EASE DOWN THE ROAD

Never one to wax too nostalgic about how much better things were in the “good ol’ days,” I must say, dear audiophile friends, that we’re living in dire times. And I’m not talkin’ about China’s growing economic and resource domination, the oil war or John Edwards’ secret little munchkin. Back in the mid 90s (when I was in high school, hip-hop was still in its final pre-novelty stage and Dazed and Confused was the movie that changed lives) we got away with a whole lot more and, frankly, rocked a whole lot harder than the glasses- and faux mop top-wearing crowds of today. Looking back at the changes the music industry has seen since I graduated high school in 1998, I’ve realized that, at least since the invention of recorded music, things have changed faster than ever before. Below you’ll find a much abbreviated list of key things that have changed in the music industry in just the last 10 years – the good, the bad and the in-between.

Internet and the Over-Intellectualizing of Music Journalism: How did this happen? How did a slew of 20-sometings with no detectable sense of music history (outside of Wikipedia, natch) change the way we shop and listen? Album reviews, interviews and band coverage used to be about art, passion, history and … you get it. Now what? Big words, clever phrasings and of-the-moment hipness and novelty? Reviews written more so as showy creative writing than listening experiences and thoughtful opinions? There’s an upside to all these music blog sites and new publications, sure, but the fact that people buy albums based on a Pitchfork review or Metacritic accumulations is Lester Bangs’ greatest nightmare realized. Oh, and the fact that any Internet-savvy 16-year-old can know more about the Silver Apples than a longtime fan after just 20 minutes of web browsing is problematic too, especially if you’re the storytelling old-timer or amateur music biographer type.

Amazon.com, iTunes and My Lover, the Record Store: When I was in high school the record store was still the place audiophiles dreamed of during in-school suspension. I’d get my paycheck, fill my tank and figure out what albums to spend the rest of my bread on. Much has already been said – often in this very column, even – about downloading, web shopping and the general downfall of the record store tradition, so I’ll keep this brief. I’m sure many would argue that the Amazons and iTunes of the world are good things, and in some ways they definitely are, but this listener still prefers the archaic (and rewarding) style of physical record store shopping. I like talking to the clerks, digging the décor, wandering for hours, buying records without listening to 30-second snippets and discovering new things on accident. Call me old fashioned, but I still think record stores are the heart and soul of the audiophile lifestyle.

Singles Going Steady and the Art of Music Videos: Do we even need to talk about the downfall of radio as an avenue for new music and musicians? Advertising aside, radio and radio singles haven’t mattered for well over a decade. Videos and the million-selling CD singles they spawned, however, ended up being a nice added element to the Sound World in the late 80s and 90s. See your artists, get to know them and let them flex their creative muscles of the visual variety. The rise and fall of MTV in the 90s and 00s came and went like a heart attack – quick, hard and devastating. The industry built itself around videos being “the future”; then MTV became, well … no comment. Hard times have followed.

Record Labels, Home Recording and Bands Galore: Finally, the light shines in. The merging and folding of all those greedy major labels (and chain record stores, for that matter) proves one thing: major business and true art don’t mix. The big shots at the labels proved their ignorance in the early 00s, going into debt quickly as the fickle listenership they purposely designed in the 80s and 90s went the way of the download, taking their dollars with them. Indie labels, however, seem to be doing better than ever, releasing more albums than ever, along the way taking over the major press coverage, radio and film sound tracking and so on. And while technology has every band getting big on MySpace and every blog screaming louder than they should, it’s also permitted more artists than ever the opportunity to create high-quality recordings at home. Right now, at this very second, there are more bands than ever. Likewise, there are more bad bands than ever, but if you have good ears and use your search resources wisely, you’ll find more great music than ever, much of it being made by dead-broke youths recording at home, a concept unthinkable just 10 years ago. In this listener’s opinion, the rise of indie labels and stores, coupled with the rising practicality of home recording, has the world sounding better than ever. Despite the forever-rising scare of downloading, burning and bad journalism, I’d argue that there are more worthwhile bands in the U.S. than ever as this column goes to press. We’re living in watered-down times, but there’s a balance. Thank you, technology and junk-drawer businessmen alike, for giving lackadaisical basement heroes their time to shine. For that, we’re lucky to be living in these times of change. Now if someone aside from Apple could just make a buck.

Additional Changes to Ponder: Ringtones often outsell albums. What? Am I kidding? No. Many people just want to hear the most accessible 12 seconds of their favorite song from quarter-inch “speakers.” Dead art personified. Look at the kids fumbling around at the malls and movie theaters, as well as in the movies, on TV and wherever else: they’re not dangerous or authentic. More than ever, kids seem to be soulless posers. I recently saw a commercial where a young girl asked herself, “Should I wear my ‘rocker shirt’ today?” You can now go to the mall, spend 20 minutes in Hot Topic and look like what the media tells you a “rocker” looks like – no joke. I remember the days when wearing your jeans, homemade band shirts and shoes thin - because you spent all your money on albums - made just fine for a “rocker look.”

Concerts these days seem to cater to three distinct audiences: 1) People with good jobs who can afford high-dollar Wilco and R.E.M. shows; 2) Kids who need to be seen/scene in their “rocker shirt” at hipster shows; 3) The real audiophiles who go to dive bars and venues and pay a few bucks to see real bands who play for a few bucks. One outta three ain’t bad.

And these interactive music-themed video games? Hmm. I’m just not sure yet how to feel about these things. To me, they seem to only promote “rocker shirt” culture. But I get it; they bring interest to The Shins or The Stooges or whoever that wouldn’t otherwise be there. Could be good; who can tell? Looks both fun and ridiculous to me.

Current six-disc rotation: The National’s The Virginia EP; Nagisa Ni Te’s Yosuga; Lee Miles’ Heathen Blux; The Replacements’ Hootenanny; Vandolah’s Please; Sebadoh’s The Sebadoh