Santigold

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.

HI DERE it's like when somebody reminds you of someone without really looking like them.

plus the general vibe of 'L.E.S. Artistes' did remind me of some YYYs

Okay, I really hope someone decides Portishead and Santogold should tour together.

i think the best songs on res' album are better than the best songs on this.

I haven't heard the Res album in full but the songs I have heard were awesome.

best songs to get - golden boys, they say vision, and the hidden track, say what you wanna (or say say say - i dont know what the real title is, but its awesome).

the songs were a bit stronger/less 'fizzy' than those on the new one.

I've heard the first two and... "Let Love"? Whatever the name of the one that sampled "Other Voices" by The Cure was.

I like the Santogold album, but "Golden Boys" and "They Say Vision" really do blow it out of the water. I'd probably like this album even more if it was sung by Res.

i like this album a lot and i think shes a great songwriter/melodocist but its just a bit lightweight overall, from the lyrics to the production. am seeing her live in a few weeks though -i wonder what shes like live.

i like this album a lot and i think shes a great songwriter/melodocist but its just a bit lightweight overall

Pretty much my feelings exactly.

This is good because she is lightweight.

but its also a bit too safe. i would love to hear her demos of they say vision and golden boys since she says she never liked docs production for res (i didnt much like it either but on those two songs its great).

what are the best res tracks?

First listen: "Hm. Not bad at all. I can see why people like this. Sounds a bit like X, Y, and Z, tho."

Step 2: File away in brain for later listening, perhaps on a sunny day.

Step 3: Forget it exists, don't miss it for a second.

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"!