We kindly welcomes Chicago's Office as guest bloggers to Product Shop NYC. In 2007, they released the impressive "A Night at the Ritz" on Scratchie Records. While "A Night at the Ritz" was Office's first proper album, it followed four self-semi-released albums that got the band a lot of love in the second city.

Scott Masson of Office writes "A Little Bit of Oldschool, A Little Bit of Newschool, and The Death of Cool"..........

During the 60s, bands would often release 2 albums per year, along with multiple singles (45 rpm records) in-between their full-length efforts. They had radio shows to perform at, TV spots, interviews with magazines, newspapers, grueling tours, etc. These were also the days before "convenient" digital software for musicians and listeners, world-wide piracy, internet promotional campaigns, as well as the notion of being able to record on more than 4 tracks in the studio at the same time. Recordings were done on magnetic tape reels, and mistakes were often repaired by either playing it again from the top, or with scissors and a tape-splicing device. Or, better yet, the producer left the mistakes in to remind the audience that it was, in fact, a human performance. Usually, the recording process required musicians playing together in one room, over and over again, until the right "take" was captured. The idea of musicians and producers being able to record huge, high-quality productions in the comfort of their own homes was still virtually unheard of yet.

With that being said, I often find myself wondering: What went wrong after this era? Why does music sound harsh, even though I can hear it clearer? Even with all of these new modern-day inventions and advantages, why do good artists take even longer in-between their releases? Are artists just lazier now? Is it their fault, or is it the way the industry is working? Why has the quality of song writing gone downhill in pop music? Are things getting too chaotic for us? Why are there so many bands out there right now? Why do so many of them look and sound the same......even in the underground? With all of these so-called technological advantages, why does every great artist I know feel like they were born in the wrong era, especially after their computer or hard-drive crashes?

I could write a dissertation trying answer these questions, but I must refrain during this assignment.

In a digital age where prolific artists are finding themselves in the ironic predicament of not being able to release their music quickly enough, I feel we must look to the past and future simultaneously to address a lot of these questions, re-assess our musical purpose, maintain our artistic control, create a better business strategy, develop more hybrid techniques, encourage better songs and production, encourage better communication, and get sounds into circulation upon their completion, so listeners can experience music's development and relevancy firsthand as it goes.

We discover, however, that a lot of major label bands and labels are too busy studying haircut styles and marketing trends these days, rather than focussing on the power of a good record. Indie bands and taste-makers fear a decent melody because they somehow mean "commercialism", which goes against everything that's "cool". As a result, originality is thrown out the window, money that could've been spent elsewhere is being spent on a lot of future failures, paranoia in the business runs amok, and some boyish-looking man with face plugs, frosted tips, and a fashion line becomes the poster child for musical achievement.

Most of us in this band are vinyl hounds, or analog freaks, and we don't really like to think about the stuff above, but we have to be aware of its existence. We came up with an idea recently, and pitched it to our label, Scratchie / New Line, and they agreed to let us try it out. The idea of hybrid communication has always interested us. We love the combinations of analog tape or vinyl, and the convenience of the digital realm. There was a decision to apply the same approach to how we release our music for awhile. Every three months until we record our next album, OFFICE will release a limited edition 45 rpm record containing both an A-side "single", and a B-side support track. Two weeks later, it will be released digitally. What this accomplishes: 1) It satisfies our thirst for creativity. 2) Allows us to stay actively involved with our listeners in-between full-length releases. 3) It helps us pay off our debts. 4) It helps keep momentum going within our group. 5) Keeps us from getting lazy in-between touring. 6) Allows us to share music directly with our listeners the moment it's completed, for relevancy purposes.

Digi-vinyl is the future.

S. Masson