Manic Street Preachers - 'Postcards From a Young Man'

Ah, a most-anticipated release over at AFIN HQ: the Manic Street Preachers' 10th album, Postcards from a Young Man (due out 9/20/2010). Most bands managing to carry on long enough to reach this landmark are quite tired musically by this point, reverting to old tricks, sounding dated in comparison to contemporary music, all manner of ills striking at what once was creative and beautiful. It was indeed disconcerting to some listeners – including this one – when the Manics announced Postcards would be “one last shot at mass communication”, not in the sense of a final album, but as a big grab for widespread, and presumably larger commercial interest. The commercial aspect of this has been heightened further in the release of a limited-to-500 Postcards box set, which has been lamented by many as overpriced ($100+) for what it includes, although it is quite an impressive pile of stuff: scrapbook chronicling the making of the album, Postcards From a Young Man on CD and cassette tape (?!) of demos, a making-of DVD, postcard for each album track, and t-shirt. Internet Manics communities have shown hot anticipation of the album, resolute pledges to not listen to advance downloads ('Not Listening to the Leak' thread) as well as open declarations to do so, and even frustration with the present-day Manics (particularly in response to their 'secret gig' and corresponding contest to grant tickets to those not on the guest list).

I was personally quite interested in the release of Postcards as the Manic Street Preachers have become a favorite band of mine, very slowly and over several years, finally reaching new heights after writing a pre-release review of last year's Journal For Plague Lovers, an album which utilized the last remaining lyrics of former member Richey Edwards. It's telling that on my much-anticipated trip to London and Edinburgh in spring 2010, 80% of the items I picked up had to do with this 'new' fascination of mine, and in the year before the only concert I'd gone to was catching the Manics on their first US tour in ten years. I had been hooked into the Manics like I had been with the Libertines in my early teenage years, as I had been with the Who at the onset of adulthood; utterly besotted with their music for the most part and yet simultaneously intensely critical and looking for tears in the golden tapestry. There were imperfections to be had in the Manics' music and in their characters, they were and are human after all, and their music does not lack in addressing humanity (a cursory skim of some of their lyrical subject matter through the years: anorexia - “4st 7lb”, the Spanish civil war - “If You Tolerate This, Your Children Will be Next”, gender questioning - “Born a Girl”). As for the imperfections...Gold Against the Soul and Send Away the Tigers are not my cup of tea. While Gold Against the Soul is not infrequently regarded as half-decent, half-overblown rockist cliché, Send Away the Tigers induces more divisive responses from fans – the largely lighhearted, poppy feel throughout does not sit well with some, while providing a breath of fresh air out of the Manics' sometimes heavily dark catalog for others.

As wary as I was of Send Away the Tigers, the very opening of Postcards From a Young Man grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me, sonically telling me that the proceedings to follow were to be a largely cheerful affair, or at least dressed to be uplifting no matter what the subject matter. Perhaps this is only a natural response after the purging of Edwards' remaining lyrical contribution to the band in Journal for Plague Lovers, and the Manics have made no secret about revisiting their own past here, with the album being touted as a sort of return to Everything Must Go aesthetics. Postcards begins with “It's Not War (Just the End of Love)”, also the first single off the album with accompanying music video featuring Michael Sheen and Anna Friel (seen below article), is anthemic to the point of borderline reversion to classic rock stylings, almost a guilty pleasure: just you try to get that chorus out of your head. “Postcards From a Young Man” is equally spirited as the first, echoing in some ways the title track to Send Away the Tigers, though does a neater job at setting the stage for the album – swapping it with “It's Not War (Just the End of Love)” would've made more sense thematically.

“Some Kind of Nothingness”, featuring Ian McCulloch, must've been surreal to record – after all, Echo and the Bunnymen were the first band that three-fourths of the young Manics, James, Sean and Richey, saw at a concert in the 1980s. Instrumentally, it is not so displaced from a latter-day Bunnymen track – matching in some ways the vibe of their self-titled 1987 release – although James Dean Bradfield's vocals crossing with McCulloch's and a gospel choir's is a bit much to contend with at once. “The Descent (Pages 1 & 2)” seems to be a descent in mood as well: autumnal strings, “I hope I'm making sense / I've lost my last defense” and introspective “Do I have the courage of the books I've read?”. “Hazelton Avenue” is a personal favorite of the Postcards bunch, starting off like a 60s girl-group single (complete with rolling drums and a psych-tinged guitar effect creeping in), brilliant strings throughout, high-spirited; lacking a specific ideological agenda, this is a carefree song that perhaps only the 2010 Manics could have made.

