Fiona Apple is to Wilco as…?

A few years ago, Wilco recorded an album. It was a great album, but their label thought it was crap. So they told Wilco to fuck off and put the album in the can. Wilco bought back their masters and put them on the Internets. It was a great album, and many downloaded it, thinking as they listened to it, “this is a great album, those folks at Warner Bros [iirc] are a bunch of dillwads.” Warner Bros.’ loss was Warner Bros.’ gain, though, when another division of WB went to Wilco and said “please let us release your really great album” and Wilco said “ok” and it was released and it was, for my money, the best album of the New American Century. And God saw this, and was pleased.

Then Fiona Apple recorded an album, and by all accounts it’s a great one, but their label (Sony this time) thought it was crap. So they told Apple to fuck off and put the album in the can. Some DJ thought Sony was a bunch of crap and put the album on the Internets. It is, apparently, a great album, and many downloaded it, including One Man who is downloading it as I write this, thinking as they downloaded it, “this could be a great album, but even if it isn’t, those folks at Sony are a bunch of dillwads.” Sony’s loss might become Sony’s gain, though, if they pull their heads, earbuds and all, out of their collective asses and go to Apple and say “please let us release this album that your fans are begging us to release so they can pay for it instead of downloading it free which many are doing even as we try to work out how to relax our sphincters enough to get out heads out of our asses.

Sony,WB, and other labels: get out of the fucking record business and let someone who fucking likes music take over. It’s very clear — if you don’t want to release good music, fine, go be carpenters or racecar drivers or some other shit and leave us the fuck alone. If you refuse to give a crap about the people who actually like music and want to buy great music — you know, your customers? — then please, just go away. Quit moaning about how we owe you a fucking living and definitely quit thinking that you have anything to say about music. Look at the indies — they’re releasing great music all the time and making pretty good livings doing it. Sure, they don’t wield much influence over national governments and they can’t afford to take clients on 6-day Thai sex cruises to have sex with minors, but that’s not the business you’re supposed to be in. Remember, way back when, pr’y you were teenagers and couldn’t get laid so you lay in bed listening to great albums and thought “when I grow up and my willy works better, I want to be in the record business”? Well, you’re not — don’t even try to fool yourself. You’re in the advertising and jerking off Senators business. So why don’t you leave us alone, let us have our music, and go the fuck away?

Before you give me a reason to be angry or bitter or something.

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