Sometimes there are questions too big for one man. Sometimes, in the search for ultimate truth, we must seek the guidance of others. And then there are times when one wants to increase traffic to one’s blog by actively seeking participation of one’s small readership by stoking the fires of eternal debate…
It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these polls, but I think the time is right to do another one (i.e. I don’t know what else to write about). I pay for Spotify and use a premium Pandora account at work, and I feel that both are worth the money. But I’m really out of touch when it comes to what normal people do, so I’m curious: does anyone reading this blog pay for streaming music? Chime in.
St. Vincent’s new single is out, and boy is it great. It fills me with optimism regarding the singer/songwriter/weirdo’s forthcoming album ST. VINCENT. Even though this will be the singer’s fourth album, much fuss was made in the media regarding the fact that ST. VINCENT will be her first major label album. Why is this a big deal? I personally don’t care what sort of label is releasing her album, but after I read a few news articles online I noticed that all of them went out of their way to mention that this new record would be her first on a major label.
None of these articles came out and said so, but what I inferred was that this new record is going to be St. Vincent’s first real album. Like somehow being on a Universal imprint label (that’s right, folks, the album is going to be put out on a smaller record label owned by a conglomerate) legitimizes her as an artist. Though can that really be the case? Maybe I’m reading into this incorrectly…the only other thing I could think is that perhaps people view this as St. Vincent selling out. Ugh, I hate the business side of the music business.
I don’t think that the freaky-lady who recorded one of the best albums of 2012 with David Byrne is only now a legitimate force in the music world because Universal is going to foot the bill to put out her next record. I also don’t think anyone capable of releasing such a bizarre, interesting record with David Byrne is capable of selling out.
Anyway, St. Vincent’s new single “Birth in Reverse” is as funky and weird as one would hope from the lanky songstress. That said, one definitely gets the sense that she’s learned a thing or two from hanging out with pop-freak Byrne. “Birth in Reverse” maybe strange, but it’s also catchy and has a rad fuzzy-guitar riff. Say what you will about The Talking Heads, but the band always put out catchy but off-kilter songs. So, if Ms. Clark is going to take musical cues from David Byrne, I’ll forgive her for going to Christina Aguilera hairstylist.
Defending Axl Rose 