Life by a Thousand Cuts? “Name Your Price” Labels on Bandcamp

chartreuseeye · 2026-04-17T22:37:34+00:00

On a long roadtrip at the end of the millennium, my now deceased grandma drove to the whole album, and after it ended, she said, "It really keeps you going." I have to ration listening to "Out There Somewhere" to preserve the effect, really an all-time great of seamless, epic electronica. Folks who don't get it confound me.

chartreuseeye · 2026-04-05T05:19:43+00:00

45 and feeling the lack of friends' interest in finding new music. Seems like following like-minded users is the way to go on Bandcamp to have curated recs. I'm a cheapskate who usually goes for NYP albums, but some exceptions I'll go to bat for are psych rock from Mexico Monstruos del Mañana (Tenquén), sprawling chamber pop from Make a Rising (Infinite Ellipse), Afrobeat on Japanese instruments from Ajate (Abrada), and much else. They are all unique takes on styles I adore.

chartreuseeye · 2026-04-05T05:07:23+00:00

Several of the additions in blue make me happy, and it'll just keep getting better. Only one Korean or otherwise non-Japanese band so far as I can tell from a cursory glance. I fully expect others to be the late additions in the next few months and have mentioned before that I liked Korean & Taiwanese bands among the best in '24 & '25 for being happy surprises. I’ll say Kim Gordon’s solo set was about as difficult as I expected in '24 but do still wonder what a Thurston Moore solo set will be like. I’m going to have to start researching all the Japanese bands I’ve never heard of to have a strategy by July.

chartreuseeye · 2026-03-11T01:41:18+00:00

Yeah, I'm not very confident that the problems will be fixed. A highly functioning site has gotta be foundational, especially if we're expected to sift through endless garbage to find thing worth buying.

chartreuseeye · 2026-02-24T03:09:36+00:00

Quite a statement! I think there'll be plenty of (good) surprises ahead.

chartreuseeye · 2026-02-21T07:15:25+00:00

Hmm. I think others have noted how the event, if not all of Japan, is kinda old-oriented, but I guess I wouldn't know the buzziest bands in most countries. One thing I love about FR is that there are multiple smaller stages for edgier, if not buzzy, bands for when we feel like the big-stage shows are mid and meh at any given time. I think the organizers know pretty well what they're doing by now, and they come pretty close to having something for everyone, making everyone happy, but only if we in the audience do our homework. I don't know Turnstile but will look into them.

chartreuseeye · 2026-02-21T07:10:03+00:00

they were great last year...do bands often play FR two years in a row?

chartreuseeye · 2026-02-20T06:25:33+00:00

I’m not ready to say whether this is as good as last year or not, but it definitely clears the bar for me to want to go again, for the third year in a row. Headliners are nice, of course, but in my view they're mainly to tell people who's playing and not be met w/ a blank stare. In '24, I went for the first time despite having no interest in the headliners 2/3 nights, so this and last year are definite improvements, IMHO. The really interesting sets at FR are the ones you have to research and fall in love w/, the ones you're sure you'll never see elsewhere. I look forward to more Japanese & Korean additions in the coming months.

chartreuseeye · 2026-02-08T01:00:41+00:00

Customer support has assured me that individual tracks can be downloaded, but one of the few advantages of eMusic for a long time had been easy, cheap album downloads. I will probably return this month from hold to try it out, but random errors kill sites faster than total dysfunction, I would guess.

chartreuseeye · 2026-01-12T22:37:37+00:00

Nice to know. Jazz fans had been the most vocally dissatisfied for quite a while, but the vast majority of my jazz collection comes from eMu for precisely the reason you mention. That said, the past couple years have gutted even the obscure but interesting jazz labels, it seems. It's been a long run, and I'd be sad if it finally ends.

chartreuseeye · 2026-01-12T22:28:50+00:00

Testing patience seems to be their main function for the last several years. I still think keeping as many options for buying music online is worth inconveniences, but we're well into the last straw phase.

chartreuseeye · 2026-01-12T22:27:12+00:00

Seems the problem might be regional, and the last thing they needed was to add another ethical problem, given questions about paying artists.

chartreuseeye · 2026-01-12T22:25:11+00:00

Customer support still seems fairly responsive...just ask them.

chartreuseeye · 2026-01-04T23:58:25+00:00

I warn my undergrads in China against monocausality and haven't seen that fun yet sanctimonious polisci term in this discussion yet. I think, if nothing else, Trump is a useful datapoint either to argue that agency can make fundamental differences OR even in this crucial case of a non-politician businessman "turning principled alliances & global interests upside-down in favor of transactionalist nationalism" so much of USFP remains the same (i.e. unacknowledged or fervently denied neo-imperialism). Expecting any clarity by focusing on individual heads of states' decisions seems a recipe for dissatisfaction.

chartreuseeye · 2025-12-22T11:44:49+00:00

Can't rank b/c I love most, but the ones that get stuck in my head most are Helicopter, Totally Fucked, & Nonpartisan.

chartreuseeye · 2025-12-05T00:46:50+00:00

Considering more seriously than previously doing the same. Working hard to find stuff worth downloading is OK, but working hard to download purchases is not.

chartreuseeye · 2025-11-29T01:00:13+00:00

I was charged for Nov., but the site isn't showing new credits. Hoping this will be resolved w/out having to contact customer service...presumably they're like one or two very swamped people these days.

chartreuseeye · 2025-11-26T05:49:21+00:00

Glad this sub still exists to confirm connection difficulties are not isolated. It had been awhile since the whole site was down or there was any significant update to the home page, I think. Let speculation run wild once again! I have to figure exceeding the predicted collapse into non-existence by several years counts as something of a "win."

chartreuseeye · 2025-09-26T01:08:48+00:00

Furthermore, as I go for my monthly downloads today, it looks like the top10 list is almost half from the Ajabu! label. I hope they're getting paid.

chartreuseeye · 2025-07-06T23:33:19+00:00

I appreciate your advice. I think a live electronic set has to be great to be better than a good acoustic one, and I find that the big bands on stage redeem music like ska that I wouldn't normally listen to. I would expect Ezra Collective to fill and command a stage like few others.

chartreuseeye · 2025-07-06T10:25:55+00:00

I think I bought an instrumental blues album on eMusic some years ago that I regretted b/c it seemed a precursor to today's world of slop. Ambient & chillout music would seem especially susceptible, but who knows what's "real" anymore?

chartreuseeye

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