"Record Companies are the DEVIL!!!"

The King of Limbs (2011) - The sounds of a new decade

Like thousands of other people around the world at roughly the same time, I sat down at my computer in the early hours of Saturday February 19th and commenced downloading my very own pre-ordered "copy" of Radiohead's latest offering, The King of Limbs, unable to keep my left eyelid from twitching with excitement.

For those in the know, the release of a new Radiohead album is a major event, and yet again they have delivered: a post-rock masterwork of complex beauty that had my ears doing the Lindy Hop as each digitally-encoded bit coursed through my headset. Bliss indeed.
But the events surrounding the release of the album, and the way it was released, have been the big talking point in the music industry this week....

Jethro Tull's Thick As A Brick (1972)

It all started last Monday week - 14th February, Valentine's Day - with a post on Radiohead's website (plus Facebook & Twitter) saying simply "Thanks for waiting", with a link to a website advising of the new album and a registration page for pre-orders. The biggest surprise however was the fact that the album was to be released only 5 days later in mp3 or WAV format (at a price of 6 or 9 pounds respectively) - followed by a special "newspaper" format with vinyl, CD and artwork packed in an "oxo-degradable plastic package" to be released in early March.

I overlooked the website's statement that this was to be the "World's first Newspaper Album" (as Jethro Tull beat them to the punch with Thick As A Brick way back in 1972) but, petty facts aside, I quickly realized that stumbling across this news was to be the only example of me "getting lucky" this Valentine's Day (that's right folks).

The news of the release literally came out of the blue. Normally there is a media release accompanied by full page adverts in the music press when one of the world's biggest bands is about to unleash a new album. So what gives? Well, the answer lies in the fact that Radiohead are no longer bound to a major record deal - and thus no contract exists for them to do ....anything.  The band gave their old record label EMI the flick after completing their 6 record contact in 2003, declaring the record company structure a "decaying business model" and set about independently releasing their music in a variety of formats. The final straw between Radiohead & EMI reportedly came when the record company was deducting "packaging costs" from royalties of online digital downloads - a medium which obviously has no physical packaging overheads.
Radiohead's last studio album, In Rainbows, was released in 2007 online via a "pay what you think its worth" honour system. As an experiment it generated a lot of media attention however no one other than the band really knows how much money they made from the exercise, mainly because it wasn't anyone else's business: there were no greedy record execs to fatten-up, nor any anxious shareholders to report to.
So here we are over 3 years later with the next installment - and the only bit of promotion accompanying the release of The King Of Limbs is a stylish black & white video released on the band's website of the first single "Lotus Flower", featuring some awkward dance moves from lead singer Thom Yorke that make Napoleon Dynamite look like the undisputed Michael Jackson of his generation:

It's no secret that the world has changed when it comes to making and distributing music these days, with sites such as MySpace, YouTube and Facebook making it easy to get one's world-changing masterpiece out to the masses at the push of a button - all from the comfort of one's own home. And some of the popular names in music are opting for free-agency, away from the rules & regulations of the big bad record companies.

NIN: The Slip (2008): Given away for free

An example is the outspoken Trent Reznor from industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails - who gave away their 2008 album The Slip as a free download on the band's website.
Reznor had been signed to Interscope Records and was publicly critical of the parent company, Universal Music Group - specifically with their pricing & distribution plans for the Nine Inch Nails 2007 album Year Zero. He claimed they were ripping off music fans (charging "absurd" prices for copies of the album) and encouraged punters at Nine Inch Nails concerts to "steal as much music as you can" - comments which received a lot of media attention and drew criticism from within some factions of the music industry.
As CD sales across the industry continue to plummet year after year, more and more musicians and music fans are exploring the options available to them in the digital world, while the record companies scratch away furiously in the background - desperately trying not to look like rodents going down with the proverbial sinking ship. It's not that relations between artists and record companies were always historically harmonious before the advent of the digital age: its just that there are more options available to make and distribute music these days. Back in the good old days, artists & bands really had to get creative to give the record company "the big middle finger".

Trans (1982): Cheesier than a Quarter Pounder

Perhaps my favourite example of the "artist vs. label" battle comes in the form of Neil Young and his tenure in the early 80's signed to Geffen Records. After becoming a popular million-selling folk/country-rock artist in the 1970's, Neil Young signed a contract with label boss David Geffen in 1982 that would guarantee him a minimum $1million for each album, plus "total creative control over his output". Neil then promptly pulled a creative u-turn and dropped Trans on unsuspecting fans later that year- an album of primitive early 80's electronica, complete with synthesizers and electronic-treated vocals (via a vocoder, an instrument more used to appearing on Kraftwerk albums). The album was a critical & commercial failure and it left many long-time fans scratching their heads in disbelief. David Geffen was reportedly furious with this change in direction and demanded that Neil record a "rock & roll album" next, in an attempt to get back to his winning form in the 70's.

