Just Announced Commentary - 2011 Edition

[kosmo vinyl]

 

If you playing big venues shortly after your debut there is this attitude toward them.

Look at Radiohead.  somehow they got around it and instead of saying they suck people say oh their first album sucked.  Nevermind it is better than their last 3 albums.  

Not to get too nit-picky, but Radiohead played 930 after their 3rd album came out.

and the Black Cat before that....

And were they warm-up for Teenage Fanclub after their 3rd album?

Telling me that so-so had a hit pop song is meaningless to me, given that I listen to on a very regular basis bands that have released several albums worth of great pop songs that IMHO are far superior to any of the bands you keep carrying on about.  So why do these artist toil in near obscurity?  And can you explain the popularity of Skrillex whose stuff doesn't even resemble a pop song  let alone music.

[vansmack]

yeah but every band that is popular instantly after first album is released they are super negative about: Mumford and Sons, Killers, Keane, Coldplay, Of Monsters and Men, Foster the People.  If you playing big venues shortly after your debut there is this attitude toward them.

Look at Radiohead.  somehow they got around it and instead of saying they suck people say oh their first album sucked.  Nevermind it is better than their last 3 albums.  

I love all of those bands.

And I love Radiohead's first album the most, closely followed by the third then second album.  The rest I find unlistenable.

[atomicfront]

 

If you playing big venues shortly after your debut there is this attitude toward them.

Look at Radiohead.  somehow they got around it and instead of saying they suck people say oh their first album sucked.  Nevermind it is better than their last 3 albums.  

Not to get too nit-picky, but Radiohead played 930 after their 3rd album came out.

and the Black Cat before that....

And were they warm-up for Teenage Fanclub after their 3rd album?

Telling me that so-so had a hit pop song is meaningless to me, given that I listen to on a very regular basis bands that have released several albums worth of great pop songs that IMHO are far superior to any of the bands you keep carrying on about.  So why do these artist toil in near obscurity?  And can you explain the popularity of Skrillex whose stuff doesn't even resemble a pop song  let alone music.

that might explain why music snobs like radiohead then.  Who are these pop bands bette than coldplay?   Beach house?  I thimk that is because people are seixsts

[kosmo vinyl]

The Moons
    Cliff Hillis
    The World Record
    Shoes
    Jets Overhead
    The Stars Explode
 The dBs
The Heartbreaks
The Feeling
Idlewild
Crowded House
Jellyfish

[atomicfront]

The Moons
    Cliff Hillis
    The World Record
    Shoes
    Jets Overhead
    The Stars Explode
 The dBs
The Heartbreaks
The Feeling
Idlewild
Crowded House
Jellyfish

Ok only know 3 of those bands.  Had one album by db's (like this) and saw them open up for REM in 1984.  I think the reason they didn't get popular is they are not very good.  Plus they were absolutely terrible live. 

Crowded House is in the same place as the bands above.  They were very popular with their first album .   People like the people on  here were probably insulting them if they came out now.

Jellyfish were played on MTV non stop.  And they only had two albums.  I don't see them being relevant to this conversation.

the other bands if no one has ever heard of them how are they going to get popular? 

[kosmo vinyl]

fine first off all the first Crowded House was a sleeper "hit" and I find this nonsense of first sucessful album backlist is your lame way of justifying liking generic successful pop albums.  Personally all the bands you get carrying on about I find boring and why should I waste my time listening to them when there are so many more albums that stir my soul and make me want to listen to repeatedly.

The Feeling are a top 40 UK who have only had one album released in the US so far.  Clearly breaking in the US isn't a priority for them
The Heartbreaks are upcoming UK band with lots of buzz, I predict they be stateside within the year.

The Moons are the project of the Andy Crofts who plays keyboards for Paul Weller and is a personal favorite of Brad Wiggens.  Perhaps you've heard of them.

Cliff Hillis, The World Record, Jets Overhead, Shoes and The Stars Explode are highly regarded with the small but passionate power pop community.  These are artists who simply don't have the resources beyond word of mouth.  All of the bands you wither on about have have the "might" of major labels behind them.

[i am gay and i like cats]

what is the point of a band?  to be famous, make money, be noticed, tour, do good at what you do, get paid, have a career, have a life, express yourself . . . or just be smalltime, no one knows you except the town you came from, work another job to pay the bills, and dream a little dream?  i think all bands will do anything to be disgustingly famous and "sell out" forever.  only those who fight that system and want to remain "pure" or whatever, are small minded idiots.  what does this have to do with anything.  who knows.  i got bored just now. 

