I recently saw this video by the Christian Rock band Final Placement. At first, the internet music fan is ’sucked in’ because it sounds like Pavement/the Dirty Projectors, but then it degenerates into post-Modest Mouse post-Lifehouse Nickelback hopefulwave Christian High School rock. It seems to have ‘gone viral’ because it is ’so terrible’ and ‘totally rips off the modern crappy rock band aesthetic.’ Since they are a Christian Rock band, there is also an added element of ‘EPIC FAIL’ according to mainstream internet users who process memes as either ‘WIN’ or ‘FAIL.’ While this meme does a good job of tapping into elements of high-level unintentional comedy, it seems like the meme might have larger ramifications for the indie music sphere.
Phantom Band
New York socialite Dorothy Parker once said of Katharine Hepburn that “She runs the gamut of emotions from A to B”. Miaow! I feel the same watching jovial guitar janglers Sir Yes Sir.
Scuzzy 21st century post-punks, these Londoners are destined for fame. Creating a raw, energetic, screeching belch of guitars, oily drum beats and a cloud of dusty bass lines, Not Cool take cues from the likes of Gang of Four, Pavement and Dinosaur Jr. Not since the Arctic Monkeys’ debut record has a British band displayed the charisma and shimmering dissidence needed to charm the ageing ’80s post-punk generation. They’ve self-branded their music as ‘gutter pop’ to appeal to Generation Y, but Generation X is where these guys truly belong.
Despite news to the contrary, there are still record stores in America. Chains, less and less but, at least in New York, the good ones are still going. April 18 was the third annual
Record Store Day, a "celebration of the unique culture surrounding over 700 independently owned record stores in the USA, and hundreds of similar stores internationally." Or, an excuse to get people to go out and remember just how cool and fun it is to browse and buy physical records and CDs in an actual record store. To entice people to do so, labels and bands pressed up exclusive vinyl releases that were only available that day.
Out of all the new band’s I’ve heard this year, I think Cymbals Eat Guitars have the best shot of making it big. Charles Bissell from the Wrens, who knows a thing or two about this kind of thing, agrees. He recently said of the New York band that they “will end up indie famous within the year” and he liked the band enough to produce their first album, Why There Are Mountains which should be enough for any self-respecting indie-lover to give it a listen.
Photos from a recent FOE gig - a friend of our friends Hold Your Horse Is - she’s gonna be big!!! Read the gig review after the jump.
Shots of North Carolina’s folk-rocking Avett Brothers’ stop in Glasgow - 22.08.11
Read the review of the gig here.
Take a look at the acts and art on offer at this year’s Latitude Festival in Suffolk. Included are the likes of Fight Like Apes, Lykke Li, Sea of Bees and Seasick Steve. Photos from our own...
Good time with Bad Guys. Photos from the May 29th gig at the Old Blue Last. Read the review by the Bad Guy himself, Stuart London after the jump.
Artrocker.com exclusive: for fans of White Lies and Crocodiles we’ve got some fresh pictures from their UK show at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire earlier this month, courtesy of Alessandro...
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