A case study in the music industry

Although I regret watching almost every year, I found myself watching the Grammy Awards yet again this year. All but 1 or 2 of the performances are completely forgettable, with the majority being new songs that the labels are trying to push to a captive national audience, along with trying to help various artists crossover into new fan demographics. Nothing new there.

What really got to me tonight was listening to the Recording Academy president give his speech toward the end of the show and essentially say that illegal downloading threatens the artists we love and the quality of music we are accustomed to. While it may not greatly affect the biggest artists in the business, he said there are 1,000s of artists below the mega stars who are dependent on a successful recording industry to make ends meet. Something to that effect at least.

That's where I really lost patience with the whole show. I don't download illegally, nor do I support it. I rarely download live shows from bands without having also bought music from them as well. I recognize that the industry needs money to make music happen, and I know that record labels have played an integral part in facilitating the production of the music that we all grew up on. However, what downloading really threatens is the excess and control of the music industry. Major label artists are mostly a manufactured product now anyway. Labels have dropped hundreds of bands over the past decade, because those acts couldn't make back for the label the huge advances and expenses that were standard with major label deals.

However, the quality and diversity of music has only gotten better. In the last 10 years, we have already seen a huge reduction in the number of bands signing to major labels, and many more operate as independents or on smaller labels, and I would have to say that quality music is more accessible to fans now than it ever was. The artists predate the industry and I assure you they will outlast the industry. (Should I repeat that line? Just back up and read it again.) The big shift is that the industry no longer gets to control what bands get heard, and inevitably that affects their profits. In the 1980s, the labels dictated probably 95% of the music that the general public heard, and as a result, they profited hugely from that. Did they ever question their huge profits and wonder if they would last? Not really -- they just kept raking in the money and throwing out generous sums to the bands, knowing that only a certain percentage had to be really successful to finance the entire operation.

Enter the internet age, and suddenly, labels aren't in control of what you hear anymore. Downloading has been a part of it (and probably played the biggest role in causing this shift), but at this point in time, it is more about the wide availability of music and the seemingly infinite number of outlets from which to acquire your music that has transformed the industry.

My personal example involves two bands - Old 97s and the Avett Brothers. Over 15 years ago, the Old 97s got their start as a band, gained a small cult following, and ultimately were signed to Elektra in the mid 1990s. I expect they made good advance money from the label, and subsequently made one of the greatest albums of all time - Too Far to Care. Whether you are on board with that last part is immaterial, but at least humor me when I say that in 1997 the Old 97s were on top of their game, and they were really, really good. The problem was that Elektra still didn't really know what to do with them. TFTC didn't really have a radio single that would fit anywhere at the time, because radio was still highly compartmentalized and dominated by the major labels, and so they became just another major label band with a small fan base. They probably picked up a number of new fans (myself included) through promotions the label provided, but there simply was no outlet to send their music through to reach their target audience. Nowadays, the band has a comfortable following and makes a decent living, but they never really got big because the system in the 90s only allowed a few people to get really big through a few official channels, at least as far as major label bands go. They'll always be a favorite of mine, but I think they've missed the window to become as popular as they might deserve.

Fast forward to the early 2000s, and you have the Avett Brothers. They are another band who built a cult following around the country, although already by the mid '00s, they had a seemingly better trajectory as far as popularity than the Old 97s. Why? Because there were many more outlets for people to hear them. The rise of myspace, blogs, and radio and festivals that were more open to indie bands (or even specifically devoted to indie bands) allowed them to grow at a much faster rate. They did not have to wait to see if Atlantic or RCA was going to push one single of theirs really hard to make them the next big thing. Rather, they just did it on their own, as countless other bands have done in the past decade. Do the Avetts have any qualities that are far more appealing than the Old 97s had back in the late 90s? There are differences, but all in all, I don't think they do. They are an amazing band that is at the top of their game, and there were simply more ways this past decade for them to get big than would have been available 15 years ago. Now the band has signed with Rick Rubin's American Recordings, but no matter how that business partnership turns out, they have already cemented a huge following that will allow them to be successful in coming years no matter their label status.

Both literally and figuratively, the labels don't really own the music world any more. They are still a major player, but they refuse to let go of their model of creating huge artists to make them huge profits, and as a result they fall farther and farther behind. They try to blame illegal downloading, but it is only symbolic of the control they have lost on the industry. It is a business that refuses to acknowledge its mistakes and will not accept that it is no longer in control. The Recording Academy president's statement was a weak attempt to ignore the elephant in the room, and as a result he insulted our intelligence by asserting that the quality of music will decline without a healthy (read: wealthy) industry running the show. Instead of giving million dollar advances to unproven artists, labels could give out 100 $10,000 advances to promising artists and I guarantee they would make better profits, assuming they are willing to nurture and develop those artists as labels once did. I'm not worried about it though. We don't actually have to tell the labels that we're letting them go. I fixed the glitch. It will work itself out naturally.

