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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | DanAbnrml9@aol.com |
| Subject | WHAT?? was Plastic Fantastic |
| Date | Tue, 13 Jan 2004 15:17:50 EST |
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Okay, okay, okay, I stand corrected on the retail scenario, and yes, I agree
that the meeting should've been scheduled at a different time. Really I was
just trying to get at how the death of a retailer is a snowballing thing, that
reduced revenues = a need to reduce costs, which in turn = a drop in the
"customer experience". It's relevent because it's happening with great frequency to
record stores at the moment, and, sadly, no one wins.
Ryan's probably right in that I sound too much like a manager, but the truth
is that in any issue involving business, money and costs do come into play.
I'm probably just being unusually candid because I'm not talking about any sort
of stated policies, nor am I talking about a business that I *own*. Believe
me, it's not that I don't believe that the customer deserves a good experience;
they absolutely do. The hard part is balancing that with the "cost" side of
the equation, which is becoming more and more challenging.
Also, I wanted to bring up a few CDs I've gotten recently...
PHANTOM PLANET - PHANTOM PLANET. Unlike many, I actually thought "Big Brat"
was a pretty fantastic single, a barrage of Fall-like vocals and pounding
guitar riffs. A lot of the album sounds like this, but little of it is as catchy
(bar "1st Things 1st") and so far I can't honestly say that I'm all that happy
with their direction, even in spite of my previous optimism. Has anyone else
heard it? (As a side note, people who wanted to get the curious reissue of "The
Guest" with 4 bonus tracks added can get it packaged with the new PP album for
around $16/17 most places. The bonus tracks are unremarkable, but completists
will want them).
BLONDIE - THE CURSE OF BLONDIE. It's import-only right now, but THIS is what
should've been their "comeback" album--NOT the cruddy "No Exit" from 1998.
That isn't to say it's perfect, since many of these songs don't exactly stumble
across a great hook, but it's dressed up in some stylishly modern production
that fits the band, rather than sounds like a forced attempt to make them sound
modern. Extra points for the fantastic single "Good Boys"--check the song out
at the very least!
BEAT HAPPENING - CRASHING THROUGH. I just finished reading Michael Azzerad's
"Our Band Could Be Your Life" (imperfect book, but interesting reading
nonetheless) and so it's sparked my interest in a lot of bands I missed out on, most
notably Husker Du and the Beat Happening. WHY haven't I heard these records
before? The "Crashing Through" box set is a lot to chew on, but Calvin Johnson
and Heather Lewis' songs are positively endearing... they're so basic, yet
sound so fresh and vital. There's a feeling that I've heard these records before,
playing as I browsed dusty used book and CD stores about a decade ago, and
that's sort of a pleasant image to hang onto. Extra points on this one for coming
in a beautifully-assembled box set with 6 digipacks (and one CD in a
slipcase) plus a huge booklet.
--Jason
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