7.01.2005
Taking Tiger Mountain (By Internet)
The otherwise awful "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" only has so many slots for indie rock in a given week, so the more industrious among our non-major label favorites have begun to truly harness the power of the Internet to self-promote. Sure, anyone can create a web site featuring publicity stills and a couple of mp3s, but how about podcasting, or better yet, creating your own TV show?
The latter is the ingenious idea of Joe Pernice, he of the Pernice Brothers. The band's web site long has been home to some quirky video shot by Pernice on tour, but recently he has posted two episodes of what he first called (and then, when wiser, more legal-minded counsel suggested he stop, refrained from calling) "MTV2 Cribs." Let the bling-happy rappers who populate the real MTV "Cribs" have their fun there, Pernice thought, while indie rockers could show off their more modest homes on the network's lesser sister station. He has yet to come up with a new name, though something like, "Hey Kids, Think All Rock Musicians Are Loaded? Guess Again" might be in order. In the first episode, Pernice offers a tour of his new house in Toronto, while in the second, he films himself on the phone with an insurance agent as he bends the truth in search of better rates for insuring his band's equipment before they hit the road.
Absolutely Kosher Records, home to The Wrens, Franklin Bruno and others, is four episodes deep into its own multimedia project with a series of podcasts that feature new music from label releases. It's a great idea, and a perfect way for the label to get word out about its products and for listeners to try out some music before buying. The most recent podcast, no. 4, features some nice music from Bottom of the Hudson, a band I'd not known of previously. I'll definitely be checking them out now.
At the other end of the spectrum is Brian Eno. Few who stumble across this site will need an introduction, but because Eno's output has been so eclectic, one could use a hint at what his latest disc is like. Another Day on Earth is being called his return to song-based music, a departure from the more electronic, ambient (a form he created, by the way) music he has made since his early rock forays (most notably on Another Green World) as a solo artist after leaving Roxy Music in 1973. His new label, Rykodisc, offers its first podcast to re-introduce Eno with an interview in which he talks about this new record and how it fits into his career. It's a bit long, but unless Eno is featured on NPR anytime soon, how else will you hear anything from this record otherwise?
The latter is the ingenious idea of Joe Pernice, he of the Pernice Brothers. The band's web site long has been home to some quirky video shot by Pernice on tour, but recently he has posted two episodes of what he first called (and then, when wiser, more legal-minded counsel suggested he stop, refrained from calling) "MTV2 Cribs." Let the bling-happy rappers who populate the real MTV "Cribs" have their fun there, Pernice thought, while indie rockers could show off their more modest homes on the network's lesser sister station. He has yet to come up with a new name, though something like, "Hey Kids, Think All Rock Musicians Are Loaded? Guess Again" might be in order. In the first episode, Pernice offers a tour of his new house in Toronto, while in the second, he films himself on the phone with an insurance agent as he bends the truth in search of better rates for insuring his band's equipment before they hit the road.
Absolutely Kosher Records, home to The Wrens, Franklin Bruno and others, is four episodes deep into its own multimedia project with a series of podcasts that feature new music from label releases. It's a great idea, and a perfect way for the label to get word out about its products and for listeners to try out some music before buying. The most recent podcast, no. 4, features some nice music from Bottom of the Hudson, a band I'd not known of previously. I'll definitely be checking them out now.
At the other end of the spectrum is Brian Eno. Few who stumble across this site will need an introduction, but because Eno's output has been so eclectic, one could use a hint at what his latest disc is like. Another Day on Earth is being called his return to song-based music, a departure from the more electronic, ambient (a form he created, by the way) music he has made since his early rock forays (most notably on Another Green World) as a solo artist after leaving Roxy Music in 1973. His new label, Rykodisc, offers its first podcast to re-introduce Eno with an interview in which he talks about this new record and how it fits into his career. It's a bit long, but unless Eno is featured on NPR anytime soon, how else will you hear anything from this record otherwise?
