comments on record

[bitterfruit]

Any initial comments on the record in terms of how it sounds compared to "Kill The Moonlight?"

[earl grey]

whoa hold up - it leaked?

edit - or maybe it's just this:

Gimme Fiction is the wildest Spoon LP to date - it's also Jim Eno's favorite. It was put to tape from July 'til September 2004, and like our last two albums it was co-produced with Mike McCarthy in Austin at Jim's Public HiFi studio. What else. . .it begins with the sound of a nice, long inhale and ends with the Tosca Strings. It covers such topics as long distance relationships, the apocalyptic bent of certain American Southerners, neckrugs, emotional shutdowns, Ralph Reed Jr., a musical called The Stranger Dance, and Marquette, Michigan. Did I mention it's the longest Spoon record yet?

[Gerard]

with one or two notable exceptions, I don't this album is nearly as sparse at KTM or GCT --- "Sister Jack" is a pretty neat example of tape-recorder-as-musical-instrument. Lyrically, while not dissing the other records, I think 'fiction' is Britt's best work. Crafted without sounding labored over, is the way I'd describe it.

in short, this album feels like as big a creative leap from 'Kill the Moonlight' as 'Girls Can Tell' was from 'A Series Of Sneaks'. And it still sounds like Spoon.

[Seneschal Gox]

Why is the new record called "Gimme Friction" on the news page and in the e-mail news bulletin sent to Eris-knows-how-many subscribers?

...Evidence of a massive hoax? ...or screamer of a typo?

Either way, "don't be dissin' Britt Daniel on records, y'all!"

[Lukas]

whoa you guys at matador are sure busy these days.

[Gerard]

Apologies for the confusion. Don't believe everything you read in your junk mail (even if we're the sender).

[bitterfruit]

Curiously, why is it coming out on Matador Europe rather than 12XU?

[flo's garage]

Am I right in thinking 12XU is run by Gerard anyway?? Is it to do with Gerards re-location to Texas?

Is 12XU still operational?

[flo's garage]

By the looks of their website they are still operational so I've answered myself in that respect...

[Gerard]

bitterfruit,

things have gotten to the point for Spoon in Europe (and other faraway places) where they needed a larger organization, greater resources, etc. to get their records into enough stores, enable the band to tour effectively, etc. Matador's overseas operation certainly fits the bill, and we've all worked together before.

Flo, 12XU, as you've noted is still up and running, though given that the label's base of operations is now Austin, TX, it is fair to say that future activity in the UK and Europe will be somewhat limited. There are some new titles coming out in 2005 and you can read about them, if you wish, at http://www.12XU.net.

[johansen smith]

I can not wait for that Sally Crewe album. the first one was so great, how did it pass under so many radars when it was released?

[greenarrow]

JS - That's how I feel about the sally crewe album. I love it and I don't know how it slipped past me either. I played it twice in a row earlier today. I'm stoked about this next record, I'll bet it's gonna be great. I know she's playing in Austin next week, but I'm gonna be outta town, which sucks, but I bet she plays here again sometime soon.

[johansen smith]

so, this is their best album since A Series of Sneaks, though nowhere near as good as that one.

this album is going to be huge.

[tinobeat]

hmm. interesting.

see, I think GCT and KTM were both better than SoS, though I love that album too...

in my mind Spoon's been on a straight shot upward, every album topping their last. have yet to hear the new one, though.

[george]

why can't bands stop their records from leaking? are promos THAT important for a band like spoon?

[johansen smith]

Originally posted by george
why can't bands stop their records from leaking? are promos THAT important for a band like spoon?
Merge started advertising for this one weeks ago. when an album is being promoted three months ahead of time, it's because the label wants the record to get exposure. the terriffic word of mouth on this album is only going to help the sales, not hinder it.

[bitterfruit]

"I Summon You" seems to stand out for me so far.

[Patrick]

Originally posted by george
why can't bands stop their records from leaking? are promos THAT important for a band like spoon?

You can't get reviews without sending reviewers promos. And deadlines for magazines are 2 months before on-stand date. Add in a week for the CD to get to the reviewer, and then a week or two for the reviewer to listen to the CD and write about it, and you've got 3 months prior to release if you want reviews hitting stands when the CD hits the stores.

Patrick

[bitterfruit]

What about adding a single 1/4 second blip in random spots per track on CDs that go out for review?

[earl grey]

i read an idea somewhere (ILM maybe?) that struck me as smart - split promo copies into 99 tracks. they'll play normally on a CD player, but will turn into 99 MP3's when ripped.

of course, it's not too hard to stitch together MP3's ... i'm sure someone would invest the time to get around it.

[Patrick]

Originally posted by bitterfruit
What about adding a single 1/4 second blip in random spots per track on CDs that go out for review?

Pisses people off... and of course robs something from the music.

We've discussed stuff like this but it never seems worth it.

The 99 MP3s idea is pretty imaginative... but of course, everything can be circumvented.

And it's the stuff that you want people to circulate - unknown bands - that people won't bother to circumvent - while it's the stuff you don't want leaked - big popular bands - that people will take the trouble to circumvent and circulate.

Patrick

[Paul]

Originally posted by earl grey
i read an idea somewhere (ILM maybe?) that struck me as smart - split promo copies into 99 tracks. they'll play normally on a CD player, but will turn into 99 MP3's when ripped. It would hardly take any time at all, actually. Rip the cd as one continuous .wav file and use any sound editor around to split it into normal mp3s. Would probably take less than 20 mins.

[bitterfruit]

Originally posted by earl grey
i read an idea somewhere (ILM maybe?) that struck me as smart - split promo copies into 99 tracks. they'll play normally on a CD player, but will turn into 99 MP3's when ripped.

of course, it's not too hard to stitch together MP3's ... i'm sure someone would invest the time to get around it.


I didn't realize that the gals from Sleater-Kinney were so upset about their record being leaked until after I read your blog. I can surely understand how they feel hurt by the leak, but I wonder if they're also smitten that so many people would want to listen to their record so far in advance.

[Patrick]

Originally posted by bitterfruit
I wonder if they're also smitten that so many people would want to listen to their record so far in advance.

Well, at this stage of their career, and given the nature of their fans, they can probably take that for granted.

Patrick

[chunge74]

What if you have brand loyalty and want the matador version but live in the states? Not that there's anything wrong with Merge.

Matador has a better logo though.