One Liner: American Idol runner-up with fantastic voice Wikipedia Genre: Pop, indie Home: Pomona, CA Poster Position: 6 Both Weekends.
Thoughts: Interesting cat. The first song made me think that I was going to get a treat, as the guy's nimble guitar picking fingers fly all over the place to create a pretty interesting track. Then his next tune sounds like generic electronic alt R&B. Then his third song sounds like John Mayer. What is this? With only 5 songs, its hard to say what his sound is really going to be. The guy's real name is Alejandro Aranda, and he was the runner up on the 17th season of American Idol. On that show, he apparently set himself apart from others by frequently performing original songs, instead of just singing covers. That being said, he still covered Beiber, Post Malone, and Drake on one hand, and then Bob Marley, Queen, Coldplay, and Simon & Garfunkle on the other. He did so well that Pomona California has declared May 19 "Alejandro Aranda Day." Which is pretty wild. Here is the American Idol audition.
The expressions of the judges, and I know they are paid to do this, but are classic. Just like, where the hell did this dude come from who is playing an original song that is better than anything we have ever done? Very cool. Weird that they make him go grab the piano, when he had obviously planned to just do the guitar song. Seems kinda shitty. And then he just hammers it - with all these little trills and the whole thing. Who is that country idiot on the end? That guy is a flipping idiot. Forrest Gump? WTF? He also just said his inspirations are Trent Reznor, Chopin, and Bach. Also, WTF? This is his newest track, released Aug. 9, and a new video that just came out as well. "Cholo Love." I don't like the reverb effect they are putting on the voice in the video version - they didn't do that in the regular/studio version.
And just so you can really hear the guitar action on "Out Loud," which is hard to hear in that Idol audition, check this out:
Sounds freaking great. Not so sure about the name - Scarypoolparty is going to limit his success, in my opinion, but he definitely has a great voice and a ton of talent.
One Liner: Killer voiced Norweigian gal deserves more hype Wikipedia Genre: Synthpop Home: Alesund, Norway Poster Position: 8 Both Weekends.
Thoughts: I got to see her play a SXSW show at Bangers a few years back, and I recall coming away from it with two distinct observations. First, that her mannerisms on the stage were oddly endearing and fierce. She pokes at the air and cocks her head and slashes with her hands and struts around on the stage like she is spitting gangster rap lyrics. Second, that her voice (and that of her backup singer) is fantastic. Strong and pitch perfect. I'll likely sound like an idiot here, since Adele has the most famous set of pipes in the world right now, but the acoustic versions of Sigrid's songs on her Spotify page bring Adele to my mind. She also reminds me of Carole King at times. Sigrid is her real first name, but the rest of her name looks like an anagram. Sigrid Solbakk Raabe. A Bark Baker, Also? She won the BBC Music Sound of 2018. She's 22 now, but she got her start when she was more like 16. She's opened for Maroon 5 and George Ezra. One of her top tunes is the Kendrick Lamar-esquely named "Don't Kill My Vibe," a great kiss-off track with 52.2 million streams.
Oh, and I forgot to mention, she looks like she is 12 years old. She's got another popular one called "Plot Twist" that is also kind of a harsh kiss off thing where she gets to yell "SHOTS FIRED!" throughout, but I want you to hear that other vibe, the more acoustic, less electro pop, song. Here is "Dynamite," which is more in the area of 20.8 million streams.
You get the Adele comparisons with that one, right? You could hear this one on 25 among the other piano ballads. Regardless of whether she sounds like someone else, I know that she sounds freaking great. You really should go see her do this stuff live, she's a trip to watch perform with her aggressive mannerisms and teenager looks. One odd moment in listening to her top songs again - she had a cover of "Everybody Knows" that appears on the Justice League soundtrack. All dark and angsty and ready made for BatFleck to glower over it. She was supposed to be her in 2017, but pulled out of the Festival for some reason. Since then, she has released her actual album (2019's Sucker Punch), but it still incorporates several of her hit tracks that have been out as singles for a while (like those two above). I don't know why this pop music clicks with me so well, but she just seems exuberant and happy and it does the same for me. It also includes her top streamer, which was originally released back in 2017, called "Strangers," which has 83.4 million streams.
