Santigold

she's good

i'm actually as confused as i am offended.

the difference between the jodorowsky and santogold versions is that jodorowsky sped his film up and the santogold director did slow-mo. and the jodorowsky is in sunlight and the santogold is washed out.

which basically explains why the jodorowsky version is about x1000 more graphic, shocking, beautiful, etc. but doesn't explain why the santogold director made the choices he/she did. why?

i dunno, i can't even take a picture right with an autofocus digital camera so maybe i shouldn't be criticizing video directors but there you go.

So Missing Persons.

EXACTLY
Enjoyable tho'.

Missing Persons OTM.

Fun record, meh on repeat.

I enjoyed this on first listen - the more rocky/dubby and the less MIA she sounds the better really.

Are there any other songs that sound like "L.E.S. Artistes"?

Santogold herself, who for some reason reminds me of Nicolette

Yes.

The album sounds pretty good on first listen.

from this thread i gather that Santogold sounds like everyone but herself. is this a fair conclusion?

I saw Santogold on Jools Holland the other night.

I didn't quite work out what she sounded like but I failed to detect an identifiable Santogold in her performance.

However, Jools Holland seems to have that levelling effect on everyone who comes on his show.

She certainly needs to stop singing with her left eyebrow, however.

Oh god I've just realised I like the ones that sound like straight-ahead 4AD indie the best.

does anyone know the deal with the Disco D beat on here?

I just bought this album via my iPhone! Let's see if I like it...

(first impression of the first song: "Oh, it's Gwen Stefani on quaaludes!")

Gwen Stefani on quaaludes!

whooaaaa watch out there i might have to go rub one out

Yeah, this is basically like listening to No Doubt with all of the ska influences removed. Or, maybe the better way to put it is if they had come from Brooklyn instead of the OC.

(I am not in the anti-No Doubt posse, btw, so I'm not trying to slam this)

okay song 4 is where it turns into Missing Persons, now I get it

okay song 5 is where people say she's M.I.A.-esque

ps song 5 ("Creator") IS FUCKING GREAT HOLY SHIT WOW

It's so weird to see/hear "Creator" in a tv beer ad, although I can't figure out why I'd be surprised by any music/commercial pairing in 2008.

from what I've heard Santogold > No Doubt (but I'm not a ND fan)

"No Doubt with all of the ska influences removed."

no theres one track with some rubbish dub influence on it and another which is kinda ska-punky. i like these tracks best although i think id like them more if the production was a bit less 'neat'. the rap tracks i like musically though, just not vocally.

I think what I was going for is that the influences seem much closer to the original source, ie it's proper dub/reggae influence rather than influence via the filter of someone else reinterpreting it through a rock filter.

"Lights Out" is super Missing Persons-esque.

okay the first few seconds of "Starstruck" are great

also yes, this woman is totally from the Gwen Stefani school of vocal production

"You'll Find A Way" is MELTING MY FACE

(I should point out I mean the Switch remix of "You'll Find A Way" here.)

You say Gwen Stefani, I say Cyndi Lauper.

Her voice is way, way, WAY deeper than Cyndi Lauper's (not that this really contradicts my point as you can argue pretty convincingly that all three of them sing in a very similar, muscular manner).

"ie it's proper dub/reggae influence rather than influence via the filter of someone else reinterpreting it through a rock filter."

thats weird cos i think that dubby tune is VERY dub-via-rock-filter.

This is totally splitting hairs, but I agree that the end tune is dub-via-rock. It sound to me like it got there via familiarity with dub rather than familiarity with other dub-via-rock acts (ie, it's closer to the source but it is still totally dub-via-rock).

L.E.S. verses have the cadence of Voices Carry, before breaking into a full on Dale Bozzio.

What does everyone think of her cover of Pretty Green on Mark Ronson's album? It's kind of silly but I like it. And L.E.S. Artistes is epic.

I'm so over this before it started. Santogold is kind of shit, no?

This album is amazing in the sunshine.

Okay, way better than I expected. Why didn't someone tell me that only one of her songs was a half-rate MIA knockoff?

A very nice, reasonably original pop album. Don't know how much longevity it'll have, though.

Anyone else find it slightly reminiscent of Blondie, in spirit and attitude if not actual sound?

BTW, whoever said her voice is more Furtado than Stefani is OTM.

furtado voice - stefani/no doubt music. i like it, great songs, but its a bit lightweight.

"You'll Find a Way" is the free iTunes download this week... and it DOES have some No Doubt pseudo-ska-ness about it, at least in the verses. (I like it).

