lisztomania... think less but see it grow

I had two choices last Monday night: read a fifty-page paper on global economic integration, or take my friend up on her offer to see Phoenix on their sold-out tour... naturally, it was a pickle. As the band lapped up the waves of love from a legion of American Apparel-clad fans, I couldn't help detecting bewildered surprise in Thomas Mars' repeated thank-yous. It must be disorienting, I realized, to spend years and years making album after album and then suddenly hit it so big, so quickly.

The next day, I even heard "1901" in a Cadillac commercial. I died a little inside, but not because I felt like Phoenix sold out; I just wish they'd have picked a better car company, as I'm quite sure the primary Cadillac-buying demographic these days is the Cash for Clunkers program. Putting on cool music and sticking the former Mrs. Dr. McDreamy in the driver's seat isn't really going to give the American auto industry comparative advantage... but I digress.

I can't help wondering whether there's any rhyme or reason to any of the hype that surrounds "indie" bands. Sometimes critics will suggest a band has only now hit it big because its latest album is just vastly superior to its predecessors -- but in all honesty it seems more like a fortuitous combination of marketing and luck. Just listen to It's Never Been Like That, Phoenix's last album. It's a tightly wound, bouncing ball of garage-pop joy, particularly "Long Distance Call" (which is also really great live) and "Sometimes in the Fall" (which, on last check, was posted to The Hype Machine a grand total of two times). They were quietly beating The Strokes at their own game back in 2005 but still slipped under the radar...

More on the hype factor later. For now, some songs from underrated "before they hit it big (in the States)" albums:

lisztomania

If I had theme music...

I woke up the other day to a silent apartment with nothing more than the whizzing of my air purifier (which I promised myself I'd clean tonight). I walked around Central Park the other day with no other noise than that of my feet hitting the floor and cracking the ice patches I walked over. I was waiting for the subway late the other night when I realized that all that kept me company was the rats and their gnawing and scratching at whatever they could find on the tracks from the day's commuter. However, when I came face-to-face to the realization that I needed a little theme music of my own was last Saturday when I walked into the 19th century impressionist wing at the Met, looked around the room and my gaze finally settled on Claude Monet's Haystacks (click here for visual aid). Next to it, was this Monet.

Right around that time, the Thomas Crown Soundtrack started to play on my iPod and it was determined, that from that moment forth, I would pick a theme/soundtrack to my day(s).

With over 7,000 song in my library how could I pick a few for my very own soundtrack. The catch was, my soundtrack is already someone else's soundtrack. What do I mean? The songs to the soundtrack of my life are not only some of the best movie themes/songs out there, but also all part of my favorite movies. So really, it's like the soundtrack of the soundtrack of I'd see myself as... or more like the soundtrack of the soundtrack of theme of the soundtrack of the movie that is life... my life!

Well, I will provide some insight to a few of the choices:

• Of course, I can't begin without the Thomas Crown Affair (1999) soundtrack. It was the medium through which I became enlightened and also, it doesn't hurt that I'd totally do Pierce Brosnan in this movie and that he's doing Rene Russo who is a total hottie in the movie as well. Who doesn't want to be rich, famous with a great looking lover and stealing shit? Count me in -
• Next up, songs I'd love to crawl from bed to the shower with... or song that, given the context in which they appear in the movies, totally provide a visual representation of how the process of bed-floor-shower works for me. These include The Blue Wrath (Shaun of the Dead), A.M. 180 (28 Days Later) and the Amelie Poulain Theme (you guessed it, Amelie Poulain )
• From here on out is the daily 'being awake' time: morning, afternoon, evening, etc. I associate different moods with these songs -
  

