Who’ll be rockin’ in 2009? Jeff Miers' list of bands to watch
Every time a year ends and another one begins, we expect the slate to be wiped clean and something new to be born.
So it is, too, with popular music. Pop is, after all, an idiom that eats its young, regurgitates them and then renames them. Most of the time, this has to do with sales. A constant need on the part of businessmen for new product has been assimilated by the culture as a recurring appetite for “the latest thing.” This tendency is a double-edged sword, for it both urges creativity and a desire to avoid repeating the past, and encourages the masses to treat art itself as a disposable commodity.
So gazing into the crystal ball in hopes of gleaning some sign of what will happen in pop music in the coming 12 months is inherently absurd. What really changes between Dec. 31 and Jan. 1? Not much, and certainly, not pop music.
Having said that, predicting what might be to come is fun. There are signs, if you’re looking for them, threads of continuity if you’re seeking them, and trends that point equally toward both hope and despair.
I, like everyone else, pick up only on the things I want to see, cross my fingers, and stumble forward. There was, after all, some amazing music written, performed, released and even purchased in 2008. Let’s take that as a sign that 2009 will be even better. It beats the other option, and appeals to the mini-existentialist we might not even know lurks within.
Most of the bands and artists I’m betting on to make inroads in the mainstream in ’09 are already known to pop music zealots, to the point that many among that particular subculture might already deem a few of them “old hat.” My interest here isn’t with these people, because –as you know if you’ve ever been cornered by one of them in a bar –they already know everything.
Even if hipsters will assume that as soon as a band becomes popular that band is no longer cool, most people don’t hear music until it makes it into some form of the mainstream, be it via the Internet, the radio, the television, or one of those Web radio stations that does the thinking for you (Genius, Pandora and the like).
This, then, is a list of bands to watch, both local and national, in the coming year:
Nationwide
Who: Fleet Foxes What: Young Seattle band
blowing minds by reminding listeners that “tricks” like layered vocal harmonies, strong melodies, subtle orchestration, smart arrangements and a nifty bohemian art-school bent can exist somewhere other than your hipster
uncle’s collection of early ’70s Genesis albums.
Evidence of this is all over the band’s self-titled debut album, which you can hear bits of on YouTube and the band’s MySpace page, and you can buy in a few formats –including a beautiful gatefold vinyl package, which I highly recommend –without having to sweat too much.
Why: Because songwriting of this caliber, rooted in folk fusion progenitors like the Band and reinforced by newer outfits like Wilco and My Morning Jacket, never goes out of style. Or at least, it shouldn’t.
Who: Vampire Weekend
What: New York City outfit led by singer/guitarist Ezra Koenig, whose esoteric blend of American indie-rock and African rhythms is unlike anything else being offered by the group’s peers.
Last year, the rock press –Spin magazine, in particular –drooled all over the group, proclaiming it the greatest thing since sliced (white) bread, and creating a hype the music really didn’t need. This — along with the fact that the band’s music is odd and idiosyncratic enough to stand out from the crowd, and pop enough to be loved by folks who don’t necessarily think Husker Du is the best band in history — leads me to believe that ’09 will be Vampire Weekend’s year.
Listen to them here: www.myspace.com/vampireweekend . Why: Because bands capable of presenting both the indie-rock sense of “outsider art” and songs — such as the insanely catchy “Oxford Comma” — that almost anyone with a sweet tooth for melody could love are indeed rare.
Who: Santogold
What: Multicultural music that roughly fits the hip-hop idiom, but is just as much punk rock and world beat. Like M. I. A., Santogold is an in-your-face performer bringing an unusual blend of styles to the modern pop landscape. Listen for yourself – www.myspace.com/santogold . Why: Santogold’s irreverence and raw talent provide a pleasing contrast to the overblown machinations of the diva school –Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey and the like. Since she’s also a producer, the former Santi White from Brooklyn understands how to employ technology toward her own often twisted ends. That should help keep things interesting.
Who: Lady GaGa What: The former Joanne Stefani Germanotta, a private school brat who hobnobbed in the hallways with Paris Hilton, learned to write, sing and play music, stole her pseudonym from a Queen song, landed gigs writing hits for the likes of Britney Spears and the Pussycat Dolls, and wears her Madonna fixation proudly on her sleeve.
Why: Lady GaGa is smart, sexy, talented and completely full of herself, if her interviews and music videos are at all accurate. She also knows how to pen a smarmy dance-pop hit. Folks who can’t take Britney seriously anymore — and there should be way more of them! — or are totally, like, over Madonna’s attempts to deny the aging process are quite likely to fall for Lady GaGa’s considerable charms. By the millions, if Interscope records has its way.
Already, the annoyingly catchy GaGa anthem “Just Dance” has been nominated for a Grammy in the “Best Dance Song” category. Lady GaGa’s own line of perfume can’t be far behind
Local artists
Who: Here Come the Comets
What: Buffalo four-piece whose debut effort, “Falling Anvils,” offers broad, spacious landscapes of sound, then inhabits them with the smart, subtle lyrics and memorable melodies of singer/songwriter Todd Lesmeister.
In concert, the band’s more laid-back studio sound gets a kick in the pants, adding the sort of sonic ear-candy bands like Mercury Rev indulge in.
You can catch some concert clips on YouTube, and peruse the wonderful “Falling Anvils” at cdbaby. com/cd/herecomecomets.
Why: The time is right, first of all, for a Buffalo band to make it out of Buffalo. That the Comets have the songs, the sonic structures, the burgeoning prowess as a live act, and even a super-cool name –well, this bodes well for the group’s future. Check them out.
Who: Chylde
What: Buffalo’s answer to the roots metal movement. A truly great hard rock band calling to mind, at times, early Soundgarden, primal Black Sabbath, and even a bit of the majesty of new metal outfits like the Sword. Find the group at MySpace.com, or catch a live clip from a recent Jamestown gig on YouTube.
Why: This kind of music has never gone away, and is in fact currently enjoying a new mini-renaissance. Chylde has the tunes, the hair, the low-slung Les Pauls, the fiery guitar solos and the rhythm section sturm und drang to take it far.
Who: Son of the Sun
What: The brainchild of singer and songwriter Joseph Stocker and cohort Zak Ward, Son of the Sun has grown into a full ensemble with the addition of Jeremy Franklin on guitar, Steve Matthews on bass and Moog, and Girlpope/Odiorne drummer Brandon Delmont manning the engine room. The sound is sprawling and beautiful, suggesting at times a particularly poignant Ryan Adams, and at others, a less strung-out Velvet Underground.
The band’s debut effort, “The Before the After EP,” is available as 7-inch vinyl with CD enclosed. A new album is on the way in ’09. Listen at www.MySpace.com . Why: If this band was working in New York City, it would probably already be breaking big. Things take a little bit longer ‘round here, but the climate is right for this sort of lush, reflective and melodically detailed rock.
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