Poptimism hasn't been the order of the day here for that long, funnily enough. The "Week in Pop" column and CRJ were both turning points. Positive move IMO
That's true. Such venues and friends are a dramatic departure from her prior stateside position in the Lily Allen-adjacent area in the critical/popular perception. The Nash/Allen thing was never a great comparison, admittedly.
You could argue that Kate Nash sort of when in this reboot direction. Though I suppose it's hard to really classify her as a proper mainstream pop act at any point in her career. The new (s)punky direction she took on her last one, though, was certainly aimed at an entirely different audience than her first (and probably her second) album.
These links will explain:
http://www.stereogum.com/1553501/album-of-the-week-cut-copy-free-your-mind/franchises/album-of-the-week/#comment-8290291
http://www.stereogum.com/1558401/shut-up-dude-this-weeks-best-and-worst-comments-101/shut-up-dude/
Michael_ (and many others) took issue with the guy
Nooooo, I meant to compare the rhetoric that surrounds them and many other artists. I wanted to point to the idea that people who aren't "classically talented," can still sing effectively and movingly. By no means did I want to equate the two. It was more of a general historical point.
Haha, I mean, the crowd wasn't massive or anything last Wednesday, but they were super energetic. You should hear them play The Dream is Over live, though, at some point. Just pure endorphin rush.
Just dropping in this to say that I saw PUP and Jeff Rosenstock in Athens on Wednesday and it was amazing. Their two separate tours were meeting up for that one night at the Georgia Theatre, and all of the bands that were there seemed legitimately excited to be there, together. Katie Ellen went on, and they were excellent––kind of reminded me of Waxahatchee and Hop Along. Then came Cayetana and Hard Girls. Pretty endearing performers, though I think they were having a few mic issues. Jeff went on at 11. He had this goofy punk exuberance, and I just couldn't stop smiling as he skipped and swayed across the stage, occasionally diving into the audience. PUP went on after him, at about midnight. They played a blistering set--the crowd went absolutely ballistic for "If This Tour Doesn't Kill You, I Will," "Sleep in the Heat," and "The Coast." All of it sounded great, and there were a bunch of college kids eating it up. For the finale, Jeff came back on stage for "Reservoir" and killed it. There was no encore––Stefan Babcock (frontman) said the practice was dumb. Steve (guitarist) made the occasional witty joke.
Also, the event was notable for this amusing series of events:
1) Stefan encouraging crowd-surfing/stage diving, but telling people "Don't be a dick about it."
2) Security objecting to said practice, and removing three people
3) Stefan apologizing for encouraging the practice
4) Stefan making a compromise to bring the exiles back in, as long as people promised not to surf/dive
5) Exiles stumbling back in heroically, to cheers from the kids moshing up front
1. Don't Lie
2. The Rat
3. Hannah Hunt
4. They're Winning
5. Walcott
I hate only picking five, and this changes on a daily basis (aside from Don't Lie, which is IMO the crux of one the best four song runs on any album ever--"Step" through "Hannah Hunt").
That's so cool! I once took a class in which I got to write about the Strokes and their position in the rock canon. My other one was on Joan Baez and her involvement in UC Berkeley's Free Speech Movement. Best class ever.
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