E-mail Of The Week:<\/p>\n
\nhey Bob,<\/p>\n
major vs indy:
It’s the difference between trying to make a killing
and trying to make a living.<\/p>\nSteven Heller
Toubab Krewe
Upstream Records<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nSo one has to ask why Rosanne Cash’s "Black Cadillac" is being released on a major.\u00c2\u00a0 Because, despite the success of "Walk The Line", I don’t EVER see this becoming a hit.\u00c2\u00a0 But it’s being sold like one.\u00c2\u00a0 Which is a turn-off.<\/p>\n
Come on, have you not read an article in a mainstream publication about this record?\u00c2\u00a0 I’ve seen multiple stories.\u00c2\u00a0 And they’re always the same.\u00c2\u00a0 Her father, mother and stepmother all died.\u00c2\u00a0 And she wrote a record about it.\u00c2\u00a0 Does Capitol Records believe this is a HOOK?\u00c2\u00a0 That we’re all slurping at the trough of personal revelation and are INTERESTED in how the fuck Rosanne Cash feels?\u00c2\u00a0 Isn’t music supposed to be UNIVERSAL?\u00c2\u00a0 I mean aren’t they selling this record just like they sell Jessica Simpson and the rest of the tripe, by turning it into a car wreck on the freeway?\u00c2\u00a0 Hoping we’ll pay attention?<\/p>\n
But, as stated earlier, it’s not even going to work.\u00c2\u00a0 And, I would have never listened to this record except that Mike Marrone said it was his favorite of the year so far.\u00c2\u00a0 And Mike, unlike the newspapers, I trust.<\/p>\n
So I played "Black Cadillac".\u00c2\u00a0 And, it’s good.\u00c2\u00a0 Oh, Leventhal puts a few too many tricks on some of the tracks, he never got the memo that less is more, but overall it’s a pleasant listening experience.<\/p>\n
And there’s one fine track.\u00c2\u00a0 "House On The Lake".<\/p>\n
We’re looking for something that causes the hairs on our neck to bolt upright.\u00c2\u00a0 We’re looking for something to actually REACH US in this overhyped, b.s. world.\u00c2\u00a0 Nothing does this better than music.\u00c2\u00a0 But what we get is Mariah Carey SHRIEKING at us.\u00c2\u00a0 Believe me, Mariah’s convinced me we don’t belong together.\u00c2\u00a0 Can you imagine being married to THAT?\u00c2\u00a0 I’m not talking Aretha and her full-bodied sauciness, but something more akin to fingernails scratching a blackboard.<\/p>\n
I’m one of those classic music fans.\u00c2\u00a0 I’m not looking for the mainstream.\u00c2\u00a0 I’m not a mainstream kind of guy.\u00c2\u00a0 I’m looking for something left of center.\u00c2\u00a0 That soothes me, that makes me feel I’m not alone in this world.<\/p>\n
"House On The Lake" is that kind of track.\u00c2\u00a0 The kind of track that sounded rich and warm on vinyl.\u00c2\u00a0 That had us playing these records all winter long.<\/p>\n
It’s tough if you don’t purvey hits.\u00c2\u00a0 But, it doesn’t make sense to throw in with the major label.\u00c2\u00a0 Because, if you don’t have a hit, THEY’RE NOT INTERESTED!<\/p>\n
Maybe somebody at Capitol\/EMI believed they could turn Rosanne Cash into the new Norah Jones.\u00c2\u00a0 Only one problem, Rosanne isn’t new.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to sell her like an old worn shoe returned.\u00c2\u00a0 Which most young ‘uns don’t want.\u00c2\u00a0 I mean you have to sell Rosanne SOFT, since most people AREN’T INTERESTED!\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to infect the public, and let THEM spread the word.<\/p>\n
Now, more people are going to be aware of "Black Cadillac" on Capitol than one of today’s indies.\u00c2\u00a0 Unless Tony Brummel released it.\u00c2\u00a0 We need someone to start releasing singer\/songwriters like that guy who puts out the soundtracks (http:\/\/www.sh-k-boom.com\/<\/a>).\u00c2\u00a0 We need a label, a site where everybody who loves this music can CONGREGATE!\u00c2\u00a0 Pitchforkmedia.com is good for alternative rock.\u00c2\u00a0 And Starbucks is good if you actually leave the house and partake of coffee.\u00c2\u00a0 But that doesn’t cover the universe.\u00c2\u00a0 The way you reach a lot of people today isn’t in the press, or in the store, not even with an endcap, it’s via the Web.\u00c2\u00a0 And, you get started on the Web by letting people hear a track.\u00c2\u00a0 Better yet, GIVING PEOPLE A TRACK!<\/p>\n
I’d love to put "House On The Lake" on my site.\u00c2\u00a0 For everybody to download and hear.\u00c2\u00a0 And, owning it, you’ll spin it more on your computer, and on your iPod, you’ll come to love it, and then you’ll E-MAIL it to people, breaking the record\/act.\u00c2\u00a0 Yup, THAT’S how you do it.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s ANATHEMA to the major label.<\/p>\n
Which is why they’ll only let you stream it.<\/p>\n
But you should do this.<\/p>\n