SIX OUT OF TEN CRITICS AGREE: CRITIC-BASED PRICING

December 10th, 2008 , by

The great experiment has failed. Music critics universally panned our new Critic-Based Pricing Method. In response, we have abandoned the entire experiment, and will proceed for the foreseeable future with the traditional method of agreeing upon a fair market price with our artists for their work. We know it seems archaic, but it’s all we have to go on this point. Our in-house scientists are currently researching weather-based pricing, however.

Thank you for participating in our experiment. Perhaps the greatest lesson learned here is that irony and html make strange bedfellows.

Michael Kaufmann, our A&R, and frontman for Grampall Jookabox, Moose, re-entered into the studio today to shoot a music video that is as much commentary on the music industry as it is a guy dressed in a dollar bill dancing beside a guy standing on his head:

RAFTER VIDEO CONTEST RUNNERS-UP

December 9th, 2008 , by

Last week we announced the winners of the Rafter video contest. Above is "Juicy" from PranxMultimedia. Click more for the other two runners-up.
From sundaestories


From Valencia Productions.

CHRISTMAS GOODIES FROM AK AND FRIENDS

December 9th, 2008 , by

We here at Asthmatic Kitty Records hope that your holiday season is warm, cheery, and full of family and friends. To help a little, we’ve put together a package of fun goodies on our special Christmas section of Asthmatic Kitty. Click here to visit the site. But in case you don’t want to take the time to unwrap, here’s a descriptive list:

Thanks to the hard work of iAppeal Media you can now send your friend or family a wonderful eCard, heralded by your very own decorated Sufjan-elf! Thanks iAppeal!

Game designer Tom DesLongchamp put together a terrific little game based on music from Sufjan Stevens’ Songs for Christmas. Light candles! Call Grandma! Shovel the sidewalk! It’s Christmas wrapped into a tiny video game! Thanks Tom!

Chiptune artist Leeni scored Tom’s game, but she has also converted the soundtrack into downloadable ringtones. Thanks Leeni!

Of course, the kids need something to color while you’re sneaking someone that mistletoe kiss. Laura Park comes bearing coloring book ornamnets. Thanks Laura!

Someone down in the Christmas dumps? Give them the one-two Christmas video punch with an animated "Put the Lights on the Tree" from Tom Eaton, and then followup with the cutest live rendition ever from the International Class Grade Four. Thanks Tom! Thanks International Class Grade Four!

And finally, throw some logs on the fire, snuggle up to loved ones, put your laptop on the other side of the room (so it doesn’t overheat and catch on fire), and load up the complete, free stream of Sufjan’s Songs for Christmas, as well as the winners of last year’s Christmas contest. Thanks Sufjan! Thanks musicians from all over the world!

Click here to visit our Christmas site, or here to order Sufjan’s 5-CD boxset, Songs for Christmas ($19+S&H).

ASTHMATIC KITTY ADOPTS CRITIC-BASED PRICING STRUCTURE

December 8th, 2008 , by

The record industry has reeled in the wake of Radiohead’s decision to sell their album at a price determined by the consumer. Likewise, we here at Asthmatic Kitty have also had many internal discussions on pricing and value. How much is our artists’ music worth anyway? Who gets to determine that?

Sure, there’s been a lot of focus on you, the people who buy the music. But while we were reading Pitchfork’s review of Grampall Jookabox’s new album, Ropechain, we started to wonder: who’s thinking about the music critics here? Everyone is looking to the consumer for guidance on pricing in an Internet-driven world, but don’t music reviewers deserve some attention?

Today we are officially experimenting with what we call the Critic-Based Pricing Structure. Instead of selling Ropechain for our standard  $10, or letting consumers pick their own price, we have let Pitchfork determine the price. Pitchfork gave Ropechain a 5.4. So, for the next 54 hours, Grampall Jookabox’s Ropechain album is available for just $5.40 (+S&H). That’s right, $5.40. Be part of this experiment by buying it. You can only participate using this link right here to get the CD. (update: experiment over!)

(Or, if you prefer the traditional pricing model, you can buy the LP for $12 here.)

We’re all pretty excited about this new way of determining value. In fact, the frontman of Grampall Jookabox, "Moose," and Asthmatic Kitty’s A&R, Michael Kaufmann, went into the studio to make a video to commemorate. Moose dances while dressed up as a dollar bill, and Michael headstands. It’s pretty wild and crazy. Watch it here, or by clicking more.

And thanks for inspiring us Pitchfork. We’re just glad we got to this idea before Radiohead released their next album.

Please enjoy these complimentary remix MP3s: Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Chap, and Nobody.:

  "Let’s Go (Remixed for Fantastic Mr. Fox)" (Download)
  "We Might Be Fucked (Grampall Jookabox v. The Chap)" (Download)
  "Ghost (Remixed by Nobody)" (Download)


Grampalll Jookabox – Let’s Go Mad from Asthmatic Kitty on Vimeo.

THE WELCOME WAGON RELEASES A RECORD, IN BROOKLYN

December 6th, 2008 , by

Photo by Denny Renshaw

The Welcome Wagon will release their first album ever next week, and we are the better record label for it. It’s been in our musical playback devices for some time now, and we’re very happy to finally let everyone else lend a listen.

