Norman Records weblog thing

Something a bit more upbeat…. Me I’d like to say my personal faves so far are the Bersarin Quartett CD, The Advisory Circle CD, the forthcoming Ass album on Static Caravan (simply fantastic), The Brian Jonestown Massacre album… mm loads. There’s been some great records out this year. What do yous lot like?
P x

A bunch of record shops have formed together to form something called the ‘coalition’ to save record shops. In this coalition participating shops will get exclusive releases and deals on certain releases all to encourage folks to get back into their stores. Anyway as we’re not a traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ shop we’re not allowed to be part of this ‘coalition’. This is ludicrous to me… in a time where physical sales are at an all time low, indie retailers should be pulling together, not disintegrating things even further.

In the UK there are about 15-20 indie record shops left which contribute to a total of around 30 UK based indie shops and mail order places. Being that there are so few in total it would make sense to do something all together rather than just include bricks and mortar shops. Yes it’s admirable… don’t get me wrong. But the greater cause is selling music as a physical form and I don’t think that is being recognised. The problems lies with Amazon, Ebay, Play and downloads… not small internet mail order places.

There’s not many of us left in the UK now and I have to say there won’t be many places like us who deal with bands and labels direct supporting underground acts and giving ‘em a chance week in week out.

Now if these releases were just physically available in shops I could live with that (as I do think it’s a good idea) but it isn’t. Those shops who have websites will be selling it on their sites, those who don’t have sites will be selling it on ebay and amazon (which doesn’t help the situation in the long run). That is the bit I struggle with. If the point is to encourage folks into shops I can’t see how online sales will help this? Encouraging people into shops is a great idea but as there’s so few record shops left in the country and if you don’t live near one (many of you don’t) then you buy mail order. There’s many reasons why people don’t go into record shops as much anymore and I’m not going to go into that now All that will happen is the shops with websites will do will with these releases….I don’t think splitting the indies into 2 groups is a good idea (ie online and physical shops) as that will cause problems… I think the problem affects all independent music retailers and we need to work together towards the common goal of supporting and promoting independent music.

Let me know what you think
Phil x

I was listening to that 1st moonshake album this morning and I realised what a great album it is and how fresh it still sounds tdoay. Too Pure back in their early days were a completely fantastic label with Moonshake, Stereolab, Faith Healers, PJ Harvey etc…. then were bands like Quickspace and there was all that cool stuff from Bristol like Movietone, Third Eye Foundation. I call a lot of these bands experimental indie bands for want of an easy way to put it. Is it me or was music better then? Maybe I’m romanticising a bit?? You had bands like Moonshake and Disco Inferno who were mixing up styles and genres and making something new….. You had Quickspace being a shambling mess everywhere but making some completely fine popsongs. There is still no one to this day who sounds anything like Quickspace. There didn’t seem to be the excess of copycat bands we have now which seem to be in it for the quick buck.

So where have all the good bands gone? I know there’s lots of great music out there but indie wise there doesn’t seem to be too much to get me excited these days.

What do you lot think?
P x

We’ve been arguing in the office about this week. Everyone else seems to think they have their merit but I reckon they’re boring. No idea what I’m on about? Well, when you go to a gig and the performer is playing with a laptop and all you can see is the back of a laptop, the light glare on their stupid face and that’s about it. I can’t be arsed with it. They could be playing  whacka whacka III online against a load of cybergooks for all I know with their 3G wireless broadband dongle. Where is the performance? Sure the music may be great but what’s the appeal?? Maybe the social aspect? Get your friends round and play a selection of their tracks instead. Is that not the same? I remember seeing Four Tet ages ago and I admittedly had a good time but that could be something to do with the drugs I rammed down my chubby neck rather than the grinning goon losing to some random 13 year old spotty oik called Beeblebrox playing counterstrike online.

Sure there’s plenty of bands who have the ‘regular’ set up who are boring beyond belief BUT I’ve never been to  a decent gig where the artist has been fiddling away on a laptop. I’m talking the performance here…. not the social aspect cos with the right people you can have fun in any situation.

Gauntlet laid down…. stab me or agree with my face
P x

They used to be your favourite band… you’d play ‘em to death. Day in… day out, annoying your friends, family and neighbours. Months… years later you go back and play the records again and wonder what on earth you were on at the time to like it. Time to get rid and move onto something else. What bands have you got bored of? Did you find something unsavoury out about someone you liked and went off ‘em? Did you burn your Gary Glitter records when you found out he was a paed?

