AWmusic

Here’s my biggest pet peeve about people/music/and the internet music world: music snobbery and the use of the term “indie” to score cool points or to market an album/artist rather than using the term to describe an album/artist that has released an album independent of any record label support (which means that even if you’re on a small label, you are not independent, “indie”). This doesn’t mean that releasing an album independently means that its going to be good, or bad, its just a statement of fact. Major labels tend to release albums that are going to appeal to more people. Smaller labels tend to cater to niche markets. Independent albums are all over the map, some bands want to be signed on a big label, some don’t. Some artists release the albums as a hobby and some people want to make it a career (although, given the choice, I think there are a lot of people who wouldn’t object to being paid zillions of dollars to make music). I guess the point being, which Allan made, is that “indie” is just a short form for independent, it doesn’t (or shouldn’t) say anything about what the music is like i.e. before The Beatles, Coldplay, the Rolling Stones, KanYe West, and Blink-182 were signed, they were “indie”.

Of course, that has not been what a fairly innocuous term has come to mean. Now, it means “not mainstream” or “band that no one has heard of”; and for a certain sub-section of the population this means “cool”, and for another sub-section of the population this means “douchey and pretentious starbucks drinkers”. But really, the co-opting of the term “indie” or the bastardization of the very simple original meaning, has everything to do with bands, small record labels, and music listeners in concert (no pun intended) trying to sell their music (or themselves) as decidedly different than people who listen to mainstream music. By no means does everyone in the “indie” scene try and market themselves like that, but there are some who do, and obviously it works. I mean, nobody (or very few people) want to see themselves as cogs in the machine, and the “indie” ethos taps into the desire of people (again, most people) to be viewed as individuals. This (the desire to be viewed as an individual), I think, accounts for the success of platforms like Facebook, Myspace, and, well, blogs.

Oh My God (It Still Means A Lot To Me) by The Wooden Sky

So, while I don’t begrudge the success of musicians/bands who successfully market themselves as “indie” (okay, I do a little bit) it seems to me that its counter-intuitive to what music is about. And music can be about a lot of things: advocating for justice, expressing feeling, scoring chicks, grinding it up on the dancefloor, whatever. And those who frequent this blog (Burgeoning Metropolis for people reading elsewhere) will know that I like a lot of different kinds of music — for instance my last picks of the week have been: #34 a rap album, #33 a college a cappella album, #32 a dance-pop album, #31 a folk-americana album, #30 a roots-rock album, #29 a country-rock album, and so forth. What I’m saying is that I understand that people like music for different reasons, and I think that’s a good thing. What I’m also saying is that people should like music for those different reasons — because they want to advocate for justice, share feelings, etc. — and not because they get a kick out of telling their friends that they knew about X before they got popular (though, it is fun to see a band you like have success) or because you’re looking to score cool points with your friends (though, its important to store up cool points for important occasions like Weddings and Birthday Parties).

This all may sound a little like the pot calling the kettle black since the bulk of the bands that I write about no one (and when I say no one, I mean if you pulled 50 people off the street in Toronto I’d imagine maybe one has heard my favourite record of ‘09), but the difference is, at least in my head if no where else, is that I’m not trying to score cool points (anymore). To me (at least now), music is best when its heard live and the best to hear live if you can see the facial expressions of the people playing the music. Its about (barf) some type of communal, shared experience, whether that experience is sweating it out at the front of the stage or doing the whiteboy nod/underbite at the side of the stage. Or, its about doing drugs and getting laid…

Star Of Wonder/None Shall Pass (f. Aesop Rock) By Tor/Sufjan Stevens

I read Sheila’s article about how she believes that the selection of comedienne Ellen DeGeneres as a judge for American Idol is somehow indicative of the mainstream music industry’s (further?) fall from grace, and she laments the current state of the industry – i.e. this “pop” stuff all sounds the same, no one with any talent is getting radio play, it ain’t what it used to be, etc. She implores dedicated music fans to go to local record stores, see local shows, and support independent artists in general.

I want to address these points one at a time. To start, I find it a little hard to believe that Ellen being an Idol judge is at all “denigrating” to the music industry. It’s true, it is hard to believe at face value that she, not being recognizable to any member of the public (certainly not the demographic that loyally watches American Idol) in any remotely musical area, should have anything intelligent to say about the relative talents of aspiring singers – but who does? Simon Cowell is not a musician – sure, he can rip you a new asshole with eloquence and aplomb, but a cursory glance at the history of his career (starting in the mail room at EMI as a result of his father’s connections there) shows that, musically, he more than likely has no clue what the fuck he is talking about. However, he’s seen a lot of stars rise, and often has played a part in that, and therefore no matter how much ire he earns from “unqualified” fans for tearing apart talented hopefuls, his opinion must carry some weight in the industry. And besides, all of the above is totally irrelevant because in the end it’s his label and – more importantly – his money being invested, so he might as well be the only judge.