You can buy the CD right now for $10 (+S&H) by clicking here.

Next week The Welcome Wagon will be playing with a well-stocked backup band at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Brooklyn (map here), at 8pm Tuesday December 9th. Fellow Brooklynites Andy Friedman & The Other Failures will open. Tickets are $10 at the door, or $8 if you bring along a canned good for the Southside Food Pantry.

So, here’s the truth: The Welcome Wagon does not tour much. Like most of us, their lives don’t necessarily lend themselves to a hectic tour schedule. When they schedule a show, it’s a rarity. All that to say: if you find yourself near St. Paul’s on Wednesday night, you owe it to yourself to go. It’ll be a treat.

ANNOUNCING THE WINNERS OF THE RAFTER VIDEO CONTEST!

December 1st, 2008 , by


Back in August, we announced Volume 2 of the Rafter video contest, with promises of cash prizes to those who could create the best music videos to songs from Rafter’s new EP, Sweaty Magic . Employing a diverse range of judges, we have chosen winners. And if we could appear at their house with a supersize check, we would. Instead, we will just email them.

Those winners include Dax Norman, whose striking animation came in squarely at first place. You can watch his video just above the text or by clicking here. Second place goes to this very well-populated video by Ryan, although (it’s a shame we just see the audition and never see the actual video!). You can watch his video by clicking on more, or here. Finally, third place falls to mws888, whose wonderful stop-animation is both literal and mesmerizing. That video is here, or you can view it by clicking more.

And thanks so much to all the entrants! It was hard to pick the top three, and obvious that so much energy and creativity went into the videos! We’ll be posting runner-ups later this week. Until then, feel free to peruse all the entries right here.


second place by rynostevie


third place by mws888

DIAMOND TAINTS, RAFTER LEAVES; BOTH GUILTY

November 25th, 2008 , by

NYC-based label Engine Room Recordings has just released their second volume modern indie covers of pop favorites, Guilt by Association, and guess who’s on this collection? Our very own My Brightest Diamond and Rafter. MBD covers Gloria Jones/Soft Cell’s "Tainted Love" while Rafter cowbells OMD’s "If You Leave."

The CD doesn’t come out until February, but you can buy the digital version for $9.99 from iTunes here or Amazon MP3 here. A preview is available for a limited time via Engine Room. You can listen to their wonderful web widget by clicking "more" below. Or, if you prefer, you can download My Brightest Diamond’s cover by visiting Pitchfork here.

FOL CHEN: PLASTIC, SNOWY

November 23rd, 2008 , by

We recently announced LA-based Fol Chen, who plan at some point in the near future to release an album. Until that album’s release, they remain ever busy in myriad ways. One such facet is the now-available Plastic Snow, a Christmas compilation organized by also LA-based music blog Confessions of a Would-Be Hipster. Fol Chen contributes the pragmatic "Winter, That’s All," while fifteen other artists fill out the digital album including Earlimart, Great Northern, and Carmen Rizzo.

It’s just $10. Thanks to the power of Internet, you get it right away and don’t even have to unwrap it. And the best part? One hundred percent of proceeds go to the The Midnight Mission, Los Angeles’ longest running homeless shelter. The album is a pure labor of love. Click here for more information and the link to purchase.

DIVIDE AND CONQUER: THE POWER OF TOURING

November 22nd, 2008 , by


View Larger Map

The economy might be failing, but fret not: we have good music. This weekend our artists have sprawled through the continental United States, with specific instructions to play matchless gigs this evening to stave the bad and lift our Dow-weighted shoulders. Castanets will be in Chapel Hill at UNC with the comrades and far-from-home, Brooklyn-based Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson. Cryptacize is in Athens, GA with Danielson of all folks!, playing at the illustrious 40 Watt Club (doors at 9pm, $10). Grampall Jookabox, donning the newly released Ropechain album, decided upon Madison, WI at Cafe Montmarte  for tonight, marking in at just $7 at 9:30pm. Finally, My Brightest Diamond is playing at the Cafe Du Nord in the Swedish American Hall in San Franciso with the enchanting Clare & The Reasons. Tickets are $16, and doors open at 6:30pm.

(For all the procrastintors in San Francisco, and we know there are many of you, Half-handed Cloud is making a surprise appearance at Hemlock Tavern this Wednesday.)

HABITAT DIGITIZED

November 18th, 2008 , by

Thanks to the efforts of Asthmatic Kitty Employees Sufjan Stevens, Lowell Brams, and Michael Kaufmann, we released Habitat a few weeks ago, exclusive to our own mail-order store. Taking years to compile, the two-CD set  benefits Habitat for Humanity and includes over 29 electronic experimental tracks that explore the notion of architectural space. Although the tracks are widespread in their sound and influence, you can hear a sample track from Actuel on XLR8R right here.

And for those who prefer digital to physical, you will be happy to know that our exclusive run on the set has ended. We now relinquish partial control of its distribution to iTunes, who is selling it digitally for $9.99. You can buy it here, or if you prefer shiny, real things, you can buy the CDs from us for $10 (+S&H) here. Again, proceeds go to Habitat for Humanity.
« Previous Page — Next Page »