Amanda Palmer (of Dresden Dolls fame), in a blog post on her website in which she refers to herself as shameless and fearless, basically proposes and defends a (sort of) new business model for the musician that cuts out the record label as middle man. However, if this sparks an interest for any sort of formal doctrine she may want to take out a couple f-bombs here and there Some highlights….

“artists used to rely on middlemen to collect their money on their behalf, thereby rendering themselves innocent of cash-handling in the public eye.

artists will now be coming straight to you (yes YOU, you who want their music, their films, their books) for their paychecks.”

“if you think i’m going to pass up a chance to put my hat back down in front of the collected audience on my virtual sidewalk and ask them to give their hard-earned money directly to me instead of to roadrunner records, warner music group, ticketmaster, and everyone else out there who’s been shamelessly raping both fan and artist for years, you’re crazy.”

“i believe in the future of cheap art, creative enterprise, and an honorable public who will put their money where there mouth is, or rather, their spare change where their heart is.”

“i stood almost motionless on a box in harvard square, painted white, relinquishing my fate and income to the goodwill and honor of the passers-by…. some people used to yell “GET A FUCKING JOB” from their cars when they drove by me.
i, of course, could not yell back. i was a fucking statue, statues do not yell.”

The last one is more a frame of reference from her street performer past than a useful detail on her financial plan, but the “statues do not yell” but makes us chuckle. So there. Read the full post here. (Via: Daily Swarm via AmandaPalmer.net)

Somewhere a snobby, homosexual indie-rocker with black-rimmed glasses is saying, “I told you it could be done.” [Note: Paris Hilton is not in the musical.]

Excerpt from All Things Considered:
The scene is a restaurant. Anne Frank sits at a table.

If this sounds a little out there for a high school play, consider the source material: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel, an album released in 1998. The group was part of a collective of musicians living in Athens, Ga., called Elephant 6. Strange, dreamlike lyrics reference a two-headed boy, the king of carrot flowers, and Anne Frank, though never by name.

Read the rest of the article and listen to a sample song here.

Featuring Superchunk, M.I.A., Fleet Foxes, TV On The Radio, Dr. Dog, Glass Candy and Amanda Palmer.


[Superchunk]

[M.I.A.]

[Fleet Foxes]

[TV On The Radio]

[Dr. Dog]

[Glass Candy]

[Amanda Palmer]

In the grand tradition of telling your record label where to stick it, Amanda Palmer (of The Dresden Dolls) has foregone the subtlety of a temporary face tattoo (a la Prince) and gone for something a little more, shall we say, blunt. She wrote a little ditty for RoadRunner Records that is probably not safe for work. Unless, of course, you work for RoadRunner.

The Daily Swarm posted a video of the song taken by an audience member at Palmer’s March 28 gig at The Culture Room in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Head over to the Swarm’s post to see the full transcript of the lyrics, but we especially like the sequence:

Please just let me go
I swear you won’t miss me
You don’t love me
I’m not making you any money
Plus you’ll still have Slipknot