The Pop Underground Strikes Back
by Mike BaronFew shows illustrate how low the state of popular music has fallen than “American Idol.” While AI regularly finds singers of talent, the songs they feature are mostly chestnuts. The show also encourages the type of singing that is more at home on Broadway than in small smoky clubs. The judges put an inordinate amount of focus on vocal pyrotechnics encouraging contestants to test the outer limits of their ranges. The most exciting news to come out of the most recent season is the possibility that Adam Lambert might join Queen, replacing the ill-considered Paul Rogers.
I would love to see Adam Lambert join Queen. I already know all the songs. And that’s a problem. Singer/songwriters have been moving off-grid since the nineties. With the demise of the major music conglomerates, innovative talent understands it’s up to them to record and release their own material. The internet makes this possible. No one knows the extent of the effect downloading has had on the music industry, but if we are to judge from the reaction, it has been devastating. The Recording Institute Association of America has brought suits against parents whose children illegally download songs.
The music press that used to serve a vast range of interests is dying. No Depression and Blender bit the dust last year. Paste is asking its readers for financial contributions. Rolling Stone and Spin long ago gave up covering innovative grass-roots rock in favor of the ever-dwindling supply of “mainstream” acts. Rolling Stone now resembles an uncomfortable cross between The Nation and Vanity Fair.
The remaining music rags seem to be involved in a conspiracy to cover the same artists. How else to explain the simultaneous cover appearances of such bands as Vampire Weekend, Connor Oberst, and Bat for Lashes? These are the “official,” industry sanctioned “edgy artists.” Trouble is, all these music venues are waiting for someone else to sanction an artist before they’re interested. They are missing the forest for the trees.
The internet and home recording obviate the need for Big Music. Yes, having some edgy TV show choose a song off your record can be a career-maker (The Fray, anyone?), but somebody has to hear that song first and have the power to use it. So let me tell you what’s been going on in the pop underground this year. Like last year and the year before it, 2009 is shaping up as one of the most exciting pop music years ever. It’s early June and I’ve been stunned with the breadth and quality of releases thus far.
Campbell Stokes Sunshine Recorder: Makes Your Ears Smile. Andy Morten, formerly of The Nerve and Bronco Bullfrog has recorded a masterpiece of summer pop that is simultaneously simple and liltingly complex. Andy Morten made all the sounds himself. The closest precedent might by the Dukes of Stratosphere (XTC) who donned the mantle of psychedelic warriors to record songs that echoed their inspirations. Morten is an excellent singer and an inspired composer.
Roger Klug: More Help For Your Nerves. Two years ago power pop aficionados were gob-smacked by Bryan Scary’s debut which displayed superb musicianship, terrific dynamics and strong songwriting. Last year it was Josh Fix. This year it’s Roger Klug whose More Help For Your Nerves opens with “Tinnitus,” an ear blast comparable to Greg Pope’s “Sky Burn Down.” This disc is an embarrassment of riches clocking in at just under an hour with 17 tracks. None of them are throwaways. Klug’s mostly a one-man band with inspiration up to his ears and a voice that hints at hidden cabaret chops.
The second song, “Dump Me Hard,” announces that this is an artist who’s got it going on in every department. Every song is a standout although I would single out “For the Kids” for its bittersweet poignancy. And it’s not just verse/verse/chorus/verse. Klug breaks it up as in “About Time” which segues from upbeat pop to exuberant bluegrass before falling back into a hard rock groove. Mental Giant, his music label, is just Klug.
Broken Promise Keeper: Ice Cold Pop. Another one man band. Seldom have I heard such a strong debut of songs. As powerful and memorable as Marshall Crenshaw. Rob Stuart possesses an effortless musicality that affords his songs good bones-the changes, choruses and bridges are both surprising and inevitable. Stuart has a radio friendly voice and the songs segue from one to the next. Superb dynamics-one listen and you’re hooked.
