Dear Richard D. James

[nfotxn]

Get bent.

Comments

[cpratt.livejournal.com]

What's the matter? Can't afford the £39.95 for a single 12" record?

[nfotxn.livejournal.com]

I hope the people who CAN afford these don't buy them. Because the music sucks and is over priced. Like all those nerds that bought 26 Mixes and thought it was good.

[diesel-pioneer.livejournal.com]

and he's experienced the harsh reality of british record prices first hand. tsk.

[nfotxn.livejournal.com]

Records may be expensive in the UK. But you can be in a backwoods town like, say, Inverness and still get major releases from Warp, Ninjatune, Output and Roughtrade. In North America it's the Wal*Mart mentality where things are both censored and of a highly median quality, universally.

[diesel-pioneer.livejournal.com]

i think i remember seeing LFO's last album stocked in woolwoorths in my town last year, which was weird. maybe they assumed the boyband had made a comeback or something?
i'm not exactly knowledgable about the market in north america, but it seems that whilst the mainstream (for lack of a better term) record stores equivalent to HMV or virgin in the UK might be perhaps even more homogenous, the number of indie stores is greater, or at least the indie market is healthier. that said i could be completely wrong.. but the indie stores in newcastle just aren't big enough, damnit!

[callingzero.livejournal.com]

" Written & Produced by Richard D. James."

... bitch.

[nfotxn.livejournal.com]

Let's scratch her beady eyes and pull that natty hair out!

[aadroma.livejournal.com]

Ohhh how many far more gratifying things I can get for £39.95 ...

[janusdoa.livejournal.com]

Like a Holland Tunnel handjob.

[bleepkeeper.livejournal.com]

I think the whole thing is very funny. James knows that people are going to hear the songs from other sources if they want, so the product is just an extension of the whole "mixes for cash" mercenary idea. Crass, maybe, but I think it's funny.

[nfotxn.livejournal.com]

Yeah, people make excuses for him being petulant all the time. I dunno, I'd like to see him output something good before I start finding that much humour in the crassness anymore.

[bleepkeeper.livejournal.com]

But it wouldn't be as funny if the tracks were good.

I wouldn't mind hearing him apply himself again, but I enjoy watching him play the icon to the people who want to put him there.

[nfotxn.livejournal.com]

Yeah, secretly I think that if I were a seminal underground musician I'd probably play the PR game the same way.

[bleepkeeper.livejournal.com]

I mean, he drives a TANK for chrisssakes.

[iahklu.livejournal.com]

i've got the tracks if you want 'em.

[nfotxn.livejournal.com]

Sure! I'll be in line on slsk all day at this rate... gmail me baby.

[ranger1.livejournal.com]

Best. Postmodern come-on. Ever.

[iahklu.livejournal.com]

heheheheh :-)

[iahklu.livejournal.com]

done, done, and done.

[ex-flowed553.livejournal.com]

I love how this entire rant dissipates ...right ...here

[bookbear.livejournal.com]

no...here.

[nfotxn.livejournal.com]

There is tons of bullshit written about him. I don't think he needs much money ever, really. He lives in an old bank and drives a tank around. Plus there are a zillion promoters in London that'll auction their first born to have him play their party. Expensive records are just the easiest way to be really crass.

*yawn*

[deafeuphoria.livejournal.com]

He sold the tank!

PS: It's not like the EPs aren't being sold normally without the binder.

[notofthisworld.livejournal.com]

"13 mins duration"?

That's more than £3 per minute.

[bearzbub.livejournal.com]

Try not to hide your feelings about Richard, let it out...how do you really feel?

um...

[slumberjack.livejournal.com]

But you already know how it will sound. *Click* *Ting* *I'm completely out of ideas*

[satarnion.livejournal.com]

40 pounds?!?!

When I bought 26 mixes for cash, I felt like a chump.

Never again. Yes, he's my favorite artist on the planet. He's also a twat.

In Defense, Maybe?

