There used to be a time when singles were big business. Not in a “hey, take this $10,000 and play my new band’s single” sort of way, but in that folks would go and seek out a band’s CD single and enjoy. They didn’t have the bells and whistles of a full-length LP, but that was the fun of them. They were cheap and easy, and you could decide if you truly liked an artist. There were Top 10 CD Singles in Record Stores, with not a DVD in sight.
Music stores used to be able to sell ONLY music. I know the smaller, indie stores are set up in such a way, but this was a different time.
You’d hear a song on Fly 92 or Hot 97 (just substitute your local top-40 Pop/Modern station here) and would head to the store to find this killer release. The clerk would tell you that the album, unfortunately, wasn’t available yet, but you could always grab the CD single. For a $1.99, how could you go wrong?
While there, you would browse the racks while Johnny Q. Associate would guide your buying process. He would make recommendations for comparable artists using such classic lines as: “If you love Danzig, you will really enjoy Slayer,” or “Well, Alice in Chains is great, but you might really like Mudhoney.” (*phrases actually used in training manuals for a former employer of mine)
Once you buy two or three CDs and the single you ACTUALLY came in for, you meet another employee, Wanda Cashierchick (she’s evidenty German?), who mentions that you really should purchase a few CD wipes or CD cleaners to make sure that all the built up dust in your CD player doesn’t cause any scratches on the disks. Hell, you’ve just spent $40 more than you originally intended, but it might be worth it.
Maybe Wanda Cashierchick knows something about the vicious nature of those tiny clumps of skin and hair and airborn mess that you don’t. Maybe in Germany, dust is the leading killer of music fans? I’ve never been there, so I can’t exactly say for sure. My guess, though, is no.
See the thing with CD singles that record companies and stores liked was that it was easy to convince someone that was looking for one album (that may not have been released yet) that they will like something else. It’s the nature of sales, but it is the reason that most people dread going into a corporate store like FYE or Sam Goody (R.I.P.) The larger stores have higher rent. Higher rent means they need higher sales to cover the cost of running the store, so they need you to actually learn to sell. They don’t care if you can’t tell the Vines from the Hives, just know the alphabet and be able to push people with comments like “Well, that CD is really affordable, but a large number of the newest models, which might be a little more expensive, have a feature known as ‘progressive scan’ which makes it easier to watch films with multiple layers of encryption.” (*more talk from the same manual).
No, it isn’t a lie, necessarily, but the nature of the game requires the staff to constantly be upgrading. Honestly, if the store isn’t an independent chain, 2/3s of the crap that comes out of the employee’s mouth is some variation of the corporate directive: sell, sell, sell. That’s all they are told to do, so they do it.
Problem is, you wanted to know who sung “Over My Head” (The Fray) and you are walking out with a Keane CD, Elbow’s Asleep in the Back, Love is Here by Starsailor, two packets of 99 cent CD wipes that you will never use and a $14.99 CD player cleaner (but you can use it in your DVD player, game system and PC as well!) that you really don’t need.
I receive emails all the time asking me why I left what sounds like such a cool job as being a Manager of a Record Store. I got to be paid for listening to music all day (although it was all a corporate sample which, if Eliot Spitzer looked into with his Payola Investigaion, would find that companies were PAYING for the right to be advertised in the stores.)How could you give up that awesome discount? Yeah, 30% was pretty awesome, but the decision was easy after 3 years.
I love music. I could care less about cleaners, wipes and gift wraps. I like to talk about bands people should know, or might be hearing from soon. I like helping Mothers and Aunts find CDs for their kids based on what they like. Hell, I told the women to call me if the kid didn’t like it, and I would do the return for something they did like instead. The company would rather I offered a gift card. Why is that?
It’s a double sale.(*corporate term AGAIN!)
One, the parent/family member first bought a gift card, driving the sales of those. Two, the kid would then come back to the store with said card and would buy music with it. More often than not, a kid with a 30 dollar gift card would spend another $15 of their birthday/holiday money, generating more sales for the store.
Hey, it’s good business, but its not why I always wanted to work in a record store.
When I mention my previous job, you might think my life was like Empire Records. You think that we dance around in a grocery store sized modern musical marvel. We are all young and trendy, mostly attractive, and love to talk to ANYONE about music. There was a point when it was like that, and I was taking rich 40-somethings in Connecticut out to their van for a quick shag. There was the girl from the Fleet Bank across the way who I bagged, so there’s another perk. She was fun.
