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Tyler, the Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival returned to Dodger Stadium this month with headlining sets from The Hillbillies, SZA, and more. On the ground for the two-day festival was the inimitable Nardwuar, who ultimately connected with Tyler for what he noted was their “sixth interview together in 12 years.”
While the full 26-minute video is well worth your time, an early highlight from the expectedly delightful conversation sees Tyler speaking candidly about both the music industry and the approach adjacent industries have taken in the streaming age.
In the final minutes of the new interview, Tyler was asked if there was anything he wanted to add as a closing message. Tyler used this as an opportunity to publicly call for a return to Tuesday as the industry standard in terms of release dates. Tuesday was long in place as the day for new music, but was changed to Friday back in 2015.
"I think we should put music out again on Tuesdays instead of Fridays, for some reasons," Tyler said. "What do y’all think? My reasoning is, I know people think because of the weekend they can listen to stuff and the streams go up. And the streaming people are like, 'Oh, the streams go up on the weekend!' But I think it’s a lot of passive listening, at parties or people get the time to go to the gym, so they’re not really listening."
On the weekends, Tyler added, a lot of people simply want to "chill out and hang out," which again contributes to a more passive, less dialed-in listening experience. By comparison, a Tuesday release allows for fans to use their commute to work or school as a block of fully focused listening time.
"To work on an album for so long and put so much energy into it and for it to be released at midnight...just seems so disrespectful," Tyler added.
Earlier into the Nardwuar chat, Tyler pointed to the importance of his own tendency to speak at length about some of the finer details involved in the art form of music, including specific studio locations and when particular pieces were recorded. This is an especially important practice in today’s climate, Tyler added, which he sees as lacking platforms for artists to actually discuss their art.
"We need to get back to talking about music," Tyler said. "We need to stop fucking going sneaker shopping or fucking deepthroating hot wings for an hour. Talk about your album, talk about music."
See the full episode up top, complete with a cameo from Toro Y Moi.