One of the most complex tunes on Postcards, “Auto Intoxication”, featuring John Cale on piano, picks up on the personal themes addressed in “The Descent”; “The more I want to be me / The less I know myself”. It changes tempo and feel several times throughout, first plodding along, then spinning out into the atmosphere before insistent guitars pull the listener back in. “Golden Platitudes” sees the return of the choirs, nostalgic (“Where did the feeling go? / Where did it all go wrong?”) and one of the most optimistic Manics tracks in the whole canon (“I fell back in love with love / I know that sounds odd”). “I Think I've Found It” matches lyrical formulas put forth in “The Descent” and “Auto Intoxication” but with less musical variation, a bit of a tired track compared with the others that surround it.

“A Billion Balconies Facing the Sun”, featuring Guns N' Roses' Duff McKagan on bass, starts with a rebellious riff, a drum beat like a sigh of breath (or is that the pump of a heart?), making for suspenseful listening. “All We Make is Entertainment” seems to be a brother to “It's Not Love (Just the End of War”)” in sound, apart from the quainter music box-esque ping decorating this track, and the theme of which Bradfield has said: “I wanted the music to have the slight feel of a super-slick, hopeless game show. Like a great, happy empty-headed behemoth. We played a festival in Bergen and everywhere there was stuff that had been made in Bergen. We make nothing. All we make is entertainment, and we can’t even do that anymore." “The Future Has Been Here 4Ever” is easily the best Nicky Wire has sounded vocally on any Manics album yet. Wire has been a frequent target for ridicule over his occasional singing, which he himself has described as more a “sigh, on Manics albums, b-sides, and his one solo album in 2006, I Killed the Zeitgeist. “Make yourself pretty / Just for one last time” he calls, amidst otherwise drummer Sean Moore's trumpet blasts. The sound here is hopeful, a feeling mentioned by name as the choir joins in with Wire: “When you can't shake off your yesterdays / When you can't rewrite your histories / When you let some love break through the night / When you let some hope come into your life” The closer, “Don't Be Evil” – also a Google corporate motto – is full of the most venom on Postcards, the sharpness of the instrumentation fitting along with cutting criticism. "It’s hard to write about this stuff without sounding like a boring old man...But you have to cast a critical eye on things be it technology or your own class. I don’t want citizen journalism or blogs; I want to read people who know what they’re talking about.", said Wire.

I was pleasantly surprised with Postcards From a Young Man. Despite my relative admiration for the Manic Street Preachers' works, I practically had my hands wrung in fear of Postcards being a huge disappointment, a grab at an alien, commercial sound that would somehow be untrue to the band. I was happy to hear that, while not being disingenuous to themselves, they have managed to inject a strongly positive feeling into their work, without resorting to cheesy stadium rock (Send Away the Tigers, I'm looking at you). The choirs and vocal layering are at times overdone, a couple of songs only half-realized (“I Think I've Found It” and “All We Make is Entertainment” come to mind), but overall the album provides an invigorating listening experience, and proof that the Manics still are covering new ground with each release. They have yet to make a part 2 of a previous album, and as Journal For Plague Lovers was no Holy Bible Part II, nor is Postcards From a Young Man an Everything Must Go Part II. The comparison ends after the band has emerged in both cases from under a dark, heavy collection of lyrics and emotions, blossoming forth as a renewed flower, shedding its petals here for the 10th time.


Manic Street Preachers - (Its Not War) Just The End Of Love

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Gig Review: The Libertines at Leeds Festival

Its fair to say that the Libertines reformation has almost certainly been the highest anticipated event of the festival season, amidst multiple rumours, doubts and general speculation all concerns were forgotten when the foursome finally made their appearance on stage.

Despite not many Libertines fans being too impressed with Dizzee Rascal's performance, [although to his credit I felt that he put on an excellent show, even if I don't have much interest in his music, but I'm still yet to hear Boy in Da Corner.] The scramble around the stage when Dizzee finished was pretty frantic! Many fans forcing their way as close to the front as possible, despite this, I managed to get a decent spot about 5 rows from the stage. Shortly afterwards the banner featuring the Up the Bracket album artwork was raised to an incredible reception from the crowd, and when the music eventually died down for the show to begin there was much a buzz in the crowd, where I felt as excited as I was nervous! A slide show began featuring some classic photos of the band, which put the crowd on the edge of exploding from the tension. When they made their way onto the stage there was an incredible air of excitement and disbelief. They were here and this really was about to happen.

