A nice lady sent me this article, written by Steve Albini, the producer of (most notably) Nirvana’s In Utero.

It was written in the mid-90s, when large sums of money were still being used for toilet paper at major record labels.

I’m glad it’s not like that anymore.  Things might be in transition for music, but I think it’s a chance for artists to finally right all the wrongs of ridiculous label abuse, which has been going on since the days of Scott Joplin.  But if you don’t believe me, check out this great quote from Peter Gabriel from a recent interview with CNN:

“I think that a lot of artists aren’t very good when it comes to marketing or accounts or doing a lot of the jobs that record companies do, so we’re going to want somebody to do that. And probably the people we will look to do it are probably those who have the experience. But what I fundamentally believe is that the relationship should be a partnership. It shouldn’t be we own you therefore we do what we want with your work. Those days should be gone, and if artists aren’t smart enough to get off their arses and change that now, then we deserve what we get, because we have the opportunity [to change that]. It’s quite hard talking to artists sometimes to get them motivated because there is not a lot of money in it at this point. But I think there will be and it’s more sort of a power balance and I just think people in record companies now are a lot more willing to consider power-sharing deals.”

Hell yes.  This is exactly what I’ve been ranting about.

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I just put Virginia Is For Hoverers on Nimbit, which is how it gets to iTunes, Amazon, etc.

Anyway, check out the Bio I wrote up….writing it entertained me for at least a half-an-hour.

To read the bio, just click on the little man-head button.

Oh, and speaking of Nimbit, now you can listen to samples from the whole album, and download two tracks for free. I also installed it on Facebook, so you just click on MyStore on my Facebook profile and diggity check yourself before you wreck yourself! Tell a facebook friend today!

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The other day, my friend and I were talking.  He proposed that there could potentially be an exponential number of competitors in the music world and that there would be more and more good bands because the technology is more and more easily available and cheaper.  Couldn’t it be possible that with more free time, more free tools, and a higher quality of life, the amount of artists will approach infinity and it will become less and less meaningful to be an artist?

I’ve often wondered about this, and I think it could be possible.  But also, I propose this counter position – that there is a solid division between a great artist and a mediocre artist, and that the former doesn’t significantly depend on the available tools.

I submit this example.  I’ve been obsessed with cartoons and animation ever since I was a kid.  I used to make hundreds and hundreds of pages of flip-books and I made my mom drive me to all the animation festivals in Washington DC.  When Flash animation first started getting popular, I had the thought, “great.  Now everyone and their mom is going to be able to easily create animation, and EVERYONE is going to be making awesome cartoons, all over the internet.”  I figured that my special little talent and knowledge would become obsolete.

But how many great Flash cartoons were there?  How many ARE there?  I can think of only one off the top of my head (Homestar Runner).  Even series like Home Movies that used Flash animation seemed independent of the medium…the show could have been achieved as cel-drawn animation, cut-out animation, claymation, anything, really.  The charm and genius of both examples is the abstract, tounge-in-cheek humor and the depth of characters.  Both were creations made mostly by one or two people that had a strong vision and saw it through using the best tools available.  Flash animation’s cheapness and easier learning curve (arguable) only affected the amount of mediocre, run-of-the-mill animation.

And remember, there’s a big divide between great art and popular art, too.  It usually takes a few years for the trendy stuff to erode away and leave the objectively good stuff still standing.  In music, this seems especially true.  There are for sure more bands than ever in existence today, but just as many great bands as there were fifty years ago.  I’ve heard LOTS of bands in my lifetime.  I mean, LOTS.  And yet, there are only a handful that deliver this deep burning wonder in my belly when I hear them.  Daniel Johnston doesn’t need ProTools.  His poorly-recorded tapes can reduce me to tears.  This song by Beethoven paralyzes me, even though he never recorded it on anything, except pen and paper, and even though it’s being played by people hundreds of years after his death.  Beethoven does more to me emotionally than almost anyone I’ve heard in my lifetime.  The tools become arbitrary when an artist has an overwhelming genius of vision.

The same is true with photography.  Who is an amateur photographer now?  Everyone.  How many great photographers can I think of?  One.

The internet is teeming with computer generated “art”.  It’s amazing.  It’s polished.  But it’s just eye candy.  This guy can reduce my day to stupefaction with pen and paper.