The Thoughts of Simple Simon by The Broadfield Marchers

Though we know, of course, that this is not how Idol works. The fans – average folks we can mostly assume – get a chance to cast their votes and ultimately decide the winner of the competition. This is irrespective of how much any of the judges know about music. In fact, their qualifications hardly play a part at all; how many times have you honestly disagreed with the judges when they opted not to send a contestant through the preliminary rounds? I’m willing to bet the majority of fans who watch and ultimately make the calls on American Idol are no more or less qualified to judge talent than Ellen DeGeneres, and most if not all of those fans would agree – except on very rare occasions, or when perhaps the contestant’s looks are unfairly considered – that even if certain rejectees were undeniably talented, the ones who made it into the final few rounds were much better.

They Took A Vote and Said No by Sunset Rubdown

Idol is really just an exaggerated and heavily adorned version of the way big name record labels usually look for pop stars. They hold auditions, or showcases, listen, (let’s face it) look, critique, calculate and decide. Trends form in pop music and especially in this day and age the labels must be very discriminating with their money. No matter how noble one’s artistic intentions can be, certain things sell consistently, and there’s no getting around it. It has to some extent always worked this way, or at least since the advent of the 45 RPM single – Motown in the 1960s was called a “hit-making machine” for good reason. They had a formula for making huge hit songs and producing hugely popular groups – one could reasonably argue that the brilliance of the music was good luck.

Naturally I share many music aficionados’ frustrations with our favorite left-of-the-dial acts never selling in the six figures. It frustrates us that the best bands never seem to get as popular just because they’re not in line with the major musical trends of the time, because the general public simply doesn’t know any better. We’re not going to bother mentioning REM. Yes, they were an indie band who started on the nation-wide club circuit and eventually signed a major label deal and earned platinum sales, but they were an exception. Like Nirvana. And the Replacements. And Sonic Youth. And the Strokes. And the Clash. And Chuck Berry. and Rage Against the Machine.That’s right. Besides all of those exceptions to this rule, artists who work against the grain of pop music never get the worldwide mainstream recognition they deserve. Except maybe Blondie. Or Talking Heads. Or Blur. Or Oasis. Or the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Or Metallica. Or the Ramones. Or Green Day. Never. Not once. And of course, pop music has largely remained the same over the last decade, right? Nothing has really changed in terms of production or image – rap music more or less sounds the same as it did in 2000, and R&B has been pretty much standing still. Our favorite artists from the beginning of the 2000’s – Britney, Xtina, the members of N’Sync – are still largely doing the same things now as they were then.

And of course as high-minded music critics we blame the industry for turning music into a commercial entity, to be bought and sold and disposed of, in the last two decades or so – it’s nothing like in that golden, romantic era of the 1960’s when 45 RPM vinyl singles (which averaged roughly six to eight minutes per side) were released on a weekly schedule and were the driving force of the music market. The market saturation could not possibly have come from our treasured independent artists, whose unprecedented access to recording and distribution technology (i.e. the internet) have not only enabled anyone with a connection to easily locate and download for free – bypassing the music marketing juggernaut entirely – anyone’s music regardless of their mainstream or indie credibility, but also the artists themselves to inundate the internet with thousands of new artists and songs each year, effectively turning every mp3 blog into its own infinitessimal music universe in which every self-righteous music fan (or armchair music journalist) is free to argue the merit of this overwhelming volume of new content while remaining willfully ignorant that ninety-nine percent of the world will never, ever hear it.

It’s true. The internet has thrown open the floodgates. Our local and independent artists are suffering. It is hard enough trying to compete with big-name artists with their targeted images and expensive PR, and now the indie scene has turned against itself with every band being exactly as accessible to the music-seeking public as every other. Everyone is now on even footing – whether you’re in the record store on CD or on vinyl, anyone can download it for free. Anyone with a computer is capable of making music just as polished as something made in an expensive studio. It’s just as easy for people in their living rooms – who may lack talent to the degree of which we so often accuse the mainstream stars – to make perfectly accessible (at times perfectly trashy) music and make it available globally. The notion of “authenticity” in music – if it ever needed to exist in the first place – has been broken down. Sheila was right when she said that we need to support our local and independent artists, and that we should go to their shows, because now our power to promote them on a larger stage is greater than it has ever been before.

Aside from the fact that I think the concept of American Idol could be a positive one; in Sheila’s words, “these shows make artificial stars out of people who would otherwise be working a day job.” To a degree, she’s right, but how many successful artists, independent or otherwise didn’t have day jobs before they got their break? This is a show that gives this opportunity to undeniably talented people who may not have had the chance otherwise, irrespective of whether or not we as critics happen to like the style of music they specialize in. There are many competitions out there that attempt to do the same for independent artists, even if they can’t operate on the same scale. Many people like to complain that the industry nowadays is “all politics,” and that a band needs to have an “instant hit” in order to get noticed, as if it has ever been any different. Do you think our most beloved dinosaur bands of the 60’s and 70’s would have been offered their big breaks if they didn’t have hit potential? Furthermore, do you think the current indie tastemakers like Pitchfork are any less selective in what they choose to promote, and based on the same criteria (try asking anyone who’s tried to get a mention from them)? There was a lot of innovation in pop music during that period, but the fact of the matter was that those artists were moving units, and if they weren’t then they never would have been allowed that freedom.

