The Raconteurs, Jack White's indie band side project, is following in the footsteps of Radiohead, releasing its new LP, Consolers of the Lonely, directly to consumers. I think we're at a point where we'll see more and more established yet untethered artists go the way of a direct to consumer model.
This byte is also good news, as the last Raconteurs album was one of my favorites of 2006. Level and Hands are really good songs. Looking forward to the new one.
Link courtesy of extratexture.com.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
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Ok, so I think at its heart this is a cool idea, and I'm all for an innovation that allows listeners and bands connect with each other. But these guys need to stop. I've got no problem downloading a song from iTunes or somewhere else to check it out, for 99 cents or for free. But I have a problem [of course] downloading a full album. At least one I actually want to listen to.
Call me a snob, or a Luddite, or a douchebag, but in reality I'm just a music lover, and until these guys want to post their albums as something other than shitty, lossy MP3 files, I think I'll splurge on the hard copy. For my trouble I'll get some album art and lyrics to look at as I listen to my new album for the first time, not to mention about ten times more "music."
Don't forget that the only way they can fit five or ten thousand songs on your iPod is to chop roughly 90% of the information from the original file [the recording], which completely and mercilessly guts the high end and muddys the bass and vocals. Anyone with a halfway decent little shelf system and the hearing of a 60 year old helicopter pilot should be able to clearly hear the difference between an MP3 or AAC and a CD. Someone with a good stereo, well ...
Just compare before you buy [or steal]. Plug your iPod into your stereo and compare it with a CD from your collection. For the best illustration, pick something with clear vocals, clean, low bass and a crisp, jangly high end. It's not unlike the difference between a DVD and an MPEG file. In fact [and I'm no tech expert] I think that's exactly what it's like, technically. Seeing as how people are flocking to HD video, I don't see why more people aren't so discriminating with their music.
I'm not an iPod hater either. But the iPod is good because of its design features, not because music sounds particularly good coming out of it. Playing MP3 as your ONLY form of audio is like living out of a shaving kit.
Sorry to rail, but hey this is a blog ...
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