Category: Music

Truthbomb via Analog Industries

One thing I’ve often said, when confronted with the type of person that gets in to the minutia of the recording process, perhaps at the expense of the big picture, is that a good song will survive any production process, while a bad song can’t be saved by the most sophisticated gear and recording techniques available.

This sort of idea is anathema to the Gear Queer, who is always certain that there is that one more piece of kit sitting out there, just beyond grasp, that will push things over the edge and make all the difference. We’re each of us guilty of this behavior, of course. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone, etc. But the simple fact of the matter is that the work of art exists already, as a wave function, and whatever you need to collapse that bitch and bring shit out in to the cold light of day is what you need. There are records that wouldn’t exist without a massive, and relatively expensive, modular synth and a fairly detail-oriented production approach (see: A Funneled Stone), and others that would sound fucking retarded if they were anything but a guitar and a vocal. (See: Robert Johnson’s entire ouvre. Happy 100th b’day to Mr. Johnson, btw.)

Now, this entire approach could be perceived as my own way of justifying my several rather ridiculous recording habits, the which you’re all perfectly aware of. I approach photography and music-making in the same way, trying to squeeze something interesting out of a device not really meant to do what I’m asking of it, largely via a trial-and-error approach rather than any cohesive planning on my part. My general philosophy with respect to photography is the Shakespeare/Monkey method: if you take enough pictures, some of them are bound to be interesting, and quantity has a quality all its own. No particular reason this can’t be applied to music. (See: Wesley Willis.)

I guess what I’m trying to say, when it comes down to it, is this: I am of the firm opinion that there is interesting shit hiding in my brain. All I have to do is figure out how to get it out. While a new piece of The Shiny might make certain aspects of that chore easier, at the end of the day, the song lives in my brain, not in the gear. The medium is the messenger, not the message itself.

I’m always on the lookout for early examples of the “Spacemen 3” font and ran across this cover for a mid-70s French library music LP.

P.S. My version of the font is called Rugby and is available for download.

A freak storm hit the Sonisphere Festival in Finland last August and knocked down the stage and put the rest of the festival into complete disarray. Here’s what happened next:

A freak thunderstorm that unexpectedly blew in from the Baltic Sea threatened to uproot Sonisphere Finland, but the bands, the crew and just as importantly the fans all pulled together and ensured the show went on. It was a true team effort. The biggest concern was the injuries sustained by some of the crowd. Thankfully the two people most seriously injured are no longer critical.
The storm lasted less than five minutes, but in that time it damaged the second stage beyond repair (it’s currently being held up by a crane), completely broke Mötley Crüe’s kit and soaked absolutely everyone at the festival. It was so bizarre you’d be tempted to believe Thor not to be outdone by the noise levels being produced by Anthrax and Slayer earlier in the day had a hand in it.

As Bruce Dickinson said on stage as he gave a rallying call to the crowd and introduced Alice Cooper: “The stage over there is completely fucked. Mötley Crüe have gone home as their stuff is fucked and our stuff is fucked, but we don’t care. We’re not going home until you go home.”

Iggy Pop was the first artist to get back up on stage. “We’re a small part of the fucking Stooges,” he said before playing an impromptu four-song acoustic set with his guitarist . For ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog’ he invited his saxophone player up on stage, holding his mike to the horn for amplification. It was something you are unlikely to ever witness again in front of a festival crowd and it blew people away. Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo was almost speechless afterwards: “That was. fucking phenomenal, really, really awesome and when the sax came out, well…”

I was really hoping that the Stooges set would turn up on YouTube, and lo and behold:

Windy Weber of Stormy Records posted this on Facebook and (with her permission) I’m reposting it here because it’s encapsulates many of the mixed feelings I have about Record Store Day (and by extension the culture of limited indie releases).

Record Store Day was modeled after FREE COMIC BOOK DAY (the first Sat in May – it is about to have its ninth anniversary), and because we are in the upstairs of Green Brain, we know all about the grandeur of this day.

Here is how the it works: Many comic publishers create special FCBD editions of popular comic books. Everyone along the supply chain from the publisher, to the distro, to the retailer takes a bite out of the cost. Every comic store around the world who uses this main comic distributor is offered the opportunity to purchase these special editions, usually about 2-3 dozen different titles, at a nominal cost. Thousands and thousands are printed and stores can buy as many of each title as they want and can afford. Although, they are required to purchase a certain amount to be considered an “Official Participant” which gets them extra promotional material.

THEN they plan – they contact comic book writers and artists, DJs, offer prize drawings, take donation for non-profits, and they arrange for free snacks or soda, usually sponsored by someone who wants to get in on the exposure. As an Official Participant they are required to offer at least one FCBD comic to anyone who comes in that day with no string attached. However each store can make the event as big as they want and decide how many more HONEST TO GOD FREE COMICS each person who comes in the door is going to receive, and they LET THEIR CUSTOMERS CHOOSE WHICH ONES THEY WANT.

Honest. See for yourself at www.freecomicbookday.com

And, what do stores get from this? well, how about – ONE THOUSAND PEOPLE coming through the shop in a single day. the last two years here at Green Brain – one thousand people in a single day. and for any of you who foolishly think comic books are just for kids – man alive, are you wrong. the folks who come through here are at least 2/3 adults, and they have money to buy stuff. so they come in for a couple of free comics (GB usually does 3 per person for coming in plus ways to get more), and 4 out of 5 of those adults SPEND MONEY on other items in the shop. free comic book day is the single largest sales event the shop has. it’s like a week’s worth of Christmas sales in one day. they have award winning, totally killer people come in to sign books and draw for folks, and the day rocks. added bonus for us – 1/2 those people come upstairs and see us, AND SPEND MONEY!

Maybe even more important than the sales that occur, free comic book day is a joyous occasion. The people who come out for it are excited and happy about free comics, esp in the current economic state we deal with. Sure, it is only a few items, but it is really more about the celebration of the medium and art than about commercialism. It’s about enjoyment and not making money. It’s a thank you to all the customers who come in, not just a day to get them out to open their pocketbooks. the energy is just a lot cleaner.

So RSD is kinda sucky because the “product” is so limited, (for instance – there are over 700 stores participating this year, and only 1000 or less of most titles produced, which has lead our distros to warn us we may only get ONE copy of each thing we ordered). because shops are already hurting so bad they are going to put them on eBay ahead of time (at least that is what happened last year, and hoard them instead of selling them, and the customers are often times only buying the item to resell on eBay to someone who has no shop by them. It sucks – it is all about commercialism and capitalism, and not so much a celebration of music, or of indie stores. for a day modeled after the glory of free comic book day, it has rather turned into a monster.

And, this year, after it is all done, i will write the RSD orgainzers and express my feelings. this could be done with so much more grace and have such incredible results, and so i’m hoping (i know i hope too much everyday) that as RSD moves into the future, it will mature and become the graceful swan that the ugly duckling just is not.

– written by Windy Weber, with help from Katie Merrit, co owner of Green Brain Comics.

With Tom Snyder on the Tomorrow show in 1981.

“The Magnificent Seven”