Cameron Winter - Y/N

N

gonna say yes. don't think his voice is *that* weird, he def has songwriting juice, and i really like the song "drinking age"

Leaning closer to Y, but don't think he has the voice of an angel.

it's funny that there are three threads now pertaining to this guy

should I start another one just for the haters

Thread for hoping Cameron Winter gets destroyed killed

Y, but I have no standards

I feel like the “is there anything there or not?” Conversation is mainly marketing buzz around a false question — obviously there’s something there, it’s fairly easy to “get,” the question is if it’s for you or not like cilantro. Is it my cup of tea. And of course the fact that something with a definable aesthetic in this category is going to get instant over exposure

NNNNNNNNNNNNN

just what the world was waiting for, another posh white US indie rocker. More like Cameron Wanker.. amirite?

lol marketing buzz in this case is the entire reason we're having a conversation. whatever remains of minor league critical darling indie hitmaking needs something to rally around from time to time. that's literally the only reason any of us are talking about this particular songwriter and album, among hundreds of thousands of cases that don't get "chosen" whether there's "anything there" or not.

he's not for me at this moment partially because i don't like participating in fandom when someone's "hot" for my own uptight reasons but i don't fault anyone for liking him, i hear the appeal i think.

god, i don't even care one bit about this guy or his band, but to completely dismiss their success as nothing but all us stupid, mindless drones being fooled by the marketing buzz - "literally" "the entire reason" no less - and then to turn around seven minutes later and say you don't like participating in fandom when someone's "hot" is honestly so embarrassing.

uh i'm sorry you're angry?

but to completely dismiss their success as nothing but all us stupid, mindless drones being fooled by the marketing buzz

honestly sorry you read so much hostility into my words but that is all coming from you ftr

there are so many fucking talented songwriters out there in this vein. talent is a prerequisite but the reason why this guy is front and center in this corner of the music world, where people are especially addicted to the idea of merit having everything to do with success ironically, is because of his position and connections and because the apparatus of this part of the industry has shaken hands with each other on it. this isn't some new phenomenon or anything, it's how the world works, and has nothing to do with whether or not he has the creative goods to deliver art that moves people.

and for what it's worth, i like being out of step with that hype machine, it helps me feel like i run into things with more happenstance magic involved. maybe i'll be on my deathbed in 40 years (lord grant i live that long) and my device will suggest cameron winter and i'll be carried away by the ineffable genius of a forgotten indie darling, delivered transcendence via magic one more time.

Dude sounds like Adam Sandler’s Operaman character imitating Van Morrison.

xpost all good, man, we can all read what you wrote

without wishing to disrespect the pleasures of others
it is a happy aspect of being a certain age
that i immediately know I don’t need this guy in my musical world

xpost all good, man, we can all read what you wrote

― alpine static, Monday, December 22, 2025 7:21 PM (fourteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

yes but only one person, you, can respond glibly without owning up to being a bitch at me for no good reason.

ok before i overreact or anything can i say that i wish i had just posted what emsworth did. which is closer to how i really feel.

i'm more into the band, aside from a few songs his solo stuff hasn't completely clicked for me yet, but nevertheless map offtm deej otm: there is obviously something "there" and it's not just marketing buzz. the confusion stems from the fact that there is simultaneously both (1) genuine organic buzz from irl people excited about music (2) plenty of fairly cheesy writing about in the media, and anti-hype reactionaries like to assume that (1) is just a causal residue of (2). but they're really separate imho

The SNL Trump guy did a pretty spot on parody of Cameron this past weekend.

xp

nah you just like shite music and are a consistent apologist for all sorts of wrongs

Damn, such intemperance here!

calzino: it's been more than once you've posted things like this at me on unrelated threads, and i wish you wouldn't. i don't know who you are, i am not familiar with any of your posts aside from being vaguely aware you are british. i don't think we've ever had a direct exchange on ilx (i don't have a great memory for those things, so apologies if we have). tbh, it disturbs me to see your dark posts about me pop up in random places. it's creepy. if i said something that bothered you on another thread, bump it and i'd be happy to reply in context. otherwise i would appreciate being left alone

without wishing to disrespect the pleasures of others
it is a happy aspect of being a certain age
that i immediately know I don’t need this guy in my musical world

― Cod:Shellfish (emsworth), Monday, December 22, 2025 7:24 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

i think this is a much more interesting phenomenon to talk about in the "cameron winter - y/n" thread than the talent:hype ratio/relationship which feels pretty subjective and magic-eye to me.

