Shame on you AC/DC. Shame on you.
Although it's been pretty much common knowledge for awhile now, let us start by stating the obvious. The record industry, at least in the traditional sense we once knew it, is all but dead.…
"A sinister cabal of superior writers."
Article comments
26 - Jordan Richardson
I don't think it's the quality of the bands or singers that have changed. If anything, more technology has enhanced what can be done musically and MANY groups are taking advantage and exploring new frontiers of sound. I think the issue really is, more or less, how people are listening to music.
27 - Glen Boyd
And the thing is that the quality of music today vs yesterday was never really the subject of this article in the first place. The fact that the comments have kind of evolved into that topic is fine -- good a place as any I suppose.
But when you get right down to it, the perception of music is always going to be somewhat subjective anyway. What I saw, or continue to see in Dylan, Neil Young, Springsteen, or Radiohead is not dissimiliar to what a fan today might see in Duffy, Fleet Foxes, or even the hilariously named Fuck Buttons. Its an argument neither side can really ever win.
I sure do think that name is funny though. Guess I'm just easily amused...
-Glen
28 - Eric
nice article and thought-provoking...but...
Glen - unless I am mistaken, most of the bands and artists making such exclusivity deals are the fossil/dinosaur acts anyway, who are targeting a very specific demographic (ie, AC/DC fans don't want to go to the local indie record store to get their fix).
I don't think it's a major sign that the retail industry is collapsing - the vast majority of bands still sell their product in the usual channels (retail, indie stores, downloads, etc).
29 - Christopher Rose
Jordan: art is a subjective experience but that doesn't mean it exists in a vacuum.
bliffle: maybe, but doubtful...
Tom: I don't know why you would think that I'm trying to put down what anybody is listening to; I thought I was pretty careful to explain the point I was trying to make.
I researched Cloud Cult and found them to be doing some interesting stuff - but gobsmacked? Not really.
I'm absolutely not trying to quantify or qualify anything, but if you're even broadly familiar with most of what has gone on musically since the late 50s, I don't understand how anyone could dispute that music has become more generic even whilst it has grown in number.
Rock in particular has become more like Disco, in the sense that it has a sound that many people can do without establishing a unique identity. This may or may not be a bad thing, but it sure is different.
The Isle of Wight Festival was on this weekend and two of the three headlining acts were bands that have been around for over 30 years. There weren't any bands from the 30s, 40s or 50s headlining festivals back in the 60s, 70s or 80s.
Jordan, revisited: Rock Ferry is good stuff but not gobsmacking unless you haven't heard an awful lot of other music.
zingzing: I've no idea who was saying there were no new musical ideas around back in 68, but whoever they were was obviously an idiot.
I don't really agree with your contention about Justin's sound, much as I love it. Not convinced R'n'B or Electronica has evolved that much in the last ten years either. Changed, for sure, but evolved? Hmm.
I don't think it is proven that music constantly replenishes itself, at least not at the kind of pace that it did in the latter part of the 20th Century. If you look back over the previous 500 years, the changes were pretty radical but again not at that pace.
Having had some time to think it over, I don't really think your big bang theory holds up; it's more like the gaps between the wildly diverse work of others is being filled in, that's detailing.
I'm listening to Fuck Buttons on MySpace as I type this and, whilst they do sound good, I find it hard to imagine that you are genuinely gobsmacked by them. I've certainly heard other bands doing similar stuff, so there is no big sense of surprise there.
Beach House was a bit lacking in dynamics for me but Burial sound pretty cool, although again not gobsmacking.
Sunset Rubdown, you got my hopes up with your references to The Fall (I worked with them during their time on Rough Trade and was listening to Live At The Witch Trials only yesterday) and Prince but they just seemed like one of probably millions of generic indie acts to me - sorry - and Dan Deacon just isn't my kind of thing either.
Thanks very much for getting me fired up enough to track down all these new to me artists, but I don't think any of them disproved my original contention.
Glen, thanks for the reminder about Porcupine Tree, who I'd not heard for a few years. I think I'll have to check out their more recent stuff a bit more thoroughly, although again they are working within a fairly well established field.
JC, once again, we are in agreement. Weird, huh? ;-)
30 - Glen Boyd
Eric,
Although your contention about the bands signing these deals being old is by and large correct, I see two problems with it.