After a quick greeting to the crowd the libs began with Horrorshow, and just wow - I have never seen a crowd reaction to a band in such a big way before, and needless to say things got violent pretty quickly! Drinks were instantly flying and crowd surfing, pushing and crushes soon followed, you could barely concentrate on the stage simply to make sure you didn't go down under a crowd of feet! After Vertigo, I was nervous when Pete put down his guitar and took to the side of the stage, and it seems I wasn't alone either, many thought that would be all we were getting for the night, but drummer Gary kept the crowd going before Pete returned and the band tore into a blinding rendition of Last Post on the Bugle.

As a band, the libs were as tight or disjointed [however you see it!] as they ever were and the energy was undeniable, the show was apparently halted when they later went on to play at Reading Festival, but no such occurrence happened at Leeds, probably down to the fact it wasn't being broadcast on national television. Stand out tracks for the Leeds crowd were probably What Became of the Likely Lads, What Katie Did, [A massive singalong!] Don't Look Back into the Sun and What a Waster.

When the set reached its close I was left with a strange feeling about what I had just seen, as much as it had confirmed to me how incredible the libs were and are as a band, the once mythical band that i had heard so many stories about, left me wondering if the reformation made them feel less special? Many bands in recent years have been reforming, although generally I can only see this in a positive way, but the truly legendary bands can be sometimes become a fonder attachment if the distance between them and their fans remains. Although this may not be the case for everyone, but I see The Libertines in the same way I see the Stone Roses and The Smiths [Sorry to chose obvious examples!] and although their reputation would remain the same for me, I have the feeling my views will become somewhat different in time to come... but perhaps this is just me, after past occurrences and seeing how things changed with Blur and The Verve after their reformation. Readers, how do you feel on the subject? Are re-unions always a good thing?

Anyway, back to the gig itself, the set list consisted of a healthy selection from both albums, and a few surprises such as Up The Bracket b-side The Delaney.

Set List:
1 Horrorshow
2 The Delaney
3 Vertigo
4 Last Post On The Bugle
5 Tell The King
6 Boys In The Band
7 Music When The Lights Go Out
8 What Katie Did
9 What Became Of The Likely Lads
10 Can't Stand Me Now
11 Death On The Stairs
12 The Ha Ha Wall
13 Don't Look Back Into The Sun
14 Time For Heroes
15 The Good Old Days
16 Up the Bracket
17 What A Waster
18 I Get Along

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Interviewing the Readers - Let's Talk About...the Best Gig Ever

 Quick and to the point query today: what is the best concert you've ever been to and what made it so fabulous? I'll answer after myself after some of your lovely comments should appear!

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Book Review: 'Richard', by Ben Myers

Making AFIN history with the first review of a music-related book to ever appear on the site is Ben Myers' novel Richard, a fictional take on the life of Richey Edwards from the Manic Street Preachers, to be released on Picador on October 1st, 2010. Authored by a man who is a journalist as well as a fan of the band himself, Richard is both the product of careful research and a unique presentation of behind-the-scenes goings-on within the band and Richey's personal life, alternating between first-person and second-person (!) storytelling to contrast and link together the events prior to – and during – his mysterious disappearance with his childhood on through his time in the band.

Although as a reader it has been tricky to distance myself from the heavy Manics listening and related exploration of the group that I've done myself, I'd like to think Richard could stand alone as a work not necessarily requiring knowledge of the band as a prerequisite to reading. As many events contained within are based on those known to actually have taken place, it is ultimately a novel and is presented as such – skeptical fans ought not worry about such a work steering a newcomer 'wrong' about the real-life Manics, and one would hope that a reader who found enjoyment in this work would be curious to check out the truly great band that provided the inspiration behind it, forming their own opinions and conjectures. In Richard, Myers is presenting a version of Richey; sometimes he may gel with your version of Richey, sometimes not. The main aspect to ponder here then, which I will attempt to answer over the course of this piece, is really: is this Richey an engaging character?

