Cheap Thrills (or "is this thing on?")
In 2018, I had a great, dumb idea for a domain name. I knew I wanted to write something about music and books, and that's what I did for a few months until I ran out of steam.
The year is now 2022. I have had at least one good idea since then, and I'm going to try it out until I run out of steam. Maybe this time, I'll have another idea after I get tired of the first one. But first things first. Let's hear that idea.
For the past 10+ years, Bandcamp has been one of my go-to sources for new music. Whether I am checking out a recommendation, scrolling through similar releases, or following up with an artist whose work I already enjoy, I spend a decent amount of time and money on my crippling music addiction, and at least some of the blame falls on Bandcamp. One of the things that drew me to the site was the "pay what you want" model that many artists adopted. For the low, low price of free — or whatever amount I felt was proper — I could download entire albums by up-and-coming artists and do whatever I wanted with the files, no strings attached. It was a pretty (cyber)punk way to release and listen to music, even after Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails released In Rainbows and Ghosts as free downloads after their major label spats.
Like any grad student earning gas money by working part-time at a supermarket, I didn't pay for many of those "pay what you want" albums, which may or may not be ironic based on how you read the first half of this sentence. But over time, as I started my career in teaching and had a few more bucks to spend here and there, I took my semi-regular Bandcamp browsing a bit more seriously. I made an account and started buying albums (a bold choice in the 21st century, I know) out of a moral obligation to support the artists who had brought me so much joy over the years. Sure, my contributions weren't going to pay for anyone's rent, but because Bandcamp had become more important than ever to countless underground/independent musicians and labels, I want to celebrate the continued success of the "pay what you want" model and what it has done to my bank account for my mental well being.
Here's to those Cheap ThrillsTM that have, in some small ways, kept ennui and existential hand-wringing from taking over our lives. Through this ongoing (but probably finite) column, I plan to discuss albums whose low to non-existent asking prices belie the quality of the music. These artists are so passionate about their music that they are willing to offer it to the world free of charge — the least I can do to pay something forward is to share the love, a few paragraphs at a time. I'm not here to tell anyone what music is worth, but these albums will be worth your consideration at the very least.
Warm regards,
Alex