I finally got some video footage.
And it was good.
I interviewed Matt Conboy of Death by Audio and the band Sisters. He gave a great interview, and he brought up some ideas I hadn't even considered. He talked about the rock star as an invention (wrong word...maybe impression?) of the individual person. It's true, really, because some kid can watch a local band and see them as rock stars. Then there's the Rolling Stones and Jay-Z. It's a sliding scale, depending on what the individual sees as the definition of "rock star". Is it fame? Money? Or just fucking coolness? Matt also mentioned how sometimes, younger people just think that those who are older are automatically cool. This is true.
So, my interview with Matt basically shows that my topic (which discusses the rock star/musician in relation to new media) makes it impossible to prove anything. I can't have definite answers to whether or not the Internet killed the rock star because, well, how can anyone define what a rock star is? All I can rely on is opinion and speculation from what we have seen from the Internet's effects on music. And, luckily, that's what I'm interested in. Matt gave me a lot of great quotes regarding music journalism, music itself, and the blogosphere.
Now, I just have to interview 50 million more people. And organize it in a lovely fashion. Hoooooraaaaaay!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Two Interviews To Do
I have two interviews that I need to get done. I hope I will be able to this weekend. One will be with Matt Conboy, of the band Sisters, who also is a major part of Death By Audio, the guitar effects pedals factory/music venue. I figured he'd be good to talk to because he and the rest of the DBA boys who work on the pedals use absolutely NO marketing. Their products became popular (with buyers like Nine Inch Nails and Lady Gaga) simply by word of mouth. Maybe he can show the side of the music world that hasn't been brainwashed by new media's dazzling pixels.
Not to say that Death By Audio doesn't have a Web site. They do, and you can find it here. (That's for the effects pedals; to see show listings for their venue, go here.)
Here are some photos of the effects pedals they make (since they silkscreen them and everything, all in house.)
(All photos from http://www.deathbyaudio.net/)
I also spoke with Jamie Farkas during a smoking break at Vice. She works with Vice Records and has a lot to say on my subject. (She did her thesis on The Velvet Underground.) She also recommended a book that the music industry follows like the Bible, much like the AP Stylebook for journalists. I need to get my hands on a copy of that. She said hers is outdated (as it includes tips about vinyl records); I actually think it would be good to look at the older version to get a sense of how things used to be done. But I should also try to get a newer version, to see how things have changed.
I still need to narrow my topic. It's just too interesting to ignore the broader topics! I'm becoming a victim to my own curiosity. It's time to trim, just before the holidays. Woo.
Not to say that Death By Audio doesn't have a Web site. They do, and you can find it here. (That's for the effects pedals; to see show listings for their venue, go here.)
Here are some photos of the effects pedals they make (since they silkscreen them and everything, all in house.)
(All photos from http://www.deathbyaudio.net/)I still need to narrow my topic. It's just too interesting to ignore the broader topics! I'm becoming a victim to my own curiosity. It's time to trim, just before the holidays. Woo.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Rip It Up and Start Again
My thesis keeps evolving. It's no longer just about the "rock star" because, well, there is so much more to talk about. Now I'm getting worried that my topic is too big for my own britches, and that I may only be able to skim the surface of my intended idea. But you know what? I think that's important too. We need to break the surface before anyone can delve deep into the subject.
One book is really helping me formulate ideas about what to cover (and what not to cover) – that being Simon Reynolds' Rip It Up and Start Again, which I mentioned in my last post.
This text talks about a neglected time in music, the post-punk era. It's not neglected in musical interest, but in coverage of it. Reading about this time is forcing me to make connections between what is going on now in the music world and what happened back then. The splits into independent labels, managers, producers, fanzines, etc. helped to vary the market back then, and the same is happening now, but with viral medias. (Think of blogs instead of fanzines, for example.) But, of course, these similarities are formed through different cause/effect combinations.
