POLL: The BBC Sound of 2011 Listees

of the only two i've heard on this list, esben & the witch are pretty good and i find warpaint unbearable.

I like Jessie J ("Do it Like a Dude" at least, though I was alone in that in the rolling pop thread) and The Vaccines too (Justin Young's previous thing, Jay Jay Pistolet, was likewise delightful). The one Jamie Woon track I've heard is nice, and I've seen Jai Paul's name on a few things, but don't that I've ever heard him. Warpaint is dire, Esben and The Witch is ooookay. Somehow, I expect Yuck to be appropriately named.

yuck go straight onto this thread Artists You've Written Off/Pointedly Ignored because of their name

ha this is one of my favorite annual ilm threads

the naked & famous look like the only act here I'd be even remotely interested

smh, BBC

*in

mods should unban passantino for this thread

yeah they should.

also, James Blake's music is terrible post-dubstep bullshit experimentalism. i'm down with all those terms, but his music is as exciting as watching an ugly hooker walk down the street. in other words, sad and contrived.

I dunno, LJ. I could see you digging Esben and The Witch...maybe.

Just went ahead and listened to Yuck anyway, and it's really not too bad in a fuzzyindiepopcirca1994 kind of way. But let's be honest...there's a shit ton of that around right now and it's hard to distinguish one group from another usually (just like it was in 1994).

blake's feist cover is one of the best songs of the year

i used to clown dude, but that song opened his music to me a bit & i think the klaiverwerk ep (or w/e) is pretty good, but not nearly as good as the feist cover -- i'm p excited about his vocal ep, whenever it comes out

Yuck sound exactly like Dinosaur Jr and Das Damen. I like them well enough, but I can't believe they're anyone's hopes for a big breakthrough act this year.

I was thinking more like pre-"Sorry Again" Velocity Girl or any number of o.g. Slumberland bands, but if you hear Dino Jr. and Das Damen, that's cool.

Album's fine, but world will not be set on fire. Decent live band, in a slacker sort of way. Hear Dino/Damen in the mid-pace fuzz leaping into overdriven solos, and the naptime vocals ...

Of this The Vaccines and James Blake seem to have the biggest ground-level bandwagon behind them. The Vaccines stuff I've heard is fun, obviously jacking The Ramones in every conceivable way but hey there are many worse influences, and they do it well.

James Blake is dull, dull, dull. Like someone decided the next way to push dubstep into the mainstream was to make it sound a bit more like Elbow. I'm liking Jamie Woon more at the moment, although he's housier that's no bad thing in my book.

Warpaint are great but they're a 2010 band surely, did they just run out of ideas?

no Lil Wayne?

If Anna Calvi is actually audibly influenced by Debussy, Messiaen and PJ Harvey she will at least be interesting. I suspect that'll be sanded out to appeal to the Radio 2 crowd by the time her album actually comes out.

Espen & The Witch look like a band whose entire image has been based upon getting into this list and building from there. Clearly "grew up listening to Portishead, Massive Attack, Tricky and Bjork" is the new "influenced by Kate Bush".

Yeah, the sound cycle of popular music is usually about 20 years, but the influences start creeping in after just 15.

anna calvi - the fuck is this supposed to be like an opera singer fronting dirty projectors? gross

claire mcguire - so the florence & the machine yodeler of 2011? this video is hilarious tho, linkin park would be totally jealous

daley - is this a dude? if so this is some of the worst facial hair i've ever seen. i thought this song "more than a woman" was gonna be a cover of aaliyah, but it's not & whatever this is isn't terrible either -- i guess this dude is like francis & the lights spare funk ish? i kinda dig this unbelievably. more of a vibe thing than an actual good song. gonna listen to his "pretty wings" cover now... he has a good taste at least. good voice, classically speaking. needs to shave & get rid of this janelle monae haircut tho. self respect & all.

esben & the witch - oh god... atmospheric indie rock & a dude wearing dan deacon glasses. it's weird to me that people can still write songs like this & maybe even weirder that critics can be like "this is cool & new, i dig it." moving on.

jai paul - oh god this is looks like it's gonna be a fucking mess. "kaleidoscope funk" goes straight to the 'depressing phrases' thread. this is okay i guess... way more boring than it probably realizes it is tho. we should just ban MIA as well for a few years, just for what she has wrought aesthetically. holy hell.

james blake - i already posted about dude, i'm probably gonna vote for him. would just like to add that he's crazy smashable. i love how the bass on the feist cover feels like it's burrowing into your brain right thru your forehead (on headphones). it's like a reverse migraine.

jamie woon - i already i know i dig this too. "night air" really kinda owns. i wonder if his name was some dumb pun like "joy orbison" if he would be getting more press. "joy hobbs" is still available. this song is great.

jessie j - i'm reading that "do it for a dude" was written for rihanna which makes tons of sense, but christ who the hell let her take this song. first of all i'm not sure how she gets away singing "i can do it like a brotha" but w/e. trying to affect rihanna's dancehall singing is just a horrible look for her & is all wrong. & that doesn't even get into the minaj biting facial contortions. goodness.

mona - real distinctive name, they'll be going places surely. oh it's some lo fi indie rock, actually a welcome entry in this list. idk, what can you say. looks like they care more about their own songs than anyone else ever will, but this song is pretty cool anyway. see you in forktracks, guys.

nero - oh is this some chillwave nonsense?? oh it sounds like straight house actually, cartoon video threw me off. this was cool when it was more dubstepy, now it went all crookers.... idk. ah i fuck w/ this, what the hell. thumbs up.

the naked & famous - oh brother, this name. anthemic synth pop. this has some real hooks tho. not spectacular but it'll do.

the vaccines - signed to columbia eh? is this gonna be strokes-y? oh it's just pop-punk stuff w/ some reverb... alright i fuck w/ it. "if you wanna" is great! this is reminds me of like if kurt vile was british & was a big clash fan or something. "blow it up" is less effortlessly hooky tho.

warpaint - read about these girls... this is nice enough. idk. not my thing.

wretch 32 - alright was waiting for the rapper. this is the worst rapper name of all time altho. i would've guessed this was a major lazer song if i didn't know any better. the chorus is kind of hilarious & not in a good way, but the verses are nice & the production is really cool. he's kinda cheesin in this video tho.

yuck - i loved one cajun dance party song, tho i don't remember which it is. so this is the pains of being pure at heart 2011 version? kinda hooky! this riff is pretty dope. i like this. another one that has a better vibe than it does a song, but w/e.

anna calvi - the fuck is this supposed to be like an opera singer fronting dirty projectors? gross

ok this, while still NAVGL, has made me a mite more interested

kinda dig this unbelievably -- lol there should be a VERY IMPORTANT comma in between "this" and "unbelievably" here

i voted for the vaccines altho i suspect "if you wanna" is the best they've got

Vaccines have got three good Ramones stompers - If You Wanna, Wreckin Bar and Nordgard. Less good when they try to be serious. At the moment, the 25-minute live set is a blast.

