We’ve always been fans of Daytrotter here at eMusic HQ. They sit Seriously Big Names next to some zero-profile up and comers and let us, the dutiful listeners, sort ‘em out. I’m just waiting for Breathe Owl Breathe to get in on this party; they were born for this format — bands playing intimate, homespun versions of fan favorites (and almost always something exclusive) that puts more emphasis on charm and delivery than bells and whistles.

Obviously, we’re also big fans of the Crystal Stilts. They have such a gauzy, encompassing sound (especially live) that I never know what to expect from live or live-taped performances. When I found this Daytrotter session, my reaction was more cautious optimism than OMG YAY WOW. Caution be damned, though, ’cause this is fantastic — OMG-worthy, even.

The two unreleased songs are distinct treats: “Through the Floor”‘s shimmy-shake is as immediately catchy as anything the Stilts have recorded (JB’s on-the-spot pseudo-description: “Doo Woppabilly. Fuzzabilly-Wop? C81abilly?”) and the mesmerizing surf-drone of “Sycamore Tree” is a welcome curveball. The reworked tracks from Alight of Night are big and bright-sounding, also giving the band a chance to show off some more of that knee-slapping charm:

On “Shattered Shine”: One of our first “pop” songs.
On “The Dazzled”: This song, when I think of the time that we wrote it, musically represents disease.

Fun! Really, though… this is great. And the price is right ($0.00). Go get it!

Tuesday came with a torrent of notable new records; it was all I could do to come up for air after listening to it all. That said, I thought I’d sprinkle on an (extremely random) group of recent arrivals that may otherwise slip through the cracks.

Twi the Humble Feather, Music for Spaceships and Forests: I thought some more eMusic folk would be into this, but I think I’m alone here. Swirling, campfire-y layered acoustics n’ chanting. Will be very hard for these guys to avoid Animal Collective comparisons, but the more I listen, the more I recognize this record as its own thing. At one point I described this to Patrick as “Animal Collective without the teeth,” which, of course, didn’t inspire much enthusiasm. But I didn’t mean it in a bad way! Swear!

Gentlemen Jesse, Introducing Gentlemen Jesse: On Atlanta garage fave (and awesomely-named) Douchemaster Records. Basic RIYL: Exploding Hearts, jangle, stylized/”retro” powerpop. Not as exciting as I wanted to be (read: songs aren’t that memorable), but if you’re a sucker for that 20/20-style wimpy powerpop (I AM), definitely check it out.

Izza Kizza, Millionaire: Single from this Timbaland-associated, FADER-pimped, Georgia-reppin’ rapper. Very much in that Dungeon Family/Andre 3000 lineage of “eccentric,” drawly-but-fast rappers. The production (on “Millionaire” and the free Kizzaland mixtape) rides the current vogue of electro-almost-house tempos with squishy and booming synths. It can be a bit head-spinning to gulp down all at once, but Izz and co. manage some truly thrilling moments.

The track: Nine Inch Nails – Discipline
The tags: Album – ?, Comments – Go to www.nin.com May 5

Up until recently, a blog primarily about independent music might not have been the most appropriate place to discuss bands like Radiohead or Nine Inch Nails. Now the fine line between major and indie labels is quickly expanding into a hazy gray cloud. Trent Reznor’s recent success with the unusual distribution options available for the four “disc” instrumental albums Ghosts I-IV seems to have provided him with plenty of reasons to continue experimenting with the new freedom he has now that he is no longer tied to Interscope Records.

A quick disclaimer: I am a giant NIN dork. I own every single official Halo, selected import singles and bootlegs (anybody ever heard Purest Feeling or Maybe Just Once?) and 3 different versions of The Downward Spiral (the 5.1 surround mixes are MASSIVE). Many have scoffed at my decision to immediately purchase the super deluxe version of Ghosts I-IV, although few continue mockery after seeing how much the package is fetching on eBay (which doesn’t even ship until May 1st).