According to Reynolds, the end of punk/beginning of post-punk led the music world to a sort of "Where to now?" feeling, whether that be of worry or forward-looking ambition. Sound familiar, music industry? Musicians? And as Reynolds says in the Prologue to his book, "The by-product of all this division and disagreement was diversity, a fabulous wealth of sounds and ideas that rivals the sixties as a golden age for music." (pg. 11)
Perhaps the age of the viral medias provides another catalyst leading to this diversity, this "fabulous wealth of sounds and ideas." But I'm not going to argue that today is the newest "Golden Age" for music...yet.
And now a break from serious thought: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – "Young Adult Friction"
And check out another video by the band (also shot on a Super 8 camera) called "Everything with You".
One book is really helping me formulate ideas about what to cover (and what not to cover) – that being Simon Reynolds' Rip It Up and Start Again, which I mentioned in my last post.
This text talks about a neglected time in music, the post-punk era. It's not neglected in musical interest, but in coverage of it. Reading about this time is forcing me to make connections between what is going on now in the music world and what happened back then. The splits into independent labels, managers, producers, fanzines, etc. helped to vary the market back then, and the same is happening now, but with viral medias. (Think of blogs instead of fanzines, for example.) But, of course, these similarities are formed through different cause/effect combinations.
According to Reynolds, the end of punk/beginning of post-punk led the music world to a sort of "Where to now?" feeling, whether that be of worry or forward-looking ambition. Sound familiar, music industry? Musicians? And as Reynolds says in the Prologue to his book, "The by-product of all this division and disagreement was diversity, a fabulous wealth of sounds and ideas that rivals the sixties as a golden age for music." (pg. 11)
Perhaps the age of the viral medias provides another catalyst leading to this diversity, this "fabulous wealth of sounds and ideas." But I'm not going to argue that today is the newest "Golden Age" for music...yet.
And now a break from serious thought: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – "Young Adult Friction"
And check out another video by the band (also shot on a Super 8 camera) called "Everything with You".
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Book List & an email from my professor
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I asked a professor of mine to help me fashion a book-list pertaining to my project. I was expecting a few suggestions, but I should have known better. He went above and beyond with the amount of material he gave for me to investigate.
Before all this stuff he suggested, I already bought two books:
– Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984 by Simon Reynolds. Reynolds is a British music journalist who now lives in New York. He used to be a senior editor for Spin magazine, and contributes music coverage to some of the most revered publications for arts coverage, including the New York Times, the Village Voice, and Uncut. I have only just started the book (literally on page 6, after introductory material) and I'm learning so much. This will be a good read.
– Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain. I don't know why I haven't read this one already. All my friends have. They all suggested it. I am intrigued with the topic. Why haven't I read it? Considering that the punk scene effectively did something very similar to what the music industry faced earlier this decade (confusing the market, allowing abnormal, obscure, or extreme music the chance to "make it"), I think it will be a good read.
And now, the email:
Hi Emilia,
You've chosen a massive topic. It covers things like fashion, self-fashioning, technology, role of labels, 'community', to name just a few.
What even constitutes a 'rock star' is a hefty subject.
I've listed a few books and films that might help. I've (over-?)emphasized the role of management, but also have stuff on labels and on the music press.
You might want to use particular bands as case studies.
These days, when so many bands are effectively over before they've even released a record, maybe anonymity is a better (marketing) strategy?
