Dust – YouTube

Dust – Spotify

It comes through the window
It comes through the floor
It comes through the roof
And it comes through the door

Dust, that is. But that’s not what you’ll be focusing on first time through, the Dada-esque lyrics take a back seat to the pure sound of this record, its aural hooks.

On paper I hate Parquet Courts. Overhyped by the Brooklyn establishment today we despise bands we’ve never heard because of their hipper-than-thou acolytes hyping them.

But “Dust” is a revelation. A hit in all its minimalist glory. If this were 1981 and Rick Carroll still programmed KROQ, the Roq of the 80’s, he’d spin this and it would become a giant hit. You see back then being outre, being different, was a badge of honor, whereas today everybody’s music sounds the same and you only differentiate yourself via your social media statements.

Not that “Dust” is completely original. It it resembles in conception nothing so much as Kraftwerk’s “Pocket Calculator,” which was a progenitor. And the vocal is reminiscent of Jonathan Richman, when he sang with the Modern Lovers.

Still, “Dust” is a breath of fresh air.

HA!

Singing about dust?

Today it’s all platitudes, or endless statements on how much better you and your life are than those of the listener. But this minimalist statement is about the dirt and grime that piles up. Rust may never sleep, but dust ACCUMULATES!

Dust is everywhere
Sweep
It sneaks in ignored
It stacks up around

Devo-esque, with a hint of Frank Zappa thrown in. It’s when you don’t play to our preconceptions that you have a chance of hooking us, wowing us.

Still, “Dust” succeeds primarily on its hooks, which are broad and heavy, simple, like those of the Ramones.

You may not like it at first, with its cheesy, flimsy, trebly guitar intro.

But then the track settles into a groove that’s familiar but unremarkable and then…at 25 seconds in, there’s a guitar lick that catches your lip and drags you in.

And then at :35, there’s a change that grabs your heart.

And then at :45 the whole thing devolves into an instrumental with cheesy sounds playing lyrical changes and you don’t want to turn it off!

It doesn’t have to be about dust, it could be about anything, you’re completely enamored.

Just because you can fiddle endlessly to get it right, employ a zillion writers, buy beats from others, that does not mean you should. By breaking it down to the elements, by leaving so much air, Parquet Courts wins us over.

And the instrumental section that starts at 2:20 is an aural adventure akin to a guitar solo of yore, only this time the musician isn’t shredding, but adding digital sounds that are basic, but take you on an ethereal trip that is so enjoyable. You’re enraptured by music not on the hit parade, played by people who are almost committing a prank.

But we’re all in on the joke.

This was the genius of the Ramones, their music was the antidote to what was popular. While prog-rockers demonstrated their training in side-long opuses the Ramones purveyed a sound that was basic and compact, that lasted only a couple of minutes.

You can still get rich playing music.

But most people will not.

Thus, the early sixties have returned. The Beatles and the Stones never thought it would last forever. Today music is a lark, something you do for a few years before you get a straight job.

But since it’s not a career, you can take chances, you can turn the system on its head.

Which Parquet Courts has done here.

“Dust” should suck. Should be easily dismissed. Marginal talents selling indie rock.

But despite all that being true, the end result requires endless plays. “Dust” gets under your skin, it follows you everywhere, you’re in your own space, you don’t care a whit whether anybody else is listening, you just want to feel good.

Life is complicated, life is difficult to comprehend. As a result we fall for the work of those who sneak up on us, with work that is startlingly human in the way it affects us.

It follows, now swallow
You’re biting it now
Suffocate, suffocate

Is this the Silicon Valley titans talking to everyone? Imploring us to get on the gravy train without thinking, coughing up our personal data, because the future is so bright?

No, this is artists, questioning the precepts. Which is what they used to do before they all dashed for cash.

Dust is everywhere
SWEEP!

Has it really been nine years since “In Rainbows”?

Then the issue was getting paid.

Now the issue is getting attention.

That’s what the greedy bigwigs don’t understand. If you lock it up behind a paywall you could end up broke, or hobbled. Think of how much money Prince would have made if his music was on YouTube, Spotify, et al.

But how do you get noticed on those services? How do you get heard?

By being already famous or getting on a playlist. We want to hear the work of acts we already know and although we also want to hear new music we are overwhelmed by the amount of product, we don’t know where to start.

Which is why the big get bigger, they’ve already got a name.

