As if topping a number of those godforsaken year ends lists wasn’t enough, Robin Pecknold and the rest of his Fleet Foxes are performing on the 1/17 episode of Saturday Night Live, which will be hosted by Rosario Dawson. She’s currently promoting Seven Pounds, her film with Will Smith, but don’t hold that against her. As far as the other foxes, we’re told they’re only the sixth indie-label band to play on the show during its 30-something years. (UPDATE: No.) Make sure to tune in to NBC next Saturday at 11:30 PM EST to see what songs they play. And to see if Robin stands up.
You Might Also Like
 Watch Fred Armisen’s SNL Farewell With Carrie Brownstein,… |  Watch Kanye West Do “Black Skinhead” & “New Slaves” On SNL |  Watch Vampire Weekend Return To SNL |  Download The Best Of Ian Rubbish & The Bizarros |
 |
 |
Leave a Reply
Sign in Sign in with FacebookYou must be logged in to post, reply to, or rate a comment.
%s1 / %s2
hmmmmmm
the shins must be one?
i actually want to know who the others are, could someone tell me
robin will stand up. he’s been standing up at all the most recent fleet foxes gigs.
arcade fire are another indie label band to play snl.
Vampire Weekend played last year, didn’t they?
the shins, vampire weekend, arcade fire, and…uh…spoon?
o and what about Fear?
Fleet Foxes (2009), Vampire Weekend (2008), Spoon (2007), The Shins (2007), Arcade Fire (2007), and one more?
Wilco was on there, but i dont know what label they were on
They don’t deserve this. Damn you ROBIN!!!
They are playing “Blue Ridge Mountains” and “Mykonos” evidently.
Arctic Monkeys (2006)
Is sub-pop really still considered an indie label? what does “indie label” even mean any more?
Taylor Swift apparently.
arcade fire, spoon, wilco _____, ______, fleet foxes!
I’m pretty sure Wilco is still on a Warner Brothers label.
Is Sub Pop really an “indie”? I thought they were almost half-owned by Geffen or some such group.
wilco is on nonesuch
There are more than 6 indie label bands who’ve played. That was the number Sub Pop gave us but it’s not accurate. Who wants to research?
they’re only 51% indie, you guys! unless 49% owned by a major label still means 100% indie, which it doesn’t really…
fleet foxes, arcade fire, shins, vampire weekend, spoon, and MY MORNING JACKET!!
Were the Replacements on that Warner imprint yet when they played? That might be one…
that photoshop job is pretty terrible (and hilarious).
was Nirvana still on Sub Pop when they played SNL?
is that person yawning in the photoshop someone IN fleet foxes, or something LISTENING to fleet foxes?
epic fail.
LMAO
Oh I get it…its because they aren’t good right? Very clever! +1 for you!
they’re good, but they are basically jan and dean. so, kind of boring. get it?
Taylor Swift is actually on an indie label, and if you count Arctic Monkeys (along with Arcade Fire, Spoon, the Shins, and Vampire Weekend), Fleet Foxes will actually be the 7th indie indie-label band ever to play the show (for what it’s worth).
from Brooklyn Vegan
I did some research since obviously this is very important (this is not important) and I am an SNL nerd. Via
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Saturday_Night_Live_hosts_and_musical_guests
There were a ton of “indie label” acts who have performed on the show.
Modern era you could include Teenage Fanclub, Franz Ferdinand, Jack Johnson, Arcade Fire, Shins, Spoon, Vampire Weekend, My Morning Jacket, Taylor Swift, and now Feet Foxes.
Before that: Harlan Collins & Joyce Everson, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Brick, McGarrigle Sisters, Amazing Rhythm Aces, Andrae Crouch, Joe “King” Carrasco & the Crowns, Funky Four Plus One, Jr. Walker & the All-Stars, Fear.
I don’t know who some of those people are either. (I wasn’t born yet.) No do I know who The Singing Idlers are and they don’t have a Wiki entry. But they sound indie!
Obviously not counting comedians who played music on some episodes (Garrett Morris, Belushi, Lily Tomlin) as proper musical acts.
A bunch of acts may have been on indie labels at the time they appeared but I’m too lazy to check: Sun Ra? Queen Ida & the Bon Temps Zydeco Band? Philip Glass? Ladysmith Black Mambazo? Hothouse Flowers? Tin Machine?
In any case, Fleet Foxes you are in good and weird company.
i can send you over my homework if you’d like.
At the risk of betraying my nerdiness and my age, I remember Hothouse Flowers performeing on SNL when their Home album came out back in 1990-91. They were on London records at the time (part of Polygram). All that said, I have no idea if that is considered indie or not. Probably not since it was subsidiary of something larger.
Franz Ferdinand, Jack Johnson, My Morning Jacket –> all on major labels
Domino is an indie. Franz Ferdinand are on Domino.
They have a distribution deal with Epic for the US, though.
