[MMouse]: BTS

[Philip Smoker]

dug's always said that he's incredibly lazyand is far from a 
 perfectionist.

Now I'm no self-proclaimed BTS expert, but it seems to me that if you wait 
almost a full year after the completion of recording an album to release it, 
either you had difficulties of some kind (legal problems?  lyrics in "You 
Were Right"?) or you were being very careful.  I was a new BTS fan with 
PFNO, but I think KILAS has some serious merit.  I had to run over the same 
ground again, but I really think that the mint production on the album 
highlights the songwriting, a craft that is highly underrated.  I hear 
backwards drum loops and multiple guitar layers at times, and those kinds of 
things are not for the casual musician.  I think Doug has a very definite 
sound he is trying to create when he hits the studio, and he succeeds.

And as far as all this hot air about Epic, if you think a contract is going 
to change the way the boys record albums, then you must have very little 
faith in their own motives.  A band can sign to a major and not sell a 
million copies, by the way (Mr. Bungle being my favorite example, I 
imagine).  Remember, this is not a hobby to these guys anymore, it's a JOB.  
And they have to put food on the table.  I don't think they're going to be 
staring down the barrel of a 7-figure deal when they have sold like 20,000 
copies of their last album.  Call me realistic, but the music industry 
climate is just not like that right now.  So, can we all relax about the 
Epic thing?  All of yr dreams will come true...all of my dreams came true, 
but now I have some new dreams...

da da da,
*phiL*


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[MMouse]: Re: major label quarrel

[tyler]

I have a feeling that those who are complaining about Modest Mouse being
on a major label do not have quite the same conception of a major label as
I do.  Do you really think that Isaac is going to be getting THAT much
money from Epic?  Keep in mind that Modest Mouse is an almost unheard of
band, especially when you get out of the west coast.  Furthermore, when
they come around to record their first album with Epic, I can bet that
they will be at ease to choose their own producer without Epic getting in
the way.  I think people overestimate the power of a record label with an
artist creatively.  With bands like the Backstreet Boys the producer will
be like "Do this, We'll sell this", but with SY, Pavement, MM it's quite a
different story.  Especially since they've already established a loyal
crowd who expects them to keep their music honest.  The record is likely
to be cleaner sounding, obviously, because they'll have a nicer studio.

Epic signed Modest Mouse, though, because they like the band right now,
not because of some vision of what the band could be. I think that we
should be a little more optimistic; I dont feel that Modest Mouse will
disappoint with their next offering.

Tyler