1. M.I.A - Paper Planes (Pineapple Express) - I know everyone does it so I am not ashamed of admitting it: dance to yourself all alone. I act out this song, I mouth the songs, I thug it out... I really get into it and it's does moments when you feel great and with a tad too much energy.
2. Lustra - Scotty Doesn't Know (Eurotrip) - Not only one of my favorites movies but also one of my favorite songs. This songs definitely the one when I have way too much energy. I jump around, sing it, play the movie and act out the scenes and say the lines as if I'd seen the movie 15 times ( I have)
3. If I were walking down the street and these songs were my background music, everyone better get the fuck out of the way 'cause I'm taking you down:  Jack White & Alicia Keys - Another Way to Die (007 : Quantum of Solace); Chris Cornell - You Know my Name ( 007 : Casino Royale); Ventures - Pulp Fiction Theme (Pulp Fiction);  Moby - Extreme Ways (Bourne Trilogy). Yeah, nobody can lay a finger on me - 
4. You're the one that I want - Grease (Grease), Les Champs-Elysee - Joe Dassin (Darjeeling Limited); Singing in the Rain - Gene Kelly (Singing in the Rain); The a la Menthe - La Caution (Ocean's Twelve) and 99 Red Balloons - Goldfinger (Eurotrip) are songs that simply could play the rest of the day and there would be no way I could have a crappy day. Just thinking of Singing in the Rain makes me smile :)
   
   
   
   

Now for subway waiting, there is no better song I can think of than Rob Dougan's - Clubbed to Death (Enter the Matrix). It is simply great. I could take agents, oversized rats, bums, I could slow down time, teleport, fly, learn kung-fu and dodge bullets with this song on... who knows, maybe I really need all those things being in New York...

If I were going out, there's only one song: What is Love - Haddaway (A Night at the Roxbury). 'nuff said

Going to bed has it's own feeling and L'Appuntamento (Ocean's Twelve) could work just as well to fall asleep to or a great afternoon at the beach. Being winter, I will use it to go to bed. Also, the Lion Sleeps Tonight (the Lion King) can serve the 'going to bed' purpose.

Now, Sundays have their own little song, Jewel's Leaving on a Jet Plane (Armageddon). If you need some splanning, then ask Delphine.

And last, but not least, my day could not be complete without Dirty Vega's Days Go By. That song is always playing in the background...

Finally... the playlist -

If I had theme music...

omfgg.

I make no secret of my distaste for teen dramas. By middle school I was already watching The Daily Show (my favorite bit was "Even Stevphen" -- you guessed it -- pre-Office Carell debating pre-Report Colbert). Most of the people I know who watch Gossip Girl are old O.C. fans who soon realized that Manhattan is the only place on earth more pretentious than Orange County. In fact, a very good friend of mine recently accompanied me to Brooklyn solely to see where Dan lived. I just couldn't sympathize with their ridiculous problems... unless there were a plot twist in which Blair were somehow airlifted into Bosnia.

But I digress. My point is, I begrudgingly admit that these shows have some of the best soundtracks ever assembled. It confuses me additionally since I am sure that the majority of viewers are probably not familiar with the artists themselves. The Walkmen, Jeff Buckley, The Kills, Kasabian, LCD Soundsystem, Kaiser Chiefs, Of Montreal, Stars, The Virgins, The Kooks, Imogen Heap, Franz Ferdinand -- musicians from the indie mainstream, yes, but not necessarily aligned with the audience demographic. This has always puzzled me. Also, shows like Grey's Anatomy have catapulted plenty of artists from obscurity to stardom in seconds flat. This is mostly because Shonda Rhimes, who hand-picks the soundtrack, has a fantastic taste in music. Still, the actual events take precedence over the background music, and sometimes viewers aren't really listening, but economics-obsessed as I am, I have to wonder what the marketing gains are behind these choices.

An NME reviewer of Coldplay mentioned their uncanny ability to sneak commercially nonpalatable influences into mainstream music. Maybe these shows do something similar (not that I would EVER compare Chuck Bass to Chris Martin; and may I add, who names their kid "Chuck Bass" outside of the Appalachians?). Some very underrated early B-sides and EP songs pop up on these shows, like "Walnut Tree": Keane back when they didn't go all 80s, and "Specialist": Interpol at their very best and required listening for anyone who knows me. So props to whoever plans the soundtracks for this stuff -- you have stolen my indie heart.

omfgg.