1.) Although AC/DC are indeed older than dirt, a very large portion of their audience is still in their teens. They are kinda like Kiss in that respect. Cartoony, and in AC/DC's case, naughty as well. Many of their fans aren't even old enough to drive, so how do they get to WalMart?
2.) Even if the younger acts haven't yet caught on to this particular goldmine, the precedent being established with the big money deals the old farts are making insures that it is only a matter of time before they do. Hip hop acts in particular are all about the bling, right? I don't think its a stretch at all to imagine Jay Z, Puffy, Kanye, or 50 Cent making exactly this type of deal next time around.
Food for thought?
-Glen
31 - JC Mosquito
Yes, Christopher - it's odd how perspectives can change - I don't pride myself on being immovable - stuff happens, things change, life goes on. You make me think about the purpose of classic rock; zing shows me the great lost Beach Boys' album;; Glen makes me rethink about what it is those record company guys actually do.
If nothing else, Christopher, if we want to get serious, we can always reopen the great White Stripes debate of '07, can't we? ;)
Rockin' it to ya (whatever that means nowadays),
Skeeter.
32 - Glen Boyd
No, no, no...not the White Stripes can of worms!!! (Throwing up my crucifix!)...
-Glen
33 - zingzing
chris: "I've no idea who was saying there were no new musical ideas around back in 68, but whoever they were was obviously an idiot."
it was those bemoaning dylan's "john wesley harding" and beatle's white album that were saying so. and they had a point, to a degree. rock had reached a breaking point, and the major artists retreated in some sense. of course, that's not all that was going on at the time, but there have always been (and always will be) critics saying that what came before was better and the newness of the new can't compare to the newness of the old.
"I don't really agree with your contention about Justin's sound, much as I love it. Not convinced R'n'B or Electronica has evolved that much in the last ten years either. Changed, for sure, but evolved? Hmm."
pop music evolves in strange ways. it's not always for the common good. r&b stagnated as its own genre and moved more towards pop, while electronica has moved away from pop as its moment faded. still, the technical aspects of electronica infiltrated pop and, subsequently, r&b. back in the day, r&b was organic, but, partially due to michael jackson's success, more electronic sources moved into r&b. it's all evolution. it's just not all good.
"I don't think it is proven that music constantly replenishes itself, at least not at the kind of pace that it did in the latter part of the 20th Century. If you look back over the previous 500 years, the changes were pretty radical but again not at that pace."
i see the point you're making, but i'm making a different point. music moves on whether you want it to or not. as you get older, culture in general is going to pass you by. music is a part of that culture, and it never stops. it's just when you stop... keeping up with it, i suppose.
"Having had some time to think it over, I don't really think your big bang theory holds up; it's more like the gaps between the wildly diverse work of others is being filled in, that's detailing."
nope, the musical universe keeps expanding. new borders are constantly being created, and someone is going to populate them. sometimes, it does move faster than others. i would have to say that music is moving as fast as ever, and i kinda doubt that it's going to slow down bar some major catastrophe. (like no ability to make money making music, which is fast approaching.)
"I'm listening to Fuck Buttons on MySpace as I type this and, whilst they do sound good, I find it hard to imagine that you are genuinely gobsmacked by them. I've certainly heard other bands doing similar stuff, so there is no big sense of surprise there."
it's very slow, deliberate music. there's a sense of drama that builds up during a song, but it really reveals itself over the course of the album, which is called "street horrrsing," i believe. they aren't on the outer edges of noise music at all, but i think what they did with it is pretty special.
"Beach House was a bit lacking in dynamics for me but Burial sound pretty cool, although again not gobsmacking."
beach house doesn't impress immediately. i didn't even know i had it for months and then it just hit me one day. burial's latest is a pretty damn amazing album. find "archangel."
"Sunset Rubdown, you got my hopes up with your references to The Fall (I worked with them during their time on Rough Trade and was listening to Live At The Witch Trials only yesterday) and Prince but they just seemed like one of probably millions of generic indie acts to me - sorry - and Dan Deacon just isn't my kind of thing either."
if a band ever sounded like a cross between the fall and prince, i would orgasm til i died. but, that's not going to happen. having said that... anyway, it was more to do with the fact that if you hear a spencer krug song once, you'll always know a spencer krug song, like you'll know a prince or fall song from the first few notes. "always the same, always different." he's a prolific and spectacular talent that is a little hard to penetrate, but once you do, he's something else.
dan deacon is manic color. and he's funny. hard not to like, i say. plus his shows are the sweatiest. had to wring out my shirt.