* Andrew Loog Oldham, Stoned [very funny former boss of Stones]
* Johnny Rogan, Starmakers and Svengalis: The History of British Pop Management
* Stephen Davis, Hammer of the Gods [very good on the manager of Led Zeppelin]
* David Cavanagh, The Creation Records Story [very amusing story of one of key 80s indie labels]
* Fred and Judy Vermorel, Starlust: The Secret Life of Fans
* Jon Savage, England’s Dreaming [great punk history]
* Jon Savage, Teenage: The Creation of Youth Culture
* Jon Savage and Hanif Kureishi (eds.), The Faber Book of Pop [lots of good essays]
* Lisa Lewis (ed.), The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Media
* Caroline Sullivan, Bye Bye Baby: My Tragic Love Affair with the Bay City Rollers
* Julie Burchill, I Knew I Was Right [about the NME]
* Paul Gorman, In Their Own Write: Adventures In The Music Press [role of music press in shaping British pop culture]
* Philip Norman, Shout: The Beatles in Their Generation
* Joe Boyd, White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960s [US-born label boss and producer of Nick Drake/ Vashti Bunyan]
* Michael Moorcock, The Great Rock n Roll Swindle
* Ray Coleman, The Man Who Made the Beatles: An Intimate Biography of Brian Epstein
* Andrew Motion, The Lamberts: George, Constant and Kit [Kit was the tortured manager of The Who]
* Rob Young, Rough Trade: Labels Unlimited [key (post) punk label]
* Peter Hook, The Hacienda: How Not to Run a Club [New Order bassist spills all]
* David Buckley, Strange Fascination: David Bowie: The Definitive Story [great companion to ‘Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars’ film]
My favourite:
* Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond [aka The KLF]: The Manual (How to Have a Number One the Easy Way)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Manual
http://www.kirps.com/web/main/resources/music/themanual/
Watch these:
* Telstar: http://www.telstarthemovie.co.uk/
* Slade In Film:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Slade-Flame-DVD-CD/dp/B000NRRWAQ
* Brothers of the Head:
http://www.brothersofthehead.com/
* Velvet Goldmine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velvet_Goldmine
* 24 Hour Party People
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/24_Hour_Party_People
Good thing I already watched and own Velvet Goldmine and 24 Hour Party People. As for the books, I don't have any of them. Nor can I afford all of them. If anyone has read any of these before and thinks they do or don't fit my subject, please tell me so I can perhaps slim down this plump list of suggestions!
Before all this stuff he suggested, I already bought two books:
– Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984 by Simon Reynolds. Reynolds is a British music journalist who now lives in New York. He used to be a senior editor for Spin magazine, and contributes music coverage to some of the most revered publications for arts coverage, including the New York Times, the Village Voice, and Uncut. I have only just started the book (literally on page 6, after introductory material) and I'm learning so much. This will be a good read.
– Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain. I don't know why I haven't read this one already. All my friends have. They all suggested it. I am intrigued with the topic. Why haven't I read it? Considering that the punk scene effectively did something very similar to what the music industry faced earlier this decade (confusing the market, allowing abnormal, obscure, or extreme music the chance to "make it"), I think it will be a good read.
And now, the email:
Hi Emilia,
You've chosen a massive topic. It covers things like fashion, self-fashioning, technology, role of labels, 'community', to name just a few.
What even constitutes a 'rock star' is a hefty subject.
I've listed a few books and films that might help. I've (over-?)emphasized the role of management, but also have stuff on labels and on the music press.
You might want to use particular bands as case studies.
These days, when so many bands are effectively over before they've even released a record, maybe anonymity is a better (marketing) strategy?
* Andrew Loog Oldham, Stoned [very funny former boss of Stones]
* Johnny Rogan, Starmakers and Svengalis: The History of British Pop Management
* Stephen Davis, Hammer of the Gods [very good on the manager of Led Zeppelin]
* David Cavanagh, The Creation Records Story [very amusing story of one of key 80s indie labels]
* Fred and Judy Vermorel, Starlust: The Secret Life of Fans
* Jon Savage, England’s Dreaming [great punk history]
* Jon Savage, Teenage: The Creation of Youth Culture
* Jon Savage and Hanif Kureishi (eds.), The Faber Book of Pop [lots of good essays]
* Lisa Lewis (ed.), The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Media
* Caroline Sullivan, Bye Bye Baby: My Tragic Love Affair with the Bay City Rollers
* Julie Burchill, I Knew I Was Right [about the NME]
* Paul Gorman, In Their Own Write: Adventures In The Music Press [role of music press in shaping British pop culture]
* Philip Norman, Shout: The Beatles in Their Generation
* Joe Boyd, White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960s [US-born label boss and producer of Nick Drake/ Vashti Bunyan]
* Michael Moorcock, The Great Rock n Roll Swindle
* Ray Coleman, The Man Who Made the Beatles: An Intimate Biography of Brian Epstein
* Andrew Motion, The Lamberts: George, Constant and Kit [Kit was the tortured manager of The Who]
* Rob Young, Rough Trade: Labels Unlimited [key (post) punk label]
* Peter Hook, The Hacienda: How Not to Run a Club [New Order bassist spills all]
* David Buckley, Strange Fascination: David Bowie: The Definitive Story [great companion to ‘Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars’ film]
My favourite:
* Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond [aka The KLF]: The Manual (How to Have a Number One the Easy Way)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
http://www.kirps.com/web/main/
Watch these:
* Telstar: http://www.telstarthemovie.co.