The chapters of Richard are named after slogans that had previously appeared on shirts Richey had worn, e.g. 'Bomb the Past', 'Classified Machine', 'London – Death Sentence Heritage', and act as themes for the text which follows them, also preceded by equally apt quotes from Shakespeare's Hamlet. Mention of Richey and Shakespeare in the same sentence likely conjures up this interview quote from Edwards in the minds of Manics fans: “When I was 13, I did a Shakespeare project that was 859 pages long. Everyone else did six!" The number of pages he'd referenced is quite possibly exaggerated, though his devotion to academic success is well-documented and a reflection of his voracious appetite for knowledge that continued on into adulthood and made itself very known during his time in the Manic Street Preachers, in everything from his lyrics with obscure historical and literary references to his habit of quickly devouring every book that came into his path. This homework assignment incident is but one of many pre-1995 flashbacks peppered throughout the novel. Literary snapshots of Richey's youth flicker on by: the arrival of his beloved dog Snoopy, the infamous “childhood glimpse of pornography” (also a line from the Manics' “Life Becoming a Landslide”), early associations with Nicky Wire, James Dean Bradfield, and Sean Moore. Particularly vivid are the impressions of punk and Richey's love of and curiosity over music, interwoven with his comradery with his future band-mates. The dynamic of Richey and Nicky – who is described at one point as Part-brother, part unconsummated lover, but mainly best friend and fashion-crime partner – portrayed here is especially noteworthy .

His college years are formative to his personality and simultaneously early signs of what would become damaging to him later, a smattering of introversion, relationship frustration amidst a sort of bisexual-asexuality, diving deep into books and alcohol, and suddenly he finds himself swept away into a band with his friends, the Manic Street Preachers, where he becomes a crucial member despite instrumental inadequacy. He gradually finds himself very much at home in the 'Richey Manic' mold, initially urged on by the others and finding a sense of purpose in his role in the band, as evidenced in this excerpt from chapter 3:

...somewhere out there, for the first time, you begin to become someone else. The hair becomes a little longer, a little bigger. The eyeliner becomes thicker. The face powder whiter. The trousers tighter. The moves sharper. The eyes blanker. Somewhere out here 'Richey Manic' is gestating...It is a process of metamorphosis that you feel at ease with. Each night you assume your mask; you hide behind your foundation and a steady flow of vodka.

In tandem with Nick, who has embraced his new Wire persona with equal biro, you assume your role with ease. James however remains slightly schizophrenic still undecided between his Strummer/Springsteen/Slash ultra-man mode, or whether he should – or could – embrace the androgynous Keef/Thunders/Liz Taylor vibe that you and Nick are going for, but his musicianship compensates for any identity confusion.

Sean meanwhile is growing his hair out completely, his cherub face framed by dark shiny bangs that seem to make him even more ageless, androgynous and sexless than any of us.

What begins as a thirty-minute nightly performance soon grows into something else.

Richey Manic begins to encroach upon your day. And you realize that you actually like the company of him more than you like your own.

You embrace him.

A first-person, Richey-perspective narrative set in 1995 runs alongside these past recollections; alien territory for Manics veterans and non-fans alike, as one can only guess at – or in this case, create fiction detailing – the events that might have taken place after Richey was neither seen nor heard from again. Here, he is trying to escape not only himself – Camus said, 'What is called a reason for living is also a reason for dying,' and while I can't imagine a situation in which I could find the strength to take my own life, right now I certainly can't find any justifiable reason for carrying on living either. What once fueled me – what drove this band of ours forwards – is now that which cripples me and renders me impotent in all ways: creatively, socially, sexually – but the world around him as well: There is simply no fight left in me because there is nothing worth fighting for. Love, money, fame, relationships, power, sex, hedonism, art – it all seems like too much effort. I've tried them and they've burned me out. It's far more than boredom; this is a sense of hyper-sensitivity to a world in which I don't – or can't – belong. I can't belong because it's all so hopelessly upsetting. Everything just kills me.

As the book jacket states, “the demons that nag at him won't be easily assuaged, and ultimately, he has to decide whether or not he has a future.” This is illustrated literally with a continued inner conversation with himself, a sort of 'dark side' to Richey that berates him and both persuades and dissuades for the worse, his struggle up until the end. The flashbacks in between, akin to one's life flashing before their eyes and heightened by the use of the second-person, put where he has ended up in perspective, from his importance and having a sense of purpose within the Manics to his sense of isolation regardless of his surroundings, withdrawing into himself as well as becoming an over-exaggerated version of his own persona, dependent on his role in the band while drowning in a multitude of excesses and self-harm.

Myers' writing style certainly shows influence from his journalistic background – the attention to detail and blend of fact with his own fictionalized version of the Manics-story sometimes peaks with moments of brilliance, though the high points, for this reader anyhow, typically only appear in the flashback events as opposed to the occasionally stilted, even momentarily awkward vibe of the 1995 narrative. The fast-paced, kaleidoscope of bright, shiny imagery of events such as Richey losing his virginity, one of the most vivid scenes, and perhaps my favorite of the book - it's all so brilliantly base and animalistic and ridiculous and devoid of any meaning other than the physical sensation of the moment, and then the music stops and the crowd cheers and you can hear your heartbeat pulsing in your ears and you arrive in more ways than one – could be said to contrast sharply with the cold, bleak shock of reality come 1995, a broken man battling with himself and gradually tearing away from the world, though it also seems to evidence that Myers' strong point in Richard is in illustrating Richey's time in the Manics, particularly during the Generation Terrorists album time-frame. The latter-day Richey, though in many ways representative of a changed man, occasionally comes off as incongruent with the Richey depicted in the typically more engaging passages running parallel. It must've been difficult to write, in the first-person, as a Richey in a shattered state of mind – sometimes the challenge shows, particularly in the first couple of chapters.