Everytime I see Daley I am reminded that I had that haircut when I was 18. My mother told me it was terrible and I should get rid of it. Daley should be introduced to and listen to my mother.

jordan making me more interested with his blurbs than i should be. still never going to give a fuck about 1 of these [via a history of never giving a fuck about 1 of these] [[with the exception of sway]] [[[whatever happened to sway?]]]

the naked & famous look like the only act here I'd be even remotely interested

Seriously? Theirs was the blurb that provoked the biggest eyeroll for me. Enough with the fake MGMTs already.

Somehow this list has managed to rep for Master Shortie and Devlin over the last couple of years while sleeping on Tinchy Stryder and Tinie Tempah so I'm not sure how much stock I put by its ability to judge the commercial potential of anything rap/grime related.

Somehow this list has managed to rep for Master Shortie and Devlin over the last couple of years while sleeping on Tinchy Stryder and Tinie Tempah so I'm not sure how much stock I put by its ability to judge the commercial potential of anything rap/grime related.

It's like you don't even remember them calling Lil Wayne one of 2008s best new artists... ;_; They know so much

the naked & famous look like the only act here I'd be even remotely interested

Seriously? Theirs was the blurb that provoked the biggest eyeroll for me. Enough with the fake MGMTs already.

I realize they're new to a lot of people, but I just happened across them on Myspace in the summer of 2008 when nobody outside of their hometown (and me) was paying them attention. I'm kind of glad they've reached some level of noticeability. The MGMT comparisons drive me up the wall, though. Passion Pit...maybe...but not even that much. "Young Blood" is far and away my favorite single of 2010.

Carter III didn't exactly obliterate sales records in this country either, although I'm sure it was better than anything whoever else was on that list put out.

Re: Mona

I just realized I've heard these dudes before, but didn't connect with the name. If the Rattle and Hum album had never existed, I don't think they would either.

I like James Blake's stuff a lot. There, I said it.

Where's Girl Unit on this poll?

yeah i thought we liked james blake around here.

the names of the last five bands on this poll sound like they're from 1993 at the latest.

I just refreshed my memory of the last three years' worth of listees, and they've actually been pretty spot-on in at least the female-pop and guitar-rock areas (with a few exceptions). I'd almost be willing to bet money that Little Boots' next venture, whatever it is, flops like a fat drunk on a hot day.

Where's Girl Unit on this poll?

― What are you doing here? (dog latin), Monday, 6 December 2010 10:26 (10 minutes ago) Bookmark

being good traditionally has little to do with this fyi.

james blake is so overrated, like his tennis namesake. i have no idea why i keep seeing his name dropped by people who don't otherwise seem to be into the whole bass scene. OH WAIT I DO. i find all of his stuff awkward and dull - haven't heard this feist cover that people have been going on about, but the idea of a post-dubstep producer crossing over because of an indie cover is too lame for words.

jessie j is horrendous, i remember checking "do it like a dude" out because so many people (all v industry people...the kind of people who really seem invested in industry shit always perturb me slightly) had been going on about her. was completely appalled. the way she says "man dem man dem" might be the single worst pop moment of 2010.

warpaint are ok - should give their album another listen, enjoyed the sounds on it but none of the songs really sunk in, and i couldn't really think of a reason why, if i was in that sort of mood, i wouldn't just choose to listen to school of seven bells instead.

wretch 32 has been around for donkey's years and never grabbed me. i assume he's planning some sort of major label pop crossover now? i guess it can't make him any worse.

jamie woon is awesome! "night air" is one of those songs that you just know is special the first time you hear it - it's been such a soundtrack of my winter. if indeed it was co-produced by burial, it's the best thing he's put his name to too. i also love this track that jamie woon did with subeena last year:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dw1PTtu2dE

for the people who haven't heard "night air" -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL0pTo9Z_XU

oh god, I just realized Jamie Woon looks and sings a little like David Archuleta from American Idol a couple seasons ago....which makes me think he (Archuleta) is totally going down the wrong career path.

The Subeena collab isn't all that really, just a bit meandering, which is strange as I love everything else she's done.

Check the Ramadanman mix of "Night Air" also people.

Don't really want to check any of these out, even just to kvetch about them.

i'm in a rush and can't stop to read the list so i'mma just post

lol all of these

as a place-marker

i haven't heard it in awhile but would it be o_O to say that the ramadanman mix of "night air" makes me think of.. mj cole?

No it's very mj cole - in a good way!

it seems to me like the edgy, paranoid, yearning side of 2-step is being re-excavated these days but very little of the simple effervescent side of it (even that fives song is shot through with trepidation)

I think that Wretch 32 song is pretty good.

jamie woon

"The Naked and Famous"

Is this a new supergroup consisting of Samantha Fox, Sabrina, Grace Jones and Iggy Pop?

James Blake will win

Jessie J is abominable

would take Wretch 32's wry casualness over Giggs

"The Naked and Famous" - I don't know if this is a quote from an older source, but isn't this a refrain off something or other on Pre-Millennium Tension?

That was with reference to what MAttDC said btw:

Clearly "grew up listening to Portishead, Massive Attack, Tricky and Bjork" is the new "influenced by Kate Bush"

Yeah, Tricky Kid.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

i finally heard the james blake album. it's APPALLING. just completely dreadful. awkward, rudimentary production and the worst kind of timorous, hand-wringing indie vox.

i'm actually about to listen to the anna calvi album for some reason.

James Blake has done two tracks which I love - "CMYK" and "Limit To Your Love" - but none of the other material on his various EPs grabbed me much.

Jamie Woon's "Night Air" is the highest new entry on my ongoing "Fave Tracks of 2010" list - instant love, which hasn't faded on repeat listens.

