(Actually Editors did end up with a few No. 1s, I should have said a UK No. 1 debut)
― you can see me from westbury white horse, Tuesday, 30 May 2023 15:32 (one year ago) link
getting the feeling my idea of what comprises "landfill" is wildly different from what others consider it to be
― massaman gai (front tea for two), Tuesday, 30 May 2023 15:32 (one year ago) link
one man's trash...
― Do I look like I know what a jpeg is? (dog latin), Tuesday, 30 May 2023 15:32 (one year ago) link
i seem to be labouring under the illusion that it's incurious mod revivalist plod pop with loud guitars. everyone else seems to be understanding it as retro post-punk rapture / franz ferdinand etc
― massaman gai (front tea for two), Tuesday, 30 May 2023 15:40 (one year ago) link
Why do the young whippersnapper kids talk about the good old days of Indie Sleaze when no such thing existed?
― Toshirō Nofune (The Seventh ILXorai), Tuesday, 30 May 2023 15:56 (one year ago) link
Interesting that in the hinterland between landfill dying and the unsuccessful NME Next Big Things era, White Lies emerged and bested the near-identical Interpol/Bravery/Editors in getting a UK No. 1 album. I'm not quite sure how they fit into the picture.
― you can see me from westbury white horse
I seem to remember White Lies releasing their first album right at the beginning of the year when album sales were really low. I can't imagine they had much competition. The Departure were another band who did that whole Interpol/Editors thing and had a couple of hits.
― kitchen person, Tuesday, 30 May 2023 16:00 (one year ago) link
xp Here’s a thinkpiece on that…
― Day 1 fan (morrisp), Tuesday, 30 May 2023 16:16 (one year ago) link
Can someone from the UK describe for me the Venn Diagram of "landfill indie" vs. "student disco"? (As musical selections, but also as like, concepts)
cf. NME's Student Disco Anthems Of All Time Poll
― The king of the demo (bernard snowy), Tuesday, 30 May 2023 17:25 (one year ago) link
My experience of student discos is that they did not play Joy Division and I presume this NME poll was of people who read the NME at the time
― Do I look like I know what a jpeg is? (dog latin), Tuesday, 30 May 2023 18:15 (one year ago) link
Can we please have a name for early-mid 2010s NME Next Big Thing comic strip characters like Spector, Temples, the Strypes, Superfood, Swim Deep, Palma Violets and Drenge.
i like that Double Dutch song actually. admittedly i forgot that it exists, but i like it.
― No, 𝘐'𝘮 Breathless! (Deflatormouse), Tuesday, 30 May 2023 18:19 (one year ago) link
This thread is having real-world repercussions:
Arctic Monkeys Perform “Mardy Bum” Live For First Time In 10 Years
― Halfway there but for you, Tuesday, 30 May 2023 18:24 (one year ago) link
the san cisco song is still distinctly one of the worst songs i have ever heardI just backtracked to listen to this… holy moly
― Day 1 fan (morrisp), Tuesday, 30 May 2023 18:30 (one year ago) link
i don't think franz ferdinand or the rapture are landfill but dog latin was arguing for a definition of it unrelated to quality or britishness that seemed broader than just mod revivalist plod pop (the strokes certainly aren't that, maximo park are definitely post-punk influenced) and i was trying to figure out where he was drawing the line
even the wombats had a clear post-punk influence, as dire as they were, and they're surely as landfill as it gets? personally i would just argue for landfill being the shit end of 00s uk indie on the garage rock/post-punk spectrum - the core of the 00s uk indie sound. i don't really know if a bunch of the acts we've talked about like maximo park, the cribs, futureheads etc. are shit enough for me to really count them even if i don't really care for them
― ufo, Tuesday, 30 May 2023 18:39 (one year ago) link
all you need is two chords and a bit of confidence eh
― imago, Tuesday, 30 May 2023 18:44 (one year ago) link
(xp)
Nothing wrong with two chord songs.
