Puddlegum

Puddlegum will undergo major changes during the month of July. First, we have decided to change the name of Puddlegum to Chasing Lions. Though we first began to use the Puddlegum name eleven years ago, we realize that if we want to expand and grow then we need to get away from ‘gum, considering the similarity of our name and the largest music blog, Stereogum.

Chasing Lions will be a blog label, combining aspects of a music blog and a record label. We are widely expanding our team of writers, and will cover topics on music, film, and culture. Matt Netzley is joining the Chasing Lions team as our editor, and we’re excited to bring him on board. Matt Netzley is a creative writer and avid reader, and we have no doubt that Matt will provide you with content that you won’t find anywhere else on the internet.

Brandon Cornell will be heading up the record label aspects of Chasing Lions. He has successfully managed several businesses, such as Epiphany Clothing, and has keen insight on marketing and artist management. Our ‘blog label’ will utilize free music marketing techniques, as well as offering vinyl, digital, and CDs.

Erica Todd is joining the Chasing Lions team as well. She is helping with tour support for our artists, and will expand her role in the blog label over the next few months.

My role in Chasing Lions will involve overseeing and contributing to the music blog, working diligently with the label, and spending countless hours as a sound engineer and producer. We will eventually be opening our own recording studio, using my Pro Tools digital studio in the mean time.

Expect an official press release soon, with an exciting announcement of who our first three artists and bands will be. Thank you for supporting Puddlegum over the many years. We look forward to developing the Chasing Lions blog label with you.

-Kevin Flick

There is yet another social community for musicians, this one claiming to be the “first fully integrated social network designed specifically for musicians, bands, and the professional music industry.” BandFIND.com is geared at helping musician and those working in the industry to connect, a feat that may work if enough artists pour time into their site.

When you’re creating your profile on BandFIND, you are asked to be specific about your involvement in the music industry. There are over thirty fields to detail your experience; if you have spent 11 years of your life managing bands then you would select “band management” and scroll down to the number of years. You are also asked to describe your talents… more than just filling out a bio. Instead, you’re given over fifty instruments, along with the years and skill level.

Other aspects of BandFIND that you may find interesting are the Ads. Looking for a guitarist, or trying to sell your ukulele? If you have a band, every member of the band can create a unique profile and then “join” the band. Then spend time contacting other musicians, swap shows, etc.

From the Sigur Rós press release:

Sigur Rós will be releasing their fifth album, Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (English translation: with a buzz in our ears we play endlessly), worldwide the week of June 23. The first track from the album, entitled Gobbledigook, is available worldwide for free download via SigurRos.com. The video for the song is also on the website.

A pre-sale for the album will begin on SigurRos.com on June 2. A special deluxe edition of the album to be released later in the year — featuring a “Making Of… “ book, a film and more — will also be available to pre-order on the band’s website as of June 2. A stream of Með suð í eyrum… will be available to hear on SigurRos.com on June 9. Lastly, a plethora of Sigur Rós goodies — exclusive clips, information on tickets for upcoming shows throughout the year, etc. — will be available to those who sign up for the mailing list on SigurRos.com.

Með suð í eyrum… was co-produced with the band by renowned producer Flood, and was recorded in New York City (at Sear Sound Studios), London (at Assault and Battery Studios and Abbey Road), Reykjavík (at Álafoss, the band’s studio, as well as a church in Reykjavík), and Havana, Cuba. Whereas Sigur Rós’ last release — the critically-acclaimed documentary Heima, chronicling their free tour throughout Iceland — took the band to their homeland, their newest creation, Með suð í eyrum… is the first album in the band’s career to be made outside of Iceland. It is also their first album to feature vocalist Jón “Jónsi” Thor Birgisson’s vocals in English on one track (the remainder are sung in Icelandic).

Inspired by the unfettered feeling of the acoustic performances filmed during Heima, Sigur Rós decided to adopt a looser approach in the writing and creation of their brilliant fifth album. The material for the album was written, recorded and mixed entirely in 2008 and is being released just one month after its completion. The album glows with the perfect imperfection of live takes, the sounds of fingers playing guitar strings, cracked notes, and a stark, upfront presence not found in previous Sigur Rós recordings, moving away from reverb-soaked guitar sounds towards something altogether more affecting. The record also contains some of the most joyous music the band has ever recorded.

Opener Gobbledigook sets the tone for Með suð í eyrum… with its shifting acoustic guitars, playful vocals, time signature swings and swirling percussion, while Inní mér syngur vitleysingur (”Within me a lunatic sings”) sparkles as one of the most anthemic songs Sigur Rós have ever written. Festival is epic in its elation and scope, Illgresi features one of Jónsi’s finest vocal melodies over a lone acoustic guitar, and Ára bátur is the largest musical undertaking in the band’s career, as it was recorded live in one take with the London Sinfonietta and London Oratory Boy’s Choir, a total of 90 people playing at the same time. The band also utilized the talents of their string-quartet friends Amiina, as well as a five-piece brass section on certain tracks, in addition to introducing the Mellotron into their writing/recording process for the first time on this album, highlighted on one of the most tender and beautiful songs on the record, Fljótavík.

The spirit of Með suð í eyrum… is best captured by the album’s stunning artwork, contributed by acclaimed visual artist Ryan McGinley. McGinley first met the band when he photographed Jónsi six years ago; the album cover was taken from a flyer for McGinley’s most recent exhibit, “I Know Where the Summer Goes,” which happened to find its way into Jónsi’s inbox just as the band was deciding on how to best visually represent their new collection of songs. The result is a perfect synergy of the aural and the visual.

