So I went through the entire list of showcasing artists at SXSW 2008 posted so far, and I’ve reached the conclusion that I do indeed want to get a wristband. Grumble, grumble. This year, I’m going to skip Japan Nite if it conflicts with any of the other showcases I want to see.
I don’t mind if everyone clamors to see Vampire Weekend or R.E.M. — just so long as they stay out of the shows I want to attend:
hey willpower I’m betting this showcase will be the gayest of the entire festival. I just hope whatever venue hey willpower plays that there’s enough room for the male dancers.
So Percussion This ensemble recorded Steve Reich’s Drumming, so I’m wondering if perhaps Reich’s interview has a tie-in?
Wing Yes! Wing! There’s a terrific write-up of Wing’s 2007 concert over at The Standing Room, and while I would probably never buy any of her CDs, I’d love to see her live. I might get a t-shirt, though.
Just when I was about to write off SXSW 2008, I scanned the list of showcasing artists, and toddle is listed. OMGWTFBBQ! I guess a wristband is in my future. Too bad my company bonus and tax return have already been spent on motherboard troubles early last month.
Had I the cash to drop on a badge, I could also attend the Steve Reich interview with Thurston Moore. I wonder if Steve Reich and Musicians are going to have a special guest showcase? That would be cool. Maybe someone can do an impromptu performance of Clapping Music.
Here are the bands from Japan so far listed, including those previously announced for Japan Nite:
aonami
Avengers in Sci-Fi
Damage
detroit7
Dokkebi Q
The Emeralds [Good fucking Lord, not again]
ketchup mania
Maki Rinka
Petty Booka
The Pillows [That showcase is going to be insanely packed]
Bounce.com put this band on the front page of its site, and their self-titled debut mini-album was posted to JPOPSUKI. So I decided to check out MASS OF THE FERMENTING DREGS, and I have to say I’m really enjoying them. The songwriting bounces around to just about every kind of indie rock — from sing-song pop to long-winded instrumental jams. It’s equal parts Condor44, unkie and Bugy Craxone.
Dave Fridmann, producer of the Flaming Lips and NUMBER GIRL, helms the last two tracks on the album. In fact, those tracks employ a bit of the thunderous reverb NUMBER GIRL used on SAPPUKEI. Check out the band’s Myspace page for audio samples. Oddly enough, the album is available over at YesAsia. Alas, I must wait for the next paycheck before I can place an order.
I’ve gotten really picky about finding new Japanese artists these days, so to be drawn genuinely to a band like MASS OF THE FERMENTING DREGS is a rarity. Honestly, I think the last time I encountered such an indelible first impression was with Sasagawa Miwa in 2004.
Leo Imai is another artist about whom I’m curious. I can see Ian’s point about Imai, and at the same time, I like what I’ve heard so far. I managed to find an MP3 of "Blue Technique" by some web search, and I’ve been listening to it regularly. It’s almost driving me to drop cash on the single. But I’ll be patient and wait for the album in late February. I don’t anticipate Imai displacing Shiina Ringo or any of my other oft-named favorites, but I think there’s enough to keep me interested for an album or two.
Now here’s an interesting show: Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin and Buddy Miller embark on a month-long tour dubbed "Three Girls and Their Buddy". I’d charitably call this kind of show Austin Bait — Griffin and Colvin are based in Austin, while Harris and Miller have performed here many times. Austinites love their singer-songwriter/alt-country types, and I’m surprised this tour doesn’t make at stop at the Backyard.
Before the book was published, I had already started re-exploring the music that shaped my college experience. After reading the book, that exploration picked up momentum. An examination of my mostrecentplaylists shows a significant increase in modern classical titles. It’s nice to be making room for this music again.
Billboard.biz reports Sony BMG has signed on with Amazon to sell unprotected MP3 files. An exact date has yet to be set, the article says, but Sony content should be available later this month.
The Sony BMG merger in 2004 meant the consolidation of perhaps the two biggest classical music recording archives — CBS Masterworks and RCA Victor. It’s probably overly optimistic of me to think the full potential of this consolidation could be leveraged with the Amazon deal, especially given how well classical has done in the digital arena the last few years.
