Did they send them all in the same package? Or each separately to individuals? Because the latter approach makes some sense (I probably should've done that, in retrospect), but sending six to one address seems just silly.

they all came in separate packages over the last three weeks or so. i refuse to listen out of principle.

Are they even a local band?

Ouch! The only reason I make sure most of you have our new releases is because each writer there has so much diverse expertise and in case someone in particular may want to take up the cause ... I actually thought it was our responsibility to keep you all tied in, as so many of you are so good at what you do (and some may blog and write for other markets). Oddly, I am conscious of this problem with other mags and alt-weeklies, only sending releases to writers and often editors, but for some reason though the Stranger was an exception, due to your own heightened collective creativity (i.e., you only have your sweet ass selves to blame).

XOXO

I have to agree with Chris here. Next time I put out a record, I would assume the smart thing to do would be to send copies to JZ, Megan, Eric, Kurt, Sam Mickens, Barbara Mitchell . . . oh crap, that's six! Just sayin'.

That's true, and I think it's fine to send separate copies addressed to separate people here, but again that should be maybe three (I don't think Mickens gets his mail here). But six people aren't going to review your CD, and it's not like it's impossible to pass a CD around anyway. That said, Light in the Attic should please keep sending me shit!

This seems so petty.

No, I don't think it's petty, as I do follow this rule with other publications.

But I am not just blowing smoke up The Stranger's ass ... basically, I can envision Jonathan handling Betty, Eric doing The Saturday Knights, Kurt covering Karen Dalton or Nicole Willis, etc. and then all of you trading off -- you're all too versatile and passionate and it's worth the gamble from us.

Feel free to rip shit for each other but when Ari pumps our discs on the Slog I want her to be tied in. (For example, the Betty post below.) It's the least that I can do.

I know this otherwise spot-on rant probably didn't have much to do with LITA but I doubt any of you get paid very much and you might as well go home with something sweet.

I have thought about cutting off Mudede, for example, but I remember that great article he wrote on LITA back in the day and can't imagine him without some Betty action.)

" ...JZ, Megan, Eric, Kurt, Sam Mickens, Barbara Mitchell ..."

And I don't think I send these folks anything! (At least not per The Stranger.) Where does it begin and where does it end?

But back to the original emphasis: If I receive more than one copy of anything personally as an occasional freelancer, I do think people are wasting money and being overbearing. So in the long run Eric has a great point.

I dunno, it seems churlish to scold someone for lavishing music on you--especially if it's coming from the good folks at LITA. Nothing wrong with a label wanting a lot of people at one publication to hear its output. I'm sure Chris knows not everyone who receives the disc is going to write about it during this news cycle, but maybe they'll get an assignment on this artist later and, hey, that generous cat at LITA has made their job a bit easier.

if you don't want the cds, why don't you give em away to people who have cd players. or sell them to everyday music.

Good suggestion #10- or just put the cds in a box on the sidewalk. I'll be hitting the thrift stores today, so maybe set them near Value Village.

@10: Pawning CDs meant for review = Shitty and unethical.

How many times have bands heard from writers, dj's, etc. in their handy 'tips for sending promo packs' that they should make it easy for the reviewer?? Remove the shrink wrap.. put a sticker on the damn thing to suggest a couple tracks to focus on (because you're busy people, and might not give the record a complete listen). Provide a one-sheet, so you know a little bit about what you're getting. Etc, etc... Why would a band or label sending CDs to the Stranger *assume* that whomever receives their CD is going to pass it around the office?? Ridiculous. Yes, it's wasteful to send several. So is a major radio push where bands send to literally hundreds of stations, many of which will never even listen, much less play the thing. It's part of the deal. Honestly, you guys come up with more ways to spend time picking on bands you have no intention of writing about.

Amen to the last sentence in the last comment.

You guys spend a lot of time on this blog being mean, insular, scenester jerkoffs.

There are certainly more than six people posting on this music blog. Maybe the people who send you CDs aren't aware of the ins and outs of the weekly newspaper world--they see a bunch of names, aren't sure who works in or out of the office, and want to make sure you guys have enough CDs to go around.

Hell, the DJs at KEXP actually tell you to send them each one personally. So go figure, maybe somebody assumed that papers work the same way.

Come on. Making music's a labor of love. Reviewing it should be, too. Try not hating your job so much.

It’s very reassuring to see all the decent, musician-friendly people responding to Eric’s blog. I’m a local musician and I know that the CD that inspired this blog (Aja West’s “Total Recall 2012”) is also by a local musician. It features contributions from numerous local musicians, including Reggie Watts, Skerik, and Darrius Willrich among others.

