maybe not, but i do believe some of this has been taken WAY too seriously, and that’s NOT the new london i know. pardon my language, but anyone who’s really from new london doesn’t give a fuck. we were simply just bred that way.

so lets take it easy, friends. after all, it’s just music. and who doesn’t love music? i do!
the more, the merrier.

Anyway, this whole exchange has been fun to watch much like a car crash is fun to watch. Keep it up! It can’t be dead yet! Let’s get some more anonymous New Londonites to vent their private frustrations on a frickin’ record label forum!

yours,
Dave Freeburg

It’s obvious to me that this record release was, for some reason, also intended as a smackdown. I decided to reserve my judgment, but my first reaction to all this was, “Why on Earth is Yo La Tengo peeing in my pool?” Now after hearing the condo fux clear the air on WCNI (no-show) I am fairly certain that my original intuition was correct, and I frankly couldn’t care less if they decide to go to a kickball game in Noank. I think they have made their point loud and clear.

I would like to congratulate Conversion Party for finding a way to wag the dog. I thought it was all pretty damn funny. Mako is right–You guys got a raw deal from your compadres. This truly is a fine band, and I don’t give a rat’s ass if they were journalist-frat boys, any more than I care if my garbage man is a scientologist . . . He does a damn fine job of picking up the garbage. I don’t have to deal with the finer points of his philosophy unless they interfere with picking up the trash. By the same token, it doesn’t matter where whomever in New London at any given moment is originally from. Half the damn people in this blog (whom I could identify) are from surrounding towns. New London is just shorthand because it is also the name of the county. (Glad I could clear that up for you all.)

Now I’m going to explain this to the rest of you once, ye trashers of fellow local music folk. Getting Matador’s attention is about as useless as getting the New London Day’s (local newspaper) attention. A record label is a round piece of sticky paper that you can affix to a CDR to identify it from all the bootlegged burns in your collection. Matador has nothing you can’t get by yourselves. It costs almost nothing to join ASCAP. You can make your records yourself (most indie Labels don’t even have their own studios anyway). You can do your cover art on the computer, you can get them mass-produced yourselves and Amazon.com will distribute literally anything that sells. So how do you sell it? It’s becoming more and more apparent that nobody knows how to market music better than the bands who make it. So pull a few stunts like the one that Clark and his boys pulled here and hope the tunes are good enough to keep the attention that they draw.

The very word “Matador” smacks of cowardice–A man who ritually kills an animal he wouldn’t go near if it were allowed into the ring healthy and strong. Do you really want that on your record? I have more respect for rodeo clowns.

If living within the city limits is the criteria for being a New London band, than, I’m afraid you might be out some bands, my dear. Having residency be the standard of membership in the New London club eliminates just about every band that reps New London, including the flagships, Fatal Film and The Reducers, since some of their members *gasp* live in other zip codes.

The one thing I can guarantee you, little miss Penny, is this: none of the Condo Fucks list New London as their home address, so, really, again, tremendous job by you for sticking up for the little guy and teaching us all how to take a joke.

Whatever you may think of our little stunt, at least you know our names, which is more than we can say for you. Your indefatigable civic pride is a shining example to all of us.

So, anyway, if you don’t mind my saying, you can go fuck yourself, too. Whoever you are.

Signed,
Matt Clark

No one is disputing the wealth of New London’s creative culture—there’s impressive talent and a sense pride and ownership over place, but also a humble, inclusive attitude that is NL’s signature.

Isn’t the community of artists and musicians in New London more supportive than this? What makes the NL scene great is it’s people—the sum is greater than it’s parts. Some of the comments on this blog make me think otherwise.