Free/"Name Your Price" Bandcamp Album Compendium

namewave

in that vein, I also wish "bandcamp" was called something better than "bandcamp," b/c it really is a good platform

word

namename

Alpha Boy isn't bad so far, but it's not the instant smash hit that Perturbator was. I want to say there's something twee about it that's keeping me from diving in entirely, but that's ridiculous, right?

No, I feel the same way. I think that that's the "wave" part.

I've been scouring Bandcamp for stuff they really scratches that John Carpenter, synthesizer itch, and Perturbator (God, I wish they had a better name) are one of the only ones I found that really do it in a satisfying way. A lot of the others feel like they have this kind of indie/hipster sensibility to them that puts a layer of distance between the music and the listener. of the three I linked above, I feel like the Adderall Canyonly captures that sense of digital dread the best.

And DROKK. DROKK is mighty.

Perturbator is a pretty awful, but fitting name. And I passed them along to Benjamin Marra, who does a comic called NIGHT BUSINESS which bleeds this stuff. He seems to dig it.

Adderall Canyonly isn't bad, though. I'm officially calling this digitaldreadwave, even though it's trying to sound like it was recorded on analog equipment.

in that vein, I also wish "bandcamp" was called something better than "bandcamp," b/c it really is a good platform

― this guy's a gangsta? his real name's mittens. (Hurting 2), Wednesday, May 30, 2012 4:34 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

i was talking to someone recently who confessed to being turned off by the name Band Camp, which kind of surprised me because while it's not especially ideal or inspired, it's a good functional name and not something i had to grudgingly get used to saying/hearing constantly the way i did with "myspace" or "twitter" or a hundred other obnoxiously named web platforms.

(1) it reminds me of American Pie
(2) it makes me picture all of the bands using it as chubby dorks

i played in school band and went to band camp (thankfully for the last time just after American Pie was released) and got horrendously sick of hearing "one time at band camp" jokes, and that association still doesn't really occur to me or grate that much re: the site's name

and i mean, if that's the first website you've seen that you imagine being populated by chubby dorks...

I think there's a larger problem with internet music marketing of removing too much of the mystery and danger from music. Posting your album on a site called "band camp" definitely contributes to that kind of result.

I could care. I've found more music out of Bandcamp this year than any other single source. Not to mention publishing my own work.

bandcamp is OK but i really miss myspace & wish something with more of its functions would replace it instead of this slick stubbornly minimalist thing. drifting through bands through their friend bands, getting in touch with cool bands to play out of town shows, were really positive aspects & good uses of the internet

I mean, imagine encountering Anal Cunt for the first time on "band camp," then joining their facebook group and shortly thereafter getting an enthusiastic message from their lead singer asking you to contribute to their kickstarter fund.

it's weird, i do kind of underestimate music on bandcamp sometimes, or expect not to be good. even though everyone uses it, i put my own stuff there, and i've certainly found (and paid for) great records on it.

xp

I mean, I guess this thread has some of that stigma inherent in its premise – "why would I actually *pay* for something from bandcamp?"

i don't

I think there's a larger problem with internet music marketing of removing too much of the mystery and danger from music. Posting your album on a site called "band camp" definitely contributes to that kind of result.

― this guy's a gangsta? his real name's mittens. (Hurting 2), Wednesday, May 30, 2012 6:20 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark

you're not wrong about that (although i really hate when people say things like "mystery and danger" as if bands used to jump off the record and stab people in the vinyl era), but pointing to Band Camp as a chief example of that x years after MySpace is like saying VH1 rather than MTV made the music industry more image-conscious.

plus there's been a whole raft of 'mysterious' new acts who conceal or obfuscate their identity and imo it's become a much more gimmicky and pretentious than the approachable transparency of acts who embrace social networking and DIY modes of selling their music.

w0rd

in that vein, I also wish "bandcamp" was called something better than "bandcamp," b/c it really is a good platform

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ec/Farmclubdotcomlogo.png

I just listen to the music and buy what I like. But I'm a simple guy.

I vastly prefer bandcamp to myspace. I mean, for one thing, they make it easy to listen to and download music, and give the artist donations. For another, minimalism beats terribly designed band websites any day.

That said, there is a thread for the discussion of bandcamp in general (Kickstarter / Bandcamp / etc - C or D?), and I would like to keep this thread dedicated to the discussion of the music found therein if you guys don't mind.