like, what about it, when you're a certain age, and let's say likely a man though maybe not exclusively one, feels "not needed"? for me, and i admit to having only given a few glancing listens to maybe two total songs because i try not to give too much time to anything i'm not vibing with any more ("try as i may," singled out by posters on this board and then the bruce springsteen x-box cover) is that there is a combination of obliqueness and seriousness-signaling that is off-putting, that says to me "wait i've done this before, when i was younger and figuring out what constituted "serious" "artistic" rock music." when i was trying to like pavement or whatever. (and even now, after failing, i recognize that malkmus and his band had a lot of spark and talent.) like, whether or not you think he's a "real talent" or whatever - of course he is, obviously, i was never taking issue with that by the way - there is something about naming your song "the rolling stones" that just ... like i don't even want to engage with the dialectic that sets up for me, you know? it feels boring and exhausting to me. the province of upcoming ambitious straight young men. never a group i could join, never one i've wanted to be a part of, no interest in starting now. it's just not a story that appeals to me at this point in my life.

i will say that his voice is probably his most appealing characteristic to me. it's warm and alluring and also there's an emptiness there, which i think he uses to his advantage.

yeah there's something about his congested kermit the frog chesty baritone

dudes (i'm pretty sure it's only dudes) make fun of it but that feels wack to me. it's clearly a beautiful and unique voice? i think it's kinda because he sounds like rufus wainwright and we all know who rw is for. i also think carl newman is otm in that other thread about him being "rock star" material. just don't feel like cracking the book on what a zoomer rock star is haha (hasn't that path done all it's gonna do at this point, ergo him naming his song "the rolling stones"?). i like my youngsters as trap hooligans.

i think it's kinda because he sounds like rufus wainwright and we all know who rw is for

in my extremely limited anecdotal sample, the winter/geese love skews straight rather than gay. but i could be way off

the bad-on-purpose way he sings obviously takes a massive amount of skill, but i think to a casual listener, it could come off as the usual indie actually bad singing. but if you listen to 3d country where he's doing a more conventional rock theatrics singing style, the chops are undeniable

yeah, to be clear i was saying that his voice might code as "too gay" for some of the straights.

as someone who's gay, his voice sounds very shit-coded

lol

cam's gen z-ness is interesting, his musical influences are mostly rock canon which is firmly 20th c. but his personal aesthetic and performance are often dripping in irony and meme-y humor like (purposefully) botching the last note on "drinking age" on kimmel, his bootleg "daft punk" shirt on his early music videos featuring kirby-as-peter griffin. i see that as sort of the gen z tendency to avoid being seen as taking things too seriously, so these powerfully emotive songs like "$0" are interrupted with kind of an abrupt amelodic "fuck these people", even the "god is real" riff feels like kind of a wind-up, but it's done with enough conviction that i kinda sense that the sincerity is hiding out under the safety of 'you cant take me too srsly 😂'

So, the zoomer Father John Misty?

pretty ambivalent about this guy (though generally confused by geese basically just sounding like modest mouse and getting what feels like outsized critical praise), but it is definitely offensive to rufus wainwright to compare the two

I guess as a rule of thumb I think I've had enough of earnest young middle class white men singing about their feelings

(also pretty not interested in novels written by this cohort)

again, this isn't to make any value judgement about the work or the artist or people who dig it

it's just a flavour of music that I'm personally kinda maxxed out on, feel there is more fertile ground elsewhere

this thread is fun, reminds me of ilm when i first started posting here. wonder if lex pretend has any cameron winter opinions

I think my problem with this guy is that the first song I ever heard him sing was "Cobra" and his delivery on that sounds just like "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" and I just couldn't listen with a straight face. But I guess we just get one of these guys every decade or so.

I'll concede that he's a good lyricist though and the Geese people are a good band. They do the controlled chaos thing well.

his delivery on that sounds just like "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)

tbh if his music sounded like this to me i would probably be very into it

Voted yes, but not for "voice of an angel" I've always appreciated more quirky, love them or hate them type voices. I wish there were more of these in today's pop/rock.

i really like his stuff but man that new radicals cover that was making the rounds last month was godawful

Oh course the backlash thread would get more reply than his solo thread...

