[rumori] music journalism sucks

Nicola Battista [rumori] music journalism sucks
Thu, 29 Oct 1998 10:49:20 +0100 (00909654560, 3.0.32.19981029104851.010a3210atbox1.tin.it)

Hi!
Looks like I am a bit late too, but here are my 2 cents...


>>TSK, TSK: We never, ever applaud bootleg remixes, but we feel compelled to
>>point out that one of the hottest records in the U.K. underground at the
>>moment is a drum'n'bass version of "Forgive Me", the hidden a cappella
>>track on Alanis Morissette's 1996 breakthrough "Jagged Little Pill".

The guy must have never heard stories like "Tom's Diner" by Suzanne Vega bootlegged by UK djs DNA and later legalized by Ms.Vega in person and her
label, because it was huge as a bootleg and a nice version too.
Also, tons of other people covered that version and made their own "Tom's Diner", changing lyrics, doing a reggae number or a swedish version, a rap track (like German act After One) and much more...
In the end, Suzanne Vega ended up releasing "Tom's Album", compiling on vinyl all the covers, manipulations etc.; all of them unsolicited but all
of them having originality in some way.

Some folks here may remember my ideas about getting permission before
sampling etc., but I also think that when you're unknown and you can't
afford parting with money and also you're not able to contact the
artist/label etc., sometimes a white label is the best way to get noticed. ;)


>> Also, what does it say about a musical community when the record
>>most people are excited about is a bootleg remix of a rock record?
>>There must be something better to exert our energy and passion on.

If the bootleg remix is better than the original, then why not?
Personally, I am bored to death by all those Alanis-type rock acts.


>As a borderline/fuzzy case of this, did anyone see the new issue
>of XLR8R? (i hate the rag but sometimes i pick up stupid rave publications
>just for a quick laugh.) There's an interesting article about mix tapes,
>mix CDs, and the RIAA (again). It's a funny little peptalk - remember,
>DJs, you're hurting small cool underground labels if you use their tracks
>without licensing them, cuz they depend on that income to stay afloat.

hahah! This is funny :)
Mixtapes have always existed since people started spinning records in the
clubs.
And they will keep existing. Also, mixtapes are often given to friends for
free, swapped with other djs and so on. Also, being them MIXtapes, the
tracks are often cut, modified, etc.etc. so you rarely get entire tracks.
If you'd really like a track on one of those tapes you would probably look
for the vinyl 12" or cd single. I used to sell a few crappy tapes of mine ages ago. I certainly didn't
become rich for that. I just used the few lire to buy other tapes to record
my demos, or sometimes to but more records.
So maybe those mixtapes indirectly HELPED, not damaged, the labels.
Also, rarely I've seen a "commerce" of mixtapes that could damage anyone. The only example that comes to mind is Camden market, London UK. not only
they sell tons of mixtapes in the market, but also most of the
clothing/shoes shops in the Camden are have mixtapes from famous UK djs
(like -er- Boy George) and other European names (I remember some Italian
crappy names like Angelino and Massimino, comemrcial djs from the Rimini
area).
But personally, I think that those people who buy a mixtape (like those who
buy a mixed compilation) are fans of the dj, not of the tracks. Some of the
Camden tapes only have the name of the dj on the label.
People are buying them bacuse it's a mix by Paul Oakenfold and they think
they might like his mixing style. They don't care whether Oakenfold is
playing underworld or James Brown.

Anyway, this still seems a very small market, and by the way today many
mixed compilations especially in UK are made by famous djs. One of the most
recent releases in this field is "Brothers gonna work you out", mixed by the Chemnical Brothers. In a certain sense, that one is like a huge
legalized Chem Bros mixtape... is the industry bootlegging the bootleggers,
or what?



bye,
Nicola (Dj Batman) Battista

this is my church
this is where I heal my hurts
for tonight, God is a DJ.
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