Remember that really weird kid from high school? You know, the kid who washed his hair with crisco, always wore a vest and was the star of Canterbury Tales? Ever wonder what happened to him? Did he make it on broadway? Did he become the first guy to get into Juliard for playing the pan flute? No, his name is Colin Meloy, and he went to college in Montana, learned the guitar and started The Decemberists.
The Decemberists defy simple classification. The best way I can describe them, is if REM and Fleetwood Mac had a baby, and that baby went to art school, it would be The Decemberists. Colin Meloy's hyper-literate, historically obscure lyrics sometimes makes me think his writing process involves going to the library and trying to write songs based off of historical footnotes. Don't believe me? Look up the lyrics to "Odalisque" and "The Shank Hill Butchers" and then do a wikipedia search. Heck, do a wikipedia search for The Decemberists while you're at it. (I'm not saying that I've done it...) These guys definitely got an A in AP History. Their last album "The Hazards of Love" was a full on rock-opera about a love triangle that involved a shape shifting forest beast, and an evil queen. I think. I still don't really know what that record was about.
However, "The King is Dead" is something entirely new for The Decemberists. And the thing that's so strange is how normal the record is. Seriously. It's a country record. Full of pedal steel guitars, fiddles, harmonicas and Gillian Welch backing vocals. REM's own Peter Buck plays guitar on half of the tracks. It sounds normal, not over blown, and you don't have to listen to it with a thesaurus in hand. There's no concept (except that's its country sounding), and it's short (only 10 songs). But it's really really good. The songs are more focused and Colin Meloy's voice has a surprisingly good range.
Lyrically, most of the songs are sort of "Workers of the World Unite!" The opener "Don't Carry it All" is sort of a workers anthem that features the line "And you must bear your neighbors burden within reason", which makes sense, if The Decemberists are going to make a country album, it's not going to be an odd to Jack Daniels and belt buckles like most modern country. It's going to be a throwback to the old days when country music was the anthem of the rural working class.
The Decemberists have always had a folky sound. So the leap to country isn't as big of a jump as it may seem. It suits them, and they can still mix in a little accordion and use lines like "every vessel pitching hard to starboard". The bluesy "Down by the Water" is a great song, that perfect mix of genres that is incredibly catchy and listenable, it's what the band is built on. "All Arise" has a real hoedown feel with a fun fiddle part. The best track is probably "Calamity Song", it's a backwoods, country rocker about the end of the world. The sort of song that only this group could pull off. The twin ballads "January Hymn" and "June Hymn" are both pretty solid. Just simple acoustic songs that paint idyllic pictures of the countryside during their respective months.
Yes, the record is short at only 10 songs. But there really aren't any throw away tracks. There's no filler. I'll pay $9.99 for that. So put on your best felt vest, throw on some hypster glasses, and have a hoedown with the drama club! It's fun, I promise.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
The Dispatch Business Plan
In honor of Dispatch coming to Atlanta, I'm going to break down how 3 dudes from Vermont became an Indie Success Story.
Dispatch never signed to a major label. Their songs were never played on any major radio stations. They've never had a number one hit. They've never won a grammy, or had a music video on MTV or VH1. But if you went to college sometime in the last 10 years, odds are you know the song "The General" by heart. And I'll bet you also know songs like "Flying Horses", "Out Loud", "Bang Bang" or "Two Coins". Dispatch's final concert, dubbed The Last Dispatch, drew a crowd of 100,000 people to Central Park to see the band perform one last time. Somewhere in America, there is a record company putting millions of dollars and all their resources into a band, trying to help them become 1/10th as popular, as Dispatch is. How did this happen? And what is there to learn from it?