If My Morning Jacket counts, then so does David Gray when he was on in 2000… both are on ATO. And, unfortunately, according to the Wikipedia page for Wind-Up Records (“currently the largest independently-owned record label in the world..”), Creed counts. Though, major-label distribution, blah blah blah, there’s grey area concerning just about all of them.
I thought that was the face of Richard d. James at first glance.
Fleet Foxes…BORING. Listen to My Morning Jacket’s “Librarian” from last year’s “Evil Urges”…it’s exactly what Fleet Foxes attempted to do and failed at, that MMJ did way better.
you are drunk, or just dumb as fuck, saying “fleet foxes tried to copy mmj’s ‘at dawn’” is a lil more credible; but they didn’t try to/didn’t at all, copy mmj.
Nirvana is one
fleet foxes on SNL? theyre too mainstream for me now. come on, stereogummers, lets find another shitty band to jizz in our pants to!
Some people just aren’t cool at all…it’s llike trying to get Picasso across to a bat. Hopefully this group do something that will make it one for the ages… really showcase what they’re good at…
And for god’s sake DON”T play “Blue Ridge Mountains”…One of the most anticlimatic apperances in recent memory was the Shins comming out and playing fucking “New Slang” when they should have been killing it with “Sleeping Lessons”…
I am sorry… Is this a joke? I guess I am an idiot.
brian weitz of animal collective- “oh look they are playing the same song they started with”………. fleet foxes are good but as Chuck D always say’s don’t believe the hype
I love AC a lot but I think it’s funny to hear that coming from someone in Animal Collective, which often their songs can bleed together and sound VERY similar.
That said I’d much prefer Animal Collective play SNL
what are the chances of bands like Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear and Deerhunter playing SNL? Unlikely? Not enough mainstream appeal?
They were actually referring to them ACTUALLY playing the same song… It was recorded that way for editing purposes. So they shot the intro and outro first and then fired off questions until they ran out of time.
people need to stop bitching and comparing MMJ to Fleet Foxes
both make great music, just enjoy it and chill
The good thing is, SNL has gotten exponentially funnier this season. Looking forward to it next week!
Check out my best of ’08 list – http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/listmania/fullview/R3KGIYPTU205IN/ref=cm_pdp_lm_title_1
Some of those records came out in 2007… Liam Fin – I’ll Be Lightning for example…
Stereogum, why hating on Will Smith?
Actually, that six number seems right. A lot of those so-called “indie” bands are for sure on major labels — or are on labels distributed by majors, which means they’re not truly indie.
“Modern era you could include Teenage Fanclub, Franz Ferdinand, Jack Johnson, Arcade Fire, Shins, Spoon, Vampire Weekend, My Morning Jacket, Taylor Swift, and now Feet Foxes.”
Merge, Sub Pop and Beggars/XL are indies. But Franz Ferdinand was on Epic Records (a major) by the time they were on SNL. My Morning Jacket’s ATO is a division of RCA and is distributed through Sony. Teenage Fanclub had their albums distributed in the U.S. via Geffen. Jack Johnson’s label is distributed via Universal. Even Taylor Swift’s albums are distributed via Universal, although her label is independent.
I thought this was common knowledge, but Sub Pop is distributed by Warner Brothers. WB has owned 49% of Sub Pop’s stock for nearly 14 years.
sub pop’s a weird case, yeah, because technically the majority of it is “indie” — but nearly half of it is distributed by a major. i think the deal was originally made so that it would retain its indie status. i’m not sure how it works in terms of radio, etc., but that obviously helps with distribution.
I think you’re confused with how the system works. Just because WB has bought 49% of the company does not mean that only 49% of Sub Pop’s discography will be distributed by WB. WB just simply owns 49% of the companies stock which entitles them to that much of Sub Pop’s revenue. The more money Sub Pop makes, the more money WB makes, so WB is working on Sub Pop’s behalf to distribute the records, get TV placement, radio airplay, etc so that they can in-turn, make more money.
actually, i made a typo. of course just half the label isn’t distributed by a major; it doesn’t work like that. what i meant is that in terms of brand or essence, having the 51-49 split means that SP is technically still indie — and can claim indie status.
Uh oh, could this be one of those big moments where all those indie elitist pitchfork readers turn thier back. We all know how they hate the mainstream and how kindly they looked upon Vampire Weekend playing SNL.
who cares, they still sound like my morning jacket
everyone admit right now, you only clicked on this journal for the picture.
Yea yea, you are right. but that chick on the right is smoking.
Harrumph…I’m just plain sick of Fleet Foxes already. Completely my own opinion, but I think Vampire Weekend is nothing compared to the Fleet Foxes hype and subsequent letdown…
I just watched this week’s episode with Taylor Swift and I can honestly say I wanted to be sick. With those people “playing” in the background and her writhing on the floor, it was about as much as I could bear to witness. I wanted to smash her rhinestone guitar Arcade Fire style..(anyone?)
Next week can’t get here soon enough so SNL can redeem its self with some indie label worthy music. I don’t even care if Robin stands up or not. If they’re on stage, I’ll watch.
