On The Record

  • The randomiser says “what’s good for the goose is good for the Ganley”

    June 9, 2009 @ 9:38 am | by Jim Carroll

    Much as I wish I could claim the above headline, all credit to OTR reader Declan for that one yesterday.

    Cluas marks ten years in the writing-about-music-online business with the site’s writers compiling their list of the Top 50 Irish Albums, 1999-2009. Chances are you don’t agree with the list so head here to do some venting. Congrats to editor/publisher/founder/chief tea-maker Eoghan O’Neill and crew on the first 10 years.

    Best way to ensure a best-seller? Publish the libel report for the book first.

    Now is the summer of our (indie) disco tents. The Irish premiere of the All Tomorrow’s Parties doc takes place at Dublin’s IFI on June 20 during their Stranger Than Fiction fest. Per the blurb: “All Tomorrow’s Parties is a DIY concert film featuring performances from an eclectic mix of some of the most influential artists including: Battles, Sonic Youth, Belle And Sebastian, Patti Smith, Grinderman, Iggy and the Stooges, Portishead, Mogwai, Slint, Grizzly Bear, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Gossip, Daniel Johnston and The Boredoms.”

    Hands up how many On The Record readers were at Planetlove last weekend or Life the weekend before? Yep, thought so

    Free Optimo! The Glasgow duo will be joining the Shock DJs, Nightflight DJs and friends for a free all-day party at the Bernard Shaw in Dublin next Saturday from 1pm. Later that night, Optimo hit the decks at Pogo. At the BS bash, JG Wilkes and JD Twitch will be doing a non-dancefloor set, probably akin to last year’s wonderful “Sleepwalk” compilation.

    Ben Wardle asks why all the fuss this weather about Island Records? You have to agree with him: whatever about the Island of old when Chris Blackwell was at the helm, the Island of today is just another major label subsidary shuffling and shifting beans.

    Kim Gordon for Prez! We’ve always liked the Sonic Youth queenpin, but now she’s just gone and biffed Radiohead on the nose in an interview with The Guardian so, natch, we like her even more. Yeah, we’re shallow like that. On Radiohead’s name-your-own-price stunt: “it seemed really community-oriented, but it wasn’t catered towards their musician brothers and sisters, who don’t sell as many records as them. It makes everyone else look bad for not offering their music for whatever.”

    Last week, oversized music promoters Live Nation introduced a “No Fee Wednesday” deal which most people thought meant exactly that. Not so, reports Alan Duke for CNN.

    The Face may be returning. No, really. I bet dSide is next.

    eMusic subscribers, are you unhappy, irritated or annoyed with the new pricing plans at the popular music subscription service now that major label Sony Music has swung by? You’re not alone.

    Per the lovely Metric, you don’t need record labels to get by in this tough ol’ world when you have the Canuck government in your corner. Sigh, if only we had a government like that. Sigh, if only we had a government. Yeah, I knew I’d get back to politics again today….

    And finally, there ain’t no fool like an old-school fool. For unseated MEPs and councillors of every stripe.

    • 36 Comments »

    1.
    June 9, 2009
    10:20 am

    In relation to Kim Gordon, fair play but she’s only reiterating what Robert Smith has been saying since last Febrauary on the cure’s website and was subsequently picked up by Mark beaumont from the guardian.

    See http://thecure.com/blog/ or http://www.thecure.com/blog/default.aspx?nid=21082

    Comment by Keith
    2.
    June 9, 2009
    10:22 am

    Judging by the libel/defamation warning, that book looks like it’s going to be hilarious.

    In other news, White Denim are playing the Academy 2 on the 26th of June. Winner!

    Comment by bren
    3.
    June 9, 2009
    10:26 am

    Keith - I edited out the extract because it was way, WAY too long - have put in the links instead

    Bren - I know! I bet half of Manchester is spending today guessing who XXX or XXXXX or XXXXXXX is

    As for White Denim, that’s old news - http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/ontherecord/2009/05/20/gigroll-5/ - keep up dude! Their new album is brilliant

    Comment by Jim Carroll
    4.
    June 9, 2009
    10:32 am

    Ah, great! Was wondering if/when the ATP film would get a screening here. Heard positive reports from those who saw it at Primavera. That said, as far as I’m concerned, the best part featured in the trailer - a good friend of mine who works at ATP “not asleep”-on-the-job behind a barrier :)

    Comment by Fiona
    5.
    June 9, 2009
    10:38 am

    not bothered enough to register on the cluas forum and post.. but that list is awful, it’s bad enough having ham sandwich the thrills and 66e all ahead of the immediate but to put all three albums just in front of it is to rub it in. Appalling stuff.