That being said, there are still few (if any) artists that continue to impress me as much as Trent does in their approach to the constantly changing landscape that is the present day recording industry. A quick rundown comprehensive summery of the recent highlights:

With Teeth: For me, this was probably one of Trent’s most disappointing albums for me. However, the disc was available in a Dualdisc format with a full 5.1 surround mix AND somehow he was able to convince Interscope to let him release the full digital multi-track sessions for a few of the standout singles. Formats from Garage Band to raw audio files were available, giving even the most technically inept NIN fan the chance to dabble in remixology and post the results to an official NIN myspace location. While not the first to hold remix “contests”, I can not remember any earlier case where a major label agreed to allow this to happen without any real specific agenda of control or monetization in place (some radio stations held contests with various prizes for the best mixes but Interscope never ended up trying to sell any fan mixes that I am aware of).

a shameless plug: My attempt at remixing the track Only can be found on myspace here.

Year Zero: Before the album was released last year, fans started noticing hidden messages and web addresses in shirts, concert flyers and eventually USB drives discovered in the bathroom stalls of NIN concerts. The hype created by this incredibly well done ARG (Alternate Reality Gaming) campaign was viewed by many as brilliant marketing ploy. Trent considers it to be something else entirely:

…we started talking about, how the hell can we do this in a way that — how can we tell this story? — we want to make the world’s most elaborate album cover, you know, using the media of today instead of making people buy a vinyl record, which they’re not going to do, or a CD or an MP3, which has no artwork…

The interview this quote is taken from is a fascinating and detailed look at Trent’s thoughts and feelings regarding this strange new digital music beast. If I recall (as the interview is pretty lengthy) he even discusses how the RIAA ended up sending cease and desist letters to fans who had discovered the drives and posted the contents online and the craziness that was the secret show the ARG eventually led to.

Saul Williams – Niggy Tardust: While not a NIN release, the production and release of this record was very much a Reznor endeavor. The fantastic production and contribution Trent provided would have been enough for me to have bought the album outright, but the adaptation and refinement of the Radiohead (popularized) strategy allowed those interested in the album 2 choices. Download for free in 192 kb MP3 OR pay $5 and choose from 192 kb MP3, 320 kb MP3 or lossless FLAC. He was initially disappointed with the proportion of free downloads vs paid, but he did publicly release the numbers and Saul has since then stated that current download sales have now at least doubled the numbers for his last album. Even with the recent Nike commercial featuring List of Demands garnering an unexpected amount of attention, that’s not too shabby for an experiment with no real marketing dollas!

Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D: The Year Zero remix record was released with a second DVD disc containing EVERY multi-track session for EVERY track on the album. It was also supposed to be launched simultaneously with a fan remix community/site where users could post, listen and rank official and fan created content. Unfortunately, Universal freaked a few days before the release as they were concerned about being able to control the fan created content while in the midst of various legal entanglements. Rather than bagging it due to lack of label support, the NIN camp chose to host the site (and the legal “risks”) themselves. I have been constantly impressed by the community and contests put together by Celldweller (another industrial/rock/metal/electronic act and in the spirit of full disclosure I also remixed the Celldweller track Symbiont years ago, and was a finalist in the remix contest that eventually led to the current community), but I am not aware of anybody other than Nine INch Nails who has a community/multitracks available for entire albums (and then some). Prove me wrong, I want to hear from you guys regarding any other unique album/remix experiences!

Ghosts I-IV: An four disc instrumental album? Suicide! But if you are free to create whatever you want and present it in any way you want – ranging from completely free to crazy $300 fan packages – why not give it a shot? Now not every band (well established or not) can rake in $750,000 in the first few days of any release, but it seems to prove that there are other avenues out there that can be worthwhile from a revenue standpoint. Sure, even the music itself often feels like an experiment, or at times somewhat unfinished (RAW those of us blinded by fandom might insist) but I found it kind of exciting and refreshing that; given a chance to take down the self and label imposed walls of perfection and critical snobbery, someone would do so unflinchingly. I also believe is somewhat historic in that it is the first high profile and commercial music recording released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.

