Various Artists, Music for Moving Images

Can you believe all the amazing bands these two little labels have? I mean, just on this comp alone you can find: Antony and the Johnsons, Danielson, Okkervil River, Magnolia Electric Co., Jens Lekman, and Black Mountain. These two little labels are turning into the Sub Pop of new Americana indie-rock.

But let me ask you a question: if you were to buy a label comp, in this iTunes day and age, what would you want on it? Maybe it’s just personal preference, but I would not be too stoked to put money down for Jagjaguwar and Secretly Canadian’s Greatest Hits; it seems like kind of a lazy idea for a CD. Really, if you’re familiar with these bands, there is virtually nothing here that should interest you beyond what you’ve already heard. For God’s sake, the song “Druganaut” alone is already in Gap ads (okay, not really, but I imagine it will be soon). Maybe this thing was meant to be handed out at festivals or something.

Anyway, here’s what they should have done: have the bands on the one label cover the bands from the other label. Or hey, make it all B-sides and rarities or something. Otherwise, buying this CD is on par with buying your team’s championship video from Sports Illustrated when you already have it on Tivo at home.