I’ve been listening to the new David Bazan record.  And my suspicion is, that this guy would have been writing incredible music for a string quartet if he had lived in the year 1527.  Which is a silly thing to propose, really, and falls apart at any logical or scientific level, but that’s not my point.  I tend to think that great music is about something else.  It’s not about guitars, or production, or even how many hours in a day someone has (Johnny Cash wrote some of his best songs secretly behind hangers in the Air Force).  It’s about….I don’t know, but something else.  Probably something to do with objective beauty and internal explosions.

Thoughts?

Chris

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This is from an email I sent to a friend today. She wanted the lyrics to She-Wolf:

She-Wolf

(Edward II:)
Since I was fresh on my throne, for you I did hunger
Isabelle, Isabelle, Isabelle
Oh, and now that you left me alone, it’s you that I want
Isabelle, Isabelle, Isabelle
Our union was written in stone when you were much younger
Isabelle, Isabelle, Isabelle
Oh, but now that you lay with another, it’s me that you hunt
Isabelle, Isabelle, Isabelle

She was an earl
And a brother to me
She was alone
And she needed love

I would do anything just to see you
I would do anything just to find you
I would give all that i have if i need to
I would give anything just to slay you

(Isabella:)
Powerful blood in my veins
But will I have your head?
I can try i can try
Oh with March, like a horse at my reins,
I execute plans
Carnavon, Carnavon, Carnavon
Now that law and my heart are a blur
My royalty unwed
I would die i would die i would die
For your head on a stick and your lover’s
Red blood on my hands
Isabelle, Isabelle, Isabelle

He was a beast
Who had stolen your heart
I was alone
And i needed love

I would do anything just to see you
I would do anything just to find you
I would give all that i have if i need to
I would give anything just to slay you

It’s about Queen Isabella, who was called the She-Wolf, who was married to King Edward II.

He cheated on her with his not-so-secret gay lover, and she left him for his adversary, gained power, and had his lover tracked down, hanged (but not enough to kill him), dragged behind a horse, nailed to the side of a building, skinned, castrated (while he was still alive), and then had his intestines taken out and burned in front of him and finally had him beheaded. Which all happened while she and the royalty watched, feasting.

But it was crazy. There were wars fought over these two’s marriage troubles.

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Here she is!  STORE

This album represents a blurring of the line between the hundreds of “demos” that I record, and the “real” records that I’ve made, in studios.  With Virginia Is For Hoverers, I’ve tried to capture the raw, gut-tingling, imperfect quality of the demos, but with added effort and prudence in mixing and mastering (thanks to Mr. Jacob Thro), and real pianos instead of cheesy keyboard-piano (although I still use plenty of cheese to my supposed advantage).  These songs are some of my favorites I’ve ever written, and the first time the lyrics got as much crafting and caused as much hair-pulling as the music.  With Jacob Thro (from the late Paperface) providing lovely bass guitar on four songs, Brett Ripley lending his inventive drum grooves on four songs, and Skye Zentz guest-female-vocalizing-harmonizing, the album turned out dynamic, too.  The full-band songs rock.  I’m proud of this one, guys.  And, there’s Virginia Is For Hoverers (Part Two) to look forward to!

Help me get these things off the shelves, guys (virtual shelves, of course)!  My goal is to get rid of 1,000 in the next couple weeks!!  Let’s prove to the world that quality, genuine music can persevere!  6 bucks for 11 of my favorite songs I’ve  written!  Tell your friends!  Tell your mom!  Tell your cousin’s co-worker’s dad!

Do you have a blog?  If you love Virginia Is For Hoverers, why not mention it?  Do you have a Twitter account?  If so, why not mention Virginia Is For Hoverers?  Do you visit a really cool music blog often (such as this one)?  Why not send the authors Virginia Is For Hoverers with some words of happiness?  Let’s get the word out!  I know we can do it.

Get it here.

Check out Rain King (the dirty, naughty version) here at thesixtyone.com (and make sure to “heart” it lots!)

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I know I said this afternoon, but here she finally is. Presenting Virginia Is For Hoverers (Part One).

I’m completely dead.  Days of mixing and mastering and last-minute vocals and driving.  Lots and lots of driving.

I shall sleep for ten hours.  Then I will show my creation to the internet.

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Love,

Chris

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so if it will pass The Test,
when asked of its father’s death,
with denial and distress suppressed heartbreak suggests,
it’ll simulate the smell of whiskey on its breath,

and say, “I didn’t even notice he was gone, no I didn’t even notice he was gone.”

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This is what I did tonight.  Click the music note – it’s the only way it works with .wav files for some reason.

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It’s not mixed, or good yet.  It’s also still in .wav format because I’M TIRED GOODNIGHT

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