And that Radiohead does. Like Beyonce, it was built under the last gasp of the old system. When MTV still had power, when everybody could know who you were, and almost everybody heard your music.

Radiohead’s publicity campaign will far outstrip the number of people who ultimately listen to the music. Still, the U.K. band has played the modern era like a fiddle, kudos.

In an era where everybody is vying for attention, where all is revealed, Radiohead decided to pull back, not only not post but delete its presence, however slowly. They said scarcity was dead, but this is a new spin on the concept, if you’re there but then not we’re interested, for a while anyway.

And this campaign was very brief. A matter of days. Any longer and the project would get stale, people would lose interest. Once again, the long buildup is history, you announce and then you sell. You pounce when everybody is paying attention. Hell, Beyonce got it right. She did HBO and put out “Lemonade” and went on the road nearly simultaneously. And it’s worked, she’s got the whole world talking about her efforts, if not listening. She’s owned the music news cycle, for ten days anyway, and today that’s a very long time. Will the hysteria continue? Only if radio plays “Lemonade,” but still, we can see that Beyonce outdid Adele. Adele’s campaign was positively old school. Wherein you carpet bomb the media with the same damn stories again and again and then release the record for a first week sales burst that will also be news, in the fourth quarter to boot. But it’s not quite six months later and Adele’s name is rarely heard, and her music has no purchase on the public mind,
because she’s absent from radio and streaming services. Remove yourself from the arena at your peril.

But Adele is a party of one, the world’s biggest superstar. She gets to do it her way, the usual rules don’t apply. And in a business where people only care about the money, rash decisions are made that are fan unfriendly, and you never want to be fan unfriendly. But this has been the paradigm for eons. Remember when Tom Petty protested about being the poster boy for sky high album prices? That’s what windowing is today, that’s what refusing to be on streaming services is today, a way for the man to grab cash. The acts come and go, the companies remain. Performers who bitch about not making enough money have lost their stripes in the artistic wars, they’ve become denizens of our coarse modern society, believing that mazuma is everything when the truth is art rules.

And Radiohead is ruling today.

You see it’s all about conception. The idea. And there’s no revolution, no revelation in holding your music back, doing the aforementioned windowing. But this disappearing act is a revelation. It’s more than publicity. It’s a comment on our society. Furthermore, this is all you get. Old players would now give interviews, spread the word, explain, double-down on what they’ve done. Modern superstars hold back, what the hell is going on? How the hell should I know!

But Radiohead did use modern tools to get the word out. Not only did the band recede from social media services, it employed them when it reappeared, Instagram and YouTube. He who denies the modern world is left out. And never forget these tools are free. Bitch about that when you’re worried about getting paid.

So the whole world is watching. But then they won’t be. But this stunt will be remembered. As was the “In Rainbows” pay what you want one. The band has triumphed twice, demonstrating innovation and thought in a world where most pop acts just do what they’re told, which is an imitation of what came before.

But just like bands tried to imitate the “In Rainbows” formula unsuccessfully, if you’re sitting at home dreaming of replicating Radiohead’s vanishing formula, forget it. You can only do it once, successfully. And it can only be pulled off by an act with an extremely high profile.

But the paradigm remains, in today’s economy attention is everything. It’s what we all vie for, especially on social media, it’s fleeting, but it precedes monetization. In the old days distribution was king, if you couldn’t buy it, it didn’t exist. Now everything exists, how do you make people aware, how do you get them to sample?

That’s the question.

How Do I – Soundcloud

What do you do when nobody’s paying attention? When you’re too old to be new and you got your big chance and missed the target?

Faithful readers know I’m a big Wendy Waldman fan, the great singer/songwriter hope of 1973, she wrote “Vaudeville Man” and “Mad Mad Me” on Maria Muldaur’s solo debut.

But then she didn’t live up to her promise. She took a detour to Muscle Shoals, confounding her audience, and despite getting five whacks of the bat at Warner Brothers she never connected, her moment expired.

Same thing happened to Bonnie Raitt, who then resurrected her career by speaking her truth on “Nick Of Time.”

Wendy Waldman speaks her truth on “How Do I.”

