Indie Invasions

2007 destines to be a marvelous and exciting year for indie scenes. In January, The Shins‘ Wincing The Night Away debuted at No.2 on the Billboard 200, and now we have another phenomenon.

Eagerly anticipated sophomore album, Neon Bible, from this Montreal-based new hot sensation, Arcade Fire, just likewise embraced an amazing No.2 on Billboard, for 92,000 copies moved in its first week. It seems their international tours and live gigs pulled a massive growth of huge devotees over the world. Even the Weekly Top Chart of Last.fm is overwhelmingly taken over by this 7-piece band. Awesome!

Neon Bible comes in standard edition and special edition. The later contains one cardboard box with 3D cover art (a neon bible, of course), a booklet with lyrics (context arranged as Bible, you will know what I mean) and 2 flip books designed by the band. Compared to their 2004/2005 debut The Funeral wrapped in only paper case (not saying the quality is not good though), this is really extravagant to own. I think we probably should thank Mercury UK for its distribution. But, to support the indie label Merge Records, please purchase it here.

Related news can be found on Pitchfork and CMJ. To find out their promo tour schedule, please go here.

Check out their brilliant live performance of “Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)” on Later with Jools Holland (BBC).

Queen Bjork release Volta in May

I was just thinking about the answer when people ask me, “who is your favorite artist?” then I saw this title on my personal start page.

Icelandic alternative queen Bjork, my all-time favorite, is going to release her latest studio album in May. “Volta” is the name. 10 songs produced by herself and guest list includes infamous hip-hop producer Timbaland (he DOES produce everyone!), two African artists, and a Chinese pipa player(!!). It is extraordinarily surprising to know that after Medulla which has Japanese collaborator, now Chinese tradional instrument will have its place in her music. Exciting!!

Thorough information please check her official website here.

For warming up, let’s review one of her best singles “Pagan Poetry”, live in Riverside Church, New York, 2001.

Access or Authority?

It is a strange feeling when you think you should be able to get certain things in advance through your access to official authority, when another resource access to you one step ahead. I am talking about news of music business, and all the Pitchfork’s credits!

Here is some news I found there before I got any info from my official connections (which is indicated, here, to the International Marketing head office):

• Beck with Deluxe Information

On Feb. 27, Beck is putting out a 3-disc set Deluxe Edition of his 2006 sparkly fine work “The Information”. All the fans that have already purchased the original album would probably get angry this time, since the extra goodies of being Deluxe will contain 3 more bonus tracks, 6 remixes featuring not surprising but amusing fellows such as Jamie Lidell and TV on the Radio, and 1 video disc, which has not only all the Beck’s homemade videos, but also 2 videos for bonus tracks and 2 music videos directed by Patrick Daughters and Michel Gondry(!). And the DIY stickers “make-your-own-cover” fun stays on! This is Deluxe!

• Feist with New Reminder

Canadian girl Feist announced her new album “The Reminder” would be the follow-up of her debut “Let Id Die”, which qualified as the fashion lovers and local intellectuals’ pop soundtrack. It is said electro soul talent Jamie Lidell(again!) and her fellow old-time collaborator Gonzalez will both appear. Maybe after Peaches, Broken Social Scene, and her own lazy groovy cover of Bee Gees, we can still expect something new!

• Coachella 2007 Oh-My-God!

Just check the line-up and you will know why it’s time to take sedative or go buy the tickets! It almost makes me feel sinful because I got a job therefore not be able to just leave and go…

For those poor labors who might as well fail to rock in the festival, here is Beck’s “Nausea” music video by Patrick Daughters (who also directed Feist’s lovely “Mushaboom“, which was a commercial tune for Lacoste), and now be amased by gloomily sharp Michel Gondry for Beck’s “Cellphone’s Dead”.

Let’s play with the 79th Oscars

All the movie goers in Taiwan may never realize how much they rely on Chinese subtitles until they face this: Movie Quotes Game.

I had this game with my boy at the dinner table on his mom’s birthday. I remember my quotes were “Good sir? I heard you were a poet,” and “I’ll never let go. I’ll never let go, Jack.” Aren’t they easy to guess? This year, the 79th Annual Academy Awards plays it to all you movie buffs. From OBLIQUITY, I read that the Academy paid homage to memorable quotes of the films it has honored. Check out the poster!

Among those listed 105 quotes, my boy and I could recognise the following ones. Go to OBLIQUITY to find out the rest. Let’s have a game!