She sounds super-Furtado on this one, too - it's how her voice goes subtly nasal on the higher notes, I think.

seeing as we're just throwing in more and more female vocalists, Cyndi Lauper

she must be a big blondie/pretenders fan.

blueski i said that already keep up!

Cyndi Lauper was already brought up way upthread. (xpost HA)

I do hear the Furtado in there, it's just that with the music I instantly jumped to Stefani. Nelly is more accurate, tho.

The video for "L.E.S. Artistes" is pretty creepy.

There is a huge billboard at the Chiswick roundabout going onto the A4 that I pass on my bus into work, and it's incredibly striking - they did the whole vomiting glitter thing from the album cover with real glitter, and everyone stares at it when we drive past.

I was just in "Zavvi" and they were playing something v MIA-ish, I wonder if that was Santogold. It was quite good though, whatever it was.

i like this album. everybody's already cited all the influences that hit me the first time through, so i'll just say i like it.

blueski i said that already keep up!

sorry. Danielle Brisbois then.

Karen O.

Are people saying Karen O because of the NYC thing? Or is it the disquieting video thing? Vocally, they sound nothing alike.

I still stand by my Clare Grogan comparison way upthread.

she calls it an albim now xp

This is alright but after 99 Cents anything would seem halfway decent. Maybe it’s a grower

how the fuck am I going to find the Santogold thread now

New track!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuyIFjnyZ7Q

What, no one cares? :(

I feel like this is pretty good!

It is!

“Shake” is even better!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5IBsFE74gQ

But yeah it’s shaping up to be a good one.

New album's good! Not breaking new ground, she has her lanes, but lots of good tunes.

She cancelled due to touring being pretty much unsustainable atm in a post-covid world with rising inflation for most artists. I feel like I keep hearing more and more about similar situations, both local and internationally… It’s getting too expensive to tour and venues and concert organizers are not willing to take risks or will pay the bare minimum.

https://i.redd.it/2dnd1dr8naq91.jpg

I mean the issues are obviously way deeper and more complicated than that but yeah, shit’s too expensive.

Brutal. Was just reading the Stereogum article and comments: https://www.stereogum.com/2200830/santigold-cancels-tour-shares-letter-about-harsh-reality-for-touring-artists/news/

No one seems to be saying that people are staying home because of covid anymore? This scenario sounds more like she bioked a little bigger venues than she might've and couldn't sell enough tickets?

otoh Arooj Aftab recently put out a similar statement on making no money and she's filling places and playing festivals.

Jem Aswad's piece on it is worth a read.

https://variety.com/2022/music/news/santigold-cancels-north-america-tour-devastating-costs-1235384821/

Her cancelation speaks to a growing problem as festivals and touring artists returned after two years of lockdown: Audiences can’t or won’t return in sufficient numbers to support all of the tours and festivals that are taking place, due to ticket prices, too many options, Covid caution or all three. While attendance numbers might be great for Harry Styles or Lady Gaga, for the average touring musician, it’s tougher than ever.

What this will mean for the music world remains to be seen: Touring has been the primary source of income for working musicians ever since illegal downloading and then streaming upended many artists’ business models — they came to accept that they would not make money from recordings, as they had during the CD and vinyl eras, but those recordings would bring people to their shows, where they could make money from ticket and merchandise sales. But if their tours are failing after two years without road work, it’s hard to see what the next option might be.

I'll only speak for myself, but ticket prices are what is keeping me away from more shows at this point. If it isn't "dynamic pricing" bullshit or paying 40% of the ticket price in fees, it's the frustration of trying to figure out which secondhand ticket websites are reasonably priced and aren't just cleverly designed in-house "scalpers" for Ticketmaster or whoever.

None of which is the fault of the artist, but it's less stressful to just kick them extra dollars by buying merch direct or kicking in via bandcamp.

Which is to say, I don't mind paying more for tickets if I know it's going to the artist directly, but it seems like the higher cost is just bullshit fees that I absolutely know aren't going to the artist.

The extra fees are not going to the artist because as I understand it the artist is already getting a lot of the face ticket price (depending on the artist, of course). Those extra fees are often going to the venue and promoter and other third parties, many of whom (not to defend the fees) also lost a ton of work and money the last two years, and are facing the same increased costs and whatnot. It all adds up. For example, a ticket to see Earth and Iceage at the Empty Bottle tomorrow night, is $30, plus $7 in fees. That's as indie as it gets, hardly money grubbing Live Nation, and we're still talking $75 or so for a pair of tickets to see two small bands on a Wednesday night. Tortoise at Thalia Hall is similarly priced, and $10 more for seated, er, seats.

