Just Announced Commentary - 2011 Edition

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.

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. 

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 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.

the ignore comment wasn't directed at you walkie :D

kosmo wrote:
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.  

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.

kosmo wrote:
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.

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!

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…

love the first 2.5 Brendan Benson albums, but the last two have been flat out boring. I blame Jack White.

kosmo wrote:
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…

I don't know if the Replacements were drunk.  I think it was just more a case of them not knowing how to play their instruments.  No reason to see someone who doesn't know how to play their own songs.  I think other than Flipper's show at the old 930 club I haven't seen a worse performance. 

Anyway I don't think you don't like bands based on reviews.  That is what I thought at first but now I think you just don't like music that is innovative.  or value quality singing voices or musical arrangement.

As for Brendan, no one would know who he was if it weren't for jack white.  I think he will fade back into obscurity as he rightfully belongs.

i'm out… if anything I value bands with great vocals, harmonies, etc the most.  I rarely read reviews of records and if you paid any attention at all to my best albums of 2012 you'd notice my loyalites are split between power pop /funk/soul/afrobeat. I value The Moons because it's like listening to all of the 60s at once.    and i find the likes of alabama shakes because it tiresome, basic and unoriginal.

kosmo wrote:
i'm out… if anything I value bands with great vocals, harmonies, etc the most.  I rarely read reviews of records and if you paid any attention at all to my best albums of 2012 you'd notice my loyalites are split between power pop /funk/soul/afrobeat. I value The Moons because it's like listening to all of the 60s at once.    and i find the likes of alabama shakes because it tiresome, basic and unoriginal.

I don't know why you need to feel to insult the bands I like though.  To tell you the truth there are bands on your list I know Tim Burgess, Primitives, Cornershop, Db's, Jimmy Cliff, St Entienne.  But I haven't even heard of anything from these acts in the last 15 years.  So it would be hard for me to insult your list. 

But why do you have to feel superior about the whole thing?  At least my music other people actually like.  How do you come up with my music is superior than yours idea? 

You can say the popularity thing but  i saw beach house with less than 50 people at a show.  Sure their album is in the top 10 now but no one knew about them back when I started listening to them.  I saw Dresden Dolls on a small stage at a music festival.  And instantly liked them.  Amanda Palmer (Dresden Doll member) doesn't even have a record label.  She doesn't get a ton of positive press.  No hipster love.  Yet she put out a top 10 album.  So you can take the BS that no one cares about your bands because they don't get press or record label support.  I knew about of Monsters and Men only because they were playing at black cat.  I checked out their music and loved it. 

atomicfront wrote:
I don't know if the Replacements were drunk.  I think it was just more a case of them not knowing how to play their instruments.   No reason to see someone who doesn't know how to play their own songs.  I think other than Flipper's show at the old 930 club I haven't seen a worse performance. 

C Love/Hole 930

^I was there.
Left before the first encore.
Most epically horrid show ever.

Post review might be their best piece of music writing to date.

I will just put one final comment out on the popular/unpopular debate.  The most popular bands I have seen have put on amazing live shows.  You can tell they put tons of practice into their live performances before going out on the road.  They also respect their fans.  And they don't take 5 years before putting out albums or put out albums with one good song on them.

Look at some of the talented bands  that didn't make it big.  Replacements:  I loved "Let it be" one of my favorite albums of all time but after basically not even making an attempt to play their songs correctly live I never had anything to do with them again.

The Fall:  Saw them at old 930 club back in 1985.  They played music that hadn't been released yet for most of the set.  Mark E Smith kicked equipment around all night.  Spent the entire saying how the venue sucks and how everytime they come there it is the same shitty things.  I never had anything to do with band again.

Sonic Youth saw them at festival a few years back.  Kim Gordon pretended to play bass and was in what appeared to be in a drug induced daze.. their set consisted mostly of songs from their new mediocre album and didn't include any of the old songs that I loved.

Lou Reed saw him at Lolla a few years back.  He comes out 25 minutes late.  (Never mind he had an hour to get his stage ready).  He plays 20 minutes after his set is supposed to end.  The Band of Horses are playing at the stage next to him.  So they lost 20 minutes of set time.  The members of band of horses are giving him the finger.  Bring in things like releasing a double album of noise.  From what I heard in the past not wanting to play songs people wanted to hear and being a general a-hole it is easy why to see why he never had main stream success.


Public Image Limited.  One of my favorite bands musically.  But he never could keep band members.  Lost talented musician after talented musician.  Would walk out on interviews telling the interviewee he was stupid.  Generally told everyone they were stupid.


Look at Amanda Palmer she has gotten zero help from anyone yet she spends time on her message boards talking to people.  She hangs out with fans after shows.  Invites fans on to stage with her.  Encourages fans in their own artistic work.  Puts on incredible live shows

Or the Cure.  they might not have the most exciting live show but they have played for many hours.  I think the last show I saw of them during the early 90's they did 4 encores.  Plus on the Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me tour he came outside after the gig and spent an hour talking to fans and signing autographs.

The Beatles worked their asses off.  They put out two albums worth of music basically every year.  Great songs.  Innovative.  They didn't stick to the guitar, drum, bass only very long and always spent a lot of time rehearsing.  They did movies.  They did a million press conferences. 

Bands that are popular work for it.  I can't stand Bruce Springsteen but from what I have heard he plays for 3 or 4 hours. 

If you are going to shit on your fans or don't spend an effort on a live show you won't have fans for very long

you really judge a band by their live performances, and you really judge an act by what they do in one set particular space in time, don't you?  sonic youth always does that live.  bands have moments after being on the shit road they live.  artists suffer so people like you can complain about them because they didn't have a perfect event at some time of their lives.  big whoop to you.  here's an idea . . . listen to music because it is good or don't listen to music because it is not.  stop thinking that anybody else cares what you do or what you like or who you are or why this and that.  no body cares.  they sometimes don't care what they are doing.  life is so complicated to care so much about something so simple as music.  just listen to it.  stop forming your life around it . . . people who go to phish do that; you wanna be like them; didn't think so.

^Did Robert Smith sign anything or you? If so post it on the Concert pictures, etc. thread. Thanks


The Cure is probably one of the only bands I'd really like to see that I never made it… I think I had tickets to see them once at the Patriot Center but can't remember why I never made it..I may have even forgotten about the show….

There are so many things wrong with what you write that I wont' even bother to go there but it is funny how you put Lydon down for not keeping the same band members but have no issue with what Robert Smith has done shuffling members left and right.

This is most BS I think I've ever seen here

Look at Amanda Palmer she has gotten zero help from anyone yet she spends time on her message boards talking to people.  She hangs out with fans after shows.  Invites fans on to stage with her.  Encourages fans in their own artistic work.  Puts on incredible live shows

Amanda Palmer has raised over 1.2 Million Dollars from fans on Kickstarter, the Dresden Dolls were on a high profile "indie" label, she is the queen of self promotion, is the girlfriend of Neil Gaimen an author with a huge cult following.  Yup Amanda Palmer never got help from anyone….