Dillinger Four Drama!!

(Note: I started writing this for the upcoming "This week in awesome", but upon thinking about it, realized that while it's an interesting series of events, It would be a stretch to say it's "Awesome", much less one of the most awesome things of the week.)

It seems to be about once or twice a year that the collective online punk community throws itself into some sort of tizzy. Rancid signing to Warner Bros on the cusp of releasing their "Indestructible" album in 2003 was one. Ditto when Against Me! did the same thing a couple of years later. Now it seems controversy season is upon us again with the leak of Dillinger Four's loooong awaited new album "C I V I L W A R".

This type of hoopla (especially in the case of major label signings) is generally the result of overzealous fandom that seems synonymous with this type of music. But I felt this one brings about several compelling arguments, in regards to file sharing, journalistic integrity, the increasing level of album leaks and the music industry in general.

The story goes like this: Aaron Hale, an amateur writer from online magazine Racket, was given access to a stream of the album via Racket, by way of the good people at Fat Wreck chords, for the purposes of reviewing the album. Later using the Twinkie defense to cite every reason in the book besides being completely unprofessional (Click here for his barely readable explanation, and keep in mind he's under the impression his writing is up to snuff for a nationally distributed magazine), The album was shared with friends, who shared it with friends, and they told two friends, and they told 2 friends, and so on, and so on, and so on...


Alternative Press editor Scott Heisel got wind of the leak and tried to contain it, which I imagine was like trying to avoid the mess made by a 2 litre diet coke bottle when mentos is added by trying to drink it all. In the process, Aaron Hale was snitched on and subsequently fired from Racket and "blacklisted" by both Fat and Alternative Press over the whole ordeal. Which, when you consider the recent lawsuit Axl Rose laid on someone he discovered leaked portions of Chinese Democracy, a simple blacklisting is tame and entirely reasonable.
(Read Scott's account of the story Here)

Sensing an untapped resource for comedy, that mischievous little scamp Mitch Clem marked the return of his scene-based Nothing Nice to Say (pictured right, L-R: Blake, Fletcher) with a new story arc based around the sorted ordeal, arguably painting Fat Wreck in a questionable light early on.
(Read Those Here & Here)

(Art by: Mitch Clem)

Evidently, the story's aforementioned pacing struck a nerve with "Dave", a recording engineer on the D4 album in question. Unaware the story could go in another direction, He took Mitch to task for what he saw as encouraging file sharing and undermining those who would seek to protect their intellectual properity. (Read that amusing exchange here).

Oh, And then everyone on Punknews.org (including some players from the story itself) argued back and forth for a long time.

Dillinger Four haven't commented, and I'm prepared to speculate that they don't care.

As for the album itself, I'll post a review at some point soon, but anti-leak advocates rest assured, I will be purchasing it.