Can't stand that Jessie J single. Quite like The Vaccines. Couldn't connect with Warpaint beyond "Undertow", which ain't bad at all.

jamie woon is fucking awful, i'm amazed people actually think a few dubstep wubbles separates him from keane or fucking starsailor or something.

i liked that jessie j song but had never seen the video until just now, and the video made me want to turn it off, strongly, after 30 seconds, just cos she sort of seems like an idiot.

xp I listen to the Jamie Woon as pop. Pop's always been a thieving/bastardising magpie. That's why I love pop. Bring on the diluted dubstep wubbles in 2011!

all the industry ppl i know have been raving abt / trying to fuck james blake all year - i don't hear it personally. post-dubstep? whatever it's indie as far as i'm concerned. see also: darkstar whose gig i saw earlier this year was honestly one of the worst things i've ever ever seen.

i didn't like the darkstar album but it was ok enough - just a bit mimsy for me. james blake's album is genuinely fkn inexcusably dreadful. why those same music industry people weren't going nuts over girl unit i do not know.

jamie woon can just sing 5 million times better than the hand-wringing losers u cite ronan! that's like saying "oh all that separates katy b from natalie imbruglia is a few dubstep wobbles"

obv i am not denying the tinge of MOR to his stuff which makes it even better imo

fuck this industry
bitch i'm in these streets

i like girl unit but honestly 2010 is the year where i've more or less given up on 'uk bass' (and all related genres) other than listening to funkystepz or marcus on the radio occasionally. where is the music amongst the sea of supreme hats?

i guess i just feel out of touch. i followed grime + dubstep enthusiastically when they were equally as trendy but i don't really get what the core "sound" is anymore. all i end up hearing is these indie crossover ppl latched onto by the industry.

wretch 32 is ok (love the owl!) but it's the kind of slick uk urban pop that doesn't have an actualy uk identity other than referencing jeremy kyle

jessie j is basically british trashwave - do not want

first time i've listened to warpaint. it's quite nice but 'sound of 2011'? it sounds so retro to me

would take Wretch 32's wry casualness over Giggs

feel totally the opposite even though i couldn't make it through the giggs album

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

The Vaccines it is!

lol ILM you sorry, sorry bastards

"yuck" shoulda gotten more votes

I'm cool with that top five, tbh. But I also like Jessie J, so I'm persona non grata to some.

it begins! http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/soundof/2011/artists/

that exclamation mark feels inappropriate

mm and anyway how come Warpaint are in this when they've an album out already?

damn i didn't realize they'd done this already, i was going to do a thread where ppl like noodle vague and myself bring u the sound of 2k11

Anna Calvi - Niece of deceased financier Roberto, Anna Calvi's 'Blackfriars Bridge' mixes highly strung confessional lyrics with stoned speculations on life, love and masonic conspiracy in 21st century London while reviving 'Grimdie' for a generation who will have to ask their parents about Lethal Bizzle

Clare Maguire - Actually, we think you'll find the singer from Kosheen was a few inches taller.

Counter-Strike Commandos - Dizzying nu-Psych from this London-based 4-piece who blend the blissed-out synth sounds of early Klaxons with the insular, lush sonics of Elbow to create what many critics have already described as "the sound of February 11th - 24th 2011"

Esbee and The Witch House - Controversial monodrama in the style of 'Le Petit Soldat' in which ilxor 'ilxor' recounts the month he spent in his shed after listening to Salem and oOoOo

Vice-President Bastard - A slice of raw Bermondsey thug life from this 17 year-old MC who describes his sound as "nu-post-post-post-Grime". Packing raw tales of drug deals gone bad and Green Street 2 torrents that cut out at 97 percent, look to Bastard for tabloid provocation and uncompromising controversy once he's finished his BTEC ND in Music Technology come June.

We Does What We Says On the Tin - Bridgewater indie kids reviving the spirit of the Arctic Monkeys with a blast of back-to-basics riffery and biting lyrics. Frontman Danny Poke has already gained a cult following for the NME front cover interview in which he vowed to save music from posers, girls and illegals. Debut single "Can't Believe Some Bastard Banned Me Off Demonoid" is tipped for the number 1 slot.

The Cecil Rhodes - Cleggwave prodigy Jez Moxley's debut LP My Albion charts a tumultuous year that began with expulsion from Uppingham and ended in a conviction for racially abusing a waitress, his 'sick flows' adorning Ninja Tune riddims that might have soundtracked his conception at a coked up Chiswick house party in 1994

Suki Sexton - Big-lunged chanteuse with a classic Soul sensibility. Made her TV debut aged 9 as a streetwise child prostitute in BBC1's My Family. Was picked up Pop Svengali Simon Plimpton-Hunkery and mentored long and hard, including 3 years in solitary at the Italia Conti Academy. Signed to XL Recordings aged 16 where she discovered her lifelong love of 1960s Easy Listening. Current beau is manager Geoff Shuttlecock, 53.

Sibillant Shepherd - Thirteen year old Somerset farmboy Lemuel Phelps is set to reach #22 with his sub-Schwitters 'So Many Sad Sheep', a controversial piece of volkisch agro-ardkore that commemorates the death of Little St Hugh of Lincoln (all profits to the English Defence League)

too much auto tuned crap in this list and it's just one 'maida vale session' after another in those clips. i note on the bbc site they're pitching/rebranding all this as who will be 'the most exciting' artist of the year. surely no one ever thought Ellie Goulding (09 winner) nor Little Boots (08 winner) were in the running for that tile. i mean jeez..

they're no Counter-Strike Commandos, it's true

Everyone got v.excited about EGoulding, if I remember...

Jamie Woon isn't even dubstep particularly, although the word 'dubstep' is becoming a bit like 'electro' in that it's straining under the weight of all the things wanting to be called dubstep now.

Going to actually make an effort to listen to these now, but I absolutely love the three or four Vaccines track I've heard. If they stick to that blueprint the album could be a lot of fun, and I want to give a shit about a British guitar band again.

THE FRATELLIS - New Cross artnonces perform mid 2000s landfill indie standards in the style of Skullflower and Brise Glace, frontman Laderyck Beaumarchais has already been banned from the ICA for defecating on an effigy of Eric Pickles

Everyone got v.excited about EGoulding, if I remember...

pretty sure you remember wrong

(raises hand) not me Sir.

No one in the world was excited about Ellie Goulding including her mum. Commercially a no-brainer though... did she actually sell that many records in the end?

if only Little Boots' agent had thought to go down the Marks and Spencer's advert/ Elton cover route. doh!

