bad diary days

About two weeks ago at the MacWorld Expo, there were a couple of non-announcements - one being that iTunes Store pricing was going to change. From what people told me, there would now be two price points - some songs would drop down to $0.69 (with DRM protection) while DRM-free songs would be marked up to $1.29. But that’s not actually the explanation for the new pricing format.

Apple has marked down some songs to $0.69 (I have yet to find any of these while searching for music), kept others at $0.99 and then set a third tier of more popular songs at $1.29 each.

For a music fan like me who has that immediate itch to hear something, I have absolutely no qualms with actually PAYING for my music. As a result, I use the iTunes store a lot, and I usually spend about $60-70 per month on music (in the form of 6-7 albums) there. Every album I’ve purchased has been $9.99 or $6.99 (sometimes they have ’sales’).

Ever since this announcement though, I’ve noticed that every single album I’ve tried to buy has been $11.99.

If you’ve even set foot into an actual record store in the past three years you’ll know that $11.99 for a DIGITAL version of an album is a complete ripoff - most albums can be had for a dollar or two more, and in the case of popular/top 40 albums, it costs the consumer LESS to purchase the physical CD.

HMV sells several hundred different CDs every week that are priced at two for $20 or two for $25. Even the more expensive CDs in this case cost $12.50 each - that’s less than a dollar more than buying it on iTunes, and you get the physical CD to put on your shelf, plus the liner notes, etc. And you can just burn the album yourself to dump it on your mp3 player. Some of HMV’s CDs are FIVE DOLLARS. Future Shop sells CDs for $10 and even Rotate and other douchey record stores sell them for $12 or $13.

Why would I pay $11.99 for a digital album on iTunes when I can buy the physical CD for less in store, or even the vinyl + digital download for a few dollars more? Disobeying the psychological barrier of $0.99 has worked on me -  this whole thing has been such a turnoff that I’ve gone from buying six albums a month to zero albums.

Apple has stated that “the risks of the strategy — that consumers will be confused or turned away — have declined a lot since iTunes launched with uniform pricing in 2003.” Apple currently has an estimated 80 percent share of the digital download market…I wonder if this will change with the varied pricing now.

Dark Was The Night is a forthcoming two-disc AIDS charity compilation organized by The Red Hot Organization (who are also behind Red Hot + Blue). There are 31 great tracks on the album (out February 17), but there’s one that stands out furiously among the rest, and naturally it’s by Grizzly Bear.

Service Bell isn’t a new song - it appeared on 2005’s Horn Of Plenty - but this is a reworked version featuring Feist on vocals instead of just the boys from Grizzly Bear. The addition of Feist (who I am normally not even a fan of) is outstanding. The new version is 23 seconds longer than the original, yet it still clocks in at only 2:24 long.

Whereas the original Service Bell is backed by only an acoustic guitar, over-reverbed male vocals and some indistinguishable backing lyrics, this new version has a dozen more beautiful layers added to make it such a spectacular upgrade. Feist’s super delicate voice, layered male harmonies and some sort of tuba or other brass in the background along with percussion help the song crescendo into Beirut-esque territory at 1:00 before it simmers back down at the 1:36 mark.

Grizzly Bear featuring Feist - Service Bell

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Compare to the original version [YouTube].

Lyrics:
I keep a service bell by my bed for you
let the others do what they do
I will hold on
hold on
hold on

I keep a service bell by my bed for you

I have so much love for the new Oasis album Dig Out Your Soul, with the Liam-penned I’m Outta Time being one of my top picks from the album (Waiting For The Rapture & Bag It Up being two others. Oasis fans will know that Liam Gallagher is the mouthpiece (both in voice and snappy attitude) for the band, and that he leaves the songwriting and musical talent to his brother Noel.

Liam’s written about a dozen songs throughout Oasis’ career, but never any that were (IMO at least) worth discussing - Don’t Believe The Truth’s Songbird was OK I suppose. But now the band’s chosen I’m Outta Time as the second-ever Liam-contributed single and it was an excellent decision.

The song is allegedly Liam’s love letter to The Beatles’ John Lennon and it shows. The song sounds a LOT like something The Beatles would have done and even borrows a John Lennon interview soundclip (”As Churchill said, it’s every Englishman’s inalienable right to live where the hell he likes. What’s it going to do, vanish? Is it not going to be there when I get back?”).