Hold out your hand

Check out a number of new recordings:
from lots of great artists on the Coal Country Music compilation. Performers include Ralph Stanley, Gillian Welch, John Prine, Justin Townes Earle and many others. Proceeds go toward helping to stop mountaintop removal coal mining.

You should do yourself a favor:
and go check out the just-posted Lucero Daytrotter session.

If you're a fan of Son Volt:
check out drummer Dave Bryson's tour blog.

Man this song gets stuck in my head:
Not sure what's going on the video, but it's still a great song. Monsters of Folk - "Say Please."

Another cool blog I just ran across:
called Superlative Lunacy. Lots of good retro pictures and great songs posted as well.

So many amazing spring shows announced recently:
02/02 - Steve Earle w/ Hayes Carll - Boulder Theater, Boulder (honestly a bit more excited about the opener)
02/13 - St. Vincent - Bluebird Theater, Denver
02/17 - Guy Clark - Swallow Hill, Denver
02/19 - Justin Townes Earle - Bluebird Theater (headlining tour), Denver
04/20 & 04/21 - Avett Brothers - Boulder Theater, Boulder

For Rent, Spelling Proficiency Optional:

ramble on

Do you think:
that the Where the Wild Things Are soundtrack, composed mostly by Karen O, will sell a lot of copies because simply people will be looking for the song they hear on the trailer? A situation that will be unfortunate, because the song is actually "Wake Up" by Arcade Fire, and is not on the soundtrack? I do. This is like when the Everything Is Illuminated trailer used "How It Ends" by DeVotchKa, but neither the movie nor the soundtrack featured the song. Don't get me wrong, the WTWTA trailer is really good, but funny they didn't use some of Karen O's material for it.

Of course you're thinking:
"he just had to mention that movie, because every blogger in the world has mentioned that movie." What can I say, at least I tried to do my own take on it.

In case you cared:
your cool friends over at Pitchfork mentioned some time back that Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear was releasing a 7" on his new label Terrible Records under the moniker CANT. Well, that record is finally up for pre-order.

Denver:
don't miss Slim Cessna's Auto Club and Drag the River at the Oriental Theater this Friday, Oct. 9th.

It's probably enjoyable because it's not PC:
and in fact there is a new What's So Funny? out today, and it's just as non-PC as ever.

I don't know why I am obsessed with the remote parts of West Texas:
but there is a pretty cool blogger from Alpine who does a blog called Gaping Void. He's actually an author, artist, marketer, and um, CEO of the US branch of a South African wine. Apparently he became famous for his "Ignore Everybody" blog/book, which is generally directed at helping people in the working world (maybe more specifically the corporate world?) to keep from hating their lives so much, or something like that.

Keeping with the West Texas theme:
I found this pretty sweet article about a guy near Abilene who lives in a cold war era missile silo. Lots of cool pictures.

As I've noted:
I'm increasingly impressed with Langhorne Slim's new material, and need to pick up his new album Be Set Free. You can check out a video interview and perfomance of "I Love You But Goodbye" from him here at LA Music Blog.

I don't know about you:
but I'm pretty excited about the new J. Tillman record Year in the Kingdom. It's out now on Western Vinyl, and apparently a vinyl version and a 7" are on the way.

In Avett Brothers news...let me revise that, in my own personal news:
my pre-ordered vinyl copy of I and Love and You, an album for which the vinyl version has been available in record stores for over 3 weeks, has still not arrived. I ordered it directly from the band's Web site, which apparently was the lowest priority to the label, and they didn't get their copies of the vinyl to mail out until last week. Throw in the inconsistent service by the USPS and you've got quite an awesome situation. If you know me, I like to prove points, so I'll probably have to return that record (when it finally arrives), even though it will cost me shipping, and then buy it from my local record store for the same price. If anyone has run into the same problem, hopefully you've found the one positive outlet that I have, which is that you can stream the entire album for free on the Avett's Web site.

stuff

Do you remember when you could afford DeVotchKa concert tickets?:

Well, in a year you'll be talking about how you remember when you could afford to go see the Avetts.

By the way:
can I be the first one to recommend that DeVotchKa reissue Una Volta on vinyl?

Overheard:

"Dude, you going to Pretty Lights [Fort Collins electronic artist] in two weeks? It's just $40. $20 for tickets and $20 for festivities" [this means drugs apparently].