GRAND THEFT AUTOTUNE - Angry political pop from this irate Wellingborough trio. Situationist slogans and crunching 2-chord blasts of furiousness rage against the failure of the Coalition government to consider a 0.5 percent increase in National Insurance as an alternative to the rise in VAT. Snarling contempt at a venue near you in 2011. Unless you live in Somerset.

yeah she did she's just had a massive number 2 hit at Xmas and a number 1 album. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellie_Goulding_discography

SPACEBALLS - Hawkwind-influenced Psych jams from this 60-something collective of unknowns from Ladbroke Grove. Hotly tipped to ask you if you've got any skins outside a venue near you in 2011.

Everyone got v.excited about EGoulding, if I remember...

pretty sure you remember wrong

― lex diamonds (lex pretend), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 15:30 (18 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I'm sure they were inventing categories just so's they could award them to her.

http://akamai-static.nme.com/images/thums/1114_101435_NMEVaccinesCMA2Cover040111.jpg

The Vaccines have named their debut album 'What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?'... Nice title!

http://www.nme.com/news/the-vaccines/54420

The Fratellis UK - Copyright issues forced the addition of the suffix for this lot, who formed at the University of Hertfordshire and recreate the spirit of mid 2000s UK indie with immaculate period detail and fidelity to comtemporary recording techniques

you 2 r slaying me

Rusbridgah - Chill ass Neo-soul dubstep with sick beats and eclectic samples from Kensal Rise producer Simeon Rusbridger, described by the Guardian as 'the sound of urban Britain in 2013, let alone 2011' and currently soundtracking the Innocent Smoothies 'My Kitty-kat is poorly' viral commercials

jamie woon is one of the few times of late i've heard something so crap i feel i'm bothered to mention it. bad vocals is one thing, bad vocals that high in the mix is another. i can't believe people like it, it sounds like an x factor failure with some pleasant backing music, no charisma whatsoever. and the lyrics are awful too.

i am a full-blown fan of at least two x factor failures this year!

if only any of this lot were half as amazing as cher lloyd, though.

jamie woon probably has one of the best voices on this shortlist

I'm surprised people itt are quite so in love with Woon and so down on Blake. Woon's voice is fine but functional - it's all about the production.

i've liked woon's voice on everything i've heard by him (admittedly not much) - it's not just the ethereal/dreamy/male b4l elements to it, he knows how to actually imbue lyrics which could be...dubious in many others' hands with the right emotion.

the production is burial, yeah? assumed it was but haven't actually seen it confirmed.

I find Woon likeable and emotional in ways that are immediately comprehensible whereas Blake gets into my head and ends up moving me in ways I can't put my finger on. I really hope the "it's a disaster" consensus forming around the album on ILX isn't mirrored in the real world.

i don't think you have anything to fear there, every other critic i've seen mention it has done so w/breathless enthusiasm. and it was tailor-made for ilx to hate, given the general suspicion here to dubstep and indie.

though as w/the mercury, i always go from trying to ignore this list beyond vague derision to genuinely wishing acts i liked were on it - it does seem to catalyse people into PAYING ATTENTION and checking new stuff out more than anything else :(

oh, i heard clare maguire and anna calvi. latter wasn't bad though not exactly memorable either. the former is annie lennox's solo career resurrected, not a single difference (apart from maguire not having made classic pop in her previous band obv).

the one jai paul tune i've heard is pretty good:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zphhx5KZZ_c

Anna Calvi is produced by Rob Ellis, so I'll allow those unmistakeable PJ Harvey-isms! But I've only heard last year's single so far.

I liked that she did a Frankie Laine song for her first single. I have fond memories of our local country band always encoring with Jezebel in the working men's clubs when I was a teenager.

Anna Calvi sounds like she could go either way based on last year's single, but it's not awful and might grow on me. Will appear at every single festival and probably in every glossy women's mag as well. I can see her becoming one of those pop stars who is more famous than any of their songs.

This Clare Maguire song (Aint Nobody) is going to be inescapable by the end of next year. Not sure a goth Florence & The Machine is what the world's been waiting for but given the recent revival of Stay by Shakespeare's Sister the British publish should lap this up. Obviously there are loads of dubstep remixes which I'm fucked if I'm listening to.

Esben & The Witch - okay PJ Harvey really is the new Kate Bush as far as indie hype goes. Except this is really boring and PJ Harvey isn't. The Mercury shortlist basically decides itself next year.

Wretch 32's Ina Di Ghetto is okay, kinda generic grime really, but when Ghetts comes in the gulf in class is pretty obvious, and no one's ever bothered to rep for him in one of these things. British MCs should be banned from using the phrase "congestion charge" ever again.

Jessie J - this is the worst shit ever.

Going and watching the ongoing cot death/baby stealing storyline in Eastenders feels like it'll be marginally less dispiriting than this, so I think I'll do that instead.

I probably should hate a nerdy white girl's take on autotuned nerdy hip hop more than i do, but I don't know Jessie J seems too harmless to get vitrolic about.

we're covering these on http://www.thesinglesjukebox.com/ this week

it's kind of hilarious, nothing's passed a 5/10 yet - who the hell voted for these awful acts? why do critics and tastemakers have such terrible taste?

tastemakers = some industry bankrupts in this case i'd guess

problem with BBC Sound Of seems to be that they ask 200-odd people in the industry (not necess. experts) who they think will be big this year (based on industry hype/circulating list of brit school grads) rather than who deserves more attention (perhaps not already signed and being hyped, not already having a single in the top 40 etc.).

jessie j single was on its way down the charts (having stalled just outside the top 20) until winning this, now it will probably be #1.

They make it very unclear in the nominations process about whether you're meant to choose people you like but have limited appeal or people you hate who will do well. The longlist suggests a mixture of both.

i guess that's why Lady Gaga only came sixth in 2009's, while White Lies came second

actually if jessie j does top the charts she would be only the second Sound Of winner to do so (other was mika)

I liked that she did a Frankie Laine song for her first single. I have fond memories of our local country band always encoring with Jezebel in the working men's clubs when I was a teenager.

i didn't get this in my jukebox review, but don't you think this indicates a weird lack of confidence in her own material, either on her part or her label's? it just leaped out how two artists on this list were resorting to cover versions for their introductions to the public (yeah i know "limit to your love" wasn't j.blake's debut, but it was his first big push of this album campaign). i love cover versions and don't think they're any less ~valid~ than your own songs, but it's just not a good look to debut with one, especially if you're a singer-songwriter.

I love Rob Ellis, but even his guiding hand can't make Anna Calvi's album the least bit interesting.