Ghosts Film Festival: Worth a quick mention is the partnership between NIN and youtube to provide an official outlet for filmmakers and visual artists to contribute to the Ghosts project. Described as a film festival of sorts, it will be interesting to see what comes of this.

Discipline: After all of that, a single DRM free track seems rather insignificant. The track is somewhat more in line aesthetically with the better tracks off of With Teeth than Year Zero, but I would rather pay for the worst tracks off that album than much of what I hear on the radio these days. This also marks the first official full blown NIN track to be released sans label, and as such it is perhaps ironically/intentionally fitting that it seems as radio/single friendly (if not more so) than anything on Year Zero.

So needless to say, I am excited to see where this all goes for Nine Inch Nails and the industry in general. Regardless of what you may think of Trent’s musical vision, I truly hope that we continue to see these sorts of innovations and experiments from artists and companies of all kinds.  I have no idea what might crop up on May 5th, but it seems crazy to me that impossibly vauge details contained in a few bits of ID3 info could get me this excited.

A relatively quiet day for New Arrivals on eMusic, but the few we do have are noteworthy. Side note: Todd was supposed to write this post, but he’s been camped out since 10am in front of the Best Buy across the street for a Janet Jackson meet & greet (That’s him with the brown & black umbrella). Todd B.: Lieutenant General in the Rhythm Nation.

Beach House, Devotion: Everyone’s favorite Baltimore mystics return with more of the haunting beauty that made them so irresistible the first time ’round. eMusic’s Mike Powell says:

Devotion — like 2006’s Beach House — is an album that finds impact in discretion. Instead of striking, it seeps and sneaks. Their dedication to their own sense of calm is unwavering. And though Devotion’s organ-heavy arrangements and Victoria Legrand’s somnambulistic torch singer pose feel more sanguine than on their debut, the music is still characterized by an intoxicating lack of command. Listeners aren’t guided or carried, but set adrift from the opening notes and rarely bothered after.

Plants & Animals Parc Avenue: A personal favorite of mine, Plants & Animals shrink the jam band aesthetic down to a manageable size, writing songs that recall Planet Waves-era Dylan (and getting off some lyrical gems in the process). In my review for eMusic I wrote:

Like the Band — an ensemble they frequently evoke — Plants & Animals are Canadian. Their songwriting is terrifically incidental, the result of long hours taking slow tours of the same chord progressions, filling in the spaces with stray licks and conversational melodies. With the exception of triumphant opener “Bye Bye Bye” — the one time P&A choose the exclamation point over the ellipses — Parc Avenue proceeds at a hobo’s amble. The guitars spill out like a babbling brook, a series of rippling notes that glide over stone-smooth percussion. The players follow each other’s lead. A little organ waggle begets a curlicue of acoustic guitar, that acoustic guitar tips off a grizzled electric.

Dolly Parton, Backwoods Barbie: Does she even need an introduction? Dolly (Miss Parton, if you’re nasty) delivers gleaming pop-country, schooling Taylor Swift at her own game. Renowned music critic and eMusic contributor Chuck Eddy writes:

Dolly’s “Tracks of My Tears” rivals Ronstadt’s if not Robinson’s, and her “pop-country” here is mostly the stuff of ‘70s d-i-v-o-r-c-e laments, from the brittle tearjerker “Made of Stone” to songs connecting fragrant flowers and fragrant makeup with breakups. There’s also relaxed jazz-piano Western Swing, an artsily psychedelic thrum undulating between Appalachia and the Middle East and uplifting gospel-pop about keeping your feet on the ground. And towering over it all, there’s Dolly — still sweeter than rock candy and larger than life, after all these years.