1. “It was beauty killed the beast.”
6. “I’ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!”
8. “Rosebud.”
9. “Here’s looking at you, kid.”
14. “Frailty, thy name is woman!”
20. “STELLA!”
37. “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”
44. “Open the pod bay doors, HAL.”
53. “Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.”
58. “Rocky!”
62. “The Force is strong with this one!”
63. “I’m Luke Skywalker. I’m here to rescue you.”
64. “May the Force be with you.”
65. “My name is Bond. James Bond.”
69. “I am not an animal. I am a human being. I am a man.”
71. “E.T. phone home.”
84. “Good evening, Clarice.”
85. “You can’t handle the truth!”
88. “My Momma always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”
89. “That’ll do pig. That’ll do.”
90. “Show me the money!”
91. “You had me at hello.”
92. “I’m the king of the world!”
95. “Off The Records, on the QT, and very Hush-Hush.”
97. “Remember those posters that said ‘Today is the first day of the rest of your life’? Well, that’s true of every day except one - the day you die.”
98. “My name is Gladiator.”
99. “Wilson!”
100. “Frodo!”
101. “Give ‘em the old razzle dazzle.”
105. “I wish I knew how to quit you.”

At least, we all vividly remember the last quote, don’t we?

The Fall of record industry (not music business, yet)

For a long time I have hated commercial mainstream record industry. That’s correct. I mean Universal, Sony, BMG, Warner, and EMI, these former Big Five record labels. (They became Big Four after Sony and BMG jointed in 2004.) Those global business companies which dominated over 80% of music market, still in 2005.

Except some labels they owned or purchased, I thought they only produce crappy popular music, and sometimes it doesn’t even qualify as music; pure products, that’s what they are. That was when I was still in the university, just made my initial contact to indie music and indie labels, 4AD and Rough Trade and so on, which I immediately fell in love with. I was having my own show on campus radio, Voice of NCCU FM88.7. I played indie bands, such as Belle and Sebastian and Cocteau Twins, and “educated” my audience to open up their mind to get to the other side of so-called mainstream music. I was bold and naive. Who was I to decide what music people should listen to? But so is the market. Why should we listen to the market? Nevertheless, that’s the prerogative of youth, to be somewhat smug and have some ego tripping. And I did enjoy the experience of sharing music to people.

After more years of observations of international music market and commercial system, and also being more aware of freedom (free will) and the natural law of this world, I realized that business system itself does no harm to music, and is also somehow necessary. First, people(consumers) can learn to choose the access to the information they need, especially with the internet nowadays. They can choose to be exposed to commercials from mass media, just like talented musicians and artists can choose to earn the money by selling music and rights, and maybe making a big fortune if they are really that “good”. Some artists will choose the non-profit way to spread their work, and that’s their choices too. The laws and the marketing mechanism should protect this freedom of people. Secondly, being part of pop culture, popular music is supposed to offer more than “pure music”. It is awkwardly excluded from art but meanwhile being part of the art of time. I mean, the basic definition of art should be something can arouse your emotions, invoke your memories, or bring out your resonance. If someone is willing to be pleased by a pop star, why criticize or look down on him/her just because you like different things? At last, I believe everything comes in comparisons. If there is no profit-oriented music, how do we get stimulated to find other art-crafted work? If there is no mainstream, how would indie music originate? And to be honest, indie labels would follow the marketing examples of mainstream labels, also the latter would find artistic inspirations from the former. Get rid of the boundary. Take it as what it is, and find your own favorite.

However, with the current format of music changing from physical records to digital files and live streams, Big Four know they can not hold on to their traditional method to make profit anymore. They adapted to the current and managed to give impetus to legal (commercial) digital downloads, and also the accessional value of music, including ringtone and ringback tone downloads. This move seems working but not efficient enough to save the massive drop of revenue. As working in Universal Music Taiwan, I get the chance to see and practice how international pop music markets locally. What I see is the apparent downgrading. Some big labels keep reducing the staff to an extremely tight condition, and some even let the mandarin division (local department) to do the work. Today, not surprisingly, on CMJ, I read the news about EMI fires two top executives. Herald Tribune covered much detailed news about it. I have to say it is not optimistic at all, to shake the balance of market. Without virtuous competition, this industry would not make progress. Also, lack of options, consumers would become estranged to the field.

So why are you still sitting here? Go to the record stores and purchase some music you like. Do it here is ok too. Ooops. I still dream about working for indie labels.