Arrows Of Desire Stream

[joeposh]

It's live on CBC: http://music.cbc.ca/...ts/Matthew-Good

 

Checked out of curiosity and it seems they put it up early. Listening to "So Close" as we speak!

 

Wow, Mutineer pinned my ears back. Can't wait to hear this one in full quality.

Edited September 17, 2013 by joeposh

[IamNick]

I know I'm completely biased, but it baffles me how this is matt's 10th album, and it still kicks so much ass when so many musicians can't follow up after their first album.

[mgb4life2]

The album overall is great but Garden of Knives and Mutineering might be the best one/two punch EVER from all of his work. Unbelievable songs!!! I can't wait for my CD and Vinyl to get here!!!

[Guest Bimbly]

the pitchy siren-esque sound in mutineering is awesome. so is the ending to garden of knives. my favourite is still hey hell heaven.

Edited September 17, 2013 by Bimbly

[Young Grasshopper]

So far my favorites are Mutineering and Hey Hell Heaven... but it's still early.

 

This music is gonna make for a kick ass show when I go to the hall Nov 1st.

Edited September 17, 2013 by Young Grasshopper

[joeposh]

So far my favorites are Mutineer and Hey, Hell Heaven... but it's still early.

 

This music is gonna make for a kick ass show when I go to MH Nov 1st.

 

The transition between those two songs is so perfect. Generally speaking, this album seems to flow extremely well thus far.

[thewickernightmare]

LOVE Letters In Wartime

[MS_DOS]

Dammit! All this does is make me want the album to come out sooner! Great album, and as with most of Matt's work it will go generally unapprecriated by the masses.

[Young Grasshopper]

it's a great album and a fantastic chapter to the MG universe. It's the first album where I didn't feel like skipping a song to get to the next one. A more than worthy collection for a great rock show.... congrats Matthew and company.

 

PS: It feels like a fuck you guilt trip to the casual fans and DJs who ripped into LOES... lol.

[joeposh]

it's a great album and a fantastic chapter to the MG universe. It's the first album where I didn't feel like skipping a song to get to the next one. A more than worthy collection for a great rock show.... congrats Matthew and company.

 

That's what struck me as well. Every Matt Good solo album has had a few reaches that don't quite mesh or hit the mark, and ultimately hamper the flow of the overall album -- this might be the first to avoid that trap. It's a tight, cohesive record that leaves you wanting more. A rare and admirable feat in the itunes age where every additional track is a potential source of revenue.

[MS_DOS]

Deezer.com is also streaming the album, quality is MUCH better than the CBC stream http://www.deezer.com/en/album/6905077

 

Only caveat, you need to sign up for the site, otherwise you're limited to 30s of the song. Free for the first 15 days though (which is fine, only need it to listen to the album), but the nice thing is if you install the Deezer app on your phone/ipod/tablet you can sync the album for offline play!

 

EDIT: Official links are up on Matt's site http://matthewgood.org/news/2013/9/17/arrows-of-desire-full-album-stream

Edited September 17, 2013 by MS_DOS

[IamNick]

LOVE Letters In Wartime

 

Yeah his voice is great in that song. So much good music here, I initially thought Via Dolorosa would be my favourite track on the album, but Letters In Wartime is making a really strong case now.

[RileyLewis]

The entire album is great. He's knocked it out of the park with this one, his best album in years, perhaps ever (it will take a few months of listening to decide that subjectively!).

[Outtahere]

Looking forward to getting the lyrics (hoping they'll be printed in the inlet and/or posted soon on mg.org)

 

It's a great album. A good mix of every rock aimed songs Matt's done. But there's a finish that I just love. The instrumentation of Guns of Carolina is magnificient (for a song I didn't really like when I heard the acoustic version).

 

I can't really get my head around parts of Via Dolorosa and So Close. They're a little all over the place. I'll have to listen to them more (which is sometimes needed).

 

Garden of Knives I think is one of my favourite songs from MG ever and Mutineering close second to being my favourite song off the record, tied with Guns of Carolina.

 

We're long gone is great and Letters in wartime and Hey Hell Heaven are pretty good too.

 

Arrows of Desire is interesting. The sound of the guitar, the way the bass and the drums are mixed. I quite enjoy it.

 

Had it coming is ok but I liked it a lot at first. It'll take a little time before it blends in with the rest of the album for my ears (which is a reason I don't buy singles. I like whole albums)

[RileyLewis]

I agree that Garden of Knives fits in with the best MG songs, it's very very strong. I think right now that Via Dolorosa is my 2nd favourite. I like Hey Hell Heaven but as I've said before, I actually think the pre-chorus in the first part of the song is even stronger than the chorus itself. Might have to do some audio editing and remixing once the CD comes out...get a remix for my own use! A great song, regardless.

