Show Review: Best Coast, Vivian Girls @ the Casbah

   Let me tell you something about Best Coast:  Best Coast is a phenomenon.  Her in print records- records that are still for sale- sell for close to 100 usd on ebay.   I'm not a huge fan of that fact, but it is what it is.  Same thing with Dum Dum Girls, and I'm saying this only because I have empirical evidence to back it up:  People are hungry for it.

   Now, I'm no expert, but here are my two interactions with the music industry in the last 24 hours:
   1.  Watching Them Crooked Vultures on Saturday Night Live.
   2.  Watching the Who perform at half time of the Super Bowl.

   The Who.  Them Crooked Vultures.  Little bit stale, is all I'm saying.  The music industry is a grinder, and the grist for the mill is new acts.  It doesn't care where they come from, but sales matter and brother let me tell you- Best Coast?  Dum Dum Girls?  Those records sell.

    The Vivian Girls came to town last week.  I'm not a fan, but I respect the work.  I respect who they are, what they stand for.  They take a lot of shit because they come from Brooklyn, and because people are haters.  Anonymous commenters are such fucking bitches with their woman hatred.  The shit people write- and then the fact that the sites then leave it up?  Lewd comments, personal comments- directed towards women almost always.  How can dealing with the major label  pr world be any worse then what your average buzz band faces on Stereogum and Brooklyn Vegan?.

    I got to the Casbah in time for Best Coast.  I've now seen the act four-five times now.  I've noticed steady improvement.  They had the Vivian Girls drummer behind the kit, and I thought it was a win.  The music was more engeretic, more interesting as a live act.  In the past I've expressed concern about how BC would be received, but I feel pretty confident after this week that they will play in the sticks.

      Couple of crowd notes:  Lot of guys.  Guys- pumping their fist, singing along.  The turn out was strong, and I attribute that strength entirely to the strength of Best Coast as a live act.  I think people are going to like it.  The strength of the response- in terms of sales, live shows,  however, is just an emprically verifiable fact at this point.

Buzz v. Hype

The difference between buzz vs. hype boils down to the presence of "credibility" within the equation for the former, versus it's presumed absence in the calculation of the later.

The absence of credibility is not an issue for many who enjoy hype.  The winner of American Idol does not need to possess "credibility."  Additionally, someone benefiting from hype probably doesn't need buzz.  Following along with my prior definition of buzz as "popularity not reflected in sales," hype would be something that comes long after buzz.  Buzz first, then hype.  Buzz requires credibility, hype does not.  Thus, a "buzz worthy" artist should no worry about the quality of "hype" because let's face it, hype is shitty.

LA Times Dum Dum Girls, Best Coast, Pearl Harbor Feature

(LA TIMES)

Nina Garin Dissects St. Vincent "Buzz"

            Oh man do I love talking about "buzz."  Call it what you will: hype, attention, "making waves," or even "buzz" it is best described as "popularity not translated into sales."  Or, less often, "explanation for increasing sales."  I think, probably, I should even refrain from posting large portions of Garin's excellent (non-sarcastically!) piece, but she breaks the "buzz" into five categories:  the credibility, the album covers, the instruments, the voice, the awards, the songs.
         Here's the only fact I need to know about St. Vincent to explain her "buzz":  She was a member of The Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens' touring band. (wikipedia)
         Dagger!  Does it mean that St. Vincent is either a "good" or "bad" artist? No it does not.  Increasingly popularity and increased sales are the only measure of whether an artist is good or bad.  However, Garin is right in positing that "buzz" is a combination of talent and human relationships.  Since the definition of buzz typically describes popularity not manifested in sales, it is fair to say that for artists who already draw sufficient attention to sell records and tour that buzz is only important to the extent you want to increase your audience.  For the largest artists, buzz is irrelevant, except perhaps when introducing a new product into the market for sale.
          

Pancakes!!!!

PANCAKES M*****F*****!

Top 40 HITS!!!! The Script "Break Even"

The Script are a pop band from Dublin, Ireland.  Their debut record came out in 2008.  Break Even is #31 on the Sirius 1 Top 45 Chart.  Intoxicating. Beautiful.

