Posts

Posted on

August 2021 Bandcamp Friday suggestions: ZENKA, Information Society, Harmony Woods, The Robotic Hands of God & more

Information Society ODDfellows

Once again, Bandcamp Friday is upon us. It’s a good time to snag anything you’ve had your eye on from Bandcamp, and if you haven’t had your eye on anything? Well, I have suggestions!

Each single or album has a rating, using a modified Robert Christgau scale. Also check out my earlier recommendations from March.

ODDfellows by Information Society ★★★

New this week, ODDfellows has everything I love about Information Society’s early albums without sounding dated or repetitive. Haven’t had time for repeated listens but this is already in the queue for regular rotation. My sole complaint at the moment is that they only seem to be releasing this digitally. I really want this on physical media with the rest of my InfoSoc collection… even if I don’t actually pull the CDs out very often. (Sadly, I no longer have the Information Society cassette I played again and again and again and again in high school.)

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=1252112541 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

Graceful Rage by Harmony Woods ★★

Bought the LP on the strength of the first song alone. “Good Luck Rd.” will hit you like a ton of bricks. Going to be visiting this one again and again. Look for a longer review when I’ve had more time with it, but don’t wait for that – go check it out today.

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=662211766 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

“December” by ZENKA ★

This one grabbed me instantly. It’s got a strong beat, hooks you in right away. Party music with a dark underbelly. Love the minor key synth motif that pops up throughout the song and adds just a little menace and tension. Song’s a bit pricey, with a $7 digital download for the single, but it’s damn good.

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=3069734625 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

Structures: Duo Improvisations for Acoustic Guitar & Tabla by Nate Roberts & Doug Scheuerell ★

Pretty much what it says on the tin. If you enjoy tabla and acoustic guitar, you’ll probably dig this. As the description on Bandcamp notes, this isn’t big on dissonance — which is often a hallmark of improv and puts me off a number of recordings that might otherwise be enjoyable. Highly melodic and enjoyable.

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=3251904893 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

Music from a Parallel Dimension by The Robotic Hands of God ★

Not quite as interesting or good as The Hidden Master, but still has its high points and is a fun ride.

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=177556498 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

EXCAVATION Unauthorized Cut​-​Up Vol 1 by Bill Laswell★

Shares a name and some tracks with an unofficial release from 2008 on CD-R, EXCAVATION has Laswell tinkering with tracks from JT Money & George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, and earlier adventures with Laswell and William S. Burroughs. Not an essential release but fun, nonetheless. “We Wanna See Bootsy” is quite a jam.

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=3744120894 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

Posted on

A little metal, a little post-rock: King Woman and Vasudeva

Album playing with vibrant colors

How do you rate music? I mean, actually express a rating for music? I have a post brewing on this topic, I think I’ve written about it previously, but the whole “five star” rating thing just doesn’t work for me. Right now I’m adopting a modified Robert Christgau rating system, but expect that to mutate over the course of writing and publishing more ratings.

Today I have two releases that earned a two-star rating, or as Christgau would put it, “likable effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well enjoy.” Continue reading “A little metal, a little post-rock: King Woman and Vasudeva”

Posted on

Listen to this: Mdou Moctar, Foo Fighters go disco, Andy Summers w/Robert Fripp

Album playing with vibrant colors

Something old, something new, there’s something in today’s music roundup for everybody.

“Afrique Victime”: Mdou Moctar

“Afrique Victime” is going straight into heavy rotation at my house. Most of the time when I listen to new music, I can sort it into one of three categories: “no thanks,” “so-so,” and “I might like this.” After giving music from the “I might like this” category another spin or two, I can decide if I’m going to want to add it to my library or move on.

Much more rarely, I immediately love something and want to listen to it again and again. That’s where Afrique Victime by Mdou Moctar landed. Almost immediately I was grabbed by “Chismiten,” the first track on the album. And it never let up.

Moctar is from Agadez, Niger and his site says he was inspired by YouTube videos of Van Halen and built his own guitar, recording music that was distributed by mobile phone data cards. The Bandcamp page for the album describes this as “mid-’70s to early ’80s Van Halen meets Black Flag meets Black Uhuru.”

To be honest, I’m not hearing the Black Flag bit at all, but it’s amazing nonetheless. Moctar is singing in Tamasheq, so I have no idea what the lyrics are to any of the songs on the album, but that hasn’t impeded my enjoyment of the work one tiny bit.