Over 50 million views of that video. And watch it - you can see what I meant about her hands and the slashes and pokes. Kind of a cutesy voice at first, and then after that first voice, she girds her loins and kicks in for the chorus. Oooooh, when the real chorus kicks in and the 80's called with their Madonna synth attack, I just about bounced out of my seat. She really looks like she is having a ball - I know that is an image, but whatever! I wanna have fun! Hell yes. Sign me up to groove to that stuff. I'm gonna listen to that song nine more times right now. After I was done with this post, but was still jamming the music because I like it, I wondered to myself if this is just like Robyn's music (that I was very lukewarm on) and if so, why do I like this better? I don't have that answer, except maybe that I saw this one live and so she reminds me of something good.
One Liner: Forgettable pop with indie pop girl voice
Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, going with Pop, country Home: Denver born, now in Nashville Poster Position: 26 Weekend One Only.
Thoughts: Just four songs, piano-driven indie pop that sounds very nice - almost country-ish in some of the small touches in here, but I definitely wouldn't call it country music despite a steel guitar wail or fiddle slide here and there. She grew up in Denver, graduated from Berklee College of Music, and now lives in Nashville (I should count up how many artists at ACL this year are from Nashville - the number is annoyingly high). Before all that, she was on an NBC show I've never heard of called The Sing Off, and apparently toured with that thing. When she got to Nashville, she was just doing songwriting but scored a song with Charlie XCX. But she grew up idolizing Faith Hill and the Dixie Chicks, so I guess she really might be country at heart. "More Hearts Than Mine" is a brutal guilt trip machine - "hey, boyfriend, I'm gonna bring you home to my family who are going to love you, as will my friends, and if you break up with me I won't even care, but my dad will drink himself to death (whiskey on ice!) and my little sister will become a serial killer." That is her top single at 3.3 million streams.
Pretty song - I actually like the lyrics even though I'm joking about them up above. Feels like a true story, and I dig that. Her newest single doesn't have all the streams yet, but was just released on Aug. 16, so having 131k already is actually pretty solid after only 5 days. This is "We're Not Friends."
See, if that is supposed to be country, it sure doesn't sound it. BUt there may be a touch of banjo in the background of the chorus, almost like this is that portion of Taylor Swift's career when she hadn't fully left country behind but hadn't fully become an electronic animal. Its a pretty song again. Only four songs to try, but they are all good. Strong voice, pretty face, good lyrics, seems like she is destined for greatness. I probably won't go see it happen, but that's just because she's at 11:45 in the morning.
One Liner: Popular combination of bluegrass sounds into hip hop-tinged pop rock.
Wikipedia Genre: Americana, bluegrass, folk, rock, hip hop, electropop Home: Nashville Poster Position: 8 Both Weekends.
Thoughts: Totally thought this was going to be some sort of Christian band. I know there was a Judah in the Bible, but I couldn't remember squat about his tale and what it had to do with a lion. After some hunting, I think Judah was more important to the Jewish faith than the Christians. Judah's Lion is "a Jewish national and cultural symbol, traditionally regarded as the symbol of the Israelite tribe of Judah. According to the Torah, the tribe consists of the descendants of Judah, the fourth son of Jacob. The association between Judah and the lion can first be found in the blessing given by Jacob to his son Judah in the Book of Genesis." Genesis 49 contains that blessing, where he actually calls Judah the lion's cub (but also a lion and a lioness?): "Judah,your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you. [ed note, Judah sounds like a badass] You are a lion’s cub, Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs[d] shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his. He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.[Ed note, well now the dude sounds terrifying, only wearing purple clothes, with dark purple eyes and extra white teeth? Yikes. Some evil sounding shit.] So I was surprised to start the first song and realize that I hear this track on alternative rock radio all the time. "Take It All Back," with 48.4 million streams is their top track.
Pretty solid song. Kinda weird though, like combining mandolin and banjo with hip hop-ish beats and a singer who sounds kinda like when Eminem sings. Oh, and their album is very unfortunately named Folk Hop N' Roll, which makes me want to die. I liked the song much more before I read that album name. That album, which was actually their second disc, was released in 2016 and also has their second biggest hit, "Suit and Jacket," with 36.2 million streams.
Yeah, that one is pretty solid too. Weird, now that I've compared his yelling voice to Eminem's singing voice, I can't shake the comparison. Three dudes - and they met at Belmont University at Nashville. The lead singer's real name is Judah, and then met up with two dudes who happened to play mandolin and banjo, respectively, and created the new band. Oh, hey, and when they started, it was a Christian band - they won a Belmont University Christian Showcase, and their first EP (which is not available on Spotify) was a Christian worship collection. So I wasn't totally wrong in thinking of them as a Christian thing. Back in the day, they even opened for Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors, another ACL band this year. They just released a new album on August 7, 2019, called Pep Talks. I actually heard one of these songs on the radio the other day, and since I knew these dudes were on the ACL poster I stayed there to check it out. And it is a truly terrible song. "Why Did You Run?" is apparently the first single from this album, and it takes their mandolin/banjo thing and runs it through a machine that has only ever heard that terrible Chainsmokers/Coldplay collaboration song, and thus can only make semi-EDM/quasi-indie rock songs. Up to just over 4 million streams so far, here you go.
I mean, even that video is treacly try hard - he sees the girl and immediately gets a crumpled paper heart to unfold? Its all so painfully earnest and fake joyful with crappy EDM elements. Ugh. BUT, they do have a song with Kacey Musgraves on it, and she has never done anything wrong ever, so they may actually be redeemable. The opening of the new album tries to copy the opening of The Greatest Showman. Woaaaahhhhhhhooooohhhhh singing and some tense stops/starts. Then the first real song is more rock and roll than anything else - pounding drums and chanting lyrics. And then the Chainsmokers-ass song. "i'm ok" starts to sound like they want to be 21 Pilots, and he still sings like Eminem. "Don't Mess With My Mama" is truly horrible. "17" sounds like bad Blink 182. And, from listening to the tearful voice mails they include here during an anthemic session of them yelling that the BEEESSST IS YET TO COOOOOOOOMMMEEE!!! I know that this was somehow important and cathartic to them, but the album is not good. Funny band, because they started out a totally different thing. Those mandolins and banjos used to be legitimately used to make nice music - like the nice Americana track "Our Love," from the 2013 EP Sweet Tennessee - that don't try so hard to be hip and they come off really well. "Hesitate" is really pretty! And "Southern Ground" is a fun bluegrass barnburner! Feels like these guys had a certain trajectory back in this 2013 disc - and it was laid on a foundation of real musicianship and fast fingers. I mean, just look at that Wikipedia genre listing up there - everything from Bluegrass to Hip Hop - that isn't normal. The first real album was 2014's Kids These Days, and it shifts their sound slightly - it isn't quite the full shift into hip hop beats, but it becomes more stadium friendly, a broader sound that still uses the banjo and mandolin, but goes more for an earnest rock and roll sound, like the new Mumford sound. But some still retain the bluegrass sound entirely. "Mason-Dixon Line" is obvious, but even the driving, danceable jam of "Rich Kids" is like an exuberant mash of bluegrass sounds with rock. Not a bad album. "Twenty-somethings" has the most streams at 6.6 million.
Eating Arby's on the ground is never a good idea, folks. I don't care how you are doing on money, there has to be a better option. Or at least know the nearest bathroom. Also, you have to love all these dudes in $150 Patagonia fleeces filming themselves going into Goodwill to shop for clothes. So downhome and relatable! But the song itself is actually really good - nice, pretty ode to the insecurities and joys of an age. I don't know. My instinct is that I don't want to see a band with an album called Folk Hop N' Roll. But probably, if I just relax and stop being all judgy and shit, I'd have fun at this show. We'll see how the schedule shakes out.
