Pity The Bands On Major Labels

I knew this day would come. Just a few posts down, you'll notice that two Fratellis tracks have been removed from my review. Maybe I should take it as a sign that my blog's getting big enough to be noticed. Yay! Or maybe I should take it as a sign that the labels don't think I'm important enough to let me offer MP3's like some other blogs do. Boo!

MP3's are the lifeblood of the modern band. How much music out there would we have missed entirely if it weren't for MP3's? Not only do they allow us access to new bands, they give us a freedom and portability to listen to music much more often than we used to. I have a co-worker in my office who walks around with an iPod attached to his hip, one ear bud in his ear, the other dangling. Not really possible with a CD player.

To make things worse, Interscope didn't contact me about the MP3's, they contacted my host, Box.net. Why? After all, I've put up a message right at the top of my blog that clearly states that if you want MP3's removed, just ask. Instead, by asking Box.net, Interscope has jeopardized my relationship with Box.net. If I were to lose that account, all of the bands and labels who do want their music to be exposed on my blog all get the rug pulled out from under them. Interscope punishes everyone else.

I'm not making any money on my blog. I spend an hour or so a day on it, not counting all the time I dedicate to listening to new music and reading other blogs. There's no profit here for me, and certainly not much glory. I write this blog because I love music and it's a great feeling to have someone say 'thanks for turning me on to that band, I love them'. It's why I DJ and it's why I blog.

So who loses the most in all this? The Fratellis do. I gave their album a lukewarm review, but I love the band. I offered MP3's so that people could decide for themselves if they wanted to run out and get it. Now that the MP3's are down, how does that make the band look? Perhaps like they have something to hide? Certainly Interscope has something to hide. My first thought is that Interscope is ashamed of the music and that they think they only way they'll sell albums is by duping people into buying something that their customers can't hear first. Not exactly a friendly way to treat the Fratellis' Fans.

At this point, I'm really confused as to why anyone who isn't only interested in being famous would sign to a major label. We all know the labels make the majority of the artists money, they maintain a lot of creative control, they become the voice of the band. Worse, they take what is, at it's heart, an artistic endeavor and turn it into a business model.

What are labels good for at this point? They might (temporarily) still serve a purpose as distributors, but as management and promoters, they are nothing more than a giant leech on the artists back, sucking the vitae from the music and the fans.

Let me be clear that I'm talking about the major labels here. There are plenty of small labels out there busting their asses for their bands, and I have nothing but respect for them. The smaller labels understand that community, word of mouth, and MP3's all go hand in hand to help get a band heard.

So let's take a moment and feel bad for all of the Fratelli's out there. They've got a ball and chain dragging behind them.

Oh, and for a refresher on the whole scheme, here's a classic rant from Steve Albini on the labels. It's a little out of date, but still really applicable.

The Fratellis - Here We Stand

It's really hard to write about Here We Stand without discussing the Fratellis' first album, Costello Music, a raucous, snarky affair. Being a popular indie-rock band is a much easier feat than it used to be, so when tunes like "Chelsea Dagger" hit the airwaves a couple of years ago, it was nice to see someone stand out from the crowd.

Fast forward to Here We Stand. The band, made up from three actual brothers named Fratelli, have taken a lot more care and thought on this outing. That might not be a good thing. Much of their swanky glam-influenced, off-the-cuff sounding britpop has given way to slickly produced arena style rock. There's plenty of well-done music here, but the question is, does it suit the Fratellis that we loved from Costello?

The answer, unfortunately, is only moderately. Tracks like "Acid Jazz Singer" and "Jesus Stole My Baby" seem to capture some of their past vibe. But tracks like "Lupe Brown" sound more like Cheap Trick, especially in their guitar work. Again, it's not necessarily bad to sound like Cheap Trick, but I'm not sure it works for this band.

Like Costello Music, this album seems to have been written with the idea of singing along with them in a bar, all of your friends hoisting pints in the air. The vocals are all clean, front and center, and full of fun.

But with almost every track I found myself thinking of another band from the 70s. "A Heady Tale" instantly recalls Paul Simon or Billy Joel. "Shameless" again, recalls Cheap Trick. There are various country, surf and rock swipes. But none to any real effect.

In the end, this isn't a bad album, they just seem to have chosen a direction that has swapped post-punk edge for 70s arena rock indulgences. You could do worse on a sophomore album. But I think what was lost on Here We Stand was the sense of playful immediacy that made Costello Music so fun.

Here We Stand will keep me around at least long enough to hear their third album though.

MP3: The Fratellis - Jesus Stole My Baby Removed at request of label

MP3: The Fratellis - Babydoll Removed at request of label

Purchase through Amazon: Here We Stand

The Fratellis

Video of the Day

Hey campers, I took the weekend off from blogging, but I'm back today. Here's my favorite song from the Fratellis first album. I psyched to see that they have a new one coming out soon!