2011 in Music

Just over 6 months into the year, and here are my favourite new songs of 2011 so far...
Enjoy.

Review: Radiohead - The King of Limbs

Radiohead
The King of Limbs
Released 18th February 2011 on XL Records

Radiohead are becoming renowned for their unconventional way of releasing music, their last album 'In Rainbows' was released on a 'pay what you want' basis, and in the early stages of recording for this album they released the song 'These Are My Twisted Words' for free with DIY artwork.

The King of Limbs' was announced only last week as having a February 19th release date, only for people to wake up on the 18th and find the full thing available for download.

Released 4 years later and named after a thousand year old Oak Tree near the recording studio where they recorded the critically acclaimed 'In Rainbows', can 'The King of Limbs' live up to it?

Opener 'Bloom' starts off well with a crackling piano melody, but soon ends up losing it and sounding a bit muddled up, the second song 'Morning Mr Magpie' does little to remedy this lacklustre start, fortunately third song 'Little by Little' is something of a gem which feels much more like 'In Rainbows' territory, the slow soft voice of Thom Yorke singing "Little by Little" over a fast paced percussion background. Fourth song 'Feral' again feels like an unorganised string of ideas meshed together with very little in the way of melody.

Luckily, at this half-way stage the album starts to turn around into a more focused effort. Fifth song, and first single 'Lotus Flower' is a more traditionally structured slow burner which adds layers of electronic and percussion rhythm over Yorkes soft vocals. Song six, 'Codex' is undoubtedly the best song in this collection, a soft piano melody and strings carry the music while Yorke sings "Jump off the end / Into a clear lake / No one around", the sense of sadness and the build up in the instruments around it can best be compared to 'All I Need' from In Rainbows.

Seventh song 'Give Up The Ghost' starts with bird song, and continues in an acoustic like manner throughout, some eerie atmospheric keyboard noises compliment the acoustic guitar and restrained use of percussion.
Eighth and final song 'Separator' is the perfect way to close this album (and has spurned a whole host of conspiracy theories due to the lyrics "If you think this is over then you're wrong"), it's the most uplifting song on the album and showcases Radiohead at their best.

This album is a difficult one to summarise, it's obviously a departure from the faster paced 'In Rainbows' into a body of work that is slower and much more atmospheric, this itself may be the problem with it, on first listen, to be totally honest I wasn't too impressed, but the more I've listened the more I've enjoyed it. The decision to move the guitar based sounds into the background and make the electronic atmospheric sounds more prominent could put off some Radiohead fans and is unlikely to win any others over.
All in all this album is a slow starter which improves as you listen through it, and although it's obviously no OK Computer, is still a great body of work which most fans will love. To me it feels like a slower more atmospheric sibling to In Rainbows, and given that In Rainbows is my seconds favourite album that is no bad thing.


Check Out:
Little by Little
Lotus Flower
Codex
Separator

Avoid:
Bloom
Morning Mr Magpie

Review: White Lies - Ritual

White Lies
Ritual
Released 17th January 2011 on Fiction Records


White Lies are an odd band to try and categorise, like Placebo they have a wide appeal, NME seems just as likely to write about them as does Kerrang.

Following on from their superb debut album 'To Lose My Life...' Ritual finds White Lies developing their sound, experimenting with new ones and dropping many of the aspects that once saw them seen as a Joy Division rip off band. However, I suspect this new sound is going to alienate some of their fan base and drawing comparisons between the two records is going to be difficult.

'Is Love' opens the album, and by the time the song's finished it's apparent this album isn't going to be To Lose My Life 2.0. some interesting instrumentation is played around with on this one, but it's going to be a great live song and builds up to be quite anthemic.

Second track, 'Strangers', is quite straight-forward song, but even here the use of synthesisers is something that wouldn't quite have fit in on the last album. First single 'Bigger Than Us' is the first (and maybe only) song that would feel at home one 'To Lose My Life...', with some great music and the White Lies-esque lyrics of "I wanted to stay / and lights on the hillside don't take me this way / I want you to hold me, and I want you to pray / This is bigger than us" there's no question this is going to be a live favourite to sing along to.

Next up 'Peace & Quiet' starts off like a new-wave version of a slow White Lies song, but the chorus feels a bit too cheesy pop ballad for my liking, but hey, maybe it'll grow on me. 'Streetlights' starts off quite minimalistic in it's sound and has some pretty decent lyrics "I'm bored and I'm afraid I'm falling like rain for you / So tired of picking skin, just 'coz it's something to do", a shame then that the chorus kinda just bumps along rather than going anywhere or lifting the song to new heights.

