The Contrarian

Chuck Wagon.

Let's talk about Chuck Klosterman's recent Esquire article, "Anyone Seen My $4.2 Billion?" The print edition came out a while ago, but it's just now making the rounds on the 'nets. I saw it on the Dean's List earlier this morning, then — voilà! — it appears on Idolator, complete with snarky comments.

I have a complicated relationship with Chucky; part derision, part jealousy and a smidgen of admiration. I commend him for making a career out of not-terribly-original, predictably broad cultural observations, but it's a bit like Columbus and America: if Klosterman hadn't discovered the "metal nostalgia + whitebread malaise + geeky romanticism = book deal" formula, someone else of his generation surely would've. Maybe even yours truly. Sigh.

Anyway, Klosterman makes some interesting points, but they're couched in his cute-smarmy prose, which is the essay equivalent of a Tina Fey-penned SNL sketch. The central premise:

People hate corporate record labels and love reading about how the industry is failing. As such, the media coverage of plummeting music sales almost always focuses on how labels are losing money. But this coverage usually ignores an economic element that is less tangible but more interesting: What is happening to all the money not being spent on music?

OK, but what about the surge of profits from video game and DVD sales? Professor K continues:

. . .while CDs, DVDs, and video games are physically similar, and they're sold in the same outlet, the experiences they offer aren't logically connected. I don't see why not having to pay for a Band of Horses album would make a person any more likely to buy a copy of Knocked Up, as opposed to buying four gallons of gas or a pair of sunglasses or a turtle. . .

Uh-huh. And the coup de grace:

. . .my specific theory is this: A lot of the money not spent on music in the twenty-first century is being used to pay off credit-card debt that was incurred during the nineties. In other words, not paying for In Rainbows today is helping people eliminate the balance they still owe for buying Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness when they were broke in 1995.

Yay! We can blame it all on Billy Corgan. I know I always do.

Copyleft Hand Path.

Musician-reprobate Chuckles Manson is releasing his new record via Creative Commons license, according to Wired's Listening Post blog.

The article makes the usual assumptions that Manson is just a talentless crazy, which is not at all true. Back in the day, he had the ears of at least two Beach Boys, Neil Young, producer Terry Melcher and countless young STD-incubators. Personally, I'd rather listen to Manson than Devendra Banhart. What's the difference, besides multiple homicide and cleaner production? Oh yeah, Charlie is a better singer.

Haven't heard this stuff yet, but it might not be that great, considering he recorded it in 2005. How's that for music snobbery? "Dude, I don't listen to Manson after '71. He lost his edge after he was incarcerated."

But hey, the CC license means you can share it, remix it, mail it to the pigs in a bloody sack — whatever. They're also offering a CD version, which you can buy for $15. Don't worry, Charlie probably won't see a dime. If he does get paid, I suggest he spend his duckets on laser removal surgery for that horrible forehead tattoo of his.

Call Manson dangerous. Call him manipulative. But don't call him a hack. Dude is the true forefather of "New Weird America," or whatever the genre jargon is. I say let him out now and put him on a bill with Roky Erickson and Brian Wilson and package it as the American Flashback Tour.

I smell merchandising. . . or is that patchouli and paranoia?

Sick But Solid.

Got me a ferocious cold just in time for my trip to Utah tomorrow. Oh, well.

"Gypsy" is a decent late-period Fleetwood Mac song.

Talked to the incredibly brilliant (and indubitably British) Peter Jenner this morning. He was in Old Blighty; I was in my PJs. Early in his career, Peter organized the Hyde Park Free Concerts, which melted many a mind. He also managed a little act called Pink Floyd. These days, he works with Billy Bragg, while simultaneously trying to inject artist-oriented ethics into an industry not known for its moral responsibility. We recorded our conversation; it'll be over at the FMC blog once I get a chance to review and edit it.

Working at the intersection of music, technology, policy and law: fascinating. Talking to heroes and having them actually live up to your expectations: priceless.

Bitter Irony.

Sony/BMG Under Investigation for Software Piracy [WiredBlog]

I mean, do you even need to read it?

SXSW Wrap-Up, PT I

Unidentified metal duo plays on street.

I don't have a ton of time to post, but I figured I'd point you in the direction of Future of Music Coalition's official SXSW activities.

There's a wee bit in there about the "Mobility, Ubiquity and the Monetizing of Music" panel — the one with Sandy Pearlman that I told you about the other day. I still plan on providing a closer look at his theories, but it'll require me going through my notes. I actually need to call him schedule a formal interview. Until either or those things happen, you can check out my reply to this Idolator thread for an overview of sorts.

On Friday night, I got to roam 6th Street with Tim Quirk of Rhapsody, Neda Ulaby of NPR and Ann Powers of Village Voice, New York Times and now, L.A. Times. It was our Policy Director's birthday, so we were feeling pretty celebratory. I was thrilled to rock out with such fun and intelligent humans. Totally worth the hangover.