Okay, I'm past the opening set and into the meat of the album now...and it's still bad, but now it's pretty square and totally corny too. I'll probably not ever be listening to this again.

'Desire' is good!

"Desire" is probably the best song on an album of not-good songs, and that's only because I'm imagining Siouxsie singing it.

vaccines on some "provincial bar band play a couple of their own songs towards the end" shit. really dire.

The more Vaccines songs that leak out, the less excited I am about the upcoming album. They should've quit after that first single.

xpost Well, Lex, I was surprised at first, but in a way it kind of makes sense. How many "pushed" artists end up spunking away their best early song on a debut single that doesn't get much attention, and then ends up being rereleased 29 times - by which point the reaction is "You've already released this - don't you have anything else?" serving only to massively undermine confidence in them (a current example - "dark rock" band Chapel Club rereleasing their best song, Surfacing, more than a year after it was their debut single). So releasing a cover gives you an idea of the aesthetic, without spoiling the appetite for her own songs ... I thought it was a canny enough move in the end.

that makes sense, though i'd think the ideal would be to have more than one song that's good enough to be used to push you to the public! sure, hold the most immediate one back for the "right time", but your own toolbox shouldn't be empty of anything else of enough quality to serve as your debut.

(need to relisten to calvi's album to make up my mind on her - nothing on it leaped out as immediate as such, which may be the problem in her label's eyes, but it did make me interested in returning.)

The example that immediately comes to mind is the Lemonheads covering Mrs Robinson, using it to gain recognition for their album and then disowning the cover altogether.

Worked for the Scissor Sisters for a while.

xpost Lemonheads was a bit different, because Mrs Robinson wasn't on … Ray originally. In fact, Atlantic had so little faith in that album it was released straight to mid-price (in the UK, certainly). Then Mrs Robinson was recorded for a DVD rerelease of The Graduate, got airplay, was released as a single, then slapped on to a new edition of … Ray. Dando was adamant from the start that it had no place on the album, though he undermined himself by appearing on TV shows promoting the song.

Was that before or after "My Drug Buddy" was changed to simply "Buddy"?

I think the … Ray pressings with Mrs Robinson on had the Buddy title change didn't they?

the worst moment of The Lemonheads working-for-the-man era was the 'duck my sick' line change on Big Gay Heart.

Atlantic had so little faith in that album it was released straight to mid-price

it was also 'nice price' in Aus but that was ostensibly because the album was so short.

so the vaccines winning this poll must have been down to comedy votes, right? it bothers me that there are TWO acts here that i hate more than jessie j. also when yuck averaged 2.93 at the jukebox i don't think anyone expected that low score to be beaten within the day :o

also, 12 acts in and nothing's managed to score over 5.86. i consider this a tremendous indictment of the stupid list. seriously all these acts are AWFUL, like "where on earth did you find this, on the sole of your shoe?" awful.

disagree that ALL OF THEM are awful, but w/e

yeah to be fair we haven't got to the one i like yet, but 12 deep and my scores have gone 1, 1, 4, 0, 2, 4, 5, 0, 4, and most of the (very varied) jukebox panel seem to have thought similarly.

Did you do The Naked and Famous yet? I may have overlooked it. (Hope you choose "Young Blood" and not the other inferior singles they've released that try but fail to capture what they did there.)

it actually makes me kinda depressed about the taste of my apparent peers in the music industry - will give them the benefit of the doubt in thinking they're genuinely into these people - but being actively excited about any of these acts is so alien to me. i don't even think they're marmite acts in most cases, just really boring, derivative ones with really obvious flaws.

(the naked & famous will be going up today.)

(we did "punching in a dream")

Also, I think I said this a few posts ago, but The Vaccines should've stopped after that first really good single if the rest of their stuff is going to devolve into crap like "Post Break Up Sex". *groan*

What is the true criteria for the "Sound of ___" lists anyway? I mean, there's obviously an element of hyping particular acts, but for the casual (or even not-so-casual) observer, they have done a somewhat decent job the past few years of predicting the sound we'd hear each year even if they miss the mark on some of the artists.

"post break up sex" will surely be the worst song i hear in 2011

like, i gave yuck [0] because i honestly find it unlistenable and can get no enjoyment out of it at all, but it's not like it actively brought out the rage in me. everything about "post break up sex" makes me want to cut a bitch (lead vaccine, to be specific).

i like how tom ewing probably brought the best zing and gave it the second highest mark :o

xp i have no idea of the hows/whats/whys of this godforsaken exercise beyond propping the bbc up as an important tastemaking brand o_0

Post Break Up Sex is DREADFUL and this is coming from someone who loved the early fun Ramones-y stuff. This new single just feels like a hangover from the last decade, it sounds like the fourth single off a disappointing second album rather than the song you use to launch a supposedly exciting rock band. Clearly no one in the music industry has a clue what they're doing.

I listened to the Anna Calvi album last night and while it wasn't bad it was kind of nothingy at the same time. What's the point of PJ Harvey without personality?

Clearly no one in the music industry has a clue what they're doing.

just seen a tweet that james corden's been signed up to host the brits for the next three years :o

what the fuck is WRONG with people

that's a bit of a hostage to fortune, what if his brilliance wanes in the next three years?

I rather like the Vaccines single. *ducks*

It's also atypical of the rest of their set.

yeah i saw all the ramones comparisons and when i heard PBUS i was like...i may not be the world's biggest ramones expert but i'm SURE they don't sound like this

Actually what Post Break Up Sex sounds like is the Killers on one of the songs when they're REALLY going through the motions.

that's a bit of a hostage to fortune, what if his brilliance wanes in the next three years?

― nakhchivan, Thursday, January 13, 2011 9:56 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

A++

So can we talk about Yuck a little bit? They're from North London but do a really good impression of Seattle grunge/alternative 90s music. Think Sonic Youth, Breeders, Dinosaur Jr, early Smashing Pumpkins etc. Now that would get my alarm bells ringing because I'm not into people just ripping off old bands, but truth is they do it really quite well and for someone of my age and background listening to their debut holds a huge nostalgic cache. IMO, had it been released in the early-mid 90s, the Yuck album would be considered a classic. Best track is the lead-song "Get Away", which sounds like James Iha and Kim Gordon covering something off the Watery Domestic EP.

yuck: http://www.thesinglesjukebox.com/?p=2988

Yuck are the "this is never actually going to sell but I consider myself too cool to vote for Brother" option, right?