Los Campesinos! Hold On Now Youngster: Welsh indiepop band return to make a joyful noise. Recent recipients of a Pitchfork rave, the Camps should appeal to people who like their music fast and freewheeling. eMusic’s Keith Harris writes:

But though their references warm the hearts of indie-rock oldsters, there’s nothing retro about the ADD jokery of these kids (all seven of whom are surnamed Campesinos! — and you can be sure they didn’t learn the trick from the Donnas.) Tiny mis-tuned guitars nibble at your ears and glockenspiels clatter with glee; it’s like being dropped headlong into a classroom of demented kindergarteners, but only the most illiterate beefhead could diss the group as “twee.”

Rocket From the Crypt, RIP: Posthumous live album from RFTC proves why the group was so venerated live: it’s noisy and aggro, needle in the red the whole time.

Dabrye, Get Dirty: I would have overlooked this entirely, had I not heard Yancey playing it this morning, bringing to my attention the presence of the inimitable MF Doom on one of this EPs six tracks. Get Dirty picks up where Two/Three left off, matching Dabrye with a series of nimble MCs (the awesome AG also makes an appearance) for tracks that buzz and thump.

Pete Rock, NYs Finest: It’s no Mecca & the Soul Brother, but the latest from Pete Rock is…not bad. The first few times through I was not really feeling this, but it’s improved with each go-round, and I’m looking forward to seeing Pete (along with the amazing DC rapper Wale) in NYC on Friday. Fans of the boom-bap sound, you know what to expect here. Pete’s delivery has thickened a little over the years, but the production is solid throughout; there’s something about this record that keeps me coming back, so take that for what it’s worth.

Carl Craig Sessions: This one is a favorite of Todd’s; I’m admittedly at a loss when it comes to electronic music, so I’ll quote from his excellent about-to-be-published eMusic review:

To put it plainly: Carl Craig may just be one of the most respected (and relevant) electronic music grandfathers working right now. Sessions is essentially a celebratory look back at his career thus far, with a particular focus on his remixing talents. Listen to Craig’s mix of “Like a Child” for five minutes and you may not realize that he still hasn’t dropped a beat (or a bassline for that matter). When he does, the effect is magical. Similarly, his remix of Rhythm & Sound’s “Poor People Must Work” builds from murky beginnings into a mammoth techno stomp. Craig is a master tease, taking his skills as a DJ and building miniature epics of tension and release where the addition of a simple kick drum can elicit a scream.

Death Angel, Killing Season: You probably already have a good idea what this is going to sound like based on the fact that the group is called Death Angel. For my fellow extreme metal enthusiasts: this one doesn’t stray too far from Death Angel’s relatively straightforward take on thrash. But given that they’ve been chugging away for 20+ years now, it’s worth at least an acknowledgement.

We also got a bunch of reggae titles on the site today. I spot-listened to a few of them. You can skip them and not be any worse off.

I liked the cover:
Caleb Engstrom, A Mountain or a Bird: Sure to appeal to fans of folky songwriters; Engstrom has a hushed voice and favors the acoustic guitars, but there’s an air of mystery about these songs that make them compelling.

Everthaus & the Deadbeats, John Kill & the Microscopic Lullaby: Recalls old Of Montreal (before they discovered synthesizers). So, not for me, but some folks might enjoy!

Psycho & the Birds, We’ve Moved: Verrrrrryyy GBV. Especially Track 3, which could be a GBV cover. The presence of a song called “Franklin’s Famous Graham Cracker Crust” does nothing to minimize this resemblance. Know why it sounds like GBV? Because it is GBV. Or, rather, Bob Pollard + Assorted folx. Thanks, DJ Adequate!