* Slade In Film:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Slade-
* Brothers of the Head:
http://www.brothersofthehead.
* Velvet Goldmine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
* 24 Hour Party People
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Good thing I already watched and own Velvet Goldmine and 24 Hour Party People. As for the books, I don't have any of them. Nor can I afford all of them. If anyone has read any of these before and thinks they do or don't fit my subject, please tell me so I can perhaps slim down this plump list of suggestions!
Creating the "line-up" (Part II)
TEENAGERSINTOKYO ARE IN! They have agreed to be a part of my project!
They're an Australian band that now lives in London, so the biggest hurl in getting coverage of them is...well...getting to London. I am planning a trip over the holidays, but I just heard from their manager that three of the band members will be going back to Australia for the holidays.
So my options are:
1) Go to London when I planned and interview the two remaining band members (who are both very nice). Maybe see if others related to the band (manager, press agent, etc.) would be willing to go on camera.
2) Go to London when I planned, and perhaps plan another trip back to Old Blightly when the group is all there.
3) Try to move my plans around so I can go towards the end of my holiday break, which is when, I hope, they'd all be back and playing some shows.
The plausibility of #3 all depends on a trip to India that I am planning. Juggling international traveling can be a huge ordeal, and all I know is that it will mean a tight schedule, lack of sleep, and a shitload of time on airplanes.
In other news, here's one of the band's hits, called "Very Vampyr":
They're an Australian band that now lives in London, so the biggest hurl in getting coverage of them is...well...getting to London. I am planning a trip over the holidays, but I just heard from their manager that three of the band members will be going back to Australia for the holidays.
So my options are:
1) Go to London when I planned and interview the two remaining band members (who are both very nice). Maybe see if others related to the band (manager, press agent, etc.) would be willing to go on camera.
2) Go to London when I planned, and perhaps plan another trip back to Old Blightly when the group is all there.
3) Try to move my plans around so I can go towards the end of my holiday break, which is when, I hope, they'd all be back and playing some shows.
The plausibility of #3 all depends on a trip to India that I am planning. Juggling international traveling can be a huge ordeal, and all I know is that it will mean a tight schedule, lack of sleep, and a shitload of time on airplanes.
In other news, here's one of the band's hits, called "Very Vampyr":
###
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Bands
So looks like I have some cooperating bands! I will be meeting up with some of the folks from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart soon, and I hope to get some good coverage from them. I also recently got some photographs of a live show by A Place to Bury Strangers, so I can post a sneak peak of those soon. And then I am still it talks with a band called teenagersintokyo, an Australian group that lives in London.
Other bands might come into play, and I hope they do. The more points of view I get, the better it will be for the final presentation.
Book list slowly but surely being formed as well.
Other bands might come into play, and I hope they do. The more points of view I get, the better it will be for the final presentation.
Book list slowly but surely being formed as well.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Creating the "line-up" (Part I)
It's proving to be harder than I imagined to get bands to agree to be the subject of my thesis. There is a list of problems that I know must be interfering:
1. The bands don't know me. They don't know what kind of coverage I'm seeking, and of course they want to look good in the end. How can they trust me?