'Holy Ghost' then picks the album back up a bit, possible single material this song is going to be another live favourite, and is a great example of the new sounds and structures they're experimenting with on this album (n.b. anybody else reminded of Boney M's 'Daddy Cool'with the bass line?).
'Turn The Bells' is notable for it's almost Nine Inch Nails-esque use of percussion (that said, they were using Nine Inch Nails producer), unfortunately however this is one of the albums weaker songs, it just doesn't do anything.

'The Power & The Glory' is the most enjoyable song on the album and likely to be the second single, or would be if I had my way, a slow-starter it builds up to be a beast of a song, perhaps White Lies most uplifting song to date, even with their pendant sinister lyrics intact "As empty handed leaving as I was when I came / Tip-toeing through the rubble / and running through the flames".

Shame then that it is followed by 'Bad Love', musically it's one of the heavier songs, but it's let down by some suspicious lyrics "I'm gonna write your girl a letter / It'll make everything better" and it just feels a bit generic. Last song on the album 'Come Down' is another good one, it's a really slow starter (it doesn't really kick in until it's over the 3 minute mark), but well worth the wait.

All in all Ritual finds a band who don't want to repeat past glories and have instead pushed hard to experiment with new ideas and sounds, they've improved alot as musicians in the last two years and vocally there is a vast improvement. Sure, not all songs are quite up to the standard of the last album and the new sound may alienate some fans, but it's a price worth paying for a band that wants to develop and get better at what they do. I recommend this album simply because when it's bad, it's mediocre, but when it's good, it's fantastic.

Check Out:
Is Love
Bigger Than Us
Holy Ghost
The Power & Glory

Avoid:
Turn The Bells
Bad Love

2010 in Music...

I'm not a fan of nostalgia, but at the end of a year it's become something of a tradition to look back and self-indulge in a best of / worst of list, to that extent this is a play list of my favourite new songs of the year:



EDIT: If the above player isn't working please find the play list here

please note, if you know me you'll know I'm not exactly a conventional pop fan, so please don't expect to find the latest Take That song on here, this play list is self-indulgent and only reflects my most played songs of the last year.
If you have a similar taste in music to me I hope you'll enjoy it, if not I hope you'll find something you haven't heard before which you enjoy (if not there's always the skip button)

Shep

MpFREE #4.

I have 6 new songs for you today...

65daysofstatic - 'PX3'
Post-rock heroes 65daysofstatic today announced the release of a new EP ('Heavy Sky'), and gave away a free song from it.
download it here:

  

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross - The Social Network Sampler
Nine Inch Nails mastermind Trent Reznor and long-time studio collaborator Atticus Ross have spent the last few months creating the score to the new David Fincher (Se7en, Fight Club) film 'The Social Network' (yeah, the facebook one).
Today they announced the details of the score and are giving away a free 5-track sampler from it.
(if this is anything to go by it could well be the best score of the year, (yeah, even better than 'Inception')).

Download it HERE.

  

1. Pieces Form The Whole
2. Eventually We Find Our Way
3. On We March
4. The Gentle Hum Of Anxiety
5. Soft Trees Break The Fall

Enjoy,
Shep.

Review: Linkin Park - A Thousand Suns

Linkin Park
A Thousand Suns
Released 13th September.


After the dull, limp and soulless 'Minutes to Midnight' and the electro-generica of 'New Divide' (which my friends will know I like to refer to as Linkin Park minus effort), one could have forgiven Linkin Park for returning to former glories and making a carbon copy of debut album 'Hybrid Theory', they haven't.

Instead they went into the studio and created an album that feels lost; it's full of ideas that go nowhere, there's little to no flow between tracks, lots of interludes, and some massive duds of songs (Wretches and Kings, The Catalyst).
But what they have achieved is to create an experimental album that is overflowing with ideas, doesn't tread on old ground and when it's good, it's great.

Choice highlights include 'Burning in the Skies' which may be one of the most upbeat songs Linkin Park have ever created. 'When They Come For Me' feels like it belongs somewhere between the Meteora and Minutes eras, but it's a pretty unique song. Second single 'Waiting For The End' feels a bit generic but somehow manages to get away with opening with Mike Shinoda rapping in a Jamaican accent for no apparent reason.
The vocal style on next song 'Blackout' feels like Bennington is getting advice from Mindless Self Indulgence, in fact the songs breakdown could fit happily on any Mindless album. And finally 'Iridescence' at song 12 out of the 15 tracks provides the last good song of the album, it starts off quietly with just Bennington singing over a slow piano track but builds into a pretty solid song.

