...and the bleat goes on

I’ve observed with interest discussion in the music forum over at Drowned in Sound about, yep, downloading. This particular debate places emphasis on how this fine art affects small music labels. When it comes to downloading music files, I’m not completely sure where I stand. I sometimes feel as if I really am part of the minority who uses the act in the “try before you buy” sense. As a few posters remarked, there seems to be a mindset ingraining itself in people, particularly the young, that music should be free.

Me? Well, the Internet has allowed me to broaden my musical palette whilst limiting my consumption to mainly just the music of my choice. The process usually follows that I download an album or track from an artist, and if I like it enough I will buy it (I’ve always been a moralistic gent). And if I don’t, well, it simply isn’t worth having and I delete it. Looking back, if I was just relying on the radio and television, as once I was, I would not have found most of my favourite bands and musicians. Who loses in that? The Internet is a great promotional tool, so should artists expect there to be a "catch"?

I’ve been doing some reading in relation to this topic. Rojek (as cited in Bennett, Oct. 2005, Popular Music and Leisure Leisure Studies) draws continuities between file sharing and other traditions of resistance to dominant institutions of power in society. I can see that – and, like most acts of subversion, downloading has been coopted by the power holders (in this case iTunes and the like). But, come on, I will never pay for an mp3! Never! It’s all very well that music is floating between the virtual and the physical, and, yeah, it all opens up questions about copyright ownership etcetera – but no-one owns an mp3.

When you talk about your music collection, do you refer to your giga-bytes of digital squirt? No, thought not. Just like money can’t buy you love, mp3s can’t buy you kudos.

BANG! BANG!...Rock 'n' Roll!

I recently traded in my old PC for a MacBook. There are plenty of pros and cons flying my way, though thankfully more of the former. One of the big bonuses of the change has been the inclusion of GarageBand software.

Back in high school I dabbled in AcidPro, EJay and music-making programs of that ilk. Mind you, this was before the Evry1 can b a DJ!!1 age. A friend and I collaborated under the moniker of Stylus to self-release two sub-Avalanches/DJ Shadow cut’n’paste masterpieces.

Since then I’ve had limited experience with the gear that every musician loves to hate (and vice-versa): ProTools. It’s fun.

I was thinking of all these programs in relation to my last blog post. While they may not have the romance of the ol’ four track or dictaphone (!), these tools do breed a certain DIY ethic. Again, there are pros and cons, and it all comes down to the statement “anyone can make music”. Cool, my girl and I can record our gratuitously lo-fi demos with a minimum of fuss and technological know-how, and my punk neighbour can record his gratuitously swear-filled diatribes. Power in the wrong hands…

I’ve heard stories about how some high-profile bands have recorded entire albums straight to computer. I don’t know where I stand on that. All I know is that it is rather easy. Below is a song I wrote, recorded - and promptly forgot about - in under an hour. I might update it later.

Music scene is crazy, bands start up each and every day

When browsing the interweb, as I do too much, you’re bound to come across bands. Band and bands and bands and bands. For the tireless critic it becomes an endless task cutting the credible from the in-crowd cool, extricating the extraordinary from the everyday expanses. Some bands you won’t look twice at, and I would argue that the Internet has bred this dismissive streak in me.

Of course, I can hardly remember a time without the Internet. My musical coming-of-age has coincided so uniformly with the arrival of the digital era, that for as long as I can remember I have been tempted to find a way of successfully incorporating the stuttering sound of a dial-up modem into the perfect three-minute pop song.

Indie-media, forums, blogs, it is all second nature really. I have favourite bands in Sweden, Germany, Japan and Iceland, which is a great advertisement for globalisation yet still I sometimes pine for the simpler times - like the ones much-loved by Today Tonight viewers. Reading Michael Azerrad’s ‘Our Band Could Be Your Life’, however, it becomes clear that while theoretically simpler these times were in no way easier for aspiring bands.

Azerrad’s book chronicles the careers of a number of American indie underground acts between the years of 1981 and 1991, including such luminaries as Sonic Youth, Fugazi, Dinosaur Jnr. and Hüsker Dü. Most of these artists had little mainstream success at the time, but were later credited as having had an enormous influence on what is now deemed alternative or indie rock. Any recognition was attained through largely DIY means; that is, constant touring and independently released records.

Now, the Internet has opened up a whole new avenue for promotion. Everyone knows the stories behind web-sensations like Arctic Monkeys and Lily Allen. With new technologies it seems, just like anyone can be an author, anyone can be a musical artist.

