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Possibly the most bizarre album gimmick ever

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Saeglopur Resident Hipster from Various places in the UK Since: Jan, 2001
Resident Hipster
#1: Jun 3rd 2011 at 4:53:36 AM

Yes, even more so than anything Radiohead have ever done.

The new album from U.K. festival-anthem-plod-rockers Kaiser Chiefs not only sees them actually improve as a band for the first time since 2005, it also embraces the digital age... well, okay, it doesn't just embrace the digital age, it covers it in sloppy make-outs and invites it back to the apartment for 'coffee'.

Anyway - the gist is, they have put 20 tracks up on their website, each with a 1-minute preview. You can then string together any 10 of those tracks, in any order, and download the result for £7.50. And create your own album artwork for it.

And that's not the end. Having done this, you can then upload your mix of the album back onto the website, and for every one you sell (for £7.50), you get £1. That's right, the band are giving you money (albeit a tiny fraction of the amount they'll make from the gimmick) to sell their album.

So... is this:

  • Really really awesome?
  • The death of the album as an art form?
  • A load of money-grabbing pointless web 2.0 bollocks?
  • A cool gimmick, but who cares as Kaiser Chiefs are still a bit pants?
  • Probably all of the above?

Speak your brains.

edited 3rd Jun '11 4:54:27 AM by Saeglopur

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Litis from Israel Since: Jul, 2009
#2: Jun 3rd 2011 at 4:56:02 AM

any 10 of those tracks

So instead of just buying a normal album, you're... choosing the songs you want to hear in the album just from first glance? What the hell?

I call bullshit.

Saeglopur Resident Hipster from Various places in the UK Since: Jan, 2001
Resident Hipster
#3: Jun 3rd 2011 at 5:00:03 AM

Yeah, I guess if you're a diehard fan, then the band will make £15 out of you, and seen as you're essentially buying a double album then I guess that's fair enough. A bit steep and purely a money making exercise, but quite clever nonetheless.

The only problem is that it might just convince people even further to illegally download all 20 rather than pay to download half of them.

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TheGloomer Since: Sep, 2010
#4: Jun 3rd 2011 at 6:43:00 AM

The Kaiser Chiefs? I didn't realise they were still around.

As for the gimmick, I'm not sure it will catch on in a big way. If it becomes popular, I can imagine the big record labels introducing all manner of new provisions in their contracts to limit it.

Jonny0110 Since: May, 2011
#5: Jun 3rd 2011 at 7:38:34 AM

Definitely the second half of the fourth bullet point.

edited 3rd Jun '11 7:38:57 AM by Jonny0110

Saeglopur Resident Hipster from Various places in the UK Since: Jan, 2001
Resident Hipster
#6: Jun 3rd 2011 at 7:53:14 AM

Meh, it's worth listening to but nothing special. Better than their last two attempts. Definitely the gimmick is more interesting than the music though tongue

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xexyzl Since: Jan, 2001
#7: Jun 3rd 2011 at 4:17:58 PM

No idea who Kaiser Chefs are and I probably don't like their music.

I would say 2nd bullet point but really this is just 3rd bullet point.

SpainSun Laugh it off, everybody from Somewhere Beyond Here Since: Jan, 2010
Laugh it off, everybody
#8: Jun 3rd 2011 at 5:47:15 PM

The death of the album as an art form? As if the Kaiser Chiefs have such influence.

I will say though, that it is retarded.

I spread my wings and I learn how to fly....
Saeglopur Resident Hipster from Various places in the UK Since: Jan, 2001
Resident Hipster
#10: Jun 3rd 2011 at 6:10:55 PM

[up] Ooh, very interesting. Colour me intrigued.

[up][up] Heh, nope, Kaiser Chiefs have had little to no influence on music for half a decade and I doubt this'll change much.

edited 3rd Jun '11 6:12:18 PM by Saeglopur

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KitsuneInferno Jackass Detector from East Tennessee Since: Apr, 2009
Jackass Detector
#11: Jun 3rd 2011 at 8:55:02 PM

I'm almost nineteen years old and who the fuck are the Kaiser Chiefs?

"It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt." - Some guy with a snazzy hat.
Nyktos (srahc 84) eltit Since: Jan, 2001
(srahc 84) eltit
#12: Jun 3rd 2011 at 9:05:56 PM

I know about them because my dad listens to / used to listen to them.

edited 3rd Jun '11 9:06:07 PM by Nyktos

I guess it is.
Buscemi I Am The Walrus from a log cabin Since: Jul, 2010
I Am The Walrus
#13: Jun 3rd 2011 at 11:55:03 PM

The Kaiser Chiefs? They're still around?

More Buscemi at http://forum.reelsociety.com/
TheGloomer Since: Sep, 2010
#14: Jun 4th 2011 at 4:42:29 AM

[up]Speaking of which, are the Killers and Franz Ferdinand still around? They were in that whole indie rock category with the Kaiser Chiefs, and I've not heard from them in almost as long.

mmysqueeant I'm A Dirty Cowboy from Essairrrrcks Since: Oct, 2010
I'm A Dirty Cowboy
#15: Jun 4th 2011 at 7:33:58 AM

Speak your brains.

ahahahahahaha.