We as critics of all people should know that the politics of the mainstream music industry no longer need to matter to us – and of course we’ll gloss over the fact that the Arcade Fire and Spoon both had their last albums debut in the Billboard Top 10 – and that there is no use decrying marketing exercises like American Idol. After all, how many people are watching that show because they have an earnest personal investment in one of those contestants having a successful career? For that matter, how many people have American Idol as their only means of discovering new music? Supporting our local and independent musicians is an imperative now more than ever not because they are somehow more “real” or “authentic” than anyone who happens to have a mainstream hit (I don’t even want to ask why the channels through which an artist achieved success should have any bearing on their credibility) but because for the first time they are capable of competing with the big names, and we have manpower on our side. What’s real and what’s not is not what matters anymore. What matters is what we like, whether it’s on the charts or in a basement. Elitism is an archaic practice and should be abandoned. It’s not about more deserving, it’s about equally deserving! Don’t you get it? We don’t need the radio anymore – a comedian judging talent doesn’t have to mean anything. For once we have the power to find music we can love ourselves – we shouldn’t be focused on tearing anything down, but rather on spreading all of the good stuff around.

They used to say that the artists could change the music people listened to – now we have an unprecedented ability to make that change ourselves. So I join Sheila in urging you to get out there and make it.

First, I do read a lot of magazines and articles on the music industry so I have a working knowledge of Idol and it’s past winners and losers. I am aware that some of the past winners have gone on to do quite well for themselves, much and all as I don’t like Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood I do have to acknowledge that they can sing and have moved beyond the Idol winner label. However, there have also been enough performers to make a laughing stock of the whole program and to cast doubts on the credibility of the pop industry in general. Performers like Britney Spears, The Jonas Brothers, Hannah Montana (although not associated with Idol)and the like are further eroding the integrity of the music business and making it difficult for artists who have real talent to get recognition. All these kinds of performers do is reinforce the belief, especially in younger people, that music is disposable. So instead of furthering the music industry, creating a life-long love of music and actually encouraging and grooming young artists for a career in the industry, shows like these do the opposite.

There have been enough articles written about how Idol and the like are truly detrimental to the music industry and I will say that when these shows make artificial stars out of people who would otherwise be working a day job, it makes it extremely difficult for an independent artist to get airplay. It is already nigh impossible for a truly independent artist (one without big label backing or a hard-working promoter behind them) to get on the radio. Politics plays a large part in who gets played (they want you to think it doesn’t but it does) – you play this Idol artist or whatever band I’m trying to promote and I’ll give you an exclusive interview with xxx or whatever. This means that whatever the labels want played gets played and you can bet they don’t care if it’s good stuff but whether or not it sells. This is not new and you are all saying – yeah, yeah, yeah we know that: big labels bad, who cares. Well, the obvious answer is we all should because when crap is all we get to listen to it makes us lazy music consumers and diversity goes by the wayside. If you don’t believe me, sign up to a radio listening club where they conduct music surveys, it’s frightening that out of 30 song clips only two or three are truly different, the rest leave you wondering if they just change the names of the artists to make you believe the song is different when really it’s just the same one played over and over again.

So what does all this have to do with DeGeneres? Well, with this announcement went the last shred of credibility or respectability this show had if it had any to begin with. It really can’t sink any lower. I have a lot of admiration for DeGeneres as a person, I think she has conducted her private life with grace and discretion, something all celebrities regardless of sexual orientation should do, and she can be as funny as hell but as a judge of music? Other than being a fan, what qualifications does she have? DeGeneres appearance on this show will only help the already skeptical music fan become totally disillusioned. I’m not a skeptical person by nature but when I heard this announcement I rolled my eyes and wondered who the next one-hit wonder will be and lamented the fact that some truly talented independent artist will be sacrificed for it. Although DeGeneres is no Oprah, she does have a loyal fan base who will support whatever she promotes right or wrong. This, then, casts doubt on the legitimacy of the artists themselves, which further erodes the perception that the music industry is about talent. Just think about what will be said about the artist – they were Ellen’s favourite singer – I can hear the laughter now.

There are so many independent artists out there working hard for literally nothing that deserve a break but have little chance of being heard because there is no room for them on a station’s playlist. Now I can hear you say that if they truly had talent they would make it because the cream always rises to the top except that that used to be true ages ago when music was still innovative and the industry took its time to let a band develop. Nowadays a band has to have an instant hit in order to get any kind of attention from a label or radio station. And that means that if you sound like Radiohead you may as well forget it but if you sound like Nickelback you are on your way. I agree that is a generalization and that there are exceptions to the rule but they are really few and far between. The producers of Idol aren’t going to go for someone who sounds different and DeGeneres, who may have good intentions, gets to chose and promote only those who are paraded in front of her. It’s not going to be someone truly different and I have my doubts about her ability to think critically instead of with her heart or emotions.