"Thanks very much for getting me fired up enough to track down all these new to me artists, but I don't think any of them disproved my original contention."
to each his own, i suppose. thing is that there's so much more out there. it's fucking endless. and so easily accessible. the fact that you hadn't heard any of these artists, especially burial, who is pretty damn big over in your native england, might suggest something to you. i didn't go for the obscure here.
34 - zingzing
glen, you mention fleet foxes, who i didn't want to mention just because they ape the 60s so much.
but they are pretty great. and from seattle! their harmonies rival the beach boys and their arrangements remind me of phil spector meeting up with the band.
i'm taking off my pants now.
35 - Glen Boyd
I'm kinda of a sucker for that whole California hippie folk rock thing. Springfield, Byrds, Mamas, and all that. I just love those kind of harmonies. And also because obviously a Seattle thing...
You can go ahead and put your pants back on now.
-Glen
36 - Tom Johnson
There is just way too much gobsmacking going on in here. It's starting to sound a little perverse.
No one has mentioned the Genesis DVD that Walmart is carrying, beyond Glen in his article. I went out in search of this bastard today and I think I found out exactly why we should fear Walmart's exclusivities. When they opt to release something in extremely limited numbers, where are you supposed to turn? When it's sold out both online and in store and, in fact, store employees have absolutely no friggin' idea what you're even talking about, where are you supposed to go? This makes the Best Buy blue shirts look like geniuses in comparison. I wound up finding a copy, among about 6 others, at Sam's Club (a store that one of the Walmart employees I asked about the DVD set didn't even know was tied to their employer. That's just scary stupid.)
That said, I find the attacks on Walmart pretty questionable when no one has attacked Target for doing exactly the same thing years ago (U2, Ziggy Marley, John Legend - there are more, but I can't think of them.) They've had exclusive releases long before Walmart and never raises a questioning eye. I think most of the ire is due more to people jumping on the "Walmart is evil" bandwagon than anything, something Target is more than happy to stand by and watch. Believe me when I say Target is no different - I worked there long ago and they treated their employees with no more respect than Walmart's employees get from the reports I've seen. Terrible place to work. Anyway, they'll let Walmart suffer the bad publicity for a while and then they'll start unveiling a bunch of their own new exclusive releases, probably tied with some kind of carbon-credits or something like that to make it look nice and green against Walmart. Bookmark this piece, come back when Target does something next year, proclaim my visionary . . . vision.
37 - JC Mosquito
You ever see that SNL skit where Garth Brooks, as an aspiring songwriter, tries to sell his soul to the debbil (played to the hilt by Will Ferrell) in exchange for a song, but all he has to offer is a lame-ass surf tune called "Fred's Got Slacks?"
Ummmmm.... I forgot the point I was going to illustrate with that, but it's funny all the same.
38 - Glen Boyd
Well I singled out Walmart in this piece I guess because of the timeliness involved more than anything.
But you are absolutely right. It doesn't really matter which mega-retailer we are talking about, because its all the same damn thing. No difference bewteen what AC/DC and Genesis are doing now and what the Stones did a few years back with Best Buy. Or Target. Or Freaking Pet Smart if that were the case. Same deal all the way around.
On another subject, they've been running a shorter version of the Genesis When In Rome DVD on VH1 Classic, and the visuals are pretty damn spectacular. I have to begrudgingly admit that the band sounds great too, although I'm a bit more partial to the proggier stuff that only seems to make up about 25% of this show. But the stage presentation is pretty amazing. I think you'll like this one Tom.
-Glen
39 - Donald Gibson
While my curiosity runs deep and encompasses indie artists and bands, the artists that have "gobsmacked" me this decade are of a commercial ilk and, i should say, it takes more than one great album to meet my criteria on this one:
Alicia Keys: classically trained, innately soulful musician...i liked a couple songs from her debut, but while i could perceive her talent, i wasn't hooked until her second release. seeing her in concert, actually singing and playing live instruments, solidified the deal for me. and she keeps getting better, exploring and expanding the scope of her music.