The central character of Richard is one the reader may struggle to like and identify with at times, though he shares a number of aspects in common with the Richey, who endeared himself to many first from being poetic and looking pretty, then inspired empathy over issues of self-destruction and the horror of information overload that was probably integral to bringing about his eventual collapse. Richard is a plunge into Manic Street Preachers mythology and simultaneously a partial deconstruction of the man/myth that is (...was?) Richey Edwards. "Partial", as some bits are respectfully or needfully left ambiguous; this book is not an attempt to deploy shocking theories on what happened to the real-life Richey post-disappearance, it's a novel that, while imperfect, largely works as both a tribute to an iconic figure and an analysis of a talented, intelligent individual with real problems.
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Pre-order Richard from Amazon | on Facebook | on MySpace | Ben Myers, Man of Letters (Blog)
Ben Myers will be interviewed about the book for AFIN in September 2010 - stay tuned!

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Interviewing the Readers - Let's Talk About...'Desert Island Discs'

Late-appearing Interviewing the Readers segment, spurred on by the relative success of last week's topic and responses (on buying physical copies of music), here we go!:

Desert Island Discs is a program running on BBC (actually one of the longest running radio programs ever) in which celebrity guests pick eight songs they'd like to have with them on a desert island. These are presumably top favorites, songs that may have special meaning and/or are so jaw-droppingly epic to the selector that they must appear in such a list. This week the question to the readers is: what would your eight song choices be? Or ten - I rather like lists of ten, it keeps my tinge of obsessive compulsiveness in check. No need to pick the ultimate eight that much anguish might result in choosing, but just some of the topmost influential and important tracks to you that you most certainly would want with you in a stranded situation. This kind of list-making can lead to some unexpected soul-searching as well...

Readers are also welcome to mention favorite Desert Island Discs guests. I'll post my selections in the comments after hearing from some of you!

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Independent Music Discoveries: Issue #33

UPDATES:

Snail Quail - Indie / Acoustic / Punk - Arizona, USA
AFIN contributor Jonathan aka Snail Quail has embarked on a tour to promote his forthcoming album, Calculus (see also my review of his Moving On EP). Check out "Phoenix, AZ", the topic of the song is what it says on the tin, showing Snail Quail in good-humored and analytical top form.
Tour dates (subject to addtions):
August 16th – Plea For Peace Center, Stockton, CA
August 19th – Starry Plough Pub, Berkeley, CA
August 20th – Daydream Republic, 4500 W Jefferson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, 90016 w/ Johanna Chase

Jakob Battick and Friends - Other / Experimental / Shoegaze - Maine, USA
Last reviewed on AFIN regarding Heavy the Mountains, Heavy are the Seas, Jakob Battick and Friends have recently released a flyer indicating that their albums are now available on Bandcamp, also including a quote from me (Marilyn Roxie) in the description: "How thousands upon thousands of people all over the world don't yet know of this music will boggle me until they do know of it, hear it, love it." Offerings include Heavy the Mountains... with bonus tracks for $5 and Some Songs in Chronological Order and Live at Hogfarm Studios for free.
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Microscopes - Electronic / Blues 
Latest Vulpiano Records release: Microscopes is the latest musical endeavor of prolific Rate Your Music artist Chris Hunter and vocalist and lyricist Fred. The cover may yield a clue to the ‘art pop’ genre tag applied to it, evident in splashes throughout Points of Interest, though it is more of a curious odyssey in lo-fi electro-blues. Wheeling from eerie to romantic, soothing to jarring, Points of Interest is a veritable buffet of rich textures and emotional outpourings, “This is the Night” and “Those Summer Days” being favorite highlights of the lot. One to watch!

Download here: http://www.mediafire.com/?m5nwuwqj3jz

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Interviewing the Readers - Let's Talk About...Buying Music

After writing the post on 'The Internet: Ultimately Good or Bad for the Music Industry?' and reading the comments, I got to thinking about how posing questions regularly to readers on anything from matters of music business to lists of top favorite albums or suggestions for site changes and new album recommendations would be good for and sharing opinions, perhaps even finding solutions to ongoing tricky music matters. The latter is the today's subject in this experimental new installment, Interviewing the Readers, to appear on Tuesdays at A Future in Noise.

