if vicky bennet aka people like us did not exist already, she would have to be invented!!!
the queen of copy/paste musak has done it again.
after she recently made her complete backstock of music available for download, her latest album is again free for download @ http://www.ubu.com/
people like us proudly says: “do not buy this album!”.
and my only question is: where is the friggin paypal button???
later: with a surprising amount of german titled tracks the usual mixture of humour and irritation makes this vicky bennet’s greatest work yet. my favorite so far, dolly pardon, an hommage to the uhm, had me laughing in stitches before only moments later pissing me off. i cant praise her work enough, really. if i produced music – it is on my list, but uhm… – this is what i would try to achieve. to crack and stir people [like us] up in equal parts.
but there are many more goodies. many! in fact i had to send vicky the following email after hearing the whole cd:
fantastic stuff vicky, thank you so much
for what its worth i instantly blogged this here:
my only question is: where is the paypal button.
we are allowed to donate money for your work, or arent we?i am now officially a fan, a groupie even… *pantiesthrow*
while i agree that this gesture might be a rather pathetic male chauvinist fantasy, it was all i was able to come up with to express… but uhm… in other words: you rock! or – can we invent this? – you musak!yeah.
here you can read the press release:
“FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
People Like Us is pleased to announce the exclusive release their new
recordings “Abridged Too Far” on the internet at www.ubu.com.
Mon. 19 July — Following last year’s posting of their full 14 year
discography for free download, People Like Us is going one step further
in releasing a new album exclusively online. Given the poor state of
music/media distribution for non-major label music, PLU are favouring
circulation of one’s work as the ultimate goal, in the belief that the
gift economy ultimately reaps as much, if not more rewards by reaching
more people.
“We strongly believe in the power of profit through free distribution.
Often people have never heard of an artist because they aren’t being
distributed through as many channels as they should be, due to the very
poor state of music/media distribution for non-major label music
coupled with ignorance of the way that avant garde art forms infiltrate
mainstream culture. Also many prints of a work are allowed to go out of
circulation or are deleted for no reason other than cost effectiveness
by a label/publisher. This makes perfect sense financially, but no
sense whatsoever that a year’s work by an artist should also disappear
for such reasons. So get all of this while you can, and we completely
endorse getting one’s work out there, no matter what. If you don’t
share, your profit is limited.”
“Abridged Too Far” is a collection of audio work first conceived
through experimentation through or on radio. Given that this was the
initial point of inspiration, it feels most appropriate to release this
on the internet which has similar ‘on the air’ qualities. The
experience found from internet broadcasting and sharing is very
different to that of the world of retail – the effect is immediate and
far fetching, plus the feedback can be immense. It is a good feeling to
know the work is far more likely to reach it’s intended audience since
it transcends physical borders.
On Abridged Too Far, People Like Us continues its pastiche of
impressions of popular music from Europe and America from the 1920s
thru to 1990s. Bennett’s work is an examination of the affect of
hearing well known tunes and lyrics in fragments, then putting those
elements to play– resonating, intermingling and recombining with the
listeners own associations and shards of memories. But this music,
countering the pathos of straight tear-sucking nostalgia never settles
in a place for its listener to cozily reflect times past. Rather, the
deft recontextualization and juxtaposition of individual elements
creates an alchemical space of sublime and satirical transformation.
This work is justified only because it is transformative; that it
reflects something that may never have even been what it was perceived
to be. People Like Us weaves a revealing nether-narrative to
accompany popular culture’s monolithic straight telling of its own
history. The reality of which is columned by the sinister
underpinnings of rapacious consumer culture and empty marketing.
This is not background music. It is engaging, inclusive and
reflective. Not only a conduit of dialogic criticism for Ms. Bennett,
People Like Us is also personal and personable to a stranger given our
shared experience and running commentary of the Western World.
Do not buy this album!”