Sound Salvation Army

No offense, Daniel Romano, but you’re kind of a whiner.

Seriously dude. I know you think you’ve had it tough but you could be doing worse. I know your band, Attack in Black (which I love, by the way; each of your albums has been on my best of lists for their respective release years) was made to re-record your debut album to have a harder-edged sound than you wanted. That’s a total dick move, I agree. I know it’s impossible to say whether or not you’d be in the same position you are now if that hadn’t happened but even if it didn’t come about how you’d imagined can’t you be thankful for that exposure and attention?

I know your knee-jerk reaction was to immediately follow up the release of Marriage with an album you had complete control over. I loved The Curve Of The Earth too, with all its lo-fi home-recorded charm, a gentle counterpoint to Marriage’s rockinger moments. I thought showing off the full range of the band’s abilities was a terrific move and each release only made me even more excited to see what you’d come up with next. Years (By One Thousand Fingertips) didn’t carry quite as much water with me but it still had some terrifically engaging moments.

But I have to say the tenor of some tracks on your new solo record comes across as a tiny bit resentful of the acclaim and success Attack in Black has received. Don’t get me wrong — I really like the album. The relaxed demeanor and aesthetic continuation of your flawless work on the Daniel, Fred, and Julie record is such a good fit. The country tinge suits the songs very well and your melodies, as always, are captivating.

But as I mentioned in a live show review earlier this year it seems like you are a very unhappy fellow when it comes to actually making music.

The title track(s) and “A Losing Song” come off as a little bit petty after the strides you’ve made the last few years. Again, I know you’ve had some bumps and bruises in the business but the narrative that you’ve been done wrong and are a slave to music industry suits is growing less and less believable now that you’re in complete control of your fate: you’ve started your own label, you release your own records, and you’ve abandoned the sound that gained you notoriety in the first place. I know your write-up on this record mentions how you wish you could bury every copy of every record you ever made and I feel badly that you suffer from such a crippling case of self-doubt (if that’s what it is, I’m no therapist). Of course, it’s not easy to accept that as the truth, considering the ridiculously outlandish “biography” included on the back of the record itself.

And while music history is littered with people like Kurt Cobain who railed against their own success, it doesn’t change the fact that music is art and art becomes a commodity. If you’re not comfortable with that why bother releasing music? If the system is broken you have the option of divorcing yourself from it. We’re told most musicians make their money from touring and Attack in Black’s frequent jags across Canada are evidence you can live that lifestyle. Take your product off the sales market and you eliminate the commercialization of the art that you clearly hold so dear.

(Although, incidentally, if you’re so resentful of having to re-do that first full-length and having your music be overly commodified by record labels why didn’t you raise any objections when that label [which still releases Attack in Black's albums, I see] put out a 180 gram vinyl re-release of said album last year?)

You ask on this record, “Why should I play the chords? Why should I even make a sound?”

Well, you tell me. I know why I listen to you but if you’re feeling the need to question your own motivation you might have to actually come up with an answer at some point.

Anyhow, congratulations on your solo album. I really, really like it. It’s probably one of the best records I’ve heard all year. I just wish you could move on. I feel like dwelling on the past isn’t that healthy, even if it does inspire such good music.

 

 Daniel Romano - Workin' For The Music Man [3:29m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Daniel Romano - A Losing Song [3:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Workin’ For The Music Man is mostly available through Outside Music’s distribution arm, sort of. Zunior has a great digital package as well.

Pat entries acoustic, Canadian content, country, crybabies, Daniel Romano, record industry, the music business

I’ve said many times on this site that I don’t listen to a lot of electronic music.

This isn’t helping.

See, we get a lot of emails from artists, labels, and promoters. A surprising amount, more than I ever would’ve expected. Every week they come in and I like to think our discerning tastes are up to the challenge. But while I’ve said I’ll listen to anything once that’s not always the case.

I won’t listen to your album if the most prominently-placed note in your bio is that you’re a Suicide Girl pin-up. This site focuses on independent music, not independent pornography. Promo photos like the ones above may help Britney Spears move units but they aren’t going to have an effect on me. Weak performers rely on showmanship to overcome their weaknesses. One thousand emo bands have learned that lesson already.