Terrestial Radio v. Satellite: Siriusly.

         I was in my car for a minute this weekend, giving me time to listen to my SIRIUS satellite radio. Now that SIRIUS and XM have merged, I would argue that the battle between satellite radio and free radio is fully joined.  Time to pick sides.  In the pasts, I've flirted with satellite radio only to reject it.  However, 94/9's recent decision to play the Mikey Show in the morning drive time has converted me to satellite radio.  I realize satellite radio isn't perfect, but if 94/9 has to play the Mikey Show, for whatever reason, I'm not listening to terrestial radio.

       For those of you who are still on the fence, I want you to consider this blog a forum advocating in favor of satellite radio, i.e. "it's worth it." 

       This weekend I was focused on the Hits 1 station.  Hits 1 (SIRIUS/XM 1) played the Top 45 hits in order, commerical free, on repeat, all weekend.  I was able to flip between several stations and catch the majority of the count down.  You can find the full list at the bottom right hand corner of this page.  I was also able to observe a tiered process for newer artists in different genres, where songs start at the most niche stations and then progress to more general stations.  For example, artists from the "U" station (college rock) move up to "alt nation" and then, theoretically, to Hits 1.  Looking at the current top 45 list, there are artists like Weezer (36), Laroux (21), Muse (6), Kings of Leon (43) whose path follows this exact progression.  Similar things could be said about other country, r&b and adult contemporary artists on the chart. 

     Some of the acts defy easy analysis.  For example, the biggest mover on this week's chart (up 14!) was by a band called "Shinedown."  Check out their video on you tube.  Shinedown, as it turns out, as been around since 2001.  They are from Jacksonville, Florida.
   Here is everything a normal person needs to know about Shinedown in one sentence:

Nickelback recently announced dates confirming Breaking Benjamin, Shinedown, and Sick Puppies as support for the spring leg of the 2010 Dark Horse North American tour. The tour kicks off April 6

   To take 94/9 by comparison- not that they play Shinedown- because they certainly don't (maybe they should?) you couldn't even do this post because they don't have a countdown, and they don't publish their play charts on line.

Swedish Pop Night in Athens, Greece

When:
Thursday, February 04, 2010
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM CST
 Where:
TIKI
Falirou 15 (Metro Acropolis)
Athens

Soft Pack Playing 10 Shows in LA in One Day

LA-based band The Soft Pack are hitting the road on Saturday--the roads of Los Angeles, that is. The San Diego-transplants (formerly known as The Muslims) will play 10 consecutive shows marathon-style all across town in an event that has them partnered with the FYF Fest and riding in a veggie-oil fueled 1992 Blue Bird school bus. (!)

Schedule


10:00am: House Party (5227 Irvington Place, Los Angeles, CA 90042)

Noon: Frankie’s (Sunset Junction; 3323 West Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026)

1:00pm: FMLY Mansion w/Avi Buffalo (1210 Appleton Way, Venice Beach, CA 90291)

3:30pm: Fingerprints (4612 E 2nd St, Long Beach, CA 90803)

5:00pm: SECRET BEACH SHOW

5:30pm: House Party w/ Crystal Antlers (6382 Rochelle Ave, Westminster, CA 92683)

7:30pm: House Party at a Fan’s House (Downey, CA)

8:00pm: Vacation Vinyl w/Dunes (4670 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027

10:00pm: Silverlake House Party w/ Woah Hunx

Midnight: Secret Location

BLOG ROCK: GRIZZLY BEAR VS. PANDA BEAR

  Some bands sound the same, and they have similar names.  This is fertile territory for observations!
  The first observation is that Grizzly Bear is an indie rock band from Brooklyn, while Panda Bear is an actual guy who also has a project named Panda Bear.  Panda Bear(the guy) is in the band Animal Collective.
  Panda Bear the band released an album in 2000, is obviously involved with Animal Collective's records and last put out a record in 2007.   Grizzly Bear has put out three studio records, the latest of which is Veckatimeist (2009).