music being held back by big corporations

[Ford Prefect]

You and she will likely get along famously.

Now that's refreshing! I rarely get to see "famously" used as such...Please, pull out some more if you've got'em...

[shamann]

Interesting. I think I am far more likely to hear something I like on the radio than I am on the f**king Internet. Seriously, I have been listening to mp3's for 5 or 6 years and I have heard exactly two songs that I would pay money for.

I have to admit I was surprised to read this, but also sympathetic. I've found that only in the past year or two I've been able to find consistently good music on the net. There seems to be a greater proliferation of it in the wake of the industry lawsuits. For a long time it felt that everything was huddled at mp3.com, and it was torture trying to wade through all the crap there. Maybe search databases have just gotten better. And netlabels seem to have become legion in the last two years. Where as five years ago I could only name maybe two that interested me, today I could list several (as an example: kikapu, audiobulb, con-v, comfort stand, &c) and lots of musicmakers who just post on their own sites.

I wonder how many bands are being signed to majors these days. Feels like all their efforts have gone into go big or go home as a result of the P2P quake.

But, still something to consider, how often do you hear Icon of Coil on the radio? Only place in Canada that might is our public broadcaster, and even there you'd have to catch it on the right day, else wait another 6 months to 2 years to catch it again. Or maybe some university station, but then you have to listen to all those idiots talking as though they've never seen a microphone before or taken diction lessons (you are not alone in your box, and it is called enunciation).

The kids might have to make the effort these days, but it's always felt that way to me. Back in the day, I don't remember easy access in smalltown Canada to PIL, Joy Division, the Smiths, Sonic Youth, the Pixies, the Church, Jane's Addiction, the Pogues, New Order, Jesus&Mary Chain, Husker Du, &c but still I somehow managed to listen to them.

Now that's refreshing! I rarely get to see "famously" used as such...Please, pull out some more if you've got'em...

Somehow, I think I'm overflowing with them, so I'll try my best.

[Ford Prefect]

The kids might have to make the effort these days, but it's always felt that way to me. Back in the day, I don't remember easy access in smalltown Canada to PIL, Joy Division, the Smiths, Sonic Youth, the Pixies, the Church, Jane's Addiction, the Pogues, New Order, Jesus&Mary Chain, Husker Du, &c but still I somehow managed to listen to them.

Two things...Kids are super lazy these days though...
I never had trouble finding any of those artists in the stores...in friggin' Kentucky no less...but I'm sure you could at least find all the Skinny Puppy stuff, them being Canadian and all(their new album is tight)?

[shamann]

...but I'm sure you could at least find all the Skinny Puppy stuff, them being Canadian and all(their new album is tight)?

You'd be amazed at how scarce Canadian records are in Canada. Just try finding a Moev record here. Not sure it can be done any more. Skinny Puppy were easy to find in the big cities back then, like Toronto or Vancouver, but often had to be specially ordered out in the boondocks. My exposure to the Puppy then was almost all through the CBC.

Still, always was so much easier to find the latest Stones atrocity, or some Guns N Roses ripoff, than most things Canadian. To be fair, I'm sure I have a few easy access Tom Cochrane LPs kicking about that I could unload on you.

[TVD]

Tony - I agree Christina is a much more talented singer than Britney. But I think in the 'corporate eyes' they demean her by packaging her in that realm of pop girls. To me, she should be in the 'Celine, Whitney, Tina' realm. And hopefully she will be a classy 'diva' one day? But I just see the marketing going the wrong way - and she comes off being called 'skank, slutty, wannabe' in this pop girl realm. In some ways she deserves it by allowing this marketing to happen - but in other ways she doesn't.
Poor girl's 'Damned if she does, dammed if she doesn't'.

Bones - Skip Hop, seriously? And what do you mean by 'Westy version'? As Kevin Spacey said about the dead animal in the movie Seven - I didn't do that?

According the Christina herself, it was her label's (RCA record) idea for her to be innocent looking/sounding when her self-titled debut album released years ago.

Long story short: she hated it! Therefore, the way we see her today since the last album (Stripped) is exactly what she wanted to be all along....freak nasty! Maybe it is a shame because I know Christina was (still is) a success story because of her vocals alone. But in our society today, sex still sells faster.

[Montana]

Clear Channel.

Viacom.

Infinity.



end of music.

[CypherOne]

Tony - I agree Christina is a much more talented singer than Britney. But I think in the 'corporate eyes' they demean her by packaging her in that realm of pop girls. To me, she should be in the 'Celine, Whitney, Tina' realm. And hopefully she will be a classy 'diva' one day? But I just see the marketing going the wrong way - and she comes off being called 'skank, slutty, wannabe' in this pop girl realm. In some ways she deserves it by allowing this marketing to happen - but in other ways she doesn't.
Poor girl's 'Damned if she does, dammed if she doesn't'.

