bands/acts with significant fanbases who seem to be from a parallel universe

i remember when i heard that a friend of a friend was a huge fan of a band called Alt J and I was like who? Apparently they are huge!

last night i worked a sold out show (1 of 2) by a singer songwriter whose career began in 2006 and apparently had garnered him a huge loyal fanbase. Andy Schauf? Literally never heard that name in my life.

when i was younger i used to assume if an artist had a huge loyal fanbase and i had never heard of them, they must be Christian -- this does not seem to be the case anymore.

i have never felt so siloed in my own interests. this is a thread for those moments.

This is how I feel about so many young artists who I only first hear of after they've already got 40 million monthly streams or whatever. But I'm young too so why this rock I'm always under, etc.

i've liked some of andy schauf's music. he seems to consistently get good coverage on pitchfork so that's probably boosted his audience.

I had no idea who Jeff Rosenstock was until late last year

No doubt I would have seen his name before but I clearly just glazed over it

Bump this thread when you come across somebody hugely popular you didn’t know about

this is just part of getting older. however, i do think there is a tendency to frame this negatively (ie i'm so out of touch) when really it comes from knowing yourself and your interests and tastes better. in my early 20s i made more of an effort to listen to a wider array of music and that taught me what i enjoy and what i don't enjoy and now i get to enjoy the fruits of that labor, not having to waste time trying to force myself to like stuff i'm not interested.

oh whoops
well i guess i will post there then

i don't think it's entirely about age though -- and i don't frame it negatively or feel bad about my lack of knowledge. it's more that i am disoriented by the landscape. maybe that is age but i don't see it that way.

With me it's definitely aging, and also not really knowing what counts as popular. Right now there are a bunch of artists in RYM's 2024 top 40 that I've never heard--Sierra Ferrell, Friko, Tapir!, Willi Carlisle, Rosali, Julianna Gattas. I have no idea if these acts are popular or just some online ephemera.

Quickly looking into I see that Sierra Ferrell has a duet with Zach Bryan that made it to #37 on the Billboard 100. So that means she's popular--I guess?

I think I know 4 of the artists in the RYM Top 40 this year, don't feel bad

I think with Andy Schauf it was shocking to me that he had been around for 18 years and I had never even heard of him to my recollection. I do not believe I was out of touch 18 years ago or in the interim. The fans were not all young, though many were.

Same with Alt J -- that happened about 11 years ago and I didn't feel out of touch then either. I really feel like there is some parallel reality I haven't been privy to.

Not through malice or intentional exclusion, I just don't happen to live in that silo

I think Shauf started getting hyped when The Party came out in 2016. That's around the time I first heard of him.

lol:

President Barack Obama featured the title track, Neon Skyline, on his 2020 summer playlist.[12] Commenting on this honor, Shauf stated, "It’s cool to think that Obama, or the Obamas together, have listened to my music. It’s a really nice feeling to think my music has gone that far."

I wonder how much of this would be illuminated if we gave ourselves up to the big Spotify pop playlists and algorithms, or if younger people are just as siloed based on what tv series these songs are in etc.

I learned yesterday that several of my siblings are big Noah Kahan fans. I'd never heard of him in my life.

I work with a small team of 20-somethings, I'm going to run the 'how many acts do you recognize on schedule for the 2500 cap venue in town?' experiment this week.

Noah Kahan- Call Your Mom

Noah Kahan- Dial Drunk

Noah Kahan- She Calls Me Back

I asked a youngish co-worker a while back if he'd heard of Black Country, New Road, because I had a hard time believing they were really famous and not just some RYM thing. but indeed they are huge.

RYM's 2024 top 40: I count six artists I have heard of. Yet I suspect the majority of these acts might be older than me.

I knew 8 of the 40

lol 12 for me, that will also be a good resource for my young person experiments.

Actually seven for me, I missed Adrianne Lenker right at the start

I work with a lot of young people at both jobs and it is always interesting to see what they're into.