[emramesha.livejournal.com]

I certainly agree that the price tag seems super pricey (for the Brits or Canadians), but it does mention that it is a "custom binder" for other EPs in the series. Maybe the subsequent releases will be cheap white label lookin' deals? In any case, this site explains more about the project and gives me some hope. An excerpt:

"Apparently the artist, title, and catalogue number for this release are all Analord 10. This ridiculous new name is likely a play on "Analogue Lord" which lends credence to the persistent rumor that AFX would release a series of acid EPs this year on Rephlex."

and:

"Aphex's live sets post-drukQs suggested a new direction or, at the very least, "mental yet accessible" (dance floor friendly), well-produced drum 'n' bass. Another Warp artist who has heard some of his new studio music said in 2002 that it has "nothing to do with" cutting-edge DSP "trickery" (as heard on drukQs and Squarepusher's Go Plastic)."

Sounds good to me, although I tend to be more "glass half full" about artists like Richard James; maybe he IS just a wang.

Anyhow, I've been lurking around your journal for a couple of months now and thought I'd just add in my two cents.

Re: In Defense, Maybe?

[nfotxn.livejournal.com]

Hmm! Very interesting to read that. Thanks for the info! Feel free to unlurk, if that's your style.

[trachalio.livejournal.com]

Yer right, 26 mixes bit. Hell even Druqs wasn't all _that_ awesome. Some tracks were amazing, especially the piano ones, but well, random beeps and blips just arn't my cup o' tea anymore.

And I was/am one of the suckers who fell for the Hangable Autobulb thing... both of em. Thankfully I think I paid 20 bux US for both, with shipping so I didn't get too ripped off (I was living in the states at the time too).

Even Autechre have dissapointed me of last. Though the Gantz Graf video was freekin' phenominal I thought.

[nfotxn.livejournal.com]

Dude, DrukQs was a record of table scraps and b-sides. Not that it's a bad thing but the record was a mish-mash and it showed.

Autechre has had their moments. They've been big proponents of the DSP wank aesthetic and pertinent and vital artists in that respect. Whereas Aphex Twin has just kinda been playing the celebrity artstar game and producing little of value.

[trachalio.livejournal.com]

Yeah, totally. I still don't know if his internal monologue would be:

"I'm Richard D. James. Look at me! I'm a prodigy!"

or

"God, everyone here's a fucking twit. I could put out a record of random bleeps and they'd still kiss my ass."

In either case, I'm so glad I listened to 26 mixes before buying it. What a piece of fucking crap I thought.

[trachalio.livejournal.com]

So do I loose my "indie cred" if I say Selected Ambient Works II is still my favorite album by him? ;)

[fannypackcrew.livejournal.com]

i personally like the production work he does. for example, "genie in a bottle" by christina aguilera

[nfotxn.livejournal.com]

I've heard that before however I've never seen the claim substantiated.

[fannypackcrew.livejournal.com]

naw he didn't produce that song. but i think she should pay him royalties for that one.

[dirtyglamour.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the last thing I have from him is the "Come to Daddy" single. His early stuff is brilliant. Nothing since then has piqued my interest in the least.

[bookbear.livejournal.com]

I have no idea who he is or what this music is. But, yer on my friends list and this seems to have upset some really cute people, so...uhhh...(in best Kevin Smith voice) YEAH! FUCK HIM! FUCK PAYING THAT MUCH! HIS SHIT IS...SHIT!

*runs to website to see what the hell I'm stupidly ranting about*

[martymcflymo.livejournal.com]

I think 26 mixes has a few decent tracks on it. I never bought it for the obvious reasons: The cynical name, the fact it's just remixes.... I did listen to it and I like it for what it is though.

Druqks was pretty good too. I guess if you're a longterm fan and have bought his stuff over the years, these stunts would piss you off. But I keep an ear open for him because I'm interested in the music he's done and is doing, not because he's an icon to me or anything, just because he has done some VERY cool stuff.

[detailbear.livejournal.com]

It's like the Time-Life music collection: "With your first order, send us three times as much and you get this lovely plastic rack to store your collection. Every month you receive another CD until the rack is full or you decide that you've spent enough money."