Let us know what you think and we’ll stick ours up when we’ve had some time to think about it!!
Phil x

Yeah. Think i said it there. This music lark is titting me off & being Winter, a lot of folks will be snuggling up with their high -res blue tube infra-sonic eye shagging equipment to watch their fave DVDs from last year. But what celluloid sizzlers are about to turn your heart into a volley of cheerleaders? Is the The Dark Knight gonna blow your mind? Is No Country For Old Men about to become the start of a bad Coen-caine habit? What movies can you not tolerate waiting for? And would you buy a hooky DVD off some cretin in the pub,  your rampant impatience seeping out onto the cold floor along with your loose change & marbles? Hohoho….let us know yr thoughts! x Brian

Phil’s just informed me Glasvegas & Adele are down on the critic’s hotlists this year as “ones to watch”. Now call me cynical but i don’t give a stuff what these jokers think. You lot are the people that keep the dream alive & you vote with your hearts & wallets when you take a chance on some curious unknowns. So we want to know what YOUR predictions for greatness in this next year are? Who’s pulled your puddin? Who’s wrenched your monkey so much you can only see stars? £20 pounds next December to the person who most accurately predicts the stadium shaggers (or mere cult phenomenon) of tomorrow!

til next time

X Brian

OK folks… That time of year again. Please send in your top tens or whatever you can narrow your list down to! Here’s mine. The rest of the Norman staff will post there’s up if they can be arsed (I’d like to think they would be…). I think on the whole there’s been some great records out this year but on the other side of the coin there’s more rubbish records out than I care to think about. The year of the indie synth is almost over and I’m hoping it fucks off for good. Bands like Hadouken, Crystal castles are absolute gash. Maybe it’s a live experience?? Well you need more than being able to throw a few punches live these days…. if you can’t write decent tunes then I don’t see the point. Here’s what has kept me sane this year

James Blackshaw- The Cloud Of Unkowing CD/LP (Tompkins Square)
Matt Elliot- Failing Songs CD (Ici D’Ailleurs)
Ergo Phizmiz & People Like Us- Perpetuum Mobile CD (Soleilmoon)
Deerhunter- Flourescent Grey CD (Kranky)
Panda Bear- Person Pitch LP/CD (Paw Tracks)
Low- Drums And Guns LP/CD (Sub Pop)
A Sunny Day In Glasgow- Scribble Mural Comic Journal CD (Notenuf)
Shellac- Excellent Italian Greyhound CD/LP (Touch & Go)
Beirut- The Flying Cup Club LP/CD (4AD)
Angels Of Light- We Are Him CD/LP (Young God Records)
Om- Pilgrimage CD/LP (Southern Lord)

yes there’s 11 things but I can’t count!

P x

Now we’re coming to the end of the year I think it would be good to know what folks have really liked over the year. What records have really done it for you?? Don’t send in lists of top tens as we’ll do that another time (in a couple of weeks most likely). Also what records have really cocked you off this year? What have you heard great things about to find out for yourself that it’s a filthy pack of lies.

For me albums by James Blackshaw, Matt Elliot, Ergo Phizmiz & People Like Us, Deerhunter, Panda Bear, Low, A Sunny Day In Glasgow, Shellac, Beirut, Angels Of Light and Om have kept me sane throughout the year.

Disappointments have been frequent though the main thing that springs to mind are the reams of debut singles by god damn awful bands who have seemed to spring up and then disappear in no time.

Also on a side note (which I think take control of this blog) I’m wondering what one earth is gonna happen n the next year. Every week I hear about indie shops/ distros shutting down…. it makes me wonder how much life selling music as a physical thing has got in it? We’re perpetually struggling (we have been since we started so don’t worry just yet!) but we’ve got some life left in us. Commiserations to Smallfish anyway!

P x

OK you’ve been waiting for this new record by your favourite artist for ages right. You’ve been reading reviews in magazines and online and you’re dripping with excitement. There’s buckets everywhere. Finally it lands on your lap…. you’re drooling with anticipation. You’ve read that this record will solve all your problems and it might even get you laid. It’s that good. Only you stick it on ,and well….. it’s not that good really. You kid yourself that you like it and that it’s gonna take a few more listens but really it doesn’t do it for you. Masking the lies you tell people that you like it and that it’s gonna grow on you but it never does…it always seems kind of average.

But maybe if you hadn’t read all of that stuff…. you wouldn’t have expected such greatness?? Maybe if you’d ignored those doting reviews and ignored those hand picked soundclips you’d have ended up liking it? Without all those expectations it’s just you and the record…..sexy.

So my question is what do you think about this? And what records have been ruined for you by the hype machine which dominates this ridiculous music industry we choose to be part of.
phil x