The opener “Directions” with its insanely catchy hook contains the lyrics: “Change – new scenery sure would be nice/Change – but before we turn, let’s think twice/‘Cause when you take that fork in the road/ It helps to know where you’re trying to go.” Hmmm….
Greg Pope: Pete. Pete’s an extended play-seven songs-but they hit with the impact of last year’s triumphant Popmonster, which perched at the top of most Ten Best last year. And here’s something the music dinosaurs can only dream about: Greg recorded these songs in March and April and the CD, with beautiful cover art, came out in May. This type of inspiration to market in two months occurs because the lone singer/songwriter doesn’t have to wait for the suits’ approval.
Valley Lodge: Semester at Sea Second release from New York-based rock quartet jangles and buzzes its way from start to finish with delicious hooks, unique vocal choruses and great dynamics. Highly reminiscent of Plimsouls, if slightly more sophisticated.
There is more. Much more. These independent releases are coming at the rate of about four or five a day. That’s over a thousand records a year. The music is infinitely better than what Big Music seeks to cram down our throats, yet one will search in vain for any mention of the above bands-or the hundreds of others of similar vein-in the traditional music press. So what’s a pop fan to do?
There are numerous websites devoted to power pop. My favorites are Absolute Powerpop, popaholic.com, and of course notlame.com, which in addition to being a label (The Toms, The Well Wishers, The Shazam) acts as a clearinghouse for all these great new bands….
Two notes: A lot of these bands are releasing their CDs in simple cardboard sleeves. You can get all the info you want on the back of one of these, and if the band chooses to print lyrics, such as Fastball, cardboard sleeves come in fold-outs like miniature versions of deluxe LP sleeves, which allow for more art. This is a big step up from the odious plastic jewel box. It’s also a big step back. This is the way 45’s and LPs used to come.
The second note is that if you contact these artists via their websites, most of them will talk to you. Try e-mailing Gwen Stefani.
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32 Comments
I haven't looked at a "Rolling Stone" or "Spin" in years, but based on your description of RS today as a cross between "The Nation" and "Vanity Fair" I'd say my reasons for letting my subscription lapse remain valid.
In the '90s I put up with "Rolling Stone's" left-wing diatribes as the price for reading about music, but with the advent of the Internet there was no longer any reason to fund Wenner's Democratic Party mouthpiece.
"Spin" wasn't as politically shrill, and I always thought their political activism at least had the feel of authentic anti-authoritarianism behind it, unlike the knee-jerk PC liberalism of "Rolling Stone".
I let my "Spin" subscription lapse at about the same time, c. 2001, as I let my RS subscription lapse. Letting "Spin" go was less about disgust with their editorial slant, and more to do with the Internet taking its place. Plus, I was getting older, and no longer felt the need to keep up with every new development on the music scene.
You just can't beat the rock music of the 70s..Paul Rogers should have stuck with Bad Company..I LOVE his voice and music but really didn't think he was cut out for singing with Queen..That's like pitting Hulk Hogan up against Paris Hilton..Nothing good could ever come of it.
I get new music coming at me all the time through "My Space". Some of it quite good. Never did read Rolling Stone or any other mag. Was fortunate enough to work concerts in college and bartend small clubs since high school. Commercial stuff makes me yawn. That having been said, I actually listen to Kris Allen's stuff and quite like it. Hope 19 doesn't over-package him.
When I run out of toilet paper, I use pages from Rolling Stone.
Amen to that. The 70s and late 60s were full of bands and performers that constantly broke new ground. With all the bands out now I have to listen to 100 hours of really bad cookie-cutter music to find the one gem.
Throw in the uninformed political opinions sprinkled into the music and I'll just change the station to ESPN or something.
Rolling Stone tries so hard to be relevant it makes me laugh. All the left-wing nutbag tripe that's stuffed in those pages makes the magazine less about music and more about RS's own desparate attempts at being "important".
Musicians should be pissed off at RS for ignoring them in favor of divisive political crapola. If I were an up and coming musician and I got a call from RS, I'd let it go to voicemail and then delete it….