As a fan of old LP this album came as something of a pleasant surprise to me, however I cannot help but feel that those people who got into LP through radio singles 'What I've Done', 'New Divide' and 'The Catalyst' are likely to dislike the album as a whole.

A Thousands Suns, for all it's flaws, feels like a band revitalised, making the music they want to make and not caring what the fans/critics say, something that always appeals to me.


Check Out:
Burning In The Skies
When They Come For Me
Blackout
Iridescent


Avoid:
Wretches And Kings
The Catalyst

MpFREE #3.

The National - You Were A Kindness

After the success of new album 'High Violet' earlier this year, The National played this brand new piano-lead song live on Minnesota radio.

The National - 'You Were A Kindness' by nmemagazine

Download it HERE (right-click, save as...)

Shep

Sonisphere 2010 Review

I figured it's about time I actually wrote something on here, rather than just posted links and gave away free music.
So, to get the ball rolling i'm going to review the UK leg of Sonisphere Festival which I attended at the end of July.


Thursday 29th July:
where to start?
Well me and two friends set off at 7am to make the 6 hour drive to the historic Knebworth House, sleepy and excited. After literally months of waiting (the first bands were announced and tickets went on sale last december) we were finally making our way there. The journey itself was fun but pretty uneventful (as you'd expect) and one slight de-tour onto the M25 and a stop for essentials (cider) at the Stevenage branch of Asda later we were finally at the site. We'd even managed to make it with an hour to spare, so we went and joined the queue.
At just gone 3pm the gates finally opened, what followed was an hour of standing up carrying heavy gear and moving at about an inch a minute but mercifully we finally made it through the gates and were off to set up camp. We had all bought our tents from the green tent company in advance which meant we could pick them up on site, they were reasonably priced and fully recyclable, so my friends went to find a site to camp while I went and got the tents. After the tents had been put up we relaxed with a cider and waited for a couple more friends to show up.

Damned Canadians

Two Hours later our friends had joined us and we're camped up so we decided to go and check out the arena and get some food. The arena itself was almost identical to last year, except the Saturn stage had had an upgrade and the Bohemia stage had moved. In Bohemia there was a rock/metal karaoke on which was pretty fun, especially one guy who got up and did an amazing rendition of Europe's 'The Final Countdown', complete with screams and growls.


After we had had a wonder round the stages, stall and got some Pizza we headed back to our camp-site for the night. Although before we could get any sleep we would have to bet with a mohicaned Canadian guy that he couldn't down two cans of larger without pausing in exchange for our Canadian flag, regrettably we lost.


Friday 30th July:


After stirring from sleep at about 8.30am due to chants, shouts and yells we decided to get some breakfast and 4 of us would head to Asda to pick up more essentials before that day's arrivals came and made it difficult for us to get back onto the site. Lucky we did, as when we left we heard one of the stages open into life with Rage Against The Machines 'Killing In The Name Of', when we got back about an hour later it was still playing and I was informed they'd had it on repeat the entire time.


We spent the rest of the day up until 5pm playing poker, listening to music and drinking heavily. At 5pm it was time to head to the arena for the first of the bands to start, but not before taking part in a world-record attempt time warp to open the festival.


The first band to play was Delain, prior to the festival I had only heard 3 of their songs, and frankly classed them as a poor mans Nightwish, but they did a great job of opening the festival, playing with energy and enthusiasm, they may have been the first band of the festival, but you got a real sense from them that they were just happy to be there.


Next up were Turisas, again another band I knew little about other than that they were in the same 'battle metal' genre as Blind Guardian, they wear face paint (Though if I hadn't already known this I could soon have figured it out from the crowd) and that they do a cover of Boney M's 'Rasputin'. I wasn't exactly won over by Turisas, they seemed a band that we're playing for the fans, and refused to play more than the opening chord of their most famous (cover) song.


Following Turisas were Europe, yeah the 70's euro-rock band that wrote 'The Final Countdown'. They played a surprisingly good set, proving that they're much more than a one-hit wonder, although in saying that, it was of course, The Final Countdown which got the crowd jumping up and down and singing along the loudest. 

