I’m a selfish bugger, but I’m learning slowly. A friend once told me that songs are like birds, and you see, I harbour the habit of wanting to keep them in cages. She was quite right in saying that they should be able to fly freely and fall on willing ears, so here goes, I’m lifting the latch.
Let’s start with the state of the nation. Album sales are continuing their steady decline, and anachronistic record labels still refuse to embrace the new model of democratized art the internet has allowed, instead choosing to persecute their customers, but all hope is not lost. Commercial radio seems to have gained some sensibility, embracing indie and electronica acts like Kings of Leon, Mgmt and Empire of the Sun. Alas, the members of Nickleback are still allowed to touch instruments.
If you manage to sift through the swirling cultural void currently occupied by auto-tune vocals and bands like Brokencyde, you’ll find that creativity is alive and well, even flourishing, fervently denouncing kitsch as king. Just listen to the bluesy, punk tinged ‘59 Sound’ by New Jersey’s The Gaslight Anthem, or the flippant (what economic meltdown?) swagger of Tv on the Radio’s ‘Dear Science’, and it’s evident not everyone is caught up in the malaise.
The year has run half its course, and the annual best-of lists are going to prove tough to compile. We’ve had stellar records from The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bon Iver continued to amaze, the quite frankly bat-sh#t crazy Patrick Wolf gave a nod to Bowie, and both Death Cab for Cutie and Modest Mouse put out solid ep’s.
Besides musical musings, all the advice I can offer is that a comfy pair of shoes goes a long way; I’m excited about doing this blog, and surprisingly about things in general. To quote the sultry Emily Haines, “Help I’m alive, and my heart is beating like a hammer.”
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