Queen is degraded by even considering the lame Adam. I will listen to the original songs sung by the original singers.
Here's a guy I just discovered last year..Kind of old school and I LOVE it.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=james...
I agree, it seems all of these entertainment companies all want to play the devisive political game, sorry but they aren't getting my money anymore. I don't even pick them up at the doctors office anymore either.
Very true, with RS the way it is now I doubt Dr. Hook wants anything to do with them.
"That's like pitting Hulk Hogan up against Paris Hilton..Nothing good could ever come of it.
"
He might be able to knock some sense into her.
rolling stone is a magazine for people who need to be told what music to like.
Pretty good stuff, kind of has a Stevie Ray Vaughn vibe.
Ah, do I miss "No Depression." So much good music came out during the heyday of the so-called 'Y'allternative" movement, what with Bloodshot Records and others of that ilk, and "No Depression" really helped me discover lots of new and old stuff, from The Sadies and Alejandro Escovedo to old Gram Parsons. It's too bad, as Mr. Baron points out, that most of today's music mags have devolved into little more than outlets for the Obama PR office.
I didn't even know that Queen was still around. In other words, when a fan base doesn't even know you exist than it is the same as if you were dead. I will go with the original songs sung by the original singers. There are lots of places to find good (and not so good, but new) music. My favorite place is garageband.com that is all about new talent and a wide range of styles. None of it tied down or toned down by record companies or even geography.
An enterprising person could easily make a good business out of internet based recordings. It could be split sales into 1) single songs download 2) record downloads and 3) traditional physical single and record albums . The key is to throw away the mold that hasn't worked for at least a decade.
It's just lazy journalism. Their purpose, supposedly, is to be the cutting edge on music journalism. To report on the music industry and the musicians we want to know about. More and more those stories are replaced with the typical left-wing ideology.
"republicans suck" "Bush\Cheney is evil" blah blah blah
In the words of Homer Simpson…..BOOOORIIIINNNNGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[...] News Sources wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptFew shows illustrate how low the state of popular music has fallen than “ American Idol.” While AI regularly finds singers of talent, the songs they feature are mostly chestnuts. The show also encourages the type of singing that is more at home on Broadway than in small smoky clubs. The judges put an inordinate amount of focus on vocal pyrotechnics encouraging contestants to test the outer limits of their ranges. The most exciting news to come out of the most recent season is the possibilit [...]
"The judges put an inordinate amount of focus on vocal pyrotechnics encouraging contestants to test the outer limits of their ranges."
I've often wondered how far people like strong-but-strained-voiced Joe Cocker, mumbly Tom Petty, or nasally Willy Nelson (or any number of successful artists who don't have a particularly outstanding singing voice) would have gotten if they had to go through the whim-satisfying process of American Idol.
Anytime someone tries to replace an icon like Freddie Mercury, it's usually doomed to failure and cheapens the band.
Van Halen had moderate success with Sammy Hagar, but he was no David Lee Roth. Then they went and signed a couple of real losers. In the end, the band ceased to be the Van Halen I loved.
I wish Adam luck, he has some mammoth shoes to fill….
I haven't listened to any of the artists you mentioned yet, but appreciate the tips and will check them out. I only learned about "No Depression" a year before it's demise. Sometimes, it got a little too liberal and political for my tastes, but I can't deny I like a lot of the music and musicians it covered (Buddy Miller is a national treasure!) Likewise, as a long time Deadhead, I usually check out Relix and through it, have learned about a lot of really good musicians. It bothers me that the Dead themselves got more overtly into mainstream politics, something they had usually avoided when Garcia was still alive. As a conservative, I am really sometimes in a dilemma in that if I boycotted every liberal artist or actor, I'd have to give up music and drama altogether. On the other hand, I feel like I indirectly contribute to the DNC when I patronize these artists. I suppose in the overall scheme of things, that is not the worst problem in the world and it's just the very fine line we sometimes have to tread.
I gave up on mainstream music a decade ago.
