REVIEW: LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening

LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening

Release Date: May 17th, 2010
Label: DFA













BEN SHEENE:

A best of list—they have them for movies, books, television, and, yes, music. As the year comes to a close you find yourself standing in December with January on the horizon. During this period websites and magazines flood readers with the top fifties, the top tens, the top anything. Sifting through the deluge of twelve months of hype and noise people often skim pages looking for their own personal favorites (I know I do it all the time). When thinking back on some of the years past in music, many standout albums have come through your ears. However, one year in particular resonates with me and that is 2007. That year many exceptional bands came out with equally exceptional albums: Arcade Fire, Radiohead, The National, Animal Collective, Of Montreal, and LCD Soundsystem. Now here we are in 2010. The year is nearing its halfway mark and after three long years some bands are finally putting out new albums. If the trend continues then this year could most likely shape up to be another 2007. This Is Happening marks a release of enormous anticipation. Those of us who recognize the sheer magnitude of Sound of Silver’s impact are no doubt hoping that this third (and potentially final) effort lives up to the years of waiting.

When we last left LCD Soundsystem, James Murphy was slowly waltzing his way through “New York, I Love You but You’re Bringing Me Down”. Gradually the song rose and fell with dramatic bursts but for an otherwise fast-paced dance album it washed over you calmly. “Dance Yrself Clean” is infused with those humble endings and opens in a way we wouldn’t expect from the dance-punk/rock auteur. With a slow build the track begins to deconstruct the notion of friends and associates and instead speaks of exclusion from mean friends and jerks. An immediate distancing—in this case dancing clean—from our notion of “Someone Great” and “All My Friends”. And with little hint of change the song kicks into familiar territory with an explosive synth line and a hard hitting beat. From here you are jerked by the collar into Murphy’s world of sweaty, dancing bodies heaving under strobe lights and chilling in smoky backrooms.

“Drunk Girls” might be the most experimental out of all the tracks because of its nature as a tightly woven attempt at a pop single. The terse song is easily accessible because of its quick nature especially when compared to the gargantuan length of other tracks. As a single to be dispersed on the radio the song works. Personally, however, I would have liked this song to have been given longer legs because the song itself lends itself to the frenetic dance-punk energy that is classic for the band. In that same vein is “One Touch” a song that feels like a spiritual successor to Sound of Silver’s grandiose opener “Get Innocuous” and is compacted with a few sexual overtones.

Though Murphy has always proven he is capable of creating thrilling tracks that can drive any soul to dance; I feel it is always that more emotionally focused side that makes LCD Soundsystem so great. “All I Want” and “I Can Change” deliver the emotional kick in the gut of This Is Happening. “Love is a murderer,” sings Murphy in a heartbreaking sentiment but then says “if she calls you tonight/everything is all right.” The same romantic takes over in “All I Want” where Murphy takes you by the hips and slow dances. The strength of these songs lies not only in their subdued beauty but also in one of the more integrated aspects of LCD Soundsystem: James Murphy’s voice. At times differentiating between the moniker of LCD Soundsystem and the man behind it can be a blurred line. The name you see on the album cover matches that pounding bass and electronic thrashing—it is actually quite a brilliant band name. In the end, though, this is Murphy’s baby and it always has been. Each album and each song is purely him. The emotions are real and they come through in those songs. Even though the man is having fun dancing around blasting your speakers he is still “just a guy” whose heart pumps with real feeling and molds them into his music. This is the kind of songwriting that turned “All My Friends” into the perfect song that it was. More so, Murphy’s vocals shine they never have before in this album. He puts everything on the table—and it is great.

This Is Happening rarely (if ever) misses a hit. Instead the album provides yet another blueprint for how pop/dance/dance-punk music should sound. It fuses elements from Murphy’s entire career so far and creates hit after hit. Listen to “Pow Pow” and try not to get into it. “Somebody’s Calling Me” plays near the end when all the sweat has been pumped out. It is a slow and paced tune yet you still want to snap your fingers and almost drunkenly sway your body. From beginning to end the album plays out like an entire night of some wild dance experience. Moments of rapturous movement turn into swaths of calm and occasional heartbreak. Sure you can pluck individual tracks for their own isolated listening sessions but this is one you are wanting to from start to finish.

