Cogs can think.

Shirley Manson, frontwoman of one of my favourite bands (Garbage), has released the first demo of her solo project. You can find it here, titled “In The Snow”.

I’m blown away. A very distinctive sound, but obviously with Manson’s instantly recognisable voice. I love it.

Sadly, her record company, Geffen, has turned down her demoes because they considered it “too noir”. Well, boo-fcuking-hoo, what else did they expect? Have they even listened to Shirley’s work with Garbage and Angelfish? Shirley’s lyrics are always very moody, dark, and depressing. That’s her style, it’s why people like me like her lyrics. They are always complicated, full of layers and deeper meanings. It’s not one-two-pop nonsense, it has never been.

Manson had this to say about it:

I had taken some of my solo music into the record label. They didn’t really care for the direction I was moving in and I found it really disheartening. They wanted a pop hit, which I understand in terms of making money. I get that. But what they were going to ask of me was something I wasn’t prepared to deliver and I felt kind of trapped. I just stopped writing. I just stopped. It was stifling.

Manson and Geffen then decided to part ways, and she’s now working without a record deal. This story bears remarkable resemblance to the Fiona Apple saga with Sony, where Sony also turned down her work because it wasn’t marketable.

This is exactly why I want the big media companies to just fcuk off and die. I don’t care about pricing or other restrictive policies they might enforce - I care about the art, and these media companies are hindering the production of art because they let themselves be guided by dollar signs. For all I care, the media companies charge 40 EUR for each album, I’ll still buy it - as long as they stop hindering the production of art.