I went up to San Francisco yesterday to trade in some cds at Amoeba and catch the eX-Girl show at the Bottom of the Hill. I traded in about 40 cds and only got a $90 credit slip, prompting me to ask, "is this it?" The cd buyer explained that lately everybody has been dumping large quantities of cds, no doubt because of the availability of free music online. This, in my opinion, is one more argument against file sharing and online song sales. It's bad enough that cd sales have to suffer, meaning less revenue for struggling musicians (I've heard all sorts of justifications for online swapping, which I won't get into here... at least not now), but when I can't get a decent return on my trade, it makes me irritable. I can't afford to keep up with my cd habit any other way these days (of course, that's one of the justifications for online swapping - vicious circle, anyone?). It's the independent artists who suffer the most too. The major labels make sure that their carefully groomed "stars" continue to rake in the green, at least until their "flavor of the month" status is terminated.
I guess this is just another example of how technology complicates our lives. I did manage to get some good cds with my credit, so I guess I can't be too grumpy.
Afterwards, I drove over to Aquarius records, in the vicinity of which I listened to nearly a whole Pearls Before Swine disc while looking for parking. Once inside, I met up with G, who was talking with Jim Haynes. We hassled Jim for awhile, bought some cds from him, got a quick bite to eat, and went to the Bottom of the Hill, getting in on the KALX guest list (kind of ironic, actually, considering my rant above about supporting musicians - I do own all of the eX-Girl cds though, and somewhere on the desk in front of me is an eX-Girl mouse pad, so pththtpth). The opening bands were not too impressive, but eX-Girl were their usual selves, with bizarre costumes and plenty of frog paraphernalia on view. The japanese comedian who introduced them last time was here again. He has guts doing comedy in a language he's not very familiar with. In a way, that makes it funnier. eX-Girl's set seemed short, and most of the songs were familiar. The only real surprise was that bassist Kirilolo is now their guitarist. Perhaps she got tired of her instrument?
Their schtick about being aliens from planet Kero Kero ("ribbit ribbit," in English) was still firmly in place, as were the syncopated movements and their obvious enjoyment of what they do. Short tour this time though, with only dates in Washington, Oregon, and California. No new cd either.
Notice I said cd, and not music files. Be a patron of the arts and send a little money to your favorite band(s). They may not be here tomorrow if you don't.
The luddite has spoken.
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