For me, this illustrates how unsupportive The Stranger music reviewers can be of the local music community. The fact that Eric Grandy and Jonathan Zwickel refuse to even listen to a local production because they received a few too many free copies is without a doubt petty and disrespectful.

I’ve always sent copies of my releases to numerous Stranger writers (got a nice review one time from Dave Segal). Making an album requires a lot of time, passion, and hard work and personally, I’m excited to share my releases with the writers I’ve become familiar with as a Stranger reader. I assumed that meant sending copies to those writers. Now I know not to send individual copies. There probably was a less negative way to make this clear though.

This makes me really appreciate Seattle Sound, a magazine that seems to be doing everything they can to support local music, without the unconstructive negativity often seen in The Stranger.

If “Seattle’s Only Newspaper” receiving six free copies of the same CD by a Seattle band is what you view as “needless bombardment”, you’d be wise to open your eyes a little wider Eric DJ Fucking In The Streets. And Zwickel, who refuses to listen “out of principle”, damn, aren’t there better principles worth standing for? There is obviously a lot of fucked up shit going on in the world and the least the Seattle music community can do is support each other.

If anyone is interested in supporting local funk, jazz and soul music (or want to check out “Total Recall 2012”), visit www.mackrosoft.com.

Peace and love.

Hell, it makes me appreciate the Weekly more and more... Hannah Levin is probably the best music writer (or at least the most balanced) at either paper. Dunno why the Stranger let her go. The perceived gap in legitimacy or coolness or whateverthehell between the two weekly papers is shrinking fast, at least as far as I'm concerned. Are you listening Dan?

damn, these are the sorts of clowns writing reviews for the stranger? what an insult to our community. i’m one of the musicians who play on this album. you’re gonna disregard all the time and passion that we put into this project because the label sent you six copies? reggie watts is the lead vocalist and you’re gonna ignore everything he’s singing about cause some pr firm sent the staff of “seattle’s only newspaper” six copies? i’m also a professional journalist and can say that what you guys are ranting about is so insignificant. zwickel won’t listen to a local release out of principle? what about supporting local music, isn’t that a decent principle? i’m not saying you gotta review anything, but as a journalist, you are at least are obligated to listen to the music that your community is making. there is no room in either our music or journalism communities for pricks like you guys. hopefully the powers that be at the stranger will wise up and cut out this fat.

I agree with a lot of what you guys are saying, but don't even get started on Seattle Sound. Yeesh.

settle down people. please dont start w the "not supporting local music" gripe--if you actually check out the paper/blog youll see that, day to day and issue to issue, a majority of our coverage is devoted to local stuff. in the three months ive been here weve given all sorts of love to reggie and skerik and other local heroes. you gotta read the stranger before you start taking shots at it.

after being in this game for a few years ive developed an insight: the more copies of a cd a band or publicist bombards me w, the worse the music on said cd is. without fail.

we get a hundred albums a week at this office. even with a staff of three, it is physically impossible to listen to every one--i mean actually LISTEN--and do the rest of the work were required to do for the paper while living semi-normal lives. like all other human beings, we here have preferences; the stuff we WANT to listen to will always come first. i agree that, ideally, theres a certain obligation to check out every damn thing were sent, but again, thats impossible, and again, seeing six copies of a particular album come across my desk in a matter of weeks indicates its not gonna be great.

so now what? we listen to the cd and tell you its nothing to write home about? we prove our prediction correct and then you call us assholes all over again?

much respect to reggie and aja and all musicians out there--we wouldnt be here without you--but dont send us anything with expectations attached. even though youre local, youre gonna be held against the same standards as the rest of the country--maybe even higher--bc we take what we do seriously.

if youre a local artist and you really want me to listen to your album, come into the office and give it to me. call me. suggest to me that theres more personality/humanity behind it than just the album itself. sending multiple copies does the opposite.

I guess I'm still unclear on exactly what happened. You said they sent them all separately; does that mean they were addressed to different people, or they just kept sending separate copies to straight to you? Or did they just say "The Stranger," or what? The first approach still seems perfectly reasonable to me; the other two are a bit ill-advised, and I would probably have a similar reaction (maybe not "I'm not listening to that out of principle," but perhaps "man, I'm sick of looking at that thing. I'm not listening to it any time soon.")

I'm curious about the effect this open invitation to bands to drop by your office will have, too . . .

"so now what? we listen to the cd and tell you its nothing to write home about? we prove our prediction correct and then you call us assholes all over again?"

Translation: we're right, and you're wrong, but if I listen to this CD I'll prove I'm right, but you'll hate me anyway.

Man, you can't catch a break.