side note: I would be remiss in my journalistic duties if I didn't issue a correction to my first post: Paul Banks has actually worn argyle for quite some time. As have I. And occasionally he will have lapses in fashion judgment but I will let it go, not just because he can quote Zoolander, and is the only person on earth who could pull off this haircut, but also because he is amazing. (Think about the line "if time is my vessel, then learning to love might be my way back to sea" for more than 30 seconds and you will have an aneurysm guaranteed or your money back.) Also, I have decided to make him a running joke throughout this blog, so I may continue my hero worship unabated beneath a thin veil of irony. Though the best part of this video is the guy in the gas mask:

barely legal (part deux)

Hello, my name is Gussiepoo and I am a recovering Napsterite, Kazaaite, Limewire-ite.

I, like the next commie filthy downloader, have to agree that though there is some inherent guilt in downloading full albums without ponying up a single cent, there isn't a single thing as rewarding as the sound of your newest favorite track coming from your 'Altec Lansings'. The problem I find with the old way of acquiring music was that it wasn't economically sensible. You had to pay 12, 14, 18 bucks for two songs you liked, one song that grew on you after the 13th listen and then 11 songs that you could care less about. You could give them away and people still wouldn't take them. That's why I agree, the advent of Amazon Digital Music/MP3 store and iTunes has revolutionized the way we build our personal repertoire of tunes. Gone are the days of buying CDs for the one song the artist made that you like. Even if now the people at Apple are applying even more economic insight to their iTunes store and price discriminate, they are able to extract all the consumer surplus without a complaint.
In fact, Amazon's digital downloads, of very high quality, are considerably cheaper than purchasing a CD. At about 1 dollar a song, you can get full CDs via the internet without the trouble of delivery charges (though most CDs are being shipped from most providers free of charge) and taking up space or getting scratched. Why are you going to pay $11.49 for a CD version of Day and Age if you can get it for $8.99? You are still going to rip it to your hard drive, make a digital copy and copy it over to your iPhone, iPod, Sansa, Zune, or you mp3 player of choice.
I will not exhaust the reader with another run through of the opportunities to acquire free music on the world wide web because, personally, though I exalt the virtues of digital music over the internet, I myself still purchase CDs. Odd, I know.

Allow me, before I tell you why and proceed to share with you some songs from my recent purchases, to bring to your attention a great resource for charge-less music.

Mercedes Benz maintains a website dubbed Mercedes-Benz.tv. Every couple of months, they release their 'Mixed Tapes' which shines a light on new, up and coming artist. They publish a digital record and make it available to any visitor to download for their enjoyment. I have the 24 installments published and let me tell you, if you like to listen to music that is different that what you get on the radio, give these a try.
Try Mercedes-Benz.tv for mixed tape #24 and check out this site for the previous 23.

In any case, back to my irrational waste of $$$ on CDs.
I still buy CDs because I realized long ago two things: I) Artists are in it because of their love for the art and for money. II) Artists need CDs purchases to fund their crack addictions and without my purchase of their CD, I cannot support the music I like and possibly, no more such music will be produced. Hence my dilemma: why pay for a CD when I don't like all the songs if I can purchase the songs I like directly from an online source.
Solution: buy CDs that fit any of my three criteria:
i) I like the artist and have previewed the CD somewhere/somehow. This means, don't buy a CD in hopes that you'll like; buy a CD you already know you like.
ii) Buy a CD from an artist that you could attend a three hour concert and not get bored. Electronic music fits this profile since I don't necessarily like every track on the CD but all the tracks are required for a wonderful set. I will buy Electronic music CDs without hesitation.
iii) Buy a CD that is part of a collection. This is probably the single most important reason I buys CDs. I continue to purchase CDs because I wish to complete the collection. That is the reason I bought Tiesto's 'In Search of Sunrise', the reason I have the Cafe del Mar CDs, the Hotel Costes CDs, the Global Undergound CDs, etc. I can't have 1 & 3 without 2 & 4. I just can't and thus, I purchase the following productions even if they represent a small increment in my welfare or utility (to revert to economic terminology.