Since the Colorado tour stop didn't work out:

for Buddy Wakefield, I can at least let you know that his new CD, Live at the Typer Cannon Grand, just came out on Righteous Babe Records. It's a compilation of the best recordings of his best material - definitely worth it for my money.

I hope to see:
Denver folks out at the Thrift Store Cowboys/Amanda Shires show at the Hi-Dive on Thursday. Rosewood Thieves are the headliners.

Isn't it funny:
that Joe Ely was so quick into the internet game? He got in early enough to buy "www.ely.com." Apparently his site started in '83. I didn't even know about the internet until probably 1995.

Marfa never ceases to amaze me:
In the span of two weeks, Randy Quaid was arrested there, and Bon Iver is playing a show there. Bon Iver has only played Denver once, ever, as far as I know, and now he will have played Marfa too, a town of 2100 in the middle of the desert.

A minute minute of minutiae

Why have the Beatles:
been so particular about handling distribution of their catalog all these years, and now all of the sudden they are selling the remastered albums at Starbucks and Whole Foods?

Thanks to a heads up text from Mt. Inadale:
I got to check out Will Johnson playing drums for the Monsters of Folk on the Tonight Show. You can find video of it on hulu, but youtube says that the video isn't available in this country. Will will be touring with them this fall. And yes, I just said "Will will."

And thanks to Centro-matic's Web site:
I heard that Will Johnson, Jim James, and Anders Parker are doing a project a la Mermaid Avenue, in which they are arranging and recording songs using Woody Guthrie lyrics.

Remember when:
Jay Leno retired for 3 months and then started his old job again at an earlier time? Yeah, well, I liked it a lot better when he retired.

Lucero just announced:
that 1372 Overton Park can now be preordered for limited edition blue vinyl copies. PLUS, you get a download of the full album when you buy the vinyl.

For just $10:
you can hear one of Denver's new "buzz" bands, Young Coyotes at this Sunday's Larimer Lounge BBQ. Not a bad price - plus the BBQ is pretty good too.

I'm going to forgive:
the Avett Brothers for not sending my copy of their new album yet, when they've already released it to indie stores -- mostly because they are about the best band around right now, and also because they just released the video for the song "I and Love and You."

some things

Completely missed:
a new book out by one of my favorite (fairly) young Texas writers - Oscar Casares. His new book Amigoland apparently came out last month, and I'm not sure Texas Monthly even reviewed it.

I had intended to write a full blog about this:
and I was also hoping to interview Buddy Wakefield, but he didn't have time for an email interview and I didn't have time for a phone interview. So oh well. Nonetheless, tonight in Denver, the Elephant Engine High Dive Revival tour makes a stop at the Crossroads Theater. Don't worry if you don't like slam poetry, this is nothing like that.
























I can't deny:
that I'm a little disappointed that preorders of the new Avett Brothers LP, bought directly through the band's site, have not yet arrived, while it's been available in indie record stores for over a week now.

If you still use myspace:
have you noticed that bands can now message you about upcoming shows? Yeah, it sucks and makes myspace even more useless.

Would it be cruel to name a kid "Wendy":
if your last name was "Saintsgomarchingin"?

If you are a fan:
of Justin Townes Earle, you can vote for him here in the Nashville Music Awards in the Best Music Video and Best Americana Album categories. Note: you have to vote in all the categories, some of which aren't very interesting, but it still doesn't take that long.

You don't have to agree:
but I think Brad Paisley's recent "Welcome to the Future" video may be one of the most important country music videos made this decade. Can't embed it, but it's linked here. The song itself is pretty good, probably not even his best, but the video makes up the difference. It's not only the content of it, but the recognition of who the audience is for country videos. For all the negative discourse that has been associated with country music, this is one of the more progressive videos made in country music to this point, especially considering the political climate right now.

Music gnus of interest (to me)

I haven't quite gotten on board with the monthly "Vinyl Saturdays," but:
The Avett Brothers just announced they will release a limited edition 7" to indie record stores this Saturday, Sept. 5th. In these rough economic times, American Recordings is really capitalizing on their artists with the early release mp3s, the limited edition 7", and the various packages of pre-orders for the new album. I guess they know only a certain group of people are buying stuff now, so you've got to make those folks buy as much as possible.

Really wishing:
that I had bought a copy of the Avett Brothers' side project, Oh What a Nightmare, because now that they are huge, it is going to be impossible to find a copy. Mp3s are still available, as I assume they always will be, but it's just not the same.

I guess I wasn't really looking for this:
but was totally surprised to see that Jon Krakauer has a new book coming out Sept. 15th. The book is called Where Men Win Glory, and details the story of Pat Tillman, the former NFL player who left the NFL to serve in the U.S. military, and subsequently was killed in Afghanistan in 2002. I know Krakauer has his detractors, but I have to say I expect this book to be extremely well done. If I'm wrong, I won't hesitate to let you know.