I'll take a page from Malcolm Gladwell and say that Dispatch's success was due, in part, to timing. In 2000 Napster was the new cool thing, and in a weird way, it rendered the traditional record company obsolete. Here's the dirty little secret of the music industry: musicians don't make money off of album sales, record companies do. Musicians make their money off of merchandice (shirts and stickers and things) and live shows. You always hear these stories about bands like NSYNC who sell $30 million worth of records and end up make $1,500, that's because the majority of that money goes to the companies who paid for the album to be made. It's really hard to make any real money off of album sales unless you have the number 1 album in the universe. Which is part of why the Metallica argument against Napster (Their basic argument was "We're sticking up for the smaller bands because that's who this really hurts!") was so ludicrous. Bands like Dispatch have NEVER made money off of selling music, they make money off of getting people to go to their live shows. Napster was a FANTASTIC invention for the little bands. Now anyone, anywhere could hear their music, get online, see when they were coming to their town, and go to the concert. They were no longer restricted by their cd distribution (it's expensive to ship cd's to every store in America). Without the internet and Napster, Dispatch wouldn't have had near the success they had.
Instead of fighting technology like Metallica did, Dispatch embraced it. They even offered a forum on their website where fans could trade mp3s of live shows. (The Grateful Dead did the same thing in the 70s with tape trading, Phish was also a big pioneer of this idea) The internet was free advertising and distribution, two of the biggest needs that a big record label fulfills. But Dispatch also had a really good product. The songs were great, and the live shows were even better. Free marketing and distribution won't help you if you have crappy music and can't play live. The common denominator in all good artists is this: they tour, a lot. Bands have to hone their live performance, and you learn by doing. It's very hard to find a great artist of any genre, at any level, that doesn't tour relentlessly. By touring, a band can not only hone their skills and perfect their craft, but can develop a following, the people who love their music ravenously and will do anything to see the band play. And that is something that a band has to earn. In order to develop people who love your band, you have to love your fans. That means you have to do things for them. Cheap tickets, giveaways, free downloads, signing autographs, playing a few extra songs at a show, a band has to prove that they love the audience, before the audience can love them.
Dispatch also made their concerts special. Each one was unique, so if you go to 5 Dispatch concerts, each one will be a unique experience. (In the business world, this is known as client/customer retention) So the band had a quality product, loyal customers, free distribution and marketing, who needs a major record label? And look where it got them: the largest concert in the history of independent music, a cult following, a "hit" without the radio, and a special entry in my blog (ok, so they don't really care about the last one).
So why does this matter? Because if you want to go see a major act perform, get ready to shell out $100, just for the tickets. Because record companies are fighting itunes to raise their prices. Because venues are telling bands to be done playing by midnight. And there are more one hit wonders than ever. True success in music is about establishing a fan base, and that takes time, effort and sacrifice. And some good songs.
Dispatch never signed to a major label. Their songs were never played on any major radio stations. They've never had a number one hit. They've never won a grammy, or had a music video on MTV or VH1. But if you went to college sometime in the last 10 years, odds are you know the song "The General" by heart. And I'll bet you also know songs like "Flying Horses", "Out Loud", "Bang Bang" or "Two Coins". Dispatch's final concert, dubbed The Last Dispatch, drew a crowd of 100,000 people to Central Park to see the band perform one last time. Somewhere in America, there is a record company putting millions of dollars and all their resources into a band, trying to help them become 1/10th as popular, as Dispatch is. How did this happen? And what is there to learn from it?
I'll take a page from Malcolm Gladwell and say that Dispatch's success was due, in part, to timing. In 2000 Napster was the new cool thing, and in a weird way, it rendered the traditional record company obsolete. Here's the dirty little secret of the music industry: musicians don't make money off of album sales, record companies do. Musicians make their money off of merchandice (shirts and stickers and things) and live shows. You always hear these stories about bands like NSYNC who sell $30 million worth of records and end up make $1,500, that's because the majority of that money goes to the companies who paid for the album to be made. It's really hard to make any real money off of album sales unless you have the number 1 album in the universe. Which is part of why the Metallica argument against Napster (Their basic argument was "We're sticking up for the smaller bands because that's who this really hurts!") was so ludicrous. Bands like Dispatch have NEVER made money off of selling music, they make money off of getting people to go to their live shows. Napster was a FANTASTIC invention for the little bands. Now anyone, anywhere could hear their music, get online, see when they were coming to their town, and go to the concert. They were no longer restricted by their cd distribution (it's expensive to ship cd's to every store in America). Without the internet and Napster, Dispatch wouldn't have had near the success they had.
