We have seen and read all the evidence. CD sales continue to fall as buying digital music continues to rise. However the biggest dent in the sale of CDs is the downloading of music via Internet file-sharing networks. Now of course if you are a music fan it just has to be great to receive great music free of charge. But is it right to do it? I think it can be, but not if you never intend to buy the work that a label and their artists have poured their life into. Now myself I never used to download music and I still only do it occasionally. I only do it when I hear a CD has leaked and if it is by one of my very favourite bands, I just can't help myself. This year I have downloaded Spoon, Handsome Furs, Do Make Say Think, Wilco and Explosions in the Sky. Oh and a bit of New Pornographers and Interpol. That is all, and in each and every case I have either bought the CD the day it came out or I intend to buy it when it is released. Make sure you buy "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" when it comes out. Why do I do this? Because if no one buys the music, will the artists concerned be able to actually make music anymore? Plus I like the feeling of having the CD in my hands, reading the liner notes and lyrics and enjoying the feeling of ownership.

Now I have heard the arguments of downloading music and never bothering to actually buy. "I can't afford to buy CD's." Well if you see a nice shirt in a shop and you can't afford it, do you just take it off the rack and walk out with it? "I need to listen to the whole album before I decide whether to buy It". Well do you read a book before you decide to buy it? Maybe you just need to make a leap of faith sometimes. I know we all make copies for friends of CDs we love. But we can be selective there and I know I have lent or copied CDs to various friends who have often become fans of the music in question and gone out and purchased more music by the artist. I think in this day and age many musicians realise that their music can be spread all over the internet and they can do nothing about it. I guess they hope that there are still enough fans that will make the effort to buy their music. Of course bloggers have a role to play in all this. We try to turn people onto music without posting entire albums on the internet. I try to only post tracks that have been approved by the artist or label. And once the album is released maybe post an extra track to give a little more of a taste. I normally avoid putting up any music that is on a major label and conversely if it a small band trying to make an impression maybe posting more songs will help their career.

Anyway here are some views from musicians I respect who have a pretty liberal and thoughtful approach to the whole issue-
Jeff Tweedy on Wilco albums leaking-
"I think it is antithetical to being a musician to expend any energy on stopping people hearing their music. I have no idea of what the percentage of people who would decide not to buy your record after it leaked would be. If you are making something that you really believe in, then you have a choice of a lot more people hearing it and falling in love with the band (when it happens). Anyway, most people really want something a little more substantial than ones and zeroes on a hard drive."

Noah Lennox on the next Animal Collective leaking in part-
"The only thing we’re really upset about with the leak is that it’s only parts of it. I think there are six songs out there now. People aren’t even able to get the full experience of the album, which bums us all out quite a bit. So if you’re listening leakers (speaking directly into the tape recorder), put up those other three songs, man, pronto."

So there you have it. "Leaking" is inevitable and downloading is here to stay. I think the idea of sharing music is great. But the idea of just downloading all your music and never paying a cent for it just has to be wrong. Please continue to buy music and preferably full albums. Listen to a whole album front to back the way the artist intended it to be heard and if you can afford it, search for more and go and see it in the live arena.

Anyway you might have known by now that the new Okkervil River has leaked and it is truly special. I was surprised at first that the band didn't include "The President's Dead" and "Love to a Monster", two amazing songs that could easily have made their way onto the "The Stage Names". But I am sure Will Sheff had an exact way he wanted this album to sound. It seems to me that he has left behind (maybe briefly) the vein popping emotional train wrecks that dotted the "Black Sheep Boy" sessions. The songs seems to be either insanely catchy up tempo numbers like "Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe" or "Unless It's Kicks" (this song totally rocks) or beautiful, touching songs like "Savannah Smiles", "Plus Ones" or "Title Track" (could be my favourite track). And the closer "John Allyn Smith Sails" is next to perfect as it segues into "Sloop John B". Just deliriously good. I have no intention of posting any songs except the one already approved by the label. Just trust me, come August 7 buy this album. I definitely will be.

Here are the opening verses from "Plus Ones" to give you a taste-
No one wants to hear about your 97th tear
So dry your eyes or let it go uncried, my dear
I am all out of love to mouth and to your ear
And not above letting a love song disappear before it's written

And no one wants a tune about the 100th left balloon
that was seen shooting from the window of your room
To be a spot against the sky's colossal gloom
And land deflated in some neighbor's state that's strewn with 99 others

MP3: Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe