Cindy Lee Might Be the Future of Music

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Last week, a few of my trusted music sources on Twitter started whispering about a new album that was a must-listen but only available to stream on YouTube. You could also send a suggested donation (as a gift on PayPal) to receive CD-quality .wav files directly in your inbox. The Geocities website was ugly and quirky, decidedly lo-fi in a Web 1.0 way. The same week the album in question, Diamond Jubilee, by Cindy Lee, a 32-song left-of-center fever dream marathon that sounds like Velvet Underground, T. Rex, and VU, and the good Phil Spector projects combined with excellent production, synths, and feedback, received a score of 9.1 on Pitchfork, the first 9.0+ since 2020. A rock-and-roll album garnering this much attention without a record label or the support of digital-streaming platforms is unheard of. A small sect of people, presumably real music fans, were willing to pay real money to enjoy the music they love.

I like Diamond Jubilee and am happy to pay for music, but downloading files and loading them onto my iPhone feels archaic and time-consuming. Drake also “leaked” a diss song last week, firing at everyone: Kendrick Lamar, Rick Ross, The Weeknd, and J. Cole. The song was making its rounds in my group chats. When I finished lunch and went to listen, I realized the link my friend had provided was from Krakenfiles.com, a URL too good to make up. This response from Drake was hotly anticipated, and I am sure he has his reasons, but avoiding DSPs when they are your bread and butter is also an exciting choice. Visiting weird websites to listen to and download music feels crazy in 2024, a throwback to sitting in my parents’ basement on the Dell, manically downloading songs on Kazaa and Napster. I even saw a friend burn Diamond Jubilee onto CDR.

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While all this was happening, Coachella weekend was taking place in Indio, California. Several stories have been written about slowing ticket sales and brands not heading to the desert this year. We reached the peak music festival long ago, and now there is something for everyone, no matter which niche tickles your fancy. But when things of this magnitude flail, it feels like a shift is coming.

Cindy Lee is the alter ego of former Women frontman Patrick Flegel, who expressed dim views of the streaming era in a 2023 interview. “I think everyone should take their music off streaming platforms. Not even strike, just take it off,” Flegel said. “They’re begging for a penny a play, and it’s pitiful.” In that same interview, Flegel acknowledged that the hardest part of putting out a project without the backing of streaming platforms or a traditional record label is “getting anybody to give a shit.”

“But where I’m at now, in my mind,” Flegel said, “you just need some regulars. Some people who’ve got your back, are into what you’re doing.”

Are there enough regulars out there to make it viable for other artists to pull a Cindy Lee? Do people want to own music, support artists they love, and go to shows that don’t come flanked by hard-seltzer-sponsored off-site parties and influencer photo shoots? Are we heading back to a simpler time? Are we curious again? Are we finally ready to discover music outside of TikTok?

I doubt it, but this is one of the first times I have really seen cracks in the façade. The days when I could go to my local Virgin Megastore on a Thursday at midnight to pick up the new releases on CD aren’t coming back, but maybe things will calm down and course correct a little bit. Streaming isn’t the best option. It is just the most convenient. If someone makes an effort to present their work differently, I think it should be discussed, whether it’s Cindy Lee or the biggest rapper in the world.

Originally Appeared on GQ