I missed Enslaved by like five minutes. My co-worker Jean played with The Sadies (among others), which I also missed. Oh, well. I did get to see a couple of songs from She & Him, M. Ward's new partnership with the exquisite Zooey Deschanel. Zooey's no Jenny Lewis, but she's easy on the eyes — even in the harsh hipster glare of pre-dawn South-By.

That's all for now.

"Enhancing Digital Retail" Panel

The blogging panel just wrapped up. Nothing new for me, really. The audience's questions were mostly about how to get noticed by the influential blogs. Yawn.

Ran into Sandy Pearlman during the break; gonna see him on a panel about "remonetizng" music. That should be a good time.

But first it's this panel about digital retail. We'll see how it goes.

UPDATE: This panel is awesome.

Live Blogging the Blog Panel.

Just finished a panel on webcasting rates, moderated by our own Brian Zisk.

Currently, I'm watching a panel on blogging featuring folks from Stereogum, Idolator, Carrie Brownstein of Sleater Kinney (and now NPR), Drowned In Sound and, um, Gerard Cosloy of Matador Records, with whom yours truly has had an interesting blog-based back-and-forth.

It's pretty slow so far, with a polite conversation about the legality of posting music with and without permission. Gerard seems to be straddling the fence between cease and desist-style policing, and enjoying the benefits of free publicity from unlicensed MP3s by developing acts.

Now, Carrie is talking about how the quality of writing is the key to a good blog. Amen, sister.

Cosloy says what makes a good music blog is what used to make good music magazines. Hmmm.

I really love Idolator, and hope to meet Maura after. She seems slightly nervous, though, which is in contrast to her feisty online persona.

I hate MP3 blogs.

Now they're talking about putting out stories before the news is actually confirmed. Well, they ain't vetted journalists. Good thing it's just music, right?

Free Is The New Lame.

Taking a break from arguing with Ben (hard to do — he's got a fascinating mind) to wish everyone a happy weekend.

Brooke and I are gonna look at houses tomorrow with a realtor. Whee!

There's an article in Wired by Chris Anderson (The Long Tail) about how everything in business is destined to be "free." (Does this apply to gasoline and groceries?) Here's two takes on the piece: the first is by Future of Music Coalition's kick-ass intern Alexei Painter (that's his real name!); the second from ex-radio honcho and current music-media whiz Jerry Del Colliano.

For the record, I think Anderson is off the mark here. Believe me, I understand how the internet has undermined certain long-standing business models; I deal with the fallout every day at work. But I don't want to live in a world where recorded music has no value other than to get people to your live show, where they might buy a t-shirt. Mostly because I abhor playing live.  (It's got nothing to do with stage fright, just good old fashioned misanthropy.)  Yet I live for the studio, where I can tweak and experiment to my heart's content.

I've said it before: you wouldn't expect Da Vinci to recreate the Mona Lisa from scratch in one after another dive bar, so  why should musical artists be compelled to regurgitate their songs night after night? Unless they want to, that is. And not all of us do.

Op & Coming.

You do all know about Tape Op Magazine, right? God, I love it. Whether you're a pro recordist or duct tape-and-dreams type, you definitely need to get yourself a subscription. The best part? It's free.

And I can't tell you how many times the message board folks have bailed me out of a crisis. Good people.

You may also have heard about the annual Tape Op Conference, where the guys (and gals) with their hands on the knobs talk about all of the crazy changes in the music/recording world. Recently, the magazine decided to break off from the summit, which has been renamed PotLuckCon. This year's event takes place in New Orleans on June 6-8. I'm going as part of a Future of Music expedition. Should be a geeky good time.

Quick links:

Spies use YouTube to gather intel. Better change my username from Slave2Osama to something more innocuous like TeenGirl69.

Write yourself an e-mail to be sent to the future you at FutureMe.org. I guess you're supposed to think of it as a web-age time capsule. I haven't done it yet (I hardly expect my e-mail to stay the same forever), but I have pondered what I might say to an older, wiser me. Probably something about how much sexier I am.

Hot conspiracy theory: "Are the Bonnaroo Organizers Trying to Fake Out Led Zeppelin Fans?" [Idolator]

After a Long Wonky Day, I Like to Unwind With a Little Catblogging!

This guy is just too cute, even without testicles:

I'm pretty pooped after a full day of policy tech talk at the Congressional Net Caucus. Pretty awesome event, I must say. I'll write more about it later, but if I had to pick the best part right now, it'd be Gigi Sohn from Public Knowledge going toe-to-to with Cary Sherman from the RIAA about ISP filtering schemes to curtail (yeah, right) illegal file-sharing. There were a couple of other folks on the panel, too. . . too tired to get into it at the moment.

Oh, and the discussion about the real-world policy, legal (and social) implications of Second Life was hilarious. And kinda creepy.

Stay tuned. . .