So far, I'd say it has been a rather average year in music. Some notable greats, like Postal Service and Radiohead, and some disappointments like Loose Fur. However, The latter part of the year seems to be filled with a number of releases I've been salivating over for awhile. Self's Ornament and Crime, Beulah's Yoko, and Death Cab for Cutie's Transatlanticism. This evening, I've decided to stop salivating.

Well, okay, still no Self. But I was able to find the new Beulah and Death Cab efforts, and found both worth listening to. After a few listens, I found Yoko to be nowhere near as good as Heartstrings or Coast, which I find very disheartening, since I consider Coast to be one of my top 20 "I'll listen to this record anytime, any mood, no matter what" albums.

Transatlanticism is amazing though... Death Cab is finally back, and in full force (okay, I use the word "finally" unfairly, since I've only been familiar with them for 9 months or so.) The record feels different, but maintains everything essential to the band's sound. Some wonderful stuff.

In any case, I'm just curious to see if anyone else has taken the preview-plunge and what others' thoughts were on these or other upcoming albums.

Will

I have heard some stuff from the new Death Cab and can not agree that "Death Cab is back!" because the album seems ridiculously slow and sleepy like. I miss the Death Cab of old that wrote 'Fake Frowns.' That was good stuff in my opinion.

I haven't heard new Beulah.. nor do I have any desire to.

I have heard some new Self - though not enough to share a full opinion on it.

And on a slightly related but less specific note - I am kinda done with the whole downloading an album before it comes out thing. For two reason. 1) That whole RIAA suing individuals and the threat of a $250,000 fine and 5 years in prison really isn't all too tempting.. even though unlikely.. and 2) If I download an album 3 months before it comes out, and really love it - I'm probably going to wear the mp3's out. So when the actual album comes out, what incentive do I have to actually buy it? I want to support the artist, I want to have the artwork - but the MEAT of my purchase (the music) is already old to me. I will enjoy having the CD later, moreso than just mp3's, and being able to revisit it.. but there is something about putting a disc in fresh with no expectations and finding out what it's like.

Sure that can be disappointing sometimes, but for the most part if you know that an artist is doing good things - you'll learn to enjoy it.

That's my little rant on that.


Michael

With that said... A link to the new DCFC stuff would be appreciated.

By the way, Wiyum, did you hear that Gibbard is doing a solo show in Chi-Town on 8/15?

(Edited by carligula at 5:59 pm on Jul. 23, 2003)

To be fair, Something About Airplanes is my favorite Death Cab album (and "Fake Frowns" my favorite song from said album). But I've loved everything since, and I find the new album to be more like We Have the Facts..., which I prefer to Photo Album. In saying that Death Cab is back, I guess I meant that they finally have new material, and I find it to be on par with what I can reasonable expect the band to put out. Fair enough?

That said, I really like it alot.

As for point one, I agree, and have stopped logging onto file sharing things altogether... but I recently broke down, grabbed these two albums, and got off. Both bands have seemed rather cool about this sort of "early acquisition" (Beulah somewhat encourages it on their site right now), and in both cases, I'm not intending to steal the album. Just to hear it early, because I'm weak when it comes to waiting.

As for point two, returning to much of what I said, I've never been in the habit of stealing music. I've used this mp3 revolution for three distinct purposes. 1.) Acquiring rare, expensive to come by B-Sides that I cannot readily afford (pre OK Computer Radiohead, for example... I've simply bought all of their other singles to get the newer B-Sides, but Bends singles ain't cheap and Pablo singles are damned expensive). 2.) Testing the waters... A friend recommends a band, I download some stuff, and see what I like. I'm sure most everyone has done it. This has only helped bands sell records in my case... one night I couldn't sleep, I decided to check out Death Cab, and the next day I bought all six of their albums and EPs... you can see more on that in other threads where I've discussed this strange habit of mine. 3.) Early acquisition of albums not yet released.

I'm impatient, and so I like hearing music as soon as it exists in this world. I'm a junkie for new (to me) material from any artist I like, and for this reason I can't keep myself away. Same reason I'll see the new Coen Brothers film on opening day... I can't keep myself from exploring new territory with an artist that I love. In all cases, to speak to the incentive to buy, I have bought an album I've been enjoying for months the day it is released, based on the months of enjoyment I have already gleaned and a sense of debt to the artist for those months. That'll happen again here, I assure you.

