1. The Strokes - TBA
They're back in the studio in January, so maybe they'll be able to release an LP before the fifth anniversary of their last passes. Given the quality of their members' solo albums and the passage of time since Is This It, it's a testament to The Strokes' lasting influence that so many are so anxious for something new from the whole band.
2. Hot Chip - One Life Stand (has it really been almost two years since their perfect last album?)
3. LCD Soundsystem - TBA
4. Los Campesinos - Romance Is Boring
It's apparently going to be less frenetic and more mature than their prior output, which is to be expected now that most of the band is out of their adolescent years. I'm biased on this one, as I once had a blast in an intimate indie mosh pit with the band and two hundred other fans.
5. The Hold Steady - TBA (whatever they release, it had better be less overwrought than Stay Positive)
6. Interpol - TBA
Will anyone but hardcore fans care after Our Love To Admire flopped and Paul Banks' solo debut was mostly solid? I'm afraid Interpol's alt-rock chart-topping days may be over, and they may be headed for a Sonic Youth or Yo La Tengo-type future: solid live following and steady sales, but no meaningful mainstream presence. Basically, NPR reviewers and listeners could be their most loyal demographic. (This is a problem for all of the early '00s "return to rock" bands, except for NY's most polished and Detroit's most prolific.)
7. Liars - Sisterworld
Their last, self-titled LP was disappointing after the solemn, dreamy Drum's Not Dead. Hopefully they'll get their Thom Yorke-tipped mojo back for their new release.
8. Spoon - Transference
Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga was over-hyped, never delivering the band the top-of-the-pops push it deserved and that critics expected, so maybe they'll just worry themselves with making an album with more than a few great songs this time.
9. Vampire Weekend - Cousins (Because mall clothing shops desperately need new, safe indie hits to play in-store and on their TV commercials.)
10. The Rolling Stones - TBA (No one's really clamoring for it, but isn't it time for some plastic to peddle prior to another tour, even if it's mediocre like the last?)
Albums I am not anticipating:
MGMT - Congratulations
Their debut swung for the indie crossover hit fences and flied out. The problem was it had only three classic tracks, two of which were actually leftovers from their first EP, plus seven forgettable acoustic guitar ditties given the full Lips treatment by David Friedman. Still, radio and festival audiences ate them up.
U2 - TBA
U2 thought No Line on the Horizon would spawn several chart-topping hits while their follow-up, made up of longer, ambient outtakes from those same sessions, would be more artsy and "difficult." Now that No Line flopped due to an inexcusable lack of editing, U2 are left wondering whether to go ahead with their planned release of those guaranteed-to-fail outtakes, or to start from scratch. If history is any guide, starting from scratch means another five-year wait for new material. So maybe they should just dump the old material on a now-suspecting public, if only to provide new tracks to spice up another tour.
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You cheated twice (The Strokes and The Rolling Stones), but I'm going to let that go because I'm eagerly awaiting one of them as well. I like your list. I'm surprised you didn't include The National, but not upset about it. I think you are being a little harsh on VW. You are nonetheless correct, despite being a bit sassy. I'm right in line with you on Interpol. I included MGMT on my list for the exact reason why you are not looking forward to it: I am really curious whether or not they produce a consistent LP of solid tracks. You are right. The last album only had a couple standout tracks spread between some really unimpressive stuff. This next album will make or break MGMT for me... notice I said for me. Hipsters will continue loving MGMT even if the next album isn't worth the space on their hard drives. I am however disappointed with your including of Spoon on the list. First Britt Daniel is an overrated prat lost up the black hole that is his own ass. Second, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga was sooo bad I simply cannot begin to be excited for the next LP.
ReplyDeleteI don't get why hipsters like MGMT. They're on Sony and they seemed to be in a rush to be ubiquitous as soon as their intended practical joke of a project caught fire.
ReplyDeleteBritt Daniel may be a prick and his output uneven. But when he's on, he's on: "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb" and "Black Like Me" were immaculate.
MGMT are indie-approved because they are the anti-indie. Look at the very first verse on Oracular Spectacular: "I'm feeling rough, I'm feeling raw, I'm in the prime of my life." Then: money! women! Paris! heroin! sex! cocaine! All this in the first sixty seconds! It's an invitation back to the glory days of rock: the hair and the fame and the OD before 30. It's an call and an energy you're not gonna find on goddamn Ys.
ReplyDeleteThe hipster ecosystem just plays dress-up with real movements. All the attitude of beat/punk/woodstock, none of the substance/lifestyle/politics. Here's a band that stands for something: selling out and blowing up. And they do. And it's refreshing.
I don't think it's a practical joke. I think it's naked and unironic. Look at VanWyngarden's tattoo: "Real." We Americans, when we get embarrassed about our unhip sincerity, we distance ourselves and call it ironic, a joke. Don't believe it. All those kids at the Waiting Room, barely moving, they're desperate for something danceable and true and real. Here's the invitation.
You could make an argument that I have this exactly wrong, that the whole thing is an act. But I think we all want it to be true, and that's enough.
I just meant that MGMT started out as a joke band. The bandmembers have said exactly that. The lyrics of "Time to Pretend" are many things, one of which is funny. I don't think they're honestly saying they want to do a full Hendrix and needlessly die in their prime. But it's ironic that we idolize these people even though we have little desire of following suit (for good reason).
ReplyDeleteI think that was the original intention, but they evolved into something more. And, you make a great point, it's an anti-indie ethos that is totally sincere. So, I think you have it exactly right (except I think they have more in common with an ironic t-shirt from Urban than you seem to think).
I like MGMT and what they're about, but I'd more fully understand their appeal if they had more quality songs. One can shake it to "Electric Feel," "Time to Pretend," and "Kids." Those songs, especially the latter two, are classics. The rest of the album sounds like a psychedelic Oasis. Or like David Friedman doing his best with what he has to work with. Because it ain't much.
Your point about hipsters appropriating the aesthetics of outsider movements without the substance is totally consistent with my view. I can't decide whether it's a good or a bad thing, but it makes sense in the communications age.
Also, MGMT kick ass live. Both at Slowdown and at Lollapalooza. Less so at the latter (they were a little lethargic, except during their danceable tunes when they were awesome).
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