And if all the talking is true this could be the last full length release we see from LCD Soundsystem and James Murphy. With that thought in mind “Home” closes the album and is sort of a swan song. Sentimentally this might be the best song on the album purely because of how purely it catches you. “Forget your past/this is your last chance now” we hear Murphy say almost eerily reflecting upon his career. “Still you should not forget/Yeah, don’t forget/The things that we laughed about.” As far as retrospectives go this song is an almost pained one reflecting on a wonderful career. The feeling that is left inside of me after listening to “Home” and hearing the album pop to a close is both a joy and sadness. It will suck (for a lack of a better term) if this is really the last big thing we hear out of LCD Soundsystem. Even so, this is exactly the way one wants to go out: completely on top and kicking ass. This is Happening. We can take a lot from that. The album has now dropped—this is happening. The album is brilliant—this is happening (to your ears). This might just be the last time—this is happening…Regardless of your intonation when saying those three words or how it hits you, you cannot deny that This Is Happening is here and it is an instant masterpiece.

REVIEW: Born Ruffians – Say It

Born Ruffians – Say It


Release Date: June 1, 2010
Label: Warp













LYNDSAY HIENEMAN:

It's hard to be a quirky, chirpy band - especially when quirky and chirpy has become another musical mainstay. One band of herky-jerky kids is easily replaced for another. This reality greatly concerns Born Ruffians, a Canadian trio consisting of singer/guitarist Luke LaLonde, bassist Mitch Derosier, and drummer Steven Hamelin. Their debut album, 2008's Red, Yellow, & Blue, was labeled with all those interchangeable words meaning youthful, energetic, and doe-eyed. The title track was a twinkly daydream, focused on boyish fantasies of establishing a country. On other tracks, LaLonde babbled and squealed like a kid in the early stages of a sugar buzz – hyperaware and skin crawling. It was a fun and catchy record, but one that ran the risk of being easily confused with some other bouncy sonic doppelganger.

It would be understandable if Born Ruffians chose to depart from the charms of their first record, as many bands do on a sophomore release. Say It, though, does not run away from Born Ruffians' signature sound. Jittery guitar and hiccupping drum beats are as present as ever. Instead, the record takes the obvious appeal of the cheery indie rock formula, and injects twists and turns that send the trio far away from becoming another predictable band on an ill-fated trajectory. The overt youthfulness on Born Ruffians' debut has been channeled into a new, tasteful intrigue. Whimsy and charm come through without the inaccessible abstractions of pointless bizarrity.

There is method to the madness on this record; as LaLonde rants and raves, it is clear his squawks are far from shallow or premeditated. In the height of sincere emotion, his vocals are totally consumed by yelps and howls that border on wide-eyed insanity. ""I got a funny feelin' she's been cheatin'," he cries on "Oh Man", as hazy guitars pop and drums roll along. There is solidarity between emotional vocals and mechanical rhythm; vulnerability and strength balance out, without threatening a retreat to the naivety of past Born Ruffians releases.

But, that's not to say this album is all about precision and stability. "What To Say" jerks and bobbles like a Talking Heads tune. It's purely hooky from the first clucky bass line. "The Ballad of Bruce Moose", squelches with space invader synthesizer and battle-ready drums, while LaLonde's mouth runs faster than he can keep up with. "Oh, what a silly world it is!" He muses, before the guitar skits and freaks out, knocking the entire song off orbit, and into a frantic conclusion. "Come Back" pulls the reins in, channeling a hint of blues. Discouraged trumpet whines and lazy, front-porch style strumming sways along as LaLonde vows to "never again make someone mine".

What is most charming, though, is not the unexpected flourishes or the unashamed lyrical honesty. The conviction on Say It is most striking. For such a delicate, waifish sort of guy, LaLonde embodies a whole lot of soul. This is a different sort of soul that doesn't need to employ velvety smooth baritones and soaring walls of sound to be effective. The spirit here is a neurotic and hopeful one, accented by a band that plays as an extension of LaLonde's spastic consciousness. Say It does not house the interjections of angsty, self-indulgent boys, but rather of kooky, headstrong men. Born Ruffians have created an album of refined playfulness that goes to show growing up doesn't always have to be a drag.