Let me be clear, however, she isn’t to blame for the way Idol creates false idols but she is part of the problem. By saying that she will represent the average music fan, she is giving legitimacy to the general publics acceptance of sub-standard music. At least with Paula Abdul, she had at one time a legitimate place in the music industry. She knew the ins and outs and how to work it so at least in her incoherent rants she had a credible point. DeGeneres is like the quintessential art fan, I don’t know anything about art but I know what I like. She becomes the straw man, someone who is there to help get ratings but has no real role. Will her presence have any influence on the eventual winner considering it’s the fans who vote for them? I don’t know but I imagine it will have some effect considering she can use her daytime talk show as a platform for whoever she feels is the most deserving.

In the late ’60s and ’70s it seemed like there was a new band with a completely different sound on the radio every week. Bands were trying out new things, equipment was being modified and invented it seemed like every day, and the listener had a voice and really got to choose who they were going to listen to. Record labels took their time allowing a band to develop over the course of two or three albums. You would spend your hard-earned money carefully on music you truly liked rather than downloading a song from a torrent. Music has become less a commodity and more a single-use product that can be tossed when you are tired of it. DeGeneres will not change that no matter how she uses her celebrity voice to promote the musicien du jour or music in general.

If you love music, and are tired of what is being played on the radio, please go to local shows by local artists and buy their music. Remember to support the independent artist, they are the ones who have the ability to change the music we listen to.

Handsome Furs – Legal Tender
Heartless Bastards – Hold Your Head High
Young Galaxy – Swing Your Heartache

When a band calls themselves “Indie” it should mean because they are signed to an independent label and have less funds to tour, market themselves and record music.

Glamorous Indie Rock and Roll by The Killers

Isn’t that simple? Yet people want to complicate things like it’s supposed mean something inexplicably complex or dedicate a whole post to finding out what it means to be “indie” (not to knock the importance of RaisedOnIndie’s post as there are some cool things said).

Making this simple, if you are with a major label (e.g. Sony, WMG) you aren’t “indie”. No matter how hard you try to be cool, you aren’t indie. It’s sad I see so many major label bands call themselves indie. Doesn’t make it more cool? Absolutely not. Do people even care? Maybe but that’s like catering to a superficial fanbase.

Time To Pretend by MGMT

It makes no sense to want to label yourself as an “indie” band, generally when bands aim for success the ultimate goal would be to sell records and tour a lot. The first though eventually requires a major label (even Sub Pop has their distribution done by WMG if you didn’t know).

On “indie” fans:
Technically by definition if you label yourself as an “indie fan” you are calling yourself superficial. You’d never hear someone call themselves a “major label fan” (though I would label some people that hehe ), so what happens when a band “sells out” and signs the dotted line with a big record company? Do you ditch them? I hope that you wouldn’t and hence anybody dubbing themselves as an indie fan – likely isn’t much of a music fan at all.

There’s nothing with being a general indie fan, as I would label myself. “Indie” isn’t important and it’s true a lot of my choices are indie but I hardly see that as a factor in my musical choices. Bands I like just happen to be indie.

I had this discussion with a friend but why “Indie” could never be a genre or a “style”. If someone has an “indie” style it usually means they are different, perhaps closer to “alternative” but not mainstream. However, you can’t just pigeonhole an indie band into what they sound like, it literally could be anything. Everytime I say I like “pop” and I do, I don’t mean I like popular stuff (because that would be again superficial) I say I like the style pop because there’s an actual definition of what pop is musically. Indie doesn’t have that. That’s why we have RIYL on artist reviews because it gives a much better definition of what you’re expected to hear rather then calling it “indie” and it could be a wide range of sounds.

There’s also an interesting point in the RaidedOnIndie opinion’s list from Ben Yacobi:

Indie is an ethos which is to produce music above all other concerns such as fame or wealth. Indie started with self-sufficient bands, typically in urban areas, who may have had a distinct sound and received support from a growing number of small independent labels creating what has been coined as the indie scene. Major labels then moved in to what was a growing market and starting signing the best new bands as they came out of the scene. Radiohead – signed to a major label – are indie because they have kept their indie ethos, of caring about the music above all other matters and choosing their own methods for marketing and touring.

Fake Plastic Trees by Radiohead

To me this isn’t indie. This is every music fan’s point in liking music and should be every single music artist’s dream. The goal should be always to make the best possible music and the fame and wealth are bonuses. People see through that otherwise.

The Moneymaker by Rilo Kiley

So there you have it: Indie just means a band/artist on an independent record. Now stop complicating it and it shouldn’t even be a discussion.

(Apologies for this weird rant, I’ve put it on hold several times and just decided today to finally give something concrete).

Start A War by The National

To me the internet has made celebrating music much easier and where I would find myself isolated and alone with my daily listenings, the internet lets me know that there are people out there just like me.

