Band of Horses
Cease to Begin

Sub Pop 2007

By ignore Staff

We liked this album , liked.

But you know what? Band of Horses’ new album does not contain music. Uh-uh. It contains a digital estate auction for high bidders to the sounds of insincere Southern rock. There is something about a band falsely imbued with heartland hospitality and starry eyed struggle—the lead singer has relocated back to his home state of South Carolina from Seattle—shilling their music to promote the lowest of all corporations, Wal-Mart, that is reminiscent of a current, heavily screwed president.

But why should Band of Horses be singled out and tar and feathered for selling their music for corporations’ to promote their products, what with all the music acts lingering unsurely next to dying labels—Sub Pop, Band of Horses’ label is partially owned by Warner Bros—and looking for new income channels? Simply put: Band of Horses’ defense of selling their music to whatever corporation offers them “duckets” is so supremely obnoxious that it is toxic.

“If somebody wants to throw down some duckets for [our songs], then feel free. It also beats the hell out of stealing batteries from Wal-Mart to sell them back for 8 bucks.” –Lead singer Ben Bridwell on Pitchfork

Okay, that is ridiculous but forgivable. A month later, with criticism building over their deal with Wal-Mart, Bridwell has the audacity to defend himself on Brooklyn Vegan by questioning the integrity of all “bloggers.”: “Any (person) with a computer can write a blog. “What do you do for a living. Do you not work?”

It used to be that anyone with a guitar could start a rock band. Moreover, so people who work suddenly have to conduct business deals with Wal-Mart to “get by”? And, apparently, with Microsoft as well as Band of Horses just signed a large deal to allowing their music be used to promote Zune.

Where the fuck do these musicians with weird beards get off these days? We won’t get into Bridwell pissing off the fans that film him at shows—being an asshole and being in a rock band, hey, it happens—but how can anyone listen to the guy’s music and not feel awash in a big lie?

Sure, in a decade or so, people will still be listening to Band of Horses. Black Flag used to denounce everything Led Zeppelin stood for and now the former’s stance is laughable, with so many peoples’ players mixing their tracks together. But where do you draw the line between the modern band that smartly cuts through the chaotic marketplace and the band that mirrors the main character in There Will Be Blood…? When George Clooney stars in films like Michael Clayton that broadly reflect general public sentiment about the rabbit-hole of corporate relations, what does that say about a rock band like Band of Horses? Band of Horses, their fucking name is anti-corporate like a cigarette ad with horses galloping across mountain terrain.

This discourse of Band of Horses' Cease to Begin is written by ignore Staff for ignore Magazine, copyright 2007.