The tracklisting for Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (with a buzz in our ears we play endlessly) is…

1. Gobbledigook
2. Inní mér syngur vitleysingur
3. Góðan daginn
4. Við spilum endalaust
5. Festival
6. Með suð í eyrum
7. Ára bátur
8. Illgresi
9. Fljótavík
10. Straumnes
11. All Alright

Sigur Rós will be playing shows all over the globe throughout the summer and fall to preview material from Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, including a special set at this year’s Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. The tour dates are:

The June tour dates…
6/5/08 Guadalajara, MEX @ Teatro Degollado
6/7/08 Tepoztlan, MEX @ Festival La Colmena
6/8/08 Tijuana, MEX @ Planeta Tijuana
6/11/08 Omaha, NE @ Orpheum Theater
6/12/08 Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater
6/14/08 Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
6/16/08 New York, NY @ Grand Ballroom
6/20/08 Neuhausen ob Eck @ Southside Festival
6/22/08 Scheesel, Bremen @ Hurricane Festival

More worldwide tour dates will be announced soon.

Sigur Rós is: Jón Thor Birgisson (vocals, guitar), Georg Holm (bass), Kjartan Sveinsson (keyboards/piano), Orrí Páll Dýrason (drums).

There’s no question that blogs have changed the internet landscape. Technorati claims there are over 112 million blogs, growing at an astonishing rate of 175,000 new blogs every day, covering every topic imaginable.

RSS feed readers are helpful in keeping up on your favorite blogs, but sometimes it’s nice to have a filter, such as Digg. As much as I enjoy Digg, the community is not necessarily warm to blogs about indie music. I’ve searched for alternatives to Digg, and even considered starting my own by using the Pligg engine, but decided against it.

There’s a new social community similar to Digg, called ShowHype, that is focused on entertainment news: movies, television, music, and celebrities. Launched several months ago by the same people that brought BallHype, ShowHype claims over 500,000 clicks in April. Content from 1,200 entertainment blogs make up most of the stories, and though the links are automatically added via RSS feeds, ShowHype members must vote for a story before it moves up the que.

ShowHype ranks blogs and individual stories, making it a great resource for information; Puddlegum ranks #113. “Blog rankings are based on the number of links blogs receive from other tracked blogs, with the most weight given to recent links and links from other high-ranking blogs.”

A criticism of ShowHype is that most of the popular stories are predictably about Brittany Spears or Kanye West. But this is due to being a new community and a lack of imagination from . This could quickly change though if a hundred fans of independent music began to push content from indie music blogs.

I have been spending more time behind my digital board, moving faders and placing microphones. Ironically, the years working as a therapist has proven to be very beneficial while tracking bands. Since I’m dealing with egos that need to be massaged and ideas to be explored, my approach can set a tone for the session that either encourages creativity or results in tension. If I’m so focused on what my ears are telling me, I overlook a very important aspect of recording: personalities.

It doesn’t take long to observe personalities and how it’ll affect the recording process. When artists are unloading their equipment, temperaments take over. Will they immediately get to business? Do they want to chat for a few minutes and relax? Right away you can pick up on things about the artist that can help you adjust the environment to their needs.

Most bands have at least one member, typically the vocalist, that is determined to have every track perfected. As a producer or engineer, you can rely on this member to diplomatically point out flaws. Hopefully the relationships in the group is strong enough that you’re not caught acting as the mediator between artists. Every band needs a leader, and when there isn’t one, the engineer or producer is often thrust into this de facto position.

This past week I recorded several songs with Nathan Edwin, an experimental folk artists from South Bend, Indiana. He showed up carrying bags of musical instruments, alone but capable of recording most instruments placed in front of him. As he described his passion for painting, I gathered quickly that he saw recording as a blank canvas on which to paint heavy strokes of texture. It only made sense… knowing he was an art major in college.

This was going to be a fast paced recording session. Limited time to record three songs prevented us from going over the same guitar track until things were perfected. Instead, it was a matter of setting the microphones right to limit noise yet allow a creative flow. If he was waiting on me to tweak with the placement then the inspiration to record that particular instrument might be lost. He needed to be able to get it right within two or three takes because his mind was already thinking about the next stroke of color to add to the recording.

As an engineer I’m always trying to think ahead of the artist, and read the environment. As they’re walking around the room thinking about the next layer to add, are they tripping over cords and microphone stands? Do they feel comfortable enough to relax? Do they need candles lit and the lights dimmed? When they’re picking on the banjo, am I already recording their “run through” so they can hear it back? These are all things that can affect the recording process.

Often times the line between the engineer and producer is blurred in today’s tight budgets. I always assume that I’m there to capture the sound that the artist is hearing in their heads, and won’t pry into the producer’s role unless the artist invites me into that seat. This only happen when trust has been established, and is followed with the question: “What do you think?”

By understanding personalities and their specific needs, artists usually feel safe enough to trust. Since their art is directly connected to their self image, I always believe that I’m there to help the artist explore, whether or not my opinion is sought or not. Hopefully I can create a safe place where this can be done in free form, where they can move freely from instrument to instrument, adding strokes of texture and color. After all, it’s not about what I want on the canvas.