[kosmo vinyl]

walkie - you had me up until "i think all bands will do anything to be disgustingly famous and "sell out" forever...." 

Many of the bands/singer songwriters/etc that I listen to, have day jobs and release records, perform intimate venues because it's their passion, full time hobby.  A couple of my friends routinely do "man in the corner" gigs, simply because they want like to perform live.  The music business is vicious racket and is littered with more casualties than success.  To ignore the numerous little acts out there is just short sighted.... 

[i am gay and i like cats]

i don't ignore.  i absorb.  i just believe that no matter what the job, what the career, what the situation, everyone strives to be the best, the greatest, the star, the prodigy . . . or why do it?  life is too short to be menial.  i demand expansion and sizing up the next adventure to take on, head on.  what is the point of life, is you go all about it half assed.  musicians too.  shoot for the stars all the time, and sell your mother if you have to . . . she'll be fine; she needs the vacation.

[kosmo vinyl]

the ignore comment wasn't directed at you walkie

[atomicfront]

fine first off all the first Crowded House was a sleeper "hit" and I find this nonsense of first sucessful album backlist is your lame way of justifying liking generic successful pop albums.  Personally all the bands you get carrying on about I find boring and why should I waste my time listening to them when there are so many more albums that stir my soul and make me want to listen to repeatedly.

The Feeling are a top 40 UK who have only had one album released in the US so far.  Clearly breaking in the US isn't a priority for them
The Heartbreaks are upcoming UK band with lots of buzz, I predict they be stateside within the year.

The Moons are the project of the Andy Crofts who plays keyboards for Paul Weller and is a personal favorite of Brad Wiggens.  Perhaps you've heard of them.

Cliff Hillis, The World Record, Jets Overhead, Shoes and The Stars Explode are highly regarded with the small but passionate power pop community.  These are artists who simply don't have the resources beyond word of mouth.  All of the bands you wither on about have have the "might" of major labels behind them.

coldplay and monsters and men, and lumineers are no way generic. Db's I would conisider generic.  Generic rock.  guitar, drums, bass, guy with no vocal range singing playing straight ahead rock n roll.   Bad version of dave edmunds.

and i don't just like popular stuff.  i like stuff like asobi seksu, deerhoof, xiu xiu, warpoint, wye oak, vivian girls etc etc.  And I liked popular bands like Arcade Fire, National, Decemberists, M83 before they got popular.  And stuff like Amanda Palmer and Rasputina that have a cult following.

I just listened to the heartbreaks.  guys lead singer bass, guitar, drums playing rock music that has been done a million times before.  i find that incredibly boring.  I didn't care for the Feelings or the moons either.  

As for bands being ignored I think iindie rock bands with female lead singers are ignored. I mean how many masterpieces has Beach House released and they are still playing the 930 club?  And wye oak and lower dens have put out masterpieces as well and pretty much ignored.  Moving to new york is probably the easiest way to get successful as a musician.  

[kosmo vinyl]

whatever dude continue to listen to music with suddenly trendy instrumentation (pianos, banjos, fiddles)... All I care about now is there is a apparently new Replacements material coming out.

[atomicfront]

whatever dude continue to listen to music with suddenly trendy instrumentation (pianos, banjos, fiddles)... All I care about now is there is a apparently new Replacements material coming out.

I don't think any of those instrument are trendy as they have been around forever.   Doing the same thing as everyone else has for the last 40 years is boring and is lacking any imagination or any creativity.  When I saw Bat for Lashes on their first american tour (in philly ad they didn't come here), I was amazed at all the different instruments they used. 

As for the Replacements saw them in 1984 as well at the old 930 club by the time I chose to walk out on them over half the crowd had already left.  Pathetic live band.  Couldn't even recognize the songs until they had almost finished them.  As they were murdering "androgynous" I couldn't take it anymore and fled.  Then the next week at DC space I saw a couple of guys on acoustic guitar and electrified washboard do an amazing version of "I will dare".  I thought if only the replacements were as half as good at playing that song.

[azaghal1981]

Kosmo, Kind of surprised you left the Brendan Benson solo work off that list.
P.S. Kosmo's power pop recommendations are the only thing of value in the last four pages of this thread. Oh and the Tom Waits Simpsons post!

[kosmo vinyl]

my list was mainly generated from the artists who put out great records this year and i've gotten around to get Brendan's newest for this year, but yes his material is some of the finest pop out there.  and much better than the dreck realized by Jack White's Big Fat Ego and the Ranconteurs.   And anyone who walks out on a drunken Replacement's fest has no soul...