Not having heard Brother yet, I don't know, but from description they sound like the worst shit really. I think Yuck are worthy enough. On paper they're nothing new, but if you grew up with (and enjoyed) alt rock and the like, they sound very welcome, especially when the idea of post-grunge has come to mean hoary AOR bollocks like Nickelback, Bush and Puddle Of Mudd or what have you. They couldn't be further away from the Cobain-a-lites of this world.

Haven't heard the track that was reviewed on Singles Jukebox, and I noticed a lot of people giving it low ratings are either non-rock fans or old enough to still be sick-to-death of this kind of sound. But the first half of Jer Fairall's comment rings true for me. I haven't heard the song they're reviewing, but how can any alt-rock fan hate on this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGU60-6A6Xg

(cannot vouch for quality as I'm at work and can't play it)

Best track is the lead-song "Get Away", which sounds like James Iha and Kim Gordon covering something off the Watery Domestic EP.

― Bernard V. O'Hare (dog latin), Thursday, January 13, 2011 12:05 PM (20 minutes ago) Bookmark

About to listen but I will say ahead of time that I will be happily surprised if it is even 50% as awesome as this description makes it sound!

I'll reserve full judgement on Yuck until hearing a record but I saw them last year and it seemed so painfully ersatz, partly because of but not limited to the fact that they emerged from the breakup of Cajun Dance Party. Dressing appropriately to the era of the music you're aping is... well it's one thing if you're a 1930s swing band or something, kind of laughable when it's Chuck Taylors and ripped jeans

idk whether that truck or dog latin's claims on their behalf are more risible

track/yuck lol

also I didn't think their songs were very good xp to self

I noticed a lot of people giving it low ratings are either non-rock fans or old enough to still be sick-to-death of this kind of sound

dude i don't even know half the jukebox writers' tastes well enough to pigeonhole them like that, let alone their ages, so i doubt you do. rock's scored well there in the past.

I liked it! Reminded me of Buffalo Tom I think, in a good way.

out on tour, with the smashing yuckins

lol that song sounds like Ash

Dressing appropriately to the era of the music you're aping is... well it's one thing if you're a 1930s swing band or something, kind of laughable when it's Chuck Taylors and ripped jeans

Arguably no more ridiculous than all the electro revivalists wearing neon, hairspray and shutter-shades in the 2000s.

so 'fairly ridiculous' then

yes, but that's music and fashion for you.

and that's the end of that chapter

Only took ten years. Well done everyone, let's get on with some work.

Buffalo Tom + Ash comparisons are otm-ish. I get the '90s indierock nostalgia vibe that wafts from Yuck, but I was never really into those type of bands in the first place, so nostalgia for the time is all I'm going to get from this band. They're not too bad though.

Fucking hell has somebody re-released that Chris Morris Pixies spoof?

That Pixies spoof is actually GOOD iirc.

it is good but it also demonstrates how easy it is to spoof a band with a well-defined sound. as do yuck BOOOM

xpost Oh man, the Cajun Dance Party thing is unfair and such a red herring. They were schoolkids when they were in that band, which ended up getting attention way out of proportion to either their merits or ambitions. Does anyone beleive a group should be judged on its members' school band?

I don't think Yuck are destined for any greatness - they are plainly too derivative of a very particular early 90s sound for that - but I've seen them three times and enjoyed every show, even though I heard this music first time round. Their album is strong, they know their way round a melody, and while I could live without some of the wilful slackerism - the muttering into the mics between songs, the charisma vaccuum - I wish them well.

if the members of a band were in a band immediately prior to forming their current band, I would say that yes the previous band is generally a relevant thing for people to mention, however much Yuck might want people to think otherwise

I mean I'm not 'judging them on it' but it does somewhat add up to the impression they're essentially trying on a succession of hats - otoh I daresay I've overlooked this before in the case of bands/people whose music I've been more inclined towards, so not getting high and mighty or nuffin

They were 15. C'mon. The two in Yuck didn't write the songs in Cajun Dance Party either.

Isn't reinvention part of pop anyway? "Sorry, David Bowie, I find Ziggy Stardust wanting because Davy Jones and the Lower IV were rubbish."

as an antidote to this list there's a nice 30 song 'Best Of..' playlist/round up of new bands from 2010 here on The Guardian's Band Of The Day page:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2010/dec/31/new-band-day-2010-playlist
there's some x-over with some of the bands featured but also loads of other good stuff.

it actually makes me kinda depressed about the taste of my apparent peers in the music industry

fuck the music industry

lex you should be glad you have different taste to your peers in the music industry

OTM

i guess i am glad, but i also really want the music i love to do well commercially and gain recognition critically, so i guess it's frustrating to see the people in question looking over there somewhere at way inferior shit

yuck: yuck

lex ... "way inferior shit" means "stuff that is completely different and does a completely different job for a completely different set of people".

Thing is Lex, a lot of the stuff you champion (though by no means all) is underperforming hip hop/R&B, which is by a vast degree the dominant sound in UK pop so if particular artists you love fail to find a audience then parts of the industry may be to blame but they're not the parts that like Yuck.

Back to the Vaccines. Their album has arrived on my doorstep and it is much more Ramonesy that Post Break Up Sexy.
xpost Preferring their "early stuff" to their second single - is this what the world has come to?

dorianlynskey otm, the people who are into "yuck" aren't going to be into R&B/Hiphop by and large. Would be great if everyone came out of their comfort zone and checked out new things but I don't think that is going to happen.

I think he's talking about Girl Unit vs James Blake, not Cassie vs Yuck, dudes.

it's not so much yuck that baffle so much as mona, who are about the most ORDINARY band possible, and like...the naked & famous who sound like about a million other people did four years ago, and the esben witch people who sound like a lot of more interesting people except without the songs or interest

and yeah james blake over [insert 5 trillion superior acts here] is ludicrous, as is wretch 32 (whose song i actually like) over eg lady leshurr

last three sound of 2011 acts going up on the jukebox at some unspecified point "later" anyway - it turned out to be very much "save the best for last"

tho i would rather listen to "save the best for last" by vanessa williams than any of em now

Is Lady Leshurr actually going to release anything commercially this year or is she just doing DIY mixtapes still? If its the former, colour me very excited indeed as she's fantastic.

I think the thing that will do for most of the PJ Harvey-influenced types is the fact than an actual PJ Harvey album is coming out this year and by all accounts is fantastic.

