Leaked on the 2nd, anybody had a chance to listen to it?

No, I try not to do leaks. If I get an advance I'll listen to it though. Nonetheless, looking forward to it.

Yes! "Yellow House" was aurally pleasing, but ultimately forgettable to me sans the wonderful "Knife," one of my favorite songs of the decade. I actually think I didn't give it enough growing time, since it seems to be a more subtle kind of music. I'll go back to it in light of the new release.

Veckatimest is, to my ears, much more immediately rewarding, and the second track in is beautiful. I think the whole album is more fully fleshed out and is gonna earn a lot of playing time this year. Great stuff.

This album blew my mind immediately, which makes it the polar opposite of Yellow House to me. That was a definite grower, but from the very beginning of Veckatimest I was fully engaged in the music.

Try doing anything but listening to this album when it's on, I dare you.

I think I said it before, but this is possibly the only rival Merriweather Post Pavilion has for Album Of The Year honors (at least a semi-unanimous rival).

Minor quibble though: why doesn't "indie" "rock" anymore? It has become abundantly clear to me in the past year that all the big-time bands on these boards are certifiable pop music.

quote:

Originally posted by CleverName84:
why doesn't "indie" "rock" anymore?

It does, but if you're looking for it in a Grizzly Bear record then you're barking up the wrong tree.

It's really sad that this leaked an entire two and a half months before its release date.

I already pre-ordered my vinyl copy and can't wait for it. I have liked everything these guys have done, even Sorry for the Delay and Horn of Plenty. I really liked the stuff they did on their Friend EP too. I remember Bradford Cox mentioning that these guys are going to be BIG. Maybe this is it, if it hasn't happened already.

quote:

Originally posted by FragileKidA:
It's really sad that this leaked an entire two and a half months before its release date.

Why is it sad?

quote:

Originally posted by jack(gl)ass:

quote:

Originally posted by FragileKidA:
It's really sad that this leaked an entire two and a half months before its release date.

Why is it sad?

It's sad in the same way that it would be sad if they made a rule in middle school that all of the kids that brought money to buy their hot lunch were forced to stand at the end of the line behind all of the kids that were planning on stealing it.

Moral decay and the rejecting of values should always be sad. But that's more a philosophical answer, and it's from the perspective of a consumer.

I just really feel bad for the band. They have worked really hard on this album, and we all know they did. They have spent extra time on its recording and sequencing and production and mixing. They have master planned it's release for a long time now. And then months in advance of them arriving on scene to introduce their artistic work people leak a low quality copy of it right out from under them.

We spend so much of our life devoted to discussing and listening to the music these people make (most of us wouldn't have much of a life if it wasn't for these artists) and yet we spend so much time totally disrespecting them and what they do. It's not about money, and it's not even just about breaking any laws. It's about respecting people even when it means waiting for them to give you permission to hear their music.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Shadrach,

I mean, the album's done right?

Oh, ok then.
Those extra 2 months for marketing are great right?

It either leaks now and people buy the album or it leaks 5 days before the release date and people buy the album. If you like the artist you'll be getting the album no matter what (I would assume... >_> <_<". Unless you're poor or cheap, but then they'd just download it on the release day and not buy it.).

let's not turn this into the billionth leaking argument.

that said, i downloaded the leak, and after a few cursory listens, i quite like it. however, the quality of the leak is garbage, and i can't help thinking how much better it'll sound when i have that hard copy in my hand. all those wonderful choir-like harmonies and atmospheric acoustics aren't given justice. i've shelved it until it's released -- the tease of the leak was just enough to whet my appetite.

Well, I'm going to buying it on vinyl, unless they do what they did with Yellow House and release it on 45rpm (my record player has a broken spindle, which means I can only play 33rpm on it!). Does anyone know what speed this release will play at?

Enbarrassingly, I hadn't heard anything by Grizzly Bear when I bought Yellow House, so I stuck it on the record player at 33rpm (as you would). It sounded different to anything I had heard before, a little ponderous, but really innovative. I was waxing lyrical about the surprising, cutting edge music Grizzly Bear were producing. It was only having read some reviews that I got suspicious and checked them out on myspace! Haven't listened to it yet at the proper speed.

You guys realize that when Ed Droste heard about the leak, he was like "Cool! Hope you guys enjoy it, too bad it didn't leak in better quality."

"Two Weeks" is great, the rest of the album is ok, Ed Droste is a pretty laid back guy.

Artists don't like their stuff to be leaked early in advance, period. Whether it is a poor rip or not, whether it is three months in advance, or whether it is three days in advance, they don't like it. Some are blatant and frank when they admit they hate it (Karen O, Bradford Cox, Ed Droste) and others, try to play it off and make it seem like if they are OK so that fans don't hate them just because of their stance on stealing music. If people want to justify their downloading in some twisted, jaded manner then that's their issue.

