Los Angeles, CA

LA Weekly has a great article up today about indie record labels and bands, and how the musicians are once again reclaiming their art as theirs. I’ve hated every minute of the RIAA legal circus, mainly because they’re making examples of all the wrong people and really just making them into martyrs for the cause, not scapegoats. When you bankrupt a single mother who’s only downloaded a handful of songs, you know you’ve lost your soul. Though these types of stories may anger and depress you as much as me, there is still hope.

Bedroom Confidential: New Crop of Boutique Record Labels in Town is a great three-page article about the new homegrown record labels sprouting up all over the greater LA area, and how the real indie movement — not that KROQ “no, really, we play indie, like Foo Fighters!” crap — are starting to make a mark in the music industry as a whole. In recent years underground bands like Arcade Fire have broken through and made it onto the Billboard Top 100 solely on their merits and word of mouth, not a media blitz and overhype and cross promotion through TV shows that major labels would do to whore out their music. I don’t want to give away a lot of the article because it’s really best to read it yourself, but be sure to read it all!

Personally, I’m of the mindset that if the music is good enough, it will find its audience. With the Internet making music so readily available to anyone, labels and artists need to openly welcome this free advertising juggernaut and use it to the fullest of their abilities. While there will always be a few freeloaders who insist on getting everything for free, the vast majority of the public is perfectly willing to pay decently for music they like. Put up whole songs as samples on MySpace or Pandora or other sites where people can search and discover for themselves, and if it speaks to them, they will actively pursue it. Make quality the winner, not quantity.

I am a huge fan of the New Pornographers, since stumbling upon “Electric Version” at the L.A. Amoeba shortly after it came out. It was everything I wanted in music all in one album, and I couldn’t stop listening to it! I’d be listening to that album right now if I knew where the disc was. I’ve been following the band closely since 2003, and of nearly equal interest to me is the indie rock goddess embedded within the band, Neko Case. I’ve heard plenty of firsthand horror stories about her attitude and treatment of other people, but I’m going to put that aside for now and focus on the talent (and pray I never meet her).

She adds a bit of rough around the edges soul to the Pornographers, and though I love lead singer Carl Newman’s voice, I love Neko’s equally well. I was disappointed that she didn’t sing lead as much on this year’s “Challengers,” and maybe because of that, it took me longer to warm up to that album than it had to “Electric Version” (2003) and “Twin Cinema” (2005). Maybe it’s also because “Challengers” is also a more mellow, laid back album, and I love the hard-driving pop that is the New Pornographers. Either way, the band would not be what they are without Neko, and it shows. When rumors surfaced that she would not be touring with the Pornographers earlier this year, fans everywhere claimed they wouldn’t even show up because it wouldn’t be a full show without her.

In fact, LA Weekly has dedicated a long article to Neko, and how she’s single-handedly bring the soul back to indie music. It does a much better job of discussing her distinctive voice and the impact she has on the music around her than I do, so if you’d like to learn more about her and get a free mp3 out of it, check out the story here.