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Raconteurs – Consolers of The Lonely Review

16 August 2008, Allan @ 6:30 pm The Raconteurs immediately went on my DNR list (do not review) upon their release of Consolers of The Lonely. The Raconteurs should also learn their lesson on why not marketing an album isn’t smart as their record is as much as an after thought as the Step Brothers movie.

This is basically how they did it: they finished the album, 2 weeks (or 1 week) they decided to release the album. No time for promotion. I’m assuming because they didn’t want the album to leak (which was inevitable anyway). Anyway bloggers ate up the big news during that time by promoting various “leaked” mp3s throughout the internet. They were big news at the time. However, they decided to send out the good old Web Sheriff around and even shutting down a few blogger websites (at least just deleting all their mp3s and such). You know what drives me nuts about that business plan. You refuse to market an album so people as individuals did the work by virally marketing the album to the internet (albeit offering an mp3 to boot) and how do they repay these viral marketers? By shutting down their websites. Once the album was reviewed, the Raconteurs were old news and who would want to post an mp3 when they were being visited by the grim reaper? Whatever I don’t own a major label but I’m also not losing millions like they are .

I was not a big fan of Broken Boy Soldiers even though Steady As She Goes was an awesome track. I ended up rarely listening to the album. Still, being a White Stripes fan it almost makes it a must to check out this side project.

The album starts off with the title track with random background chatter and a dirty intro. Almost reminiscent of a glam-metal style riff, this track actually sucks. Lyrics and vocals are not good at all. Funny how the lyrics “I’m bored to tears” are used, it could never be so true. The song is loud and “There’s a constant ringing in my ear…and I’m bored to tears”. This song tries too hard to be cool in my opinion with it’s loud drumming and metal style guitaring but it fails to work on the details. They really egged me on with the lyrics as well.

I’m in only one song in and I want to discard the rest of the album. I don’t want to bring any White Stripes comparisons but it doesn’t compare at all. In most cases of this album, I feel like it’s trying to appeal to the masses by being some more then what they are. Contradictory to the title nonetheless.

Their best moments for the Raconteurs is when they sound like they are more like The White Stripes like with the track Pull This Blanket Off. It’s more a pop song and it’s simplistic with just a piano playing with the occasional guitar riff. Stripped down they do sound like the Stripes v. 2.0 but that’s better then whatever they’re offering as trying to make their own sound. It sounds like a mess.

Add that they aren’t deserving of a good score anyway with how their record label sucks.

Rating: 1.25 out of 5
Face it, I’m just not that much of Jack White nuthugger to endorse this album. Tiny Mix Tapes quoted on Broken Boy Soldiers:

If The Raconteurs were any other group (that is, if The Raconteurs didn’t have Jack White), the press/Blogosphere would slam it.

That statement stills rings true.

Steady As She Goes by The Raconteurs

Pull This Blanket Off by The Raconteurs

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Filed under: Raconteurs

11 Comments

1. satansmothers — August 17, 2008 @ 12:32 pm
   
   

   what a gay post!




2. Allan — August 17, 2008 @ 12:33 pm
   
   

   What a crappy website you have!




3. Welikeit.indie — August 19, 2008 @ 1:39 am
   
   

   I wonder what are your thoughts on the comment that Noel Gallagher from Oasis did about free music and their upcoming release Dig Out Your Soul:

   “I didn’t spend a year in the most expensive studio in England, with the most expensive producer in America, and the most expensive graphic designer in London to then give it away. Fuck that.”

   http://blog.welikeitindie.com




4. Allan — August 19, 2008 @ 2:36 am
   
   

   I’ll just call it an old school train of thought. It doesn’t necessarily make that much sense to give away something for free and “get nothing back”.

   It’s a different type of advertising e.g. viral marketing that’s taking place and if they don’t want to embrace it, it’s fine with me but out with the old in with the new. I have the opportunity of getting a chance to review Dig Out Your Soul, I don’t know if I want it on my website if they continue to be pricks.

   There are people with no money who go into debt for their work expecting nothing back, Noel has millions so he can go fuck himself.




5. herohill — August 19, 2008 @ 6:45 am
   
   

   I really don’t understand why you are so against these bands that don’t want people to give away their music. I mean, I could give less than a rat’s ass about Oasis or the Raconteurs, but the difference you seem to be missing is that most of the band’s that give music away are just hoping to get noticed. Once you get signed to a major label and don’t have to work, I think it makes a difference.

