Sunday, April 26, 2009

A certain magnetic quality




"Princes (LIVE)" - Gang Gang Dance: for some reason I've been coming back to this video every few weeks since it surfaced last autumn. It has a certain magnetic and intriguing quality, which I think is a sign of healthy experimentation. So now, at last, I'm checking out their album St Dymphna, on Spotify. Back a few months ago, my first port of call would have been Amazon to see if I could get the record cheap, but now it's Spotify. Seems things are changing. Has Spotify affected you yet? For example, Bat For Lashes new record is going down a storm with both me and The Filter, but knowing it's on Spotify has kinda stopped my rush to get to the record store. I'm starting to worry, and wonder if Spotify is a force for good, or evil....


7 comments:

Blimpy said...

update - having listened on Spotify - the gang gang dance album is excellent!

Mnemonic said...

I saw Gang Gang Dance a few years back at ATP and became a committed fan, even bought the t-shirt.

Spotify won't stop me buying something I really want because it is limited to being played on the computer and I do a lot of listening in other rooms or on the iPod while travelling. It might replace a lot of downloading to try stuff out.

Luke-sensei said...

very cool stuff.
I thought I had a GGD album, but when I checked it was Dance Disaster Movement....which is pretty close.

But I do remember that a Japanese acquaintance of mine who has an all-girl alternative punk-ish band supported GGD when they came to Tokyo, I was invited, but for some reason didn't go....

Blimpy said...

@mne - we have many laptops in this house, which means Spotify is closer at hand than a cd for the most part

@japanther - how much is an average gig ticket / LP / pint over in your bit?

Luke-sensei said...

Good questions Blimpy....but I suppose it's all relative 'cos the exchange rate goes up and down so much.

as of today's rate:
LP - about 14 quid (there's no pound sign on this keyboard!). But the secondhand record selection in Tokyo is UNBELIEVABLE!! literally! No idea where it all comes from, but if you've got that limited edition Ride 12" you've been hunting for for years, you can guarantee that there are a few copies just sitting in a non-descript Tokyo record shop for a few quid! And that goes for ALL thinkable genres of music. Hmm...maybe I should set up a business offering guided record shopping tours of Tokyo for all those crate diggers out there!
Beer - it's nowhere near a pint and you'll pay 3.50 for it, But it's pretty cheap to drink at home. Wine and spirits are especially cheap (I just came back from buying a MASSIVE bottle of sake for about 8 pounds) and a packet of fags is only 2 quid, not that I smoke these days mind you.
A gig ticket is really expensive. We're talking 15.00 just to see your mates band at the local dive on a wet Tuesday. I paid 40 quid to see the Rakes! (and I know the guitarist - sort of!)

But like I say, it's all relative and it doesn't really feel that expensive. Saying that, I haven't got a clue how much a gig ticket costs in Blighty these days.....

re: Spotify etc. It hasn't reached Japan yet and I gave it a try but I just couldn't get into Last FM, looks like it's (mostly) secondhand vinyl for me, at least for the time being....

ejaydee said...

Spotify isn't my first port of call yet, but little by little I'm using it to listen to artists I've been wondering about but don't know where to start. I guess it's still a force for "good" because of the ads (one of the reason why I can't listen to it for too long), where ever the proceeds go.

Blimpy said...

Spotify now has 1 million UK users - 28,000 are joining up per day. Au revoir CD sales...