Malk Sales Slump?

[Craig]

I spoke to someone today (claiming to be in the know) who said that said that Pig Lib has been a sales disaster. I remember some early positive Matador satements about Pig Lib sales. Is there really cause for concern?

[johansen smith]

I believe it debuted at like #97 on the Billboard... so I'd say your friend is full of something, but it ain't inside-knowledge.

[Patrick]

God, I hate discussions like these on the BB. Guys, the album has only been out for 3 months. That's nothing in Matador time - we work on records for up to a year (think Interpol) and often longer.

"Pig Lib" is not necessarily, shooting out of the box like "Stephen Malkmus" did, but neither is it an immediately-accessible pop record with a pretty picture on the cover. To my mind, it's an album with a lot more depth and interest, and people are discovering it more slowly but ultimately liking it more.

Tons of stuff planned for the Jicks through the Radiohead tour and subsequent dates. "Sales disaster" my ass!

Patrick

[Fatah Ruark]

I bet sales pick up in August and September. Just a feeling. Can't say why...

MIKE B

[Craig]

Patrick - thanks for the response. I'm sorry about the annoying question. Hopefully this summer some Radiohead fans will be converted. I think Pig Lib is major step forward from his solo debut, so it would be a shame if less people heard the new record.

[Patrick]

Didn't mean to be touchy - this stupid industry is so numbers-driven sometimes that folks can't see the big picture, and that frustrates me. We and Stephen will be very happy with the way this record goes.

Patrick

[chabysinisterra]

this may strike one as a similarly annoying observation but...

it seems that there has been less press on mr. malkmus. of course, with his debut, the obvious slant was there for all the lazy music journalists: first post-pavement record by pavement ringleader.

now i could be totally off base (and this is based solely on my barnes & noble browsing) but i haven't seen many articles/interviews with malkmus. i've read a lot of reviews, but, say, magnet has yet to run a little expose on the current state of malkmus. as far as i know, not many magazines have.... why so few articles and interviews? is this to be expected given all the amount of press heaped upon his debut?

just wondering; not meaning to annoy matador's publicity dept.

[Patrick]

Tends to be that way, sadly, in the magazine biz... huge ton of articles, features and interviews on one record, then the editors say, "Oh, we covered him last time" and schedule your album for just reviews the next time out. Unless there's an obvious gimmick or angle to grab on to.

And being brilliant or producing a fantastic album is NOT enough.

That said, we did have a bunch of features this time out... just not saturation like last time.

Patrick

[Fatah Ruark]

Now that I think about it (and Patrick commented about it). I don't give a rats ass how many albums SM sells. Just as long as he makes a comfortable living and is happy. I know his music makes me happy. It's all about the music. I'm sure that 99.9% of the people here know that large # of albums sales does not = good music. That's all I care about...good music. SM has yet to let me down. Yes some albums were better than others, but I know of only one band that never had a "not great" album. SM's come pretty damn close IMO.

MIKE B

PS. It's the Beatles.

[newspearmint]

1% of 1 people do care. and they are idiots. malkmus is the man.

[t.d.]

Heck yeah it's the Beatles!!!!!!!!

[gee beer vee]

David Lee Roth sold fewer with Skyscraper than Eat Em & Smile, though we should agree the former was the better album.

It was fresh post-VH days that spawned EE&S's huge success.

I was pleasantly shocked when I saw where Pig Lib debuted. In a good way. The album just isn't as first-time-friendly as the debut (aka it's better).

"God only knows, and he ain't talkin' . . . "