The list is a box-ticking exercise obviously and not really an indication of critical acclaim OR a commercial sure-thing, as evidenced by them managing to rep for Master Shortie while missing Tinchy Stryder and Tinie Tempah.

lady leshurr just released an album on bandcamp for £2 - when it's strong it's very strong http://imladyleshurr.bandcamp.com/

i don't like either of the pj harvey songs i've heard. surely this won't be the first pjh album i don't like :/

The list is a box-ticking exercise obviously

yeah but for whom, for whose benefit? if it's just a box-ticking exercise why do so many people pay attention to it and why does it visibly benefit those featured in it (see: stevem's point re: the jessie j single - if not for this it would've probably fallen out of the top 40 and gone unnoticed!)

The BBC also running the biggest radio network in the country also helps a little.

and yeah james blake over [insert 5 trillion superior acts here] is ludicrous

It might be ludicrous but it's not surprising. I can see exactly why he was picked out from the post-dubstep pack for this list.

if it's just a box-ticking exercise why do so many people pay attention to it

casual/generalist/part-time pop/Arts journalists like a crib sheet as much as anybody who doesn't care that much about their job?

Went to see Jamie Woon last night on that Radio 1 bill at the Forum. Jesus. Not his fault he was a disaster, though - appearing on the bill straight after a DJ set from Nero, with lots of "I want someone to say YEAH!" and sub-bass, with Sleigh Bells following him. Talk about the wrong gig for him. Couldn't actually hear him, because the chatter was so loud.

nero/jamie woon/sleigh bells is an utterly baffling line-up, who put that together and why?!

last gig i went to where that was a problem was glasser @ the macbeth - she even said before one of the songs "ok this is a quiet one, i'd appreciate it if people could stop chattering" to absolutely no avail. people are so fucking ill-mannered sometimes.

It was a Radio 1 throw everything at the wall and see what sticks affair - Funeral Party (LA rock dudes play House of Jealous Lovers over and over again) opened, then Nero DJing, then Woon, then some R1 clone DJing, then Sleigh Bells. Then I left. Wasn't staying to watch White Lies headline. Really odd. And Nero got much the best response of anything while I was there.

So one of the guys from Chapel Club was quoted a couple months ago being bitchy about Jessie J, and he's trying to clear the air (and his conscience) about it now. Since neither Jessie J nor Chapel Club have dedicated threads, I thought I'd post it here.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

http://www.chapelclub.com/blog.php?id=322

This might seem odd but I'm a bit sensitive about stuff like this, so I want to set the record straight. I considered doing it at the time, but I didn't want to make a massive fuss of it and be seen to be starting a feud or anything like that. Plus I didn't want people to think that I was ‘courting controversy’ or that I think I'm vaguely important in any way. But I keep hearing people mention it and every so often someone will tweet about it like it's cool or funny, and that makes me uncomfortable, so I want to put my side out there.

Back in January, the band gave an interview to the NME in the lead-up to the release of 'Palace'. During the interview, we were asked about many things - the recording of the album, our views on art and religion, what bands we love etc. We were also asked (as a so-called 'buzz' band of 2010) to give our views on the buzz bands of 2011. Really, we should've kept our mouths shut: there's no good reason for one musician to do another down, even if they've got a fair point. It's hard enough to keep your head above water in this industry without all the childish feuding and sniping. But, being relatively new to it all and a little naïve (I guess), we tried to engage and give honest answers. Mine centred less on the artists themselves than on the media's coverage of them.

Most notably (for want of a better term), I talked about Jessie J, who I'd only heard of the night before, and who was the recipient of a pretty glowing feature in The Guardian newspaper that same morning. This feature said that Jessie's latest single, Do it Like a Dude, was part of a 'feminist conversation' in music. In the printed interview that appeared in the NME, my response was memorably reduced/paraphrased to read 'Jessie J is a lesbian from Essex who was mildly interesting until I heard her music. It's not subversive. It's mildly ironic.' This was the magazine's pull quote for the interview, in fact - and I've been berated (understandably) and celebrated (not so understandably) for saying it.

The problem is, I didn't: not quite – or at least, not in the way the article implied. I'm not trying to wriggle out of anything - stupid, colourful stuff like that actually serves to increase a band's popularity, I don't know why; at any rate, it's not like it's done a huge amount of damage to the band. But a few months down the line, I still feel uncomfortable with the implications of that quotation, and I just want to set the record straight for anyone who's remotely interested. Which I realise might only amount to two or three people.

So what did I say? The actual conversation went *something* like this:

Interviewer: What do you think of Jessie J?

Me: You know what, I didn't know anything about her but my friend was telling me about her at dinner last night.

Mike: I've never heard of any of these people! Fuck, I'm out of touch. Who is she?

Me: [to the interviewer] She won the Brit Critic's Choice award and the BBC Sound of 2011 thing, didn't she? [To Mike] She's a lesbian, she's from Essex and she co-wrote the biggest-selling single in the US last year, Miley Cyrus or something. I thought she sounded really interesting and then I was reading the Guardian this morning and there was this piece talking about how her new single, ‘Do it Like a Dude’, is part of a feminist conversation in pop. And I watched the video and I was so disappointed. I was like, This is not part of a feminist conversation on any meaningful level - this isn't subversive. It's just part of a trend of female pop stars and singers trying to do something sexy but vaguely alternative to sell records… [and so on].

That dialogue is not verbatim because I didn't record the interview. But it's nonetheless an honest depiction of what was said and - most importantly - the way it was said. Taken somewhat out of context, especially in the pull quote (ethical sub-editors could probably change the world), it reads like I'm an airily dismissive or disdainful, vaguely homophobic misogynist; in context, I hope you'll agree, it reads more like a slightly anal, absurdly completist guy explaining to his friend and bandmate (in answer to a direct question) the key facts he'd learned at dinner the night before as to the public identity of a pop star - facts which seemed relevant to the Guardian piece's claim that Jessie J's song is actively engaged in 'feminist conversation'. The full NME article didn't change the content of what I'd said a huge amount, though I think Mike's interjection and the fact I was explaining Jessie J to him rather than to the interviewer is a pretty significant omission. But the decontextualised pull quote must (in my opinion) have been aimed squarely at cooking up controversy from something fairly uncontroversial.

Anyway, I still regret saying anything at all, because Jessie J sounds like a nice person and the video to that song is actually pretty ace on a few more viewings. Not that she needs to worry what I think! But I do maintain that there's an element of irresponsibility (or shit-stirring) when any publication takes someone's (slightly drunken but still valid) viewpoint and reshapes it (even ever so slightly) into something that seems more aggressive, more offensive and more intolerant than was ever the case. The tone and intent of what I said was massaged into something uglier somewhere between the journalist's dictaphone and the newsagents' shelves, and that seems a little sad and unnecessary to me.

