This is an updating of some ideas I had in the past along with some new ones. I think there should be two main goals:
a) getting exposure for the TM back catalog, and
b) raising the profile on CASH Music
A promo EP for country music stations.
"Amazing Grace"
"Pretty Polly" (Live) (I heard a cool version on Archive.com with electric guitars)
"What'll We Do With The Baby-O"
"The Burrow"
"Him Dancing"
There are probably different songs that could be used; "Amazing Grace", though, should have a bigger audience. As lame as country music is right now that doesn't mean that a good song can't get through to people.
Some of TM's more "cinematic" songs should be collected on a 3" CD and directed towards filmmakers and other people in the movie industry. Imagine "Finished" in a Quentin Tarentino movie; and how many TM songs would've sounded perfect in "The Departed"?
Note: 3"CDs wouldn't be as intimidating as full-size ones- the listener knows they won't take as much time. They're the perfect format for introducing new music.
When TM gets together to make the next album, an EP could be made- re-recordings of some songs, remixes of others (not dance mixes, more like "Dig For Fire" or "Slow Dog"). There are so many TM songs that deserve to have a second life (or a first one, actually) and be heard by more people.
A complilation CD of CASH Music artists. The kind like Sire did, or David Byrne's record label. (I don't know how much it would cost, but it'd be nice if the cover was a hologram like Prince's "Diamonds and Pearls".)
A video for one of the "Crooked" tracks. Something that relies more on a good idea than a big budget.
Note: Maybe a video could be made where people were attracted to it simply because of the visuals. There are hundreds of videos on Youtube based on the theme of "guy smoking a cigarette". (No, I'm not into that.) It'll be "Barefoot guy smoking a Kool" or "Guy in a tank-top smoking a Merit". Someone could round up ten handsome men, a video camera, and a pack of cigarettes- Boom, there's a video for every song on the album.
A half hour, 3 part video, like Aimee Mann's "Christmas Carol" on Youtube. It could be something clever and funny, or something simple like a mix of stories and songs.