When you compare this excellent remix by Twiggy Ramirez (included on the single version of I’m Outta Time) to the original, the song remains essentially intact and recognizable, but it’s “enhanced” in a bunch of ways. If you didn’t already know this, Twiggy Ramirez (aka Jeordie White) is the bass player for Marilyn Manson, and formerly A Perfect Circle and NIN. Oh, and apparently he makes a killer Oasis remix. Who knew?

There’s the omission of the xylophone and “la la la”s to open the song and their replacement with a ticking clock throughout. At first the ticking sounds like it may even be too literal, but it totally works with the more urgent drums. The first set of drums starts about a minute in and when the chorus kicks in at 1:20, it’s a full-on snare party. I just love how powerful the drums sound in the remixed version. Another example of a remix that’s as good, if not better, than the original.

Have a listen and let me know what you think.

Oasis - I’m Outta Time (Twiggy Ramirez Remix)

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Before the days of music blogs, RIYL and Last.fm, I relied on the artist recommendations of a very choice collection of friends. This assortment of acquaintances was infinitely cooler than me (at least when it came to their taste in music) and always had the best and most eager music recommendations for me, customized to the kind of stuff that I liked and didn’t already know about. They were always wary of overwhelming me with new picks, and carefully guided me when it came to opening my eyes to a new musical genre or record label. I’m going to chronicle my time with each of these special people in another post as a special thanks to paving the way for my current obsession with music, but for now, a few words about the ‘work’ that goes into discovering new music.

Finding new music was both harder AND easier back then (I’d say “back then” refers to any time before ~2002). Here’s how.

Ways that it was harder…
Most of the time, discovering new bands meant you had to read obscure music rags, hang out in record stores and eavesdrop on conversations a la High Fidelity, listen to late-night college radio or subscribe to indie label newsgroups that were often painful to sift through. Or you’d watch Citylimits, The Wedge or The NewMusic. Back when it a) actually showcased NEW music and b) existed.

There was also the ambitious mixtape or CD “tree”, which was a well-meaning physical mailing list round robin that usually got derailed almost immediately after it began - a dozen or more people around the globe would sign up via a message board and someone would curate the list - they’d collect everyone’s name and address, decide on a logical sending order and send it out to the group. Each person would spend days or weeks creating the most perfect mix of songs with which to impress the group - I mean, sometimes you’d end up with a dud tape from someone who only listened to speed metal or Bob Dylan, but for the most part every tape had completely different music on it. Shit you never would have heard of or listened to if you weren’t part of the mailing list. It only took one person to fuck up the entire process by not mailing their tape on time, but thankfully most people in my group were unwavering in their passion for seeking out new music. Every two weeks, you’d part with whatever tape was in your hands and send it to the next person on the list - but not before taping it for yourself and copying down the song list.

Ways that it was easier…
Your musical discoveries were essentially your own because you worked for them and because of that, you were fiercely proud and protective of your finds. This wasn’t a case of music snobbery - it was a case of music mentorship. When you told someone about a new band you’d discovered, there was a story behind how you found them. And often the next sentence was “I’ll make you a mixtape”, whereas now it’s “you should listen to this band” plus a link to the band’s MySpace page and a prompt closing of the MSN window. The experience has been completely depersonalized and not at all customized to the way you want the other person to first experience an artist. No wonder people are overwhelmed. It’s too easy to herd someone off to a MySpace page.

When you really love a band, you remember the very first moment that you heard their music - where you were, what the song was and who introduced you to it. Those memories are so special that I sometimes WISH I could go back to the first moment that I heard an artist, just to experience the awe of the discovery all over again.

Today when you read about a new band, it’s often because EVERY music blog has picked up the tip and they’re all just cannibalizing one another, or because Urban Outfitters or American Eagle has a shilled out mix CD of “hand picked” artists playing in their store while you shop, with each album carefully displayed at the front of the store for you to casually notice.

I miss the days of hand-held music discovery. If you’re lucky, you still have some of these special people in your life - the real tastemakers - who have an actual passion for music and the way it’s discovered.