BUT why a physical CD if I have the digital versions and I rip them to my computer anyway once I receive them.
This too fits three criteria:
a) I see them as any other collectible: shot glasses, flags, pins rocks, etc. They reflect the owners interest and are a tangible good that you own. Why spent 9 bucks on a digital purchase if 12 bucks will get you the digital version and a nifty booklet, CD case, pretty pictures and something you can sell during hard times.
b) It is much more satisfying to pry open the CD case and tear apart the plastic cover than to double click a file on your desktop. Honest.
c) A CD purchase helps drive businesses in developing countries and bring people out of poverty... OK, I lie. CDs look pretty all stacked up against one another. OK! I like how they look on my wall/shelf/bookcase.

I have to say, ultimately, I realized that the purchase of physical CDs was about status and stature.
The single most impressive thing I experienced at a friend's house when I visited was not their amazing penthouse, their view, the luxury of the finishing or the gorgeous furniture. It wasn't the great technology at hand or the fact that you walk around and get lost in their apartment.
It was the hundreds of CDs her father kept in his home office stacked against a wall. They were begging to be touched, admired, sorted and listened to. Nothing could have decorated that wall better. The sight, actually made me a little hot.

I am a troubled mind that won't pay 99 cents for the newest Katy Perry song but will dish out 25 dollars for an obscure lounge artists with a cafe somewhere in the Adriatic sea. Thank goodness late night infomercials sell kitchen rags and power tools and not Electronic music CDs.

Here is my list of some favorite songs from recently purchased music of which I own a physical copy. Come over sometime, I can lend you my copy :)

The Purchases

barely legal.

Unless you belong to a lost Amazon tribe, you've probably heard that there's a recession going on. Even the most oblivious Ivy League Trustafarian is thinking twice before sunbathing off the southern coast of St. Barts with spider monkeys. Between paying for their subprime mortgages, the auto bailout and Bernie Madoff's new Bentley, people are, as my econ prof would say, credit-constrained. Meanwhile, the music industry, like the Big Three, needs a makeover; many musicians are choosing to leave major labels, or even to "do a Radiohead" aka pay-as-you-want online scheme. As a result, more of us will undoubtedly turn to a certain series of tubes -- the Internet -- to get our fix. Music blogs, bit torrent sites, online streaming sites, file sharing programs, and artist-sponsored free downloads are changing the way music is sold and/or pirated.

The music industry's general discomfort with the Internet is hardly news, but paying nothing or next-to-nothing for digital music is now common practice for millions of people. According to the New York Times, In Rainbows was downloaded in places as far as North Korea and Afghanistan (Is Kim Jong Il a Radiohead fan??). The album was far more profitable than its predecessor, yet only 2 out of every 5 downloaders actually paid for it: what does this mean? While we often don't publicly admit to it, a significant percentage of audiophiles and people in general are, in the immortal words of Russell Peters, a bunch of filthy downloaders.

Still, so long as Apple and its many imitators continue to innovate, record company CEOs will probably continue wiping themselves with Benjamins. After all, not all downloaders are cheapskates like yours truly, who would probably still be listening to N*SYNC had The Hype Machine never been invented. The major success of iTunes and its ilk seems to show that people do have some intrinsic moral guilt about free music (or so I think anyway). There's also an incentive; iTunes claims to offer better-quality sound, though I'm not sure how much the average listener cares.

I won't even get into intellectual property debates; it's a slippery slope, considering how vague and theoretical the arguments can be. As an expert pinko commie filthy downloader, the idea of free music is dear to my heart, yet I find it hard to justify. Art and money have been interconnected throughout history, and that idea has practical substance. Alex Kapranos, a one-time IT lecturer, once said that he and the rest of Franz Ferdinand "aren't too keen on greasing the wheels of capitalism"; but then again, could he afford to make such brilliant music if he were still stuck in Glasgow U., going on about Java or algorithms or something? Will we eventually have to subsidize musicians a la the Canadian government?

Confusing stuff... but anyway, enjoy some of my favorite songs that were at some point given away legally for free by artists and/or iTunes:

barely legal.

And while we're talking about Russell Peters, he's got a new CD out soon, which I really ought to purchase legally.