Bones - Skip Hop, seriously? And what do you mean by 'Westy version'? As Kevin Spacey said about the dead animal in the movie Seven - I didn't do that?

According the Christina herself, it was her label's (RCA record) idea for her to be innocent looking/sounding when her self-titled debut album released years ago.

Long story short: she hated it! Therefore, the way we see her today since the last album (Stripped) is exactly what she wanted to be all along....freak nasty! Maybe it is a shame because I know Christina was (still is) a success story because of her vocals alone. But in our society today, sex still sells faster.

yeah I'd boff her, even tho she does sing a bit like Foghorn Leghorn...

[TVD]

Clear Channel.

Viacom.

Infinity.



end of music.

All of the hip-hop/R&B stations by Clear Channel refuse to play anything by The Black Eye Peas.

Clear Channel can go to hell.

[stefancrs]

The oil crash will soon begin, it will make everything different. Atleast for a while. So just wait a few years or so

edit: url? sure http://lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/
I've also several times in swedish newspapers read what geologists have to say, and they usually say that we will hit peak oil (for real) in 2-6 years. After that, oil production can only go down until we are all out of oil. It _will_ affect our lifes hugely, and I'm looking forward to it.

[shamann]

All of the hip-hop/R&B stations by Clear Channel refuse to play anything by The Black Eye Peas.

Are you sure about that? While googling for more info, I found a BEP page on Z100 New York. I would have that it'd be next to impossible to reach #1 without Clear Channel airplay.

[MikeLeuz]

There's an article in the latest issue of WIRED Magazine that shows some hope in this area.

Titled "The Long Tail", it describes how the internet and digital media is increasing accessibility to non-pop non-hit music and other media, and how this increasing accessibility is also building consumers demand for more variety.

As they say: "Forget squeezing millions from a few megahits at the top of the charts. The future of entertainment is in the millions of niche markets at the shallow end of the bitstream."

One quick interesting fact from the story is that Amazon makes more money off of selling books that aren't offered at major bricks-and-morter bookstores (Barnes & Noble) than they do from the books that are carried there. So the niche books outsell the best-selling and popular books because there's such an interest in so many niches.

Of course books cover non-fictional as well as fictional topics, and my guess is that many of the niche books Amazon sells are non-fictional, so you can't apply this particular example directly to music, but it does show some hope. I think the article does mention some music specific examples (with harmony and other music services), but I read it a few weeks ago and don't remember the details.

Anyhoo... read it yourself if you'd like: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.1 ... topic_set=

Long live the long tail!

[oldevil]

there's lots of good vocalists out there doing crappy songs, many great musicians playing crappy music. it's a business. but i can listen to the latest from Le Tigre, kid606, Brian Eno(!) all at betterpropaganda. they're only about 6 months old, but there is good music there and at other sites.some of the best music IMO is on this site. i agree that satalite radio could be the big hope of music, but that's yet to be seen. market forces may undermine even that. it ain't free and people do have to be paid for their work-rent, groceries, and all that. but there's lots of good music out there, some of it even on the radio. i search the internet almost daily for music i've never heard before, and usually i can find some. what this contributes to this thread, i don't know. but here it is...

[Steven West]

You might be right about Christina there Tony, but I still feel she has amassed such a 'entourage' after her first success, they're playing her worse than Colin Powell giving a U.N. speech. Or, she just feels threatened by Britney, Mandy, Hillary, Mariah - and going to flaunt some 'appeal' to keep her head above water.

Another thing I wanted to touch on - all these Clearnet, MP3, On Line Radio things. It's good that they're there and all, and I'm not up on them per say. What disturbs me about OnLine Radio and the like is NO dj's! On one hand, it's great to have 'commercial free' music, and maybe a ID or an ad or two every hour or so - but no credits about the music? If one says 'Oh, I really like THAT tune!' Who did it, what CD is it on, where can it be downloaded? And I fear to that if all this 'cyber play' stuff happens, and that's our only outlet - it won't be 'commercial free' for long. It'll be worse than Pop-Up's and Spam attacking your computer, and after 5 minutes of 'Tired of annoying ads on your radio like this one kids? Get the new US Robotics 'Talk Stopper'. For just $19.95 a month, your IER stations will play ONLY the music, with all ads removed. The way music was meant to be heard! Just type www.usrobotics.com and order online today!... And now here's another song.'

[Improv]

...here we have this hideous westy version called skip-hop.

Sort of like a Kylie Minogue version of Hip Hop?
Or McDonald's version of a hamburger? <cringe!>

[highdropod]

Los Angeles = pure evil.

The locals know what I'm talking about.