- thirty minutes of youtube videos loaded -

On Topic: It seems far too fiddly, not nearly fun enough to make it worth considering unless you're a fan already. Not outlandish or idealistic enough, either, just a little odd.

I don't think the album can possibly die, if a good band does do something earth-shaking to change how we buy music, the concept album will remain as much a part of making music as the collection is a part of short story- or poetry-writing.

I also think that concept albums are already incredibly widespread, although the concepts might be a little loose at times, it's a key factor in marketing all kinds of music that there be an identifiable theme, tone or character to music being released. So I'm not just talking about prog when I'm talking about concept albums, but about almost every album before and after the term was even invented.

MikeK Since: Jan, 2001
#16: Jun 4th 2011 at 9:28:01 AM

Huh, I kind of had an idea like this a long time ago, then dismissed it as kind of silly. Mine was taking it a little bit further though - basically you could stream full versions of everything a band recorded during the sessions (including multiple takes of the same songs) and pick a certain number of tracks to go on the "album". And the reason I thought of it was, circa 2002 or so, Weezer were constantly putting up a handful of demos at a time, including versions of everything that was on Maladroit and a lot of songs that didn't make the final cut. So, while this wasn't the intended effect, if you didn't like the finished album and you had all those demos downloaded already, you could choose different takes or replace your least favorite songs with outtakes and see if you got anything more to your taste.

Bananaquit Since: Jan, 2001
#17: Jun 4th 2011 at 11:17:00 AM

[up] Ooh, very interesting. Colour me intrigued.

Good luck in finding a way to play the “interactive” version (which I believe to be quite rare nowadays anyway). You can pretty much get the same effect from just playing the regular disc on random play, anyway (assuming you have a read-ahead CD player, or have ripped it to MP 3). It’s also available in a “lite” version with the tracks remixed into discrete “songs.” It’s also considered one of Todd’s worst albums (but I, strangely, kind of like it, in spite of my general distaste for rap and the very 90s production style he was getting into with this disc).

He tried the “interactive” thing for two more discs: The Individualist (which was available as a more conventional hybrid “interactive” CD) and One Long Year (in which internet fans chose which songs would be on the album).

JHM Apparition in the Woods from Niemandswasser Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Hounds of love are hunting
Buscemi I Am The Walrus from a log cabin Since: Jul, 2010
I Am The Walrus
#19: Jun 4th 2011 at 8:44:48 PM

[up] Why am I not surprised that it was a Coil album?

More Buscemi at http://forum.reelsociety.com/
JHM Apparition in the Woods from Niemandswasser Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Hounds of love are hunting
Litis from Israel Since: Jul, 2009
#21: Jun 6th 2011 at 5:28:37 AM

I think Buscemi was referring to more of an "I knew who this link will be about before I even clicked it because it was in a post by JHM" kind of thing.

justheretoseecuts Since: Dec, 1969
#22: Jun 9th 2011 at 7:47:43 AM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_for_Supermarkets

This was pretty weird too. Only one copy was ever made, and the master tapes were destroyed.

As for weird gimmicks in production of albums, my picks for weirdest are Nymphomatriarch by Venetian Snares (an entire album made from samples of him having sex with his girlfriend) and Forms of Paper by Steve Roden (an entire album of recordings of handling paper)

SpainSun Laugh it off, everybody from Somewhere Beyond Here Since: Jan, 2010
Laugh it off, everybody
#23: Jun 9th 2011 at 9:00:57 AM

Music for Supermarkets is available as low-quality mp3s recorded from Radio Luxemborg (it's an AM station)

So the original isn't *really* unique in music, just quality.

I spread my wings and I learn how to fly....
MikeK Since: Jan, 2001
#24: Jun 10th 2011 at 8:51:10 PM

As far as format gimmicks go, there was a live Melvins album released only on 8-track (long after 8 tracks were even being manufactured anymore of course). What made it especially weird is that they were just recording over old eight track cartridges, so if they happened to use one that wasn't long enough, you wouldn't get the whole album and it'd just cut off mid song. The Melvins seem to like putting out weird, useless collectors items like that (see also: A completely silent 7" single called Shit Sandwich... And You Just Took A Bite, although they aren't even the first to put out a completely silent record): I guess it's because they figure people are just buying these things to have something that's rare by their favorite band rather than to actually listen to them, so they might as well screw with that portion of that audience a bit.

For music gimmicks, there's also Pullhair Rubeye by Avey Tare and Kria Brekkan, where all the songs are played backwards: I remember when that first leaked, the collective impression of one message board I was on was "Well, this is probably some weird attempt at anti-piracy, but wouldn't it be funny if they were just releasing an album of backwards songs?".... And then they did.

edited 21st Jun '11 12:34:15 PM by MikeK

JHM Apparition in the Woods from Niemandswasser Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Hounds of love are hunting
Apparition in the Woods
#25: Jun 11th 2011 at 2:36:32 AM

[up][up][up][up] I'm... not sure how a feel about that.

*small frown*

The concept behind Music for Supermarkets was pretty damn weird, though I'm not quite sure whether or not it's actually a gimmick per se.

I'll hide your name inside a word and paint your eyes with false perception.

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