REVIEW: The National - High Violet

The National - High Violet

Release Date: May 10th, 2010
Label: 4AD













BEN SHEENE:

There is a moment in the movie High Fidelity where John Cusak’s character Rob is at his record store idling away with a co-worker while a somber, mildly sad Belle & Sebastian song plays. He is depressed—his girlfriend just dumped him. The song is calming and possibly cathartic; not requiring too much attention and just the right amount of emotional distraction. Remember the scene? Of course the moment is not to last as Jack Black’s Barry loudly bursts into the store, cuts off the song, and puts on Katrina and the Waves’ “Walking on Sunshine”. After being yelled at and chastised for his interruption he says, “I was just trying to cheer us up so go ahead put on some ole sad bastard music, see if I care.”

A specific reference, yes, but in this context, in the context of The National, the exchange works. Since 2001 the band’s take on “sad bastard music” has only grown and cemented them into a permanent place at the top of the music scene. It isn’t that the band is necessarily that old or even that sad but that their songs embody the day in the life of someone who, if not down on their luck, is merely satisfied with being just okay in the middle. High Violet goes to prove that not only can the band continue to refine their sound but that they can break (and maybe even shatter) your heart with their trademark beautiful melancholy and sadness.

“Terrible Love” opens the album with its powerful crescendos woven with Matt Berninger’s trademark voice. The band has never really been one for subtlety and the instant pull of the track is definitely an attention grabber. You might recall the band’s earlier days when their songs were not always contained, where Berninger shouted and wailed on the vocals during “Abel” and “Mr. November”. With the release of Boxer those moments of vocal intensity were instead translated into the sorrowed pitch-perfect lyrics that made that album such a classic. The morose “Sorrow” goes so far as to personify sorrow as it slowly whittles the narrator down. Such heavy-handedness is to be expected of The National. This world of gloomy men and teary-eyed romantics that the band feels so comfortable placing themselves into would probably cause us to crumble; however, they survive by merely bending and not breaking.

I feel it would be a true mistake to go into High Violet looking for another “Apartment Story” (which I consider to be the greatest song of the band’s career). “Bloodbuzz Ohio” is the candidate for instant single having enough momentum to maintain those less attentive ears. There are actually several songs here which require you to do more than just listen. Slow build is an important device the band employs this time around. Often you will have to wait until the chorus (sometimes later) before the song really settles into a discernible groove. This is not necessarily a fault, merely a problem with our expectations. In a way I was a bit spoiled on my first few listens of the album. I wanted some surging rock songs blended with emotions—the type of stuff that would resonate with me. Of course the appropriate few tracks that contained these elements I enjoyed while some were merely decent. As my taste for the album matured the songs began to hit harder. My two favorite songs on the album—“Runaway” and “England”—are also the longest. In “England” our down and out guide spends most of his time brooding about how “famous angels never come through England” and that he is walking around in a Los Angeles cathedral—confused and backwards imagery—and he doesn’t “even think to make corrections. Almost out of nowhere the song triumphantly swells and all those elements of a perfect National song fall into place. In these short moments the song becomes one of the best that the band has ever done. “Runaway” is lyrically simple for the band, involving a lot of repetition and the whole time not really going anywhere. Yet, there is something so right about it. Berninger sounds almost on the brink of breaking down as he opens with “There’s no savin’ anything.” And for the rest of the song nothing looks up in the slightest yet he refuses to run from the problems. The song is handled so delicately and is so outspokenly beautiful that it almost seems like it could be crushed under the weight of all the other tracks.

Weak spots are rarely an issue with the band’s body of work and here the major gripes of High Violet may simply be with the listener. Technically none of these songs fall short; it’s just that they do not soar as high as some of the others. At times I found myself frustrated by the weight of the lyrics mainly because I could not wrap my head around them. Occasionally I want to just listen to the music while there will be moments where I just want to be able to extract every word and lyric so I can pick them apart and get the depth and meaning of them. I’m sure Berninger’s lyrics would cause any poetic fiend to explode in rapturous glee but to a casual listener (and at times any listener) the lyrics can be a bit cryptic—I mean I still don’t know what a “Lemonworld” is. But with time the stories behind these words will become as familiar as any other song the band has done.