A few weeks ago I had the great pleasure of interviewing the venerable Warren Ellis, the violinist renowned for his contributions to the Dirty Three, Nick Cave’s Grinderman and Bad Seeds.

The full story can be found here. I also put together a piece for my TiN Radio show featuring sections of the interview interspersed with the music of the band. I figured I’d let the world listen in, whilst at the same time testing out some new alien technology. Win-win, really.

Have a listen.

There is no around the corner anymore…

Well, that was a misleading headline wasn’t it? I can assure, I ain’t goin’ nowhere fast.

But the time has come for me to justify the existence of this web log.

First of all the title, No ‘Round the Corner, is taken from a song by The Evens, comprising of none other than Ian MacKaye (of Fugazi, formerly of Minor Threat) and his partner Amy Farina. For me, the said track has connotations lamenting (and lambasting) the effect of globalisation on many aspects of modern society. The digital age has made it so easy to traverse the world that what’s local can be overlooked and, indeed, the concept of what is around the corner has changed dramatically.

In February of this year I was lucky enough to witness the band when they put on a small show in my hometown of Newcastle. There, in the DIY surrounds, the seeds of this blog were sown, but it wasn’t until much later that they came to fruition. In fact, it’s fair to say I’ve been forced into it! (What would Ian think?)

My writings here will take on a predominantly musical bent; with further emphasis on the meeting points between technology and culture. As a student, part-time writer, and full-time citizen of the Internet, I feel I have something to contribute.

In introducing myself, let me point you in the various directions of my scattered soul:

• I have a weekly radio slot on TiN Radio called Noise Annoys.
• I regularly write for FasterLouder.
• I also contribute to Newcastle's own Reverb Street Press.

And that's just the start!

Join me as I explore ALL corners.

"I yank my eyebrow into a question"

Everyone in the blogosphere (and beyond) knows by now that the new Liars album has leaked. What many may not know is that the band don’t really care. Last week I had the amazing honour of interviewing Angus Andrew, the six-foot-beyond Melbourne-born, singer and general noise-bringer of the three-piece.

Among other things he touched on the early leak of Liars (due out 20/08/07 on Mute Records). I asked if the circumstances frustrated him it all:

No, not at all. It’s actually a pretty nice thing to happen I think. It’s cool that people care enough to want to get in early, I suppose.

I guess it used to be like you were excited that a record was coming out and you’d got to the store and buy it straight away, but that’s just changed. Now people are excited about when they can get it leaked first. I think it’s just the changing way that people look at music.

So much for downloading killing the record industry, huh? But then, I guess Liars have never really been the norm. Although, from the interview, it does seem Angus and co. have tired of the "difficult" tag. This definitely comes across in the new album.

I’ll post the full transcription at a later date, but let me just say that Angus is a dude. Such a nice guy. Which contrasts nicely with the tortured artist image you might gather from the trio’s sonic palette. He is a worthy read, I tell you. The full story will be available in a few places so I’ll keep you all informed.

For now, watch the new video for the ‘Plaster Casts of Everything’ single and be excited, very excited (assuming, unlike me, that you haven’t heard the leak):



[Liars is out 20/08/07 on Mute Records]
* Photo Credit: Joe Dilworth (2007)

Brought to you by the letter W

Last night on the train home from Sydney I got thinking about my travelling habits, which, naturally, started me thinking about my listening habits. My trip was slap-bang in the middle of peak afternoon thoroughfare so I, being the savvy, disaffected youth that I am, put the headphones on and plugged into some musical escapism.

My mp3 player (which is not actually mine but that’s another story, and quite possibly another blog entry), however, is nearing the end of its tether. Buttons are sticking and navigation is only possible in an upward song-by-song fashion. Usually I just stick it on random and hope that my music taste doesn’t let me down, but this time I felt the call of the full album experience.

The two hour and 43 minute journey tested me, though I didn’t flinch in the face of technology. I fell asleep, read Catch 22 and the street presses, and did not press a button – and it was all brought to me by the letter W.

The playlist went something like this:

Why? > Wire > Witch Hats > Wolf Parade > The Wrens

As I reached my front door, the final strains of ‘This Is Not What You Had Planned’ from the The Wrens’ marvellous Meadowlands album faded out, and I was left admiring my ability to compartmentalise my music collection.


The Wrens at Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ (photo: Patrick Glennon).

The Wrens Mp3s