2. Thus far, this is for my thesis. It's not for Vice magazine, or Rolling Stone, or even some cool independent documentary film maker. It's for little ol' me. Why would they want to put forth so much of their time for it?
3. They might feel like they get nothing out of it.
Here are my responses to these common interferences:
1. You don't know me, but you'll get to know me. I'm not in it to reveal your secrets or smear your name, nor am I out to glorify you. Just be yourselves, and you'll look good in the end, I would hope. If you don't, you probably don't deserve to.
2. Yes, this is for my thesis. But it could be published somewhere, and, hell, you'll get a crap load of fun coverage from my side. Audio, video, photography, etc. My coverage could help you out in the market. And all of my lovely unused material could go towards your Myspace, or next video. Who knows? Unused material is like the leftover bits of cookie dough that don't make it into the cookie cutter frame. Munch on that.
3. If you actually believe #3, I don't think I want to cover you anyway.
As of now, I have sent out a good number of emails (not too many) to bands from all realms of my journalistic background. Bands I know well, bands I met only once, bands I danced with briefly while we were both slightly intoxicated. And I have sent out emails to bands I don't know at all, but this gives me little hope that they will respond.
One band that I interviewed last year seems interested, or at least the drummer does. He forwarded me to the group's manager, and I'm now in talks with them – which is the most progress I have made thus far.
Oliver from the band A Place To Bury Strangers has agreed to help me out, so that's great! He'll serve a great role in the project, so I'm glad to have him.
Check out the video for a new song by APTBS, called "In Your Heart":
Beyond that, I am starting to formulate a book list, things I can read to educate myself on the days of rock and music and love that came long before I was born. I have some friends over at Vice Magazine/VBS, since that's where I intern, and I've heard a few suggestions for books. I also plan to turn to a professor in the English department at New York University who concentrates primarily on radical British culture in the 1970s – including music. He'll definitely have a few literary bites for me to check out.
1. The bands don't know me. They don't know what kind of coverage I'm seeking, and of course they want to look good in the end. How can they trust me?
2. Thus far, this is for my thesis. It's not for Vice magazine, or Rolling Stone, or even some cool independent documentary film maker. It's for little ol' me. Why would they want to put forth so much of their time for it?
3. They might feel like they get nothing out of it.
Here are my responses to these common interferences:
1. You don't know me, but you'll get to know me. I'm not in it to reveal your secrets or smear your name, nor am I out to glorify you. Just be yourselves, and you'll look good in the end, I would hope. If you don't, you probably don't deserve to.
2. Yes, this is for my thesis. But it could be published somewhere, and, hell, you'll get a crap load of fun coverage from my side. Audio, video, photography, etc. My coverage could help you out in the market. And all of my lovely unused material could go towards your Myspace, or next video. Who knows? Unused material is like the leftover bits of cookie dough that don't make it into the cookie cutter frame. Munch on that.
3. If you actually believe #3, I don't think I want to cover you anyway.
As of now, I have sent out a good number of emails (not too many) to bands from all realms of my journalistic background. Bands I know well, bands I met only once, bands I danced with briefly while we were both slightly intoxicated. And I have sent out emails to bands I don't know at all, but this gives me little hope that they will respond.
One band that I interviewed last year seems interested, or at least the drummer does. He forwarded me to the group's manager, and I'm now in talks with them – which is the most progress I have made thus far.
Oliver from the band A Place To Bury Strangers has agreed to help me out, so that's great! He'll serve a great role in the project, so I'm glad to have him.
Check out the video for a new song by APTBS, called "In Your Heart":
Beyond that, I am starting to formulate a book list, things I can read to educate myself on the days of rock and music and love that came long before I was born. I have some friends over at Vice Magazine/VBS, since that's where I intern, and I've heard a few suggestions for books. I also plan to turn to a professor in the English department at New York University who concentrates primarily on radical British culture in the 1970s – including music. He'll definitely have a few literary bites for me to check out.
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