As far as anticipation and hype goes, High Violet had a lot of pressure on it. Not merely because of how flawless Boxer is but because of how great The National is as a band. People expected their new album to be great and probably even better than their previous effort. Is it? Honestly, I don’t really think it is in the spirit of this review to ask that question. Considering the time and place I was in when Boxer came out and how emotionally attached I became to the album I don’t immediately expect it to live up to my own personal lofty expectations. However, in the days since I’ve had the album I haven’t stopped listening to it and have played it at least two or three times a day. Quantifying listens and all that jargon might seem a little trite at first but I feel that it merely proves how easy this album is to love. When the band debuted “Terrible Love” live weeks and weeks ago someone said in reference to Matt Berninger’s vocals that he could even sing “Happy Birthday” and it would still sound sad and it is probably true. From time to time The National can be emotionally devastating and they can be sad bastards and because of that they can, in fact, cheer us up. It is this raw and real power they have that is lacking from a lot of other emotionally stunted music of today. And when a band plays out emotions in such a poetic and pleasing way how can you do anything but listen and love?

REVIEW: Bonnie 'Prince' Billy & The Cairo Gang - "The Wonder Show of the World"

HANK ALTOGETHER:

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy is the most prolific artist of the past 15 years. With that comes a lot of baggage. Mainly, it's getting to a, well, Guided by Voices point. In the past year we've had Beware, Silent City (with Brian Harnetty), and Funtown Comedown (with the Picket Line). And, to be sure the output has been rather, well, mixed. What's undeniable, however, is that when Mr. Oldham hits his stride -- as he seems to reinvent in the astonishing Wonder Show of the World -- there's no one who can match his talent. And we should all be counting our lucky stars that he isn't mercurial with his recordings.

What are the bands you love? What do they sound like? My guess is that they're all groups with an unwavering authentic voice. Think Radiohead. Think The Flaming Lips. And what keeps you coming back isn't the fact that the sequel has the same characters as the first one -- its that they manage to shift how that authenticity sounds.

With folky music, that's a bit more a burden. In the end it's the most elementary of musical forms -- a voice and an instrument. But, what BPB does on Wondershow is manage to pull that voice into a realm that he's only hinted at before while maintaining his beautiful wealth of prior recordings.

A case in point is the aching "That's What Our Love Is" which seems to move to a maudlin, saccharine crescendo before the jolting undercut of the lyric: "the smell of your box on my mustache." It's a sound that harkens to the most romantic hearts of your hippie brethren. OK - so maybe the lyric isn't, um, desirable. I have played this song (with the annoying attentiveness of a first boyfriend) to a handful of people all of which look at me and say -- "Did...did...did he just say 'box on my mustache?'" To which, I giddily reply, "yes." Why the fuck am I so giddy about this? Well, for the first time since Superwolf, I've heard that gorgeous bizarro tenor that Oldham manages so well. It's kinda romantic and kinda creepy all at once. But, it's his, goddamnit, and you got to hand it to him for wearing it on his shirtsleeve. Because no one else will ever step to actually THINKING that much less WRITING and RECORDING it.

Beyond "that lyric" what really shines on this album is the production. Every note, every harmony, every bit of instrumentation is elegantly taken care of. Beware was a snoozefest for me. It was too slick. Too Nashville. There's homespun elegance in this. It's def. slick, but in a way that fits the music, fits the melody and with as spare as it is, never feels forced. Just listen to the delicate chorus of "Go Folks, Go." Or the acceptance tale that is "Troublesome Houses." It's the kind of production fitting a song that Al Green aspires to.

Like it or hate it, you can't deny the originality that effuses from Oldham's work. We've been lucky to have a glut of it -- but this is possibly the best he's done to date. And from someone working as much and as well as he has, that's a career-sized compliment.

REVIEW: The New Pornographers - "Together"

HANK ALTOGETHER:

The traditional knock on the supergroup is that too many chef's spoil the broth. That it is the singular unique voice that makes the solo artist powerful and the collection of them, well, not. The New Pornographers have managed to sidestep this by staying less of a supergroup and more of a songwriters circle. Hence, the sound is less of collective and cohesion and one more of mutual respect around a set theme. I've never been in a songwriters circle, so I can only imagine that it must be something like a writer's workshop matched with an olympic-caliber dishwashing pair -- you wash, I'll dry. Still, despite the impressive lineup, the group has always felt like Carl Newman's brainchild -- the neo-Specter power-pop is usually fronted by Newman with aid from Dan Bejar & Neko Case. If everyone else is washing the dishes, Carl's usually dirtied them.

Being a huge Destroyer and Neko fan, it's kept me from getting into The New Pornographers a bit. Sure, I've always thought they had some exquisite tunes ("From Blown Speakers" comes immediately to mind. But to think that their new LP Together was going to be anything aside from a continuing exploration into the pop landscape that the Canucks have plowed is perhaps the wrong way to go about it.