I’ll Dream Alone by Magnetic Fields

I hate how bloggers tout that it’s so important that we’re “better” then mainstream media. Yes I like blogs more then I do traditional media outlets but aren’t we bragging about making less money and putting people out of business? I always for the most part hated music published by major publications and reading mp3 blogs (and then writing) was my outlet. Then again, there are so many mp3 blogs these days, there are quite a few I HAVE to stay away from.

You Could It Have So Much Better by Franz Ferdinand

Blogging vs the mainstream media was never even really a battle. It was clear blogs were going to win (zero cost, constantly updated covering future stars before they get famous? too easy). MTV and MuchMusic are playing less and less music on television and where else are they going to find out about new bands? So are we just going to pat ourselves on the back and sing internet killed the video star? It’s rather irrelevant as I don’t find myself an authority or some super critic (it’s funny to see some bloggers act like that or sarcastically suggest that their important).

Video Killed The Radio Star by The Buggles

It also doesn’t matter who posted who blogged about some band first. Do we search for bands just to get credit on our own? Absolutely not. Among my friends who never bothered to take my suggestion of Vampire Weekend when I told them countlessly about the band, does it make me superior? Hardly. Frankly I don’t even know who’s going to be the next big thing – it’s not something we control honestly. I’m just someone who loves music and likes to share his weird critical thoughts on music and I figure most mp3 bloggers are the same way.
The Lame Shall Enter First by Saxon Shore

(enjoy the mp3s embedded throughout this rant)

We’ve seen multiple file types doled out by the industry and the MP3 has prevailed (hilariously). The really only strong competitor is Apple’s m4a. I’m going to go through why the m4a has been successful and what file formats need to do to be successful. Some major labels are thinking about a CMX file while Apple is thinking about calling theirs Cocktail (will Cock files rule the day? okay it’s just a “codename” but it should be a rule to not have Cock in a name of a product)

I’ve set out some rules for other formats to be successful:
1. New file formats can’t be worse.
You must be saying this is a simple rule right? Well it seems like the major labels never understand this. Would you buy a new car only to have break down and run worse then your old car? Well you might be fooled the first time but it won’t last.

I remember buying Coldplay’s X&Y album and was unable to add the files to my library. They forced to me to put the CD in the drive and if I wanted to do something with my CD drive – I was forced to make a choice. I ended up downloading a pirated copy – because it was better. It would be a long time I would buy a CD AGAIN. (and you wonder why people pirate stuff major labels?)

With the new files formats going against each other it doesn’t like it will affect the mp3 much but of the Cocktail and the CMX – the better one will win. Simple.

2. Your goal is not to stop pirating.
Actually if your goal is to have a better file format, you are actually trying to increase pirating. Let’s be frank pirating is here to stay and major labels are engaged in an uphill battle. While I wouldn’t tell them to embrace MP3 downloading, the fact that they seem to have a war on the mp3, their goals are likely steeped in slowing down pirating. Thereby forcing people to use a file format that people don’t have the same ability to do stuff with like similar formats will lose out all the time.

How do people find out about new file formats? Well virally, through blogs and popular websites. The Pirate Bay is a popular website, if your file is not good enough to be pirated – just forget even trying.

3. The new file needs to be compatible with popular music players and the rest of the internet.
If you tell me I can play this new file, if I download your new music program – I might as well just tell you to fuck off. I’m not going to waste my time adding all my files to new a library. It’s about convenience and the more I have to do to, the less likely I will do it. I’m lazy and so is everyone else.

The reason why m4a is so successful? People don’t even realize they are using it. Apple/Itunes have done a great job in that regard. I’ve seen people use the Itunes music player without having an Ipod and they don’t even realize a lot of their files are m4as. I personally haven’t embraced the m4a but at one time I mulled it over but the Itunes program turned me off. I can see why it appeals to most people.

You need to make a file that Windows Media Player, Itunes, Winamp and more all accept. Or else it just becomes a file that will never catch up to the mp3. Another reason why the mp3 continues to dominate are websites like Elbo.ws and The Hype Machine whom only aggregate MP3s and not anything else. If they adopted the m4a – we’d probably put a few more of those files up (website traffic from putting up an mp3 compared to an m4a is huge).

4. Quality and File Size are important to an extent.
Some people argue that you need better quality music out there on the Internet. The problem with the statement is that there always has been great quality music out there. If you look hard enough you could download FLAC or other file formats.

Why hasn’t FLAC taken over? Well it could eventually, with high-speed internet becoming a standard it’s possible that FLAC eventually does take over but it suffers from the problem of being a little too large. If you read the other point, people are lazy. People are also impatient.

FLAC files are popular on many pirating websites. I myself am not an audiophile so I just don’t see a point in downloading the extra space just to hear subtle differences. I basically have filled my harddrive with music so I need files that are just decent but small enough so I’m not limited in anyway.

The problem with this one is that people are different. We like different things and generally if you place an importance in sound quality, the mp3 and m4a were never really for you. The new file formats aim at providing completeness with lyrics, music videos and songs. Do people really want one really big file that has this all? Video can take up a huge amount of space and mushing it all together may not be a great idea.