    Comment by Michael
    6.
    June 9, 2009
    10:46 am

    Have to agree with Michael - list is rubbish. It reinforces that sense that those discussion sites like Cluas and Thumped have been totally overtaken by blogs and the like. Cluas seems to be populated by the same people that there were there 10 years ago giving out about Glen Hansard and Damien Rice, while Thumped is just all 45 past and present members of the Jimmy Cake swapping recipes and remembering when they were young.

    Comment by Donkey
    7.
    June 9, 2009
    10:54 am

    Old news eh?! I’m just happy I finally get to see them. Have only heard Mirrored and Reversed so far, can’t wait to hear the rest of it. I loved Workout Holiday

    Comment by bren
    8.
    June 9, 2009
    11:03 am

    Time to test how well connected all and sundry are here….

    Anyone heard of The Specials adding any irish dates to their winter strowl around the UK?

    There is a suspicious gap in the middle of their schedule….

    Comment by James D
    9.
    June 9, 2009
    11:40 am

    If “What’s good for the goose is good for the Ganley” had been Libertas’ election slogan I might have taken a split-second to think about voting for them. It is genius.

    Comment by Conor Furlong
    10.
    June 9, 2009
    11:41 am

    James D - I’ve heard nothing about this but then, I’m not privy to all the thoughts and secrets of the promoting class - despite what they may think!

    So let’s work this out logically. The Specials are playing Oxegen not EP which means they’re in the MCD camp for a start. There may well be an agreement of some sort between agent and promoter that they’ll get a few indoor shows in return.

    Are they big enough for an 02? Or will it be the Olympa?

    I’d go with 2 nights in the Olympia between November 12 and 18

    Conor - all credit to OTR reader Declan for that one - hat off to the fellow

    Comment by Jim Carroll
    11.
    June 9, 2009
    11:56 am

    James D - yeah the gap between Edinburgh and Southend surely has to be filled with Belfast and Dublin.

    Roddy Radiation said on their forum a few weeks ago that irish dates other than Oxegen were on the cards for later in thre year. So i’d say that’s when they’ll happen…

    Belfast 13th
    Dublin 14th and maybe 15th

    saw them in Birmingham in April. One of the best gigs ive ever been to…amazing energy.

    Comment by Keith
    12.
    June 9, 2009
    12:13 pm

    thankfully it would seem that the emusic/ sony debacle will only impact US users and not us in the euro zone.

    certainly helps as was beginning to wonder if it was worth it.

    cheers
    c

    Comment by cubikmusik
    13.
    June 9, 2009
    1:25 pm

    The more and more I learn about that Canadian art’s fund scheme, the many more loopholes I am coming across in it.

    Comment by Corway
    14.
    June 9, 2009
    1:28 pm

    @ Donkey - that’s my new signature right there. Thanks boss.

    Comment by pete
    15.
    June 9, 2009
    1:43 pm

    Donkey - I agree, while there is an element of that on Thumped, it’s still the first port of call for promoters like U:Mack, Skinny Wolves and Foggy Notions, and thus still a useful site.

    90% of the blogs are just Pitchfork bottom-feeders (wow! way to tell me about No Age/Wavves/Dan Deacon etc) and i’d be surprised if they were still around in 10 years.

    That said, Cluas is a true dinosaur and someone should have put a bullet in it a long time ago. For its own sake.

    Comment by Pee
    16.
    June 9, 2009
    2:10 pm

    I can imagine bottom-feeding from Pitchfork would leave one with the tang of peroxide and Pabst Blue Ribbon on one’s lips. Might get bits of Pitchfork poo (poopfork?) caught in my moustache too.

    Comment by adam
    17.
    June 9, 2009
    2:18 pm

    Donkey – I was intrigued to see you think CLUAS.com is a “discussion site”. I went back and checked our traffic figures and only 8.63% of our page views in May 2009 were from the Discussion forum. The vast majority of traffic to CLUAS continues to be to the 1500+ articles, reviews and features on the site.