Gary Numan

Next up was Electro/Industrial pioneer Gary Numan, who again refused to be shoeboxed by hit greatest hits, playing new and old material with energy and vigour he was one of the most surprising artists of the weekend. It was when he played ‘Cars’ and ‘Are Friends Electric?’ that it became obvious how much his music has changed over the years, not that that mattered as everyone in the crowd sang along in unison.

Alice Cooper

The day’s final act was Alice Cooper, who brought his ‘Theatre of Death’ with him. My knowledge of Coopers music is basically ‘Poison’ and ‘Schools Out’, this didn’t matter at all. His stage show included a noose, guillotine, a straight jacket and all the awesomeness needed to prevent anyone getting bored, sure some of it may have been a bit cheese but everyone was so entertained they didn’t care.


Saturday 31st July:

Saturdays acts were off to a mediocre start due to Family Force 5, Sonisphere's answer to Download booking Hollywood Undead, regrettably Family Force 5 were bad, there's no way around it. We tried to start off with an open mind but either by the time the song about radiators was played or the lead singer had brought out giant foam hulk hands, we were laughing at how bad they were. Sorry Sonisphere, you got this one wrong, they're for kids. On the bright side we knew the sound was working for the awesomeness to come.

Awesomeness that was regrettably delayed by Lacuna Coil, a band I used to like who now seem happy to play a boring set, the only highlight was the last song 'Our Truth'.

Shortly after this a much needed dose of fun arrived in the form of Anthrax, after seeing them at Sonisphere last year I did my research so I would actually know some songs this time around, although they're now back with their original vocalist they were just as good as I remember them, opening with 'Caught In A Mosh', was a highlight along with 'Antisocial' and 'Indians', they also played part of Heaven & Hells 'Bible Black' as a tribute to Dio. an effortlessly good live act and one so deserving to be here.

Papa Roach

Next up was Nu-Metal heroes Papa Roach, These were another highlight of my weekend, playing a set of mixed up old material and new almost every song was a sing-a-long, even brand new song 'Kick in the teeth' went down really well. Though, of course they saved the best for last and left the stage to the final notes of 'Last Resort'.

Shame then that Good Charlotte, despite their longer history and being a bigger act couldn't match them. They instead relied mainly on songs from their breakthrough album 'The Young and the Hopeless', making them feel like a cringe-worthy nostalgia act. That said their cover of Blink 182's 'Dammit' was fun, but with Blink around again it served as a metaphor for Good Charlotte themselves, redundant.

Placebo

Placebo came next, this was my third time seeing Placebo, and set-list wise this was easily the best. Opening with the rarely-played 'Nancy Boy' the set included 'Scared of Girls', heavy new track 'Trigger Happy Hand's' and a cover of Nirvana's 'All Apologies' as well as hits 'Every You Every Me', 'The Bitter End' and 'Infra-Red'. It seems that Placebo can adapt their style to suit any environment, whether it be at an indie festival, or sub-headlining a metal festival. My friend who hates them even had to admit she enjoyed their live show.


The final act of the day was of course, Rammstein. WOW!, I still can hardly find words to describe their show, other than "Go and see it!". I've seen plenty of bands over the last few years, but Rammstein blew them all out of the water. And now I know what 21 tonnes of pyrotechnics looks like.

Rammstein

Sunday 1st August:


The final day was opened by Australian prog-rockers Karnivool, Their set was good but I'm not sure how it went over to the shrunken (Henry Rollins was on at the same time) hungover audience.


After Karnivool, over on the Saturn stage were cKy who played a fun set and got the crowd going. a memorable moment came from their guitarist who caught a can of lager that was flying towards him and downed it in one to cheers and applause from the audience.

Back over on the Apollo stage Madina Lake played another good set, Having seen them play an awful set at Leeds Festival last year I wasn't expecting anything much from them, but I was wrong. Given the incident their bassist was in they were a man down, not that you could tell, they played with soul and enthusiasm. I'm not sure how they came across to the rest of the crowd but I know I was mildly impressed.

Skindred

The 4th act of the day came from Reggae-metal act Skindred, sure their songs may get a bit samey after a while, but they were easily one of the best acts of the weekend, frontman Benji was cracking jokes and making fun of the audience, and we loved it.


Next up was the 2nd 'Big 4' Act of the weekend... Slayer. Their stage set up was literally a wall of amps, and God was it loud!. I don't know alot of slayer apart from the obvious  'Raining Blood', 'Angel of Death' and 'South of Heaven', so to me it did start to get a bit repetitive, but 'Raining Blood' was simply awesome, and 'Mandatory Suicide' provided a much wanted Bill Bailey moment.


