Over the 20 years of its existence, you could accuse Warp Records of being many things – singular, bloody-minded, wilful, arrogant even – but populist is definitely not something that you could have leveled at the influential indie.
As a label, Warp has always ploughed its own furrow, danced to the beat of its own 808 etc… Which is why the label founder (I presume it was he) Steve Beckett’s decision to open up the choice of the tracklisting for the label’s 20th anniversary retrospective album to something as mundane and populist as a public vote was so baffling – I wouldn’t even trust the general public to decide what trousers I was going to wear on a night out. The Warp of old would have just chosen 20 tracks, slapped them on a CD (exquisitely-packaged, naturally), lovingly flicked its fans the V-sign and been done with it.
Every time Portland’s Mississippi Records release a new vinyl side you just know that it’s going to be a killer, but they’ve really outstripped themselves with the magnificent True Story of Abner Jay. Abner Jay was the self-described philosopher, lecturer, composer, author, singer, bone-player and one man band who played to audiences in his home town of Atlanta, Georgia – and all over the USA – for almost 50 years.
The shit album with one decent track is under threat as an institution, and it’s all the fault of the cursed intertubes.
The ability to download individual tracks from albums means that consumers of music no longer have to tolerate shelling out for a big old pile of album filler just to get that one totally, totally awesome song they heard on the Glastonbury coverage. And that, quite frankly, is cheating. The internet is making us stupid, weak and complacent.
While other journalists and, yes, even our good selves are giving you advice on what to do before and during a festival, there is nothing said about what to do when you return home, stinking, shell shocked and sweaty. Well, we at Downtuned Dot Net will fill you in with this handy list.
Well done Microsoft. In an attempt to make downloading their sub par browser Internet Explorer appeal to, as far as I know, absolutely nbody, they’re giving away an exclusive Nickelback download along with it. Who this is targeted at I do not know. The mentally infirm? The deaf? Idiots in general?
Now, forgive me for being a cynical music know-it- all who probably only listens to unsigned, underground B sides, but Nickelback are god-fucking-awful. Look at this video. That is an audience of people who have paid money to throw rocks at Chad Kroger.
Also, check out this side by side comparison of two Nickelback songs. Exactly the same. They are guilty of plagiarizing themselves. They are essentially distilling their own shit into more concentrated shit.
By offering a free download of what I can only assume will be an audio atrocity, Microsoft haven’t so much shot themselves in the foot, but vapourised the lower half of their body with a fucking chain gun.
