Downloading

Everyone downloads. Its no secret and I fully support it. Shit, thats how i've gotten into just about all the music that I listen to. But still, I buy cds and lps. Partly because I love my collection and the experience of acquiring a piece of music after the anticipation builded up (its like Christmas), but also because I like to support bands.

If you think that downloading an artists album doesn't hurt them, your simply wrong. The capital inflow of a label/band is very important and album sales is a major contributor to getting bands on tours, promotions, marketing, merchandise and generally keeping the band growing and sustaining.

Two blogs that EVERYONE should read about downloading and its effects on the independent artist are by two people that I highly respect and are doing some of the best and progressive things in all of music, John Gourley of Portugal. The Man and Cathy Pellow of Sargent House(Rx Bandits, Russian Cirles, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez) and they put into perspective just how much each purchase of an album means. Here are their links;

Sargent House Blog

Portugal. The Man Blog

Now these two people know full well that downloading has helped their acts grow and achieve the success that they have. Gourley and Portugal. the Man were one of the first to fully support it, even leaking their 2007 album Church Mouth two weeks early themselves. Sargent House also allow all of their albums for streaming on sites like
band camp and last.fm.

Sargent House is urging people to buy their artist Rx Bandits new record not for money, but to push their music into the limelight. If all fans of Rx Bandits abought their record when they come out next week, they say they would debut in the top ten on the Billboard charts, providing another reason to support artists you enjoy, to get shitty music off the airwaves and tv!! Still whether these calls to action will be taken seriously remains to be see, but they do provide insight to the other side of downloading.

I urge everyone to buy these two records and to support two great bands, Rx and Portugal. The Man, with both their new albums coming out this Tuesday. And for the next two days the new Rx album is only $3, so definitely hop on that.



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Panic at the Disco Split

So two members of Panic at the Disco, guitarist/songwriter Ryan Ross and Bassist John Walker, quit the band last week. First announced without a reason, it has become quite evident from the new tunes that have emerged exactly why it happened.

By the sound of things it seems like these two want to go more the way of The Beatles inspired Pretty. Odd., which i enjoyed, while the others want to regain their pop-punk stardom.




A new song by the touring keyboardist and bassist's side project, Hillside Session ( which can be heard/downloaded here) is better than just about anything Panic has ever done, and certainly what it sounds like the remaining members are going to create (which you can get a taste of here.) As for the upcoming Blink 182 tour, members of The Wombats will be joining the remaining members for the dates.

Pretty. Odd. - Panic! At The D...

Pretty. Odd. was an enjoyable record for fans of good pop songs, and if its even possible, was a more accessible version, for this generation anyway, of The Beatles. The new project should be intriguing seeing as Ryan Ross has already mentioned The Beach Boys as a key influence on the new record.

It will also be interesting to see if they stay with pop punk main stay Decaydance or go off on their own way. Hopefully they won't even try to please the pop punk crowd and instead will create some more interesting music, hopefully in the vein of Hillside Session or Pretty. Odd. I'll be listening and waiting to find out.

New Portugal. The Man

One of my favorite bands in the world, Portugal. The Man, is putting out a new record, The Satanic Satanist , in July and I couldn't be more excited. Not only from them putting on one of the best shows I've seen or my being completely enthralled with each of their albums, but also from their new track "People Say" which you can download here.

This song just gets me all excited for the continuing evolution that is their sound. With each album they've completely reinvented their sound and each time for the best, with time being no exception I'm sure.

They also have some more previews up on their website (http://www.portugaltheman.com), but I'm holding out to hear the album in its entirety. This album also has some insane packaging which I won't even try to explain. Just take a look;