If you live in the Denver/Boulder area:
Krakauer has some appearances scheduled: Boulder on 9/17 and Tattered Cover in Denver on 9/21.

Slam poetry is dead, trust me, but:
there are still a few great spoken word artists out there that put on a great show. The Elephant Engine High Dive Revival will feature Buddy Wakefield, Derrick Brown, Anis Mojgani, and Shira Erlichman with a 5th rotating member, and it will be touring hopefully very close to you. The tentative Boulder date was scrapped, but at least there's still Denver. Every time before I go, I always think about how live poetry doesn't really excite me these days, but then the show is just amazing. Well worth the time.

USA Today just named:
Justin Townes Earle's Midnight at the Movies as Grammy-worthy. Also mentioned are Lubbock natives The Flatlanders.

The Wooden Birds recently announced:
a pretty comprehensive U.S. tour with the Great Lake Swimmers from late Sept. through the month of October. More on the Denver show as it approaches.

I know you don't care:
but I have really gotten into Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations show on the Travel Channel. For a niche cable show, his approach seems very real to me, and I appreciate that. Plus, he always goes to amazing places. The Saudi Arabia episode was especially good.

I had a heck of a time:
finding any info about a Richard Buckner record I had seen on ebay a few months back. Turns out that his former band, The Doubters, had one song on a 2 X 7" vinyl compilation in 1993 or 1994 or so. The compilation is called Ain't This Bliss With You and This and to my knowledge, is the only Richard Buckner song available on vinyl. If anyone knows of any other records of his on vinyl, I'd like to know about them.

Back to music posts, finally

The new Telegraph Canyon:
is officially out. The CD is for sale on Velvet Blue right now, but still waiting for word on the vinyl.

If you've got the time:
and a place where you can watch a video (not at work preferably), there's a great new What's So Funny? posted. It's Denver related, but you don't have to be from the Mile High to understand it.

Thanks to a fellow Colorado blogger - Cause=Time:
I heard about this hilarious internet business going on between bloggers and Third Eye Blind fans. The summary of it all is basically that various bloggers said 3eb weren't really that great or important, and subsequently a horde of 3eb fans descended upon them and called them mean names. The fight started here, and then moved here and here. Clearly these bloggers haven't been listening to "The Background" on repeat for the last 13 years like I have.

This Friday at the Boulder Theater:
Delta Spirit is playing with The Wheel, a Denver band I've really been starting to like, after hearing them open for Bon Iver. Don't know much about Delta Spirit, but heard on pretty good authority from a friend that they are a little bit like Cold War Kids Jr. Maybe I'll win tickets...

No previously unheard songs on it:
but an Avett Brothers session from SXSW was just posted on Rhapsody this week, if you're into live recordings and such.

Great new song posted on youtube:
from a recent Thrift Store Cowboys show in Dallas. The first one is new, and then a remake of "Cafe," and then the old standard "Sleepy Engine" on this clip.

The Avett Brothers - Boulder Theater, 08/21/09

The secret was out a few years ago, but now everyone knows about the Avett Brothers. That includes your neighbor who doesn't listen to cool music and only recently asked if you if you'd heard about some band called Wilco. For all of you helping to spread the word about this band, please contribute to the effort of letting people know it's "Avett" where the "a" is pronounced like in "apron" or "acorn," not like the "a" in "apple."

The Avett Brothers over the last few years have truly hit full stride and now have amazing potential to become the next big thing, if they are not already. As with any band, there are of course the long time fans who long for the days of bluegrass flavored songs, but I don't think TAB have lost very many fans along the way. The sold out show at the Boulder Theater last Friday was quite a different scene than the Boulder Theater 3 years ago, my first Avett concert, in which one could stake out some space near the stage and never have to worry about the crowd packing in around you.

The band has also reached a point in which they simply have too many good songs to play them all in one show. They hit as many of the high points as possible, but inevitably time doesn't allow for all the crowd favorites. I'm glad that there is such great tracking on their set lists online, as my scribbles from the night proved largely illegible. Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside, a Portland based band, provided a nice opening set that was well received by the increasingly packed crowd.

As I think anyone who has seen the band would expect, their live show is near flawless. The new songs from the forthcoming I and Love and You indicate a band that continues to grow musically, but still knows exactly where their strengths lie - most specifically in dynamic melodies solidified by harmonies that could come from nothing short of genetic ties. Just as with any artist who continues to grow after they strike it big, I'm sure the message boards will be mixed in the beginning with people who love the album and those who just can't get into songs such as "Kick Drum Heart." However, I don't think it will take long for the album to sink in and settle into place on some end-of-year and maybe even some end-of-decade "best of" lists. The title track, already released on itunes and widely available elsewhere, already holds a clear place among the band's best songs.

