Deutsche Grammophon Starts Web Store

Again, better late than never, Deutsche Grammophon starts a web store with a huge catalog of “classical” music. The Boing-Boingies had the usual copyright concerns, but overall this looks like a win for musicians and fans. Unfortunately, “classical” music has chosen to relegate itself to the skinny end of the long tail, but this could be the start of a reawakening of relevance. I hope so.

Currently listening to: Hippocamp Ruins Pet Sounds

Erik Davis on “Heavy Metal Environmentalists”

Annalee pointed me to this nice piece by Erik Davis on black metal band Wolves in the Throne Room, about a show they did in the forest of Santa Cruz. Apparently the band are radical environmentalists. After all, it’s not that big a leap from one type of anti-human nihilism to another:

“The intersection of dark, spiritual music and radical ecology is quite natural,” explains Aaron, who has not given up on the DIY punk scene’s penchant for packaging radical political platforms with music. In interviews, he’ll make favorable mention of the Earth Liberation Front — some of whose monkey-wrenching adherents have been branded as “terrorists.” He also expresses cautious admiration for Finland’s merciless eco-philosopher Pentti Linkola, who argues that the best way out of the environmental crisis lies in a swift, lethal, and authoritarian process of de-industrialization.

I saw Wolves at the Independent in San Francisco, opening for Earth (awesome!) and Sunn. As a black metal non-fan I can’t really review them properly, but I wasn’t amazed.