Free/"Name Your Price" Bandcamp Album Compendium

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.

nice!

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

^lovely

http://laster.bandcamp.com/album/wijsgeer-narreman
Atmospheric Dutch black metal!

DROKK is seriously in album of the year contention for me. It tickles my lizard brain in ways I'm afraid to examine too closely.

Everything on the Relapse site is $10. They have three releases I liked enough to order the CDs at close to the same price - Christian Mistress, Royal Thunder and Baroness. The rest I'm on the fence about but definitely won't be paying $10 for downloads. Don't any of these labels have people who know anything about marketing and sales? How about helping their customers get a sense that they're getting some value? Name your price for newer bands they're breaking, package deals, sales on freakin' new releases? This is basic shit with proven results that go back to ancient times when we were selling livestock and wives.

Similarly, does anybody get the reasoning behind pricing this Small Stone comp $26?

http://smallstone.bandcamp.com/album/small-stone-jukeboxxx

People who already know and like Small Stone bands usually have half the stuff, and those who don't are probably not inclined to drop $26. Doesn't seem the ideal way to expand an audience, unless they started putting up actual albums for reasonable prices.

$10 seems reasonable for full albums, and $26 seems reasonable for 96 (!) tracks?

http://once-ler.bandcamp.com/album/last-day-of-summer
Ohioan desert rock!

http://thunderunderus.bandcamp.com/album/bad-assets
Priestess-style throwback rock!

http://sonictitan.bandcamp.com/album/even-higher
Fuzzy boogie rock!

xp Did you buy the comp?

I've bought a couple dozen albums this year on Bandcamp that were $7 and less, often on impulse. None for $10 or more. Doesn't seem reasonable to me if I can buy a CD for close to that and sell the disc back for $4. I have a short list of favorite albums I will drop as much as $18 for imports, but anything outside my absolute favorites, I just can't afford to buy more unless they're cheaper. I'd think more competitive pricing would sell more music.

no, but only because i'm not interested in that kind of music. if it were a huge stone's throw or alpha pup comp then yeah, i would definitely buy it.

Doesn't seem reasonable to me if I can buy a CD for close to that and sell the disc back for $4

see at this point i just cannot have anymore CDs in the house, they just take up space. can you really still sell them back? i've got boxes and boxes that i've been too lazy/sentimental to get rid of.

anyway i don't think you have to worry about competitive pricing, i'm sure music will keep losing value

I understand about space. I keep certain CDs that qualify as all-time favorites, and sell the rest to Reckless or Dusty Groove. Depending on what city you're in, there are still some music stores that do robust used CD business. I think more widespread use of platforms like Bandcamp will help music regain some value, as it offers a full spectrum of formats including lossless, as long as most bands and labels continue to stick to reasonable pricing, the sweet spot seeming to be between name your price and $7.

http://flavorcrystals.bandcamp.com/

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

― Matt M., Friday, June 1, 2012 11:34 AM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

flavor crystals have been one of the most underrated mpls bands for a long time! check out their previous album too (produced by kramer)....played w/them live a few times and they are great.

^twin peaks vibes at times.

so btw i released an ep this week and it is streaming on bandcamp
http://duttyartz.bandcamp.com/album/night-after-ep

Please note: if there is a numerical monetary value required to download the album, IT IS NOT FREE/NAME YOUR PRICE. *Shakes fists impotently, goes to post on Irrational Anger thread*

do we have a "not free but still worth your time and money" Bandcamp album compendium thread?