On Episode 67, the Fab Five-Minus-Two discuss “Teh Steve“, the RIAA, and DRM, controlling videogames with your mind (suddenly the Wiimote looks antiquated), and quantum computing is here (sorta, maybe, possibly). Greg Howley delivers another test of your geekitude. Finally, for Bostonians, we relay a plea from a local bookstore and geek haven, an anti-Valentine’s Day, and chocolate at the Langham.
Any comments or suggestions?
Email: Colin, Carl, Captain Damage
Skype: bostongeek
Voice: 1.617.209.4200
All music composed and recorded by Karl Kornfeld.
Uhhhh…yeah I wasn’t compensated for the reviews. I received the beers as part of a promotion, the review was impartial as always.
That was an absolutely awesome comment on Old Rasputin.
So by Carl’s reasoning, his most favoritist band is the one that never released an album he can never listen to? The whole “not supporting a major label” has got to be one of the most inane things I’ve heard on this podcast. Seriously. Yes, the majors put out absolute tripe and then whine when it doesn’t get purchased, but where do you draw the line at “major label”? Is Megaforce a major? Vagrant? Wind Up? Victory? Equal Vision? Roadrunner? Or are you just “anti-Sony”? In any event, saying you won’t purchase a CD even if you like the band just reeks of a 14 year old whining because his favorite band is “big now and everyone likes them and that sucks!”
Chocolate buffet… I’ll actually be there next month as I bought The Boss reservations on the Chocolate Tour for her birthday (which is today, actually) so I’ll let you know how scrumdiddlyumptious it was.
“Hi. My name is Colin, this is my cohost Carl, and this is my other cohost Karl.”
Sounds like Newhart.
Whiny or not, I refuse to purchase a product that so directly helps an association of dinosaurian industry-types at the expense of the artists and the consumers.
So no money to the artist is better than a little money, eh?
It teaches the artist a valuable lesson about backing the wrong horse.
Now that’s just downright laughable.
SOME ARTIST: “Oooh, I got a deal with Universal!”
ME: “But they sue grandmas and kittens for no reason and extort money from them.”
SOME ARTIST: “But I need exposure, I need to sell my music. I got bling!”
ME: “You could sign with an indie label or one of the labels that don’t throw in with the RIAA. Barenaked Ladies, Beck, and numerous other high-profile bands are doing it.”
SOME ARTIST: “But that requires work.”
ME: “Okay, ass-tard. I hope no one ever buys your CD. Ever.”
I’m with Carl. Before I buy any CD, I check RIAA Radar. If it’s a RIAA label, I won’t buy it.
http://riaaradar.com
I’m sorry Russ, but you’re just not looking at it from the perspective I am.
Artists are like any other employee. If you work for a chemical plant, you should know your house might get picketed. Work for the PD, you might get shot.
So using that logc, and assuming that artists aren’t (all) idiots, they know what they are getting into. Sign with a shitty label, deal with the fallout.
Quote: SOME ARTIST: “But that requires work.â€
Don’t lump the manufactured crap in with the bands who finally get vindication after touring for years in broken down vans and sleeping on floors after playing to 30 kids at a DIY show.
I guess that depends on how you define vindication.
If vindication is getting played on WBCN, or being signed by BMG, most would probably call that selling out, if a band has toiled for so long. I point you to Offspring, Metallica, Fallout Boy, and numerous others who lost their original loyal fanbase by going mainstream enough to attract the attention of the major labels.
Remember that the major labels, just about all of whom are part of the RIAA, are NOT interested in music, or art, or anything other than money. And that means pre-packaged, easily digestible tripe. Some of it is more listenable than other stuff, but ti’s still formulaic. After all, the way to make money is not to take risks, which is what ‘art’ is supposed to be about.
Artists who turn over and make this tripe, even after toiling away in so-called obscurity, are selling out, for better or for worse, to a major company who is going to be ruthless, destructive, and go for the buck, trickling pennies to the ‘artist’ along the way.
The artists know this. Or they don’t. So either they are throwing in willingly with the labels, or they are fools. Undeserving of respect in either case.
EDIT: Of course, I am talking about the major labels of the RIAA here, not indie labels and the more responsible major labels that have realized (albeit a little late) that they were dooming themselves.
So by your logic, I love the band Boy Sets Fire. I can buy all their albums, save for “Tomorrow Come Today” because that was released by Wind-Up (the same label as Evanescense, BTW)? Does that make any sense? You can like a band, but you have to not complete their discography because one of their CDs was released by an RIAA label?
It almost pains me … but, I sorta agree with Carl.