I won’t listen to your album if you send me nothing more than a link to your myspace page. Myspace is the goddamn devil and if you can’t spare the time or energy to at least attach an mp3 to your email then I can’t be bothered to seek it out myself. I may spend an unhealthy amount of time on-line, but I haven’t got enough time for that.

I may not listen to your album if every email I get from you is about shows that aren’t happening on my continent. I love how much attention we’ve gotten from the UK, but I don’t need to hear about every tour or festival date your band is playing at this summer. I’ll let you know if I’m heading across the pond.

I hope we understand each other. I don’t mean this to be overly dickish, but I’ve had a pretty rough 10 days or so and the site going down was sort of the cherry on top of my shit sundae. I’m a little aggro.

 

 Beatallica - I Wanna Choke Your Band [2:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Thanks for stopping by. Regular updates will resume as early as later today.

Pat entries blogging, don't bother, the music business, what not to do

About a month ago I posted an article that showed for the first time ever digital download sales have exceeded purchases of physical music media.

Well, guess what: that may be true, but apparently ten of the thirteen million tracks available for purchase on the internet have never been downloaded.

In summary: anyone playing, producing, or selling music is totally fucked. Good luck everyone!

Pat entries digital sales, mp3, the music business

Common sense has finally trumped ridiculous, overreaching greed and cartoon-like evildoing.

The Recording Industry Association of America has stopped filing lawsuits against people for downloading music. This comes after the umbrella group representing American major labels has spent the last five years filing roughly 600 lawsuits a month, occasionally targeting the dead, elderly folks who don’t use computers, and single mothers, trying to shake them down for thousands of dollars in settlements.

Apparently bad PR only makes things worse. Go figure.

Pat entries crime and punishment, downloading, RIAA, the music business

That charty-chart-chart-chart is the visual accompaniment to a very illuminating New York Times article that details the financial situation at Atlantic Records (now part of the Warner Music Group). For the first time ever in their or any other major label’s history, digital music sales have surpassed physical. That’s wild.

Julie Greenwald, president of Atlantic Records states in the article that her label “gets it,” saying “It used to be that you could connect five dots and sell a million records. Now there are 20 dots you can connect to sell a million records.” That’s pretty great, aside from the fact that her label is still a member in a consortium group that continues to pursue completely unreasonable scare tactics/lawsuits against people and practices that either can’t pay, don’t exist, or haven’t harmed anyone’s bottom line.

It’ll be nice to some day see the archaic structure of the music industry bend and break once someone somewhere realizes that the digital age needs to be embraced. And that’s coming from a dude that owns more physical copies of music than some people have heard in their lifetime.

If you don’t feel informed about the RIAA, check out Gizmodo’s anti-RIAA manifesto. While this all might be a bit hypocritical seeing as though the vast majority of our posts link to itunes (a huge retailer for the major labels) that service has been one of the biggest digital success stories for a reason: they charge a fair, competitive rate, compensate smaller labels just as well as big ones, and offer anyone the opportunity to sell their product through their service. You’ll also notice that whenever possible we link to healthy alternatives like the wonderful Zunior site.

Anyway, I would never forsake an artist simple because of the label they’ve signed to, but I’m still surprised that some bands don’t know better. But again, I’m also an outsider with no real perspective of any kind, so please accept the grain of salt that comes with the downloads below.

 

 the Doers - Art For Dollars [1:20m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 A Wilhelm Scream - They Like Their Turtlenecks Ribbed [0:40m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Bridge and Tunnel - White Collar Crime Scene [3:38m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

the Doers: itunes or check these instructions on how to buy
A Wilhelm Scream: itunes or webstore
Bridge and Tunnel: itunes or no idea’s website
400 Strong: used to be a local Regina band, but they haven’t been around in like eight years
the Measure [SA]: the [SA] stands for “strictly analog” so you won’t see any itunes material, but check this list out for their vinyl releases.

Pat entries A Wilhelm Scream, Bridge and Tunnel, digital, RIAA, the Doers, the music business