John Flansburgh, half of the deliciously quirky rock duo They Might Be Giants, has a new project he wants to introduce you to: the Hello CD of the Month Club. Hello CD is Flansburgh's home-brew answer to Columbia House Records. For 45 bucks a year you'll get 10 modestly packaged, four- to five-song CDs. The artists featured each month include such "alternative" faves as Frank Black, The Residents, and Andy Partridge, plus relative unknowns such as The Nelories and zitherist Brian Dewan.
What was the impetus for starting the club? "I'm basically a workaholic and I needed yet another project on my plate," Flansburgh says wryly. "The club is a songwriters' overachiever magnet. The group is self-selecting for artists who are hyperactive, who have the time and the material to contribute four or five original tunes. Home studio technology makes this possible. The word is starting to get out to more established bands who like the project and want to sign on. Andy Partridge (of XTC) heard one of the CDs and dug it. Now he's going to be doing a recording this year."
The Hello CD club is unmistakably "indie." It has no money for advertising, relying on word of mouth and articles about the project to expand membership (currently about 2,000). There are no distributors, no single-issue sales, and no sampler discs. If you want some of it, you've got to go for all of it. "This ain't for the faint of heart, pal," Flansburgh adds with a chuckle. You can sign up either for the 1993 collection, at US$45, or for 1994 at the same price. You get a CD each month and, of course, a newsletter! "Every record club has got to have a newsletter, right?" Absolutely. And this one spares you phrases like: "Twelve chart-topping sonic assaults from the masters of metal." To join the club, call (800) 435 5641.
ELECTRIC WORD
Indie CD of the Month Club