    While I’m at it, CLUAS has not been “totally overtaken” with the emergence of new music blogs in the recent years. Our monthly page views have over the last few years held steady over the last 3 years, despite the emergence of other “eyeball grabbers” be they blogs, YouTube, MySpace, Facebook and the like. Yeah, I’d have preferred to see a month on month growth in our traffic but, all things considered, to hold our line in such a more competitive environment is fine by me!

    Finally, I should clarify that CLUAS is not “populated by the same people that there were there 10 years ago”. Of the 35 (current and former) CLUAS writers who voted in our top 50 poll, only 9 had written for the site in its first 5 years. The remaining 26 writers only came on board in the last 5 years it’s these 26 who, by a massive margin, write most of the content on the site today.

    Constructive criticism of the CLUAS site? I welcome it, even actively encourage it (it’s all very useful considering our need to ensure the raft of necessary improvements that are in the pipeline are in the right direction). Although I do reserve the right to jump in and (pedantically) clarify any misinformed observations that might pop up.

    Cheers

    Eoghan

    Comment by Eoghan O'Neill
    18.
    June 9, 2009
    2:20 pm

    Pedro - all schemes have loopholes. The FACTOR funds, at least, do exist and have helped many acts and labels to get their stuff out there

    Pete - Don’t forget to credit Donkey (or whatever his/her name is)

    Pee - “90% of the blogs are just Pitchfork bottom-feeders”. Really? I thought it was more like 90.245%. Interesting

    Adam - Gross, dude, gross

    Comment by Jim Carroll
    19.
    June 9, 2009
    2:23 pm

    ‘the summer of our disco tents” is an absolutely murderous pun.

    eMusic - I don’t when or if it’s going to affect European users, but I’m not particularly happy about it on the face of it. twice the price and I can ‘discover’ London Calling, Highway 61 Revisited and Nebraska? although I suppose there might be more interesting things in the Sony catalogue I don’t know about yet.

    Comment by gabbagabbahey
    20.
    June 9, 2009
    2:36 pm

    I just find it interesting that the bands who do really well on the back of the funds A) Don’t give a shit about Canada, B) Don’t want to tour across Canada & C) Don’t even have a Canadian label.

    Comment by Pedro
    21.
    June 9, 2009
    2:47 pm

    gabba - there have been a few really dodgy/great puns today (the headline, the summer of our disco tents, JD’s “when it comes to environmentalism, you could Tara them all with the same brush these days…”) - I blame Silvio

    pedro - but a lot of those funds are aimed at kickstarting export business so if I were the FACTOR funders, I’d be dead happy never to see those acts playing Lee’s Palace

    Comment by Jim Carroll
    22.
    June 9, 2009
    2:49 pm

    Jim, do you know if the new pricing plan is happening for eMusic Europe? Are Sony getting involved with the european store? I love eMusic. Quality albums for practically 0p!

    Comment by John Caddell
    23.
    June 9, 2009
    2:54 pm

    John - waiting to hear back about that very issue

    Comment by Jim Carroll
    24.
    June 9, 2009
    3:15 pm

    Forget Dside magazine bring back Enter magazine. All the features of the internet but in handy disc form that you have to pay for. I miss those green screen interviews with a slovenly looking Rick O Shea

    Comment by demon
    25.
    June 9, 2009
    3:48 pm

    Emusic have changed their price plans in Europe. For example, the 50 songs a month package now offers 35 a month for only a slightly lower price. Those on 75 now get 50 a month for pretty much the same price etc. That would suggest to me that they are either changing the price plans now with a view to adding the Sony catalogue later or else we’ll just get the inferior/more expensive plans without the extra content.
    That would be quite a jip. It is a great site as it is and it would be a pity if it changes to its own detriment. But maybe it will be a good thing. Change ain’t always bad.

    Comment by P&M
    26.
    June 9, 2009
    4:00 pm

    Demon - next thing, you will be getting all misty-eyed about Fresh magazine

    P&M - Most of the commentary i’ve seen about eMusic since they announced they were going to the do with Sony has been negative. It’s a pity because it is a lovely wee site, though I’m sure indie labels do not agree with that given their probable revenue split

    Comment by Jim Carroll
    27.
    June 9, 2009
    4:35 pm

    @6 Donkey

    I am 27, have never met the Jimmy Cake and have been ancient for at least 30 years

    Comment by Leigh O'Gorman
    28.
    June 9, 2009
    6:40 pm

    Dside was actually alright, I for one was sad to see it go. Glad to hear the Face is returning. Bring back Select magazine and I’ll be over the moon.