   People on major labels get fucked for their cash all the time, so of course they want to recoup. It’s the same in any industry. Let’s say you start a web design company… you might do a couple of sites for free, but after you get established, you’d be pretty pissed if people just stole your code and never gave you a dime.

   You seem to dislike pushy PR people (ie MGMT’s peeps) tha tcarept bomb sites and you don’t want an album to be restricted, so what do you think works? How should bands go about getting heard AND getting paid?




6. Allan — August 19, 2008 @ 10:01 am
   
   

   I think I was just trying too hard to hate MGMT when I wrote that. With MGMT it was everything in general that just put me off e.g. the drug friendly music, their clothing, PR, simplistic music being praised way too ridiculously.

   I don’t hate pushy PR people per se, I just wanted it to be about the music and they REALLY pushed the idea of giving away free stuff rather then promoting the music in itself.

   In terms of gauging who I hate more, I would say I hate bands who don’t want to give out their music for free.

   Like you said it’s a have and have nots world. I guess I just choose to hate the bands that have.

   I don’t think it’s the right way to go about things and you can argue that I shouldn’t be the one to say how what is right and how it should work. However, hating p2p and shutting down music blogs isn’t proof that artists make more any more money. You are for sure hurting yourself if you are against viral marketing.

   It isn’t flat out stealing when we’re sharing MP3s. We are giving credit, when you download an mp3 you know where it’s coming from and who made it.

   I’m obviously quite biased but is it wrong to think blogs who write snippets about certain tracks and promoting the band is wrong? I really feel they missed out on a good marketing tool with the situation they put upon themselves and they missed out.

   I just hated the album btw. I tried to not it let it effect the way I reviewed it but it was one of those things that pissed me off earlier.




7. herohill — August 19, 2008 @ 10:47 am
   
   

   Not sure to be honest. With so many blogs posting so many songs, what value does someone writing – OMGZ, this song rules – really have? Even if you take the time to write something thought filled, well, when I look at our traffic stats I see that 75% of the visitors just want the song. You can post on a band no one has heard of, and no one cares – trust me, we do that a lot and our traffic reflects it.

   Or you can post on a huge band, say nothing and watch your traffic spike. I guess it comes down to if you want to find new bands, or talk about bands that the big blogs do?

   I agree with you, giving a song or two away only makes sense – although, people seem to give away more than the free songs and then bitch about the band getting mad or getting the ole web sheriff involved.

   If you don’t give us an mp3, we don’t post on it, but I guess if you need someone to PR the shit out of your record it’s probably not great. If you don’t care about PR-ing your record, well, you probably have more than enough cash and fans to not bother with blogs.




8. Allan — August 19, 2008 @ 12:27 pm
   
   

   Yeah, you’re right about the writing not mattering a lot of the time. It’s sad and yeah you are definitely the authority on that regard considering your more established website.

   You’re right that some blogs take it too far. I don’t like posting album leaks and full albums and profiting traffic on it. In that sense we are worse then p2p networks.

   It’s really about the music at the end of the day, Radiohead pulled in more money than then they received from most record labels with the “pay with you want thing” but it was really because everyone seemed to love the album (except me of course ).




9. AWmusic’s Worst Albums of 2008 | AWmusic — December 19, 2008 @ 7:46 pm
   
   

   [...] town was bad. Human by The Killers #3 The Raconteurs – Consolers of The Lonely Original Rating: 1.25 out of 5 While the original concentrated on other subjects regarding the marketing. Some critics calling it [...]




10. Jesse — January 7, 2009 @ 9:29 pm
    
    

    YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE FUCKING TALKING ABOUT! glam rock? Metal? The Raconteurs are the farthest things from that. And you think they are at their best when they sound like the stripes? Fuck you! oh yeah, what songs do you like by the white stripes? icky thump? seven nation army? hotel yorba? you are a fucking joke. what did you want attention? (no pun intended) well you know what i think i gave you to much alredy. GOOD DAY Sir!

    PS> its not a fucking side project you sorry peace of shit

    BEHOLD: The Raconteurs Bitch!




11. Allan — January 7, 2009 @ 10:09 pm
    
    

    I like most of the discography of the Stripes.

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