Everybody's Rockin' (1983): Except David Geffen, apparently

Now here's the golden part: Neil responded to this challenge by forming a rockabilly band named 'Neil and The Shocking Pinks" and recorded Everybody's Rockin' in 1983 - an album of 50's rock & rockabilly-styled original songs and cover versions, with snappy titles such as "Mary Lou's Got A New Pair Of Shoes" and "Kinda Fonda Wanda". When Geffen found out what was happening he was livid and canceled the sessions mid-way through before Neil could finish it. It was eventually released as it was, and the final album had a grand running time of 25 minutes - the shortest in Neil's career.
David Geffen proceeded to file a lawsuit against Neil Young worth $3.3 million on the grounds that the two albums he produced for the label contained "music uncharacteristic of his previous recordings", and that this new music was "uncommercial". So Neil filed a $21 million counter-suit citing breach of a contract that promised him total artistic freedom. The matter was eventually settled and Geffen apologized, but at the time all this was happening, a young band named REM were just about to sign with Geffen. They heard about the suit filed against Neil Young, decided amongst themselves that it was not cool, and then promptly signed with Warner Bros instead - going on to be one of the biggest band of the 1980's & 90's.
This stuff sounds made up, right? At the end of the day it was a moral victory to Neil Young, despite having two mildly embarrassing albums attached to his legacy.  Regardless, I encourage you all to check them both out - they are two of my all-time favourite "bad" albums - and to this day nothing gets a party started quite like "Mary Lou's Got A New Pair Of Shoes".

The Sex Pistols: Slightly provocative

Another example is 70's punk band the Sex Pistols, and their relationship with any record company that would dare go near them. After signing a contract with EMI in October 1976 they were ditched by the label less than 3 months later after the uproar the band caused after swearing on live TV. They eventually signed a new contract with label A&M outside Buckingham Palace on March 10th 1977, as a press stunt. The band and their entourage then went back to the A&M offices, got loud, drunk violent and verbally abusive to staff - as you do when you're a young up & coming punk band - forcing the label to dump them 6 days later. The band then moved on to Virgin Records, their third record label in just over 8 months.

The common thread across all the stories listed above is the fact that the "Record Company", as an entity, seems to stand in the way of all the good things that come with being an artist, or in a successful band. Record Companies are fraudulent, dinosaur entities that dictate terms to their clients and try to have a say in the type of music produced by their artists, in order to maximize profits. And to top it all off, they have the audacity to object when one of their top money-makers decides they want to get sh*t-faced and trash their offices and abuse their staff!

Kudos to you then, Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails, for showing that there is a better way - by getting creative and trying out different methods to get your music across to the largest audience possible. Sure, there will be some failures amongst the successes, but I think its kind of exciting to contemplate what will happen in the industry over the next 10 years, if the last 10 years are any measure.

So come on Guy Sebastian - take a stand against your record company and do something different: give us that free online download-only cover version of the Ramones' classic "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue". You know we want it.

Sax Crimes

Sax & mullet: A classy combination

Summer in Perth is characterized by a glut of music festivals and international acts playing at venues all over the city - from footy ovals to wineries - and one such act that will be hitting our shores over the next few weeks is the great blues/rock slide-guitarist George Thorogood, and his backing band The Delaware Destroyers.
I was reminded of this fact by the announcer just before "Bad To The Bone" kicked off on the radio - the highlight of George's 30+ years in the biz - a mean Muddy Waters riff played on slide guitar, over-layed with an abundance of extremely boastful, and very cheesy, lyrics. All is well until approximately the half-way point of the song, when suddenly Hank "Hurricane" Carter steps up to take a solo. Normally "taking a solo" has positive connotations in the world of Rock & Roll, however this case is an exception, due to the fact that "Hurricane" Carter is the group's..... saxophone player.

Thorogood in his trademark snakeskin bandana

Before I continue I must clarify one thing. I have no issue with the saxophone per se. Being a jazz fan I highly admire the work of John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter and Cannonball Adderley (especially their work with the Miles Davis Quintet in the 50's & 60's), but when the instrument is used in rock & roll I find that (in general), the terms "taste" and "restraint" seldom apply to the group Sax-shredder.