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=976124536 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

“Hail Satin”: Foo Fighters go Disco

When I was a kid and teenager, it was cool to hate on disco music. “Disco Sucks” was the general theme, and you couldn’t admit to liking the Bee Gees or Donna Summer.

Turns out, disco didn’t suck. Well, some of it did, just like any other genre… but Donna Summer, the Bee Gees, Abba and many others actually turned out some damn good songs that still get the blood pumping and feet tapping today. In fact, if I’m being honest, I’d rather listen to disco than some of the music that was cool back then.

I’m pleased to see Foo Fighters taking a swing at several disco cuts and doing it well. Taking a turn as the “Dee Gees,” they tackle five Bee Gees classics including “You Should Be Dancing” and “Shadow Dancing” on their Record Store Day album Hail Satin, plus five Foo Fighters cuts live on side B.

Clearly they had a lot of fun with it, and it shows. This is not an album that will make a top 500 or top 1,000 “albums you must hear before you die” list, but if I still had a commute I’d definitely pop it into the mix for driving to or from work.

If you’re old enough to remember these songs the first time around, you’ll probably enjoy having them revisited by Foo Fighters. Maybe, if we’re lucky, it’ll also inspire some younger audiences to go back and engage with the Bee Gees and some other disco classics and appreciate them on their own merits.

“I Advance Masked”: Andy Summers w/Robert Fripp

Once The Police split up, I didn’t really follow the solo careers of the band members. Sting’s solo stuff was a little too soft for me at the time (might do with a revisit), and Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland didn’t get a lot of the spotlight afterwards. (Of course, you’ve probably heard a lot of Copeland’s stuff over the years since in movies and TV shows, but you might not know that you’re hearing his work…)

After hearing a particularly good cover of Summers’ “Love Is The Strangest Way” by Adam Rabin, I decided to dig into Summers’ back catalog starting with his 1982 collaboration with Robert Fripp. I Advance Masked caught my eye because Spotify showed it as released in 2021 (?) and the title certainly seemed appropriate.

It’s definitely worth a listen. It’s indulgent in spots, but the overall effort is well worth a spin or two.

Posted on

Bill Laswell & Pete Namlook: Psychonavigation 1-5

Bill Laswell & Pete Namlook's Psychonavigation album I

Bill Laswell‘s discography is intimidating, and I’ve been grappling with it for a few years now. This week I decided to sit down and give the entire five album Psychonavigation series a listen.

It’s a trippy, bass-y journey that won’t work for everybody, but has a fair amount to offer for fans of experimental ambient music that’s heavy on atmosphere and repetition.

Bill Laswell: A vast and varied discography

My first encounter with Laswell was 1994’s Hallucination Engine. I picked it up unheard on the basis of a review that made it seem like something I couldn’t miss. After just one spin on the CD player, I knew I wanted more but finding more was quite a challenge.

This was the pre-Internet era, at least for me. I didn’t have much luck finding additional Material albums or any info about Laswell’s other work. The record stores of St. Louis had nothing I could find under the Material band name, despite Hallucination Engine being the sixth or seventh album under that band name.

For the past few years, though, I’ve had the opportunity to really dig into the treasure trove of Laswell’s discography–which has only grown steadily since the mid-90s. Even if Laswell had stopped recording in 1994 his output would be substantial.

Bill Laswell & Pete Namlook: Psychonavigation 1-5

Case in point, Psychonavigation 1 was also released in 1994. The first in a five album series (so far, anyway), Psychonavigation spans 1994 to 2002. Psychonavigation 5 was released in 2002, and re-released on Bandcamp in 2020.

Each album has its own character, but if you listen to the entire series back-to-back the albums can blend into one another almost seamlessly.

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=963838079 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

My first impression, starting with the 38-minute “Psychic and UFO Revelations in the Last Days,” was that it was a trippy, space-y, and bass-y ride. Nothing really changed that impression through the rest of the series.

You have to wade through some filler to get to the good stuff, though. “Angel Tech” on Psychonavigation 1 is a bit blippy and distracting. At more than 10 minutes it’s the shortest track on the album.