The next act was more suited to my taste, Alice In Chains. I personally thought they played a rather lacklustre set-list, but this was negated by the power of the vocalist and the acoustic rendition of 'Your Decision' provided a real sing along moment.

Pendulum

Pendulum were probably the act least suited to a metal festival like Sonisphere, but they were booked at the request of Iron Maiden to have some contemporary music on before them. and they killed it, playing all their hits they had the crowd holding on to their every movement, they even brought on the lead singer of In Flames to perform their collaboration song 'Self vs. Self', which really got the metal crowd on their side.


The final act of the weekend, and the one everyone had been waiting for was next, Iron Maiden. We all knew they'd struggle to top Rammstein's performance, and most of us didn't believe it was possible. unfortunately we were right, but nonetheless they played a great (if controversial) set. this was due to their choice not to simply play a greatest hits set, instead the majority of the songs played were recorded in the last ten years. Personally I preferred this, It didn't seem like a nostalgia act. If i'd wanted 80's hits i'd have gone to download and seen AC/DC or Aerosmith, instead we got a band that are at the top of their game and still producing relevant music to a constantly renewing audience. Also as a nice touch they played 'Blood Brothers' and dedicated it to Dio.

Iron Maiden

Anyway, all in all a fantastic weekend!, I didn't know if the Sonisphere crew would be able to top last years festival, they blew me away this year, lets hope they can do it again in 2011.

Shep

MpFREE #1.

Hey, I figured i'd start giving something back to the people (person?) that read this drivel, so i'm going to start throwing free songs your way.

seeing as it's the first MpFREE post, i'll throw you three this time.

1. Manic Street Preachers - 'I'm Leaving You For Solitude'
A new song from the Manics in preparation for their new album 'Postcards From A Young Man, although the song doesn't actually feature on the album, so get it now.

(Click the arrow to download.)
 Manic Street Preachers // I'm Leaving You For Solitude by Stayloose

2. Mumford And Sons - 'Unfinished Business (White Lies Cover)'
This acoustic cover was performed live by Mumford And Sons on an Australian radio show.
I think it works particularly well with a banjo...

Download Here (right-click, save link as...)

3. The New Regime - 'Remission Of Guilt'
Like the Manics song, this has been made available ahead of a (as yet unnamed) new album, but doens't appear on the album, check it out now..

  

Hope you enjoy listening, more next week.
Shep

Ambient Bieber

Fact. 
35 minutes of Justin Bieber IS better than 4 minutes!
This is his song 'U Smile' played 800x times slower than the original.


Slowing it down seems to morph it from a shitty pop song into a hauntingly Sigur Rós-esque ambient track.


check it out...


 J. BIEBZ - U SMILE 800% SLOWER by Shamantis


Shep.

My Youth in Music #1

So, I haven't updated this in a few weeks, and right now I can't sleep.

I'm actually listening to an album I haven't listened to in years, possibly for good reason.

So I figure, mainly to give me something to do, i'm gonna search for old albums I used to listen to constantly, including the one's I dumped in the switch to digital. and occasionally post about them on here, it'll give me something to do,

My history in music so to speak...

...Carry on reading at your own peril.

No.1

Limp Bizkit

Chocolate Starfish and the Hotdog Flavoured Water (2000).

Listen to it on Spotify here.

Ok, Ok. So Limp Bizkit are an appalling band, but hey, I was 13.

This is actually the first album I ever bought (OK, it wasn't legitimate, it cost me £2 of my hard earned pocket-money and was from some guy who copied albums from the internet; (My first ever music purchase was pirated, actually i'm quite proud of that)).

So, yeah this was my first foray into developing my own taste in music, it was commercial as hell, but it was (for me at the time) aggressive and anti-authoritarian and something I connected to, weirdly I don't think i'd even heard any of Limp Bizkits stuff before I got it.

Everybody has heard the albums two hit singles 'Rollin' and 'My Generation' (which are still played way too frequently at otherwise respectable rock clubs), yet the songs that I connected to the most were the albums most introspective songs (I guess I was a depressing soul way back then too) 'My Way', 'Take A Look Around' (which, I'll still admit is a damn good tune), 'It'll Be OK' and 'Boiler'.

Take A Look Around...

My Way... (Can't link the actual video from YouTube, but you can view it here)

Boiler...

As this was of only a few albums I had when I started reading the Harry Potter books I still connect the two in my mind, If I hear the album I think of the books, and if I read the books I think of the album.

