It's about playing live, stupid

There is an interview with Todd in the ClevelandPlain Dealer where he once again speaks up against artist that are obsessed with maintaining the album/CD cash cow

“The performing is what you’re there for,” he said. “Musicians have to be reminded that 120 years ago, there was no such thing as a record industry. Since then, artists have come to rely on album sales for the bulk of their income. But with today’s technology, where anyone can record and distribute a record via programs such as Pro Tools or Garage Band and sites such as Soundcloud and Reverbnation, it’s almost as if we’re going back to the good old days.The changes only highlight the fact that the live performance is the most essential part of a musician’s life, and the rest is all merchandise,” he said.

Comments

Substack: the new blogging and a new music newsletter

Hello again my old blogger blog. Just checking in to plug the new substack newsletter I'm doing. It is also home to the CTTB Music podcast and its archive too. Why not pay me a visit and sign up for future editions of the newsletter (free)

The Decemberists - 'The Hazards of Love'

Whilst the Decemberists have been around for a number of years, and a friend of mine is a big fan, I have to confess - a few tunes aside - they have never really made much of a splash with me. With their fifth album - 'The Hazards of Love' - a 17-track concept album that sort of tells a story about a fair maiden ravished by a shape-shifting demon (no, really) - however, I am suddenly find myself surprisingly won over. On some levels - like most concept albums - it is utter tosh, but with its repeating musical motifs and reprises, making you quickly think that actually there are only about five actual songs on the album - a clever trick. Like with all good concept albums this makes listening on shuffle not the ideal way to digest this album - especially as their are short 'interlude' pieces joining all the songs too. Added to all this the fact that the band seem to have a love for early 70's British folk/prog/heavy metal and this walks right up my street - and will ...

To be honest, I don’t think 2010 will be remembered as a ‘great’ year music-wise, although some good stuff did get released. It was a year when the hip and happening people told me I should be listening to Tame Impala, Gold Panda, Deerhunter, Beach House and others. And, I did. All were perfectly fine, but none really grabbed me, and I can’t help feeling that tame Impala sounded much better in the context of a Soundtrack album than they did on a full album of their own. So leaving those aside, was there one album that stood head and shoulders above all else this year? Not for me. There were several albums that held my attention at different parts of the year but only a few which didn’t fall away, and less still that made last gasp dashes to improve with time. So, what follows are 20 albums I have enjoyed for various reasons during 2010. If I were doing it another week, maybe O Children, She and Him, Warpaint, Pull in Emergency, Thea Gilmore, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Liz Phair may hav...

Todd is God

Search This Blog