I'm probably the biggest DEP fan among the people who put this list together. Their run from the mini-LP up through Miss Machine is pretty much flawless IMO. But as they've become more poppy and less unhinged over the ensuing releases, they've ceased to move me. I respect what they're doing; I just don't like it as much as their older stuff.
" I think this just comes across as a rope-a-dope for the S-Gum crowd. Constant refrain of the charms of Taylor Swift and K-Pop all over the ‘Gum, and then complete Orthodoxy for the Metallica list"
I've never written anything about Taylor Swift or K-pop for this site or any other, and I was given absolutely no editorial direction for this piece. (Unless "submit by Monday" counts as editorial direction.) Sometimes a thrash-era Metallica fan is just a thrash-era Metallica fan.
Well, Master of Reality, In the Nightside Eclipse, A Blaze In the Northern Sky, etc., are all obviously classics of the genre as well. (I love Akuma No Uta, but one of these things is not like the other.) But albums of their stature are extremely, extremely rare. You can think that they're all better than Metallica's first four while still thinking that said first four tower over virtually all recorded metal. And since those albums are a) obviously of that stature and b) beloved by virtually everybody, from super underground nerd types to people who haven't listened to any metal aside from Sabbath & the big four, I think there's a pretty good argument to be made that they're as good or better than anything the genre has produced. For what it's worth, I'm not really a Metallica superfan, but it's tough to pick anything that's just transparently better.
Also, Led Zep isn't metal, and Venom were better as a starting point for other bands than they were unto themselves.
That was definitely my intention, actually. Outside of the first four, I think Lulu is the most interesting album in Metallica's catalog. Unfortunately, "interesting" doesn't necessarily imply "good."
Thanks for reading!
Wow, thanks man! I aim to please. I still think Cosmo's first-four-albums series is the best piece of writing about Metallica ever, though. (No offense to M. Nelson and all of the other fine writers who've discussed them, of course.)
Honorable mentions from the nerd corner:
Execration - "Ancient Tongue": These guys are probably the most interesting 'new' band playing death metal that can be accurately described as old-school, and their next album is gonna blow up heads. Listen: https://soundcloud.com/execrationnorway/ancient-tongue
New Gigan and Orbweaver: Orbweaver formed when Gigan's original vocalist/rhythm guitarist split. They have a fair amount in common (lots of clangity-clang chords and weird effects laid over a death metal rhythmic foundation), but they're different enough to make both worthwhile. Gigan here: http://www.invisibleoranges.com/2013/08/stream-gigan-electro-stimulated-hallucinatory-response/ ; Orbweaver here: http://orbweaver-official.bandcamp.com/
Earthless - "Uluru Rock": the best stoned guitar workout you will hear this year, hands down. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/15876-uluru-rock/
“I laugh scornfully at such misinterpretations. The blood we use on stage is a magical link; we anoint ourselves in it in order to commune with the powers which are the wellspring of Watain’s work.”
I dunno who he thinks he's fooling, but he ain't. This song is a big improvement over the last one they debuted though.
One of the reasons that I was happy to write this piece is because I grew up in a household where almost no classic rock—radio or otherwise—was played. Their music is probably fresher for me than it is for most people.
"She is not some poor, struggling, indie musician, and this does not even consider that her husband is also successful. She could have easily supported her tour with the money from tickets alone, much less the $1 million left over from her current kickstarter, but instead she stayed for free at an undocumented immigrants house, and it is fair since that daughter loved Amanda Palmer’s music?"
This right here is what the whole Amandagate debacle boils down to. People aren't reacting negatively to the notion of a musician relying on the generosity of his or her fans; they're reacting negatively to Amanda Palmer doing so, despite the fact that she has vast financial resources at her disposal and clearly doesn't need to. I'm reminded of ODB picking up his welfare check in a limousine.
One of my favorite death metal albums this year was Norwegian: Diskord's Dystopics.
I remember when Jack Osbourne called Meshuggah "Norwegian death metal." Sigh.
Yeah, bands typically see only a small percentage of the door money. Their revenue at live shows comes mostly from merch sales. At a lot of larger, more 'pro' venues, the venue will take a cut of those merch sales as well.
Home recording does work great for many kinds of music, but it's not feasible for some. Anything that demands high volumes, expensive microphones, or several musicians improvising together is a lot harder to pull off in your bedroom with a laptop and a SM-57. Even in styles that demand studio time, there are plenty of ways to cut down on studio costs. The biggest one, in my view, is to go into the studio with a detailed gameplan and a well-rehearsed set. A tight band will save on an engineer's hourly rate by knocking out their tracks in just a couple of takes.
My goal was to put together a compendium of ideas for how musicians can avoid LOSING money on their music, not for how they can support themselves through their music. If you're in a band in 2012 and you're remotely realistic, you aren't banking on making a livable wage from your tunes. Still, there are ways to make the music itself more remunerative than it is for most folks.
The idea of starting little businesses among the members of the band that bankroll the music is a really interesting one, though. Can you think of any other examples besides the hot sauce thing (which is great, by the way)?
Actually, a lot of bands pocket most or all of their in-person merch sales, regardless of whether it's a record or a t-shirt. (It depends on their label contract, if they have one, and on the venue they're playing.) If you see a band live and don't like their non-music merch, you can still give them money by purchasing an LP or CD.
I alluded to this in the piece, but the problem with touring nonstop and playing live as much as possible is that it can actually cost you quite a lot. Vans and gas aren't cheap, and if your shows/tour are poorly attended, they can be both expensive and incredibly demoralizing. I've watched a lot of bands run themselves into the ground by playing too many shitty shows. Quality will serve you better than quantity.
Thanks, man—great summary.
I feel like the 20-albums thing is plenty feasible for a small independent label, but for a band on its own, it's probably well out of reach. The thought actually occurred to me because I saw on Zoe Keating's blog that she has an iTunes content provider account, though she obviously doesn't have 20 albums under her belt. I wonder how she got it.
There are a couple of other services in this vein (CD Baby comes to mind). I've never used one myself, but people seem to have good things to say about most of them when it comes to getting your music on iTunes, etc.
As far as iTunes goes: ideally, you want to get your own label account with them, rather than using a digital distributor/label. The barriers to entry are higher (does anyone out there know exactly how the process works?), but you keep more of your money and you get way more information about who's buying your music, which can be useful for tour routing and such.
Definitely a useful angle—it cuts a lot of costs (especially for recording/manufacturing) and it can help you build a strong network of allies, which has been a necessity for smaller bands since forever.
Thanks for this! MORE IDEAS PLZ PEOPLE.
Comments