I see what you're saying, I should be able to wait for something so wonderful. And a fresh cd is most certainly a magical thing. But I usually feel like the waiting has been going on long enough by the time an album appears online, and I can't resist. Two different schools of thought, I suppose.

Will

I got it on Soulseek.

And I heard about GIbbard... but I start shooting my roommate's movie that day and evening... which means I'll have to miss it, I fear.

Will

As long as you don't keep your mp3's in the shared folder, the RIAA can't see them.

My friend had an idea that seems like it might work -- If Kazaa or whoever put a line in the license agreement that specifically barred them from using the software to spy on other individuals using the software, Kazaa could sue the RIAA for breaking the license agreement. hehe...

but yeah, I agree... I've grown tired of the downloading of albums. It seems most of the acts that i enjoy will put a few files available for download on their website anyway, and once I have the cd [which I more often than nought do buy] I will always rip it onto my computer, so the file-sharing thing is not only a hassle, but it's also lost the "novelty" factor for me. Plus, sometimes it's a lot of work to download whole albums.

surely they would have thought of that if it worked. but, i read an article about sites putting the spy software in your computer and i was pretty sure kazaa was one of them.. im probably wrong. this doesnt scare me too much yet. but.. if i were to get into trouble for having songs... would i go to jail? or would my dad?

well, according to the responses from the Department Of Justice on slashdot, if it were a civil case brought on by the RIAA, I'm pretty sure that you'd only get fined, whereas a criminal case brought on by the DOJ, you could serve up to 5 years in prison. As far as who's responsible, I believe your dad would be.

Good question. First of all, I haven't heard anything about jail time as a punishment for file sharing. I could be wrong, but I think that the RIAA is just suing individuals, which wouldn't involve any jail time. As far as a monetary judgement, you couldn't be sued because you are a minor. I guess that your dad could be liable since it's technically his computer. But I wouldn't lose any sleep over this. The RIAA is just trying to scare people.

I quit file sharing as a new year's resolution in 2003. I got a lot of really cool stuff from Napster, Kazaa, etc. through the years. But in the end, it's the principle of the thing. Do I think CDs are too high? Sure. Do I think that the whole infrastructure of the music industry is fucked up and needs to be shaken down? Yes. But I don't think that blatantly stealing music is the solution.

I think that the music industry needs to embrace file sharing and learn to use it and make it work for them. Their tendancy has always been to fight the new technology - they whined when FM radio was introduced, because they thought that no one will buy records if the radio sounds so good. They kicked and screamed when blank tapes were introduced, because they thought no one would buy records if they could just tape them from their friends. But in the end, the industry did nothing but grow through those times. And I think that the same can happen here if they stop fighting this and learn to work with it. iTunes is a step in the right direction. But I think that the fairest way to handle file sharing is to treat the file sharing agents like radio stations - make them buy performance licences, and audit them regularly. The file sharing sites can sell advertising to make money, so it stays free for users, but the songwriters get paid. I'm sure there are flaws with this idea, but it seems like a good start to me.

If you happen to be downloading any sort of copyrighted material, and then redistributing it as well, dependant upon the amount of material you've ingested and regurgitated, you could very well be in for a federal criminal case by the Department of Justice. However, on the subject of mp3 sharing, it's pretty much left alone -- it's normally about redistributing computer software.

On the semi-original topic of this year in music, the latest Rolling Stone has a preview of upcoming releases and I'm pretty darn excited. On October 21st, the still-untitled new Strokes album will be released, as well as Chutes Too Narrow, the Shins' second album. Woo-hoo! That on top of the new Ludacris album (Chicken & Beer) will make the second half of 2003 a great music year.

And on a side note, the super-hott model Elyse from "America's Next Top Model" is actually the girlfriend of Shins keyboardist Marty Crandall. Isn't that crazy?

I'm excited about Speakerbox/Love Hater,the new OutKast double album, and about Ornament & Crime, the new Self album. Both come out in September.

and a US tour is scheduled for this Fall...yay!

where's that five bucks, JC? haha... just kidding

no road trips to mississippi this time, i hope although ray davies did have a close encounter of the strokes kind...

How much did that cost him?

his soul...





(Edited by damon at 10:02 am on Aug. 5, 2003)

i'll introduce you guys to the band when they play here

if they play here

for the right price

my soul?