Brand New Live at the Meow Meow in Portland, OR – November 2nd, 2002

http://www.mediafire.com/?dyojlyldvxl
Take a trip back in time…

Answer my question, dammit!

I wanted to pass along this blog entry by David Pogue of the New York Times.  I was linked to it through my buddy Paul’s blog, so I guess I’m the third party here.  Anyway, check it out because he asks a ton of questions that I have silently wondered about as well:

• Who are the morons who respond to junk-mail offers, thereby keeping spammers in business?
• Why don’t public sinks have foot pedals?
• How come cellphone signal-strength bars are so often wrong?
• What’s the real reason you have to turn off your laptop for takeoff?

I’ll post some of my own questions later.  Leave yours in the comments…

Gimme some mo’…

- First real thoughts on “The Alchemy Index Vols 1 & 2″: Not really digging them.  The “Fire” set of songs isn’t brazen or really striking, but I know that 3 of the 6 are catching my ear.  “Water” just floats along, with nothing grabbing me except maybe “Digital Sea” and perhaps “The Whale Hunter”.  Keep in mind this is a listen on my iPod with stock headphones – one of my problems with the songs have been that they don’t sound dynamically full.  Still, not sure if I can blame that on the headphones, when I am digging plenty of other music with them.

- An album that I am really liking is Days Away’s “Ear Candy for the Headphone Trippers” EP which came out a few weeks ago.  Musically, they are one of my favorite bands.  There is technicality that they weave with a pop-sensibility that really hits my ears right.   While the lyrics may not be the most engaging at the on-set (probably because the phrases are drawn out, and act more like an instrument),  I found them meaningful and worthy of their musical prowess.  The five songs definitely rock, but Days Away has a way of working in some jazzy syncopation, punk intensity, and a poppy sheen.  On a minor note, their drummer is amazing.  He does exactly what a drummer should do: he’s the backbone of the band, keeps the beat and time, but shows us flourishes of his talent through short fills and the occasional mix-up through syncopated beats.  Initial review: I LOVE IT.

- Over the next few weeks I’m going to be rotating through the above albums along with The Band of Horses “Cease to Begin”, Jimmy Eat World “Chase this Light” (which might find its way out based upon a first listen, and their reputation with me), and Radiohead “In Rainbows”.  Those are the albums that are on my plate as I write this, but I am ultimately more excited for Say Anything’s “In Defense of the Genre” than anything else.  The 27-song double-disc album is something I have been waiting for since late last year.  From what I have heard so far, it promises to be worth the wait.

- Brand New is releasing a re-recorded version of one of their demos (#7 of the now infamous “Fight Off Your Demons” leaked demos) next Tuesday (October 23).  It was by far my favorite demo (as evidence by its play count in my iTunes), and I’m really happy that it’s getting the proper treatment now.  It was a wild ride around the time that “the devil and god are raging inside me” was released, with all the hubbub about which demos were on the album, and what was changed, blah blah.  The fact is, no one outside of the band should have ever heard those demos, because they were only demos.  I feel lucky to have gotten a glimpse at what was going on with them, and the demos really grew on me.  Still, the album was much different (in a positive way) than the direction that the demos were going.  It was a cohesive piece of work, and deserves to be seen as such.  Whatever they plan on doing with those demos, be it release them all or relegate them to the trash,  it’s fine with me – “the devil and god are raging inside me” is a beautiful album, even in its missteps, and I won’t compare it to the demos because it doesn’t need to be compared to anything.

- Speaking of Brand New: I’m seeing them at the Wiltern with Thrice on November 3rd.  Couldn’t be more excited.  I haven’t seen Brand New since Summer ’06 when they played a set that featured only “Sowing Season” and “You Won’t Know” from the (at the time) unreleased “the devil and god…”.  In the past year they have headlined by playing the entirety of “Deja entendu” in order, as well as various songs from “Your Favorite Weapon” and “the devil and god…”.  Brand New doesn’t disappoint live, and with Thrice opening it will easily be worth the ticket price.

More Music Musings…

So, Thrice released the first installment of their “The Alchemy Index” EP’s “Fire” & “Water”.  The EP’s come as one package so it ends up being like a 12 song LP divided into two halves.  Listening through the “Fire” EP (only once so far, mind you) I see Thrice treading mostly the same waters that they did on “Vheissu” which was a very strong release at the time, but hasn’t stayed with me as much as other albums that came out in ’05 (Ex: Gatsby’s American Dream “And the Volcano”, Days Away “Mapping an Invisible World”).  I’m going to sit down with the “Water” songs tonight, and I hope that they hit me harder than the “Fire” songs did.  Really, I am more excited for the “Air” and “Earth” EP’s than anything, because from what I have heard they are less…well…Thrice-y than we are used to.  Don’t get me wrong, Thrice is one of my favorite bands, but for some reason I need something different from them right now.  I guess I’m just picky.