Sixteen SEVENTEEN songs, all of them great, and all of them totally free. That’s right, it’s time for the second annual Pitchfork Music Festival Sampler. Tracks by Dan Deacon, Professor Murder, Of Montreal, Menomena, William Parker, Grizzly Bear and on and on. All songs were chosen by Pitchfork and were subsequently sequenced by us (which is why I’ve been so quiet on 17 Dots this week). It’s a killer compilation — for reals — and I’m even more pumped now for the festival than I was before. Also, head here for a hub page featuring all of the albums from which the free tracks came.

UPDATE: Last minute Battles track comes through. Up to 17 songs now!

Now, I have the absurd luxury of being able to ask a Pulitzer Prize-winning classical music critic for his thoughts on such things. So I e-mailed eMusic’s classical music columnist Justin Davidson and invited him to weigh in on the matter for his June eMusic column.

Justin makes a number of arguments for the compatibility of classical music and downloading. For one thing, it’s enabled the recent profusion of independent and self-released classical recordings: “Producing and distributing recorded music is cheaper and more democratic than it has ever been,” Justin writes, “which is a good thing for the collection of mini-niches we call classical music.” See the rest of his insightful column for more on why classical fans should embrace the MP3 like Violetta embraces Alfredo in La Traviata.

Here are the nine best albums to hit eMusic this week, with an embedded YouTube clip for almost all of them. Have at it.

01 Stars of the Lid, and Their Refinement of Decline: First new album since 2001 from the Austin drone duo, and it’s a mighty fine one. I must confess that I had never listened to SotL before — I think I had always assumed they were quirky indie pop, for some reason — but I’ve been greatly enjoying this double-disc set. The songs are very ambient, slow-moving like a Saturday afternoon, with none of the obligatory crescendos that are normally de rigueur for this sorta thing.

Here’s a nice little homemade Stars of the Lid video:

02 Wax Tailor, Hope & Sorrow: Hope & Sorrow is a (largely) non-rapping hip-hop record, a series of funk and spoken word samples looped with soulful vocals and heavy 4/4 beats. It’s also quite good, dabbling a bit in downtempo and deep house, but largely sticking to Shadow-like turntable-and-soul concoctions. Also, I realize this is backwardly phrased (can the master sound like the pupil?) but the Sharon Jones track, “The Way We Lived,” sounds like Amy Winehouse.

An EPK for Hope & Sorrow:

03 Paper Airplanes, Boyhood: Previously covered on 17 Dots, I really dig the Paper Airplanes, even if the rest of the record can’t live up to that tremendous opener.

04 Jarvis Cocker, Jarvis: I quite like Joe’s review of this record, but just reading it, I can’t really tell how much he liked it. His short response to me today: “If you liked Pulp, you’ll like this. If not, not so much.” Fair enough.

Video for “Don’t Let Him Waste Your Time:”

05 Jackie-O Motherfucker, fig.5: I love this record, always have. Jackie-O are from Portland, and play meandering avant-garde/free-jazz stuff, nicely varying between dissonance and quiet, the kind of “improvisation” that requires serious preparation and rehearsal. This is their first album, released in 2000, and while it’s definitely not for everyone, it has a broader appeal than my description has given it.

Jackie-O live. Hotness:

06 The Twilight Sad, Fourteen Autumns, Fifteen Winters: A bit of a hit here in the eMusic offices, Fourteen Autumns is very Scottish, singer James Graham doing nothing to hide his brogue. As the AMG review notes, the album is very conventional pop-rock. Not terrifically original, but that’s largely immaterial.

Twilight Sad at SXSW:

07Anthony Braxton, Nine Compositions: Just an overwhelming collection of contemporary jazz. Here’s the background from AllAboutJazz: “On April 3rd, New Haven’s Firehouse 12 Records will release the Anthony Braxton 12+1tet’s 9 Compositions (Iridium) 2006 (FH12-04-01-002), a nine-CD (plus one-DVD) box set documenting what Time Out New York called “last Spring’s epochal run” at New York’s Iridium Jazz Club in March 2006. Described by Braxton as ”THE point of definition in my work thus far,” these concerts featured the world premieres of Compositions 350 through 358, the final works in his Ghost Trance Music series, recorded over the course of this rare four-night stand on an American stage.”

