It’s Bandcamp Friday…for a few more hours. I wanted to write this post in the morning, but I got called into work. My bad.
Bandcamp Friday is a monthly-ish event that Bandcamp does where their don’t take their usual cut of any sales for 24 hours. The payment processor still takes a small fee (greedy bastards), but the bands still get around 95% of the total sale. That’s about as good as it gets for online distribution. The only thing better is buying something at the merch table after a show.
It’s embarrassing to admit, but this is the first time I’ve purchased something on Bandcamp Friday. Worst than that, it’s the first time I’ve purchased anything from a band on Bandcamp. In the past, I’ve only used Bandcamp to purchase sound effects libraries and background music for producing podcasting.
And it’s not because I wasn’t listening to music.
It was because of Spotify.
I stopped buying music because of Spotify.
The last album I remember buying was No Resolution by Tim Kasher on iTunes in 2017. That times out about right, because I joined Spotify around the time I moved to New York.
When I canceled my Spotify I made a pledge to start buying music again. It’s only fair if I expect others to buy mine.
For my first Bandcamp Friday I did a mixture of bands I already love (but only ever streamed) and bands I’ve never heard of before. The experience of finding new music on Bandcamp reminded me of how it used to be. No algorithms. Just vibes. I typed “midwest emo” into the search bar and started listening to what came up until I found something I liked.
Here’s what I got:
- it’s fine to dream by you are an angel
- Forward by First Day Back
- Sports by Modern Baseball
- summer death by Marietta
- The Internet EP, Girl’s Names, and Perris, CA by Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start
you are an angel grabbed me immediately with how chaotic everything was. This is a ridiculous comparison because they sound nothing like them, but they reminded me of Number 12 Looks Like You in how I can never tell what direction a song is going to take. I also really appreciate the non-standard instrumentation. I’m just under halfway through it’s fine to dream and in addition to the usual suspects you would find on an emo record — guitar, bass, drums — I’ve heard a harmonica, chiptunes, and T-Pain-style autotune.
I think the reason I picked Forward by First Day Back is because the opening track made me think about Joie de Vivre. I’ve already listened to this album three times. I suspect it’s going to become one of my new favorites.
Sports and summer death speak for themselves.
Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start is band I’ve loved — very literally — since the MySpace days; in fact, that’s how I first discovered them. The reason I’ve never paid for their music up to this point is because in 2006 they posted everything on their website for free. If you’ve never checked them out, I can’t recommend them enough. The outro of Stay Inside & Keep to Yourself is inspired by their song Melanie Flury.
Well, I think it’s time to wrap this up. I’m tired from work, and I’ve spent so long writing this that Bandcamp Friday is nearly over.
-JP