Anyway, when I got noticed the time she told me this, I immediately was able to play out the rest of her experience in my head.
In light of this, I'd like to share to some knowledge I've picked up from the many shows I myself have been to at Emo's.
1) It's going to be a long night - Planning to catch Klaxons on a tuesday night real quick and then get to bed in time to get up at 6 for that important job interview you've got at 7 in the morning? FORGET IT. First of all, no show at Emo's EVER starts before 10pm (even if they say otherwise), and most of the time, the show is going to start at midnight, with the main band comign on at 1 or sometimes even 2. Too many times have I made the mistake of showing up at Emo's hoping to get a 'good spot' or something like that, 'beat the crowds', or other bullshit in quotes, just to sit with a thumb up my ass for FOUR FUCKING HOURS waiting for the one, somewhat amusing band to stumble out after having fully enjoyed bar hours backstage for the same amount of time.
Let me reiterate, DONT GO TO EMO'S EARLY! It's just a recipe for disapointment.
2) Don't trust the employees - This is mainly in regards to showtimes. The people at the door have NO IDEA who is even playing, much less what time each act is, even though they have a sheet of paper right on the wall (where you can see it without asking, anyway) that gives the nights' schedule. Once I was told DJ Swamp was starting at 12:30, so I left (I had gotten there at around 9), and came back around 12:15. Well DJ Swamp was finishing up and I basically missed the bulk of the show. Go figure. The 20 minutes I did catch were really awesome, but I mean, I paid for the show, I would have liked to see the whole thing.
3) Trust the employees - We all know that seeing that cutting-edge-just-barely-still-underground-and-not-on-pitchfork-yet band can be a truly magical, universal, almost transcendant experience. But hey, newsflash, at the end of the day, you're seeing a money making endeavor in a money making endeavor staffed by people solely there to make money (in whatever amounts). It can seem magical when you're young, but sooner or later, you see it for the dancing monkeys in the dive bar that it is. Use this knowledge wisely! However magical you think it might be, the staff are always a step ahead and know the science behind the magic. If they tell you the show is outside, but you are sure it's inside, they are probably right. If you need to know what to do with the drunk/tripping might-be-homeless dude you found in the corner of the bathroom, the staff knows. And they are no bullshit. Listen to what they say and what they tell yall to do, it just makes everything go smoother.
4) Have some Bar Etiquette - It's loud, you're drunk, there are a ton of people wanting the exact same thing you want with the exact same to give that you got. Mouth, rather than say, what you want to drink. The bartenders often have earplugs and are incredibly adept at reading lips by now. Just make it clear. Don't ask for a recommendation, don't try to say you spilled one and want one for free, don't make yer order too complicated (although this is very flexible, these guys are good). Just say how many, and of what, you want. And please, forget about specials...it's Emo's for god sakes. If you want to save money, drink Pabst or LoneStar. Feeling fancy? Go with the Modelo. Have a mixed drink (it'll be good). But just KISS (keep it simple stupid).
5) It's better if you don't know - For some reason, the bands you REALLY want to see at Emo's are never going to be as good as the band you could give two shits about at Emo's. Tons of people come to this place just cause, that's what they do. Who cares who is playing, there's a cover, you pay it, you are treated to modern jams. When you see somebody you have been dying to see, you are probably going to already be breaking every rule I've already said, so you're just setting yourself up for disapointment. When it's someone you only marginally care for, and were dragged to, you are going to focus more on getting drunk and having fun. Plus, for some reason, those thursday night, packed-but-unpromoted shows are the best. You will likely have your face rocked thoroughly off, and probably meet some great folks. Enjoy the spontenaiety.
6) Go in the side door - If you can, the line on Red River is most often way less than the line on 6th itself. On 6th you got to deal with the sheepish masses AND the wandering drunks. People are attracted to crowds, and the line on 6th before the Ratatat concert is a FUCKING CROWD if I ever seen one. If you can convince the door guy (sometimes takes no effort at all), you can get in on Red River and then just stroll past the men's restroom and be in the bigger outdoor area. Try it sometime...
7) Love the Eskimos - Just in honor of this awesome tradition, Emo's showed to me just how cool pissing on ice can be. It's like a game of Brickles or some shit everytime you relieve yourself. Fun. Fast. Fantastic.
I hope you have a good time at Emo's. It's one of the best small venues in Austin, with a great atmosphere, great staff, usually great patrons, and with the lounge included, and incredible variety of acts and environments. Get wasted and one last tip, if you lose your keys, just ask at the bar. This is Texas you know, and people are pretty cool.
GOD BLESS IT.
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