- I went to irl band camp, there were very few chubby dorks there iirc, and have no problem with the name Bandcamp for this website.
- Perturbator is pretty good, you guys are right. Dread the day I have to say this band's name out loud though.
- I have paid for things from bandcamp because I wanted to listen to them while I was away from the computer (ie while exercising or w/e) (Cosmic Dead live stuff, a couple of cheap tracks from a local band) and it kinda makes me happy to contribute $5 to a band I like, don't see what the big whoop is

That said, there is a thread for the discussion of bandcamp in general (Kickstarter / Bandcamp / etc - C or D?), and I would like to keep this thread dedicated to the discussion of the music found therein if you guys don't mind.

don't threadpolice it's rude

(imo)

I'm with Jeff, I'd say.

I vastly prefer bandcamp to myspace. I mean, for one thing, they make it easy to listen to and download music, and give the artist donations. For another, minimalism beats terribly designed band websites any day.

myspace was definitely atrocious and somehow got increasingly inefficient and bogged down ads or widgets over time. nowadays if i unwittingly get linked to myspace i rush to close the tab. i just would have expected that by now something with the minimalism/simplicity of bandcamp would have incorporated the connectedness of fb/tumblr/twitter would have come up. myspace was a cool way to find out about music outside of any media- or blog-driven discourse; you just click on a band voluntarily linked to a band that you like. imo that was a great idea and a useful function of the internet

I found a lot of great stuff through both band recommendations and clicking through their meta-tags. That's how I found Adderall Canyonly – they did a split with Kosmonaut, who someone linked to above.

yeah i've started noticing those, definitely a step in the right direction

i put the last album of my old-old band up on bandcamp, think it holds up p well as late 90s-ish indie in the archers/superchunk/pavement inspired vein

http://unbelievablejollymachine.bandcamp.com/

myspace was always rubbish

bandcamp utterly rules, both as a music buyer and musician.

did you ever use myspace to book tours/get in touch with bands in other cities though?

think it holds up p well as late 90s-ish indie in the archers/superchunk/pavement inspired vein

^^burning airlines vibez for me

once or twice xpost

these days i facebook them instead

i think bandcamp would be ideal if it caught on and added a more links across artists' profiles & some simple ways to communicate with/across artists. for all its elegance people rarely link to bandcamp pages (aside from artists themselves), ime they're far more likely to link to a youtube, & i think that has a lot to do with how the pages just exist in isolation. i don't know anything about this but like, has facebook bought bandcamp yet?

maybe soundcloud is more what im looking for but i only ever see electronic artists there

Jordan, yeah we would take that as a huge compliment! Thanks! We were big fans!

http://kinntarecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-lemon-tape
http://kinntarecords.bandcamp.com/track/hvordan

great compilation of psych-pop/hippie music & my fav song off of it

some simple ways to communicate with/across artists.

it's not super obvious, but they did add (or maybe it was always there?) a way to contact the artist. it says "for all other inquiries, click here" on the right and it brings up a contact form.

Jordan, yeah we would take that as a huge compliment! Thanks! We were big fans!

me too man...it's weird, i never listened to those other bands you mentioned much or indie rock in general, but the first burning airlines record is all-time for me.

i wish bandcamp had a way to "favorite"/save/organize your favorite bands/artists/etc for later listening

that would be copping to the fact that most people just use it for streaming a la spotify or youtube, not for buying.

pay what you want or don't pay :) http://dominiqueleone.bandcamp.com/track/blue-hair-demo

Esteemed underground metal label Relapse Records has unleashed their prestigious 20+ year catalog on the leading independent digital music site Bandcamp at this location http://relapserecords.bandcamp.com/. The official Relapse page features over 122 artists including BARONESS, DYING FETUS, PIG DESTROYER, RED FANG, NECROPHAGIST, REVOCATION and many more, each streaming their entire Relapse catalog for free in addition to offering their albums as high quality 320k mp3 or FLAC downloads.

Additionally, the label has made available a page for Relapse alumni including MASTODON, NEUROSIS, AMORPHIS, NILE, HIGH ON FIRE, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN and over 20 additional artists at this location http://relapsealumni.bandcamp.com/releases. Each of these albums are also available as high quality downloads with select songs streaming. Stay tuned to each of the Relapse Bandcamp pages for new releases and rarities constantly being added!

http://flavorcrystals.bandcamp.com/

Not free to buy, but really good for slow psych. Hat tip to Elvis Telecom for digging this one up.

I'd been listening to a DROKK a lot thanks to a friend, so thanks for the Perturbator tip.

In the "wow, everything's on Bandcamp now" tip (even if it's not free, but you can stream etc etc):
the Dead C's Bruce Russell cherry-picks the Flying Nun back pages for
Time To Go: The Southern Psychedelic Moment 1981-1986
http://flyingnun.bandcamp.com/album/time-to-go
The Bilders' "Russian Rug" is all-time, and really nice to see Mary Heney get prominence w/the tracks from 25 Cents/the Shallows/Scorched Earth Policy/Victor Dimisch Band/etc alongside the Clean/Chills/Gordons/&c.