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Michael_

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I was waiting for that.

Permalink for amrit's comment on New Small Black - "Bad Lover" (Stereogum Premiere) at September 23, 2009 11:26 PM
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I agree for the most part. The problem is one of distribution and scale. For the smaller independent artist, digital-only releases are dirt cheap. A dude in his bedroom can make a record, anywhere from one song to CD-length, and have it distributed through the major digital channels (iTunes, eMusic, Amazon, etc) for almost nothing. If nobody buys the record, the financial losses are trivial; if the record gets a bunch of attention, there's no danger of being understocked. Distribution is wide-reaching, instantaneous, and requires no transactional labor from the artist or label.

With physical formats, production and distribution costs are both serious concerns. For an artist on the level of Thom Yorke, I completely agree that multi-format releases make sense and serve both the artist and the fanbase. But a great deal of artists are not at a level where this makes obvious sense. Production costs for physical media are far more significant than those of digital media, and there is risk of losing money on undersold units. When physical media are produced, distribution becomes an issue. The small runs you suggest reduce production costs, but they also reduce availability on store shelves. Mailorder is the obvious solution, but then that competes with the instant gratification and reduced cost of the digital download.

I think the "CD is dead" argument holds water in the sense that now music distribution is not limited by the constraints of production and distribution costs. And for both artists and fans, that's huge. Revolutionary even. I don't have to think that far back to the days when I would hear a friend's out of print Pram CD, or Tortoise 12", and I'd have no way of getting an actual copy. That now seems unthinkable, and it's because of digital distribution.

Artists with established fanbases should definitely release vinyl, CD, and digital versions of their records. But every other artist, and music fan, should be grateful that releasing or acquiring new music is not constrained by the necessity of a physical object, and shouldn't really sweat it when that physical object isn't part of the deal.

Permalink for Hee Haw's comment on Thom Yorke Confirms New 12", Considers Name Change at September 10, 2009 11:16 AM
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Not to parrot the previous posters, but, to parrot the previous posters:

I feel this sentiment of "the album is dead" is getting a little out of hand. I understand the argument that the album has become a "product", while this new digital democracy has given the music room to breathe for itself, but at the end of the day, I don't want some intangible files, I WANT something I can hold and play from start to finish and immerse myself in. I WANT to struggle with the cellophane and hold artwork in my hands, and get lost in a cohesive piece of music.

The album ain't dead. It just hasn't evolved yet.

Permalink for disgruntled hipster no. 416's comment on Thom Yorke Confirms New 12", Considers Name Change at September 7, 2009 7:22 PM
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I take that back. There's a couple of Bright Eyes tracks on here.

Permalink for Michael_'s comment on Pitchfork's 20 Greatest Songs Of The '00s (And 15 Greatest Songs Of 2009 So Far) at August 21, 2009 10:33 PM
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"B.O.B." is hardly obscure. It's in the top slot because it's a great song that alludes to the most significant event this decade.

Permalink for artrckr's comment on Pitchfork's 20 Greatest Songs Of The '00s (And 15 Greatest Songs Of 2009 So Far) at August 22, 2009 12:10 AM
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Finally, someone has said this. That is exactly what I was going to write. Billy Corgan has gotten torn apart for what he has done with the Pumpkins, so how is what James Mercer doing any different? God forbid Pitchfork make any bad remarks about Mercer, they still praise him, but they never pass up an opportunity to rip on Corgan for doing the same things.

Permalink for steve's comment on Ex-Shins Drummer On Getting Fired at August 10, 2009 11:42 AM
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Yes, we can talk about how awesome the Avetts are live. I was pretty floored, honestly. And that "Dylan Going Electric" reenactment was priceless, although I missed most of their set because I was watching Iron & Wine. I only went Saturday, but the whole thing was absolutely wonderful. Not to mention that beautiful weather that we were thankfully blessed with.

Permalink for Cody's comment on Decemberists Debut New Tunes At 50th Newport Folk Festival at August 3, 2009 11:51 PM
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Thanks, Michael_ ... Much appreciated!

Permalink for brandon's comment on New Eat Skull - "Stick To The Formula" at April 27, 2009 8:46 PM
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I'm gonna say no to that one.

Permalink for Greg B's comment on New Dave Matthews Band - "Funny The Way It Is" at April 14, 2009 4:47 PM
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But Springsteen has written some of the best songs of the century and DMB keeps writing the same one every five years or so...