I haven't been this excited about a new album since, well...probably The Second Gleam.

none of this just in

One final West Coast note:
I'm convinced that if you are looking for old country music vinyl, then the Bay Area is a great place to look. Not only are there a number of good stores like Rasputin and Amoeba in SF and Berkeley, but I am of the opinion that people just don't buy country vinyl there much, and so you've got a pretty good chance of finding some cool stuff.

Okay, one more final west coast note:
For all you vinyl collectors who have noticed, at least to a small extent, that record store owners are less pretentious these days now that they are on such a shoestring budget, never fear, I'm pretty sure the record store clerks in the bay area are just as pretentious as they ever were.

Just finished reading:
the new Dave Eggers book, Zeitoun. It is amazing! It's written in the style of What is the What? and I found myself flying through it because I just couldn't put it down.



















Didn't have a chance to write about it:
but I was able to catch one of the Lusitania's Denver shows a couple of weeks ago. All of my praises were backed up by their show. This band is really tight and their live shows are awesome. I hope they catch on up here, because all the show was lacking was a high energy packed house. By the way, Vinyl Collective is now carrying their 7" split with Buckeye.

Stumbled upon news:
that Alternative Tentacles is reissuing Secret South, a hard to find album by Denver's 16 Horsepower. If you don't have this album, you should strongly consider checking it out if for no other reason than to hear the cover of Dylan's "Nobody 'Cept You." The album will be reissued on LP and CD, each with a bonus DVD included. Vinyl originals of this album have gone on ebay for around $75 or more in recent years, so this reissue makes it a bit more accessible. However, it also leaves vinyl collectors to question whether they are bidding on an original or a reissue version on ebay, so for all it helps, there are some downsides as well. Also, I still can't decide whether it's worth it to buy reissue vinyl anyway.

I totally missed this:
but the recent Zach Galifianakis interview on the Tonight's Show was hilarious. He seemed much more in his element than when he was on Dave. I love Dave, but I felt like he was just going through the motions asking Zach questions and it wasn't very natural. Make sure and watch part 1 & part 2.

The Boulder Avett Brothers' show:
is now sold out. Let's hope we make it out alive.

I really enjoy:
telling people that if we ever have a son we're going to name him "Billiam," but call him "Will."

The Avetts are coming, the Avetts are coming!!!

(photo from the band's Web site)

After almost a two year wait since the last Avett Brothers club/theater (i.e. non-festival) show in the Denver area, we are finally blessed with 4 Avett Brothers shows in Colorado this week. If you're willing to do some driving, a couple of them are even free. The band's new album I and Love and You is not yet out, but you can pre-order it from their Web site, or from the good folks down at Vinyl Collective.

Wed., 8/19 - Sunset Concert Series - Telluride, CO - FREE
Thurs., 8/20 - Summer Concert Series - Steamboat Springs, CO - FREE
Fri., 8/21 - Boulder Theater - Boulder, CO (Nearly sold out as of 8/17)
Sat., 8/22 - Ogden Theatre - Denver, CO

Neither Boulder nor Denver have sold out to my knowledge, but I wouldn't wait too much longer if I were you, as the band's site recently posted an update that Boulder tickets are almost gone.

And if you can't read enough about the Avetts, here's Ricardo Baca's preview from the Denver Post.

The end of the UMS and stuff

Awesome:

Brand new Daytrotter session from the Avett Brothers.

I know you don't care:
but I find it humorous that the FMQB Triple A radio conference that I've mentioned before lost Ben Harper as a headliner and replaced him in the lineup with Mindy Smith.

I told you it would happen:
and sure enough, Visioneers looks to be coming out very soon now that Zach Galifianakis is a mega star. Showings in Denver on July 29th & 30th.

I said I would do a final recap on the UMS:
but I also know you don't care about it that much, especially if you are not from Denver. Let me summarize ever so briefly: 1) The festival is super cheap - $25 for a last minute pass - I think it was like $12 for presale. I've paid more than that for one band. 2) It features some of Denver's best talent and is beginning to bring in some choice national talent. 3) Next year is the 10th Anniversary and I guarantee you they will bring in some bands that will basically be a steal for the money. 4) Enough people will have heard about it 5 years from now that there is no chance your band will get in then, but it just might if you try for next year. 5) South Broadway in Denver in July is about the best place to be in the world.

I think it's funny:
that apparently some people have accidentally happened upon my blog because Google search led them here after searching for the new Lucero album, specifically the search terms "1372 Overton Park" and "download." Not here jerks. You'll never find a leaked album for download here. But you can pre-order the new album from their Web site and get a digital download of 6 songs from the new album right NOW.