If you watch one YouTube clip today, make it this one:

08 Ozomatli, Don’t Mess With the Dragon: Two extra eMusic-only live tracks (hurrah!) from the LA fusion folk, and the album — going off the review and the samples I checked — is just as much about song as it is rhythm, definitely a plus for these dudes.

Video for “Can’t Stop:”

09 Efterklang, Under Giant Trees: This record feels somewhat ceremonial to me. It’s very orchestral and stately, very Serious and Important. It’s slightly distancing for those reasons, but it’s still very well done and pleasing.

Efterklang live in Stockholm:

If you’re really into learning about the whos, whats, whys, whens, etc. about classic albums, there’s no better place to start than the 33 1/3 book series that is put out by Continuum. They’ve put out nearly 40 volumes so far and they’ve just announced another batch of titles that will be written over the course of 2007 and 2008.

Of the list, which can be found in full at the series’ blog, one title stood out to me from all the rest: Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s Facing Future. Israel who?

When you venture over to wikipedia, the wonder doesn’t cease. Featured there is the album cover pictured above, showing “Bruddah Iz” from the back in his (reported) 450 pound glory. The story is just as amazing: Kamakawiwo’ole had a huge impact on Hawaiian culture by bringing their music to more people than ever before – he was the first Hawaiian artist to ever have a certified platinum album (Facing Future) – and being outspoken in his support of native Hawaiian sovereignty. As a testament to his popularity, the Hawaii state flag flew at half-mast and his coffin lay in state at Capitol building in Honolulu after his death.

Intrigued, I investigated eMusic’s sole offering of Bruddah Iz today, Ka ‘Ano’i. While I was initially put off by the Jimmy Buffet-feel of the opener, “Margarita” (working in an office’ll do that to you), “Coney Island Washboard Woman” is a wonderfully quirky ragtime (?!) tune replete with a muted trumpet and banjo. “Kainoa” follows up that up on a Martin Denny-esque/marimba-happy tip and, yes, we’re lucky enough to have (what I think is) the famed version of his “Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World” medley that won so many people over to that aforementioned 1993 breakthrough hit, Facing Future. All in all? A little schmaltzy, but I like it.

That being said, even if I’m not totally sold on seeking out more of his music, I am totally sold on finding out more about the man. I’ll definitely be picking this book up when it’s published.

For those interested in what Dan Kois (the prospective author) will be talking about in his book, he’s published his pitch to the 33 1/3 editors at his blog here.

I’ve been nigh-on obsessed the past few days with Kathy Diamond. Set to be released in April, her debut album is a collection of spectral slo-mo disco tunes flecked with touches of dub by her producer, the incomparable Maurice Fulton.

Fulton has long been a well-known quantity. He’s done work behind the boards for his wife (MU), was the driving force behind the house classic, “Gypsy Woman,” and done plenty of remixes for indie faves (!!!, Hot Chip, Annie, and the Rapture to name but a few).

Diamond, on the other hand, is someone that I’d basically never heard of until a few friends tipped me off when her first singles began to appear from Miss Diamond to You (the aforementioned debut album). Those singles, thankfully, are available at eMusic already.

“Over” sounds like a completely normal little disco strut for a bit – nice, but nothing special – until its middle unleashes a psych-y organ solo that colors the track for a good two minutes. Also: keep an ear on how Fulton treats the drums in the song’s final minute or so: truly hypnotic stuff. Even better is “All Woman,” which features my favorite line of the year so far (“I came. I saw. I conquered your heart.”). Again, it’s a conga-flavored bit of disco-soul with a tightly coiled bass that gets unrolled for a truly awesome breakdown in the song’s third minute that won’t make complete sense until Fulton starts to layer it with itself. Keep an eye out for the full-length in April. It only gets better from there.