Susan Boyle “destroys” charts, rebuilds CD sales

Popeater.com chimes in on the incredible Susan Boyle phenomenon, pointing out how her debut album “I Dreamed a Dream” is defying not only numerous truisms about the state of music today, but also the so-called death of physical media.

Granted, CD sales are not what they used to be, nor are they likely to be again.  But no one who thinks this through should be surprised at all about Ms. Boyle’s amazing ability to deflect downloads from iTunes and amazon.com, not to mention song sharing outside the retail channels.

It’s all about demographics.

My teenage sons and their peers have grown up thinking of popular music as some nebulous product with only transitory value, whereas my ancient generation and those before placed so much stock in a moving song that we kept the truly profound ones charted for months.  Sure, a large part of that was the physical nature of the media, but it also spoke to a now-fading loyalty to things that evoked passion.

I blame the music industry at large for the devolution of the art, and largely because it is an industry.  Churn is everything now; a long-charting song keeps revisions 2, 3 and more from moving up to coveted top spots.

I’m not saying there was more altruism in the 1960s and 1970s on the part of record executives, but in those decades they had to follow the prevailing will of the people.  We demanded staying power from our artists then, and the industry had to reflect that.  It went beyond that, too– we wanted the same staying power from the novelties of one-hit wonders.  It all boiled down to what ws unique, and good to enough people.

Those two decades shaped and were in turn shaped by a democratic approach to music, where anyone with something to say could find an audience and occasionally, a degree of success.  Now, the main channels are created and restricted by people with no vested interest, it seems, in music for its own sake.

The Buggles uncannily prophesized that Video Killed the Radio Star in 1979, and there’s no denying that in its heyday video changed the way we look at music.  Over the course of the 1980s, looks became more important than actual talent.  Glam and “hair” bands proliferated at the expense of the beauty-challenged.  Technology could fix a broken voice; it couldn’t help ugly.  Legends like the rugged but talent-rich Waylon Jennings became just so much audio driftwood in that era.  Had his career started in the 80s, we would have been the poorer for his music’s likely failure to succeed.  I wonder how Susan Boyle might have fared then, too.

The grunge trend of the 1990s was a rebellion against such superficiality, but the allure of hip-hop killed rootsy rock… and today’s skin-deep, manufactured pop just added pretty nails to the coffin.

Which brings us back around to the marvel of Susan Boyle.

Ironically, video created her career, in complete rebellion against what it had been doing for decades prior.  One can see the MTV legacy on the faces of the audience when Susan cheekily chatted with the judges… but that cynicism rapidly melted once her singing started.  It was as if we had rewound back to those wide-open pre-video days of the 60s and 70s.

It’s certainly not the grinding hordes of Britney Spears or Kanye West fans who are flipping off online song purveyors to actually buy and bring home something they can get their hands and hearts around.  Susan’s sweet, angelic voice and song selections appeals to us CD-buying dinosaurs.  Through her, we can return to the days when a plain-looking but powerfully-voiced everywoman could surprise and earn the respect of a grateful music-loving public.  And we don’t mind paying for the privilege.

Let our children and grandchildren download and share as they will– one day that chicken will come home to roost.  In the meantime, we fossils can get behind the Boyle bandwagon and keep pushing it as long as we can.  There’s plenty of room for more on that train.,, and Susan Boyle’s dream coming true means, yes, that anything really is possible. 

Happy Holidays 2009

Here’s a little letter I just sent to my bandmates (with minor editing):

I just wanted to touch base with everyone with a little status update and more.

You haven’t heard much from me for a variety of reasons.  One of course is work.

I was also elected as a council rep recently for a growing Linux-based developer and enthusiast community at maemo.org.  This is an organization sponsored by Nokia, and the council position has meant a lot of work for me (I am developing user group outreach programs) but I’ve been repaid with a trip to Amsterdam and one to Santa Clara CA, so no complaints!

But of course I’ve also been working on music.  I realized I was being way too ambitious with some song choices, so I had to swallow my pride, reign in my impatience and rethink what I wanted to do.  So the Poco tribute goes on hold.  I started writing new songs with a few things in mind:

- you guys.  Your singing, playing and arrangement talents.  You’re all awesome!