Together, like their other albums, sounds almost antiquated in the post-OK Computer landscape. It's not organized around a theme. There's no narrative. The lineup is in flux. It's a collection of songs. And true to form, there are some real jewels like "Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk," "Your Hands (Together)," even "Valkyrie in the Roller Disco" (which seems to reach a bit further with the title than the song capitalizes on). And frankly, you'll feel the same way about this album as you did after the first few. Admit it, you weren't sure what all the fuss was about either.

But to feel that this album is supposed to be revolutionary or shake the foundations of what you listen to or even jump its way into the top 5 of your year is kind of missing the point. The New Pornographers don't have any beef or world to shake. What's immediately obvious from this album is that they just love playing/writing together. And really, what's wrong with that?

In Defense Of Joanna Newsom

ZACH THAT:

Joanna Newsom decided to shake up Monday with some comments ranging from Lady Gaga to Bloggers. After seeing twitter and blog comments, I decided to swoop in and voice my opinion on the matter.

First, the Lady Gaga remark. Newsom said:

"I'm mystified by the laziness of people looking at how she presents herself, and somehow assuming that implies there's a high level of intelligence in the songwriting. Her approach to image is really interesting, but you listen to the music, and you just hear glow sticks.”

Quite frankly this is what I’ve been yelling about since the sudden fame of Mrs. Gaga. I feel like Gaga is a quite interesting performer…a walking piece of changing art that rips and thumbs up Bowie and Warhol. But, as Newsom declares, if you listen to Gaga’s music, there is no separation from Kesha or Britney Spears. Nobody is saying this is bad, lots of people love pop music, but the simple fact is that bloggers and journalist are trying to make her music much more than it is. Newsom’s criticisms are dead on…when “indie” publication Pitchfork gives The Fame Monster a 7.8, then these criticisms are just. When has a mainstream pop act ever received such a score from an indie publication? Why did they even review it? These are the frustrating questions that Newsom is addressing with her comments. Mystified…yes, I’m mystified that so many intelligent people have confused Gaga’s shocking wardrobe/larger than life performances with her songs being high art. Nowhere does she say that people shouldn’t listen or like Lady Gaga…she is mystified by the confusing classification of pop music as something else.

Now to Newsom’s comment that has really been taken out of context. She “went after bloggers” by saying:
“Ever since the release of The Milk-Eyed Mender, Newsom has been aware of how she and her work are scrutinized. The heaps of critical praise that her debut received coincided with the mounting influence of music blogs, and while much of the attention on Newsom was incited by genuine admiration, discussion about her singing and look often overshadowed appreciation for her musicianship. Because of her distinctive voice, her fondness for vintage dresses, and the fanciful imagery of songs with titles such as “Bridges And Balloons” and “Peach, Plum, Pear,” she was tagged with terms like “elfin princess” and “wood nymph.” However, Newsom was more concerned about how her music was being perceived._…_Newsom admits to being “vulnerable to the call of the Internet” and knew that fans were ascribing titles to the unrecorded songs that would appear on Have One On Me. “When I was playing new songs, people would refer to then by these titles that I hadn’t referred to them by, and they would do it real authoritatively, like super know-it-all,” she says. “It really annoyed me.” But in September 2009, Newsom called it quits and stopped reading about herself, recognizing it as destructive and dangerous. “I’m a girl, and I’m human, and so probably the things that get to me the most are just when someone’s like, ‘that girl’s ugly,’ or ’stupid,’ or really playground shit,” she confesses. “Everything kind of affects me somehow if I read it, but that’s the stuff that drains your energy the most. Anything that engages the work is something that you somehow can step away from. I’ve read horrible, scathing reviews, and some of them are kind of good, kind of well-written, and occasionally they’re even funny. I remember with Ys, there were a few things that I read that made me laugh a lot, that were tearing it apart but making really good points. And somehow that doesn’t hurt my feelings as much. But there’s a class of insult that you can’t engage with at all, and you can’t defend yourself against in any way, and it just resonates with a very primal part of you. No one wants anyone to think they’re ugly and stupid, so somehow that’s the stuff that gets me.”_…_“I might just be talking about it and someone would point out, ‘What the hell are you doing spending one second of your time caring about what some dumbo in some far-off state has to anonymously say about you on a blog that five people read? It’s just a waste of energy. Regardless of what it was that made me realize once and for all that I needed to not read that stuff, it was one little episode that was representative of a whole larger truth, which is that no matter what I read on the Internet, whether it’s ‘good’ or ‘bad,’ it still makes me feel weird. It’s counterproductive. Even something that is a glowing review still leaves a weird taste in my mouth.”