So those are my thoughts. We’ll see later this year if this becomes something that benefits everyone or just completely laughable (betting on CMX being laughable).

However, if you’re looking a diverse set of music – the UFC is the wrong place for you. The musical selection of the UFC can be placed into two genres: metal and rap – or sometimes metal/rap.

Look, I’ll be the first to say – music and fights don’t mix. I absolutely hated Affliction: Banned with the scheduling. Banned had a really good fight card but to me the event was ruined by between fight performances of popular metal band Megadeth. To me it ruined the event because I was a fight fan and not a Megadeth fan (what do you know a Roadrunner records artist). To the fight fan and Megadeth it might’ve been a good event but that’s alienating all the other fans.

UFC 100, slated for tomorrow and is being dubbed as the “biggest mixed martial event ever” (likely to have the same thing said on the New Year’s card at the end of the year). However, it could’ve been much worse as they had Limp Bizkit booked to play at the event. Luckily for most fans – there was a contract dispute and the card features only fights now. As it should be, but the idea that the UFC’s management team were thinking about it – is frightening. I really believe someone should be fired for thinking this idea but that’s just me.

Bands should not play on fight cards period. However, the main topic I’d want to approach is the entrance music of fighters. I always feel like it lacked diversity and sometimes I’d wish cool songs would show up on a fighters entrance. To date the coolest entrance was Amir Sadollah’s first fight where he had Aphex Twin. For the UFC, it’s been made clear that Dana White has full control of what the fighters can choose for the entrances. While, I think that’s wrong, he’s also made some awful choices in using his veto right.

The UFC’s entrance music is basically subpar compared to small promotions because of this control. Countless times when watching a small promotion on TV (more so internet TV) there’s a nice mix and it just doesn’t involve classic songs and the same old metal/rap.

I don’t want to keep knocking metal/rap – it’s not the point of this. There are two fighter entrances that are perfect: Anderson Silva’s walk out to DMX’s Ain’t No Sunshine and Wanderlei Silva coming out to Darude’s Sandstorm. To be against the UFC again, Wandy’s entrance came from the techno friendly Pride promotion which was bought by the UFC.

The UFC lacks trademark entrances in addition to the lack of “good” music for their artists. Dana White on many interviews states he wants songs that “pump people up” and yet he vetoes the use of Dethklok’s Thunderhorse for Tamdan McCrory – a metal song no less. I’d have to say this were the WWE is miles ahead on the UFC. Being a huge WWE fan at one point, entrance music got the crowd wild – because you knew who was coming out. The UFC lacks this, it seems they perhaps are either forcing music on certain fighters or perhaps should be helping fighters choose something appropriate that they could use for every single entrance. If Tamdan McCrory wants to right in on his Thunderhorse, let him.

Overall, fighter entrances in the UFC need some work. It’s not that the music is all entirely bad. It needs to be a lot better and entrances need to invoke some sort of familiarity. With countless fighters saying the UFC controlling this tightly, maybe it’s time to say that they need to do a better job on this front as it is seriously lacking. Fighters’ personalities are being hindered but no one would be complaining if the UFC was doing a better job with this. Perhaps hiring someone to be in charge of this rather then President Dana White would be the way to go.

(I don’t care that much it’s all about the fights at the end of the day for me. Just expressing my opinion on this matter nonetheless.)

DMX – Ain’t No Sunshine
Darude – Sandstorm

With a jury featuring several bloggers, including Herohill’s Ack, Jim from Quick Before It Melts, Matt from I(heart)music, Frank from Chromewaves – that’s just the blogs we’ve been acquainted with. Now I have to ask this – why the hell aren’t we on this? More politely: I think we deserve a spot on this jury but that’s a discussion for another day.

Anyway one of the great aspects of having bloggers on the jury, is that you can follow their picks and they will blatantly pick your top 5. I was very happy with Quick Before It Melts’ picks mainly because it included The Rest’s Everyone All At Once (unsure if it made the five he chose but at least he considered it) but Bryan Acker’s opinion was just as important due to the massive of records he listens to – I just hadn’t listened to most of his picks. Still bloggers easily help the appeal, and we’d love to join the party but I guess we’ll enjoy the view from the sidelines (and still bicker and complain about the list).

Rob, our weekly contributor already discussed some key points to why the longlist sucks.

17 bands from Montreal. Yes, Montreal is better from Toronto. Yes, Montreal is great fucking place. But it doesn’t represent all of Canada. The point being, as great of a fucking place it is, the longlist could use some diversity. The longlist is that, a longlist – you could represent the entire country. You could also represent better music – perhaps the system is flawed? Submitting only 5 to the longlist doesn’t seem like many people stuck out their necks for unknown gems.

Why isn’t Julie Doiron on this list? I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day’s exclusion is absolutely robbery. Perhaps it’s because she’s from a small town but alas, I don’t know. I won’t complain about The Rest’s Everyone All At Once. It seems only a few people share the same enthusiasm or haven’t heard how good it is.

