Now, I can't listen to Bloc Party for more than about thirty seconds before wanting to grab someone by the shoulders, shake them, and scream that the dance-rock sub-genre has done more harm than good to rock and roll, by not so subtly implying that regular, non-tweaky rock music, the kind we listened to for fifty years, can't be danced to. But even I have to feel bad for them in this situation. It remains to be seen just how different the physical copy of their record will be, but even if it contains three of four alternate songs, it seems like an awful lot to expect from a band, to assume that they have so much extra material just sitting around.
As if making a record weren't hard enough already, we're creating an environment where it's becoming even harder--with all this bonus material and these gimmicky release schedules becoming increasingly necessary in the battle against leaks--and as a result, the full-length format, as everyone has been saying for years, is being respected less and less, to the point where it's not even clear why anyone bothers anymore.
Look at what went down with Bradford Cox this past weekend. While the leader of Deerhunter and Atlas Sound was trying to give away digital access to a brand new "virtual 7"" to readers of his blog, he accidentally posted a link to an unmastered, working version of a new Atlas Sound record, as well as some bonus tracks that were going to be released on the new Deerhunter record, Microcastle, which isn't coming out until October, but which leaked widely months ago. Someone caught on, re-posted the link, and just like that, Cox's attempt at making back some of the money he lost when Microcastle leaked was ruined, and a large portion of his fanbase was given access to a record long before he wanted them to hear it (he had yet to even record vocals on one of the tracks).
His response, presumably in reference to the now-leaked, incomplete Atlas Sound record, was, "Fuck this shit. I can just make another album."
Jeez.
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