The time has finally come to give away some vinyl:
I just sent emails to the winners. Sorry if you didn't win, but the chances were tough, given that a number of people entered, and you CAN always pick up a copy from Vinyl Collective.

If you like funny things (probably safe for work, but let's be on the safe side and say NSFW):
Ben Kronberg is an awesome comic who is originally from Denver. Honestly, I just read about him in the most recent What's So Funny?, but it's pretty awesome stuff.

Weakly stuff

If you remember my Wovenhand acoustic show review:
You’ll recall the mention of Elin Palmer. Just ran across a live show recording from her Westword Music Showcase set here, so check it out.

Only in Boulder:
Newspaper headline – “Police return marijuana clinic's drugs”

New Fleet Foxes song:
here.

Remember when news (usually) involved verified sources?:
It seems now that news institutions are really taking a hit from celebrity blogs, who take the approach of “throw everything at the wall and see what sticks.” Or “throw every possible rumor at the wall and wait to see which ones are actually true.” Case in point has been TMZ being the first to break the MJ story. Quite an advantage they have to be able to print things before they know if they are true.

What does this mean?:
I don’t have a clue, but I'm pretty glad I'm not a journalist.

New Wilco tomorrow:
if you're into that kind of thing.

I'm sure this is old news to all the cool kids:
but I was just told about this amazing Tiny Desk Concert performance by the Avett Brothers. Now they are saying September for their new album release. Please don't push it back any further guys.

Finally:

saw True Stories all the way through and am afraid I'm now on the search for the Talking Heads' album True Stories, and also the version of "People Like Us" sung by John Goodman, which apparently exists. I'm not sure if it's just a B-side on a record, or if it's more widely available than that, but I'll keep you posted on all the uninteresting details.

Lubbock & West Texas & Stuff

Just to clarify:

West, TX is not in West Texas.

It had been too long:

since I had seen a One Wolf live show. DM is one of the best songwriters I know and he was nice enough to take requests during this show. Have you still not picked up the One Wolf/TSC 7" split?

I don't know how long the link will work:

but Spinner just posted a free download of one of the new Avett Brothers songs, which happens to be the title track from their upcoming album I and Love and You. I and Love and This and Band.

Finally:

Got a chance to see Lubbock's own My Milliner. Definitely the type of band I love to see in Lubbock, although they might be over the heads of the above average Lubbock music fan. Best moment of the set was the announcement that "we may have just run out of songs."

I was doing some random junk on the internets:

and ran across this David Byrne blog about going to Marfa. Worth a read when you get a minute.

I know most people think its cool:

to hate living in Lubbock. However, if people would just think about its potential, it could really have some draw for the hipster crowd. Proposed city slogans: "Lubbock: You can still smoke in bars here" or "Lubbock: Drink at a bar all night for less than $20 (and maybe $10)" or "Lubbock: You can still pay $5 to see good music here." If someone makes a good poster with this or your own Lubbock slogan, I will post it here.

Seriously Lubbock:

How hard is it to support something other than a chain restaurant?

Denver traffic:

SUCKS. Ironically, we hit maybe the worst Denver traffic I've ever been in (like 2 hours for a few miles bad) on BIKE TO WORK DAY!!! No matter how hard you try Colorado, you're still not that green. The high numbers of people who do bike to work are the only thing that keeps this place from having Houston or Phoenix levels of horrible traffic.

Seen:

Sign reading "Speed Monitered by Aircraft" and 10 or so miles later sign reading "Speed Monitored by Aircraft." I guess if you spell it wrong the first time, then you can always correct it the second time around.

Heard:

Casino commercial that said "are you ready for the thrill of craps?"

Whether you'll admit it or not:

The Lonesome Dirge by Rodney Parker & 50 Peso Reward is just a great album for driving, or as frat boys say "road trips." It took me a few listens to get into this album, especially the tempo changes and guitar shredding, but now it provides quite the forum for my air drumming and air guitar (on an air flying V) on I-25.

Stupf

A nice Avett Brothers show review here:

that's most notable for it's comparison of the Avett's current energy to the Old 97s, which I think I can get on board with, especially if the comparison is to Too Far to Care era 97s.

By the way, I'm glad to argue with you about it:

but I'm still convinced Too Far to Care is the best alt-country album ever made.

They've always got to find a flaw with albums:

but, nonetheless, Pitchfork gives Monahans a decent review here.

For some reason:

I still haven't gotten my copy of the Monahans CD in the mail.  I blame USPS, not Misra, though, given that it took almost 30 days for my last Bloodshot order to get here.

