Beat Concrete Facebook Fan Page
Hey, if you're on Facebook, you can become a fan of Beat Concrete. If you're not on Facebook, that's cool too. And if you're on Facebook but don't want to be a fan, we respect that.
Here's the URL of the fan page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Beat-Concrete/58813913236
Three Cheers for Fleet Foxes
Some days you read stuff that makes your heart feel good. That's what we felt today when we read Hypebot's article on Fleet Foxes. Singer Robin Pecknold definitely hasn't let success go to his head, saying among other things that illegally downloading songs helped his musical growth and that Fleet Foxes would never, ever sign with a major label.
Fleet Foxes bringing light to the indie music world
Here's a quote from his blog that Exclaim picked up:
"Fleet Foxes will never, ever, under no circumstances, from now until the world chokes on gas fumes, sign to a major label. This includes all subsidiaries or permutations thereunder. Till we die.
"I just don't see the point. Most major labels seem anti-music. We've pursued no such deal with Virgin (or been pursued to my knowledge, I think it was just a bit of news they reported) and would be idiots to be unhappy with our fam of label folks. It is true though that all copies of the CD LP will now include a free copy of the EP (like it is currently with the vinyl), but that's not a 'special limited edition,' it'll be that way in perpetuity, no extra cost or packaging change."
Unlike other successful artists (cough, cough, Metallica) Fleet Foxes say they don't give a fig if fans download their songs illegally:
As much music as musicians can hear, that will only make music richer as an art form," singer Robin Pecknold told the BBC. "I think we're seeing that now with tons of new bands that are amazing, and are doing way better music now than was being made pre-Napster."
"I've downloaded hundreds and hundreds of records - why would I care if somebody downloads ours? That's such a petty thing to care about," says Pecknold. "I mean, how much money does one person need? I think it's disgusting when people complain about that, personally."
This makes us glad that we bought their first album and makes even more excited for the next one (which, BTW, they are recording now in a northwest home studio). We're all for legal downloading and use our Rhapsody subscription to listen to tons of new bands, but honestly, if you don't have the money why should you be deprived of hearing new music? Support artists as much as you can but keep listening by any means necessary.
We'll leave you with a clip of Fleet Foxes video for White Winter. Funnily enough, tried to put a link to their appearance on SNL but NBC had blocked the video--kind of makes the case for them being better off on Sub Pop rather than working for a major media conglomerate, doesn't it? Peace.
Looking for a ‘Mel’
Like most musicians, we love Flight of the Conchords. It's a great show, and if you're not watching it you're doing yourself a disservice. That is, assuming you have a sense of humor.
But we have a problem with the show. As unsuccessful as the Conchords are, they have Mel, their number one superfan. Beat Concrete is marginally more successful than them, yet we don't have a Mel. This makes us sad. 75% Mel-ancholy, one could say.
Flight of the Conchords' ever-so-dreamy Mel
All that is to preface the fact that we are opening a contest to give our fans (or is it fan?) the chance to become the official Beat Concrete Mel. What could be better? (Don't answer that question!)
To enter, all you have to do is become a Beat Concrete fan on Facebook (if that link doesn't work, just search for 'beat concrete' on Facebook), friend us on MySpace, or just leave a comment on this website or drop us a line. Then tell us why you think you're the perfect Mel for us.
- Rules and Restrictions: Contest not open to actual band members or members of their families. Sorry, mom. Because we believe in equality, both men and women can apply for the position. Contest ends when we feel we've found the perfect Mel.
PS: Have to give a shout out to Kristen Schaal, the actress who plays Mel on FotC. We're big fans. So you can say that we're kind of Mels for Mel herself.
PPS: Still trying to find a good name for the contest. Early ideas are 'Mel Search' and 'Mel-ancholy Baby'. If you have a better idea, leave a comment!
OMG OMG Beat Concrete Finally on MySpace
Yes, what no one is talking about is now reality. As many as four people had been bugging us to put up a MySpace page so we finally did it. The coolest thing is that it's easier to listen to streaming MP3s there than it is here.
You can check out the page at www.myspace.com/beatconcreteband. We also put a widget on this site that shows our current MySpace status.
We'll pretty much mirror content from www.beat-concrete.com to MySpace. So no need to go there to find out anything new--but if you use MySpace at all send a friend request our way.
This is part of our 2009 goal to go from one of America's least known bands to not-very-well-known-but-liked status.
By the way, we had to add 'band' to our URL because some DJ in Greece is squatting on the Beat Concrete tag even though he's apparently never used it. More power to him for choosing a good name though.