“The Fate of Energy” on Psychonavigation 2 has more groove to it and a little more structure. “Infinum” on the same album is the shortest track in the series. Checking in at 1:49 it’s fast-paced and makes me think of church bells, if you piped them through a synthesizer.

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=3122801163 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small track=2177091010]

Psychonavigation 3 breaks things up a bit with seven tracks and nothing that exceeds the 20 minute mark. “Telepathy I” reminded me a little bit of the Blade Runner soundtrack by Vangelis. Ambient synth brings swells and thrums with some background and hard to distinguish vocals. Doesn’t quite have the same menace as the Blade Runner work, though, and is poorer for it.

Theremin whale songs

My notes for “Mind Transference Control” include the phrase “Theremin whale song.” I stand by that. It’s catchy and pleasant, very repetitive. Actually it’s probably not a Theremin, but a similar instrument called a Trautonium, which Namlook is credited with on the 5th album. Unfortunately I don’t have good liner notes to go with the albums so who played what is a bit spotty.

The most Material-like cut in the series is “Mind Over Energy” (track 4). I really enjoy the bass on this one and I’d probably pull this one into playlists.

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=473817581 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

I’ve marked down “ENTIB 2060” on Psychonavigation 4 as “harsh and crashy” though I got good vibes off the rest of the album.

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=4074179997 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

The final entry in the series has a four-part “Cryosleep” series that’s good background music if you like things in the drone/ambient category. Things move along just enough to keep it interesting. If you want it to be. Put on low it’s good background noise. Wearing headphones or putting it on a bit louder you can get into a groove and appreciate how each track evolves.

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=2533630147 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

Along with the drum programming, Laswell throws in some simulated (I think?) gongs and other spicy noises that keep Psychonavigation 5 from being ponderous and boring. Track 4 (“Cryosleep Part 3 – Holy Man”) has some nice and chunky bass with more vocals and an upbeat, almost frenetic, vibe.

Final thoughts

The Psychonavigation series is a must-have for Laswell completists (and, presumably, Namlook completists as well…) and might appeal to folks who are really into ambient, electronic, dub music. It’s a journey somewhat in the vein of early Pink Floyd without quite so many dynamics or Syd Barrett’s guitar or Nick Mason’s drums to bring it closer to contemporary rock music. But if you dig early Floyd, you’re primed for Psychonavigation.

I’ll probably bring these out from time to time, but doubt they’re going to wind up in heavy rotation. Laswell and Namlook have a few other collaborations I plan to give a full hearing, like the Outland series and The Dark Side of the Moog VII.

Short version: If you already know and like Laswell, give these a shot. If you don’t, start with a more accessible work like Hallucination Engine.

Posted on

John Taylor: The Japan Album (1999)

Album playing with vibrant colors

John Taylor - The Japan AlbumDid you know John Taylor, of Duran Duran fame, has a string of solo albums? I did not, until very recently. Through a little digital crate-digging I managed to find his 1999 release, John Taylor and give it a listen.

To be entirely fair to the album, I’ve only given it one listen so far and I’m probably going in biased. What do I want from a John Taylor album? Well, if I’m being honest, something a little closer to mid-80s Duran Duran with a lot of bass. The Power Station with less cheesiness and schmaltz. (Really, The Power Station minus Robert Palmer…)

This is not that.

The Japan Album

According to the Duran Duran Wiki (and who am I to doubt them?), John Taylor is more commonly known as The Japan Album because it was recorded for a Japanese label (Avex Trax) and only has “John Taylor” on the cover.

The album is a grab bag of styles. There’s a fairly banging cover of The Zombies’ “She’s Not There,” a short instrumental cover of a 16th century Christmas Carol (“Coventry Carol”), and fiddle-forward tune called “Hollow Victory” that features an unspecified female vocalist.

“Air Miles” is a bit more bass-forward and experimental. If I didn’t know better, I’d have pegged it for something from Jah Wobble’s Invaders of the Heart . (That’s not a bad thing, btw.) If Wobble and Taylor haven’t collaborated at some point, they should.

“Getting Intimate” is OK musically but falls down a bit vocally and lyrically. Taylor’s vocals are all over the place on the album. In a few songs it feels like he’s trying to channel David Bowie, others are a little too earnest. “Fields of Eden” is well done, but the lyrics are super-repetitive.

