Minotaur Shock: Amateur Dramatics

Okay, I know this came out a while ago, but being as I'm kinda new to this whole blogging business I've a backlog of things to talk about.  This album, Amateur Dramatics by Minotaur Shock, links in nicely to the Glasses post from yesterday.

That is, many people have accused Minotaur Shock of having "done a Radiohead", but whereas The Glasses did pretty much the same things as the Oxford proggers, the sale of Amateur Dramatics is almost exactly the opposite: he's put an exact price on each song.  Assessing each track by criteria such as "technical difficulty rating", "extra musicians rating" and "fun/replay rating", he's calculated a precise price for the album and individual tracks (all at quite reasonable rates, too).

You can read the full breakdown of his songs at his site, where you can also buy the stuff.  I can't say I think the music's amazing (it's pleasant enough for vaguely ambient techno nonsense) and my better half absolutely hates it ("incessant droning", apparently...), but I really like the way the guy writes about his own work.  I'll admit, I bought the album on the strength of the idea alone, which most people probably won't be inclined to do, but do I feel compelled to spread the word.

That's because he's doing something that gives back some of the value to music.  The Radiohead approach only works if you're already successful; people have been giving music away for free for ages and it's not got many of them very far (anyone who's familiar with Bomb the Music Industry will know what I'm talking about).  If the "industry" wants to to actually make any money then this is something they need to do as a matter of great import.  The musicians-have-to-pay-rent-too guilt trip will only work for so long, and only affects a minority of (considerate, ethical, and generaly super) people anyway.

Minotaur Shock - My Burr