It's funny that people who buy music, pre-order it and don't like leaks are labeled as uptight, too serious losers. Because someone is lazy and steals their stuff makes them some cool, laid back dude. No, that's not the way it is.

And Jackson, why do you ask questions to get answers you obviously don't care about? Shadrach answers with an eloquently worded, well-thought out response and all you say is that? If you don't care, then don't ask.

By the way, I am not sure where you got your quote by Droste, Cham, as it is taken way out of context and his words are severely misconstrued. Here is exactly what he said:

March 4th, 2009

Hey all,

So yeah, we are kind of bummed this leaked so early. We know it’s not the 90’s anymore and times have changed, and we’re super grateful for all the support people have shown us on the blogs and internet, but we were kind of hoping it wouldn’t happen this soon.

Ultimately we feel like we put out a great album and hope people enjoy it, and we really hope people take the time to pre-order and support the good one-and-a-half years it took to write and record it.

I promise you the album art for both CD and vinyl is going to be gorgeous. And a bonus: all vinyl people will get a high quality download coupon with their purchase.

Leaking is a tricky subject; as we all know, I’ve had my run ins with the law O__o (Hi, Mr. Sheriff!) I have conflicting opinions about it, as it’s really complicated, but ultimately it saddens me that a bummer-quality version of Veckatimest is going around. Please consider putting your energies into a pre-order or into waiting till May 26 for the album the way we intend it to be presented.

Not to get all mushy, but we definitely put a lot of love and work into this one and are just excited to hit the road and tour it again.

Ok, there! Got that off my chest.
Warm regards.

Pre-Order directly from the band:
- CD - or - Vinyl -

or from Insound:
- CD - or Vinyl

In the UK:
- CD - or - Vinyl -

Posted by Ed

Listening to it right now. So far...wow! Can't wait to hear from the rest of the board when it gets its proper release. I think we'll see a lot of very happy listeners.

Hah, well I did get the info somewhat second-hand.

FKA, I'm coming from a far away land where artists don't pose under the term "indie" and then bitch about sales.

I'm coming from a place where I talk to the artist about the album he "leaked" and try to help him set-up a house show.

I think my version's better.

P.S. I haven't listened to this album and I probably won't! Yellow House bored the shit out of me, although In Ear Park was good.

Mr. Glass, might i suggest that this album is actually quite good (better than Yellow House I believe), and I too was bored by Yellow House. That album really really had to grow on me. It took about a year before I realized that it was a great album (though I don't share some people's enthusiasm for that album). I think this one's better by about a mile, but that's just my opinion.

And about this whole piracy thing: I fully believe in respecting artists, but let's face it, many of the bands today that are gaining so much exposure would be mere blips on the radar without the blogosphere and leaks and such. I'm not condoning piracy, and I feel bad to do it myself, but I firmly believe that all the hype gathered on the internet helps sales. Call me crazy, but I don't think leaks are as bad as people make them out to be.

Further, I can't see how this is a moral question of stealing as much as it is the music industry needing to catch up with the market. Record sales have been plummeting for years now, and there is a model for selling albums online that are still profitable (i.e. the Radiohead model or the "preview-the-album-now, pay later" model), so why not change the entire business structure of music? If anything, the record labels are the ones taking the biggest blow, but you don't see anyone shedding tears for them.

Simple fact: bands make their money on the road, labels make their money on sales and tours. It's a bit presumptuous to think that downloading albums illegally is stealing from the pockets of the artists when, in fact, more people will show up to the shows, more people will buy merch at the shows, and bands will thus get higher exposure to a more mainstream audience. Is that really so bad?

This will get too damn lengthy if I address the indie record labels that are shutting their doors now, and I think that's the prime counterargument against album leaks and piracy.

In sum: I don't think the artists are really suffering, but the business behind it is.

I recently bought a concert ticket to see Grizzly Bear in Atlanta and am greatly looking forward to the show in June at the Tabernacle. That being said, I never would have gotten into them without having illegally downloaded Yellow House.

It wasn't that long ago that musicians only made money from performing and charging admittance. It was that way for thousands of years. I understand it requires a new way of thinking from what artists have gotten used to over the past couple of decades, but their 45 or 50 minutes of music in mp3 digital format isn't worth that much. Its certainly not worth $15 so I can have a booklet and a piece of cheap plastic that scratches and skips for me to store it on. Its a commodity that has been driven down virtual worthlessness by the market and musicians are now forced to make their living from other sources.

I'm not saying its right or wrong, its REALITY and bitching about it doesn't solve it and its tiresome to be preached at (FKA).

This message has been edited. Last edited by: hophead,

first two songs are great, rest of the album is boring as hell