I also remembered an early time this happened to me and it was circa 2000 or so, when I was certifiably young.

I was working as music editor/writer at a weekly and I interviewed a musician who was coming to play in town -- John Vanderslice. I had enjoyed what I heard of his album he was promoting, so I went to the show and introduced myself. I can't remember exactly how the question came up, but we were talking about bands we were obsessed with and he said Mountain Goats, who he described as having an ardent and sizeable fanbase. I had literally never heard of the Mountain Goats. Then he told me it was really one guy and I was like oh ok.

(Side note: Millions of years later, I saw JD at my current workplace when he played there to a sold out and super ardent crowd and thought of that time all those years ago. Also just looked up Vanderslice and he is still at it! And actually older than me?!?! Wow)

I can't help but think that the thing I am talking about with the parallel universe feeling is more a feature of siloing than age -- I get recommended all kinds of unfamiliar stuff on spotify due to playlists for various things like camp playlists or playlists for songs my students analyze in class. Hence, somehow, I know who Melanie Martinez is.

Looking through the upcoming indie shows in Philly--the ones that are already sold out are:

Ray Bull
Owen
Spraynard
Orchid

more a feature of siloing than age

absolutely agree, this all goes along with the fragmenting/balkanization of music scenes/fanbases in general

We're Ray Bull, the indie pop duo from Brooklyn. Along with being an emerging indie band, we are content creators and influencers.

cool, bruh.

Can you guys feature my hydration drink at your merch table?

this was my feeling re: Lorna Shore. like...I didn't even hear that name until 2022. the band Aborted was an opening act at a show and dad was in respite care so I had a free night to do something and I went to go get a ticket and it said sold out, and I was like what, and I said who the fuck is the headliner that sold THIS venue out, and I look, and it's Lorna Shore, and I'm like Lorna who?

only to find I have several friends into them talking about OMG LIKE I WOULDN'T BE GOING TO THIS SHOW OF THE YEAR, BEEN WAITING A LIFETIME FOR THIS type posts. and after that, I couldn't stop hearing about them from any friend who was into deathcore, seeing memes about them on social media, having friends go to see them and sharing videos, even having a stranger at a bar tell me "OH YR INTO METAL? I JUST SAW LORNA SHORE". and they weren't a new band, had been around since 2009.

I know they're not big like the other examples itt but was pointing out that even though I'm not into deathCORE, it's adjacent to the music I listen to the most and even though I hate most deathcore, I'm very aware of the biggest players in the genre, and yet one of the biggest of them all completely slipped by me even while I was actively paying attention. like they were retroactively invented and everybody knew but me.

also they suck.

i think it's definitely siloing, to echo the posts upthread

right, I mean I don't think I've ever really been aware of what was popular. closest I came was probably in like 2007 when LCD Soundsystem suddenly became one of the biggest bands in the country.

like I feel like the phenomenon is less "big successful act that I somehow hadn't heard of" and more "act that seemed like something I would have encountered prior to now if they truly are as big as people say, to where I think this is some Twilight Zone trick where like they actually didn't exist before 5 minutes ago and suddenly poof they've always been here and only I didn't know"

What I’m more fascinated by is how so many of these people use their utterly unremarkable names instead of some cool stage name.

Just remembered Jeff “Guitar” Elliot from that classic “Name Bands at an Open Mic Night“ thread

(xp) Where are the Engelbert Humperdincks of today?

still love that Michael Bolton's real name is Michael Bolotin

He goes Country: Michael Bolotie

For me this is Fink. A few years ago I noticed that he was playing mid-size venues all over Europe and I had never heard of him. I started a thread about him but it got no replies at all.