One day I discovered the local music scene where I lived and that was it, I shut off FM radio (I'd shut off MTV in the late 80s), tossed the music rags in the trash and just went to clubs … hung out with the bands (drank with the bands) bought their CDs out of the trunks of their cars and found some of the best music.
Today with the Internet, you can do basically the same thing (only without staying out to all hours of the night, drinking too much, smelling of smoke and developing tinnitus by standing too close to the amps).
There's a LOT of unsigned artists out there doing their own thing, promoting themselves without the studios/FM radio/MTV and making great music.
I fully expect movie making to go the same way as music. Sure its easier to put 3 guys together in a garage with a multi track recorder and produce an album than it is to make a movie, but the technology has brought HD movie cameras down to where they're affordable, and the internet is creating distribution networks outside of Hollywood … someday the best movies will be the one truly made independently (not the faux independent films the studios put out today).
True, the good music journalism these days is found on the internet. The website Pitchfork is ridiculously popular — they're pretty much THE tastemakers for the independent rock scene — but I don't really trust their judgement after some of the stupid things they've said about my favorite bands.
My favorite independent musicians who could be considered pop:
Starflyer 59: Jason Martin started off in the 90's playing dense, shoegazer-ish rock, then in the late 90's he lightened up and started recording Smiths-influenced pop, and he's continued that to this day.
Sufjan Stevens: A multi-genre multi-instrumentalist who writes concept albums about US states and the eastern zodiac.
Gileah and the Ghost Train: Her first album was sparse and folk-influenced; the second had a full band and got comparisons to Sixpence None The Richer.
My Brightest Diamond: Dark–not lyrically dark, but musically dark. The website bio says that Shara Worden was taught opera while growing up, and you can definitely hear that influence in her music.
[...] The Pop Underground Strikes Back by Mike Baron [...]
Agree regarding Paul Rodgers and Queen. Paul Rodgers is one of the greatest singers ever, but having him sing 'Fat Bottom Girls' is just…wrong.
I've discovered tons of great bands on MySpace and YouTube, both old and new. Great music did indeed end with the 70s (some exceptions in the 80s). The best thing was finding a lot of bands who slipped through the cracks in the 70s thanks to disco.
When Johnny Cash started, he was told he didn't have the voice for country music. There are too many industry 'experts' telling people what to play and how to sing. Most of what is out there today will not be around 10 years from now.
Anyone know if the Sugarplastic is still active?
Haven't heard any thing about them for a few years.
I think that this is going to prove that being gay is neither a qualifier nor a disqualifier for anything. Lambert is an imitator. Mercury was an original. What they shared in common has nothing to do with musical talent, or lack of it for that matter.
Capn: Johnny Carson once described Cash as the only singer he knew of who could talk out of tune.
Paul —
Sorry, none of what you wrote, i.e. pop underground moving against conformist rock, is what's really happening.
What's happening is simple. Birth dearth = not enough young people. Hence, the music business is dying because of not enough customers. Only cheap, fast local bands can make a few bucks, and then it's a matter of self-expression rather than a money-making proposition.
The difference between 1965 and now, is that 1965 had about 10 million more (White) youngsters. Mexican-origin kids understandably want their music in Spanish, and Mexican. The Mexican music scene is still thriving even with piracy, a global recession, and so on. It's a separate universe from the English language one however. I've blogged on this endlessly. It's the demographics. Not enough young people (check out the failure of the CW).
Gay, schmay, whatever. George Michael is the only person who can come close to filling Freddie's shoes. As wrong the attempt to square peg the round hole, at least Paul Rodgers never has to worry about being a second-rate, 21st century Liberace like Lambert. Cripes, even Billy Joe where eye-liner better. Michael also earned leading a Wembley crowd the way Freddie once did. Damn, was Live Aid almost 25 years ago?
The local scene is a big deal here in Austin. I am well sustained on the local stuff. What city are you in?
Thanks for writing this, Mike. I'll definitely be checking out these bands.
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