― Maggot Bairn (Tom D.), Tuesday, 30 May 2023 19:23 (one year ago) link
anyway, the elephant in this particular thread is that, a year and a half ago, ILM voted a landfill indie song its favourite track of 2021. no notes
― imago, Thursday, 1 June 2023 07:50 (one year ago) link
It’s curious how the Noisey piece cites two absolutely terrific songs as near contenders, but for their American-ness:
We’re focusing on British bands only – so, while Black Kids’ “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You” and We Are Scientists’ “This Scene Is Dead” may be worthy soldiers for the cause, they are American and therefore too unique to be included in this homogenous group of Isle of Wight Festival fodder.
― Day 1 fan (morrisp), Thursday, 1 June 2023 08:12 (one year ago) link
I actually think of those two bands (plus the Blood Arm, whom most here probably won’t know, but we saw them play a ton in L.A. back in the day) as constituting a “literate, slightly melancholy party music for overthinkers” mid-2000s micro-genre.
― Day 1 fan (morrisp), Thursday, 1 June 2023 08:42 (one year ago) link
For some reason I think of Los Campesinos when those bands are mentioned. They were fun
― Do I look like I know what a jpeg is? (dog latin), Thursday, 1 June 2023 10:14 (one year ago) link
There you go - late 00's UK guitar band who probably didn't sell a lot of records but definitely weren't part of the "landfill" thing.
― Do I look like I know what a jpeg is? (dog latin), Thursday, 1 June 2023 10:16 (one year ago) link
yeah lc! were definitely not landfill, they had a completely different set of influences and were backed much more by the american press than the uk press
the noisey piece was not really concerned with quality as the dividing line, black kids don't really sound like most of this stuff anyway but i guess were a hyped up act that was quickly abandoned by the press, so there's a parallel there at least
i think we are scientists definitely fit sonically though?
― ufo, Thursday, 1 June 2023 11:45 (one year ago) link
Yeah I don't think of Black Kids as landfill at all
― Do I look like I know what a jpeg is? (dog latin), Thursday, 1 June 2023 12:50 (one year ago) link
I do, or rather I didn't disambiguate between them and UK bands at the time nor feel the need to now.
― you can see me from westbury white horse, Thursday, 1 June 2023 14:10 (one year ago) link
That first Black Kids EP is really fantastic and still stands up. The album was a disappointment though for sure. Underwritten songs and the production was way too slick.
― kitchen person, Thursday, 1 June 2023 14:11 (one year ago) link
This thread reminds me that Bernard Butler produced his fair share of crap bands. 2008 was Duffy year for him though - in a parallel universe he is a Mark Ronson.
― you can see me from westbury white horse, Thursday, 1 June 2023 14:13 (one year ago) link
Where would Scottish band Sons and Daughters fall within all of this? The Repulsion Box (2005) was wild Celt-punk rowdiness; This Gift (2008, which was produced by Bernard Butler) was a bit more radio-friendly while still maintaining that spirit. I don't think they did anything after 2011's Mirror Mirror, which traded the folky stylings for darker, Goth-leaning vibes. "Rose Red" was the apotheosis, just a glorious track.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXaRTb6CMec
― Front-loaded albums are musical gerrymandering (Prefecture), Thursday, 1 June 2023 16:08 (one year ago) link
I guess I don't know what I'm talking about, and the definition of landfill indie actually isn't what I stated upthread, but in fact it's "when 3 people on ILM say a band sucks." You cleared it up, thank you.
― billstevejim, Friday, 2 June 2023 03:10 (one year ago) link
That seems to be it yes
― Do I look like I know what a jpeg is? (dog latin), Friday, 2 June 2023 08:31 (one year ago) link
whatever people say landfill is, that's what it's not
― soup of magpies (geoffreyess), Friday, 2 June 2023 11:45 (one year ago) link
It's the Goth principle
― Do I look like I know what a jpeg is? (dog latin), Friday, 2 June 2023 11:47 (one year ago) link