Taylor Swift just owned SNL. Or is it Taylor Hicks? I don’t know.
Let’s be honest, Fleet Foxes are practically a sloppy version of the Oak Ridge Boys.
I don’t understand what’s so difficult about getting over the hype, slapping on your heaphones and getting lost in good music, which is what Fleet Foxes do for people who like harmony-based folk music with lots of reverb. I don’t think they’re going to change the world, but does the fact that people abuse hyperbole have to ruin my enjoyment of their music? Course not. There will always be dickheads who think their opinion is fact and there’s nothing we can do to change that, so just enjoy. Or not. It’s all subjective, folks. We can still talk about music without coming off as complete morons.
seven pounds was a great movie. dont be hating.
modest mouse were still pretty indie at heart when they played…
Fleet Foxes do not sound like My Morning Jacket.
Rancid played when Out Come the Wolves came out on Epitaph.
SNL?….As far as I’m concerned all those Broadway shows deserved to die last week…there’s different types of good isn’t there? The Grease, Mamma Mia type of good is just not cutting it these days…maybe the Kanye episode had so much swagger and pop just because Kanye was in the building…maybe I’m just a mindless victim of those “Be Kanye” ads on the subway…
this was posted nearly four days ago, and its the best music news stereogum has to offer? fuck my life.
It was posted 2 days ago, maybe you could spend the weekend having a life?
It’s the weekend, you fuck. It was posted two days ago because that was Friday… a business day.
fleet foxes is just wayyyy too maiiin streeeaaam….i onllyy listen to bandsss oonnnllllyyy iff they suucckk beecause nobody evever finddss outt abo ut them, they arree alll minee!!!! i donnt payy attenttionnn to thhee musiciaannshhiip, as loonng as theyy hahvve coooll artwoork, and at lleeasst one baannd member mmoddellss for urrbaan outtfittters!!!!!!
The only thing worse than Fleet Foxes are the fucks that listen to them.
I concur!
is it really that strange that a band that has a Platnium record in the U.K. playing SNL?
1. Platinum in the UK is only 300,000 units.
2. This is America.
They are only Gold in the UK, which is 100,000 units. And last I heard they had only done 125,000 in the US.
Mykonos is going to be the next single though. I think it could be a break out single. Better radio song than the first two singles. And before people say Mykonos isn’t on the album, they are packaging Sun Giant with the self-title album rather shortly if it isn’t out already.
Last i heard (and i could’ve hear wrong), ATO left RCA/Sony and is now an independent label once again.
You heard wrong.
“I hate [band] because they’re trying to be ten other bands”
I hate you because you’re trying to be ten million other people. Shut up already.
Nonesuch is owened by Warner Music Group and shares most of their marketing and sales staff with WBR…far from “Indie”
Kids, I’m sure you won’t remember, but there was a time when SNL was actually funny. No, really, it was.
I used to intern at Sub Pop and can tell you for certain that so far noone has yet posted accurately the nature of their relationship with Warner. From what i witnessed and was told there is little to no contact between Warner and Sub Pop. While its true that Warner owns 49% (i actually heard 48% a few times too) and likely gets a share of profits, they do not help with marketing or distribution at all. Sub Pop is actually distributed by a company called ADA who also distribute Epitaph, Merge, Beggars Banquet and just about every other decent indie label you can think of. ADA is mostly owned by Warner but I believe a good chunk of it is owned by Sub Pop too. I believe that was maybe even part of the whole crazy original deal where warner gave sub pop a crapload of money thinking there were a dozen more nirvana’s waiting in the wings.
Oh you interned at Subpop?… well I imagine that you know the ins-and-outs of their agreement with Warner pretty well then?………….ha
PS – the company you’re referring to is ADA Nordic which is indeed a division of Warner Brothers. How can you say that WB does not handle Sub Pop’s distribution?
does anyone know what happened to The Shins? I miss them dearly….
FF and MMJ not alike at all, way different deals. and who cares about FF playing SNL, what about MMJ playing halftime of superbowl?
Warner Records and Warner Distribution (more commonly called WEA) are completely different than ADA. You are right that ADA is largely owned by Warner Bros. It’s also partly owned by Sub Pop and a few other shareholders. And I know being a former intern doesn’t make me an expert but I can tell from some of the ridiculous posts that I have a ton more insight than most folks here. I’ve also gone on to several other music related jobs since my time at Sub Pop for what its worth. Not bragging just trying to back up my statements. Trust me, there’s nothing to brag about. I will say that working for free for Sub Pop was by far the best music job i ever had. The people there were incredibly nice and seemed to me to be genuinely passionate about the bands they worked with. Anyway, i digress…
I was not aware that MMJ were part of the E-Street band these days.
Robin was so boastful after the performances as usual…
Since when does an indie label’s DISTRIBUTION determine whether or not they are independent?
you forgot Of Montreal. they played recently and they are an indie band.