Three questions will be posed - the reader (you!) can choose to answer one, two, or all of the questions in a comment (or of course, none if you'd like, but your participation is, as ever, read and definitely valued).

The Topic - Buying Hard Copies of Music

The Questions:
1. What makes you want to buy a physical copy of an album, as opposed to just streaming it or (ooh, gasp!) downloading it?
2. If you don't buy them very often or at all, why?
3.  If you were (or are!) an unsigned artist, what incentives would you include to help sell a physical copy?

Some people may feel there's no point if the same thing can be gotten for free on-line, others might just download/stream on-line since they can't afford to pay for all the music they love. As much hypothesizing as I could do on this myself - and for the record, I love both the on-line experience of listening to and discovering music as well as the more 'organic' process coming about through record shop exploring, though really both are equally satisfying to me, I'd be interested for the readers of AFIN to speak out!

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School of Seven Bells - Disconnect from Desire

"It’s crazy to leave a steady job in an area like music, but I had a feeling it was the right decision." Stated former Secret Machine, and one-third of School of Seven Bells, Benjamin Curtis, in an interview following the release of the band's debut. "I’m doing more than I ever did with my other band. It’s like a progression in my career... And I feel good about that." The project began when Curtis initially met On!Air!Library! while they and Secret Machines were supporting Interpol. At first just as a side project, he worked with them to on a series of 7" releases, before quitting Secret Machines to make SoSB a full time project, which speaks volumes on how much faith he had in the band to pursue a different direction, which would prove more rewarding than his existing band.

Like the Cocteau Twins, with added light and breezy synths, School of Seven Bells' first made themselves known with the excellent 2008 debut Alpinisms. Follow-up Disconnect from Desire was announced earlier in the year, and much like its predecessor, has the feel of some of Slowdive's best work, and many other late 80's/early 90's bands, although comparisons end here. Compared to Alpinisms, the songs themselves are much dreamier, and more focus is placed upon the drum machines and the delicate intertwined vocals, this is particularly evident on "I L U" where guitar lines cut through the empty space, as well as still managing to be calm and obscure.

Of course the band cant quite be considered as part of any particular scene, the music itself is arguably quite unconventional, even if they have moved into more traditional song structures. Lead track "Windstorm" is possibly the closest to a radio-friendly tune the band have produced yet, with a catchy and very memorable hook.

The album itself is generally solid, and manages to hold its strength towards the end with excellent closer "the Wait", but despite this, it is harder to like than their debut, and even for existing fans a few listens may be required before the music can fully sink in. But either way, the band have done more than enough to hit the mark that they strive for.

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The Internet: Ultimately Good or Bad for the Music Industry?

My relative quietness here at A Future in Noise in recent weeks has been jostled from scanning through some on-line articles and having discussions with others on the subject of the impact of the Internet and new technology on music and vice versa. It's 2010 – I don't need to tell you, wise and cultured reader and consumer of music, about Napster and 'the mp3 revolution', iPods, the music blogosphere, Last.fm or Pandora. This is your world, ours, one we might perhaps take for granted at times, though I do often marvel, for instance, at how truly lovely it is to have thousands of my favorite songs on a device stuck in my pocket that's comparable in size to a cassette. As many positives as there have been with music's relation to the Internet, there have also been the pitfalls of which you are also doubtless aware, especially the unsolved dilemma of how file-sharing of copyrighted materials should be allowed and/or not allowed.

What are some of the things established artists have been saying about the Internet and music?:
"The internet's completely over. I don't see why I should give my new music to iTunes or anyone else. They won't pay me an advance for it and then they get angry when they can't get it. The internet's like MTV. At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated. Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good. They just fill your head with numbers and that can't be good for you."
- Prince, Mirror.co.uk 7/5/2010

"I like the idea that, because of downloading, people are going to buy songs only if they are good. I think that’s a positive thing. It means lazy bands aren’t going to get away with giving you one hit single and an album full of filler. We like the idea that every song should stand up in its own right so you don’t have to listen to a song in the context of an album to understand it. I suppose that’s why I’m sympathetic to the download environment."
- Alex Kapranos (Franz Ferdinand), Playboy 3/2006 