Consolation Prize by Julie Doiron

Who shouldn’t be on this list:
The Stills – Oceans Will Rise
The album is so incredibly awful. I tried my best to stay positive on the record and its inclusion baffles me. Matthew from I(heart)music said The Stills took whatever was good with their first two albums and left all the suck (at least that’s what I recall). If there’s a black sheep on this list, it’s this album. Sorry Stills fan but there are a million more deserving albums. Someone needed to say it.

Probably shouldn’t be on this list (iffy/arguable):
Wolf Parade – At Mount Zoomer
When I first listened to the record, I was in love with this album. I think after time, this album just didn’t give me any desire to listen to it. I definitely overrated it and I don’t think much of it now. I think this nomination could be a pity vote, because Apologies To The Queen Mary should’ve been nominated but wasn’t. Funny how that works.

Grounds For Divorce by Wolf Parade

Metric – Fantasies
I haven’t really listened to the album but if Nancy the diehard Metric fan doesn’t think it’s that good… it’s probably not that good. Also, since Canada does really indeed have tons of good music, I expect no less then A material on the longlist.

Woodpigeon – Treasury Library Canada
Treasury Library Canada is lacking (this Popmatters review agrees) whereas Houndstooth Europa is a real gem. As a dual package, it’s still iffy whether I would nominate it being that Houndstooth Europa is the 2nd CD. e.g. The quieter hotter sister that nobody seems to mention.

Oberkampf by Woodpigeon

Go Chad VanGaalen. 17 days left until the shortlist is announced. Then we will be discussing the 10 albums in depth (unless we’ve already reviewed them).

My top 10 predictions:
Chad VanGaalen’s Soft Airplane
Bare Feet On Wet Grip Tape by Chad VanGaalen
Rae Spoon -superioryouareinferior
Need to listen to this record. Got massively confused about the gender thing without it being explained to me….I guess it’s cool on some level that it’s not mentioned (pet peeve to see a press release attention grab based on being “different”)
Bruce Peninsula – A Mountain Is A Mouth
Steamroller by Bruce Peninsula
Fucked Up`s Common Chemistry of Life
Looking For God by Fucked Up
One of Japandroids – Post-Nothing/Women-Women I lean toward Japandroids
Young Hearts Spark Fire by Japandroids
Black Rice by Women

That’s all I can think of. It’ll be an upset if those 5 aren’t in it, perhaps we’re missing out on a few gems?

Lastly, I’d like to say I really like the Polaris Prize. I like discussing the best Canadian album, as much as I find the process flawed. It is better then nothing.

First let’s go through what you need to be successful under said model:
1. You need to be popular
In order to make a dent anywhere in this world it seems, you need to have people who care. No matter how good you are an artist, this model might not be so successful if nobody cares that you’re giving album for free.
2. Whatever you’re giving away for “free” needs to be good
Basically, people want value. Just because it’s free doesn’t mean it’s good. You have to make people get off their asses to go get it. If I advertised “Free punches to the face”, I’m not sure how many people I’ll get to actually punch in the face (you know you want it). Check out the reviews for In Rainbows .
3. Not everyone needs to pay…but someone has to.
The point of pay-what-you-can especially on the internet is that the majority of people won’t pay a cent which is perfectly fine but you need an incentive for paying more. E.g. more money = higher quality + extra goodies. For me personally, I don’t really care about extra quality or extra goodies but I’m also not the one to pay money either so I’m not a targeted demographic. Trent Reznor did a great job here, offering a ton of bonuses for paying for some limited material.

Everything In its Right Place by Radiohead

Why it works:
100% of 5 million is greater then 8-10% of 45 million in sales. Doing the math seems pretty logical in this case. It’s usually rare to see a record amass 50 million in sales or more but the majority of the money doesn’t go directly to the artist. Many other people and myself could probably agree, it feels better when you buy a record and you know the artist is benefitting from it. They did after all create the product that you are after.

Radiohead probably pulled in a number greater then 8 million and rumoured to pull in more money then records like the famed Ok Computer and Kid A (combined?).

If Radiohead wasn’t popular, didn’t release one of the best albums of the year (arguable – I didn’t like but I should probably give it a chance), and didn’t make a boatload of money while at it – it wouldn’t be a model that people care about. This model works. In theory while Radiohead independently released it, because they were doing something “different” (sort of) they had all the publicity they needed. It does make you wonder though if this model is repeated to death – will it continue to work?

Why people love it?
The consumer loves it and the consumer is the most important aspect to ANY business model. So Allan, how many people are reading this? No one – what did I do to piss them off? I’d definitely would be concerned if no one was reading this though. I care for my readers and with artists releasing on PWYC scales, it gives an underlying appreciation to their fans.

It gives the consumer ultimate control of where their money goes and can judge for themselves the intrinsic value of something. They can choose to keep it but they could also happily give it away if they like what they are getting at a discount anyway.