They make it look easy
To stand your ground
To let those bridges burn

We’re overwhelmed with stories about entrepreneurs doing it their way, celebrities talk trash in public, but we’re too afraid of loss to let go and speak our truth, and when we do and don’t get the result we desire we’re wounded. That’s the story of the baby boomers, they’re wounded, by loss, by unfulfilled expectations, by failed dreams. It was supposed to work out, then it didn’t, and what do you do with that?

If I had known how fast it goes
I would have shown you every day

That’s the cliche. Along with high school and college are the best days of your life.

I don’t agree with the latter, but the former…it’s true. Soon we’re as old as our parents, then we’re in the rearview mirror, then we’re done. How did this happen?

Wendy Waldman took a left turn, moved to Nashville, became a producer. Never seeking accolades for being a woman in a man’s field, she was a ground-breaker. And also a hit songwriter, most famously for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with “Fishin’ In The Dark” and Vanessa Williams with “Save The Best For Last.”

She made an LP for Epic.

Another, an independent for Cypress.

But few paid attention.

Then it was the nineties.

But Wendy soldiered on. She reformed her group Bryndle with Karla Bonoff, Kenny Edwards and Andrew Gold. But they were independent before that was cool and old to boot, MTV was only interested in fresh faces.

And suddenly you find that nobody cares.

Do you feel that nobody cares?

I often do. The world is made for someone else. Someone who believes his or her best days are in front of them, who can take the world by storm, preferably an entrepreneur who can run herd over this great nation of ours.

But that wasn’t me, I grew up in an era of personal development. I can tell you what I read, what I listened to, where I went, but that doesn’t fill your bank account, and that seems to be the only thing that matters these days, especially as you get old and bills pile up and the workforce no longer needs you.

I was lying on my bed, depressed. I felt a song would make me feel better. I pulled up Wendy’s “Restless In Mind” on the Sonos app…and I saw a new track.

How could this be? I had no idea. I thought Wendy’d returned to college, finally pursuing her degree, pointed her arrow in a new direction, honing her composer chops.

I was almost afraid to listen to “How Do I,” because I was fearful it would be bad. It’s sad when your heroes disappoint you, when you realize they’re washed up, when they keep swinging for the fences in a stadium that’s empty.

But the sound was authentic, it cut me to the bone, I felt like Wendy was only singing for herself, that I was peeking in on the process.

She’s got the skills, she can write and play, produce too. So the end result is anything but amateurish. But it’s not what’s on the hit parade, more like an album track from 1973.

Late last night
I heard a tune
That only you could write

Girls and their fathers. Their deaths devastate them.

Wendy’s father was Fred Steiner, famous for writing the “Perry Mason” theme, never mind the childhood favorite “The Bullwinkle Show.” Fred’s gone now, as well as his wife, Shirley. The next generation carries the torch, but cannot forget those who came before.

“How Do I” nails this. Would fit perfectly in some TV show, you know that moment of loss and reflection. But the supervisors are young and want those wet behind the ears to fill out their schedules. When you’re aged you’re discarded, even if you’re a superstar, you just haven’t gotten the memo yet.

How do you go on?

There’s just one question in my mind tonight
How do I go on
How do I go on

Wendy maintains her optimism. I’m wobbly, I can’t always keep mine.

Not that she puts out new music on a regular basis. She’s been releasing intermittent singles, with an eye on an eventual album. But it’s not like “How Do I” got a ton of accolades, it barely made a ripple in the water when it was released last month.

But it’s out there, on Spotify, CD Baby, the aforementioned Soundcloud.

Because that’s how an artist goes on, by creating. Doing it whether anybody pays attention or not.

“How Do I” resonates because it’s not calculated, rather it’s a burst of sheer inspiration. That’s what an artist does, channel that revelation, create something out of it, capture that moment.

“How Do I” is not au courant.

But it’s forthright and honest and it resonates.

And that’s what I’m looking for.

How Do I – Spotify

The film business is fighting Sean Parker’s Screening Room.

The book business is fighting Amazon’s Kindle.

And the music business is sitting in the present, the most up-to-date media vertical extant.

And yet people still complain.

Do you want to pay $150 for a device that would allow you to stream first run films for $50, day and date?

That’s what Sean Parker is advocating, that’s what most of the film business is fighting. Because they hate the future, they believe they can stick their finger in the dike and hold back what’s to come, screwing the public in the process. Day and date is inevitable, it’s just a matter of when. And until it arrives, piracy will reign.