If only Taylor was in a band with another strong songwriter and a better lyricist and singer. Oh, wait…

Overall, I came away planning to give the album another listen down the road. It’s not amazing, it’s not embarrassing. It has a few tracks that might find their way into mixes. If you want to give this a listen… good luck. I had no luck finding this on Spotify, YouTube, or Apple Music, or elsewhere. You can find a few copies on Discogs for semi-reasonable prices.

Posted on

Saturday singles: Ministry “Good Trouble,” Theon Cross “We Go Again”

Cover for Theon Cross single "We Go Again"

Catching up on new music today and two singles grabbed my attention above the rest, a single from Theon Cross and a cut from Ministry for their upcoming album Moral Hygiene.

Theon Cross: “We Go Again”

Theon Cross is a jazz tuba player, and his 2019 LP Fyah is a must-hear for anybody who wants to push the boundaries with some amazing modern jazz.

“We Go Again,” was just dropped on Bandcamp, Spotify, YouTube and the other usual streaming / digital store suspects. No physical media in sight just yet, but I’m keeping an eye out.

It’s a smooth, not very tuba-forward, piece. Strong recommend, give it a listen or three.

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 track=1276798112 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

Ministry: “Good Trouble”

Ministry has always been a political band, but I was not expecting a homage to the late, great Congressman John Lewis from Al Jourgensen. Of all the weirdness the 2020s have thrown at us so far, this is one of the better curve balls.

Ministry isn’t breaking any new sonic ground here, but this is a solid track that I suspect will make longtime Ministry fans happy. The entire tracklist is on Bandcamp for Moral Hygiene with a few enticing-sounding tracks like “We Shall Resist” and “Death Toll.” Looking forward to hearing the whole disc when October comes around.

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=1809344520 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

Do yourself a favor and check them both out.

 

Posted on

“No Sudden Move” is all surface and no substance

Don Cheadle in No Sudden Move

My first thought after finishing No Sudden Move last night was “what the hell went wrong?” (Spoilers below, so beware.)

No Sudden Move is a heist film, though you really pick this up only in dribs and drabs. Oh, and it’s also a big deal because the heist isn’t about jewels or money, it’s about a document. But, again, you only learn a little bit at a time the importance of the document and why it should matter.

Until they drop the hammer at the end of the movie, that is, with the reveal.

By then you’ve sat through two hours of trying to piece together “what the hell is going on with this movie?”

The movie sort of feels like a big, expensive Lego kit. All the pieces are there, but the kids got bored and instead of finishing the Death Star they sort of cobbled together a half-assed stack of blocks with Darth Vader sitting on top.

Too many pieces

No Sudden Move is chock full of amazing actors. Its saving grace is that the cast seems to know what’s going on even though the viewers don’t.

There’s a lot of backstory and depth hinted at that isn’t actually sketched in, or it’s dropped in awkwardly through the movie almost as an afterthought. My guess is that the actors knew far more about the characters they were playing than the movie cared to display.

Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro, David Harbour and Jon Hamm are all on the money. I’ll watch damn near anything with Don Cheadle in it, and that seems to be what Steven Soderbergh was counting on here.

The plot is underdeveloped and over-complicated. A good heist movie can be complicated, but you have to be able to be in on the gig. As a viewer it doesn’t work when you’re too busy trying to figure out the plot to get pleasure out of the Rube Goldberg machinery required to pull off a successful heist.

The end of the film just felt cheap and tagged on. The document could have been anything and it held damn little sway in the actual film. But the end of the film tries to up-level the stakes of the heist by giving historical weight to the object of the heist without having done the work during the film itself. That’s a failure.

The movie also toys with racial themes without actually delving into them. Again, it felt like a half-assed attempt to give some weight to the movie without actually doing the work.

Why the fish-eye lens?

As a retro movie, the film is full of period costumes, old cars and sets full of nostalgia. The overall visual tone is great. Except… for the fish-eye.

There is a weird fish-eye effect going on throughout the movie. It’s most noticeable in long shots, less so in close-ups or medium shots. At first I was wondering if there was something wrong with the streaming or my TV.

No, apparently this was intentional. It doesn’t lend anything to the film and often detracts from it.

Craig muMs Grant

I wanted to specifically give a call out to Craig muMs Grant, a really powerful actor who never quite got the spotlight he deserved.

