As a male I'd like to point out that the fact that you even question whether or not she has a hand in the song writing process is in and of itself quite sexist. You have to ask yourself, if the lead singer was a male would you even ask this question. The worst part is that it's covert sexism.
Yeah Monomania is awesome. The vibe of both records are quite different but overall I think Monomania as a whole is just a very consistent record, the songs mesh well together.
Monomania is one of Deerhunter's best records even rivaling Halcyon Digest, yes I said it. I'm serious though it's one of my favorite records and to me it's very close to being their best, I can't choose between it and Halcyon though.
Well yeah that's the point of the song listings on that record, to break to mood, to catch you off guard. This is something that many artists do and it is something that most good records do. You can have an album full of really "good" upbeat songs but when played for an hour it can become boring and uninteresting, so every once in a while you have to throw a curve ball in there and slow things down. It's like compromising a set list, you don't want to start with a really slow song but you don't want to play uptempo songs the entire set either, not unless your a punk bank or something.
Oh and this record is great, it sounds like messy, jumbled noise at first but if you keep listening the melodies are there and they're as good as ever. I'd say that this is their second most accessible album behind Halcyon Digest even though I think this is their most immediately gratifying album, if that makes sense.
I'm surprised that no one ever mentions how much Bradford seems to be influenced by the Velvet Underground. This is the predominant influence I hear throughout all Deerhunter records.
If you look at some Chairlift videos on youtube from their official vevo channel, the latest videos indicate that they are on Kanine records and Itunes says the same thing so excuse me for being confused. Their latest single on Amazon called "Always Crashing in the Same Car" has them on an entirely different indie label so, who knows.
By the way, major label distribution can get you in stores but when's the last time you saw someone visit a store to buy a CD or record? I do but I know that most people don't. Most people buy their music online and you don't need a distribution deal in order to get your music put up for sale on itunes, amazon or anywhere else. This is 2012 not 1990, buddy.
Well if you look at the page the bands newer material is posted there so it can't be that out of date. Also, Itunes has Kanine records listed as having released "Something".
My point still stands, a suggestion was made that bands only sign with indie labels because they can't get a recording contract with a major label. The point I was making is that that's not true. Some of my favorite artists signed with major labels after being on an independent label and then there are others that are very talented but have chosen not to do so. Being on an independent label doesn't mean that you're unable to get a contract with a major label as was suggested earlier in this post, that's the only point I was making.
Hmm, I replied to the wrong comment, sorry for the double post. No actually they are on Kanine. If they signed with Columbia in 2009 then their most recent record that was released in 2011 wouldn’t have been released on Kanine Records. See Itunes. or http://kaninerecords.com/chairlift That article also says that Grizzly Bear is on a major label, that too is incorrect.
No actually they are on Kanine. If they signed with Columbia in 2009 then their most recent record that was released in 2011 wouldn’t have been released on Kanine Records. See Itunes. or http://kaninerecords.com/chairlift That article also says that Grizzly Bear is on a major label, that too is incorrect.
No actually they are on Kanine. If they signed with Columbia in 2009 then their most recent record that was released in 2011 wouldn't have been released on Kanine Records. See Itunes. or http://kaninerecords.com/chairlift That article also says that Grizzly Bear is on a major label, that too is incorrect.
Something was released on Kanine which is an indie label based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. "Does you inspire you", their first album, was released on Columbia and the band then signed to Kanine records.
If you ask me I think that punk rock defeats itself. You have to work within the system in order to change it, all punk rockers seem to do is yell about how bad the system is and then really do nothing about it. When someone pays attention they begin to talk about how not "punk" they are. In terms if the Made in USA fashion "trend" it isn't about fashion and it isn't a trend. Are you paying attention to the presidential election and the conversation regarding moving sending jobs to China? Does that seem like a trend to you? It's not about fashion it's about corporate greed, you know, that thing punk rockers hate but do nothing to change because they think that getting drunk and being a loser is "punk". At least some people are smart enough to know that unless you're intelligent and unless you change things from the inside out you won't change anything at all. A lot of punk rockers act like they have the cure for the world but really they're far too elitist to ever change anything. What is wearing leather and spikes and getting wasted going to change? Nothing. They aren't even a threat.
Oh by the way Taylor Swift did that herself (turned down a recording contract), and I don't think she's even signed to a major label right now interestingly enough.
I have a hard time believing that bands like Deerhunter, The National, Beach House, Chairlift, Warpaint, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes and many others couldn't get a major label recording contract if they wanted one.
Also, a lot of these bands that you say assumed that the internet would make them famous actually give their music away for free. Becoming famous for them would be as simple as signing to a major label so that they can get better marketing, because that's what sells records. Why don't they do it? They aren't interested in money, they are interested in making good music. The "indie" world that people talk about is really just a community of people that really love music and art, the kind of people that sincerely do not care about getting rich from music. The kind of spirit and integrity that would cause Radiohead to give away In Rainbows for free.
My point is this, not being rich and not being poor is enough for them, they never expected to have more and as you can see by their refusal to allow their music in advertisements, they aren't even interested. They care about music and have enough integrity to not go against what they believe in just to sell records. I refer you back to my post about Kevin Shields.
Beach House is one of the more popular indie acts, I don't think they have regular jobs. They probably make enough to live like someone that does have just a regular job though, not rich not poor.
I've tried to listen to her, but her song writing wasn't that great, maybe she's better now? I do however respect her greatly because she was offered a recording contract at the age of 12 that she turned down because they wanted her to sing other people's songs. You know people hate on Justin Beiber too but he was actually discovered through youtube and he too writes his own songs, or some of them at least. Just because something is popular doesn't mean that it's bad but some so called artists aren't artists at all, they're just people that can sing and are looking to make a buck and that's okay but I'm not really into that. It's part of the reason that I have always preferred Mariah Carey over Whitney Houston, one of them actually writes music, the other just sings songs that someone else wrote.
I don't think that most indie artists even assume that they will sell a lot of records and I don't think that most even hope to be rich. I saw an interview with Kevin Shields and I'm paraphrasing him but he basically stated that he wasn't interested in selling a lot of records with My Bloody Valentine and that if such a thing interested him he would just quit the band and start a new one and focus solely on making a lot of hit records. I think that's how most indie acts approach the music business. Now, indie artists should certainly be selling more records because even mainstream artists are selling less records but I don't think that indie artists even rely on album sales for income as much as they rely on touring, in fact most of them don't rely on music for income at all, they actually have "real" jobs.
Why should anyone care about how many records these people sell? Next week it will be some other "pop" artist selling tons of records but who cares? Is that what making music about? How many records you can sell? Is that a measure of "success"? If that's the case then why not review every other top 10 selling artist on itunes? Anyone can sell records, that doesn't mean that their music is good and it doesn't mean that they are talented. I can name numerous female artists that will never sell as much as Taylor Swift but they sure do sing better and make better music. Why don't we see bands like Chairlift selling this many records, they sure do deserve it. Unfortunately any "artist" that can be packaged and sold as an image can sell records, you don't even have to be able to sing well so I think that selling records means absolutely nothing when any "artist" can be "successful". Personally I like taylor swift, I don't like her music but she at least writes her own songs, the thing I don't understand about this article is that it makes a big deal about an artist selling millions of records as though that's something remarkable, it isn't. A lot of "artist" that get paid to sing other people's songs sell a lot of music every week. Wasn't Kesha on itunes top 10 just last week? Isn't she so talented?
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