If you are still forgetting to read What's So Funny?:

then you missed a good one here. (As usual Relatively Safe For Work - i.e., don't read it out loud in your cubicle.)

I hope:

that my expectations aren't unnecessarily high for The Hangover.

Thrift Store Cowboys got some late arriving SXSW coverage here (page takes a while to load for some reason):

and yes, the band featured on the next page is Metallica.  Pretty sweet.  And another short SXSW review popped up here.

If you need a good new book:

try Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name by Vendela Vida.  It's a fast read, but a good one.  If you've not heard of her, she's married to Dave Eggers, and while their styles are not the same, she similarly has the ability to write in such a way that you don't put the book down until you're done.

Wovenhand:

Acoustic show, this Friday.  Denver.  At least I know it won't burst my eardrums like the last time I saw them.  Apparently the Post called it "one of the 10 most exciting club shows this summer."  And it might even end early enough to check out Lucero at the Bluebird later that night.

If you hadn't figured it out:

the common link was Lloyd Maines.

Overheard:

"I mean, like, if you don't know anything about cars then you're basically not a guy, right?"

Also overheard:

Countless conversations about Jon & Kate Plus 8.  Come on people.

Seen:

Headline in the Denver Post reading "No Charges Against Poudre Doctor."  Not to make fun of the actual situation relating to this story, whatever it is, but this struck me as funny because the area, typically called the Poudre Valley, is pronounced "pooder."  

Good news Lubbock:

Buddy Holly Center summer showcase schedule announced. If you don't go to any other show, GO SEE MARIACHI AMISTAD!  I'm not joking.

meh

I've been busy doing "work" and "looking busy" lately, and haven't had much chance to post. Hopefully you've been keeping busy yourself by reading Ashton Kutcher's Twitter while I was away.

In my only exciting news, the Avett Brothers are starting to announce tour dates in support of their new album, I and Love and You, and they will be appearing at the Boulder Theater on August 21st. Hopefully coming to a town near you soon as well. Given that tickets go on sale in exactly one week, I am heading down to the box office to set up my tent as soon as I post this.

Finally, I spent the better part of a morning at Kinkos, and of all the employee rage I could see bubbling just beneath the surface, this moment really took the cake:

Assistant Manager: Our shipment of blah blah blah is not coming in until blah blah blah.

Employee: Sounds good, that should work fine.

Assistant Manager: The only problem is we may have to go pick it up at blah blah blah. Hopefully we can send what's his name to pick it up, but beyond that I think it will work.

(here comes the moment you've been waiting for)

Assistant Manager: Is that Cool yo? (or "Coolio?" -- not sure how he would have spelled it)

Employee: Sure. (but at the same time thinking: I hate my life so much right now)

Avett Brothers by Southwest

Two things related to the Avett Brothers at SXSW:

You would think that an NPR official showcase wouldn't run into problems with sound, but given that there were approximately 200 other shows happening at the exact same time, I guess it's understandable. However, for any Avett Brothers die hards, the NPR showcase podcast is a great listen. You can listen here, or you can download it through Itunes on the NPR Live Concerts from All Songs Considered Podcast. Unfortunately, it takes about 10 minutes into the recording before the music starts, so there's not 40 minutes of Avetts like I initially hoped. You will get to hear a new song at the end of the recording though. For anyone scared of how Rick Rubin might change their sound, this song should allay your fears.

Here's a video from the Avetts other SXSW performance, where they play another song from their upcoming album I and Love and You. This one is a bit different from some of their earlier work, but it is still 100% an Avett Brothers song. Hope it stays up for a while, as this is a great song and should be even better on the album.




Two things unrelated to the Avett Brothers:

There's not a podcast to download, and there probably won't be, but KUT has a pretty interesting performance/interview with Howe Gelb of Giant Sand from the SXSW week. He talks about the history of Giant Sand and his relationship with associated acts.

The new J. Tillman album Vacilando Territory Blues, currently out on Western Vinyl, is amazing. Check it out some time.

A little bird sent me this

At first I almost didn't post this because I didn't "find" it, but then again, there's really no original finds anymore in the interweb age.

3 More Hard-to-Find Albums You'll Wish You Had Someday

Colin Gilmore - 4 of No Kind

This first EP from Austin singer/rocker/songwriter/son-of-a-flatlander Colin Gilmore is an incredible collection of 4 songs that probably best reflect Gilmore's west Texas roots. Colin has recently made this album available on itunes, so it's not super rare, but I don't know that the hard copies are still being produced. I may be wrong on that, but I haven't seen any site selling new copies of the CD for some time. Whether he meant for them to or not, "Sunset" and "Winds of Heaven" sound like they were written by Jimmie Dale's son - trust me, you'll think the same when you hear them. Probably not that rare really, but for Colin and/or even Flatlanders fans, this EP is an essential.

