RIP David Bowie

[killer b]

Good piece here by Ted Gioia about old vs new music, plenty to chew over.

Is Old Music Killing New Music?

All the growth in the music business now comes from old songs—with consumption of new music actually shrinking. How did we get here, and is there a way back?

tedgioia.substack.com

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Why not? Don't assume that everyone buying Bowie vinyl albums is old.

Because new artists are finding it really hard to get vinyl pressed nowadays, due to the plants being backed up churning out re-issues for old farts to get all nostalgic over.

 

[surreybrowncap]

Because new artists are finding it really hard to get vinyl pressed nowadays, due to the plants being backed up churning out re-issues for old farts to get all nostalgic over.

Can’t they use tape cassettes….

 

[killer b]

Can’t they use tape cassettes….

lots of people do, but the market for cassettes is tiny.

 

[surreybrowncap]

lots of people do, but the market for cassettes is tiny.

I wasn’t being serious….

 

[killer b]

Independent musicians in my orbit are all trying to find alternatives to vinyl atm - some are even releasing new music on CD - imagine!

 

[killer b]

This piece from Damon Krukowski from Galaxie 500 / Damon & Naomi has a lot of details about new and indie artiste being squeezed out of the vinyl business by the majors (not just Bowie represses, it's Ed Sheeran & Adele too). They had an album out last summer and are still waiting for the records to arrive.

Ed Sheeran's Vinyls

Market Share is a Zero-Sum Game

dadadrummer.substack.com

 

[pbsmooth]

lost me at vinyls!

 

[editor]

Because new artists are finding it really hard to get vinyl pressed nowadays, due to the plants being backed up churning out re-issues for old farts to get all nostalgic over.

But that demand will surely trigger investment in new pressing plants, no?

 

[killer b]

But that demand will surely trigger investment in new pressing plants, no?

there are new plants opening, but not enough to deal with demand which is - or at least was last time I checked - growing faster than capacity.

 

[editor]

there are new plants opening, but not enough to deal with demand which is - or at least was last time I checked - growing faster than capacity.

Oh I agree it's shit on small bands right now, but hopefully things will improve.

I've no idea how, but my own band have managed to get their vinyl releases sorted in a timely manner. I'll ask to see how they've done this.

 

[killer b]

Oh I agree it's shit on small bands right now, but hopefully things will improve.

I've no idea how, but my own band have managed to get their vinyl releases sorted in a timely manner. I'll ask to see how they've done this.

have you released anything in the last few years? Things were stretched pretty thin before then but it wasn't too bad most of the time - from late 2019 - early 2020 onwards it's been a total shitshow though

 

[Badgers]

 

[killer b]

tbf though I'm not sure represses are really the problem in themselves - the problem is major labels not investing in their own pressing plants and relying on the increasingly decrepit existing infrastructure.

I think there are problems with older music taking up an increasing amount of cultural bandwidth as outlined by Gioia in the article I posted though, a problem the major labels again aren't interested in tackling.

 

[editor]

 

[editor]

have you released anything in the last few years? Things were stretched pretty thin before then but it wasn't too bad most of the time - from late 2019 - early 2020 onwards it's been a total shitshow though

Yes - we had album out in late 2019 plus a vinyl box set retrospective at the same time, and we also have a new album coming out shortly. It seems that the vinyl will be only a month or two later than the main release (or at least that's what I've been told).

 

[editor]

have you released anything in the last few years? Things were stretched pretty thin before then but it wasn't too bad most of the time - from late 2019 - early 2020 onwards it's been a total shitshow though

By coincidence there's a related interview with my band's singer in Record Collector:

 

[editor]

Coming up Waterloo to host silent disco as community celebrates David Bowie ‘Ziggy Stardust’ milestone, 10th Feb 2022

 

[editor]

I don't normally like these kind of things, but this one has a certain charm. Plus it's got Gail on it and some great drumming.

 

[editor]

For the Bowie fan who has everything:

 

[editor]

An outtake from the Ziggy Stardust album cover photo shoot, 13th January, 1972. Photos by Brian Ward. They were all black and white shots that were later colourised, the jumpsuit was actually beige. Ward’s studio was nearby and they just went out and started shooting.

 

[UrbaneFox]

His New York place on Lafayette street. Don't stub your toes when you go on to the terrace in the middle of the night, and ignore the mini sink. 3 dishwashers, though.

 

[cybershot]

 

[editor]

I imagine I'll be playing to an empty field occasionally traversed by some young children chasing a balloon, but I'll be DJing a Bowie set on the main stage at the Brockwell Bounce festival on Weds 1st June 2022, from 4.45 to 6pm. Admission is free.

(*edited)

 

[surreybrowncap]

I imagine I'll be playing to an empty field occasionally traversed by some young children chasing a balloon, but I'll be DJing a Bowie set on the main stage at the Brockwell Bounce festival on Weds 2nd June 2022, from 4.45 to 6pm. Admission is free.

Should that be Thursday editor

 

[editor]

Should that be Thursday editor

Oops. It should be Weds the 1st!

 

[editor]

 

[belboid]

Just back from the UK premiere - held at Sheffield City Hall fifty years after he last performed there as Ziggy - and, I have to say, it was bloody marvellous.

Starts with familiar footage and some clever/funny/spacey graphics and old films and it looked as if it might just be a lovingly compiled selection of ‘best bits’ from lots of other docs. But then it starts intercutting gig footage from across the ages, merging songs to highlight links between them and showing the continuity and discontinuity between his performances. Some more obscure interviews where our Dave is (seemingly) incredibly open. Damn, he was a clever man. With really bad teeth.

 

[editor]

 

[editor]

Not sure how they can post this up but here's Pin Ups with bonus tracks. Oh wait It's now Bowie singing on the bonus tracks. So what's the point of that?!

1. Rosalyn
Written-By – Bill Farley, Jimmy Duncan
2. Here Comes The Night
Written-By – Bert Berns
3. I Wish You Would
Written-By – Billy Arnold
4. See Emily Play
Written-By – Syd Barrett
5. Everything's Alright
Written-By – Konrad, Karlson, Crouch, Stavely, James
6. I Can't Explain
Written-By – Pete Townshend
7. Friday On My Mind
Written-By – Young/Vanda
8. Sorrow
Written-By – Feldman, Goldstein, Gottehrer
9. Don't Bring Me Down
Written-By – Johnnie Dee
10. Shapes Of Things
Written-By – McCarthy*, Relf, Samwell-Smith
11. Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere
Written-By – Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey
12. Where Have All The Good Times Gone
Written-By – Ray Davies
13. Growin' Up
Guitar – Ron Wood
Written-By – Bruce Springsteen
14. Amsterdam
Written-By – Jacques Brel, Mort Shuman
15. Rosalyn - Pretty Things
16. Here Comes The Night - Them
17. I Wish You Would - The Yardbirds
18. See Emily Play - Pink Floyd
19. Everything's Alright - The Mojos
20. I Can't Explain - The Who
21. Friday On My Mind - The Easybeats
22. Sorrow - The Merseys
23. Don't Bring Me Down - Pretty Things
24. Shapes Of Things - The Yardbirds
25. Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere - The Who
26. Where Have All The Good Times Gone - The Kinks
27. Growin' Up - Bruce Springsteen