- hits.  I want accessible songs with the potential to bring all of us some attention.  There was potential in the ones we’ve worked on so far but I wanted to do more.  I think you’ll all be excited about what’s developed when you hear and see it.

- what I’ve learned.  As you all know I’ve had educational and technical challenges, but they’re 95% overcome.  You’ll hear it in the newer mixes.

I think all of us have had our individual challenges and I’m confident we will each come out stronger for it.  As of 2010 I am recommitting myself to success with music– and that includes doing whatever I can to help your own dreams come true.  My hope is that your participation in this virtual group will bring the sort of attention you’re looking for.

I feel truly blessed to count you all as collaborators, bandmates and friends.  I look forward to what develops over the next few months, and being able to craft something powerful and special in this age of bland, pointless crap masquerading as music.

Happy Holidays, and hang tight!

Randy

Left of center

No, the title is not referring to anything political, but rather a problem I’m having with song production.  Specifically, balance.

I noticed a while back that audio was coming out of Cakewalk’s Sonar with a noticeable leftward bias– easily 20%.  This was in general mixes– if I mastered or remastered the same production in Sonar again, it got even worse.  A cumulative error.

I first figured the problem was in Sonar, and maybe due to my preference of starting every project as a 5.1 Surround creation (and mixing down to stereo for typical use).  But when I tested that theory with a simple Stereo project, I still ended up with bias.  Sonar, however, was still a common denominator.

I knew it wasn’t my soundcard, because it was new and the problem had manifested on the previous one as well.

I discovered I could correct the problem to a certain degree using stereo massaging in Ozone 4… but it’s imperfect and I want to address root cause.

Then yesterday I noticed that Windows default system sounds were exhibiting the same bias.  I had nothing to do with mixing these, so the problem was definitely in playback.  Digging further, I think I found at least another symptom: In the Sounds control panel applet, only the left speaker shows up for volume control.  On a 5.1 system!

So now I’m suspecting something screwy with Windows XP 64… maybe in the way it handles 5.1 soundcards because that’s what the last 2 have been.  I’ve never noticed the missing right speaker control before but it makes sense; maybe the setting for the hidden right output is lower than the left, and since I can’t see it to change it, it’s stuck there.

Well, not completely.  I’m going to try nudging the left side down 20% and mix again.  It’s a workaround, but I hope it works.  I’ll report later on what happens.  Meanwhile, if anyone reads this and knows a real solution, please let me know!

Getting the band out of the box

I said in a recent post that I would rave about PG Music’s steadily-improving Band in a Box but an article about iTunes induced me to broaden my scope.  First, though, the amazing product.

Band in a Box (along with its younger sibling RealBand) is one of those almost-hidden gems, a tool for singer-songwriters that does not garner a lot of press (despite over 600,000 hits on Google).  Its main strength lies in enabling us to bring our compositions to life without having professional arrangement skills or hiring musicians.  The description on PG Musics’s site is helpful:

The award winning Band-in-a-Box is so easy to use!  Just type in the chords to any song (like C or Fm7b5), choose a musical style from the hundreds available, and click the [Play] button. Band-in-a-Box automatically generates a complete professional-quality arrangement.

Well… almost.

My favorite compliment

“That’s not my usual musical preference, but I like it!”

Lady Antebellum

Just wanted to give a nod to one of the most exciting country bands, in my opinion, to show up in years.  Lady Antebellum is 2 guys and a girl writing fantastic stuff and delivering clear, heartfelt vocals.  Lately I’ve been entranced by the Celtic-tinged “Need You Now”.  Powerful.

Head over to amazon.com, give their songs a listen.  You won’t be disappointed, even if you think you don’t like Country music!

Virtuality

Music is my passion but it doesn’t pay the rent.  In fact it can compete with it. 

Currently I work for a US logistics firm, but my previous paying gig was with cell phone giant Nokia.  It was a global role, one I performed from home a lot last year.  Yeah, that did indeed mean coffee, underwear and a laptop.  No, I don’t have pics.

