The Rock Doctors Are In

Last week on Sound Opinions the Rock Doctors addressed a very serious issue that has been plaguing ears all over. It's a terrible infection that Tankboy and I have dubbed Epic Folk. You know it, the "of monsters and lumineers and sons, the glut of hey-ho choruses, overused banjo and mandolin."

Seriously though, it's a great episode and it just might turn you on to some great new rock music.

And I'm with Jim and Greg, their patient should really consider a gig in music criticism. She's great at putting that abstract feeling into words.


UPDATE: Tankboy made it on air to inform the doctors of the name of the ailment that plagued their patient. Listen for the callers in the last five minutes of this week's episode.

I'm clearly loving the new Neko Case album...

Wrote it up for Transmission today...

Neko Case Is All Over The Place
In addition to having AWESOME album art, Neko Case's latest album Middle Cyclone is also an awesome piece of work. A collection of love songs (which she swore to herself that she would never write again...), Middle Cyclone is a beautiful follow up to Fox Confessor Brings The Flood.

The first time I heard a Neko Case song (it was "Star Witness" for good measure) I was completely struck by her entrancing voice and Fox Confessor became one of my favorite albums. Sometimes I wonder if an artist can match themselves after putting out such a great album, but I would say she's one-upped herself with this one. Middle Cyclone is typical Neko in all the right ways, yet new and different in all the right ways. The opening track "This Tornado Loves You" is an energizing, powerful entry into the album, while "People Got a Lotta Nerve" is the catchiest tune that will most likely get the most airplay.

The Sound Opinions boys talk with Neko about the new album in this week's episode available today via podcast and airing on Chicago Public Radio tonight at 8pm (and again tomorrow at 11am). She's joined by guitarist Paul Rigby and backing vocalist Kelly Hogan for a couple of live songs, too.

Middle Cyclone doesn't come out 'til next Tuesday, but until then, NPR is streaming the album in its entirety as part of their Exclusive First Listen series. Also, if you pre-order on iTunes, there are a couple of bonus live tracks recorded at her old stomping ground, The Hideout.

In case this wasn't enough NekoNews for you, she is also embarking on a tour this spring, and makes her stop in Chicago April 24th at Chicago Theatre. Tickets are $30 but are also available at the Chicago Theater box office with no service fees (take that Ticketmaster).

(Photo by Jason Creps)

Things are going to be Touch and Go

The blogger world went viral last week when Time Out leaked that Chicago's indie darling Touch & Go Records might be closing up shop. Turns out the rumors were just that, rumors, but the label did announce big news that it was ceasing the manufacturing and distributing side of their business. Here is a piece I wrote for Gapers Block: Transmission examining how the cutback will affect (and represents) the music industry as a whole given the current state of the economy and the way file sharing has impacted sales.


Touch and Go: The Reverb

While the Touch and Go label is still intact, the announcement that they are ending the manufacturing and distributing side of business may have much more of an impact on the music industry than we realize. The Tribune's Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis of the Sun Times discussed the label's announcement on their respective blogs, as well as on last week's episode of Sound Opinions, raising an interesting point: This change in operations could be devastating on the independent music scene as we know it. For the past 20 years, Touch and Go provided distribution for dozens of small labels across the country, including several Chicago labels. Who do these small labels now turn to for distribution when the business of music is already under such strain financially? And what does this mean for the future of independent labels and bands? This question has been looming for quite a while, and is part of a much bigger concern in the music industry (affecting majors as well as indies) brought on by the internet and file sharing.

One of the indie labels directly affected by the news is Chicago's own Flameshovel, who has been distributed by Touch and Go since last year. "Aside from the direct affect that this news has on us and our label, it is further evidence that something is terribly terribly amiss in this industry," said Flameshovel's James Kenler. "There has been this massive consolidation at all levels that continues to push all of us to sacrifice a large part of the independent spirit that made labels like T&G as great and as successful as they were. Most of the pressure is obviously as a result of the declining value that the evolution of the internet has given both music and the printed word. File sharing and web news have pulled this industry from both sides and the fans themselves have to a large extent completely disconnected themselves from the notion that consumable art has value."