"I think music piracy is having a dangerous effect on British music, but some really rich and successful artists like Nick Mason from Pink Floyd and Ed O'Brien from Radiohead don't seem to think so. Last week in an article in the Times these guys from huge bands said file sharing music is fine. It probably is fine for them. They do sell-out arena tours and have the biggest Ferrari collections in the world. For new talent though, file sharing is a disaster as it's making it harder and harder for new acts to emerge."
- Lily Allen, MySpace Blog 9/2009

"Whether we like it or not, the old business model is broken and the decline in sales in the past few years has not been helped by the determination of the big labels to protect themselves at the expense of both artists and fans. Record shops have disappeared from our high streets and the big labels may go the same way, passing into the hands of asset strippers whose only interest is the bottom line. Yet, there is still clearly an audience out there for good music, and plenty of young musicians hoping to find them."
- Billy Bragg and Dave Rowntree (Blur), Guardian 3/10/2009

The reactions across the music industry and music listeners have largely taken a right vs. wrong, me vs. them quality that simply must be dissolved if further progress is to be made utilizing the Internet as a powerful tool in music listening, promotion, and a whole boatload of other categories. One potential aid in realizing a more amicable relationship across the board between artists, fans, and other players in the industry would be redefining the meaning of copyright. Creative Commons is a very positive step forward in this direction, although that would be a case of copyleft. Some artists are okay with their otherwise purchasable, copyrighted works being shared, others are certainly not, plus labels and the RIAA have to have a say in the matter too. Working towards copyright variables and perhaps increasing acceptance and usage of copyleft would be, in my mind, a very, very good thing.

Also, those who bought music in the pre-digital era specifically and especially those who rally against unauthorized file-sharing, as well as (oh gasp!) file-sharers themselves (who do actually buy music on occasion, y'know, sometimes more often than people who don't download unauthorized tracks/albums) recall fondly flipping through record store shelves and how organic an experience music-buying in person, with the physical item in your hand, can be. Record stores and physical copies of albums, do, of course, still exist, though the general concern seems to be something like: "But for how long?!" There are some parts of a physical album that can't really be duplicated in the digital form; extras like pull-out posters, or perhaps something limited/rare about the item, the special-ness of a signed copy, the general air of excitement of obtaining a new release (or sought-after out-of-print vinyl) and holding it in your hands. So, I'm of the opinion that physical copies won't ever be entirely obliterated and traded out for digital-only because of how special the above are, and because there are people with a legitimate and very heartfelt preference to listening to things on a turntable or stereo as opposed to, or in addition to, their computers or iPods.

File-sharers have been an easy scapegoat for the revenue decline in the music industry; obviously, people who download albums, unauthorized and for free, with no intention to ever buy the material would bear some degree of responsibility for album sales dropping, though nothing really is being done to sort out the problems and benefits of file-sharing legally at the moment. Obviously file-sharing is beneficial in the sense that it might encourage a person to spread the word about a band, maybe go to a concert, start to collect vinyls, books, everything about a band they end up finding brilliant and loving. This happens in real life, and does it make a person less of a legitimate fan if it all started with file-sharing? Sure, not all people who share and download files are going to become super-fans, but if they serve a purpose in spreading the word to those who will, isn't the purpose they serve somehow valuable? This all becomes sticky when morality gets into the issue, which is discussed at great length (and greatly!) over here: The Morality of File-sharing, by Michel Bauwens

In conclusion, I personally don't think the Internet is ultimately bad for the music industry. However, if more creative techniques are used in the area of purchasable music (both marketing and content-wise) and alternatives and supplements to copyright (and copyleft) clearly define what limits and freedoms artists want to establish on their music, I think the going of making the Internet's effect ultimately very, very good will be easier and smoother.

I may do a follow-up to this post sometime soon, as I was mainly getting my thoughts out there, but in the meantime - what are your thoughts on all of this, AFIN readers?

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The Legend of Spiderland

Louisville, Kentucky has been my home for roughly three years. Within the time that I've lived here, I have found myself continually surprised by the broad spectrum of legendary icons and fresh talent that have risen from within the city's jumbled hodgepodge of culture. Names like Hunter S. Thompson and My Morning Jacket are permanent staples among the city's claim to fame. And as more young artists are on the rise, those who prior shook the scene have settled down to pursue their own personal endeavors. That's the nice thing about Louisville, I think. It's really easy to come back to.

