2008 > The Year in Music

[Double Down]

If anyone is ever looking for some good new music, try http://rcrdlbl.com/artists. They offer free (legal) downloads of music offered by record labels. There are new songs, live versions and remixes.

 

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Mystery Jets- Twenty One (awesome album, 80s style pop fun The Killers might have made before they became serious and boring)
Young Love-http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=qz-FoGp3p0s
Two Doors Down- http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=K2Dl3VQ2K2U
Half In Love With Elizabeth- http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=P0SjfLqzwj8

Here is a blog comparing Young Love and Way Back Into Love and there is no denying the similarity. In fact, when my girlfriend first heard Young Love, she said, "Oh, they covered the song from the Hugh Grant movie."

 

[gogetter0587]

Here is a blog comparing Young Love and Way Back Into Love and there is no denying the similarity. In fact, when my girlfriend first heard Young Love, she said, "Oh, they covered the song from the Hugh Grant movie."

Double what kind of music are you into in general?

Singer songwriter? Anything Heavy? Folk?

 

[chamber-music]

I really like what I have heard off this CD, but it isn't sold in the U.S.
I have Zootime and the Young Love CD single, and I have been able to track down a few other songs. But I can't get the full CD.
I have the Foals CD, but I admire it more than I enjoy it.
And I only recently started to get into Friendly Fires. I think their best song is On Board.

I don't imagine Mystery Jets will tour outside of europe much as well because of the lead singers disability.

The Jonas Brothers are nothing new. In the 70s you had The Osmonds and the 90s Hanson. Clean cut unoffensive boys with christian values is always gonna be around because parents can be sure their music isn't corrupting their children.

 

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Double what kind of music are you into in general?

Singer songwriter? Anything Heavy? Folk?

These are my favorites: Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys, Tokyo Police Club, Kaiser Chiefs, Maximo Park, The Crystal Method, We Are Scientists, The Dandy Warhols, The Streets, Phoenix, The Chemical Brothers, Boy Kill Boy, The Cribs, Chester French, The Fratellis, Rooney, Hard-Fi, The Rakes, Gomez, The Rapture, and Badly Drawn Boy.

 

[gogetter0587]

These are my favorites: Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys, Tokyo Police Club, Kaiser Chiefs, Maximo Park, The Crystal Method, We Are Scientists, The Dandy Warhols, The Streets, Phoenix, The Chemical Brothers, Boy Kill Boy, The Cribs, Chester French, The Fratellis, Rooney, Hard-Fi, The Rakes, Gomez, The Rapture, and Badly Drawn Boy.

You like all those and you don't like spoon?

 

[Double Down]

I don't imagine Mystery Jets will tour outside of europe much as well because of the lead singers disability.

The Jonas Brothers are nothing new. In the 70s you had The Osmonds and the 90s Hanson. Clean cut unoffensive boys with christian values is always gonna be around because parents can be sure their music isn't corrupting their children.

Being a fan of primarily British music has advantages and disadvantages.
Disadvantage: Not every CD actually gets released over here.
Advantage: When they do, they are often cheaper and have more songs as an enticement.

Disadvantage: They don't play on tour here much, and when they do, they focus on the coasts (New York and LA - maybe Chicago if they travel to the middle).
Advantage: When they do come here, the tickets are cheap and the venues are small. We have a club in Cleveland called the Grog Shop. The tickets are usually $10-12 and the crowd size is approx. 100 or so, but I have seen Bloc Party, The Cribs, and We Are Scientists (who aren't British, but might as well be) play there. In March, Tokyo Police Club is playing there. I have my tickets.
I saw Phoenix play a gig in Cleveland in 2006 and the ticket was $5. I saw Arctic Monkeys in Columbus (where Ohio State is) for less that $20.

So, like I said there are both advantages and disadvantages.

 

[Double Down]

You like all those and you don't like spoon?

I do like Spoon. There are MANY other bands I like. I just stopped where I did. Spoon's last CD was just fantastic.

 

[gogetter0587]

I do like Spoon. There are MANY other bands I like. I just stopped where I did. Spoon's last CD was just fantastic.

Fair enough. I was just making sure you had heard of them because if you like all those you pretty much have to like spoon as well.

 

[Double Down]

Here is another fun site for free (legal) music:

http://www.buffetlibredjs.net/rewind.php

It's a bunch of bands you have never heard of covering songs from the '80s, but there is some good stuff.

 

[gap5ewl]

This has just been a dreadful decade for new music with each year getting progressively worse. 2008 was just utter ****. Go look at what was the number one songs that year. . I seriously can't even remember the last good year in music. Is there any originality left?

 

[Star]

You guys should check out :

Los Campesinos : We are Beautiful, We Are Doomed.

Great 2008 album.

Also Hercules and Love Affair.

Kind of non-mainstream stuff but AMAZING

 

[Star]

[YT]Fb8S51M2GAc[/YT]

 

[Double Down]

You guys should check out :

Los Campesinos : We are Beautiful, We Are Doomed.

Great 2008 album.

Also Hercules and Love Affair.

Kind of non-mainstream stuff but AMAZING

\
What kind of music is it?

 

[Star]

Hercules and Love Affair is sort of... retro? I don't really know what genre it would be. I posted a video (but more for the song) of them

Los Campesinos is sort of Twee.