One Liner: Local R&B lady who made a video maybe at Bull Creek
Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, this is R&B and soul. Home:Austin Poster Position: 22 Weekend One Only.
Thoughts: Another great voice - in that Erykah Badu space at times - see "The Way." That might be her best song. I actually like that song a lot. Her website says she is Midwest born but Austin raised. Seems like a good idea. I wish I could find more about her personally, but her PR stuff is all pretty basic. Two albums, 2015's First Impression and 2017's Resilient. Not very many videos, but she has one that I think features Sculpture Falls from down in the Barton Springs greenbelt. No, wait, that looks more like Bull Creek over there west of 360. Either way, the nature is pretty in that video.
Yeah, she's got a good voice - the tune has a sweet groove, and I like that she is repping Lauryn Hill, Prince, Alicia Keys, and others with those albums she is laying all over on the floor. She has one other real video (in addition to some weird shit of her singing with some dude in a living room jamming the keyboard), so I'll give you "Love You."
Again, great voice, but pretty generic R&B track that I wouldn't be able to pick out of a lineup if you paid me. I wouldn't plan on seeing this one live.
One Liner: Weird ass rapper with terrible hair and bad sunglasses
Wikipedia Genre: Alternative rock, indie pop, indietronica, electronic, hip hop (really? alternative rock?!?) Home: Santa Cruz, CA Poster Position: 10 Weekend One Only.
Thoughts: What the hell is this? Clicked on the first track, expecting that this name was going to lead me to some pastoral indie music about nature or something, and instead its like an angry ass rap/yeller with a horrible haircut who grew up on Die Antwoord and some singer/songwriter from Mars. Just listened to "Fuck," which comes on the 2019 single of the same name, and has a cover incorporating this guy, with his super shitty haircut and weird sunglasses, standing in an inferno, holding a nail studded bat, wearing a pair of jeans that are so wide they look like a dress, and grinning maniacally. And the song sounds like he took the basic idea for Mo Bamba, dropped out the singing part, and just went for it over an ominous beat. I'm sure my middle kid is already listening to this each night before bed. No actual albums, just a 2018 EP called Alien Boy, which throws me off somewhat. It has these semi-ballad type tunes, guitar and beats and song/rapped lyrics, as well as regular rap songs. That includes his top song so far, the title track, with 63.6 million streams. Er, actually, this is two songs - starts with "All That," more of the regular rap sounding song, and then shifts into "Alien Boy" at about 1:30 after he gets killed while scooting.
He really is a good scooter rider - or at least his stunt double is pretty solid. He also really enunciates the words as he is singing them - his tongue and teeth are really getting an appearance! Also, why does he have make beef with the muscle-bound ginger? Sure, Giantsbane probably takes the beef too far with the murdering, but don't run on nobody's minivan if you don't want none, yo. He released a new EP on Aug. 2, and one of the tracks already has 11.6 million streams. So, somehow, this weird ass version of rap/yelling.singing stuff is beloved by a group of people out there. I'm so old. Here is "Miracle Man."
I mean, this guy just absolutely feels like someone who inexplicably made the 10th line of the ACL poster this year, and a year from now, all of the people who think he is hilarious will have graduated from middle school and no one will even remember his name. Again, with the wrecked face/broken glasses, and over-enunciation of words, and getting run over by a vehicle. I'm so confused why this is a thing. Apparently, his name is really Oliver Tree Nickell. Not sure why to go with Tree in the musician name instead of Nickell. When he got started, he went just under the name Tree, and got to open for Tyler the Creator and Frank Ocean, which is pretty wild. Tree apparently covered "Karma Police" and Thom Yorke approved. Also, Wikipedia says that he has announced his final tour. So, I think I was probably correct about no one remembering this dude in a few years.
Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, this is Americana turned to bluesy rock Home:Austin Poster Position: 22 Weekend Two Only.
Thoughts: I saw Bryant play live a few years ago, at one of those HAAM day deals where a bunch of different artists shuffle their way through Whole Foods and play little 30 minute sets, and in person, just a few feet away from her, let me assure you that she is freaking amazing. She seemed both young and self-assured, powerful and yet tender. Great voice. I remember being totally mesmerized by the little show, staying there long after I had finished my taco and should have been headed to work. I came back to work eventually, and found her album Hourglass on Spotify. it is old, from 2013, but it is the only true album to her credit. Not getting many listens on Spotify, most of her songs are under five digits, but two tracks are up over 100k ("Lover," and "Still Can't Forget You"). But I can't find those on YouTube, or any other songs from that album on there, so we'll just have to move on to the newer EP. Before I do, I wanted to note that the tunes on this album are pretty solid - almost like someone who plays a Disney princess in a cartoon is making blues rock now. The voice is the thing here. Beyond those two tracks with all those streams, none of her songs have any streams - the top track is one with 7,420. So I'll just offer the ones with the real videos so that you can see and hear something. First, "Attention" is on the 2018 EP Let Me Be Lost, and the video has 26k views (only 6,241 streams on Spotify).
Oh, WTF? That is nothing like the older tunes. I very much do not enjoy that song. Oh no. What happened to the nice semi-folky, bluesy rock? Also, almost 5 minutes? I needed it to stop at like 2 minutes. Let's try "Too Smooth" and hope for better?
Aiight, that one sounds a little better, a little groove, some good guitar-work, but then the chorus. C'mon. You're just going to say "you're too smooth" four times for the chorus? This one is much better than the one above that says "attention" 78 times over a terrible tune, but I still liked the old sound better. Actually, as I listen to the new EP, it is all much better than "Attention," so just ignore that little outlier up there... Probably won't go check this out live.
One Liner: Surprisingly excellent rap from San Marcos
Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, this is rap. Home: San Marcos, Texas Poster Position: Late Addition. Weekend Two Only.
Thoughts: Pronounced like pantheon, this is a big pile of rappers who call themselves an "8-man cult determined to destroy hip-hop through ritualistic voodoo." If their top track is any indication, this is pretty flippin' good stuff. "CHUMBUCKET" with 324k streams.
That laaaaaiiiiiid back beat already gets me all woozy and head-noddy here at my desk, even before the guys start throwing their verses down on the table. Oooh, wait, then the second track pops up and its even MORE laaaaaaiiiiiid back. Spoon feed me this until I'm looking like Jabba the Hut and can only barely roll my shoulders to show that I'm into the groove. "Megatron" with 99k streams.
Who is making those beats? I need them in my life. And the flows are great - these guys sound awesome together. Their website shows that they met each other in San Marcos, and now I'm thinking of another huge pile of dudes making rap music who met in San Marcos - Brockhampton - what is it about San Marcos that creates this type of collective badassery? Also says the group is six rappers, 2 full-time producers, and an in-house DJ. Also important, one of the rappers, TONY TONE, is a big ass ginger with a bright red beard, and this is now my favorite rap group of all time. They also have a dude called Por Vida who wears a Spurs shirt in his group photo and I love him too. These guys have been touring with Vince Staples and Freddie Gibbs, so they've already been found and noticed by the real rap folks. Their interviews are super weird, especially quotes talking about the band name, but it seems that their name is because they are a House of Gods and they don't need vowels because they don't have any leaders, they are all Gods. Or something. Also, they all still have regular jobs - one says he's slinging gatorade and hot dogs at a c-store. Just one EP - 2018's RICO - and neither of those two tracks up above are on it. The top track from that album is "HENNY DREAMS" with 262k streams.
Ominous, and then the beat kicks in and my shoulders get to bouncing. Also, one dude sounds like ILOVEMAKONEN in the middle of this thing. There also is someone whining in the background later that makes it sound like BROCKHAMPTON again. Their newest single is called "Good Ass Halal," and it has a cool, kind of smoked out beat. Here is one more that is an actual video so that you can see these dudes - "PUBLIC ENEMY."