Folks who watched Oz will recognize muMs as Poet, and he’s popped up in a lot of bit parts since. He’s got a small role in No Sudden Move,  and he’s intense and fun to watch. I was sad to learn while perusing IMDb that he passed away earlier this year due to complications due to diabetes at 52.

Almost adequate

No Sudden Move is almost adequate as a summer heist flick. If you’re willing to glide by on tropes instead of actual storytelling, it’ll fill an evening or give you something to put on in the background while toying with your phone. The performances take it a long way, but they can’t quite overcome the gaps in the story.

Posted on

Jukebox selections: Tristen, Black Sky Giant, HUBRID & The Racers Feat. Hunter Norton, Hashshashin

"Aquatic Flowers" by Tristen (album cover)

Been a little quiet on the music front, but not for lack of listening. The opposite, really. The last month or two have been a musical firehose of new stuff, but I haven’t quite sorted through everything and sorted out what I actually like from what sounded OK on first listen.

For now, these four are definitely worth a listen or three.

Aquatic Flowers by Tristen

Tristen’s Aquatic Flowers is soft and spinny, poppy and easy to settle into on a sunny summer day. It calls to mind the gentler pop of The Weepies. Maybe a touch of The Carpenters? It’s modern and classic at the same time, has some timelessness to it.

I pre-ordered this one from Bandcamp on the strength of her 2013 album C A V E S, which I checked out after a Twitter recommend from Emma Swift. (Hard to top that!) C A V E S has one of the catchiest songs I’ve heard in a long time (“No One’s Gonna Know”) so I felt pretty secure in pre-ordering Flowers.

“I Need Your Love” and “Complex” are the standouts for me, but the entire album is worth your time. Spin it on Spotify or pick up a copy on Bandcamp, you won’t be disappointed.

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=3368332272 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

Falling Mothership by Black Sky Giant

Bearing absolutely no resemblance to Tristen, Black Sky Giant’s Falling Mothership is an instrumental groove I stumbled on via Bandcamp recently. Released on June 10, it’s fresh and full of stoner rock / post rock / psychedelic goodness.

Apparently a one-person project out of Rosario, Argentina, Falling Mothership hits like a full band in a heavy groove. It’s full of ponderous riffs and sinewy bass. Great to put on to work to, very satisfying as background music or to put on the headphones and absorb the full impact. Black Sky Giant doesn’t seem to be on Spotify but you can preview the album on Bandcamp and you can pick up the digital download for a dollar.

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=3982096175 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

Culte De La Machine by HUBRID & The Racers Feat. Hunter Norton

More artifice than art, Culte De La Machine is perfectly competent synthwave / synthpop that satisfies my nostalgia and keeps a good rhythm going while I write and edit.

Not sure they’re breaking any new ground with Culte De La Machine, everything feels familiar and slightly recycled. But, you know, in a good way. Give it a spin on Spotify and you’ll be glad you did.

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=2744846246 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

nihsahshsaH by Hashshashin

I picked this one up via a subscription to the Art as Catharsis label out of Sydney, Australia. It’s an extensive prog rock jam with diverse influences. According to the Bandcamp description Hashshashin “blend meditative eastern sounds with drone, prog and psychedelia.”

It’s got a bunch going on, and is not for the timid. Imagine somebody went for prog rock and grunge with some math rock thrown in, and then said “you know, we should also try to make this a little weird, too.”

The discordant vibe works for me on most tracks, but is a bit grating on one or two tracks. I haven’t quite come to love “Rebirth,” for example, but “Derge,” “Immolation,” “The Ascetic” and “Prostration” all land just right.

You can dial this one up on Spotify along with some of the band’s newer albums. (This one hails from 2016.) Or check it on Bandcamp. The Art as Catharsis subscription is a mere $7 AUD a month, so it’s hard to beat that.

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=483534004 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

That’s not all folks…

I’ve got a ton of new stuff to share, but we’ll cut it off here for today. What’s grabbing your ears this week, month or year? Drop your findings in the comments, new or old doesn’t matter as long as it’s new to me.

Posted on

Remembering my father on Father’s Day

Ron Brockmeier painting a car

Ron Brockmeier painting a carThis is the second Father’s Day since my father passed.

In some ways it feels like the first – nothing felt quite real about his death last year after the pandemic kicked in. In other ways, I’d been letting go of my father long before he actually passed.