Another important point, it also POINTS A MIDDLE FINGER at the RIAA (which most people who consume music should hate with a passion). Whether or not there is PWYC, people will get their freak on with the likes of ThePirateBay just because they refuse to pay for it. While the “Radiohead Model” advocates free albums, the consumer has proven just because there is something that is free does not mean it will hurt your album sales. The numbers that the RIAA throws out is completely arbitrary and they probably aren’t hurt by album downloads as they’d like you to believe (probably signing better artists is their real problem).

What Its All About by Girl Talk

Why do people hate it?
This group is a small minority because it’s other musicians (and I guess major labels too but they’re greedy so who cares about why they hate it). Basically “The Radiohead Model” is just not very applicable to other artists. You can probably think of a handful that could successfully do it but it may not work well in the future as well. Independent artists release their material free of charge all the time…but it doesn’t seem to be working in terms of the massive success that Radiohead or Nine Inch Nails has achieved.

Let’s draw an example from music blogs. “The Stereogum Model” is after duh, the legal mp3 blog, Stereogum. It’s a great model, they don’t really piss anyone off and they can’t be held for liberally giving away tracks without the artist’s consent (which we do). Would AWmusic.ca have any success posting just legal mp3s? Absolutely not. Everyone else is doing it and while we do stay away from leaked material – blogs like Pretty Much Amazing is thriving on the post everything while it’s hot model.

While I won’t complain about Stereogum (it’d just sound like me crying for attention that I don’t have enough readers). Artists like Kim Gordon do have a point even it’s painstakingly obvious and hardly counts as news. I don’t think it’s just Radiohead they should be criticizing, it’ll take some understanding from the consumers who are enjoying a pretty good benefit that it doesn’t apply to everyone.

Artists shouldn’t feel the pressure to release their music for free. They probably won’t get much out of it. Artists usually put more money into it then they get back, and taking more away from their revenue may influence artirts just to do less or see them struggling to do more of what they love. If an artist wants to charge money, they have every right to – it’s their work and you can always not buy their product if you deem it unworthy (or illegal download it….).

No matter what the model is, bands and artists like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails are successful with or without The Radiohead Model. It does make us feel better as consumers and the only message I have is that – help your independent artists as much as you can because conversely indie artists that haven’t “made it” yet are bound to struggle under any circumstance and no model will make it any easier.

Survivalism by Nine Inch Nails

(Apologies for the spelling and grammar – I’d get to them after I get home from the hospital on Thursday)

Ugh. Worse title on AWmusic? Are we jumping the shark? Maybe.

But Carles from Hipster RunOff says:

Damn bro. I think ’sex sells’ or something like that. I feel like ‘we can’t control’ what our ‘peens’ want. I feel like ’sex’ and ‘getting aroused/stimulated’ is probably ‘more important’ for a lot of people than some other blog post. I want to click on more ‘nude’-based stuff. I think Radiohead named a song of theirs ‘Nude’ to get more hits at their website. When Napster came out, ‘mp3′ became more searched 4 than ’sex.’ I feel like ‘we’ should feel happy about that as mp3 bloggers.

Anyway, this weekend was dominated with news naked photos of BOTH Cassie and Rihanna. Normally I would stay away from the matter but hey, we can be traffic whores too!

I don’t care much for Celebrity nude photos. Like Cassie says – ““That’s real foul and evil. Now stop acting like you haven’t seen a titty before.””, I’ve seen titties before so it’s no big deal (though to be fair, those photos are pretty hot). Also strange to see Rihanna’s photos leaked just hours after the internet was already going insane. As much as Rihanna is quite sexy, Cassie beats her out with the more scandalous and sexier photos.

Here’s a lesson to everyone: NEVER have naked photos on your computer. It might sound like a good idea, but it’s not. It’s like having collateral as a couple, if you piss off the guy who took pics of you, be sure enough to expect the photos on X-porn website near you (sorry nobody cares about naked men so it really just applies to women).

However, there are just nude pictures, equivalent to looking at porn pictures e.g. lame. It doesn’t do anything for you at the end of the day since it seems like EVERY celebrity has a nude photo set. Heck, you get to breasts at a young age while watching fashion shows. You know what we don’t see enough of? Hardcore porn movies involving A-list celebrities. Over the past years I’ve heard about Kid Rock’s, Scott Stapp (that would be torturous….ewwww), that Screech guy and people who I just don’t care about.

Imagine this title: Megan Fox Foot Fetish Hardcore Sex Tape with Brian Austin Green! Hot? Yes! Proof that Brian Austin Green is having sex with Megan Fox? Yes! And Fucked Up? Yes Yes Yes!

Nude photos are just that. No big deal since we’ve been exposed to it a bit too much (you are liars if you don’t watch a little bit of porn). Paris Hilton’s video made her famous and even then – it was pretty awful porn. If someone wants to move up a level in fame, it’s not in the nudie pics – it’s going to be some hardcore nasty sex tape.

Naked As A Window by Josh Ritter
Nude by Radiohead