Krup Hearts "...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead"

(via stereogum) ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead frontman Conrad Keely announces the band's departure from Interscope Records:

So as has already been announced, ...Trail of Dead has once again made history, this time being the first band to drop Interscope. OK, we're not the first. Actually, Trent Reznor beat us to it. Let's just say we're the first rock band to do so... this year. Ever since label head Jimmy Iovine started dating the lead singer guy of the Pussycat Dolls it became impossible to get him on the phone, so that was a first bad sign. Then their idea of marketing became keeping it a secret that we'd released a record. The industry is in a strange place these days, and the only way they can make money is to sell urban pop music. Which is what I thought we were writing, but apparently I was wrong.

That's not saying the label didn't do great things for us. At the expense of a massive debt to them of half a million dollars, they really helped us to grow. They've taught us about the worthlessness of A&R people, how to yell at idiots running an art department, and how to shake hands with smiling retailers who have no idea who you are. And I love Jimmy Iovine for having worked with John Lennon and Phil Spector on the Rock and Roll sessions. I mean, that was thirty years ago, and the Rock and Roll sessions sound pretty bad over all, and John Lennon is now dead and Phil Spector has murdered people since then, but hey, that was really cool that Jimmy did that, thirty years ago, back then, and dated Stevie Nicks. He's had a great dating record, he just won't have the next TOD record.

(full rant can be found here)

I've been a big fan of this band for years (twice running they've made my "Number Ones That Never Were" best of the year comps) and I was amazed that their last couple of albums more or less fizzled. Now I know why (and I apologize profusely for calling them a "once-overrated band").

To hear some ...Trail of Dead greatness, click the non-Interscope album above and groove to "Gargoyle Waiting" -- and throw the band some love and help them reduce their debt by buying their CDs or mp3s.

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Ironically, I watched the 4 hour (!) Tom Petty documentary the other night and thoroughly enjoyed Jimmy Iovine's interview bites. He's quite an enthusiastic, humorous fellow (who produced some great albums, including Patti Smith's Easter and Tom Petty's Damn the Torpedoes), but clearly he's also a prick: