The biggest band to come back in 2011 was The Cars. Jon King and Andy Gill made a new Gang of Four album. Howard Devoto and Dave Formula issued a new Magazine album. The Feelies were Here Again. And -- zounds! -- even Zounds made a comeback record (thirty years after their debut).
In 2011, the Dead Milkmen released The King In Yellow. In 2023, the Dead Milkmen are back to life all over again with their brand newest album, Quaker City Quiet Pills. There's a concerning (and true) story about government surveillance behind the Milkmen's 2011 song "Caitlin Childs".
2011 me was abuzz about the return of Magazine, Rival Schools, and Rocket From The Tombs (with new songs by Craig Bell, Cheetah Chrome, Richard Lloyd, and David Thomas). 2023 me is most impressed by the self-titled Seefeel album, with founding members Mark Clifford and Sarah Peacock joined by the rhythm section of Shigeru Ishihara (aka DJ Scotch Egg) and Iida Kazuhisa (ex-Boredoms drummer).
https://tinyurl.com/2011comeback
ReplyDelete"Comeback Specials" posts are a treasure Jonder and I thank you wholeheartedly! A couple of interesting turn of events in the music biz my buddy Martin Devaney (musician) posted about in comments: https://www.stereogum.com/2240332/spotify-reportedly-plans-to-pay-even-less-in-royalties-to-less-popular-artists/news/?fbclid=IwAR3YIl2Cs4PPQDcujQGJ0h6boGVdjh2am-a5Gh3S7cl37LwUbZjVs0s1vYM
ReplyDeleteand unfortunately: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/oct/17/bandcamp-lays-off-half-its-staff-after-buyout-by-songtradr?fbclid=IwAR0zUnHfk7fCAI49G_d4SPQD3x2EpIdBX3Ueq-3TcON8ZmuuyCW2jCSYJCc
on contra point: Songtradr will not fundamentally change the marketplace features. I will bet $100 on that. They bought Bandcamp because Songtradr is an independent, self curated sync library and digital distributor. Their take is shockingly reasonable.
What they want from Bandcamp is the opportunity to pitch artists on opting into their sync library and distribution services.
Further, their distribution is cheaper and a better deal than just about anything else out there.
They most downsized the editorial staff and the customer service staff. I'll bet a dollar they'll rebuild both with the combined company. That's just normal merger and acquisition stuff.
There is literally zero chance that they're just going to destroy the marketplace for creators or consumers. They aren't stupid.
and: the specific change is to not pay for tracks generating less than 5 cents per month. That's not unreasonable. It will then raise the rate for things making more than that.
Thanks for the kind words, and I sure hope you're right about Bandcamp. These days it seems like "normal merger and acquisition stuff" involves cutting staff, raising executive salaries and stockholder dividends, while pressuring the remaining employees to work harder with fewer people. You must have seen that too, since you're only betting one dollar that they'll rehire customer service and editorial staff!
DeleteThat's really sad news on both fronts.Laying off half the staff of the best independent music channel going to make it into a distribution service is super depressing.
DeleteDead Milkmen? I'm in! - Stinky
ReplyDeleteI was surprised by the political and historical content of "The King In Yellow", and it was hard to choose a favorite track!
DeleteThank you! And just look at how serviceable a motto is implied right there in the preceding: "The Very Least Worst of the Least Worst!"
ReplyDeleteThat's right, you can always do worse than the least worst! I should have included a caveat that it's only one blogger's opinion of which songs are the least worst (or best). Others may enjoy the Human League or Primus, but I was just looking for a song from each of those albums that I didn't actively dislike.
DeleteOn the other hand, you may not appreciate the verbal skills of Aceyalone and the other members of the Freestyle Fellowship, but please be assured that you would enjoy their other material even less.