Archive for the Indie. Straight up Indie. Category
Two key recordings which serve as bookends to Elliott Smith’s catalogue of solo recordings, Roman Candle (his first) and From A Basement on the Hill (ostensibly, his last), are being reissued by Kill Rock Stars on 6 April 2010. Roman Candle, Elliott’s first album, was issued by Portland’s Cavity Search Records in 1994. For the Kill Rock Stars reissue, Roman Candle been remastered by Smith family archivist Larry Crane. Crane, the respected long-time editor of Tape Op Magazine, served in several engineering capacities on Elliott’s work over the course of his career, predominantly as owner and operator of Jackpot! Recordings where Elliott recorded many of his earliest works. MORE »
With free downloads from St. Vincent, Deerhunter, Camera Obscura, The Mountain Goats and M. Ward just to name a few, famed UK label 4AD has unleashed a free downloadable sampler of their 2009 releases in time for the holidays. Follow the links above to listen or download from 4AD.
Charlotte Gainsbourg – Heaven Can Wait from Charlotte Gainsbourg on Vimeo.
The new video from Charlotte Gainsbourg, “Heaven Can Wait”, is ostensibly the first single from her Beck-produced album IRM, due for release in very early 2010. Enjoy.
Slowly but surely, the machinery of Magnetic Fields is cranking back up. With their new album Realism set for release, they’ve decided to embark on a wee bairn of a tour. Check out these tour dates — MORE »
Although we currently know next-to-nothing about what this album will sound like, we’re definitely excited to hear that a new Magnetic Fields album will be released on Nonesuch Records this coming January. Stephin Merritt fans may rejoice quietly as they look at the album cover (above) and the tracklisting (below) which was revealed to us this morning.
1. You Must Be Out of Your Mind
2. Interlude
3. We Are Having a Hootenanny
4. I Don’t Know What to Say
5. The Dolls’ Tea Party
6. Everything Is One Big Christmas Tree
7. Walk a Lonely Road
8. Always Already Gone
9. Seduced and Abandoned
10. Better Things
11. Painted Flower
12. The Dada Polka
13. From a Sinking Boat
Are you a die-hard music fan? Â Are you the most dedicated to a core of independent artists, many of whom you feel you have developed a “personal” connection with thanks to social networks like Twitter, Facebook or MySpace? Â As the models for artist survival in the music industry widen and mutate, there’s a growing focus on fans just like you — the hard core, or the uber-fan, if you will. Â For fans like you, the world of music is yours to inherit and enjoy because, as you’ve already discovered, artists are starting to offer more and different ways to get and keep your attention — and your financial support.
But what if you’re just a casual music fan — one whose lifestyle is such that you don’t devote huge amounts of time and/or money with building relationships to the artists you enjoy?
This morning, Ryan Catbird alerted us to a fascinating and insightful piece over at Fingertips Commentary which examines the loss of  the casual music fan in what is referred to as “future of music” schemes being developed by, or on behalf of, independent artists.
Taking it’s cue from the conversations held during the recent Future Of Music Summit in Washington, D.C., and a keen glimpse at Kevin Kelly’s thought-provoking (and widely read piece) “1000 True Fans“, Fingertips searches for what has happened to casual music fans in the current series of fan engagement methods on the part of the artist. Fingertips points out that to artists searching for sustainability in a market place that looks so bleak, artists have taken their focus to the people they know are most willing to pony up for access to them or their music — the question is, however, at what cost to the rest of their fan base?
It may take you a while to read through, but I highly suggest you head over to Fingertips (by clicking here) and read this fascinating commentary. Â We want to know what you think, too, so please share your comments on this article with us here.
There is nobody in music quite like the one known as Res (pronounced ‘Reese’). A classically-trained born-and-raised Illadelphian vocalist with a soaring range, Res was raised on the strains of Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and Teddy Pendergrass. However, as her musical boundaries expanded, she developed a prurient interest in rock music — diverse artists like Berlin, Pearl Jam and The Eurythmics. Res’s understated power as a songwriter and vocalist first came to light in 2001 with the release of her album How I Do, fusing her vocal fury with a series of rock and soul tracks which many (including me) felt solidified her position as the shape of things to come. The album, which yielded the single “They-Say Vision”, preserved Res’s incomparable collaborations with an equally-young-and-hopeful former A&R rep named Santi White, who so believed in the project, she quit her A&R job to work full-time with Res. (Today, of course, the world now knows her better as the massively successful Santigold)
But back in those strange salad days, the music business became cruel and dark to many artists. Layoffs and broken contracts became a touchstone of the early-mid 21st century, and Res got caught in the crossfire of record labels who couldn’t figure out how to market her music. Was she a soul singer? Was she a rocker? To her hardcore fans, the delineation hardly mattered; they knew what she was capable of, and Res did too.
More info and a free MP3 after the jump.
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At this year’s SXSW music festival, I was very impressed during my opportunity to catch Those Darlins at the Brooklyn Vegan party. Hailing from just outside Nashville, the trio of Kelly, Jessi and Nicki Darlin bring a party atmosphere to the stage by melding styles that may not seem to go together on first glance. Those Darlins make a particular brand of indie pop music, one unselfconsciously informed by their love of indie rock and country music — tailor-made for you to dance and sing along with.
If you’re in Memphis tomorrow night (Tuesday, November 10th), you should make it a point to catch up with them at The Hi-Tone where they’ll be appearing with perennial Goner favorites King Khan & BBQ Show. You’ll be glad you decided to head out on a Tuesday night & we’ll see you there.
Those Darlins – “Red Light Love”
More tour dates after the jump.
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Starting this Thursday, November 5th through November 15th, Saucony Originals will be auctioning off a sneaker signed by more than fifty of indie music’s favorite artists on eBay’s charity auction house MissionFish.org. Proceeds will benefit Saucony’s Run for Good Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to combating childhood obesity.
Shoe stampers include Yo La Tengo, The Walkmen, The National, Jesus Lizard, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, M83, Frightened Rabbit, Pharoahe Monch, Killer Whales, and a slew of who’s who artists on the indie music stage. Signatures were collected on a size 15 Saucony Originals Jazz sneaker this past summer while Saucony Originals was helping Pitchfork Music Festival revelers set any world record they wanted with the Universal Record Database.
(for further information visit the Saucony Facebook page.)
