darla records: search and destroy

I like their Little Darla Has a Treat For You series. I never really liked the Sisterhood of Convoluted Thinkers album I got, but I wouldn't really say it's bad enough to be destroyed, coz it's creative, but just not very entertaining.

I agree that Windy and Carl disc is a treat and a half, but they themselves told me they never want to deal with Mr. Darla again.

I have heard way too many stories about folks having run-ins with Mr. Darla, including one conflict aired out on a public list between him and another notable "indie pop" label. Never mind the number of folks a while back bitching about the lack of mailorder expedience.

Mr. Darla also famously dissed the indie-pop list around this time, talking tons of shit and throwing insults left, right, and through the fourth dimension. That's a great way to increase sales, you know, insulting THE demographic that brings in the bucks.

• Bugskull -- Distracted Snowflake Volume 1

It's Darla/Pop Secret really.

And assured everyone that he wouldn't be reading the list anymore, which is a laugh as anyone who cracks Darla on the indiepop list *will* be confronted/rebutted, on-list, within twenty-four hours.

That said, it's a decent label, and would be better if someone would stop encouraging My Morning Jacket to clutter up the _Little Darla_ series with bad cover versions.

-- Ned Raggett (ned@kuci.org), November 03, 2001.

I know a good chunk of the Michigan Space Rock people, and everybody I know who has dealt with Darla has had nothing but problems. Windy and Carl, Ryan from Fuxa, and the guys from Tomorrowland have all been shafted by Mr. Darla.

Tomorrowland probably got it the worst. They were supposed to be paid for a 12" that was being pressed in a run of 500, they were accidentally told that the pressing run was actually 1000. Beyond that, Darla is holding their royalties until they do another records for them(which will never happen).

It is one of those organizations that makes you realize just how dirty the music business actually can be.

The Alsace Lorraine album isn't that good, sadly. I was hoping for so much more, but it's pretty dull.

are there lots of singles & oddities out there to collect?

Just listening to the Coldharbourstores album, and it's a lot nicer than I'd expected, for some reason. It was only $4 too!

http://www.discogs.com/image/R-150-436575-1113969116.jpg

dave shouse from grifters
I think someone from dambuilders is on this too

it's Those Bastard Souls 20th Century Chemical

DMR, the only TBS version of 'Spaced out' I have heard was off TBS's second,more 'commercial' do. I was disappointed with it- being one of my fave Grifters tracks - i was hoping they might have done something with it. To me it was just stripped down and drumless and that was it.
Please enlighten?

http://www.discogs.com/release/683606

  
Various - Little Darla Has A Treat For You (Vol. 6)

Notes: At the time of release, tracks 2, 9, 10, 11, 13, and 15 were exclusive tracks.

track 2 is listed as "?" by Those Bastard Souls. it's more demo-y than the version on Debt and Departure and has a more spacey David Bowie type feel ... if I remember it right ....

Spaced Out is also on the Darla 100 4 disc thing but I can't remember if it's that version

My Morning Jacket - At Dawn

the mahogany album towers over the rest of the darla catalogue

A decade on and it seems not much changes -- over at Mahogany's Facebook page:

"Darla Records" removed our 'coming soon' image for 'Electric Prisms' from their Facebook page, refuse to speak to us, refuse to pay us our royalties or the advance due via the contract, and refuse to listen to, or watch, or even acknowledge any of 'Electric Prisms.' Yet they continue to insist they have not breached contract and that Mahogany is a "Darla" artist. They continue to rob profits from Mahogany and they have meta-tagged eighty items on their website with our band's name - but they refuse contact and refuse payment for our art. Scandalous, illegal, and un-American. This frustration of purpose is willfully obstructionist and will be met with a like response. We entreat all legitimate record labels to contact us so that we may get this record to the people who matter: the listeners. ♥ Thank you! Andrew and Jackie ♥

do they have suge knight on retainer?

ha just came here to post this

can i just say

the mahogany album towers over the rest of the darla catalogue

and fuck darla

this is very annoying, as I order tons of stuff from their mailorder, because they have tons of labels I like all in one place. it basically means if I wanna avoid them, I have to pay an arm and a leg to order stuff direct from LTM. ugh.

That whole comments thread has become indie/electronic/gaze ground zero. James from Darla posted -- rather snippishly -- and prompted this response from Ulrich Schnauss:

@king james: LOL - how's life on the hill? still in denial and shockingly out of touch with reality as it seems... thumbs up to andrew for making this public - probably should've been done a long time ago... hope this will encourage people to avoid shifting more $$$ into the pockets of darla and eventually cause them to go under - if we're lucky the vacant space might then even get taken up by some genuine folks who are capable of selling music without breaching the most basic standards of business...

james and chandra have deleted their comments

maybe the MMJ well has dried up

Hahah about right. Maybe they realized that there was nowhere to hide...

I listened to Windy and Carl "Antarctica" a few weeks ago and it really knocked me out!
Been years since I'd heard that one.

Scandalous, illegal, and un-American.

Tbh, even though Mahogany is in the right here, this line makes them sound like whiny teabaggers.

I'd like to hear both sides of this, but it's not looking good for the folks at Darla.

Our own Dan Selzer has rightly noted about keeping an open mind where/when possible -- and hey, he runs a label, so he knows what it can involve! But like this thread (and that series of linked comments) and more shows, there's a bad rep that's been there for a long time.

I've ordered things from Darla in the past and never had any problem with them at all -- quick delivery, perfect shape, etc. There are still too many questions at this point, though, with so many artists now venting.

Yeah, their mail order service has been top-notch for years.