Anyhow, my day sucked. I got in at 8 a.m. and was alone doing paperwork from the night before. Based on the numbers, I would have to tell my staff what items to try and push for the day, and how many Units Per Transaction we needed to have. (*I hated that company…Units Per Transaction? Does it matter that I sold a $200 DVD player and not 2 $20 CDs? No. They would rather that after I talk to the couple with the DVD player and gain their trust, I con them into buying a DVD cleaner. Seriously, don’t push fun movies on the people who just bought the DVD player…no, let’s give them a DVD cleaner for a DVD that won’t need a cleaning for a year.)
That sucked.
I understood it was a business, and the rent was high, but I hated crunching numbers. Some people aren’t cut out to be a numbers man, which was why I hired people that could see that bottom line. I am a creative guy, and I was the one who pushed to do different things within the store to generate familiarity within the community. We were pushing to do in store signings in the store, maybe even some performances, but were turned down by corporate because the sales generated wouldn’t offset the man hours. Then they did the same idea I had in another store, three different times. All local bands with big followings, just like I pitched. And did I ever get any credit? No.
So, the next time you go into a local FYE, Strawberries, Coconuts or some other chain store like that, be nice to the help. They have a boss who’s boss is breathing down their neck to sell more flat piece of cotton and some mildly diluted bottle of rubbing alcohol.
It’s just a numbers game to them.
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Ssquared’s Music Pulse Hook-Up!
Murder by Death – Until Morale Improves The Beatings Will Continue
Murder by Death is a Bloomington, IN quartet that I reviewed in my very first piece here at Inside Pulse. Matthew Michaels hired me after reading my sample review of Who Will Survive, and What Will Be Left of Them? so I have this connection with the band, so to speak.
It is because of them that I exist here, as I wouldn’t have been compelled to write in unless I was moved by the album, which I was and still am to this day, and seeing that their new release, In Bocca Al Lupo is hitting the streets May 23rd, I decided that this video was apropos.
Check out the new stuff at Murder By Death.com. They are launching a full national tour in the coming weeks, so be sure to check them out when they are near your town. You will NOT be disappointed.
Enjoy!
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.:.Columns from the Week that Was!.:.
Summertime Blues, News, and Views
Letters From Freakloud
More Reasons Why Being Deaf Sucks/Rocks!
Auditory Assault
Into the Pit
IP’s own MMA expert, Reverend Sick, takes us through UFC happenings behind and in front of the camera. Great read every time out.
The 50 Club – Fargo
My buddy Michaelangelo McCullar and crew take a look at an underappreciated Coen Brothers classic. Does it get the respect it deserves? Read it and see. I participated in this feature a few weeks back when we discussed Vertigo, the Hitchcock classic, and I truly welcome an opportunity to do it again.
This month, Inside Pulse Music Staff and various writers from around our great site compiled a list of the seminal “first impression” tracks from the modern album era. The first part kicks off with a phenomenal explanation of the elimination process and criteria for selection from our own Greg Wind, and continues for two more parts. If you actually remember where you were the first time you heard Nine Inch Nails’ “Head Like a Hole” or who drove you home from school the day you first heard Weezer’s “My Name is Jonas,” this is for you:
Album One, Track One: First Impressions, Part One
Album One, Track One: First Impressions, Part Two
Album One, Track One: First Impressions, The Conclusion
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brought to you by Brooklyn Industries
.:.Danger Doom to Release Free EP.:.
Though Danger Mouse is hard at work with the success machine, Gnarls Barkley, he hasn’t forgotten about his buddy MF Doom, with whom he collaborates on the group Danger Doom.
The pair, who have been collaborating with Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, are readying a new EP that will be available for free exclusively through AdultSwim.com. The as-yet-untitled project will voices from Adult Swim’s shows like Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Minoriteam, according to Billboard.com.
The first track, “Corn Dogs,” is set to be released on May 15, while eight more tracks and skits will be available each week after that.
(credit: Spin.com)
I loved the Grey Album, the Jay-Z/Beatles disc that Danger Mouse did, and I really dig MF Doom and the Danger Doom Album from last year. If you, like me, love the whole indie rap revolution, make sure to hop online tomorrow and grab “Corn Dogs.”
It will be rad!
.:.Universal Coughs Up $12 Million in the Name of Payola.:.
Universal Music Group — the world’s largest record label and home to Metallica, U2, Gwen Stefani, Kanye West, the Killers and others — will pay a $12 million settlement in New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s payola inquiries. Universal was charged with bribing radio station employees for air play. Along with the $12 million that will go toward charity, Spitzer has ordered the label to cough up an additional $100,000 in investigation costs and reform adjustments. Of the four major labels, Universal is the third to get slapped with a settlement: Last July Sony Corp. agreed to pay $10 million, while Warner Music Group followed agreeing to $5 million last November.