In the same way that I would avoid buying tasty ice-cream from a company that, in full disclosure, gave cancer to babies, I try to avoid supporting the RIAA, even if that means not supporting some very good bands. Then again, I can find other ways to support the band, like seeing them in concert or buying their merch.
Why bother seeing them in concert if you don’t buy their music?
Sure, why not?
How is that illogical? Have you never heard a band’s new album only to be sorely disappointed by the direction their music has taken? It’s perfectly okay to not complete a discography. And it might pain me to not have an album I really like, in the rare instance there is something groundbreaking or just really good coming out of a label, but I’m willing to make the sacrifice of not parting with my hard-earned $18 if it will in some small way teach the labels and the artists a lesson.
I bought the Dresden Dolls’ albums. Humanwine and Elizabeth and the Catapult as well. But if they signed with Sony or Universal tomorrow.. I’d write them off. Exactly the same way I wrote Sony off.
When a band throws a concert, most of the money goes to them, the venue, and the promoters, as opposed to the label.
Congrats Carl, you can now file “music and artists” next to “sports” in the “topics Carl shouldn’t talk about on the podcast because he has no idea” category.
Also, unlike Colin, I wouldn’t bother going to their concerts most of the time. By then they’ve turned to shite anyway.
I haven’t seen a concert with a major label artist since Dave Matthews in… ugh, must have been 97 or 98.
Why, because I don’t support extortionists? I don’t buy blood diamonds or fur, and I try to buy fair-trade coffee. What if the best coffee in the world came from farms where the indigenous population was whipped into servitude? Should I buy that coffee because it’s good? If I don’t, does it mean I know nothing about coffee?
Ridiculous assertion to make, isn’t it?
“Everything comes back to porn with Carl.”
*snort*
Hey, ya know… Carl and Karl are basically in agreement on the whole DRM thing. Carl says don’t buy from major labels so as to send a message to the artists. Karl says the artist should be able to choose how their music is handled, which is… essentially what you have. Their choice, if they go with a major label is, essentially, “please DRM my music as you see fit”. If they go indy they have to deal with whether it is or not on their own.
I tend to also believe it should be up to the artist to decide (whether they decide passively or actively). My biggest gripe is when consumers try to muscle in as though they have a right to tell the artist how to decide. Their consumer rights are one thing – they have rights regarding their purchase and that needs to be taken up with our lawmakers -, but the artist’s rights are not tied to that. If the artist chooses poorly (ie – gets totally screwed) they may just have to live with that.
The basic underlying problems here are 1)the business has to change but the big 4 are fighting that and 2)that the [digital] consumer doesn’t have a decent avenue for fair redress and that makes people mad. So Carl arguing for financial redress makes sense, in that respect. It’s not nice for the artists, but… the record industry must change. And they’re not likely to give the artists a more fair deal while they work through this change – they’re going to behave even worse. Screwing the artists even more. So those who have chosen the major label route… will suffer in the end. It’s an evolution that can’t be made pleasant (although I doubt many will follow Carl’s not-budge-an-inch stance).
It’s ugly and going to get uglier.
Speaking of ugly…
I see the fuck-me boots have been trumped by pleas for gay girls to send you pictures and voicemail. Wow… I can’t believe no one’s pointed this out to you yet… but _gay girls don’t like guys or wish to participate in their fantasies_! Amazing but true! But, hey, I hear there’s a gay male podcast that wants you to send in some pics so they can wank off to straight boys. Get right on that. K? ;P
PS – Dave Matthews was shite from the beginning… But that curmudgeonly attitude sounds like something the old man across the street would yell. “You kids with your rock-n-roll noise! Get off my lawn!”
PPS – Anyone find any info on the quantum computer (other than press releases obviously created by d-wave)?
PPPS – Commodore 64 fo evah!
Whoa now. We never said, “Gay girls, please send us your pics.” I am certain I speak for Colin when I say the lesbian community isn’t a huge wank fantasy. I support the whole same-sex marriage thing and all that.
That being said, we said “Girls, please send us your pictures. And if it’s hot girl-on-girl, even better.” Because hot girl-on-girl isn’t the same as gay. Hot girl-on-girl is rarer than hen’s teeth.
Reality: Pair of gay women live together in about the same sort of existence I and my wife do. Get up in the morning looking like hell, watch TV in the evening, cook, clean… not that sexy.
Fantasy: Ultra-hot chick comes home in sexy business suit and meets up with her old college roomate, who happens to be dressed in… I don’t know, a workout outfit. Small pleasantries are exchanged, and before you can say ‘Guccione’, clothes are off, one of the women is in thigh-highs and a garter belt (which I am told aren’t that comfortable), and the saxophone music cues up.