No one's bitching about a bad review of a CD you actually checked out. More like, why do we have to hear you trash things you're not even gonna listen to?? I don't think anyone really expects you guys to listen to everything that crosses your desk. And I for one don't see it as an issue of whether or not you guys cover the local bands - you clearly do. Nor are you expected to coddle the locals. Megan pans a band in today's line out, but she actually went to see them, and gives some justification for why she didn't like 'em. That's all good..

The real issue here: Think before you blog; don't look like an ass. I'm not so naive as to think that you're the only music writers in the world who make fun of bands for the way their promo photo looks, or how crappy their music sounds, or how many damn cd's they send you. But your blog is read by people who give a shit, and obviously by more than a couple musicians. You undermine your cred by even *appearing* to be petty, or arrogant - here was another example:
http://lineout.thestranger.com/2007/03/overheard_in_the_office

Just keep that shit in the office, have a good chuckle, and then write about whatever catches your ear for whatever reason. Rolling Stone has a blog too, but you don't see this stuff in there. There are plenty of lousy/stupid/naive bands out there.. I bet every musician in this conversataion (in this town..) has poked fun at another band they've shared the stage with. But it's the ones who do it publicly, or in an interview, that make themslelves look like asses.

at least the stranger writers are being honest about what they want- now there won't be as much guesswork. i love it when people get mad at the stranger for being transparent. what, would you rather not know the truth?

if you are basically soliciting a paper for a spot to shine, AND you want to impose your own ethics on how they decide whether or not to do that, you are trying to be the boss. and you are not the boss.

the stranger is clearly an outlet that embraces its own subjectivity and calls attention to its own biases. that's why seling tells people she likes jawbreaker. it's a helpful hint.

call stranger writers catty, jaded hipsters all you want, but at least they are aware of and openly advertise their prejudices.

play the game. don't hate the player.

rick @21--thats a totally lucid and fair comment. im sure youve read enough of this blog to know that were not trying to be rolling stone over here. were not TRYING to be anything other than sincere and passionate and professional and entertaining and enlightening. its a lot of work. sometimes that leads to frustration over something as seemingly innocuous as getting six copies of the same cd.

but please note that were not making fun of aja west or dissing the music.

and of course, in light of this whole conversation, i listened to it (so much for principles). at first blush its really, really OK, but it has piqued my interest. i dug out the one sheet; the lineup includes not just reggie and skerik but fred wesley and mike clark and money mark. this is, to be honest, the kind of stuff im usually into and ill probably give it a closer listen. so look! it all worked out in the end.

except @22, im neither catty nor jaded and i dont think id be mistaken for a hipster.

jz - you may not be catty or jaded or a hipster but you sure sound like a lil' frickin' bitch...

...jus' sayin' (objectively, for your own good)

p.s. - i'd shut er down before ya end up gaggin' on an extra foot in yer mouth (someone else's)

@24, thanks for adding to the conversation.

Bummer for them. Because as everyone knows, getting a review in the Stranger can really make or break a band. That's right: you're that important.

hey folks. this is cheeba, brother of aja west. i help manage the mackrosoft label with aja and felt like i should say a little something about this special attention we’re getting.

levislade, to answer your question, we mailed six CDs to six different/specific writers for the stranger. most of them were writers that we are familiar with and a couple were recommended by our publicist. it was not our intent to bombard or annoy anyone with multiple copies. we simply wanted specific writers to have the opportunity to check out what we’re up to. we didn’t know about their itunes network or that these writers preferred to pass around one copy. we certainly weren’t aware that we were pissing people off.

of course we never expect a review, good or bad. being ignored and receiving negative reviews certainly comes with the territory. getting publicly dissed for mailing our album to six different people was a little surprising though.

jonathan, for the record, exactly how many copies of a release should a label send to the stranger? just one addressed to you? and would you seriously prefer that local artists hand deliver their releases to your office? thanks for the clarification. and thanks for loosening up on your principles and listening to our latest offering.

At the very least, this entire chain was entertaining. Good for a chuckle or two. I just wanted to say thanks to the Mackrosoft guys for the CDs. Five of them. For one writer. Albeit five different ones. And the little handwritten notes. I appreciate it. I might not get to write about each and every artist I get a CD from, but personally, I like the reminder here or there, so if I didn't check it out the first release, I might give the second one a chance.

Reading your Slog entry, one can just imagine you two as bloated, cigar-chomping, limo-rats, harrumphing over your own self-importance. You just became everything Rolling Stone stands for. Except on a Stranger salary (that's hardly enough to keep you in Sansa-belts, is it?)

There is a reason people don't read this blog as often as the Slog. Fuck this entire, third rate, weekly paper is full of a bunch of self important asswipes.