(credit:RollingStone.com)
.:.Snoop Dogg Accepts Blame In Heathrow Flap.:.
Snoop Dogg has accepted responsibility for using “threatening words or behavior” in a brawl last month at London’s Heathrow Airport. The 34-year-old rapper, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, appeared at Heathrow police station and “accepted a caution for a Section Four Public Order Act matter, using threatening words or behavior,” police said May 11th.
A caution means a person has accepted responsibility for the offense, and a record will be made. No further action will be taken, police said.
Snoop and five other men were arrested on charges of violent disorder and starting a brawl, and spent the night in jail after trouble flared when some members of the rapper’s party were denied entry to British Airways’ first-class lounge.
Seven officers received minor injuries, mainly cuts and bruises, and one suffered a fractured hand. Five others arrested in the disturbance were expected to appear at the police station later in the day.
British Airways has banned Snoop from future travel on the airline, it said last month
(credit: Billboard.com)
So, it turns out that Snoop is the “big dog” when it comes to accepting responsibility for his missteps. This is a good thing.
I said it a few weeks ago, and I stand by the statement, that British Airways is a garbage airline. Don’t fly with them.
If I had to pay $20 for a not-so-tasty sandwich on a transatlantic flight after I had been denied access to the “privileged members” section at an AIRPORT, and I was Snoop, I would have bashed some heads in too. I just know that messing with international law enforcement agents isn’t such a neat idea based on the current political climate.
Next time you find yourself in such a situation, just punch a baggage clerk. They are so used to the abuse, they might welcome an unforeseen head injury and the night off. If you hit me in a similar situation, I might even split a hoagie with you.
.:.Thom Yorke Solo Plans REVEALED!.:.
Thom Yorke sent out the following message to Radiohead’s W.A.S.T.E. fan club:
this is just a note to say that something has been kicking around in the background that i have not told you about.
its called The Eraser.
nigel produced & arranged it .
i wrote and played it.
the elements have been kicking round now for a few years and needed to be finished & i have been itching to do something like this for ages.
it was fun and quick to do.
inevitably it is more beats & electronics.
but its songs.
stanley did the cover.
yes its a record!
no its not a radiohead record.
as you know the band are now touring and writing new stuff and getting to a good space so i want no crap about me being a traitor or whatever splitting up blah blah…
this was all done with their blessing. and i don’t wanna hear that word solo. doesnt sound right.
ok then thats that.
i think its out in july and im pretty certain XL are going to put it out.
love thom
It all becomes very clear: Thom Yorke’s album, The Eraser, is due out July 11 on indie label XL Recordings.
Track Listing:
01 the eraser
02 analyse
03 the clock
04 black swan
05 skip divided
06 atoms for peace
07 and it rained all night
08 harrowdown hill
09 cymbal rush
(credit: Pitchforkmedia.com)
Basically, this means that Radiohead’s next release won’t hit streets until 2007, as the band is currently touring and cannot get back into the studio until they are back home/off the road. Well, if I can’t get the FULL band, I will take a solo-ish effort from Thom and smile just the same.
Should be really good.
I just think it’s funny that he wrote all the songtitles in lower case deliberately.
That won’t win him any new fans with people who already find the band pretentious, but it should keep die-hards like myself very happy. It’s all about keeping us in a state of perpetual excitement and anticipation.
Not in the way Guns N’ Roses have with Chinese Democracy, but you catch my drift.
.:.Alice Cooper Honored in North Dakota.:.
Forget Hollywood, veteran rocker Alice Cooper will put his handprint down on Fargo, North Dakota’s Walk of Fame (which we’re told is “bustling”) when he play’s the city’s Civic Center on May 15th. But that’s not all the Peace Garden State has in store for Cooper, with a population of some 60 — yup, just 60 people — the town of Alice, North Dakota will give Alice Cooper its key to the city. Cooper, who hosts the syndicated radio show Nights With Alice Cooper five times a week, hits the road this summer beginning June 30th in St. Paul, Minnesota.
(credit: RollingStone.com)
I wonder if Chad Kroeger will ever get the keys BACK to his house. I think his wife left him when she realized that he was a Canadian Scott Stapp, without the good backing band or Jesus.
Oh and congrats to the man known as Alice Cooper. That’s a cool honor. I want to have my hometown (Ballston Spa, New York) ask me to put my hands in cement for the Walk of Fame. Yup, me…immortalized so that one day, children can look at their parents for answers and they can say, “He was a web-journalist. Kinda bloggish writer, but he was funny…on occasion. Now let’s go get some churros!”
That will be my proudest day.
Why?
I will own the Churro Stand!
I want to keep an eye on my legacy, guys. I also get to make a nice penny while doing it. Ooh, maybe I will sell “dirty water dogs!”
