Embrace

These guys were probably one of the first bands that I got a bit more involved with. I first got into them about the time when they released their first single 'All You Good Good People' on Fierce Panda and I saw them as part of what I think was the NME Carling Premier tour in 1997 (which possibly had the Longpigs and Travis on the bill).

Anyway, I thought they were great and at the time I was doing my PhD in Bristol and was spending a lot of time working with computers and this was when I first got into using the internet. I eventually started to put together what turned out to be (I believe) the very first Embrace fansite just about the time when the other McNamara brother J was putting together the first official site. It was nothing special but it got a lot of attention including (from what I remember) a mention in Q magazine! It was a great time and there was a nice small community using the web in its early days and I had great fun updating the website. The first proper release was the Fireworks EP and it was absolutely amazing. A couple more singles and then an album 'The Good Will Out' followed on from that and with every release they set their sights high (to steal from one of their lyrics). I really loved the slow, acoustic ballads but they could do massive torch songs too which were quite wonderful.

After leaving Uni I didn't keep up the website but I kept listenig and buynig the music although in my eyes (and ears) nothing quite matched that first album. They've now released five albums and I think the last one 'This New Day' was a real return to form. The band's official website is well put together but what slightly disappointed me when researching some facts for this piece is how poor the quality of fansites is out their for the band.

For more information:
Embrace on Wikipedia
The Official Embrace Website

Essential Listening:
The Good Will Out
Fireworks: The Singles 1997 - 2002

The changing face of the music business

Two announcements today have probably made people sit up and take notice of the changing times that the music business is going through. First there was the announcement that The Charlatans' next album (due out next year) will be available to download for free from the XFM website. Then the biggest news of the day is that the new Radiohead album, called 'In Rainbows' (not sure about that one yet lads), will be released next week (10th October) and only available via the WASTE website. Not only will it be download only for the moment, but there will also be a physical version available later in the year (with a second CD of songs, the album in heavyweight vinyl and some stunning artwork from Mr Donwood) but then you can also decide how much you want to pay for the download!!!!
Now thats a radical move - nice one Radiohead. I can certainly see where they are coming from. A comment from Alan McGee (who is apparently manager of the Charlie Twins these days) "The band will get paid by more people coming to gigs, buying merchandise, publishing and sync fees. I believe it's the future business model".
Is the whole industry starting to change? I am sure a lot of music biz types will have their eyes/ears open waiting to see what happens.


How nice is the packaging for the special edition of 'In Rainbows'