Whether I like the band or not, this album made me like rock music, without it I could very easily be into dance or rap (both phases I went through later)

That's all I got on this album, hopefully the next album won't be quite so bad, but I suspect it will.

Shep.

whoisiamamiwhoami?

Hello again.

I write this time to discuss the latest music viral in town.

This short video was posted on the YouTube from the new user 'iamamiwhoami' on the 4th of December, with the title 'Prelude 699130082.451322':

Trees with legs, over electronic music cut to what appears to be a pig giving live birth.

It garnered a fair amount of attention, but not much was said or written about it until, on the 7th of January, another clip was posted, this one titled '9.1.13.669321018':

This one set the blogosphere off, trees with human anatomy, a mud-covered girl. and yet more awesome music. hundreds of people have tried to guess who it is, from MGMT to Lady GaGa. but still no one knows.

On the 24th January the longest and strangest video yet, but with the music starting off much more ambiently, again, with the numbered title '9.20.19.13.5.723378':

So, who is it:

well, although it isn't known for certain the blogosphere has kindly pointed out who is most likely, and that's a surprising array of artists:

Aphex Twin:

The electronic musician hasn't released an album since 2006's 'Analord' has speculation has been building about a new album for quite some time now.

Bjork:

Although the music could well be from a Bjork album, she has no new music expected anytime soon.

Christina Aguilera:

Christina has a new album 'Bionic' due out early this year, which has been 4 years in the making and she has said it will sound different to her other material.

This along with the videos use of amniotic fluid and images of birth, as Christina has stated that the birth of her son has lead to a change in musical direction, and we all know she's made alter-egos before (Xtina).

Add to this that some claim to have disciphered the title codes as her initials "CH/AG"

However her publicist has denied all claims it's her.

Goldfrapp:

Again, it sounds like it could be Goldfrapp, and the fact that Alison Goldfrapp bears a similarity to the girl in the videos is helping fuel speculation her way. but given the folk/acoustic sound of their last album 'seventh tree', and that the cover for their upcoming album 'Head First' looks like this and it seems unlikely that the dark scenery of the videos could come from them right now.

However, they are an electronic band and have also been known to use owl imagery in their videos.

The Knife:

Well, they're odd enough. And they are said to be releasing a studio version of an opera based on Charles Darwin, so with all the imagery of forests, birth and amniotic fluid in the videos it could well be them.

Lady GaGa:

Highly speculated due to her likness with the girl in the video and her love off being a 'bit odd' and kicking up a stir. but she's still promoting her album 'The Fame Monster'. so it seems is rather unlikely

MGMT:

Their second album 'Congratulations' is being released with no singles A'la Led Zeppelin and is said to be very different to their first.

Trent Reznor:

The Nine Inch Nails front man has always had a reputation for doing things differently and constantly innovating, doubled with the fact that he has virally promoted albums before:

Also, he recently promised new music both from Nine Inch Nails, and from a "non-Nine Inch Nails project" (widely believed to be a musical collaboration with his wife and other artists). this could well be associated with him.

Who do I think it is, I honestly don't know, but my money's on Christina or Trent.

Either way and whoever it is, this viral campaign is working, with over 300,000 views on YouTube these videos are popular and have sparked discussion about whoever it is.

Shep.

EDIT(s):

• It Isn't The Knife, their new album 'Tomorrow, In A Year' was released for download on the 28th. (and is available to listen to on the left hand side of this page)

• I had to re-upload the videos as they we're taken down and re-uploaded due to copyright infringement. hence why you now can't see the pig/goat live birth in the first video.

The Birth Of Dissent...

I've just been inspired by Miss Lomas's podcast on 'Illegally downloading music' to write down some of my thoughts about the issue.

I've tried to make it as coherent as possible so apologies if it reads a bit like a rant.

Why do people pirate music?

Well, I can't help but think that it isn't as clear cut as some people would have us believe. I do not in the slightest believe that the majority of people who pirate do it just because it's free (yeah, there's probably a fringe element who do, but they are the minority).

For example, your favourite artist releases an album next week that you have already pre-ordered. but it's been leaked onto the internet (by another fan who just wants people to hear it (there's no money involved in BitTorrent leaks)), are you, as the music industry would have you believe, actually committing a crime and being morally repugnant in downloading the album or a few songs from it?. No, of course you're not.

