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i suppose right now it's my job.

as for how "regular" musicians get by, there are a lot of ways to make cash; teach, play local gigs consistently, doing copy stuff, if you know the right people you can do some writing, etc.

well, bummer.

in that case, do i challenge someone else?

wait what

i definitely get what you're saying, and agree that it's all about your personal goals, but it gets pretty hard to draw the line. thematic costumes themselves don't bug me (the locust, devo, etc), the thing that seems off about IFD's costume gimmick is that it feels like a weird attempt to tie their clothing into a sort of "nerdcore" image, which comes off as forced since their music doesn't really represent that scene beyond having the chip sounds. that part seems like poor branding, i suppose.

as for their interest in chipmusic, i honestly don't think their interest in chip music is much stronger than that of, say, horse the band (which is to say not very much). in both cases they're by no means ignorant of it, and know at least a little bit, even enough to learn some programming! but representing chip music isn't their goal, just representing i fight dragons. their chosen setup is clearly much more gimmicky than simply using a square wave sound on a fucking synth, but they enjoy the sounds, and have found a way to appropriate them in a way they want. on the whole, they won't have people at their shows getting mad because they're "fakebit", we're a pretty select few that know the difference. i honestly don't think it's strictly about marketing for them, they're just not trying to market solely to a chip music audience.

reading everyone's thoughts on "making it" in this thread has been pretty interesting. i agree that any fame you should earn as a musician should come naturally because of your given talent or originality, you won't ever leave your bedroom unless you have something new to offer. true, some musicians don't really aspire to be that kind of big, but everyone who feels they have an original voice wants to be heard and recognized, it's just about to what extent. when i think about my goals as a musician, my ultimate goal has never been to be in some ultimately famous globe-hopping band of millionaires, but rather to be a musician that someone could respect the same way i respect my heroes that informed and changed the way i write and play. everyone is aiming for recognition on some level, whether from their peers alone or from everyone on the globe. to stay on topic with IFD, i think they love making the music they make, and love these chip sounds enough to use them in a capacity they want, so they want recognition from everyone else who loves both those things. doesn't seem unfair to me.

sorry that this turned into a novella.

hah, i would only really consider that to be the case for a huge major label. it's not like someone like suicide squeeze or 8BP is trying to cash in on its artists.

and yeah, you definitely can do all that without a label, but speaking from experience of doing it without a label, it is a truly huge amount of work. consider being a solo artist and doing your own booking, PR, and handling the shipping of all your own merch and records, then add the actual work as a musician of writing, recording, and performing. that ideally should be the whole point of a label: not to cash in, but to get the support you need on the business end so that you can keep your music your primary focus. to bring that radiohead example back, they might not be on a label, but they definitely still have numerous agents and employees who are working directly for them. once you hit a certain point, trying to handle everything yourself becomes an impossible exercise.

super glad that people enjoyed it, i had so much fun making this song/video!

okay, i'm gonna have to put it on mister little-scale. i challenge you to make a minimal techno canon, with at least two buildup sections that will last 16 measures each. think in this vein: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE82i_l3WMU or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUkjnRlQF8o

as for gear, it should be only nes, with any and all expansion chips allowed. external effects and production are good, and will probably be necessary, but strictly nes!
are you in?

austin is going to be very good for fun, and very bad for our bodies. can't wait, y'all!