Instead of fighting technology like Metallica did, Dispatch embraced it. They even offered a forum on their website where fans could trade mp3s of live shows. (The Grateful Dead did the same thing in the 70s with tape trading, Phish was also a big pioneer of this idea) The internet was free advertising and distribution, two of the biggest needs that a big record label fulfills. But Dispatch also had a really good product. The songs were great, and the live shows were even better. Free marketing and distribution won't help you if you have crappy music and can't play live. The common denominator in all good artists is this: they tour, a lot. Bands have to hone their live performance, and you learn by doing. It's very hard to find a great artist of any genre, at any level, that doesn't tour relentlessly. By touring, a band can not only hone their skills and perfect their craft, but can develop a following, the people who love their music ravenously and will do anything to see the band play. And that is something that a band has to earn. In order to develop people who love your band, you have to love your fans. That means you have to do things for them. Cheap tickets, giveaways, free downloads, signing autographs, playing a few extra songs at a show, a band has to prove that they love the audience, before the audience can love them.
Dispatch also made their concerts special. Each one was unique, so if you go to 5 Dispatch concerts, each one will be a unique experience. (In the business world, this is known as client/customer retention) So the band had a quality product, loyal customers, free distribution and marketing, who needs a major record label? And look where it got them: the largest concert in the history of independent music, a cult following, a "hit" without the radio, and a special entry in my blog (ok, so they don't really care about the last one).
So why does this matter? Because if you want to go see a major act perform, get ready to shell out $100, just for the tickets. Because record companies are fighting itunes to raise their prices. Because venues are telling bands to be done playing by midnight. And there are more one hit wonders than ever. True success in music is about establishing a fan base, and that takes time, effort and sacrifice. And some good songs.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Kanye West's "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy"
To the mainstream!
I feel like one day looking back, we're all going to realize that Kanye's Dropout Trilogy ("College Dropout", "Late Registration" and "Graduation") is one of the great achievements in Rap, and in popular music. Not only are all 3 albums sonically interesting (they are the cornerstone of the modern hip-hop sound), but each one carries a unique lyrical theme and sonic blueprint. "College Dropout" uses a neo-soul sound to back songs about rebellion and making your own way. "Late Registration" polishes up the sound to more pop friendly pallate to back songs about life at the top. And the synths and electronics of "Graduation" work with the theme of moving on.
So, after following all of that up with the huge letdown of "808's and Heartbreaks" (did we really need to hear Kanye try to sing?) along with several bad public moments, it was fair to wonder if Kanye's best days were behind him. Was he out of creative juice? Did he exhaust all his good ideas on the first 3 albums? Would he now become "that guy who everyone used to like who now just does a verse on whoever is popular at the moment's new song"? On "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" Mr. West responds by saying "You ain't seen nothin' yet!" After his public persona has become a model for petulance, egotism, and just general asshole-ish-ness, you would expect a grown up, somber, and reflective Kanye. And you would be dead wrong.
Lyrically, Kanye goes the opposite way and embraces all the dark parts of his personality. He turns the cockiness, anger and ego up to levels never before seen (even for a man who describes himself as a genius!). But it also seems he knows that this probably isn't a good thing. Songs like "Power", "Monster" and "Runaway" gives little hints that he realizes he's out of control. But he can't stop himself. Nowhere is this dynamic better examined than in the chorus of "Power" where he begins by remarking "No one man should have all that power" only to end with "til then f--- that, the world's ours!" The dichotomy of self-loathing and massive ego makes it a lyrically interesting album from start to finish. His rhymes are sharper, more focused and thrown out with a speed and viciousness that he's only hinted at in the past.
Sonically, this is Kanye's Sgt. Peppers. There are odd breaks. Choirs. Fuzzy keyboard solos. Lyrics rapped through what sounds like an oil can. Samples from King Crimson. Drums on top of electronic drum beats. Layered pianos and keyboards. And on and on and on. Consider the song "Gorgeous" that features a chorus sung by Raeqwan (an odd choice) and Kanye raps the verses through an old cruddy microphone to give his voice a distorted quality. All backed by an old school bluesy-funky guitar riff. Midway through the song, right before the chorus, there's a drum part added over the top of the beat just to give the song an added kick of momentum. Don't even get me started on the feedback and keyboard filled coda for "Runaway" which spans over 3 minutes long at the end of the song. It's either most self-indulgent or brilliant moment of the record, and I don't know which.
