Now, I’m not for the big Brooklyn blowjob aspect of this piece from Sunday’s New York Times, but there are some interesting components, namely that a lot of hyped out bands aren’t vying for major label support.

(Really, the Brooklyn bit feels tacked on—more a reason just to stay home and off the phone by interviewing the bands in town… Jesus, it’s time to move on and just accept that fact that New Yorkers are superior to everyone else… Good God, FUCK OFF! And really, to call a lot of the bands “New York” bands is a cop-out anyway. That’s like saying someone is an “L.A. actor”. How many New York bands were born and bred there? If I had an intern I would send them out on this task. But since I don’t we’ll just have to go with my gut, which says almost none of them are real New Yorkers… OK, this isn’t what the post is supposed to be about… Moving on…)

Here’s the crazy bit of the article:

For the most part those low sales expectations have been borne out by the marketplace. Yeasayer’s “All Hour Cymbals” — released on the label Now We Are Free, created specifically for the group by Mr. Foster — has sold only 15,000 copies, and MGMT’s “Oracular Spectacular,” even with the backing of Columbia, has moved 21,000 since it became available in October.

Wow. Those numbers are fucking sad. Those bands are arguably two of the hottest in the scene right now (which anyone who was turned away at sold-out shows can attest to — and on that note, those who got in can also attest to MGMT being fucking TERRIBLE live. They owe producer Dave Fridman all the pussy they’re getting… Yeasayer, on the other hand KILLED IT—a real shame that they were somehow forced from their headlining slot down into opening because MGMT had the better single, or because they were on Conan, or whatever).

Now, let’s look at those numbers again:

MGMT: 21,000 CD’s
Yeasayer: 15,000

Atrocious. It’s done. The tire isn’t flat, the piston just rammed through the block. It’s not fixable. It’s totaled.

It’d be nice, however, if we could somehow see some download stats, both legal and illegal. I wouldn’t be surprised if the bands had MORE illegal downloads of their albums than actual physical CD sales. Has that every been looked at? Has it ever happened? (If not before, I bet these two bands are the first potential candidates…)

Back to the The Times article for a moment. It also asserts that the lack of major label pressure and/or involvement is a boon to indie music in that creativity is more free to flow in earnest. I’d like to know what some touring, CD selling musicians think about that. From my most recent interview with Panther, I know they’d disagree.

But there’s a point to what Sisario is saying, I suppose.

And without all the internet downloads would there be all the hype? Would the shows be bursting at the seams across the country? Are the bands making more off the tour? I’d sure bet that more than 15,000 people watch them play up close and personal on this go round…

Alright. Signing off from the land of rhetorical and/or unanswerable questions.