Also missing from the printed version of that interview was my subsequent (and directly related) assertion that some journalists seem to fall over themselves to read poetic and/or political depth into the work of more obviously mainstream/pop artists while more 'alternative' artists trying to work in a more 'meaningful' space (arsey as that sounds) often find it hard to get a look-in. It can sometimes feel that way, at any rate - like it's hardly worth trying, because the very fact of doing so renders you somehow pretentious or a smart-arse. I realise many people think I’m a pretentious smart-arse anyway: a ‘self-proclaimed poet’ or whatever (I’d like someone to dig out an interview where I say anything but the opposite, but still), but still I don’t think it’s a particularly terrible thing to talk about.

Anyway, I remember the journalist nodding and saying that this was an interesting point before asking what female artists I like. I mentioned Joanna Newsom (the journalist said she found her irritating). She then recommended Anna Calvi - I said I'd definitely check her out (I think she's great). Anyway, I'm telling you this simply to show that the journalist hadn’t misunderstood me; I don't think there was any chance she thought I was being aggressive or homophobic towards Jessie J - she knew I was talking about artistic intention and worth and validity, the active choices musicians make as to how and what they communicate to the public – and the media’s various responses to them. Credit where credit's due, and all that.

I might also note that virtually none of the stuff about art, religion or the bands and musicians we love was printed, but I guess rounded reportage and editorial balance don't sell magazines. Actually, I bet they would, but there are probably very few music press editors or publishers that have the imagination to try.

Anyway, that's it for now. Thanks to anyone who bothered to read all of this. Apologies if it seems self-indulgent, but I don't want anyone to see me as a standard-bearer (and yes, before the caustic remarks begin, I know it would be of the very poorest sort) for any kind of intolerance or narrow-mindedness.

My apologies also to Jessie J, and to anyone else who may have been upset or irritated by the implications of what was printed. I imagine there'll be a bit of grief to come just for posting this, but whatever.

Love as always x

L

Feel bad for him that he came off badly but is this really true?

some journalists seem to fall over themselves to read poetic and/or political depth into the work of more obviously mainstream/pop artists while more 'alternative' artists trying to work in a more 'meaningful' space (arsey as that sounds) often find it hard to get a look-in.

Yeah, I cringed a little bit at that because it doesn't seem true at all and he's only basing it on personal anecdotal evidence, but he's a young guy and probably still trying to come to terms with the fact people outside of his friends and family even know his band now.

ya i'm guessing it's easier than coming to terms with the fact nobody outside of his friends and family will even know his band in 18 months time

If they last long enough to release a 2nd album, I'll listen to it. I like Palace and all their pre-album singles.

yeah but you're you

other people are not you

they don't know or care about chapel club

It's testament to the rise of the poptimists that he honestly (?) thinks the average critic is more inclined to read deep meaning into Jessie J or Rihanna than into an indie rock band.

white people have the best resentments

i know chapel club are white people cuz i posted them to the Gallery of unfortunate band photos

It's testament to the mad diplomatic skillz of the Chapel Club guy that he's managed to put himself on the wrong side of a debate that also involves the hands-down worst new pop star of 2011.

who the hell are chapel club?!

for his information, she identifies as bisexual

I didn't think she was a lesbian tbh

Yeah, it was the first I'd heard of it.

Anyway, he was probably told she was a lesbian the night before he was asked about her and didn't do his own independent research before answering a tossed-off NME question.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/CC_450.jpg

*gulp*

jessie club vs chapel j

look at those fucking indie kids

Guy on the left is in the wrong band surely?

the two on the right are the most objectionable

why are they all so badly dressed

cuz they are idiots

Find it difficult to believe their music could be worse than Jessie J even if they are terrible, but you never know.

She's fucking rubbish, either way. They look rubbish too.

They sound like pre-"britpop" British rock music (like any number of bands who sprang up post-Smiths and vanished as soon as Blur arrived).

(^ which happens to be the sound I romanticize as genuinely awesome because I was 13-14 at the time it was happening.)

That's exactly what I'd have expected them to sound like from that photo. NB I have a deep-seated hatred for that sound.

idk who those bands were

swervedriver? emf?

Fugazi? (JOKE) No I don't who you mean either, the Bluetones, Shed Seven?

I'd assumed fake C86 indie jangle/tweepop.

apart from the "mildly ironic" bit which is just odd and doesn't even read like a proper zing, there's virtually no significant difference between what was printed and what he purports to have said... I don't get why this is worthy of a long ass blog at all? As far as I can tell basically everyone invested in pop crit/journalism/whatever thinks Jessie J is terrible

xposts middle dude even LOOKS like Lamacq

I'd assumed fake C86 indie jangle/tweepop.

Was there much of that around, pre-Blur? Scene was dead by then surely?

As far as I can tell basically everyone invested in pop crit/journalism/whatever thinks Jessie J is terrible

idk she's obviously getting support from somewhere - think a lot of pop blogs are pro-jessie j

I'm talking about stuff like Mighty Lemon Drops, Railway Children, s/t album era Echo & The Bunnymen, etc.

Pretty narrow scene there!

Yeah post-Smiths pre-Blur is quite a long time.

Smiths wound down in 1987, Blur's first album was 1991...so four years?

There's a little bit of proto-shoegaze in them too, like Ride's early singles.

87-91 feels like a huge accelerated period of change musically though, in virtually all ways.

They sound kind of like Gene imo.

I thought I didn't like Jessie J but I didn't realise "Do It Like a Dude" was by her that record rocks fuck u if u are in a shit indie band and disagree.

Lex is in an indie band?

yeah but it's a good one

jeez obviously logically I am only saying "fuck u" to those who fit both criteria do you even know what "and" means?

^ gone too fucking far this time

And? And? wharrayoumean "and" ?

"... So I kicked him right in the balls, he fell to the floor, and as he fell to the floor he said, "Euuughh!" I said, "Don't you 'Euuughh' me, mate!""

Keepin' It Logically Positive

who'd think it would comte this, nv not even bothered to russell up a decent zing

Hadn't heard them until catching them at Primavera on Sunday, but pretty sure Warpaint should have walked this. Still fond of Yuck and Esben though.

Well, the Vaccines have dome alright, Warpaint too.

I saw Yuck on Later, they seemed alright, then again they seemed like Sebadoh. so..