Coldplay: i haven't heard the new album yet (though i got it on itunes as soon as the clock struck midnight)...but there's something genuinely moving about their music to me. there's a melancholy motif that runs through songs like "trouble" and "the scientist" that's viscerally affecting. i saw them on their x&y tour and i was mesmerized in ways that transcend the mere mechanics of a song.
Norah Jones: there are reasons she's the most successful female artist of the decade. i've read articles that speculate that, after 9/11, large segments of people wanted music (especially by females) that wasn't as ostentatious and contrived as mariah carey or whitney houston (and norah arrived at the right time, essentially). and to a degree i think that's a fair analysis. but also i believe her voice and the ways in which she phrases her songs are simply exquisite. she's not an original to be sure (vocalists from billie holiday to ella fitzgerald to nina simone to diana krall preceded her in similar veins). but norah has carved her own niche that blends the best of what preceded her with her own distinct sound and stylings. i think she's the finest female vocalist to emerge this decade.
- Donald
40 - Eric Whelchel
Good points Glen, but I tend to think that isolated examples are being used to point to a non-existent larger trend . I see this only happening with "big name" artists who focus on image and the almighty dollar anyway.
Let those artists make whatever deals they want - I still don't think it will change the fundamental way people hear, discover, and purchase music.
41 - Christopher Rose
Donald, you are incredibly soppy, bless you.
42 - Mark Saleski
soppy? gobsmacked? man, will you please speak english?! ;-)
uhmm...ok, i totally agree with donald on Norah Jones. that woman's voice is packed with so much subtlety and inner detail.
as for other other bands/artists, most of the ones that have knocked me out in recent years have come from the world of what pico refers to as "whack jazz". in that arena, there's almost TOO much of a good thing going on. almost.
43 - Christopher Rose
Yeah, Norah's got a voice but, like so many, she doesn't really know what to do with it...
44 - Pico
"as for other other bands/artists, most of the ones that have knocked me out in recent years have come from the world of what pico refers to as "whack jazz". in that arena, there's almost TOO much of a good thing going on. almost."
Amen, brotha.
45 - Glen Boyd
Eric W. (Comment #40); See my comment #30.
-Glen
46 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
So, let me get this straight... You say the recording industry is dead and they failed to embrace the new technology that is at hand.Yet, you get upset with them same record companies for striking lucrative "exclusivity deals" with major retailers that push product at such a high volume.
Since when did record companies embrace new technology easily and why is it such a problem that these same companies continue to focus on a revenue based mindset??
I guess, maybe that I didn't read the article well enough because I don't see your pov...
47 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
I guess I can understand your passion for the indie record shops and the connection to the people but those shops didn't embrace new technology either! I'm sure if a lot of those shops invested in a website that promoted & sold the music that they carry, they wouldn't be "going the way of the 8-track".
I personally think that everyone needs to embrace new technology to a point not just some people.
Ultimately, that's the problem here!
(More later...peace)
48 - Donald Gibson
Boyd: "Even if the younger acts haven't yet caught on to this particular goldmine, the precedent being established with the big money deals the old farts are making insures that it is only a matter of time before they do."
I just read a news clip confirming that Taylor Swift, the young country starlet, will be releasing her upcoming album exclusively through Walmart.
- Donald
49 - Mat Brewster
I'm way late on this (sorry I've been out of town) but I'll add another thought.
I'd have to call something like In Rainbows a rare exception to the rule.
I'll agree with that, but also say Sgt Peppers was an exception to the rule. The 60s were a very inventive time in rock and roll but there was still a massive amount of crap being released as well. Just listen to "oldies" radio to see what I mean, and that's through the filter of decades.
For me, the MP3 generation is much more song oriented, than album oriented anyway.
This seems to be true, though these things seemed to be cyclical.
Thats why all whoever the flavor of the moment needs to do is crank out disposable pop crap produced by the modern day equivalent of Tin Pan Alley.
Hasn't this always been true though? I mean how else did we get the Monkees? And Tin Pan alley created some pretty darn good songs in its day.
I get your point, and agree with it somewhat. But ultimately I think that hard core music lovers, and ones who truly care about sound quality have always been in the minority, and likely always will be.
As for records stores, I get the joy you can get out of them, but I find the same satisfaction in interaction right here online.