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| Nice try, Sauron |
Rounding up some links from the nets I've found interesting. In this (weekly?) installment: Steve Albini rants, Nas slams Def Jam, Kyle Bylin examines some psychological aspects of the correlation between purchasing and liking music, Lego's BrickCon 2010, and other fun stuff
I'll start with the shameless self promotion: Potholes in My Blog did a most flattering write-up of Hosey this week. I love this site. All the music they post is awesome. I end up replaying a lot of the tracks I hear there, so you know that means it's good stuff. I'm so happy they thought we were good enough to swing with the other acts they write about. Thanks a lot, guys!
Oh my god! Steve Albini is a cat guy! And he likes silly cat videos from the internet! Also, he has some not-so-nice words for Sonic Youth, hates the fashion industry and the people interviewing him, and he mentions a really cool band named Grandfather. But all that doesn't matter because the most revelatory point of the interview is that Steve Albini likes cats! (Incidentally, I caught Grandfather at Spike Hill in BK last night. They are great. Nice guys, too. They have their album for free streaming/download at that link. I highly recommend it).
This one's for you Mr. Albini:
A few reposts from Kyle Bylin at Hypebot. First, you may have heard some of the chatter from the music industry this week as Nas slammed Def Jam execs in an email. Quite a vitriolic missive. I'm absolutely stunned that Def Jam would consider releasing an album as anticipated as Lost Tapes 2 without paying Nas for it. And if you think that's as low as a record label could sink, then this will blow your mind: Def Jam doesn't even want LT2 to count as an album toward his contract!!! For those of you who may not be familiar with the mechanics of record contracts: when a musician signs a deal, they are often locked in to deliver a pre-determined amount of albums as part of their contract stipulations. The industry standard was traditionally 7 albums (SEVEN! How many bands/artists do you own 7 albums by?) before an artist could exit their contract and seek a better one. However, I've no idea about the particulars of Nas' deal. Either way, LT2--which will be an album length release--is highly anticipated and is going to fly off "the shelves", mark my words. This is an incredibly underhanded move from Def Jam.
Second, is this piece about an aspect of the "choice paradox", which is becoming a relevant problem in today's digital, everything-when-you-want-it culture. Why We're Less Happy With Music Now Than Ever: The Paradox of Reversible Decisions. Personally, I don't find myself less happy with music these days, but I do understand the sentiment, especially as bemoaned by many listeners who just can't find the new music that will make their heart quicken. It's a little easier for me to find the music I like: I go to small local shows all the time. I'm lucky that my "local shows" happen to be in NYC. Of course, the choice paradox plays a big role here in the city, and it has nothing to do with the internet. But the great thing about going to shows and hanging out is that a lot of my favorite music is played by people who are also my actual friends, and we share a lot of our tastes with each other. I guess the point is: find some friends. Starting a scene starts with FRIENDS, not with art or music. More on that later, it's a point I'd like to expand on in a future post.
Here's the fun stuff:
Legos are perhaps the greatest toy of all time. And if you didn't know, of course there are Lego conventions! Behold, photos from BrickCon 2010! Minifigments of the Imagination: BrickCon 2010. Here's a taste:
Here are some pictures of Europe as it appears to different countries. This is hilarious. I particularly love that in the map as Americans see it, Portugal is labeled "Brazil". Still cracks me up.
Excellent parody of a science article at the Guardian UK. I read a lot of tech and science articles, and this is spot on.
That's all for now. Talk to you soon.