The lead guitarist and drummer (and yes, even the occasional bass player) can look cool on stage tearing into a solo - sometimes with grace, sometimes with superfluous showmanship - but inexplicably this never seems to be the case for the sax player. Come time to take a solo, the sax player normally takes a few lumbering, Frankenstein-like steps forward to centre stage and proceeds to stink up the place with a series of baffling sound-farts which instantly undo all groove & good vibes that the band has worked so hard to lay down.

Spandau Ballet: Wanted for sax crimes

In visual terms, the sax player is also normally the weakest link in the band. There's nothing appealing about the sight of a saxophonist in mid-solo. More often than not there is limited movement, an excess of sweat, and throbbing temple veins working overtime, while the offenders cheeks swell to a size that would make Dizzy Gillespie run for cover. The occasional throwing back of the head, alternated with the forward low stoop seem to be the extent of the sax player's choreographed repertoire, which usually is enough movement to get the obligatory mullet swaying in the breeze. The dress-standard for the sax player also alternates between two extremes: the working-class jeans-&-tank-top look, and the colourfully-loud-&-tacky suit. The aesthetically-challenged nature of the sax player has no greater manifestation than in the form of one Scott Page, the sax player who toured the world with Pink Floyd in the late 1980's. Sadly, it appears that the internet is unable to yield a single image of "The Billy Ray Cyrus of Sax", but the attached YouTube snippet should provide some sense of the grotesqueness of this 80's saxophonist in "full-flight":

[WARNING: VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED. GRATUITOUS MULLET DISPLAY]

Zoot: Sax is his axe

No other musician on a rock & roll stage has the ability to polarize an audience the way the sax player does. While there are some notable exceptions (Dick Parry's work with 70's Pink Floyd, and Zoot from The Muppet Show being two examples), when it comes to playing , the old musicians maxim "Less is More" seems to be thrown out the proverbial window. On listening to a sax solo you get the sense that the aim of the player is to cram as many notes into their allocated solo time as possible, leaving no room for the other instruments to breathe, while giving all physical indications that they are passing a particularly painful kidney stone. This is unfortunate because many good songs over the years have been ruined (or unnecessarily dated) by the inclusion of a sax solo. All songwriters / bands / producers should be warned about this: think twice before mixing in that saxophone track. A poor choice is the aural equivalent of paint-balling the roof of the Sistene Chapel. Why graffiti the masterpiece? If you have a song that is melodically strong and has obvious commercial potential, then proceed with the saxophone overdub at your peril.

Baker Street: Tasteful sax in rock?

One guy who got it right was Gerry Rafferty (who sadly passed away last month), with his monster 1978 hit "Baker Street". It has possibly the most famous saxophone riff in pop music history and it's success led to a barrage of "sax crimes" in the 1980's. As good as the song was/is, spare a thought for how much more epic it could have been if the main sax riff was replaced by a Clapton-esque guitar? The Foo Fighters tried to give us a taste of "what might have been" with a cover version B-side in 1997, albeit with mixed results. Similarly, Mark Knopfler's early 80's instrumental "Going Home (Theme From Local Hero)" is another great example of a well used saxophone hook, but again, if Knopfler's celtic-influenced guitar work had been at the fore of the mix, in place of the sax, it would have elevated the song to a new level.

"Saxamaphone... saxamaphone..."

With all of the above said, I think it's now my civic duty to establish the world's first International Sax Crime Name & Shame Registry. To move forward as a society we must first recognize the mistakes of the past, learn from history, and do whatever is in our power to stop these atrocities ever happening again.

(Note: When compiling lists such as these, there are bound to be "serial re-offenders", hence the duplicated appearances of INXS & Tina Turner):

INTERNATIONAL SAX CRIME REGISTER

• Family Ties Opening Theme Song
• Anything by Kenny G
• George Michael - Careless Whisper
• Bruce Springsteen - Dancing In The Dark
• Hall & Oates - I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)
• Billy Joel - It's Still Rock & Roll To Me
• INXS  - What You Need
• Glenn Frey - The Heat Is On
• Dire Straits - Your Latest Trick
• Tina Turner - We Don't Need Another Hero
• Madness - It Must Be Love
• Spandau Ballet - True
• Donna Summer - She Works Hard For The Money
• Men At Work - Who Can It Be Now?
• Rick James - Super Freak
• Foreigner - Urgent
• David Bowie - Moden Love
• Roxy Music - Jealous Guy
• Billy Ocen - Carribean Queen
• Sade - Smooth Operator
• Icehouse - Electric Blue
• INXS - Never Tear Us Apart
• Beach Boys - Kokomo
• Tina Turner - Simply The Best

This list is far from complete. I urge anyone reading to post any offenders I have left out.

It's time for us all to do our bit. Think of us as the "Neighbourhood Watch of Bad Sax"....