    Comment by Cinema Boy
    29.
    June 9, 2009
    7:28 pm

    see last fm is branching out

    http://www.songkick.com

    Comment by petee
    30.
    June 9, 2009
    11:00 pm

    eMusic’s PR has been pretty awful around this hence the confusion around European prices etc. It wouldn’t be that hard to send each subscriber an email about the changes.

    According to an FAQ i eventually found on the eMusic site but can’t find now - the new prices only apply to new customers in Europe. Existing subscriptions stay the same (but probably not for long). The Sony catalogue will not be available outside the US yet but they’re working on it. No doubt the prices will change for existing customers when that happens.

    Comment by Niall
    31.
    June 10, 2009
    10:49 am

    Long time lurker, first time poster so hello everyone!

    I DJ’ed at both Life and Planetlove. Think Life did ok numbers wise, maybe they lost some money but I can see it return to the same excellent location next year whether they get lucky with the weather again remains to be seen. Planetlove I’m not so sure about. They had 14,000 people two years ago, 8,000 last year but barley 4 this time around. Now you don’t have to be Mark Durkin to see where that one is heading.

    So none of the festivals so far this year have sold out. I wonder is that a sure sign of things to come for the big two?

    Comment by Giles
    32.
    June 10, 2009
    10:54 am

    Hey giles - welcome onboard!

    Glad to hear that Life went OK, though I think Planetlove’s PR this time out was not as high-profile as in years past. 4k? Ouch!

    So none of the festivals so far this year have sold out. I wonder is that a sure sign of things to come for the big two?

    There have been wall to wall ads for Oxegen on Today FM’s nighttime shows over the last few nights, which I don’t remember happening in years past. Now, I think the Oxegen line-up is fantastic but I really, really, really believe that many of the potential audience that line-up should attract are put off by a belief (mistaken or otherwise) that Oxegen is where the Leaving Cert kids go to party.

    Comment by Jim Carroll
    33.
    June 10, 2009
    12:00 pm

    Cheers Jim - keep up the good work!

    Finally lost my oxygen cheery last year albeit it was short and sweet [a bit like the real thing!] as I only went for one day. I must say though, I had a great time and plan to go back this year with her indoors in tow for two non-camping days. Looking at this years line up, I’d expect that more people will do the same next month. Most of the hassle that comes from oxygen seems to do with the camping side of things anyway. I’d be more worried about the picnic with their lack of recession busting deals for a yester year line up. They too have up the ante in the advertising stakes so early in the season. Personally, I can’t see either selling out but I’m hoping Paddy Power has different ideas.

    Comment by Giles
    34.
    June 10, 2009
    12:03 pm

    Giles - I think many people will do something similar. As somneone pointed out here recently, it’s easy to do the bus down and up and leave the camping to those hardier (foolish) souls.

    As for EP, they will be selling tix right up to the time the first act goes onstage. It is a very hard year for them - their audience used to be 20-30something architects in camper vans. This year. those lads and lasses are on the dole or, if they have the money, have spent it in Bacelona at Primavera

    Comment by Jim Carroll
    35.
    June 10, 2009
    2:06 pm

    Normally an Ep regular, I aint goin this year coz the lineup is just not worth the money… and before the EP fans starting moaning that the festival is soooo much more than just the lineup…it’s not for me..I got to these things for the music..every thing else is incidental.

    regarding oxegen..I agree with you Jim…there are plenty of acts I would definitely go for..if it was a different festival. The camping side does seem to be where most of the trouble has been but I’m just not arsed traipsing round a field stepping over pissed/puking/copulating teenagers. Small groups of them are annoying enough, much less thousands of the f**kers.

    Maybe i’m just too old and cranky…….now…. where’s me Horlicks gone ?

    Comment by Keith
    36.
    October 13, 2009
    12:07 pm

    thankfully it looks like that the emusic/ sony will only impact US users and not us in the euro zone.
    good going for all of u!@!

    Comment by playlistpk

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