I don’t think she's attacking music bloggers, rather analyzing her own reading of said blogs. She’s basically saying that reading about yourself doesn’t have any added value. I completely agree…how can it be helpful to read random and half-hashed comments on reviews of her work?

The web is ablaze with Newsom’s shocking comments, but please read her comments and not the headlines from bloggers…she is basically questioning why people are confusing Lady Gaga’s pop music with high art (VALID) and analyzing her own use of reading music blogs…concluding it’s not beneficial (VALID). I’m with you Joanna…even though you’re not reading this.

It’s Not Working (How To Save The Music Industry)

It’s Not Working (How To Save The Music Industry)
-Zach Hart

How many times do you charge into a brick wall until you realize it’s just not budging? For most of us it would be two or three attempts and then we would sit back, think about the situation and attempt something new. The music industry is not like us, they are a stubborn bunch that has the memory of soaring record sales in the foreground of their mind and will keep running into the wall until everything returns to the old norm. Guess what? It’s not working.

Like any problem, let’s examine what has been done to fix it.

1.) Threaten legal action against those who download music illegally.
2.) Push to a future of streaming music.
3.) Have a web sheriff monitor illegal links/mp3’s/etc.

That’s it? Look, with all three of these in place, I can find any album, at any time, for free online. There will be a few who buy vinyl, buy cds, download iTunes tracks…but let’s face it, what’s hurting sales is that fact that 70% of the people who own the album didn’t buy it. With the three points above, the circle will always continue, and it’s flabbergasting that the record industry is this dumb. Well, a little kid from Kentucky has figured out a way to save it all:

1.) REALIZE THAT MUSIC IS NOT WORTH AS MUCH AS IT WAS
2.) HARNESS THE LOST FEELING OF BUYING PHYSICAL MUSIC.
3.) FOCUS ON EXCLUSIVES.
4.) ROUND UP SPECIFIC BANDS/ARTISTS FAN BASE.
5.) MAKE EVERYTHING PUBLIC/DOCUMENTED.

The way you save the music industry is very simple: REWARD THOSE WHO BUY PHYSICAL MUSIC, IGNORE THOSE WHO DOWNLOAD!!! It’s such a simple thought that nobody in the music industry ever considered it. First, the labels come together to create an online database. All physical releases come with a serial number coupon. The patron goes on the database, creates a personal account, and logs their purchases. All this information is public. Columbia records can then go on the database and offer coupons/exclusive tracks/discounted tickets/special events/etc as a thank you for actually purchasing music. As the database grows, stores begin to implement key chain coding that allows for the patron to swipe their chain and the purchase is automatically uploaded to the database.

The documentation of sales being public is important because it allows everyday people to sheriff their own friends. So and so might have a million scrobs on last.fm, but the database shows no music purchases for the whole year. That person is a jerk. Nobody feels bad about downloading music because “everyone is doing it”. If we show that friends are purchasing music then slowly the morality of buying physical music creeps back into the psyche. This leads to harnessing the feeling of buying physical music…the emotion of helping out a band…owning the music, this feeling has to return.

The key to the whole puzzle is answering what I addressed with point number one:
REALIZE THAT MUSIC IS NOT WORTH AS MUCH AS IT WAS!
With the new system in place that focuses on reward, the industry MUST offer exclusives and deals that cannot be downloaded or found online for free. Patrons then buy for their fandom; their need for everything a specific band puts out, the chance to hear something special. If music is free online, the value of that music is free. With rewarding those who buy physical with something that can’t be found for illegal download…the value of the buying physical music makes sense again.

It’s that simple. While I’m skeptical about a lot of things, I truly believe people love music and want to pay for it. It just doesn’t make any sense to pay for something that can be found for free. Instead of making those who download feel like a criminal, make those who buy feel like a hero. Rewards for doing the right thing makes us feel proud, rewards remind people that they’re doing what is morally right, and once morality enters, a spark is lit and buying physical music is not a second thought, it’s the only right thing to do.