There does seem to be a glut of touring acts right now, and many tours that have been repeatedly rescheduled that are all hitting at once. I'm thinking of tours by the Weeknd or Killers, to name two recent big acts belatedly touring after covid or covid related delays. Sucks a lot of air out of the room, at least at that level. I was supposed to be seeing Tinariwen soon, but they cancelled a bunch of dates for visa issues, a problem that as I understand it has risen due to covid related backlogs and under staffing. I'm seeing Meshuggah this week, and I think it's a rescheduled date, too (don't know why). I was going to see Crowded House last week; they cancelled and rescheduled for (non-covid) health reasons, but this was still a belated tour behind an album that came out 14 months ago.

I mean Empty Bottle and Thalia Hall are both examples of how things work well, ime. They both make it relatively easy to get tickets and I don't find their fees to be ridiculous. It's when you start moving to larger venues where things get more frustrating.

Out of curiosity, I checked out a couple other Chicago venues/shows to see the state of things:

Calexico at The Metro is a $29 ticket with a $9.22 "ticket fee" and a $1.00 "restoration fee" (which isn't one I recall seeing before, meaning fees are 35% of the face value.
Father John Misty at Chicago Theater is a $39.99 balcony ticket, total cost with fees is $58.69 (couldn't log in to see the breakdown), meaning fees are 47% of the face value.

Yeah, I have no idea how much is too much in fees beyond my own personal case by case price ceiling. But I think I mentioned on a different thread, weeks ago, that when I asked my friend (who would know) how much of the ticket price goes to the band, he deadpanned "105%." Implication being without those fees a lot of venues and promotors and the related like wouldn't be making much, if anything. No idea how accurate that is, though I have no reason not to believe my friend. For sure in similar fields, like the food industry, things suck right now. My favorite burger/hot dog stand down the street just closed after 10 years because even little things, like plastic ketchup containers, had gone up 10x in price, and they couldn't sustain that kind of hike in the face of a tightening economy. Or the way menus keep sneaking on that extra 3% (or more) to the bill. Operating costs of everything are sky high right now, and that money has to come from somewhere, especially now that business-sustaining checks from state and federal have dried up, or are drying up.

Anyway, you'd think something's got to give. But looks like ticket sales were pretty good for someone like Father John Misty (I just looked and it's mostly full). Santigold was going to play the Aragon? That's pretty big. When she last played here, back in 2019, she was at the Vic!

A young artist I've been following, Niki, seems to be selling out theaters in every city on her current tour. I have no doubt the factors Santigold described are putting the squeeze on artists in a certain category, but it doesn't just seem to be the Harry Styleses or Lady Gagas of the world (as that Variety article says) who are selling out venues.

xp - I don't doubt that venues and everyone along the chain are suffering and dealing with increased costs, I'm sure that's true. I think this is where it might help to have more transparency about what the fees mean, but that ship has long since sailed. Ticketmaster and others have abused the opaque and byzantine "fees" labyrinth for so long that I think people are, understandably, skeptical about where that money may actually go. I mean, I know Metro and some venues actually give you the option to tack on more money, independent of the fees, to donate to the Chicago Independent Venue League (CIVL). I'd rather toss money there than some unknown "fee". None of which is to say that the fees aren't going to the venues and staff that need it, but Ticketmaster has trained me to be very skeptical that it will be going in the right pockets when I buy tix from bigger venues (not talking places like Empty Bottle or Thalia Hall here).

Back on topic, I don't doubt that all of the problems and hurdles she identifies are very real, but I can't help but wonder if her six year absence might mean she was overshooting a little bit on the size of venues.

I agree that things seem to be overbooked right now, all 3 shows I've been to this year I've heard people talk about how there was something else crosstown that they also wanted to go to. Covid in general is still a huge factor. When I saw Animal Collective in Madison it was actually rescheduled from a couple months earlier, since someone in the crew got it and they had to postpone 2 weeks worth of shows. I have to imagine that had a pretty big financial impact & a lot of bands probably just couldn't handle something like that happening.

As bad as the touring situation is I think a lot of issues could be alleviated if we had politicians who actually looked out for musicians. If streaming services were forced to actually pay a fair royalty to artists it might make these tours feel a bit less life-and-death. Just a thought there

Yeah, I mean the streaming issue is a whole separate thing.

It's just incredibly bleak for artists right now - don't get paid shit for streaming, can't press their records and can't even make money from touring.

Honestly, I wonder if the ever shrinking presence of the music press has had an impact as well. Multiple times this week alone I told someone that I saw Roxy Music the other night, and they literally had no idea the band was in town.

Love this album. "No Paradise"!