I pay for music, and I have ALOT of music. but I still pirate. why? well the aforementioned leaks, I'm always checking out new bands I've heard about. but as a general rule, the majority of music I've downloaded that I've liked, I've gone and bought.

Proof...

And yet, in the eye's of the music industry, I'm eating into the profits of artists and preventing new talent coming through... and yet, somehow, there's no lack of new artists coming through. all that's changing is the way they're being recognised. either virally through the piracy of their music (major example of this is the Arctic Monkeys, whose debut album was the fastest selling debut in history, because it was on the internet, and people had heard it, and they wanted to go out and buy it), or through increased exposure on the tour circuit.

Another argument they make is that every download equals a lost sale. This simply isn't the case. People will download music that been recommended to them without hearing it first because it's free. That doesn't mean that they would have necessarily gone out and bought it.

The Labels

One major factor affecting the amount of piracy going on is the increasing hypocrisy of record labels.

When file sharing was first being realised as an issue for the music industry, they had two options... to embrace this new frontier, explore the options open to them to increase their revenue and give consumers a choice, this would have given consumers the option to work with the industry in supporting artists and lowering piracy levels. or the other option, to restrict it as much as possible, by shutting down sites that allowed people to share music, suing people who uploaded songs and generally treating music fans like shit.

We all know which road they went down.

And so, for years the major labels used their influence and wealth to bully individuals into paying thousands of pounds for downloading a few songs (note the case of Jammie Thomas, who was ordered by court to pay $80,000 PER SONG, for 24 counts of infringement. a total fine of $1.92m)

I think it's clear to see who the crooks are in this scenario, and it's not the fans who download music.

All the while the music industry has claimed poverty (while enjoying some of their most profitable years ever), and even asked for money to fight pirates from the US banks bail-out during the recession.

You will notice that they always point towards a decline in album sales as definitive proof that piracy is to blame. yet you will rarely see them pointing out that sales of digital singles has risen dramatically. Weird that.

Yet, while the labels fought with file-sharers, the file-sharers were doing something far more constructive, creating a musical utopian community. where a fan of a band could go and get copies of artists stuff that wasn't available in the shops, rarities and b-sides which would otherwise costs hundreds to track down, and yes, leaks. albums that weren't even available in shops could be downloaded off the internet. everything for free.

early on there was nothing stopping the labels stepping in and monetizing this with say, a monthly or weekly fee to use it. yet, they decided that attempting to stop it would be more profitable and worthwhile.

There is also evidence that it is the labels stranglehold on artists that is causing the artists to lose money.

For those who do not know this, when an artist signs to a label, the label retains the legal rights to all music produced by the band for the length of the contract.

This stranglehold is detrimental to the artist and a lifeline for labels.

Many established artists now do not need the labels sucking their income away from them, but cannot do anything about it due to contracts signed long ago (the average contract is for 7 studio albums).

It was recently pointed out that that even with the free streaming service spotify, where it appears the labels are outwardly showing signs of trying to adapt. they are still up to their old tricks. with over a million plays on the service you'd think Lady GaGa was doing fairly well from it. well she's not, a million plays has earned her the grand total of $167.

This is nothing to do with the service itself, independents can earn $0.03 per play, which would have earned her $30,000. instead, because the labels own the music, it's all gone to them.

As you can probably tell, for all labels moaning that piracy is destroying their business, it is probably something they deserve. they allowed it to get like this by pursuing individuals with fines as a way to fund themselves rather than investing in innovation.

Let the dinosaurs die I say. or as Demonbaby puts it:

For the major labels, it's over. It's fucking over. You're going to burn to the fucking ground, and we're all going to dance around the fire. And it's your own fault. Surely, somewhere deep inside, you had to know this day was coming, right? Your very industry is founded on an unfair business model of owning art you didn't create in exchange for the services you provide. It's rigged so that you win every time - even if the artist does well, you do ten times better. It was able to exist because you controlled the distribution, but now that's back in the hands of the people, and you let the ball drop when you could have evolved.

Innovation

So, if bands don't want to be sucked dry of any cash they have in a rapidly changing market, where do they go now?

Nine Inch Nails have innovated in the release and distribution of albums, without the backing of any major labels, and have been financially successful.

This goes back to 2007, the band were signed to interscope records and touring for an upcoming album release 'Year Zero'. at the time they were experimenting in building an ARG (Alternative Reality Game) based on the concept of the album. as part of this they released songs on USB sticks to fans at the shows, the fans then uploaded these songs online and created hype for the album.

also, they were becoming disfranchised by the labels management of leaks and piracy, here's a video from that tour shortly after the album release...