Is that the Ninja Tune guy?

when LCD Soundsystem suddenly became one of the biggest bands in the country

Did this even really happen? I always got the impression that LCD Soundsystem were arena-sized in NYC, because that's where all the music critics and middle-aged tastemakers lived, but in the rest of America they were a 1000-1500 cap room act at best.

they were in between those two categories, i think. LCD played the 5,000-seat Aragon Ballroom when they were in chicago in 2010

had an album that peaked at #10 on the charts that year--not exactly a big arena act but good mid-sized fanbase

their fans are lowest common denominator imo

rym test: heard of 18, heard 12 (still need to press play on that adrienne lenker record!)

re: lcd soundsystem you can argue that their stint as one of the biggest bands in the world came 10 years after their supposed heyday, when they headlined a summer's worth of festivals, including coachella

my latest radio station chart just came out, here are the acts in the top ten I have never heard of:

Jalen Ngonda
Arlo Parks
Crumb
Alison Goldfrapp
Willow Avalon

Wasn't Alison Goldfrapp in a popular electronic group? I can't remember their name.

haha I was not sure if there was any relation there

Arlo Parks is one of those British singers who wins Mercury prizes

This Jacob Collier person keeps showing up in guitar trash youtube shows I watch. I have no idea who he is, but popularity is implied.

― 145 feet up in a Jeffrey Pine (Sufjan Grafton), Friday, 12 April 2024 05:18 (nine hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Nor did I until a few years ago when a few close friends had already, passionately, settled on him as the absolute worst. So much so that it drove me to hear his latest album at the time (Djesse Vol 3). I didn't think it was up to much but nor did I quite hear why it/he angered my friends so. But he gets nominated for Grammys a lot right?

I don't hate or even dislike him. Maybe I don't know him well enough. But he dresses like Pauly Shore and pulls out multiple name guitars which were custom made for him, yet I have no idea who he is. The stuff he plays while noodling around on said trash guitar youtubes is pretty, and he seems to know what he's up to.

He's a favored disciple of Quincy Jones and Herbie Hancock because of his grasp of harmony and virtuosity (and probably because he made himself a youtube star through being conventionally virtuosic), made a bunch of videos playing all the instruments, and makes fucking terrible music. Sort of the apotheosis of the Youtube-era virtuoso musician who has been able to absorb a huge amount of musical information, but without the unique aesthetic of a Louis Cole or Domi & JD Beck, or respect for minimalism and funk of a Vulfpeck.

For me it's when I think I've discovered some deeply obscure or underground act only to find they're bloody huge, verging on mainstream. Happens a lot with Afrobeats stuff especially.

xp ok, guitar youtubes make sense theb. To clarify, he dresses like Pauly Shore would dress in colder weather. If there's a movie where Pauly lands an internship in the Big City or must face mountain nature.

so many hip hop people i've never heard of with 50 zillion views. but they can also come and go pretty fast.

can't believe nobody's mentioned ICP yet

never heard of them

haha I think most ppl have accepted ICP as part of the consensus reality universe

people cutting Jacob Collier a break now? ILX really is losing its touch

Shakey Jake Collier

that's a roundabout way of admitting you like Pauly's style

Why has no one mentioned Juggalos?

I learned yesterday that several of my siblings are big Noah Kahan fans. I'd never heard of him in my life.

This guy's headlining two (2) nights at the Hollywood Bowl this summer... I had also never heard of him, tho he and Olivia Rodrigo are releasing a split single (for RSD) covering each other's songs.

(thread fave Khruangbin are also headlining two nights at the Bowl)

its a new world order.

What we are looking at is good and evil, right and wrong

You guys are thinking of Marvel Studios’ Infinity Saga Concert Experience, a two-night extravaganza at the end of August (You may think you’ve seen these stories before, but never like this. Join the Los Angeles Philharmonic as we embark together on a live concert and cinematic journey through the Marvel Infinity Saga – beginning with the Tesseract being hidden on Earth by the Asgardians all the way to Tony’s ultimate sacrifice – from an all-new perspective.)

It’s a Ring Cycle for the 21st Centiry!

Tony's Ultimate Sacrifice is the name of my No Doubt tribute band, btw

i don't know that fans of the extremely popular marvel movie franchise count as being from a parallel universe

Earth 619

the bad earth

Billy Strings has gotten pretty popular but he is playing two nights at Rupp arena in Lexington in June, which I found surprising.