I feel like the “is there anything there or not?” Conversation is mainly marketing buzz around a false question — obviously there’s something there, it’s fairly easy to “get,” the question is if it’s for you or not like cilantro. Is it my cup of tea. And of course the fact that something with a definable aesthetic in this category is going to get instant over exposure

― ok (D-40), Monday, December 22, 2025 9:11 AM (ten hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

bingo

interesting voodoo invokes lex (RIP), because I had been thinking the same thing — his influence on this board is pretty undeniable

generally not interested in dismissals that are rooted in identity or class resentments. everyone is of course entitled to prioritize what they listen to, or watch, read, etc. but the negative partisanship just comes off as philistinism tbh

Wouldn’t say he is the worst but it is the same as the Kieth Starmer Kermit impression and I don’t enjoy it

He’s good and fine and this discourse is weird and bad

We can all agree the New Radicals cover was really trashbad tho

Will anyone still even care by Cameron Summer?

I think there are a lot of female artists operating in the sort of space he's occupying who are doing it better - Cassandra Jenkins, Julia Holter, Weather Station etc- but I still kinda dig him for a guy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pd0YDFu3150

Dude sounds like Adam Sandler’s Operaman character imitating Van Morrison.

― spastic heritage, Monday, December 22, 2025 1:27 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

That was the comparison I landed on too on my first real listen of the Geese album, and roughly when I decided I really like Cameron & his voice.

After more listens, though, I feel like he's doing something a bit different on every song.

We can all agree the New Radicals cover was really trashbad tho

― by the clicking of her thumbs, something canine (flamboyant goon tie included), Tuesday, December 23, 2025 6:17 AM (five hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

i agree with this, was totally wrong for his voice

he/geese should cover “memories can’t wait” instead

or if they’re dead set on 90s airplay jams, why not “interstate love song”

“MMMBop”

come on why not "Closer"

When I saw Waxahatchee earlier this year, he was the opening act, just him at a piano. We were a little late to the venue and he was playing as we found our seats.

I don't know if he did any banter between songs, but in my memory of the event he basically ignored the audience; he just sat there at his piano in a 2,700 capacity theater and sang in his weird voice, and it was absolutely magnetic. I had never heard of the guy.

I checked out his album after that, and I think it's fine, but I would pay to hear that concert again.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Checked out 'Heavy Metal' again this weekend...by no means perfect but pretty pretty good

Checked out 'Heavy Metal' again this weekend...by no means perfect but pretty pretty good

https://stereogum.com/2482773/paul-thomas-anderson-and-benny-safdie-filmed-last-nights-cameron-winter-show-at-carnegie-hall/news

Dude sounds like Adam Sandler’s Operaman character imitating Van Morrison.

lol yes

but also

i will say that his voice is probably his most appealing characteristic to me. it's warm and alluring and also there's an emptiness there, which i think he uses to his advantage.

and

So, the zoomer Father John Misty?

Which to say, I objectively don't like his voice, in the way I have not liked gargle-muppet voices before. The Dave Matthews mentions also get somewhere close to the mark. But also, I can very much understand that his voice is part of the appeal for the many people who like him — it pretty much has to be, it doesn't seem likely that people would like him despite his voice. I do think he and Geese are pretty talented and interesting musically. I don't really care about their privileged backgrounds, I like art by plenty of people from privileged backgrounds. I do think it makes him an easy target for backlash, and I don't really mind that either — backlash is one of the prices of being in the Buzz Bin. I voted N because I'm not an actual fan and also I think the question is funny, but I don't really bear him any ill will. And I leave open the possibility that he'll record things in the future that I like.

genuinely interested in result here

from a science perspective

he/geese should cover “memories can’t wait” instead

or if they’re dead set on 90s airplay jams, why not “interstate love song”

― harper valley paul thomas anderson (voodoo chili), Tuesday, December 23, 2025 11:32 AM (six days ago) bookmarkflaglink

they did "this must be the place (naive melody)" and it was very bad

yes 11
no 4

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

dewey_defeats_cameron.jpeg

22 philistines on ilm at least

give the guy the credit - he and his band are polarizing in a way that feels uncommonly balanced.

like or dislike the music, they're definitely doing something right.

causing people to actually formulate opinions is like the hardest thing for a band to do!

*give the guy credit (no "the")

yeah no one has opinions about bands, checks out

itt i learned fans of this man's music are kinda weird about it

Don't care about him as a personality or any perceived hype (not heard anyone mention him outside the general ILM/muso-sphere, or at least not in the wild.

The recent album isn't really my thing but I still think 3D Country (the album, but mostly the song) is fantastic.

He seems like a talented and ambitious person so fuck it, I hope the kid goes far and does everything he means to do, whatever that is

My 23 y/o son has been back for Christmas, rising at 1pm each day and spending hours working out Drinking Age on the piano he hasn't touched since he was 16.

^^^ furtive visits to bars

3D Country seemed offputtingly goofy to me at first, but I'm getting more into it. I'm glad I heard Getting Killed first.