But I have to say, the Sony BMG holdout didn’t inconvenience me as much as the Warner Music Group holdout. I’m not as invested in the Sony artists in my collection, and if I did feel any longing, it was for BMG artists. A lot of Stephen Sondheim’s shows were recorded for RCA Victor.
I find it interesting that my interest in these deals extend to the catalog of the majors, not in their new artists. Curious?
SXSW Asia posted the line-up for Japan Nite 2008. The featured bands this year are:
Petty Booka
ketchup mania
detroit7
quartz-head 02
avengers in Sci-Fi
Sodopp
Click on the band photos, and a pop-up window links to their various websites and Myspace pages. After listening to the audio samples, I gotta admit — I’m not wowed. avengers in Sci-Fi comes close to sounding distinctive, but you could have easily put Electric Eel Shock or the Emeralds in place of detroit7 and noodles or any Benten band in Sodopp’s slot.
There’s nobody as freaked out as Kokeshi Doll, as brutal as Bleach or as theatrical as eX-Girl. And there isn’t anybody as marquee as PE’Z, Bonnie Pink or GO!GO!7188. I’ve been kind of broke this past year, so if I do manage to go to SXSW, it’ll be a luxury.
Many more bands will be announced in the coming weeks, so maybe something else might draw me in.
Billboard.biz reports Napster will sell unprotected MP3s in the spring. I don’t know how Napster works these days, but I find it odd Napster would restrict subscribers to copy-protected content, while allowing ala carte customers access to the same content protection-free. Shouldn’t that be the other way around?
Sony BMG, meanwhile, announced it would roll out its digital music cards, which can be redeemed for unprotected MP3s at MusicPass.com. The inaugural titles aren’t terribly impressive, but then again, I’m not the target audience. Buying a card to scratch off gunk to get at a pin number to enter for access to … monku, monku, monku. Just give me a link and a buy button, dammit.
Over the course of cataloging my music collection, I came across a useless skill: finding barcode numbers of titles between formats.
It’s not a skill pertinent to anything released after the early- to mid-’90s, but it is helpful to fill in gaps for anything released before then. This skill does require some equally useless prerequisites (although they’re probably not useless to the folks who track these kinds of things.)
To demonstrate this skill, I’ll recount my hunt for a barcode number of a cassette I’ve long since let go for a title that’s long since been out of print.
When Amazon launched its MP3 store, I waxed philosophic on how the most influential music of my youth was released on labels distributed by Warner, which has been holding out on providing DRM-free content to digital vendors. Until now.
Billboard.biz reports Warner Music Group has begun selling DRM-free content on Amazon. My initial reaction, of course, was glee, but then I read the article a bit more closely. There’s no mention of how many titles would be available — a fact trumpeted by Universal when the download store launched in September 2007 — only that a "range of digital products" would be available. Translation: not as much as you’d think, let alone wish.
My first few searches struck out. No Throwing Muses, the Smiths, Hüsker Dü or Replacements. I did find some Kronos Quartet, Bill Frisell and Steve Reich, as well as 10,000 Maniacs, Freedy Johnston and Missy Elliott. So it looks like the Elektra titles have some presence, perhaps more than Warner and Atlantic.
So using my recently-cataloged collection, I started searching for artists on particular labels. Enya (Reprise)? Nada. Everything But the Girl (Atlantic)? Two titles. The Flaming Lips (Warner)? A bunch of EPs but no real albums. The B-52’s (Warner)? Cosmic Thing and something on Rhino. Emmylou Harris? Her Nonesuch titles but nothing from her 20 some odd years on Warner Bros.
Some higher profile artists had better representation, of course. The big hit Warner albums by R.E.M., Out of Time and Automatic for the People, are available, but not the crufty stuff such as Monster or Up. Just about all the Missy Elliott albums are up there, as well as quite a number of Björk.
No Madonna, of course.
Nonetheless, it’s a first step, a test to see how well DRM-free content fares for the reluctant Warner Music Group. I hope it does well.
UPDATE, 01/01/08: I guess it took a few days for some updates to happen because now there are more titles by Throwing Muses, the Replacements, Everything But the Girl, Enya and the B-52’s. Still no Hüsker Dü nor the Smiths.
, I