That job meant leading and supporting around 400 folks worldwide who did their daily best to solve shipping problems for major customers like Verizon and Vodafone.  Which meant getting familiar with a variety of cultures and learning to live in multiple time zones as required.  My work schedule was anything but 9 to 5.  I came to thrive on it.

How this relates to music is that after losing my job with Nokia at the start of 2009 I decided that in between marathon job-hunting sprints this was my opportunity to Get Serious about my favorite craft.

Now, I don’t have any talent other than pulling odd ideas out of even odder places, and penning them into lyrical canvases.  I can come up with workable tunes, too, but shortage of formal musical education combined with a severely sucky short term memory has been a roadblock to bringing these lyrics to life.

Here the internet and an ability to make fast friends allows me to circumvent those shortcomings.  In the past few months I have had the fortune of encountering several wonderful and talented people who have expressed an interest in trying out this wild idea of mine.  A virtual band called the Freelance Rider Company.

No borders.  No bull.

Experiences working with claims handlers I never physically met has translated directly to working with musicians over the phone and web.  The same sort of skills and tolerances are required.  Mainly, the ability to get a complex idea across quickly and easily to diverse participants.  Training and teaming with virtual colleagues is challenging and rewarding… but I do hope to meet as many of them in person as I can.

So far our projects have been solo vocalist efforts, but we’re slowly progressing toward the day where we can start collaborating toward a richer experience that includes layered harmonies.  Being influenced by bands like Poco and the Eagles means hungering for that lovely layered sound.  I’m thinking we can pull it off, given the singing talent involved so far.  It’s just a matter of time and perseverence.

I’m still looking for the likes of a Don Henley or Paul Cotton, and perhaps even a Rusty Young or Timothy B Schmit.  If you or anyone you know fits the bill, give me a shout!  I’m especially interested in anyone with a vocal gift mainly looking for some exposure.

But for a talent-shorted big-dreaming hack like me, the co-creation facilitated by electrons over wires is only part of the solution.  Another big contributor to the work so far has been Band-in-a-Box by PG Music.  More on that next.

Adios!

Getting started

Welcome to the new blog for the Freelance Rider Company!  My name is Randall (Randy) Arnold and I’ll be your tour guide.

The concept is fairly simple: writers, singers and musicians collaborating over the wires to create good music.  Think of FRCo as a garage-styled “Alan Parsons Project” with more of an Americana focus style-wise.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit I’m not anywhere remotely near Parsons’ league but the goal is similar, and that is to assemble some talented folks into a virtual band and generate a nice variety of songs.  So far we’re building up nicely and I’m impressed with the work of participants so far (more on that soon!).

I am the core songwriter, producer, engineer, manager and salesman of the bunch.  The “glue” if you will.  I’m fortunate to have gained the participation of some extremely gifted artists but more than that, talented and dedicated collaborators.  Members of FRCo other than myself typically have their own things going but graciously make time to help bring my lyrics to life.

We’re hard at work on the first group project, called “Think or Swim”.  It’s a mostly Country collection with bits of other genres.  Most of the songs and the overall album were inspired by the group Poco; in fact the leadoff song, “Southwest Sky”, is a direct tribute to them and riffs on their legendary epic “Rose of Cimarron [play song sample]” (I highly recommend their album of the same name).

There are three songs close to complete and several in process.  The original plan was to have a full album completely done by Christmas but it looks more like we’ll be halfway there.  If that turns out to be the case, we’ll put up what we have as a mini-album and just keep going.

Over the coming weeks I will be adding profiles, references and other materials here.  We’ll have a teaser or two ready very soon so add this blog to your feeds!  You won’t be disappointed, and you’ll be able to say you knew us from the start. 

Oh!  and while I’m extremely pleased with the singers in the gang, we’re still looking for more… especially a Country-Rock singer who is comfortable singing anything Don Henley can.  Comment if you are interested!

Hello world!

Welcome to my blog for the Freelance Rider Company, an assembly of musical artists of various talents and locations.

Soon I’ll begin documenting our first album project, called “Think or Swim“, and introduce you to the current participants.  I’m really excited about how this is progressing and can’t wait to share some sweet samples!

Catch ya later, buckaroos!