Glass Candy vs. Gossip vs. Ladytron vs. Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Ladytron vs. Yeah Yeah Yeahs for me.

YYYs at this point.

where YYYs = Ladytron

Anyone voting for Glass Candy or the Gossip?

I voted Glass Candy.

i don't see all the parallels

If it were live show, Gossip in a walk. Albums? Well, they're all kinda MOR now, so in ten years they'll all still be kinda MOR. YYY, I guess.

Not sure which way the causal relationship goes, but I will say that the one of these bands that I'm the most meh on, Ladytron, is also the only one that I've never seen live (though Glass Candy's sort of hit and miss live, whereas YYYs were much more fun than their albums, and Gossip is so good live that their albums kinda suck in comparison).

Ladytron are pretty spectacular live. Just this angry, cold machine.

only really ever liked glass candy out of all these. ladytron is ok, yyys had a couple decent songs, and i could never really tolerate the gossip

YYYs easily.

I voted Glass Candy. I prefer them live and YYYs lost me a little with the new album. Heavily personally biased vote though.

ladytron is pretty epic, glass candy is excellent, YYYs bore me, gossip i don't give a shit about either way

I love all these bands apart from Gossip but I really don't see the parallels

Gossip

I don't see any particular parallels, either, but, you know, ILX has a history of bizarre "who would win in a fight between a horse and a monkey" "Hawkwind vs. Joy Division" showdowns.

I'm gonna vote for Ladytron, I guess.

I don't really know enough of Glass Candy to have an opinion, two weeks in the back of a van with The Gossip cured me of ever being able to listen to their music without prejudice and I can't freaking stand the Yeah Yeah Yeahs so it's kind of a default vote.

yeah yeah yeahs = amazing on record, amazing live, getting better and better
the gossip = one excellent song, amazing live, otherwise their music is ok-ish and beth ditto is annoying
ladytron = one excellent song AGES ago, totally boring otherwise
glass candy = pointless and inert and dull all the time

I really really really don't get the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I just don't, and I never have.

The only moment I've ever had where I actually thought "hey, wow, actually they are kind of good..." was that Erol Alkan remix where he put in this MONSTER bassline and a good drumbeat and ripped out 90% of the annoying vocals and I thought "I should give them another chance..." and then listened to the original.

And was clawing mine own ears out screaming "GET IT OFF GET IT OFF, ARGH, MAKE IT STOP!" in about a minute and a half.

I utterly fail to understand.

La Roux

No, wait, Florence and the Machine.

Really liking The Gossip's "Heavy Cross" - radio killa!

I like all of these groups to varying degrees, not sure who I'll plump for.

black box recorder all the way

New Young Pony...ah n/m

the gossip = one excellent song, amazing live, otherwise their music is ok-ish and beth ditto is annoying

This is pretty much exactly how I feel about the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Ladytron for me.

My problem with Ladytron is that for an electro act they seem so clunky and unsuited to actually dancing to. Which isn't really a criticism you could level at either of the two straight-up rock bands here.

ladytron has the strongest catalogue imo, even though i thought velocifero was kinda crap.

Where on earth does this false dichotomy that "electronic = music for dancing / guitars = not designed for the dance floor" come from?

their beats are pretty straightforward and mid-tempo (like loads of New Order, PSBs, Human League etc.) so don't see why dancing to them in would be a problem xposts

Yeah, Gossip have been a dance band since minute one. Voted for them btw even though I've been kinda disinterested for a few years now. But too many formative musical experiences to throw away, whereas I never cared about the other three, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Ladytron just turned me off by seeming way too cold and hard-edged. I get that that's what they're going for, but it's not my thing really.

Steve - I think with Ladytron it's a combination of the beats and the bass in a way I can't quite put my finger on, they just seem a bit leaden and clumsy in the way the 80s bands you mention don't.

i think it's 100% projection tbh (as usual!). i think their sound is generally too cold and 'casual' for dancing a lot of the time, but there's nothing "clumsy" about their arrangements (considering how sequenced everything is i don't see how this could ever be a real problem).

i like ladytron's basic sound but i find them such a limited act - they do one thing, and they've done it again and again for their whole career, and everything i've heard is diminishing returns on 'seventeen', and i just can't imagine caring about them as a band to follow and be a fan of.

although 'seventeen' really is excellent

think that's a pretty average song for them personally

Where on earth does this false dichotomy that "electronic = music for dancing / guitars = not designed for the dance floor" come from?

This is what all four of these bands have made me think about, which is what made me group them together.

"Seventeen" sounds to me like another band - yeah I guess they're still "cold" and "synthetic" but their whole aesthetic is quite different since 'Witching Hour'.

yeah i mean i'm not even sure there's a real difference between how Ladytron's and YYY's sounds have evolved over 3+ albums, or that one is really more limited or predictable than another - it's just a question of what you value more. really like both anyway but can't get into The Gossip or Glass Candy (very different as they are from each other) half as much.

he Gossip or Glass Candy (very different as they are from each other)

Hunh, "Beatific" and "Listen Up" fit right next to each other for me. As do "Love, Love, Love" and "Don't (Make Waves)".

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

ladytron are awesome, glass candy are great but were fucking awful before they got all synth-y. the other two just suck.

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

Surprised so many votes for Glass Candy, who are total shit.

Wrong.

Rats' cocks, how did I miss this poll? Would have been 18 for Ladytron had I seen it. No problem with any of the other three, but in terms of standing the test of time, I'm saying Ladytron >>> YYYs >>> the other two. Ask me again in 10 years.

Incidentally, a bloke at work told me he bought It's Blitz! after overhearing me wittering on enthusiastically about it to another colleague. I was quite flattered by that.