 

Had It Coming definitely sticks out in terms of not being the same as the others, but it's still a good song. And the one thing it has done is get Matt noticed on radio, I've heard it a lot in Regina and a few people have mentioned it to me that they like it, and that it's different from what it out there right now.

 

I still need to give the 3 newest songs some good listening-to before I can comment on them, but I really like the sound of So Close.

[Young Grasshopper]

The entire album is great. He's knocked it out of the park with this one, his best album in years, perhaps ever (it will take a few months of listening to decide that subjectively!).

 

For me, the best way to test new music (especially MG) is to have it in the back ground while doing something else. If I focus on it to much. I tend to over or under evaluate the music to my tastes.

Edited September 17, 2013 by Young Grasshopper

[Outtahere]

Matt the one thing I've always loved about your music is that you always try out new things. This is a rock record but not a bland rock record. You have interesting sounds on every track (adding Anthony with all the sound effects was a great thing), the mixing and production are awesome (the way Garden of Knives sounds for example is absolutely sublime). You have different styles as well on the same record. No one can equate the Had It Coming to Garden of Knives of Mutineering, the sound of Hey Hell Heaven to Letters in Wartime and so on. That's something you've always done I think.

 

LOES is a magnificient example of that too. Not too many similarities between, say, Non Populus, Zero Orchestra and How It Goes. That's one of your strenghts.

 

But why do you say "Truth be told, this will be the first record since 1999 to debut outside of the top 5 – and probably outside of the top 10 – which is saying something given how low debut numbers are these days."? How can you tell? Is it a gut feeling of based on pre-sales and such?

Edited September 17, 2013 by Tips

[RileyLewis]

You know the interesting thing is that this is the first place that I come when I want to get solid reactions to something, be it good, bad, or mild. You guys provide some fantastic insights and it’s great reading them. The one specific aspect that is totally refreshing is that, as fans, you place releases within the context of a career as a whole, and believe me, when I release things now the “I’ve been doing this for almost 20 years” thing is a tsunami that I face at almost ever turn. Believe it or not, it’s a massive negative instead of a positive.

 

Truth be told, this will be the first record since 1999 to debut outside of the top 5 – and probably outside of the top 10 – which is saying something given how low debut numbers are these days. The funny thing is that I don’t even care. The industry has changed so much that now the only thing I care about is asses in seats at shows as it’s how I pay my bills and support my family. I basically just wanted to say that you guys are a big part of my faith in how music is viewed, even if by an ever shrinking minority. Thanks.

 

Yeah it's great to have a #3 album that is sweeping the American morning shows and having soccer moms dancing around to it like Blurred Lines, but there's a cost to it in personal integrity. On the other hand...money is great! But if you can find a way to make music you like, and music that keeps fans coming to shows and keeps a reasonable income coming in, then that's a good place to be. A part of everyone wants to receive validation for their work, whether it's popular or critical in nature, but it's also important to decide where you want that validation and impression to come from.

 

As for honesty on this album, I would say the thing that impresses me the most is the polish and mixing. While Vancouver is a great album, as an example, sometimes it felt repetitive in the way that sounds were used, almost as if there were hollow points in some songs, like an extra guitar layer or something was missing. There is none of that here, it feels very rich, if that is the right term to use. Basically, I can already tell that 4 months from now I will find some new sound in a song I never really noticed before. Even though it's a (not-quite-stripped-down) rock album, it has some complexity to it.

 

And I'll be honest, I'm loving that you put out a rock album, with whatever prefix people want to put on, alternative or otherwise. Lights was a good album (and Non Populus is probably one of my favourite pieces of music ever), but there's something about a good driving guitar and loud drums that can't be replaced for me.

 

So basically, tl;dr: Best mixing/polish on any of your CDs, the richness is evident. And these sound like they will be fantastic live. The only downside to having this much good music is that you can't possibly fit enough songs in a show to satisfy us!

 

On that note, have you ever thought of doing a 20-year celebration tour? From what I understand you're not the biggest fan of Our Lady Peace, but what they did a few years ago with their Clumsy/Spiritual Machines Tour was very impressive. They would play an entire older album as the 1st set, and then after a short break come back for a second complete show with a collection of best songs. So 2.5-3 hours in celebration of their older more popular albums plus newer stuff. The big difference with them is that OLP hit their peak (if you like their music) back in the late 90s and hasn't ever really caught any creative spark since then, whereas you continue to do new things and innovate with time.

 

Anyway, I'll be seeing you in Regina with a VIP package, and I look forward to the great show! I might drive up to Saskatoon for another one, too. Whatever I can to help you keep making new pieces of music!

 

For me, the best way to test new music (especially MG) is to have it in the back ground while doing something else. If I focus on it to much. I tend to over or under evaluate the music to my tastes.

 

I as well. One of my jobs is as a dance instructor, and when I drive out to teach schools in small towns I need a few hours of music to listen to, and that's where I break in most new CDs. There's nothing like driving on the highway with good music going.

