[Rumori] People Like Us new album release at UbuWeb

[Vicki Bennett]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

People Like Us is pleased to announce the exclusive release their new 
recordings "Abridged Too Far" on the internet at www.ubu.com.


Mon. 19 July -- Following last year's posting of their full 14 year 
discography for free download, People Like Us is going one step further 
in releasing a new album exclusively online. Given the poor state of 
music/media distribution for non-major label music, PLU are favouring 
circulation of one's work as the ultimate goal, in the belief that the 
gift economy ultimately reaps as much, if not more rewards by reaching 
more people.

"We strongly believe in the power of profit through free distribution. 
Often people have never heard of an artist because they aren't being 
distributed through as many channels as they should be, due to the very 
poor state of music/media distribution for non-major label music 
coupled with ignorance of the way that avant garde art forms infiltrate 
mainstream culture. Also many prints of a work are allowed to go out of 
circulation or are deleted for no reason other than cost effectiveness 
by a label/publisher. This makes perfect sense financially, but no 
sense whatsoever that a year's work by an artist should also disappear 
for such reasons. So get all of this while you can, and we completely 
endorse getting one's work out there, no matter what. If you don't 
share, your profit is limited."

"Abridged Too Far" is a collection of audio work first conceived 
through experimentation through or on radio. Given that this was the 
initial point of inspiration, it feels most appropriate to release this 
on the internet which has similar 'on the air' qualities. The 
experience found from internet broadcasting and sharing is very 
different to that of the world of retail - the effect is immediate and 
far fetching, plus the feedback can be immense. It is a good feeling to 
know the work is far more likely to reach it's intended audience since 
it transcends physical borders.

On Abridged Too Far, People Like Us continues its pastiche of 
impressions of popular music from Europe and America from the 1920s 
thru to 1990s. Bennett's work is an examination of  the affect of 
hearing well known tunes and lyrics in fragments, then putting those 
elements to play-- resonating, intermingling and recombining with the 
listeners own associations and shards of memories. But this music, 
countering the pathos of straight tear-sucking nostalgia never settles 
in a place for its listener to cozily reflect times past.  Rather, the 
deft recontextualization and juxtaposition of individual elements 
creates an alchemical space of sublime and satirical transformation. 
This work is justified only because it is transformative; that it 
reflects something that may never have even been what it was perceived 
to be.  People Like Us weaves a  revealing nether-narrative to 
accompany  popular culture's monolithic straight telling of its own 
history.  The reality of which is columned by the sinister 
underpinnings of rapacious consumer culture and empty marketing.

This is not background music. It is  engaging, inclusive and 
reflective. Not only a conduit of dialogic criticism  for Ms. Bennett, 
People Like Us is also personal and personable to a stranger given our 
shared experience and running commentary of the Western World.

Do not buy this album!

http://www.ubu.com
http://www.peoplelikeus.org


http://www.peoplelikeus.org
http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/PL