I don't really listen to the radio so I really only pay attention to music that gets buzz in magazines like Spin...

 

[Double Down]

The music in the video reminds me of the Scissor Sisters (minus the Bee Gees influence). It's a good song.

 

[ComicChick]

Lady Gaga's The Fame is definitely one of my favorite albums of 2008 by far.

 

[Bnightwing]

Viva La Vida is one thing some others but I can't think right now what else.

 

[Double Down]

I don't listen to the radio. What were the worse songs of the year?

 

[chamber-music]

Hercules and Love Affair is sort of... retro? I don't really know what genre it would be. I posted a video (but more for the song) of them

Los Campesinos is sort of Twee.

I don't really listen to the radio so I really only pay attention to music that gets buzz in magazines like Spin...

I like Blind by Hercules And Love Affair. Its very 70s disco but in a good way.

I occasionally read Spin and sometimes NME (even though they are kind of jackasses they do spotlight some good new bands and singers every now and again).

Being a fan of primarily British music has advantages and disadvantages.
Disadvantage: Not every CD actually gets released over here.
Advantage: When they do, they are often cheaper and have more songs as an enticement.

Disadvantage: They don't play on tour here much, and when they do, they focus on the coasts (New York and LA - maybe Chicago if they travel to the middle).
Advantage: When they do come here, the tickets are cheap and the venues are small. We have a club in Cleveland called the Grog Shop. The tickets are usually $10-12 and the crowd size is approx. 100 or so, but I have seen Bloc Party, The Cribs, and We Are Scientists (who aren't British, but might as well be) play there. In March, Tokyo Police Club is playing there. I have my tickets.
I saw Phoenix play a gig in Cleveland in 2006 and the ticket was $5. I saw Arctic Monkeys in Columbus (where Ohio State is) for less that $20.

So, like I said there are both advantages and disadvantages.

Why don't you download music off itunes or something or do you prefer owning the actual CD?

Its really hard to get tickets for the Arctic Monkeys in the UK. They sellout really fast even when they are playing huge arenas, plus they are pretty expensive.

I've seen Bloc Party, Tokyo Police Club and We Are Scientists before. I wanna see the cribs especially now Johnny Marr is in the band. The good thing in Britain is in the summer we have about a 100 different music festivals so you can see all the bands you wanna see in the year at one venue.

The reason why some of current British music isn't played in America is for a couple of reasons. First is the fact you guys have clear channel which pretty much controls what you guys hear on the radio. Radio DJs can play just about whatever they want over hear. The BBC has national radio and on its stations DJs have near enough unlimited freedom to play whatever because its public funded so has hasn't got appeal to the record industry.

Also America is a huge country and in europe its easier to build a buzz. You can play a few shows and appear on a couple of TV shows and you will get mainstream exposure.

No offence to any midwesterners but middle America also tends to have slightly less exposure or knowledge about stuff going on outside the states compared to the east and west coast. European bands can go to the US and know they will sell tickets in NY or California but they are unsure about places like Ohio, Utah, ect.

Also some record execs are just plain xenophobic and don't want to give a share of the market over to foreign bands.

 

[Double Down]

^ A lot of the time (most of the time, actually), if you can't buy the CD here, they aren't selling the music on iTunes either.
The part where you mention the Arctic Monkeys, that's what I'm talking about. It was easier for me to get an Arctic Monkey than it was for you. I just have less opportunities. The show sold out, for the record.
I saw the Cribs on March 23, 2008. The ticket was $8 and I literally stood five feet from the band. I was surprised by how much faster and more intensely they play their songs live as compared to the CD. Great show.
I read NME so I see the festival listings and I would love to see one of the shows. I went to Ireland a few years back, but there weren't any going on at the time.
The part about coming to middle America I understand. But if they don't come here, they don't get exposure. If you ever get a chance (and haven't already done so), check out Sting's autobiography, "Broken Music." It has a great account on what a risk the band took by "barnstorming" America and how nicely it paid off.
But I will be honest, I don't want a lot of the bands I like to break really big over here. It's really hard to be a one-hit wonder if you don't have a hit. And having hits makes some bands instantly unpopular, as odd as that seems. No one hated Panic at the Disco until they had some hits, same with Fall Out Boy. They had their core fans and they were happy, but now it's "fashionable" to say you don't like them. I know the UK is the same way a lot of times.

 

[chamber-music]

Tne NME does that hating popular bands thing. THey talk them up when they are an up and coming band but when they hit mainstream they start writing articles how much they suck.

I know alot of british artists who do get successful in America usually have a major label behind them or gig like crazy and play every damn venue they can get booked at.

Its harder for alot bands that can sell out large venues in their own country to come and play for 5 people who have never heard of them. They are starting at the bottom again and a few of them haven't got the drive and hunger for it to go through that again.

I saw Cribs play Glastonbury on TV and they play really fast. I remember seeing Ryan Jarman stage dive at NME awards where he had internal bleeding and had to go to hospital.

Live music has taken off alot in Britain over the last decade. Ireland has the Oxygen festival which is always pretty wacky as alot of people turn up in costumes.

 

[Double Down]

I'm really excited about this Tokyo Police Club show. How are they live?

 

[Mee]

I don't listen to the radio. What were the worse songs of the year?

Too many to name.

 

[chamber-music]

I'm really excited about this Tokyo Police Club show. How are they live?

Quite good when I saw them.