Thrice’s 4 EP idea gets me thinking about how albums should be released, the value/difference/preference of EP’s vs LP’s, and what the future holds.  Now, as I said, the packaging of “The Alchemy Index” EP’s makes the albums like a 12-song LP.  Still, the breaking up of songs into 4 different EP’s is intriguing.  What if Thrice had decided to digitally release 6 songs at a time over a 12 month period?  Would that be too much waiting, or would it be worth it?  How would they integrate the songs into the tour?  Is music just a “give it to me NOW” type of art that we can all just take in as quickly as it comes out?  Or do we need time to digest a song or an album? 

Would you prefer a 12 song album every two years?  Or two 6-song EP’s every year?  If you were to ask me point-blank I would say “give me the EP’s”, but that’s just how I feel right now.  Does music even need to fit into a certain “mold” in the 21st century?  Are you getting tired of all the questions?  (because there’s more!)

It seems to me that in this high-speed, wireless, broadband, digital age of leaking and illegal downloading (yes, I am a criminal) we all want everything RIGHT NOW.  An album gets a weeks worth of spins and then it’s thrown off the “Recently Played” list in your iTunes.   Why?  Because you probably have 40GB of music that you never actually listen to, and another 10 albums that you just downloaded, and movies that you haven’t watched, and a tivo line-up of shows, and maybe a book or two to read.  Have we reached a point of entertainment saturation?  It’s a question to ponder, and one that I think the answer to is “no”.  I’ve never really thought about it before. 

There will always be countless albums to listen to, books to read, and movies to watch – we’ll never do it all.  I would rather have the feeling that “there is always more” than never having anything, but come on, there’s a lot of pressure involved in trying to expose yourself to “the best of the best”.

It’s this simple: I still have to read “War and Peace”, watch “Casablanca”, see “The Sopranos”, and listen to the entire Beatles catalogue.  I’m worthless.

Thoughts on the music industry

Much has been said about the announcement of Radiohead’s “In Rainbows” being released tomorrow via free (or pay what you want, but I’m going with free) download.  We have all known for a while that this is the way the music industry is going – Radiohead is just the first “big band” to realize it and go with the flow.  They aren’t doing anything new (The Format put their fantastic album “Dog Problems” up for free over the summer) but they are forcing the industry to wake up and smell the proverbial coffee.  Yes, they are releasing the album in a physical box-set as well (for a hefty sum), but it will come with artwork and goodies that you can’t get anywhere else.  While I won’t be shelling out the cash for the box-set, I can tell you that plenty of people WILL.   

What we have in this “free download” is much different than the bittorrent and Kazaa/Limewire downloads that we have been using for years.  First off: it’s legal.  Secondly, the download speeds/quality/ease of use is going to be (hopefully) high, whereas you never quite know what you’re getting with other “services”.  Last, and most importantly for Radiohead, is that you have to fill-in all your information (e-mail, home address, and even cell #) to get the download.  It’s a small hoop to jump through for the listener, but provides the band with a powerful tool: the ability to access you directly (some people will falsify the information, but most, including me, probably won’t).   

Direct access to a fan base is important for a band.  When you thought “fan clubs” were cool because of the autographs, bands were using this as an easier way to find the people that will keep them in business.  Marketing an album or a tour is a huge cost to a band/label, and if the cost can be dwindled by targeting key groups instead of blanketing the nation with ads, it’s a win-win situation.  So, when you download Radiohead’s new album, you’ll most likely also be getting e-mails and text messages to buy more albums or go to concerts, because you already showed interest in the band.  It’s that simple.  At least after you read “The Future of Music”.  

When you think about it, bands barely make anything from record sales as it already is (it’s all about touring, people!).  So, why not just give your album away, and have a virtual money-pit of information on the people who purchased it?  It seems like the perfect way to go.  I’m sure there are plenty of things I’m not thinking about, but with the world becoming one big connected information highway this is a pretty good way to start. 

I’m going to post my thoughts on Thrice’s new set of EP’s, and what they might mean in regards to releasing LP’s, later tonight.