Photo by Kelly Bolter - Instagram
Brett Newski and The Bad Inventions
Brett Newski (right) with Steve Vorass (left) and Sean Anderson (center)
Who decides what music is worth? And who then gets to benefit from such an assessment? At the dawn of the 21st century the digital era was meant to “revolutionize” music, offering new ways for both musicians and fans alike to create and share art. What we got, some 25 years later, is Spotify CEO Daniel Ek earning approximately $345 million a year, while artists on his service make less than a penny per stream. At the same time, algorithms steer listeners in safe and predictable directions, making sure that only a handful of artists truly benefit from these technologies. We were promised democratization; what we got was a long con.
Musicians like Milwaukee-based singer-songwriter Brett Newski are starting to wise up. On their newest album, the aptly titled ameriCONa Pt 1: Educate Freeloaders to Buy Art, Brett Newski & The Bad Inventions take on what Newski describes as “the wild times in American politics and economics.” The act has made the conscious decision to keep the record off streaming services, while encouraging fans to purchase a physical version of the album. An over-reliance on streaming has removed the tactile experience that once went hand-in-hand with purchasing a record: touching the vinyl, reading the lyric sheet, and admiring the cover. Understanding the power of such sensory engagement with a record, Newski notes that the first run of ameriCONa featured one-of-kind hand-painted art. Top that, Spotify.
Such tactics would seem a tad pretentious if ameriCONa did not deliver the goods. Thankfully, the album does not disappoint. It is evident that Newski understands music history, as one hears echoes of Bob Dylan, Jonathan Richman, Alex Chilton, and Tom Petty throughout ameriCONa. There is even a nod to ‘90s-era folk rock, through a surprisingly fun cover of Jewel’s “Who Will Save Your Soul?” Newski’s original compositions are marked a looseness that serves them well; these songs never take themselves too seriously. One hears this most clearly in “Cliché Folk Song,” the album’s closing track that calls out the way the genre of Americana came to “feel homogenized over the past decade.” It is a funny song, one that finds Newski singing that “if you need another white guy/With an acoustic guitar in hand/Here’s another cliché folk song that you probably can’t stand.”
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Newski’s willingness to poke fun at his genre—and at himself —affords the singer-songwriter a sort of attractive vulnerability throughout ameriCONa. The sound of the record only serves to heighten this feeling, as the album sounds anything but slick. Newski notes that the band recorded ameriCONa on an old cassette machine from the early 1990s that he bought for $350. Looking back on the albums that influenced his development as a musician, Newski explains that it is “the human wobbles in the singing, guitar playing, and recording technique that make it magic.” In taking up this approach to recording ameriCONa, Newski, in such standout tracks as “Annie, You’re Going Places” and “Force the World to Contend with You,” captures a sense of intimacy that only makes the album feel even more immediate. “Lo-fidelity or damaged sounding music,” concludes Newski, “has more value now than ever now that A.I. is making perfect plastic songs by the billions.” And that is another way to think about what music is now worth.
Brett Newski & The Bad Inventions will play a record release show for ameriCONa 8 p.m. Friday, May 2 at the Falcon Bowl.
