Unsigned, they deliver: in this corporate climate, having a record deal is way overrated. These six independent CDs are worth your time. (The Music Issue).The music Industry's free fall continues. CD sales in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. were down mere than 10% in 2002, prompting another round of corporate hemorrhaging at the five major record labels. Sony Music jettisoned some 1,000 employees, or 10% of its worldwide operations staff, at the end of March; other multimedia conglomerates, including Vivendi Universal and AOL (A division of Time Warner, Inc., New York, NY, www.aol.com) The world's largest online information service with access to the Internet, e-mail, chat rooms and a variety of databases and services. Time Warner, have taken steps to divest themselves of their music divisions in whole or in part. But just as the technology boom has fueled the piracy the titans blame for their downfall, it has also leveled the field somewhat for independent labels and self-releasing artists, who benefit from cyberspace's more open market. And, of course, nobody flourishes better on the fringes than queers. Here's a sampling of out and proud artists who have issued albums the grassroots way in recent months. [A] Savage House The Savage House and Garden is a historic home at 3237 Garden Drive in Knoxville, Tennessee. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. The house was designed in the Bungalow/Craftsman style, and it's garden is of particular significance. It is privately owned. Beth Davis Beth Davis is a former cadet at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, left the academy in 2002 after reporting sexual harassment and rape during her freshman year (1999) as a cadet. 10th Child Records Beth Davis's second album of blues-inflected rock is infused with a surprising number of infectious pop hooks. The Indianapolis-based guitarist (pictured, second from left) has both the grit of Amy Ray Amy Elizabeth Ray (born April 12, 1964 in Decatur, Georgia, U.S.)[1], is a singer-songwriter and member of the Indigo Girls. Ray grew up in Decatur, and went on to begin college at Vanderbilt University. and the sweetness of Emily Saliers in her voice; more ballads on Savage House could have shown off the latter quality to better effect, but that's a minor gripe gripe v. To have sharp pains in the bowels. n. 1. gripes Sharp, spasmodic pains in the bowels. 2. A firm hold; a grasp. . [B] Before Tomorrow Mark Walter Braswell TrueNote Productions A Washington, D.C. -- area lawyer turned composer, Mark Walter Braswell makes his first CD a "greatest hits" of sorts, drawing selections from his original musicals and revues. No story line or theme here, just solo piano and versatile vocalists Sean MacLaughlin and Mary Jayne Raleigh getting impressive mileage out of Braswell's love songs and character sketches. [C] Rosebud Bullets Myshkin's Ruby Warblers Double Salt Records With her sixth album, singer-songwriter Myshkin bids goodbye to New Orleans, says hello to Portland, Ore., and introduces her new "gypsy torch punk" band, the Ruby Warblers. All of her influences come together in this literate travelogue of wanderlust and heartache, steeped in a heady concoction of country, folk, jazz, klezmer klezmer (klĕz`mər), form of instrumental folk music developed in the Eastern European Jewish community. The style had its beginnings in the Middle Ages; its name is a Yiddishized version of the Hebrew klei zemir , and more. [D] Dusk Reuben Clutter Records Call it kitchen-sink electronica: New Yorker Reuben's debut is an unpredictable collage of samples and real instruments that's urban and elemental at the same time. It's an ever-shifting landscape of breezy strings, rumbling bass lines, ivory-soul vocals, and quirky rhythms, all framing tense lyrics that seek--and find--the light in electronica's noirish universe. [E] Written in the Stars Tom Michael LML LML - 1. Lazy ML. A lazy, purely functional variant of ML designed by Thomas Johnson and Lennart Augustsson at the Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden in 1984. LML is implemented on the G-machine, and was used to implement the first Haskell B compiler. Music The credits on Chicagoan Tom Michael's sophomore release read like the directory at the Songwriters Hall of Fame, mixing Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley Genre of U.S. popular music that arose in New York in the late 19th century. The name was coined by the songwriter Monroe Rosenfeld as the byname of the street on which the industry was based—28th Street between Fifth Avenue and Broadway in the early (Irving Berlin, the Gershwins) with more contemporary fare (Elton John, Melissa Manchester). Michael's charismatic tenor and savvy way with a crowd-pleasing medley ("The Summer Knows/Autumn Leaves") make even the creakiest cabaret standards swing anew. [F] Atmosphere The Quails Inconvenient Recordings Having toured with Sleater-Kinney last fall, San Francisco's Quails embellish their second CD of kinetic, politicized garage rock with such unexpected flourishes as stand-up stand·up or stand-up adj. 1. Standing erect; upright: a standup collar. 2. Taken, done, or used while standing: a standup supper; a standup bar. bass and trumpet parts. Members of the coed trio share all songwriting and singing duties, with Julianna Bright's earthy voice balancing Jen Smith's terrific Dale Bozzio-meets-Cyndi Lauper yelp. |
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