The best thing about digital music on the internet is that you manage to discover new artists which you otherwise would have missed out on completely. This happened when I discovered Flogging Molly, and it's happened again with an American singer called Nellie McKay and her album Get Away From Me.
She's a 19 year-old London-born, New York raised singer. Probably the best description is modern cabaret. Her songs are smart, funny, sarcastic and among other things reference Monty Python. Sort of like (S)Nora Jones... but good.
And you know what, if trolls like Jack Valenti had his way, I'd have never have found out about her.
This is the moron who during the early 1980's screamed from the tallest building that the VCR was going to destroy Hollywood. Twenty years later, Hollywood still has enough money lying about that they can still afford to make movies like White Chicks... Something tells me that ol' Jack doesn't have the greatest track record when it comes to predicting the doom & gloom of industries. Anyway, back to Nellie...
Her type of music isn't the sort to get much exposure through the traditional sources like radio & television. She doesn't rap about bling-bling & 'Ho's enough for the Shitstereo mob, doesn't sing about freeing refugees or the evils of 'Dubya to satisfy the ABC mob, and has too much adult language for anyone else.
I went down to one of the larger music chains in Brisbane and asked about McKay's debut album. I was treated to a blank stare by the pseudo-skater-punk sales drone before being told she wasn't on the catalogue and was she anything like Jessica Simpson? Which of course she's identical to.... if the only categories you use to compare the two is: 1. They're both blonde. 2. They're both female. 3. They're both American. Wankers.
End result. I couldn't buy her album. I'm not going to pay Amazon.Com's grossly inflated shipping charges for one album I haven't heard enough of to decide if it's worth risking. And I can't walk into a major record store - you know - one of the ones that boast about their huge range - and buy the CD - because it isn't Top 40/mainstream bullshit.
So what choice do I have if I want to listen to her music ? Simple, screw you Jack, I'll search for it on the internet. Fortunately I came across a fan-site which was hosting a bootleg of a recent live performance by McKay. I snagged it, and you know what - it was bloody enjoyable music. So now I'm going to keep looking for her album. Why? Because I listened to it on the internet and liked it. Hear that Jack ya mug...
ADDENDUM: I wrote this post on Friday morning. Friday afternoon, I walked into Borders - a freaking bookstore, and find three copies of the album sitting on the shelves. This is after being told by that other mob of twits that it hadn't received a domestic release yet. You can't buy it at a supposed genuine music store, but can at a freaking bookstore. That just doesn't make sense.
She's a 19 year-old London-born, New York raised singer. Probably the best description is modern cabaret. Her songs are smart, funny, sarcastic and among other things reference Monty Python. Sort of like (S)Nora Jones... but good.
And you know what, if trolls like Jack Valenti had his way, I'd have never have found out about her.
This is the moron who during the early 1980's screamed from the tallest building that the VCR was going to destroy Hollywood. Twenty years later, Hollywood still has enough money lying about that they can still afford to make movies like White Chicks... Something tells me that ol' Jack doesn't have the greatest track record when it comes to predicting the doom & gloom of industries. Anyway, back to Nellie...
Her type of music isn't the sort to get much exposure through the traditional sources like radio & television. She doesn't rap about bling-bling & 'Ho's enough for the Shitstereo mob, doesn't sing about freeing refugees or the evils of 'Dubya to satisfy the ABC mob, and has too much adult language for anyone else.
I went down to one of the larger music chains in Brisbane and asked about McKay's debut album. I was treated to a blank stare by the pseudo-skater-punk sales drone before being told she wasn't on the catalogue and was she anything like Jessica Simpson? Which of course she's identical to.... if the only categories you use to compare the two is: 1. They're both blonde. 2. They're both female. 3. They're both American. Wankers.
End result. I couldn't buy her album. I'm not going to pay Amazon.Com's grossly inflated shipping charges for one album I haven't heard enough of to decide if it's worth risking. And I can't walk into a major record store - you know - one of the ones that boast about their huge range - and buy the CD - because it isn't Top 40/mainstream bullshit.
So what choice do I have if I want to listen to her music ? Simple, screw you Jack, I'll search for it on the internet. Fortunately I came across a fan-site which was hosting a bootleg of a recent live performance by McKay. I snagged it, and you know what - it was bloody enjoyable music. So now I'm going to keep looking for her album. Why? Because I listened to it on the internet and liked it. Hear that Jack ya mug...
ADDENDUM: I wrote this post on Friday morning. Friday afternoon, I walked into Borders - a freaking bookstore, and find three copies of the album sitting on the shelves. This is after being told by that other mob of twits that it hadn't received a domestic release yet. You can't buy it at a supposed genuine music store, but can at a freaking bookstore. That just doesn't make sense.
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