With less than 30 records in my to-be-recorded queue, my computer area is reaching a level of non-clutter that it has not seen in years. If I somehow manage to become totally caught up in my record recording I’m kind of scared as to what might happen. It could be crazy, dogs and cats living together mass hysteria. Or maybe I’ll just finally find that copy of the Metropolis soundtrack again, who knows.

Franz Ferdinand
Ulysses (Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve Remix)
Ulysses (Mr. Dan Remix)
Ulysses (Mickey Moonlight Remix)
Ulysses (Disco Bloodbath Remix)
I’m seeing these guys next month in a small club outside of Detroit, somehow that show hasn’t sold out yet, proving that not only does Detroit suck, but the people who live there suck because they have shitty taste in music. I am beyond stoked for this show, as Franz Ferdinand is one of the only bands I love that I haven’t managed to see yet. Stupid Scots and their lack of US touring. These remixes are from a special 12” single that can with the record when you bought it at certain indie stores. Shop independent motherfuckers.

Ian Dury & The Blockheads
Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick ’91 (The Flying Remix)
Really Glad You Came (Love Version)
Inspiration (Love Version)
“Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick” is the greatest song ever written. There I said it. Now that I got that off my chest I should say that “Really Glad You Came” and “Inspiration” aren’t half bad either and that all three of these excellent Ian Dury tunes came from 12” singles.

Against Me!
From Her Lips To God’s Ears (Energize-O-Tron) Remix by Adrock
Of all the bands I expected to find a 12” dance remix of Against Me! was pretty fucking low on the list, right next to…oh let’s say Dead Kennedys and Bebop Deluxe (how’s that for random?). Their “fans” are always going off on how the band keeps selling out, and a dance remix of a song about Condoleezza Rice probably didn’t help to prove the detractors wrong. But you know what? Fuck those assholes who think that the second a punk rock group signs to a major label they’ve “sold out.” What’s so damn wrong about wanting your music to be heard? Here’s a little tip for you all, whenever some twatty little shit is whining about their favorite band “selling out” 9 times out of 10 they’re just upset that the band in question isn’t still living up to their own fucked up little ideals, or they’re pissy because the band that they always considered as “their own” is now popular. Sellig out is when a band compromises their own ideals to sell records, changing their sound, personal beliefs or even their line-up just to make it big. Who’s done this? Well, Aerosmith is always a good example to bring up, as are Metallica, Yes, Weezer and the greatest example of all; Liz Phair. Against Me! never rallied against decent distribution or quality production values (something their early records sure as hell don’t have) so the fact that they signed to Sire and hired a real producer to record their shit doesn’t make them sell-outs. Another thing that bugs me about people using the term “sell out” is that they always apply it to bands that have never even come close to selling out, and only label an artist as a sell out because they don’t like them to begin with. I always hate it when people bring up bands like Nickleback, Fall Out Boy and Panic At The Disco when tallking about “sell outs.” Bands like those have no illusions about who they are or what they are doing, they’re in it to be as popular as possible and make a shitload of money from the day they decided to create a pop-friendly version of whatever genre they are in. It’s not selling out if that’s what you wanted to accomplish in the first place.

So the next time you say a band has “sold out” try to keep this shit in mind. (Cue “The more you know” music).