So I was looking for Ink Compatible lyrics...

[Zivilyn]

When I came upon this nugget on some other messsage board, a reply to somebody who was having the same issue as me-

"ronjarzFebruary 15th, 2005, 12:41 AM
Alright, here's what's up...

We've got a 14 year old kid listening to tech/prog metal, and he obviously got the audio from a friend who copied it, or from somewhere on the net, because he's asking for the lyrics and they are printed all over the CD booklet.

As most of you know, I hate Napster, and all of the internet clones that rip off artists. BUT!!! I'm actually thinking of sending this kid a CD!! Gasp!! Why, because I'm rather disgusted at the state of technical/progressive music these days, and now here's a kid who could listen to whatever he wants to (including rap and hip-hop, and whatever garbage is out there now for kids), and he's choosing some wacky progressive technical music.

There are so many crap keyboard metal bands now that are basically taking over the genre that used to be "progressive metal'. How a 14 year old kid is into music like Spastic Ink I think is a damn good thing. Or hell, maybe I'm just being a pushover??

What do you guys think? Should I send this kid a CD?? Or hell, if he really wants it, he has to buy it, just like everybody else!! Damnit!!

Ron"

Now, I don't want a free CD. But I think it's funny, because I would have never heard this band if not for a file sharing program. I DO intend on buying a CD or two of theirs now that I've heard the material. I first discovered these guys very recently at a Powertab site... I downloaded the Aquanet tab, because I'd heard the name Spastic Ink being thrown around, and I'm always looking for new bands.

I've never been so floored by a midi. Better yet, it had the lyrics, and since I knew the insane concept behind the CD, the lyrics were very interesting to me. Like something I'd write, only better. What sent me on a search for more lyrics was the urge to show a friend of mine how absurdly good these guys were, by giving a sample of the lyrics. If I had found the lyrics, that would have potenitially boosted the number of album sales due to free internet stuff to 3.

I'm not trying to spark a debate, or even a disagreement, I just figured I'd share since some of you may be interested. As I alluded to before, this band has astounded me so far, and I'm itching to go out and BUY Ink Compatible. Not just to read the lyrics. Spastic Ink seems so interesting to me because the music seems very close to something I would create myself if I had the means to do so. Unfortunatly, I don't know how I can get it on a microscopic budget (especially when I should be GIVING until January, according to Jesus).

 

[nicosanchez]

File sharing programs are very useful to discover bands that don't get any airplay in radio stations or TV, just remember this:

"If you like it, you buy it"

If I enjoy more than a 33% of an album, I buy it. If it's really expensive, I raise the bar to a minority-democratic-compatible 49% (unfortunately, almost all the music that I enjoy isn't edited in my country, so I have to deal with expensive imports)

 

[SupersonicRobotic]

i download music here and there... mostly i comb to see if anything is even INTERESTING in the first place... to be honest, most of the time (95% id say) ill look and be like "you know what? i dont even want any of this." if i do download something... im barely entertained recently. is that due to the easy access to it? could be.

or it could be similliar to the post by ron, its mostly 10,000 clones of keyboard/fantasy garbage or metalcore crap (where i use to take part in the scene before any record labels even wanted to touch the crap.) that is rehashed nonsense over and over again sold to a new generation of mall knobs. great, if theyre having fun... not worth my time anymore following or taking part in it.

theres a real lack of maturity in song writing. everythings liquidated, recycled, over-produced and more image than content (or how about a formula to pack as many genres and riffs you can in one song since developing an actual song has become a bore.). quantity over quality is the music industry since its so accessible to be a "musician" these days. i can attest that people i grew up with in hardcore bands who are a laugh at their instrument are currently making MAJOR bucks on a major label (hint: jay-z is the CEO) as part of a marketing strategy to 12 to 20-something turds. one of the musicians who plays bass in this band is so horrible that its almost a crime that they get away with what their doing. good (hey everyone wants to get "paid" right?)? bad (grrr... such a mockery!)? who cares (like usual)?

im looking forward to a few things by musicians i respect to inspire some new flame in metal for me. new Disincarnate for one... whenever that comes out. lots of respect for james murphy, his style and everything hes gone through.

 

[jimbobhickville]

Well, Ron's been pretty clear about his hatred for file sharing for a long time, but I've always maintained that I would've never discovered the band were it not for Napster. I had Death's "Human" for a long time, and I wanted to find more stuff with Sean Reinert, and I found out he was in Aghora using the BNR Metal Pages, so I downloaded them and loved it. Bought that one. Looking more through BNR's site, he kept mentioning Spastic Ink and Watchtower when talking about other bands I liked, so off to Napster. I immediately fell in love with Ink; Tower took quite a few listens to get past the singer.

So, I bought Ink Complete and PHHP!!! as soon as I had the cash. Anyhoo, I can understand the dislike for the file-sharing programs, as there are a lot of people who have completely quit buying any music at all. But, there are so many others who find out about these great underground bands through them, that I can't help but side in favor of them. People will always abuse whatever technology comes out, but that doesn't mean the technology itself is evil. Really, in 10 years, people will look back at our music industry and see how they failed to recognize a paradigm shift and utilize it to its fullest. They won't see a group of evil downloaders ripping off musicians.