Availability: A few used hard copies left on Amazon, and otherwise, widely available for download.

No River City - This is Our North Dakota

This first album from the (apparently) now defunct No River City is yet another casualty of the downfall of Miles of Music. That is, MoM has been the place to buy NRC's CD's for some time, and was additionally a strong champion of the band's music. Thus, given that No River City seems to be generally done as a band, their CD's are likely to become increasingly hard to find. I think a number of the guys from the band still play live shows together, but at least from the last announcement I heard, I think NRC is no longer in existence. That said, their two CD's are full of amazing songs, great vocals, and harmonies that fit the music perfectly. This first release is a great listen all the way through. I guess it falls in the vein of what you would call straight up alt country. I don't mean that in a bad way, by any means, but it's just a great collection of songs that don't need any fancy business to cover up various weaknesses that bands are wont to cover up with novelty sounds and the like. The entire album is a great listen, but "Corrinne" and "Last Thing I Remember" are a great place to start. You can download Corrinne here, and I've also found that various other blogs seem to have other songs of theirs for download if you look hard enough. Honestly, I don't know if there is an actual way to buy the music from them anymore so that they actually get the money for it, given that MoM was, as best I can tell, their exclusive seller (and who knows when the last time they got money from Miles of Music was). None of their stuff is available as itunes or amazon DL's either. My hope is that this album and their second album Wolves and Fishes, will not be the last we hear from the folks from NRC, whether it is under that name or another, as they have shown a great consistency for putting out great songs, and deserve wider listenership than they have.

Availability: Moderate - a few used copies up on Amazon, but haven't seen many others.

Rhett Miller - Mythologies

I'm just kidding about this one really. You are unlikely to find it anywhere except ebay, and even I cannot advocate anyone spending the kind of money this album goes for, no matter how big of a fan you are. This pre-Old 97s release from Rhett is more a novelty than anything. The songs are pretty good, but probably not worth paying $15 a song for. Only 1,000 copies were made, and apparently they are all signed and numbered, at least from Rhett Miller folklore that I've heard. Given how rough the economy has been, I think more than one of these may pop up on ebay, but you'll probably pay $150 or more for it if you really decide you want it. This is one on the list of albums that people like me dream of finding in a used CD store for $3.99, but the odds are heavily stacked against it now, given that most used sellers check their stuff on ebay now. Good luck, but this one has been essentially unavailable since shortly after Rhett became a 97.

Availability if you don't want to pay $200 for it: 1 in a million chance of finding it somewhere other than ebay.

In other news regarding hard-to-find music:

• The Avett Brothers have recently re-released their early Country Was album for download on itunes.
  
• I have been on a diligent search for an mp3 copy of the version of the Old 97s song "The Other Shoe" with Waylon Jennings singing the vocals. Apparently this recording dates back to 1997, in their days on Elektra, and was available for a short while on the Hit By a Train site as a real audio file (your grandkids will ask you about why anyone used real audio someday). Apparently the Waylon estate has not agreed to release this song yet, but from what I hear the band still hopes to make it an official release some day. Write your congressman about this one, because it will be more than worth it, 10 years plus after the fact, when it finally sees the light of day.

He does the theme from Endless Summer

Anti- Records has a free sampler up for Download on their blog.  It includes DeVotchKa, the Weakerthans, Billy Bragg, Man Man, and many more.  

Minor notes of interest (to me):

Old 97s played on Leno Thursday night.  No clip on youtube yet surprisingly, but the performance was a good one, at least in the sense that it was really good to hear Old 97s back at it playing new music.  Here's Rhett and Murry playing a song from the new album:

In other news, the Avett Brothers have just (finally) announced the release of a new EP, entitled The Gleam II.  It has been rumored on the message board for some time now, but they have just made it officially official.  Thank you.  Thank you. Thank you Gentlemen.  I can't wait.

And finally, for those of you with a twinge of indie hip hop blood, the new Atmosphere album When Life Gives You Lemons... has been impressive thus far.  Current favorite track is "You."  

Say what you'd like about it, or just repeat what the critics say if you prefer, but we saw Baby Mama last night, and I was pretty impressed, given that people were talking about its bad reviews while we were in line to get tickets.  As I was noted saying after the movie, "I don't even laugh that much in movies, but this one was pretty funny."  

The ending was a little ridiculous, but overall a funny movie with a great job by Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Greg Kinnear, Steve Martin, some guy that looks like Zach Braff, and various SNL cast members.  Will Forte has a great 1 minute appearance, or I guess, "cameo" as they say in the biz.  But then again I'm not in the biz so I wouldn't know.

You know the people that love you.