{ Monthly Archives }
Been enjoying the hell out of Black Mountain’s latest album, “In the Future” (amazon.com link
“Wucan” is just one of the highlights. I still can’t spit the hook in this one. Hope you enjoy it.
And there is more to check out at their MySpace.
Whiskerino Pal Jim Renaud has gotten his personal site back up and running.
Check him out at secretexperiment.com
I am a big fan of just about anything Jay Ryan has ever drawn. Dude just does it well. That Metropolis Coffee Company poster is one of his new ones for 2008, the others are from 2007 and all appear to be for sale at The Bird Machine.
Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? by She & Him is my new favorite song. (amazon.com link
Ooh! And here are some live versions from a KCRW studio session.
Tom Bihn was taking some guff on his message board from a customer about sourcing some parts from China. I liked his thoughtful, measured response:
I have to agree: boo-hiss on Chinese components!
But here’s the reality: with perhaps a few exceptions, anything you buy that is not “Made in China”, has components made in China: any manufacturer who tells you otherwise is either unaware of the origins of their materials or is lying to you. That goes for U.S. manufacturers and those in Canada, Europe, Japan, etc. etc. My favorite made-in-Romania hiking boots have parts from China I am quite sure. And pretty much any car you buy these days has at least a few parts made in China.
I promise you: we bend over backwards to source materials and components from the U.S.. And when we can’t find a U.S. supplier, our next choice is always #1 a democracy and #2 a country with labor unions, like Japan, South Korea, or countries in the EU.
Sadly, there are a few new components that we have been unable to buy or have made for us outside of China. This is because almost 100% of our type of products (sewn bags and backpacks) are made completely in China, and the thread, fabric, zipper, and plastic buckle factories, which used to be here in the U.S., have moved to China too. These ancillary industries moved to China sure because labor is cheaper, but also it’s just logistically easier to have your components made near where the finished goods are made. We now experience the flip-side of this when we order the few parts we do from China: they take freakin’ forever to receive!
I suppose we could use exclusively U.S.- made plastic buckles, for example, but the only styles still made here are clunky old styles used by the military (which by law - the Berry Amendment - must be sourced here; more on the effects of the Berry Amendment some other day). If we used these instead of the newest, high-tech sometimes-made-in-China buckles, we could say our products were 100% made with non-Chinese components. But our products would tend to look they were made in 1972. I’ve decided it’s better to make modern, cutting-edge products and stay in business rather than going out of business making a statement.
Is my sourcing a few parts (less than 3% of all of our components) from China a compromise? You bet! Am I happy about that? No.
From the mailing list:
The Raconteurs are happy to announce that in one week’s time their second album, entitled “Consolers Of The Lonely”, will be available EVERYWHERE Tuesday, March 25th.
“Album” meaning: full length vinyl, CD and digital formats; and “everywhere” meaning: local mom and pop Indie retailers, corporate superstores, supermarkets, iTunes, Amazon, the band’s own website and any other location that could get the record up and going this quickly (some places couldn’t move this fast, so they will join in as soon as they can).
It contains 14 new recordings and is being released globally on Third Man Records in conjunction with our marketing/distribution partners, XL Recordings and Warner Brothers Records.
The album was mastered and completed in the first week of March. It was then taken immediately to a vinyl pressing plant. Then to a CD pressing plant. Then preparations to sell it digitally began. March 25th became the soonest date to have it available in EVERY FORMAT AT ONCE. The band have done no interviews or advertisements for this record before this announcement.
The purpose: to get the album to the fans as soon as possible and as we promised. We wanted to get this record to fans, the press, radio, etc., all at the EXACT SAME TIME so that no one has an upper hand on anyone else regarding it’s availability, reception or perception.
With this release, The Raconteurs are forgoing the usual months of lead time for press and radio set up, as well as forgoing the all important “first week sales”. We wanted to explore the idea of releasing an album everywhere at once and THEN marketing and promoting it thereafter. The Raconteurs would rather this release not be defined by it’s first weeks sales, pre-release promotion, or by someone defining it FOR YOU before you get to hear it.
The best part of this is that they will likely tour behind it so I can have another chance to see them. I double-promise not to miss it this time, guys.
