the landfill that time forgot: crap uk bands of 00s/10s

this photo from the facebook page is pretty cute:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t1.0-9/10488051_709481265784237_8718307986577346365_n.jpg

ok, I really like their song 'Carnaby Street' from their soundcloud page, it sounds a bit like Television Personalities

The song Carnaby Street sounds nothing like Television Personalities and is kind of awful but I don't think this thread should be used for mocking well-meaning blokes just doing what they do in front of some kids, much as student newspaper stuff doesn't fit in the Worst Music Writing thread.

Not even when they're called The Swagger.

Hmm I don't mind, I'm a very mean person, and yeah "The Swagger" is asking for it... but I know so many sad old people like this. I feel so soft.

bands least entitled to their name

but this would have made a much better guilty pleasures thread

The modern godfathers of this are probably Biffy Clyro, the Scottish trio who've sold over a million albums and 400,000 UK singles to a fanbase that has remained staunchly loyal to them and their anthemic, post-hardcore Simple Minds sound. Having formed in 1995, they seem to have existed at the fringes of British popular music for as long as I can remember, yet their fans seem to comprise a strange, silent majority. Much like film critic Pauline Kael, who was ridiculed for the metropolitan ignorance of her (widely misquoted) statement: "I can't believe Nixon won. I've never met anyone who voted for him," I've never knowingly met any Biffy Clyro fans, but that doesn't mean they aren't out there.

http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/understanding-the-phenomenon-of-royal-blood

I've met them, they're my kids

http://www.nme.com/news/the-enemy/79681

"Clarke's Twitter rant has already garnered support from fellow indie musician Matt Bowman from The Pigeon Detectives. He sent Clarke a message stating: "If I add all my pounds to your pounds for every time they mention my curly hair in a negative tone.. we could buy a tank!"

http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1s9g38b

Thing is, though I've got no interest whatsoever in this guy's band, I agree with him. And there is often a complete lack of professional respect between people ostensibly in the same industry (and of professionalism generally, from both musicians and journalists and industry people, etc etc, probably because of the mythos around the industry and 'talent' in general).

Yeah, I read that and it did give me pause. (Especially given I've just been really mean about one musician's appearance on ILM already today, ha.)

Like, coming in for knocks and scrutiny of your appearance does just seem to be part and parcel of being a person that gets up on stage before others. But there is a line over which it stops being just knocks and starts being bullying. (Though magically that line appears to be in different places depending on a persons gender or race!)

The underlying issue he touches on, though, is the general meanness and football-match competitive nastiness that the British music press in specific encourages and thrives on. The old Build 'Em Up Knock 'Em Down school. Which... y'know, they do forget that these are human beings under it. And one does get the sense that musicians are just thrown out there and told to get on with it, with no actual thought as to psychological protection, or how people get damaged.

I mean, there's no one who's not been in the music industry for more than 20 seconds who hasn't been told DO NOT READ YOUR PRESS. But social media and twitter and the like means that you really don't have to read your press in order for the vicious parts of it to come to you.

There's not really any sense that musicians are 'employees' of record labels, as a punter. How do contracts work? Is there any analogue between being signed to a label and working full time for a.n.other company in a professional capacity? Or is it more like freelancing? I guess even if there was, that doesn't cover loads of musicians self-releasing, etc, or give them any protection from the press, fans, etc etc.

It's a weird territory, not one I've particularly considered before. I guess I manage people now at work, and Em does too, so we've started talking about HR type things, and the music industry, once again, just seems fucking insane.

Depends on the label, depends on the contract, it really runs the gamut.

Some people I've known who work for labels, the A&R people used to end up literally becoming babysitters for incredibly damaged artists. But in the reshaping of the music industry, seems like those are the people whose jobs have gone first. And there's always this nebulous ambiguity as to whether people from a record label are actually on an artist's "side" or just trying to sell a product.

Seems it's more the job of a manager (or the much derided role of PR or publicist) whose job it is to protect musicians from shit like this. But I think mostly, there's just an idea that you have to be tough-skinned to survive, and if you're not tough-skinned, you're not really cut out for the role.

(I mean, it's always a dance with artists, that tension of being sensitive enough to produce good art, and yet tough-skinned enough to not care about critics.)

It's not going to stop being mean about Paul Banks, though. ;-)

Can't believe he had to google 'orc'

The fuck is a Hobbit jar?