Permalink for Sam's comment on New Dave Matthews Band - "Funny The Way It Is" at April 14, 2009 4:57 PM
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Speak for yourself, brah...
Springsteen and Petty are plain awful.
My ears tell me that...

It's just all big A-Hole music.

Permalink for Farmer Ted's comment on New Dave Matthews Band - "Funny The Way It Is" at April 20, 2009 2:39 PM
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Recents Comments from Michael_

Without Brandon's well rounded tastes, I doubt I would've picked up on the fact that Sleigh Bells is made up of a member from Poison the Well and Cold Cave has a member of American Nightmare/Nothing aka Give Up the Ghost. To me, Stereogum now has a leg up on all the other blogs I read because its bringing a different world to their site instead of the same ol' indie rawk. I've always found it hard to marry my interest of metal/hardcore with the type of music normally covered here. Thanks Brandon!

on Haunting The Chapel: Introducing Stereogum's New Metal Column at October 30, 2009 10:15 PM
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I endured a Poison the Well concert as well in my hayday. I have no idea why but it was bad. Also, let's remember Give Up the Ghost for who they original were: American Nightmare.

In reply to disgruntled hipster no. 416's comment on Band To Watch: Sleigh Bells at October 22, 2009 5:10 PM
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I'd also add there's a bit of a folkier side to Springsteen in their more uptempo songs. Great album none the less!

on New Low Anthem Video - "Charlie Darwin" (Stereogum Premiere) at October 22, 2009 2:41 PM
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I like Big Black better.

on New Small Black - "Bad Lover" (Stereogum Premiere) at September 23, 2009 7:30 PM
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Thanks for posting this! I was unaware they had new material on the horizon. It'll be something to look forward to before the year ends for sure!

on New APSE - "3.1/The Whip" (Stereogum Premiere) at September 11, 2009 3:45 PM
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Stephin Merritt needs to show all these indie rockers playing their back catalog albums in full who has the biggest balls of them all by doing a 69 Love Songs 10th Anniversary Tour. That would be one long, glorious Magnetic Fields show.

on 69 Love Songs Turns 10 at September 8, 2009 6:14 PM
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Again, I have to side with Coj. Okay, we get it -- CDs are not "cool" since they are the format being replaced by digital downloads, but 10 years ago, cassettes were being thrown out the door, too, and now what is happening? Cassettes are the new vinyl, and probably will be "cooler" than CDs a year from now. This snobbery Coj noted regarding CDs is frustrating. Just release the music on all formats (you can always limit how many are printed if its cost you are worried about) and that way you don't alienate listeners. I think we're at a stage in music where we've covered all bases, and now its okay to just release music on every format and let people decide what works best for them.

In reply to Coj's comment on Thom Yorke Confirms New 12", Considers Name Change at September 3, 2009 7:14 PM
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I'm with Sammmy and Coj. I like the cohesiveness of an album and not tracks coming at me at random times that may or may not add up to something bigger. Maybe for the ADD generation, this works, but as far as the whole single format goes, I think its something left best for pop music. Next up, Spotify is going to kill iTunes and artists will finally be wondering how come they aren't making money anymore.

on Thom Yorke Confirms New 12", Considers Name Change at September 3, 2009 12:36 PM
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I take that back. There's a couple of Bright Eyes tracks on here.

In reply to Michael_'s comment on Pitchfork's 20 Greatest Songs Of The '00s (And 15 Greatest Songs Of 2009 So Far) at August 21, 2009 10:33 PM
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My thoughts:

- I think "Crazy In Love" at #4 is way too high. Its not just because its a pop song, but I personally felt a whole lot of other pop songs could have been in that spot instead ("Since U Been Gone".)
- On the topic of songs with "crazy" in the title, Gnarles Barkley was too high as well, for me. - Was Sally Shapiro represented at all?
- "Hey Yah!" should be number one, but that's P4K going for obscurity to be hip for you.
- Other than that, a serious lack of The National, and honestly, how could you ignore the entire BRIGHT EYES phenomena that occurred early to mid decade?

on Pitchfork's 20 Greatest Songs Of The '00s (And 15 Greatest Songs Of 2009 So Far) at August 21, 2009 7:17 PM
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