Edited September 17, 2013 by RileyLewis

[Guest Bimbly]

Matt, i really, really like the pitchy/oscillating sounds that seem to have infiltrated several of the songs on here (so close, mutineering, garden). is that something you'd consciously decided to explore/colour your music with?

Edited September 17, 2013 by Bimbly

[RileyLewis]

Also Matt, do you see the future for musicians making money to be primarily about touring, and not music sales? Obviously musicians only make a fraction of the profits on music sales anyway so it's already effectively the case. But with music being instantly available online for free on torrent sites that anyone under 30-40 can get in 2 minutes, do you see the future as being more about concerts and less about actually trying to sell CDs, and instead about simply promoting the music by any means possible, including piracy?

 

It's hard to predict how industries change, but it does seem the writing is on the wall for the music industry, at least as far as traditional publishing is concerned.

[uglyredhonda]

Also Matt, do you see the future for musicians making money to be primarily about touring, and not music sales? Obviously musicians only make a fraction of the profits on music sales anyway so it's already effectively the case. But with music being instantly available online for free on torrent sites that anyone under 30-40 can get in 2 minutes, do you see the future as being more about concerts and less about actually trying to sell CDs, and instead about simply promoting the music by any means possible, including piracy?

 

Sadly, you could have written that exact post six or eight years ago.

 

Not to derail this thread, but in the modern era, I truly believe that people don't use torrents/pirate sites as often as anyone thinks. If you talk to the average millennial - I doubt any of them could name a piece of torrenting software. The truth is, they're not buying music at all. They listen to Pandora or Spotify. (Unfortunately, those companies pay jack to artists.) However, many of those same people do go to shows, and are willing to give money to the artist if the artist is creative about it.

 

I don't know how any new artist can get started. Music today has to be about the love of it - making real money off of it basically amounts to winning the YouTube lottery. It's starting to feel like the current path is to either sign your career away with a label deal or build a fanbase the old-fashioned way and hit them up with a Kickstarter when you're ready for the next project.

 

Low-level bands do not make money touring. Never have. Fifteen-plus years ago, labels would pay for tours with the expectation that they would make it back on album sales. Not anymore. Today, the label funds their early tours with the expectation of receiving a share of touring and merchandise if/when the band is a success. That never happened fifteen-plus years ago - the labels used to let artists keep everything they made on the road.

 

Established artists have a distinct advantage in everything, too. (Not that it's necessarily easier.) For example, Toad the Wet Sprocket recently did a Kickstarter hoping to get $50k for a new album. They got almost $300k. But a new(er) artist would be lucky to get a couple hundred dollars.

 

But, to me, there's something a little bit sad about artists having to sell meet-and-greets/VIPs to turn a profit. It's completely understandable, and a nice way for fans to have access to the artists they enjoy, plus the additional goodies. But it didn't used to be this way.

 

Publishing as an industry is fine, so long as royalty rates don't decrease under upcoming legislation changes (especially in the States). Also, more and more often, new bands break because they have one song used in a tv show - and many of them receive royalties when the show re-runs.

Edited September 17, 2013 by uglyredhonda

[Outtahere]

Everyone should go listen to the snippets of recording the record on YouTube after hearing the record. It's really interesting to see how it was built especially when you hear what's it's become since the recording of each layer.

[Outtahere]

Thanks for the insight! I look forward to these everytime you release an album since 2001 (with the APA, APH and all the other fan boards you've participated on).

 

You talk about "guitar heads" and "bass heads". Are you taling about the actual head where the string are tied it is it a figure of speech?

 

It's always the artist that gets the least amount of money and that is a bloody shame. My wife is an author and we both know she'll never make a living out of writing. Publishers, distributors and the book store all make a bigger percentage than the author. From what you say, it seems to be the same thing for musicians. Even though, without musicians or authors, there are no music industry or book industry. there's just nothing.

[AnOceanPearl]

Tips, for guitar/bass amplification, there are two pieces of equipment that go into it - the head (or amplifier) where your volume and tone shaping controls are, and the speaker. You can get combo amps that combine these two elements into one package.

 

Here is a picture of a Fender Tonemaster head/speaker set up (Matt sold one of these to user Finboy!)

 

 

And here's an image of a combination bass amp:

 

[joeposh]

The oddest part of that chart projection is that this is easily your most radio friendly album since Avalanche, and perhaps even the MGB era. I think "Had It Coming" set the tone nicely for the album, and spoke to the influences that inspired you to make this record, but is probably the least accessible song for a general audience. If "Arrows of Desire" gets a fair shake at radio, I could see it really turning some heads and getting the album some sales traction.

 

Then again, maybe all of this just speaks to how far rock radio has fallen in the past 5 years. In the US it's hard to even find a station that consistently plays rock music, let alone breaks new songs. I'd imagine it's a similar state of affairs up north.

Edited September 17, 2013 by joeposh