In 2019 I talked to my father on Father’s Day, but the dementia and memory loss had progressed to the point where it didn’t really feel like talking to my dad. Unlike many other years, he wasn’t interested much in talking or staying on the phone. But I got to hear his voice, and got to say the words.

This year, I don’t have that option. I won’t again.

But I’m still thinking about my dad today. The picture here is from a trip in 2007. I drove up to Wisconsin with a new (to me) car and asked him to do a little pinstriping on it, and paint a character I’m fond of on the back of the car. It was a good trip, he (as always) did a great job on the car.

So I’m thinking about that trip today. And other good memories. Looking through some old emails. My dad used to love to forward hokey humor that was popular in the late 90s and early 2000s. (You know, the emails that have “Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: Funny” in the subject line?) I’m guessing if he was alive today and in better mental health, he’d be all about memes.

I really wish I’d found more time to spend with him in my late 30s and early 40s. He threw out a number of fishing invitations, but I didn’t take him up on many of them. Too much work, too much travel, it was rarely a good time.

Family is complicated. If your father is still around, and you have or want a good relationship with them, be sure to spend some time with them or talking to them today. Not just the obligatory “happy Father’s Day” call. Try to learn something new about your father while you can. Have a real conversation while you can.

If you are a father, I hope you have a lovely day with your kids. Make good memories.

Miss you, dad.

Posted on

“Authenticity” is a trap

SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY

The idea of “authenticity” and “selling out” when applied to artists, musicians, and other folks is largely bullshit. Worse, it’s a trap.

Let me back up a sec. The other day I was on the Twitters and noticed an exchange about how some artist wasn’t “authentic” anymore because they licensed their music for a commercial of some sort.

Now, I get it. Music is highly personal. We (potentially) attach all kinds of emotions to a piece of music. That spills over to emotional attachments to the artists themselves. A lot of people want to think that the art they are highly attached to is “pure” rather than a crass cash-grab.

Grab that cash (as ethically as possible…)

I wish we lived in a society where musicians, artists, open source contributors could do their thing without concern about money. We don’t. Since that’s the case, I’m emphatically in favor of people taking opportunities to convert their work to income. You know what happens when artists don’t make money from their art? It often inhibits their ability to make more art.

SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEYIf a band isn’t making money, it’s hard to record and release more music. It’s hard to support open source development without finding a way to pay the developers and support the infrastructure, etc. As crappy as it is, just about everything costs money. (This includes people’s time. If a person’s art or contributions don’t bring in money, they have to find another way to support themselves. That’s time they can’t spend doing art or contributing.)

You might quibble with specific ways that people take cash for their work. Maybe licensing music to or working for Evil Corp is a line too far.

But the idea that anybody has to be “authentic” and “pure” is right there with the idea that people have to suffer for their art. And that’s just garbage.

We shouldn’t want people to suffer. We shouldn’t hold people to standards of scraping for a living in order to consider them “authentic.” I’m probably not going to buy an album full of songs about “Jeeves, get my my slippers” and “I got the blues, my private jet is in the shop” but I really want everybody to have financial stability. As boring and non-punk as that may sound.

It’s a trap!

Trying to achieve “authenticity” by rejecting licensing deals or whatever? It’s a trap. You don’t win any real benefits by appeasing the authenticity police, you only lose.

My music library is full of bands and artists that didn’t put out as much music as they could have, because of problems with money. Maybe it was a label messing them around because they didn’t sell enough copies. Because money, they didn’t have full control of their catalog. Maybe they were independent but couldn’t afford studio time. Maybe money problems impacted their life in other ways that futzed up their ability to record and release music.

Whatever. If a band can solve some of that by letting their music be used in a car commercial or vacation destination or deodorant, I don’t really care. If an author can write more because they sold the rights to a book that gets turned into a crappy movie, I don’t care. I still have the book. I still have the albums. And they’re getting to eat.

The Monkees were a cash-grab, studio creation. And, you know what? “Last Train to Clarksville” is still an amazing song. The list of musicians and artists who were “authentic” and ended up struggling and dying poor is too long to even get into.

I’m not saying fat stacks of cash should be the number one goal. But authenticity – which really translates to “be broke and not too popular” – is a bogus yardstick.

If I hear one of my favorite artists or bands is “selling out” by licensing their work for commercials or something, I’m just going to smile and say “good for them!”