The book business was so worried about the Kindle stealing its profits that Amazon was neutered. Once upon a time, all digital books were $9.99. Now they’re more like fifteen bucks and sales have stalled. Because price matters, and so does volume.

Meanwhile, you can get all you want in the music business, an unlimited amount of EVERYTHING, for ten bucks a month.

Sound like a good deal?

It is!

Sure, the old paradigm has been plowed under the process. But that’s got nothing to do with Spotify and everything to do with the internet and new digital tools. Today everybody can make a record, and distribute it. And those inured to the old ways don’t like this. As for YouTube and free… Well, the rights holders do get paid and Prince was seemingly the only person who kept his music off Google’s video service. Everybody else wants the exposure. Oh, what a world, where people can sample your wares for free and decide whether to double down, to become a fan, to go to the show, to buy merchandise.

You can’t even get all the films in one place online. And flicks and TV shows come and go on Netflix. As for the vaunted victories at Amazon, “Transparent” and “Mozart In The Jungle,” they may have accolades, but few people have seen them, because they’re behind a paywall most are not paying to get through and with so much noise in the channel, people who are paying don’t know they have this access. Whereas in music you can just go on Spotify, see the chart and find out what’s happening, everything can be clicked on. Well, not absolutely everything, but windowing will never take hold in music, it’s anti-fan, and everything anti-fan ultimately bites the artist in the ass. Beyonce spread “Lemonade” from Tidal. As for Drake and Apple… That service is peopled with alta kachers, that’s right, Apple Music is for old people and Spotify skews young… Guess where Drake’s audience is?

The book business ensured that it would have a greater percentage of less. Raise the price and books are no longer an impulse item. And sure, a lot of hard core oldsters and insiders like physical books, there’s nothing wrong with that, but to grow a business you need youngsters and looky-loos, and when they see the digital version costs as much as the physical version, with no printing, no shipping, no nothing, they pass.

Not to mention you read the review and can’t buy the book.

That’s another thing the music business has eviscerated, advance publicity. It just doesn’t make sense in the modern era, you leave too much money on the table. It’s all about the sneak attack, turns out that generates tons more publicity and people can access instantly. Meanwhile, we’ve got to hear about films years in advance, and I can’t tell you how many times I read about a book and find out it’s not available for weeks. Do I then remember to buy it? Usually not. As that old record business axiom says, if it’s not in the store when the customer wants it, they’re never going to buy it.

But today in music everything is available all the time. Someone dies and we don’t have to produce more inventory, never mind ship it. It’s just constant ka-ching!

The film and book businesses are so worried about losing today’s profits, they’re forgoing tomorrows. Did you notice that recorded music revenues went up? Streaming is growing. It’s been a wrenching transition, but the heavy lifting has been done, the music business is in the twenty first century, now it’s all about the art.

Sure, the rules are different. The game is different. But art is about innovation, and business is about disruption, throwing out the old and replacing it with the new. And do you know who likes this best? THE AUDIENCE! And when the audience is leading the enterprise you’re in trouble, the enterprise needs to get out ahead, the public is still learning about Spotify and other streaming music services, the future’s so bright you gotta wear shades!

But there’s all this doom and gloom…

There are winners and losers in every revolution. Artists who were lucky enough to have major label deals last century, have companies invest in their careers, are now angry that they’ve got zillions of competitors, not only nipping at their heels, but stealing their money.

But all the newcomers like being able to play. Just tell today’s generation that they have to record in studios for a grand a day, depend upon a major label for distribution and have the audience unable to check them out for free and there’d truly be a revolution, and the irony is the biggest acts would be on the front lines. That’s right, Drake and Beyonce and the rest of the superstars utilize the new tools like crazy. Drake keeps putting out new music, they all utilize social media, and most of it’s FREE!

So music is in the best place. It’s a hotbed of creativity and its artists are revered more than actors or authors. Music is seen as authentic. And if you lament today’s scene that just means you’re stuck in the past. Sure, there might be ten writers on a track, sure there might be inane lyrics and boring beats, but the truth is you only get to the future by marching through the present. Rock replaced jazz and hip-hop replaced rock. We have no idea what’s next. But we do know the tools are at the fingertips of the creators and if you create something listen-worthy millions of people can check you out instantly.

That’s a good thing.

The techies pushed the arts into the future.

But it’s the artists who hold sway now.

Music’s on the launch pad.