Kot and DeRogatis actually held a public forum at Columbia College in December as part of a Sound Opinions College Tour on the subject of the future of music in this uncertain time. While there is no clear answer, and they don't pretend to have the solution, the problem won't just go away. The Touch and Go casualty may be just the first rock to fall of an avalanche to come. Mac McCaughan of Merge Records (who T&G also distributed until a few years ago) reiterates the worry (and grief) in this statement given to DeRogatis:

"Touch and Go basically allowed Merge to exist as something other than a singles label...we did our first full-length (the Superchunk Tossing Seeds comp)in 1992 because Corey agreed to take on Merge as a label under the Touch and Go umbrella. We've worked with Touch and Go since then -- 16 years -- and they are the most straight-up and ass-busting-for-music-they-love people we know.


"Corey Rusk is the most meticulous, cautious, thoughtful business person I know which is what makes this whole thing so unbelievable and such a bad portent for the rest of the independent music business -- if a company that did everything the right way can't survive in this environment (and the environment existed before the current worldwide financial disaster -- the Bush economic legacy only piled on), then who can?

"This is not even to mention the fact that Touch and Go put out some records that were incredibly important to me long before Merge existed -- Big Black, Scratch Acid, Die Kreuzen, Negative Approach, Butthole Surfers, and later on Slint, Jesus Lizard and the list goes on... -- a ton of records that are just important period.

"It's a sad day for music, independent music and punk rock in particular, and the music business as we know it in the real world."

While last week's news may not foreshadow the end of the music business all together, it may signal the end as we know it today. Until a new business model comes into play and settles in (same with newspapers and other print publications), there are more tough times ahead and probably a lot more casualties.

So, what's next for Flameshovel? They "were actually assembling the press mailing for the new Mannequin Men record that was to come out via T&G June 9th" when they got the call from T&G's Corey Rusk last Tuesday. "At this point," says Kenler, "our #1 priority is to find a way to keep that release date. Beyond that, we're using this event as a chance to take a big step back and take a look at what we are doing in a larger context."

What is the future of music?

If you're near downtown Chicago after work tonight, you should definitely go to this. I love these guys and I would love to see what they have to say on the topic, but I can't make it. Go and tell me all about it!

Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis have a ton of knowledge between them in rock music and the going-ons in the industry. You've heard them on "the worlds only rock 'n' roll talk show," Sound Opinions, and now you can join them live to discuss the future of the music industry in this uncertain time.

It's no secret that the Internet and the digital age have changed the way we listen to music, buy music, are exposed to music, and generally enjoy artists we like. Record companies are left scrambling to try to figure out how to still make a profit in this new time, but what does it mean for you the consumer/ listener, and for the musicians themselves? Kot and De Rogatis promise to break it down for you tonight at Columbia College's Conway Center (1104 S. Wabash). It's free, but space is limited so get there early. Doors open at 5:30, and the talk begins at 6pm.

Chicago Public Radio Event Details

This Is Your Brain on Music

Check out this weeks episode of Sound Opinions (hosted by Chicago’s own Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis, of the Sun Times and Tribune, respectively) where their guest is neurologist Oliver Sacks (of 'Awakenings' fame). They discuss the mysterious connections between music and the mind, including the effects of music on patients with amnesia or who are otherwise unresponsive. They also touch on the importance of music education in schools and those nagging earworms.

On a similar note (heh), I am currently reading This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel J. Levitin. Levitin is a former record producer and engineer turned psychologist. The book is also about the connection between music and the human brain and the psychology of why we like it so much. I’ve only gotten through the chapters on music theory and the human brain, which are both daunting topics, but Levitin’s writing makes it entertaining and easy to read.