Out of all the shit bands, I've always found something appealing in The Enemy (see this thread, in which to my eternal shame I described them as "repulsive midgets in tracksuits" but this was seven years ago so forgive me Tom). This is a nicely written response to the haters. It's got that calm Primo Levi righteousness about it.

speaking as a not-tall person, am interested in how tall he actually is I will say that. a brief google has a wholly unverifiable source listing him as 5'9" which iirc is the precise average height of an adult UK male

The Enemy thing I just linked to is interesting to me cos I have a song with the lyrics "You're not a rebel, you're a whore" (terrible I know!) and it is amazing to me that it came from mishearing The Enemy!

http://i.imgur.com/9EK3K0F.jpg

how many of these bands are still going?

also i forgot to post this link to a good article. Johnny Borrell surprisingly self-aware

http://noisey.vice.com/en_uk/blog/landfill-indie-johnny-borrell-razorlight-the-strokes-kooks-definitive-history

Futureheads still going, for one

http://www.thedrum.com/news/2016/04/05/bupa-uk-teams-futureheads-launch-body-band-digital-campaign

Still Thinking About You is the fourth studio album by the English band Scouting for Girls. It was released in the United Kingdom on 16 October 2015. The album includes the new singles "Life's Too Short" & "Christmas in the Air Tonight" .[1]

doing this kind of thing ten years into your career somehow feels monumentally worse than merely releasing a terrible first album

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dqbum7BMp78

amazed to discover that the Wombats released an album that got to #5 in the charts last year

fucking hell

The Wombats seem to be kind of massive on the sly. Their last album went to 91 in the states, somehow

Up next: Little Man Tate's Meltdown

Just FUCK OFF, Innocent Smoothies
https://twitter.com/innocent/status/717781396392116224

#indieamnesty was enjoyable for about three seconds

http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/coventry-band-enemy-announce-split-11145718

"10 years, 4 albums, well over 1,000,000 record sales and uncountable sell out tours is not too shabby for an alternative indie band, but these numbers aren't what makes me proud personally, the fans are.

"They drove this band, they provided the fire for this decade long journey. I have always loved them and I always will.

"They've kept me going at times when I thought nothing else might.

"To all Enemy fans, I adore you."

That thread about kasabianian swagger seems to indicate that this stuff is alive and well

i was wondering where to post that johnny borrell interview - surely the only likeable thing he's ever done

still had to lol at the bitter sideswipe he took at rzaorlight's drummer, who wrote the band's biggest hit

congratulations to the wombats for giving their band a name that will forever make me think that they're the wombles whenever i hear it (and i'm not even british)

And will forever ensure I will not listen to even one second of their music.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/mar/03/the-cribs-the-view-time-to-give-landfill-indie-its-dues

http://i.imgur.com/u8mwmeQ.png

http://www.radiox.co.uk/x-lists/ricky-wilsons-indie-landfill/

"Ricky Wilson's Indie Landfill" sounds like a Viz strip

some of the listener testimonials get pretty melancholy

THE AUTOMATIC
“Monster is a total barnstormer and has a proper call and response vocal you can do in the car with your mates when out enjoying the freedom of a new driving license,” says Nick from Northampton. “Such happy and good memories of this song during college. God I miss the mid 00s and the carefree days.”

THE ORDINARY BOYS
Sam from Manchester has this tale of woe: I’m moving house with the family soon and had to get rid of a chunk of my music collection as we don’t really have room for it. The final box I threw out split slightly and I could see the barest glimpse of The Ordinary Boys second album Brassbound peeking out. I will admit to having a tear in my eye.”

radio x must be a depressing listen

The View

Robyn from Carlisle says: “Pretty sure underneath the discarded banana peels and old school non flat screen TV’s there much be some of possibly the most Scottish band of all time, The View. I loved how they always had big singalong choruses, and having seen them a few times they preferred their crowds rowdy!”

Read more at http://radiox.co.uk/x-lists/ricky-wilsons-indie-landfill

The Pigeon Detectives

Stephen claims: “Because of their ludicrous name people brush them off nowadays, but those boys had some absolute tunes! Plus, I think their debut record sold over MILLION copies, which is huge compared to today!

I bet Adele is well jealous.

i see that chasing cars is the most played song of c21st british radio

destroy everything imo

Had to hear 'She's So Lovely' a bunch of times last year thanks to the combo of stupid lazy office culture and streaming services official playlists based on 'feels' and algorithmic reliance on keywords in titles or whatever. This rewards all kinds of trash pop from the last 40 years with renewed and prolonged exposure than is deserved even on an objective level - particularly a problem at Xmas though. Worst first world problems.

I’m so confused by this clickbait article from the Yorkshire Evening Post in which every heading is just ‘Kaiser Chiefs’. Probably the most Leeds editing fuck up imaginable pic.twitter.com/VdqnisuZAs

— georgina🌹 (@georginaallen99) July 29, 2019