Dignified?

Luke Lewis’s blog post on NME.com has got me a little hot under the collar. It’s typical of NME to come out with elitist bollocks like this. I think this, like many other arguments I hear against the new musical economy and the digital culture is based on a rosy view of a past that doesn’t exist any more and never will again. Today’s teenagers will look back on the current period in musical history with the same rose tint that Lewis does on a culture that died 20 years ago.

Undignified he says? I say dynamic, resourceful, damn well commendable. These bands in control of their own destiny. In the ‘halcyon days’ alluded to in the article these ‘indie’ bands were more likely to be at the whim of a suited exec – now that’s undignified.

Perhaps there is less mystique around bands, but that’s not a function of the changing musical landscape but the world as a whole. Unless you’re Deathspell Omega then you’re going to be ridiculously easy to track down and deconstruct.  Mystique was and still is crafted and sculpted by style leaders and journos. Most bands past and present haven’t got a clue how to publicise themselves, some are lucky enough to exude the current mode of ‘cool’ others aren’t, so need to be created by some style guru or cynical exec. This is not new (especially in NME’s world), in some ways it’s the very cornerstone of popular music.

So if you want your favourite band to maintain mystique then stop following them on twitter. and if mystique is so essential to you, then there’s a million underground bands out there that are perfectly obscure and would very much appreciate your patronage.

It’s harder than ever to score a ‘record deal’ in the current climate, though easier than ever to proceed without one, but it’s a hard business. You’ll not only have to do produce all the music, but learn how to record, distribute and promote your own music. So you won’t have a legion of record label culture sculptors to maintain your myspace, regularly post to Twitter, arrange well timed public appearances, and apply the PR mop after your drunken inequities. My Bloody Valentine and Bruce Springsteen did and they’re legend was written, rewritten, sculpted and scrubbed in real time. Dignified you say?

So NME, what self releasing bands really need is a break from your antiquated whining please. Some dignity and mystique wouldn’t go amiss, like you had 30 years ago.

I don’t often act on (or in many cases listen to) unsolicited review requests that arrive via Myspace mail, but the one I received from Fuck the Facts caught my eye. Firstly, they actually bothered to personalise the message, secondly they offered to give out their tracks to anyone who would review (or in any way promote) them, and thirdly they mentioned that they were self releasing. I get countless grammatically dubious mails via Myspace (not to mention the ones via direct email, blog comments, etc.) that say something like “nice profile, hows trix check us out if you get a sec , if not that’s cool” (that’s a real one from a band who shall not be named) and expect me to bother spending time listening to, and reviewing their band when they can’t be bothered to even formally introduce themselves!

By chance I also saw Cosmo Lee’s review on Invisible Oranges so I decided to check them out. The music is an amusing mix of early Dillinger Escape Plan (minus the jazz/spazz) with elements of black and death metal (most notably Morbid Angel) which could broadly be described as Grindcore. A must for fans of Ted Maul and their ilk. It’s short, violent and to the point. Excellent stuff.

What’s more interesting is the way they are releasing it. They’re doing a limited run of  500 copies of the EP on vinyl, the packaging of which is hand made. Anyone who orders it gets a code to go download the the MP3′s for free. This is enterprising and very forward thinking and anyone who’s spent any time reading my overly impassioned musings on self releasing will know that I approve. It also has a real personal touch that will make the hard copies very collectable. The download mechanism is handled by a site called Bandcamp, which is totally new to me. You can stream your music and offer both free and paid downloads (including an option to off ‘pay what you want’) and well as generally promote your band. It’s an interesting service and one that I’m going to write a bit more about – watch this space.

So go give Fuck the Facts a leg up, because this this sort of behaviour should be rewarded!