Todd Brashear, former bass player for Slint, opened Wild & Woolley Video in 1997. Just years before in '91, Slint had released Spiderland, one of the most influential rock records of the 1990's. Though initially ignored upon its release, Spiderland picked up a well deserved recognition over the years, noted as an influence for the many artists who followed in the footprints that Slint left behind. So, surely you can imagine my surprise when I spotted Todd Brashear's name in SPIN magazine's "Second Acts" article about 44 grizzled music veterans and what roads they took after stardom. Pictured in front of a familiar looking DVD rental sign was Todd, accompanied by a caption that read "Owner, Wild & Woolly Video; Louisville, Kentucky." At that moment, my shit was blown. For years I had been serviced with a knowledgeable staff and a very fair $2 rental flat rate, but I would have never dreamed it was all under the hands of somebody who was part of one of the most influential bands I know.

The significance of Spiderland begins with the unique genre that it sparked. Though today its style is mimicked, this record is still considered as one of the earliest forms of math and post-rock. For an album that started such clusters, you'd expect a more significant legacy, right? In the midst of similar artists, Spiderland still feels to me like a stick in the ground rather than the landmark it should be noted as. It is legendary, but not quite legendary enough.

Although I have no faulty affection for Slint's earlier full-length, Tweez, there is still something much bigger and exciting that I feel from Spiderland. But it's been this way since the beginning- since hearing the opening riff in "Breadcrumb Trail" and the dark, whimsical tale that lies beneath, while overwhelmed in an atmosphere precipitating nothing but doom. Spiderland possesses an unsettling trait in which the gloom intertwines throughout. Its grim storylines and odd time changes have proved to be part of the dark line that connects the record as a whole. Even if it may be in the midst of an instrument mind-boggler such as "Nosferatu Man," deep within the climbing notes and subtly abrupt time changes, somewhere in our brain, they've struck a nerve.

Another unique trait that Slint adapted into their music was the integration of spoken word. Throughout the record you can catch hoarsely spoken verses scattered within songs, and even an entire song by itself. Frontman Brian McMahan used this trait to weave grim tales within songs effectively, speaking both narratives and dialogue for the story’s characters. In "Don, Aman" the story is given to us in short spurts. It builds from a tranquil riff to an intensifying paranoia as McMahan timidly utters the sensation of the people surrounding the story's character, Don. - "Glances/With amusement/With evasion/With contempt;" you begin to feel nervous with him. But just as gradually as the song built, it escalates downwards once more, ending on a note that would leave any listener speechless. It serves as a subtle preparation for what else lies ahead in Spiderland. But even with this break, nothing can truly prepare you for what follows.
Inside every album, midway through its core and somewhere hidden within a song is an instant where everything clicks. It is the fleeting moment of realization where an album's interrelated string connects, where every note and sound overpowers your senses, and you're left feeling both stunned and empty as the moment slowly fades and comes to a close. In the last instance of "Washer," these emotions take hold. The song gradually builds over a dancing riff accompanied by McMahan’s meek contributions as he humbly proclaims “My head is empty/ My toes are warm/ I am safe from harm.” Then, suddenly, the ambiance that once took hold is shattered and explodes into a driving instance of pure musical passion. It is where both the album’s gloom and the impending doom of its stories meet. I have abusively played this song for years and these moments have not yet dulled. "Washer" is Spiderland's chewy nougat, although, it may be more appropriate to label it as a religious experience.

As Spiderland begins to wind down, through “For Dinner…” up until the record’s closer, it’s easy to dismiss the album as an early finish (running in at about 40 minutes.) To finish off, “Good Morning, Captain” picks up from “Washer” as it reassembles the pieces it left behind. Within this story a captain is awoken from knocking behind a wooden door; a lone shipwreck survivor asks for help against the storm- “Please, it’s cold.” Gradually, the scenario takes an unsettling rupture. A figure appears at the edge of the windowsill, and the song abruptly elevates as McMahan is left screaming the album’s last words- “I miss you.” These words, along with the clash and rumble of the final chords, craft a beautiful and terrifying closure fit for such a flawless record. It's really the jizz on the cake.

Though disbanding in '91, Slint reunited (Todd excluded) in 2005 for the ATP music festival, and then again once more in '07 for a hand full of Europe and U.S. shows as part of a short-term tour. "If there was one person they could do without, it was me," Todd Brashear told SPIN magazine, "Obviously people weren't too upset I wasn't included." Although it's unfortunate that Todd was probably right, it would be criminal to discredit him for any contribution to Spiderland. Surely had it been someone else, its solid luster could have been lost. Since then, the band has created only one other new composition titled "King's Approach" that suitably displays their consistent talent for interesting and complex music. Unfortunately, this is no hint for a full-time reunion or new material. With the 90's long gone, Slint have definitely hung their hats, though the overwhelming impact of their legacy on music today can still be heard, chord by chord.

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