I happened to tweet (err, microblog!) about Bandcamp just the other night. Thanks to their giving ~80-85% of the revenue to their artists, Bandcamp is the only digital music store that I feel as good about patronizing as I do about buying a band’s CD at their show.
And this Friday (Feb. 3), it gets even better: they’re donating 100% of their share of your purchase to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in opposition to last week’s Executive Order barring immigrants and refugees from seven Middle Eastern countries from entering the United States:
Contrary to the assertions of the current administration, the order will not make us safer (an opinion shared by the State Department and many members of Congress including prominent Republicans). Christian religious leaders have denounced both the ban, as well as the exception prioritizing Christian immigrants, as inhumane. It is an unequivocal moral wrong, a cynical attempt to sow division among the American people, and is in direct opposition to the principles of a country where the tenet of religious freedom is written directly into the Constitution. This is not who we are, and it is not what we believe in. We at Bandcamp oppose the ban wholeheartedly, and extend our support to those whose lives have been upended.
So that’s great: digital music sales and they support the ACLU for a day. But: what to buy?! I love both of these ideas so much, I’ve taken a few minutes to compile a list of some suggestions to show the breadth of the Bandcamp catalog. All of these have either been #musicMonday recommendations in the past year, or were on my Best of 2016 lists (or both). Bandcamp has also had a whole bunch of artists and labels add some or all of their cut from Friday’s sales to the donation; some of these are from that list. In no particular order:
- Jessica Rabbit, by Sleigh Bells
- all the albums by Wussy, ever
- If You See Me Say Yes, by Flock of Dimes
- a whole bunch of (older) albums by The Decemberists
- Eight Houses, by She Keeps Bees
- the entire catalog of Los Campesinos
- Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, by Courtney Barnett
- Arrow, by Heartless Bastards
- The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night, by The Besnard Lakes
- Full of It, by Summer Cannibals
- Over Easy and Swear I’m Good at This (preorder), by Diet Cig
- Up.Rooted, by Gina Chavez
- the entire Kill Rock Stars catalog (Summer Cannibals, Corin Tucker Band, Gossip, Decemberists, even comedians Rhea Butcher and Cameron Esposito, to name a few)
- Rose Mountain and Ugly, by Screaming Females
- Teenage Retirement, by Chumped
- Welcome the Worms, by Bleached
- Torres, by Torres
- case/lang/veirs, by case/lang/veirs
- all the albums by Speedy Ortiz
- Who Killed Amanda Palmer and Theatre Is Evil, by Amanda Palmer
- all the albums by Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings
As you can see, there’s a lot of good stuff there. Check it out, treat yourself and put a little $$ in to #resist at the same time. Win-win, rock on.
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