(Thought Khruangbin's Coachella set was fantastic on the livestream, but I won't try converting the unconvertible.)

Speaking of Noah Kahan itt, he has important msg 4 u

https://stereogum.com/2503674/noah-kahan-asks-concertgoers-not-to-shit-in-their-seats/news

Striking imagery there in the description of the incident that prompted the appeal.

someone seasoned a chair with their stick :-(

We need a poop emoji auto replace for Noah Kahan.

learned on a business trip that a coworker is a big Noah Kahan fan. she is a 53-y/o mom of two teenage boys so I think she may have gotten into him through them.

shitting in your pants is in fact the only appropriate reaction to hearing noah kahan's music

If you're happy and you know it, crap your pants

There was a sold out super hyped show at the venue attached to my workplace for a band I was told could sell out some of the larger venues in town. The band was called The Dip?
Who?

Did you buy it?

Buy what? That they were popular? Who am I to argue given I’ve never heard of them?

"buy the dip" is a stock-investment term

When I dip you dip we dip

Welp that’s another thing Ive never heard of

Did you buy it?

― Ned Raggett, Sunday, June 28, 2026 7:08 AM (one hour ago)

i tried chaw once, it was terrible

Dip dip dip dip dip dip dip dip
Get a job

Is it these people?

https://thedip.bandcamp.com/

I believe so

I listened and they sound like they could be on the lineup (not necessarily headlining) at an oyster roast or similar event? Looked them up on setlist.fm, and they've played the 930 Club here in DC, which is a 1,200 capacity venue.

have not listened but given what i have read about them and the kind of music they play (crowd-pleasing smooth retro grooves), it makes perfect sense that they would be both wildly popular and ignored by critics and tastemakers.

Interesting to read back through this thread. Khruangbin are the first name I thought of as at work they are one of the biggest selling bands and have been since Con Todo El Mundo came out in 2018. Whenever we played that album, we'd be guarenteed to sell or a copy or at least get someone asking who it was. It's a shame they're so dull because I do love a word of mouth success story like that.

A few others that are big sellers for us that seemed to come out of nowhere (I might just be very out of touch).

Tyler Childers (I don't know anything about modern country so Charley Crocket, Sturgill Simpson and Zach Bryan could count, but I feel like I've heard of them more in the real world)
Caamp
Cage The Elephant
Brent Faiyaz
The Marias (people LOVE these guys at the moment)
TV Girl
Glass Animals (not sure if they count as they do have that one massive hit, but their back catalogue sells like crazy)
Lake Street Dive
Lord Huron
Tom Misch
Bladee
Men I Trust (Wasn't sure about including them as they are an I Love Music favourite. In the last couple of years their sales have gone crazy for us which doesn't seem to match up with the press/coverage they get)

It's all younger people buying these along with copies of Heaven Or Las Vegas, Souvlaki and So Tonight That I Might See.

I think the Marias are a mainstream success--they played at the last Grammy Awards.

I was actually just thinking about Lake Street Dive in the context of The Dip. Not quite the same thing, but close enough.

The only real reason I've even heard of them is because they're played on my local Triple-A station. Same with Caamp (who my wife actually got into a bit because she heard them on that station).

Cage the Elephant were one of those 2010s "Indie" Alternative Rock radio mainstays, in the whole slew of VERB the NOUN bands. Never had a Top 40 hit, but had a bunch of "hits" on the "Alternative Rock" charts.

I always like to see those TikToks/Reels where someone is saying which goth songs will get them onto the dancefloor and it's like 75% expected classics and 25% shit I've never even heard of

also a fun experience in this vein: when my department has karaoke parties and our international students are belting out what they consider standards but the room is made up of people from like 17 different countries so it's all over the place

beabadoobee is playing areas on her upcoming tour. I like her a lot! I don't think I want to see her play the same place I saw Pearl Jam though