The wheels are already in motion.
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Rage – Speak of the Dead
Katatonia – The Great Cold Distance
Panzer AG – Your World is Burning
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Great White Manager Gets Four Years for Club Blaze
Dan Biechele, the former tour manager of Eighties heavy metal band Great White, was sentenced Wednesday to four years in prison and three years probation for setting a fire in a Rhode Island nightclub in February 2003, a blaze that killed 100 fans and injured twice that number.
Biechele set off pyrotechnics that ignited the flammable foam lining of the Station nightclub’s walls during the band’s performance there, resulting in the fourth-deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history.
Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr., who had heard testimony from many of the victims’ family members during the three-day hearing, said in his remarks that Biechele’s sentence was imposed to punish him for his negligence “and not the results of [his] actions.”
“You and the victims’ families will be forever mindful of that fatal night, and it is not within the power of this or any court to fashion a sentence reflective of the enormity of that tragedy,” he said.
The ruling strikes a compromise between prosecutors — who pushed for a ten-year sentence — and Biechele’s lawyers, who requested community service for what they called an “accident.”
Several relatives of the victims were enraged at what they considered a light sentence for twenty-nine-year-old Biechele.
“My son has never known his father,” said Heidi Peralta, girlfriend of Great White guitarist Ty Longley, who died in the fire. She told the court that she was three months pregnant at the time of the catastrophe. “We never got to go to ultrasounds together. We’ll never have family portraits. We’ll never have any of that, and it’s not fair.”
Biechele, who pleaded guilty in February to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter for firing off pyrotechnics without a license, tearfully apologized to the victims’ families in court. “I don’t know that I’ll ever forgive myself for what happened that night, so I can’t expect anyone else to,” he said. “I can only pray that they understand that I would do anything to undo what happened that night and give them back their loved ones.”
Biechele’s sentencing has not appeased prosecutors, who plan to pursue owners of the West Warwick Station, State Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch told CourtTV.
The club owners, brothers Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, were indicted in December 2003 and each pleaded innocent to 200 counts of involuntary manslaughter — two counts for each individual killed — for violating state fire code by allegedly padding the club’s walls with combustible foam.
Michael Derderian’s trial is tentatively set for July 31st; no trial date has been scheduled for his brother.
(credit: RollingStone.com)
One hundred people lost their lives that winter evening three years ago, and I understand that they died a horrible, horrible death on a night where they just wanted to relive a few memories with a band that they all appreciated. Sadly, it was the last show for so many, and while I don’t think that Biechele is the only person to blame for such a miscommunication/case of negligence, he will live with that night for the rest of his life. Yes, he can go to jail and serve his time, but in the court of public opinion, he will always be remembered, if anything, as the man whose ignorance killed many people.
I hope that the families of the victims can learn to forgive this man. God only knows that he may never be able to truly forgive himself.
Where’s the Bump?
It has come to our attention that Ashlee Simpson, pop-garbage queen and SNL hoe-down dancer, has gotten some rhinoplasty done. Back in February, many people began to notice the slightly “off” appearance of Ashlee, and now we can see what she was building toward…a smaller nose. Now, it isn’t that extreme a procedure, as People reported weeks back that the surgery was performed on April 21st, but the bump in her nose is totally gone.
Side by side photos show a marked difference in the profile and tip, and when asked for comment, Simpson is basically just laughing.
There are a lot of reasons she is evidently having a good time with all this: 1) we are still talking about her 2) people are still buying her albums 3) she looks more like Jessica, so now she gets to go for her dream man: Johnny Knoxville.
There is just no shame in Hollywood. From the fake tan, to her father’s meddling in her sister’s marriage, people will do anything to be famous and stay there!
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And with that, loyal readers, I bid you adieu. Today is Mother’s Day. If you forgot to get your mom a card or a Fudgy the Whale Ice Cream Cake, you aren’t a horrible person. Maybe just a call will suffice, but show her that you understand how very much she has done for you.
Luckily, I got to spend all day Friday and Saturday with Mom here in Queens and took her to Coney Island yesterday. My back is killing me from the Cyclone, but I am still sitting upright. That’s a good thing.
My mother taught me to dream. To pick the biggest, toughest challenge in my life and go for it without fear. One day soon, I am sure I will be proud of what I have become because of her love and devotion, but at least I know she is.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the ladies. Grandmothers, Great-grandmothers, Moms and Mom’s-to-be. This is the one day that you are recognized for your commitment to your kids, to the sacrifices you’ve made and the love you’ve given unconditionally. Thank you, from all the sons and daughters of the world.
Keep it real!
Ssquared
Ssquared @ MySpace