Following this the band were free from their record label, so what did they do.

They made an instrumental album 'Ghosts I-IV' and released it, for free.

the album came with a range of physical packages ranging from the free download, Double CD for $10 up to a Ultra-Deluxe Limited Edition signed box set for $300. the 2500 box sets sold out in a day, earning a gross profit of $750,000. and yet, they carried on innovating.

2 months later they released 'The Slip', again for free. no special packages this time, just the free download, and a limited edition CD and vinyl.

Within a month the album had been downloaded 1.4 million times and the 250,000 CD's had sold out.

What's more, with no label these albums were released under a Creative Commons copyright licence, in effect this allowed fans to legally "Remix it, share it with your friends, post it on your blog, play it on your podcast, give it to strangers etc."

Of course Nine Inch Nails aren't the only band innovating like this, Radiohead released their album 'In Rainbows' on a pay-what-you-like basis.

And Bloc Party's 'Intimacy' was rush-released online to prevent leaks and maximise profit.

For those who are wondering how new bands can establish themselves without the distribution network of a label I advise you read Trent Reznors article on the subject. highly useful and informative.

So, here we are in 2010, with the music industry still treating downloaders like shit. If only they'd take a look in the mirror.

Piracy isn't a threat to music, Major labels with excessive middle management, too much power and money are the real threat.

Apologies for the length and rant-like nature of this post. but the whole issue really pisses me off.

That's all for now.

Remember, Sharing Is Caring

And here's some free music from a forward thinking band.

Shep.

EDIT:

since writing and posting this two relevant articles have been released.

firstly this study was published, proving that pirates are the music industry's most valuable customers.

and secondly, Ed O'Brien (better known as Radiohead's guitarist) came out and said he doesn't believe pirates are killing music.

A Playlist

Ok, so it's a few weeks late, but here is my best of 2009 in music...

hope you enjoy it.

For those of you with spotify i've also put it into a playlist for you.

Shep.

EDIT: after much trial and error I cannot embed the playlist I made into the blog (which really kinda sucks), but you can listen to it here. and at the aforementioned spotify link.

Kaleidoscope

This song is awesome:

Kaleidoscope (feat. Jónsi) - T...

From Pitchfork:

"The name Tiësto may conjure images of big-room, heart-tugging trance music, but the world-conquering DJ is gunning for some rock cred with his forthcoming LP, Kaleidoscope, due October 20 on Ultra. The record's guest list includes Bloc Party's Kele Okereke, Metric's Emily Haines, Tegan and Sara, Kianna Alarid of Tilly and the Wall, and Sigur Rós' Jónsi Birgisson, who lends his angelic pipes to the title track to this seven and a half minute epic-- which is available on iTunes right now-- enjoy!"

Ólafur Arnalds

Wow, 2 posts in 2 days, crazy.

OK, just a short update to let you know about some amazing music I found online.
I found this guy called Ólafur Arnalds, in April of this year he recorded seven songs over 7 days and released them one per day day, for free. known as the 'Found Songs' album.

His music is primarily instrumental piano / string pieces (he supported Sigur Rós and a quote from his website reads: "Breaking classical music out of the tweed jacket and loafers and putting it into a t-shirt and trainers", which should give you some indication of what to expect) and it is some amazing stuff.

Check it out:




Seeing as this music is free I feel no guilt in posting the links for you here (Suck it major labels!):

1. Erla's Waltz
2. Raein
3. Romance
4. Allt varð hljótt
5. Lost Song
6. Faun
7. Ljósið

Spread The Word!

Obviously, you can support him by actually paying for a reasonably priced, high quality download, CD or vinyl from here.

Please do, and remember 'sharing is caring'.

SHEP


EDIT: you can also listen for free on Spotify

Strange Sounds.

Yo.

So, I was trying to get to sleep a couple of nights ago, and in my typical insecure way was trying to define myself, or more specifically, my taste in music. It was then that it came to me that I like some stuff many would define as weird without ever really listening to.

With this I decided to make a playlist of the stuff I enjoy that most people will never have heard of, simply titled 'Weird Shit'

Please take a listen if you have some time, if you don't like it don't listen again, if you like a song then please check out the band!





In other news i'll update this thing properly in a few weeks when I have more to talk about, i.e. when I know the finalised details for the China trip, when i've been home for easter, when I know what's happening with the camping trip and, most importantly, when I start revising for my exams, get bored and start procrastinating.

Shep.