The reality is, gay women aren’t that interesting, hot porno lesbos are.
2 Things
1) I could care less whether a band is major label, RIAA, indie, etc etc. If I like the music, I will buy the CD pure and simple. Fortunately for me, most of the music I like is smaller label product but I could honestly care less about the political chest thumping over the music industry. As long as I get to listen to the music I like, it means nothing to me. If I can find a way to buy the music direct from the say the band’s website I’ll do that usually. And since I heard mention of the subject, the audio quality of music goes as thus from best to worst (at least for me):
A) Live
B) vinyl
C) CD
D) MP3
E) Tape
2) Maggie is my new favorite regular commenter on this site.
“I am certain I speak for Colin when I say the lesbian community isn’t a huge wank fantasy.”
Carl doesn’t not speak for all members of the Boston Geek staff.
Rem, I assume when you say ‘tape’, you mean plain ole audio casettes. Because reel-to-reel is probably ‘B’ on that list.
a) Live
b) Reel-to-reel
c) vinyl
d) CD
e) MP3 (though there is Lossless WAV, which I am fairly certain is better than CD. Karl would know better.)
Yeah I meant audio tape.
In the interest of not only keeping our listenership, not to mention my sense of taste… you’re on your own Rem.
Also, Maggie, it doesn’t always come back to porn with me. It never leaves.
Carl: “… unless you’re uh a gay girl uh in which case, if you’re cute, by all means submit emails to bostongeek.com and uh leave us a voicemail in some sultry voice that we can play…”
Colin: “photos.”
Carl: “ph-photos, yeah photos.” (laughs)
Karl: (laughs)
Colin: “no uh uh I don’t care to see that…”
Karl: (laughs)
Colin: “what? you don’t believe me?”
Carl: “you can even keep a straight face!” (laughs)
*Colin changes subject*
;P
Carl: “The reality is, gay women aren’t that interesting, hot porno lesbos are.”
*sits on couch with her wife eating yogurt with laptops in lap*
Yeah. You’re right about that… Well, the first part, at least.
Porno lesbos are gross. They’re always like weird aliens (with long fingernails, wtf?) who are made to look human.
Okay, well, if you’re going to argue your case with facts, I mean, what the hell am I supposed to do about that?
I did put in the ‘cute’ qualifier, at least.
But what I meants was t.A.T.u. lesbians, not… pick-up-the-morning-paper, walk-the-dog, not-wearing-makeup-or-heels lesbians.
I like aliens… what can I say? It all started when I was 10, and saw A.L.F. for the first time…
Wow! I get home and there’s 31 comments already!
The mantra from the music business classes at MI was “Get a freaking lawyer. You’re just a musician. If you wind up in a lousy contract it’s because you didn’t understand what you were signing.”
What musical medium sounds best depends on a lot of things. “Tape,” can be awe inspiring in the studio or vomit inducing in an old pickup truck. Mp3 depends on bitdepth and conversion algorhythm – they’re not all the same. Live depends on the soundman, system and venue. My old vinyl records sound like I’m making popcorn they’re so scratched up. And then, what are you listening through? Your little iPod earbuds?
Wow Carl, I didn’t know you were into that whole furry scene!
Oh Carl is all about the furries. I can’t go to Boston Commons with him anymore, too many bad memories involving innocent bunnies and squirrels.
Enjoy your favorite releases that are only available on coloured vinyl and released by a German distro only reachable via their Gmail account. I’ll be listening to, well, pretty much everything else under the sun.
Don’t get me wrong – I understand standing up for a cause and refusing to give money to an industry/conglomerate you feel is corrupt. I also agree that the record industry, as a whole, is a giant cesspool. But I’d band members get my $0.15 for every King’s X CD I buy instead of me never listening to or supporting them, or any other band I like for that matter.
And just to hit some specific bands you mentioned – BNL’s entire catalog, save for their latest release, are all via RIAA labels. Holding them up as a shining knight because they’re all financially well off enough to release a boring CD on a non-RIAA label doesn’t cut it. Neither is Metallica a good example, as they’ve always been on a major (MegaForce in the beginning, distro’d by Elektra). Their music just turned to shit after Cliff died, that’s all
Chocolate Buffet followup – good gawd almighty, those desserts are good! I was only able to get 2 plates worth before I had to call it quits (granted this is after dessert at Top of the Hub and Boston Cream Pie at the Omni Parker House), but there were women at our table polishing off 4-5 plates of desserts on their own. I had some of the best creme brule ever there. Highly recommended!