Putting The Irk In Quirky...
Ever since Radiohead released 'In Rainbows' as a download album which you could price according to your means (or how much you value the music of Radiohead, which isn't necessarily the same thing), the indie sector has become obsessed with finding new head-turning ways to get extra quirk-points for their new material. The Charlatans gave their album away for free, and received some of the most positive - nay interested - press in years.
Now the Raconteurs - Jack White Stripes's other band - are about to release their second album, and just like Radiohead, they've gone a bit tricksy with it. It seems they want to release 'Consolers Of The Lonely' in every conceivable format on the same day - next Tuesday, apparently - so that they can "get the album to the fans as soon as possible and as we promised. We wanted to get this record to fans, the press, radio, etc., all at the EXACT SAME TIME so that no one has an upper hand on anyone else regarding it’s availability, reception or perception".
They also said this: "The Raconteurs would rather this release not be defined by its first weeks sales, pre-release promotion, or by someone defining it FOR YOU before you get to hear it."
Sneaky, eh? Fancy taking the right to preview out of the hands of rock writers! They're going to be LIVID, they're going to kick up a RIGHT STINK, they're going to...oh look, out of the window! Is a that a buzzard? No? Just a blackbird, then...
Sorry, what were we talking about there? Oh yes! Quirky things.
Well, the other example is Coldplay, who've revealed that the title for their new album was heavily influenced by the artist , who used to have a painting on her wall called 'Viva La Vida'. The phrase means 'long live life', and if you know anything about Frida Kahlo, you'll realise she probably needed a visual pick-me-up from time to time.
Trouble is, by taking the phrase and using it in a musical context, we run into a certain problem, as outlined by Chris Martin to Rolling Stone magazine.
He said: "Everyone thinks it comes from Ricky Martin, which is fine. I've been through this before, naming something or someone and everyone saying that 'That's a terrible name'. But then saying, 'Well, f*** you, that's what it's called, and I'll be proved to be right eventually'."
See what he did there? That was a subtle reference to the global hoo-hah which erupted when Chris called his daughter Apple. Granted, he went on to refer to her as "it", but we'll gloss over that, because this new name kerfuffle is going to make the music journalists, gossip columnists and bloggers of the world go NUTS. They're going to go "CUH!" They're going to go "WHAT WERE THEY THINKING??" They're going to go...y'know, I think it might be a buzzard after all. Can you see?
Comments
Apple isn't such a bad name! When she gets older her g'kids can call her Granny Smith :P