Music, when left purely in the hands of the artist, is such a wonderful thing to me. I LOVED the reaction everyone had to "Triage", because it sounded so much like David being David, saying exactly what he wanted to say, excorsizing demons and spitting in the face of the very machine that helped him obtain his fame. "Bedtime Stories" was a great album, but you could tell it was a record companys' album; "Stranger" and "Sirens in the City" were the only two songs that I can recall hitting on the angst that David truly felt, and I thought it was courageous (and unbelievable) that A&M even released "Triage". The album cover art and everything else inside of it said, "Hey fuckers, here's the real me, here's what I really think, and I'm gonna sing about everything that is the truth as I see it from now on, no matter how twisted or paranoid it might sound." It's such an honest record, and the reviewers, as I recall, hated it because they felt it was too out there or too reactionary. David fucked with thier heads, and that is about as fun as shit gets in the music world. Too bad that most of them were looking for another David and David record to get the point that this was evolution of the finest kind.
So, after saying all that, my point in my response last night was simply this; I cant even get near to understanding how the process of getting and retaining a record contract might work. I imagine it can be full of bullshit underhandedness and a lot of insincerity and mistrust on both sides, and if Davids work is continuing to evolve, I can see how these candy asses would'nt want to touch him unless he somehow conformed to thier ideas of the kind of "artist" he should be. But shit, somehow, "Triage" got released. Unless it was the last record obligated to fulfill his contract and A&M said, "Adios freak!" after that, I don't understand why it took 8 fucking years for another batch of material! Am I being greedy or self serving in expecting a relatively timely release from an artist that is so rare among the tripe out there? Am I being naive' by not believing that NOBODY would sign David AND let him stay true to his craft? Maybe he was caught in contract purgatory, like XTC was for a few years. I DON'T KNOW! All I know is that I've gotta jump through a bunch of hoops to get a CD I'm sure is phenomenal, but from the pattern of other posts here, it sounds like I may not even get a chance to get the damn thing because of lack of availability, and that just sucks. Please correct me if I am wrong on any of this. David, MAKE, FORCE and CAJOLE these fuckers into giving you a contract you can feel free in so that your shit gets out there to people who otherwise would'nt hear it or can't get it. The great thing about the mass market is that I get to see your face at record stores, and so do alot of other people. I know fame is'nt your goal, but more folks deserve to hear your stuff, and you deserve to be part of the ever struggling movement of good true music that wise record companies bend over backwards to sell. Maybe that all sounds like bullshit, but it's how I see it.