Johnny Blue Skies is back with perhaps his best record ever.
Mutiny After Midnight itself is a record with themes of protest throughout, but Johnny’s release style is the biggest act of protest.
To promote the release of the album, strictly memes. Hilarious.
It was announced that Mutiny After Midnight was to be released solely on physical copies, CD’s, cassettes, and 12″ LPs. This is brilliant. Physical copies go on sale tomorrow (3/13) but Johnny said a couple of weeks ago that he would do a sneak peak on Instagram Live. He didn’t, he rickrolled the audience, only to release the album an hour later in full, without ads, without separate tracks, only on YouTube for absolutely free.
How does this give power to the listener?
A physical copy is solid ownership. Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, and every other blood-sucking streaming service could, in theory, shut down and disappear tomorrow. Leaving millions of users, playlists, podcasts, and audiobooks without a “home.”
Remember your stack of records, your CD sleeve on your visor, or your shoebox full of cassettes sliding around the passenger floorboard? No ads, hardly any fuss, and they are yours. Do you remember when you’d see a CD on the rack at the convenience store? $6 and it’s yours, and it wasn’t going anywhere. You didn’t need an internet connection, you didn’t need a subscription, just your WalkMan, your CD player, or your Hi-Fi. The collection was exactly that, a collection. Not a jumble of 1’s and 0’s that relied on a strong internet connection, hoping you wouldn’t hit a dead spot on your road trip.
Discovery:
Music discovery is a lost art, thanks to great radio stations like The Ranch (shameless plug), a music lover can still find great local bands without filing through an AI created playlist where there MIGHT be one or two diamonds in the roughest of rough.
Discovery used to be supplied by your local radio DJ (still is thanks to The Ranch [shameless plug #2]), word of mouth, a great album cover, or a t-shirt worn by a front man you already bought a ticket to see.
Collection:
While we’re seeing somewhat of a revitalization of the art of collecting music, this is another form of pride someone could have that is being forgotten.
Johnny Blue Skies is giving his listeners the power of collection, ownership, and pride once again and that’s very refreshing to see, at least to me.
The Album:
Mutiny After Midnight is a sonic journey that passes through countless genres and feelings, all in just over 45 minutes. Before this release, Simpson (JBS) would release an album and go on a tour, where the live show felt different to the record, but in the best way possible. Johnny puts on a live show in the truest form of the word show. This record on the road is going to be an absolute ride! Elements of a JBS live show are more than prevalent in Mutiny After Midnight and I couldn’t be more excited about that.
From slow jams, to fast grooves, Johnny Blue Skies gives his listeners a gift of ownership, with a fantastic piece of music.
