Some ear candy:
Knucksie, do you use Spotify? Perhaps we could create a collaborative playlist.
My all-time favorite is probably Radiohead. I don't know if they count as indie anymore, but it's in the same vein.
If you don't like Vampire Weekend or Grizzly Bear, the problem is with you, not the band. "Hannah Hunt" is an incredible song.
Also, I really love Sparklehorse, and I love krgrecw for getting me into them 3 or so years ago.
I was going to respond to this at length, but musical tastes are so subjective I figured it wasn't worth the time. I appreciate a majority of the albums you listed, but would quibble about some of them (Nirvana, Soundgarden) being true 'alternative' rock listens.
But anyways, this:
Last edited by Hawk; 03-07-2014 at 10:05 AM.
I think you guys have different tastss than me for the most part, but I just stumbled across this group this morning.
No, still a physical media guy, except for a Pioneer Inno. Statistically, I don't exist in the indiesphere: 40+ audiophile, who listens in on a home system. All of my exposure comes from XMU. Then will occasionally scan blogs (Gorilla vs. Bear, Hipster Runoff,Pitch4k) and UTube. Always glad to share some new finds here though!
Nobody's holding anything against the bands. They're just playing to different audiences. Not being 18 anymore, there's no urge to assert how my tastes are "better" than anybody else's. It's OK for bands to make music that doesn't appeal to me, because there's enough stuff out that will. Never going to begrudge anybody for liking whatever they want either.
So, having said that, there was A LOT of hype driving Vampire Weekend and Grizzly Bear. Definitely Tame Impala too ("one of the Most Important Bands of the Last Decade!"). All you have to do is look at the "Best of the Year" lists every December. Ever notice how the overwhelming majority of the same titles are on all of these lists? It's almost as if critics are thinking from the same brain. Why is that the case? Because they've become extensions of what Carles, from Hipster Runoff, calls The Corrupt Indie Machine. Even though these acts are posing as "Indie," they've still got backing and this is one of the tools for getting exposure and sales. This reached its apex with Lana Del Rey.
Let me chime in about Coldplay. They're not, by any means, Indie and never were. Maybe they were "Alt" when they've started, but they're firmly mainstream now with modern sound. Really like that new tune, and it's kind of unique to strip down the sound, but make it sound like remix without remixing it.
Anyway, I won a contest for their Townhall on XM. Got to hang out in the studio with them for 2 hours with the 19 other winners, who submitted questions. It was like a grad school course. Everybody had great questions and the band were locked in on giving detailed responses. Amazing experience overall. The band knows that there are people who do not like them. They're fine with it, and want to focus in on the fans who do. Anytime an artist gains huge popularity, he/she/they become a target - or is suddenly "uncool" to like. What is cool is that they're comfortable with the situation. Chris Martin said that their bass player is the only member who could probably make a living doing this outside of the band. The one thing that they do have, though, is chemistry.
With Coldplay, they probably alienated a large segment of their fanbase by doing a tune with Rhianna. Now's a good time for a change of direction. They've sold out hockey arenas and had top-selling albums and singles. So, they've earned the currency to take risks.
Last edited by Knucksie; 03-08-2014 at 09:56 PM.
Hawk (03-08-2014)
Since I've been into playing some songs recently, what are some of your favorite songs to play?
Anyone dig the band from Iceland, Of Monsters and Men? "Little Talks" is a good song, but they've got some other good tunes as well.
Be cautious with Rush, as sound quality can be often be questionable. The mastering tends to use high compression and are LOUD. You don't want to experience ear bleed. The advantage of physical formats is having more options. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab and Audio Fidelity have remastered some of the better-known titles. So, if you see torrents with those as sources, you're in good shape, because at least the MFSL come from the original masters. With Floyd, you're pretty safe, all around, as their recordings were consistently of a high standard. The '93 box set of Led Zep suits my needs fine, but there've been rumbles that another box set is on the way this year or next.
Listen to 'little talks' and 'home' by Edward Sharp and the Magnificent zeros. Same song to me
Well don't want ears to bleed, but I do love my audiophile listening.
I will have to check out those Fidelity files. I love when I get my hands on some quality FLAC files. Pearl Jam used to (not sure if they still do) sell flacs of their concerts and they sounded amazing.
Stockholm, more densely populated than NYC - sturg