Is it all too much? Maybe. But for a man with so many character flaws (narcissism, anger, petulance, self-absorbtion, further narcissism, lack of respect for other people's acceptance speeches and of course, narcissism) one thing is clear of Kanye West: he is constantly pushing himself to be better. This album draws on all the things that make Kanye who he is, but also push him into new, more daring territory. It's like he constantly listens to his own music and says "I can do better" and that is, in it's own way, admirable. He refuses to rest on his laurels, he constantly innovates and strives to push himself further and further his craft. So maybe he's not such a bad guy after all....Nah! He's still a bad dude, but the man can rap!
I feel like one day looking back, we're all going to realize that Kanye's Dropout Trilogy ("College Dropout", "Late Registration" and "Graduation") is one of the great achievements in Rap, and in popular music. Not only are all 3 albums sonically interesting (they are the cornerstone of the modern hip-hop sound), but each one carries a unique lyrical theme and sonic blueprint. "College Dropout" uses a neo-soul sound to back songs about rebellion and making your own way. "Late Registration" polishes up the sound to more pop friendly pallate to back songs about life at the top. And the synths and electronics of "Graduation" work with the theme of moving on.
So, after following all of that up with the huge letdown of "808's and Heartbreaks" (did we really need to hear Kanye try to sing?) along with several bad public moments, it was fair to wonder if Kanye's best days were behind him. Was he out of creative juice? Did he exhaust all his good ideas on the first 3 albums? Would he now become "that guy who everyone used to like who now just does a verse on whoever is popular at the moment's new song"? On "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" Mr. West responds by saying "You ain't seen nothin' yet!" After his public persona has become a model for petulance, egotism, and just general asshole-ish-ness, you would expect a grown up, somber, and reflective Kanye. And you would be dead wrong.
Lyrically, Kanye goes the opposite way and embraces all the dark parts of his personality. He turns the cockiness, anger and ego up to levels never before seen (even for a man who describes himself as a genius!). But it also seems he knows that this probably isn't a good thing. Songs like "Power", "Monster" and "Runaway" gives little hints that he realizes he's out of control. But he can't stop himself. Nowhere is this dynamic better examined than in the chorus of "Power" where he begins by remarking "No one man should have all that power" only to end with "til then f--- that, the world's ours!" The dichotomy of self-loathing and massive ego makes it a lyrically interesting album from start to finish. His rhymes are sharper, more focused and thrown out with a speed and viciousness that he's only hinted at in the past.
Sonically, this is Kanye's Sgt. Peppers. There are odd breaks. Choirs. Fuzzy keyboard solos. Lyrics rapped through what sounds like an oil can. Samples from King Crimson. Drums on top of electronic drum beats. Layered pianos and keyboards. And on and on and on. Consider the song "Gorgeous" that features a chorus sung by Raeqwan (an odd choice) and Kanye raps the verses through an old cruddy microphone to give his voice a distorted quality. All backed by an old school bluesy-funky guitar riff. Midway through the song, right before the chorus, there's a drum part added over the top of the beat just to give the song an added kick of momentum. Don't even get me started on the feedback and keyboard filled coda for "Runaway" which spans over 3 minutes long at the end of the song. It's either most self-indulgent or brilliant moment of the record, and I don't know which.
Is it all too much? Maybe. But for a man with so many character flaws (narcissism, anger, petulance, self-absorbtion, further narcissism, lack of respect for other people's acceptance speeches and of course, narcissism) one thing is clear of Kanye West: he is constantly pushing himself to be better. This album draws on all the things that make Kanye who he is, but also push him into new, more daring territory. It's like he constantly listens to his own music and says "I can do better" and that is, in it's own way, admirable. He refuses to rest on his laurels, he constantly innovates and strives to push himself further and further his craft. So maybe he's not such a bad guy after all....Nah! He's still a bad dude, but the man can rap!
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