Another chill ass beat. Ginger homie looks like Ed Sheeran but flows like Mac Miller. GIVE ME ALL OF THE PNTHN!!! JUST FEED IT RIGHT INTO MY FAT MAW!!! I swear my pleasure in this stuff has nothing to do with the fact that the last 48 bands I've heard on this poster have all been female indie pop artists. I'm going to go to this show and bounce into anyone within ten feet of me.
Wikipedia Genre: Pop rock, alternative rock, post-grunge Home: San Francisco Poster Position: 5 Both Weekends.
Thoughts: Look, man. I know that, now with like 20 years of hindsight, "Semi-Charmed Life" is a cheesy ass anthem that involves the heavy use of "doo doo dooot!" -style singing, but whatever. In my off-campus house in college, we jammed that song without any irony and proudly hollered along to the doo doo doot! bits and the gooooooodbyyyyyyyyyyyeeeeee! pieces. It's a fun ass song. I don't care that, now, upon more critical listening, it makes me cringe a little. It is also, by far, the band's biggest hit with 187.2 million streams.
And its about getting high on meth, right? That seems super f-ed up to just happily jam along to a song about getting cranked? It also feels like a song that was featured in lots of movies. Like, if I were to guess, I'd say it was in So I Married an Axe Murderer, American Pie, and (although I'm almost sure this one can't be correct) Clueless. Oh hey, it really was used in American Pie! My brain is a weird machine! And after that uplifting tune about meth addiction, what is their next big hit? Oh yeah, the suicide song! Woohoo! The singer says that the track is "about a friend who's gay, jumping off a bridge and killing themselves." Shit, man. He also claims that it has transformed over time, because audiences seem to think it has "levity" and I have no clue how the audience members would mistake the lyrics for something funny or light? 85.4 million streams.
I mean, I guess you can read those lyrics are being happy because he's telling him not to jump? I just think the idiot crowd likes singing along to old hits. Always makes me think of the scene in one of the Lethal Weapons where Mel Gibson makes the potential jumper jump because he knows the pad is down there and the potential jumper is freaking out. One more major tune from this first album - probably the actual best song of all of them, with kind of an Oasis vibe going on for a longing love song. "How's It Gonna Be," with just over 65 million streams.
Yeah, that track is better than the other two for sure. And this is a hell of a debut album, right? Three major hits, and I'd say that "Graduate" was also a hit, even though one called "Motorcycle Drive By" has more streams at 19.4 million. Pretty impressive. If I'm being totally honest here, while I definitely owned this CD back in the day, I could have easily mistaken one of these tracks for a Matchbox 20 song. Maybe Gin Blossoms too. I was drinking very heavily when these albums came out. Also, the YouTube algorithm is trying to get me to watch Lit, Spin Doctors, and Foster the People now, so there's that. I also remember either owning their next album (1999's Blue), or at least having a handful of downloads of the tracks from it - I know I had "Never Let You Go" in my playlist on WINAMP ("really whips the llamas ASS!") that I used every day at my first job out of college. It's got a good groove and a fun tune. Just over 44 million streams.
Nice double neck guitar, bro! Oooh, and the lead singer went with the long hair now! Man, that video really sucks ass! But the tune is still solid. From that album, "Deep Inside of You" also rings a bell, but its stream count makes it seem like maybe it wasn't a widespread hit. And then? Slipped right off the face of the earth, as far as I am concerned. Nothing in their post 1999 catalog rings any bells whatsoever to me. And yet they continued to (slowly) crank out albums. 2003's Out of the Vein? Nope, never heard of any of those tunes. 2009's Ursa Major has a familiar looking cover, like I might have seen it at some point, but no song on the album sounds familiar. Same with 2015's Dopamine, 2016's We Are Drugs, and 2018's Thanks for Everything. I will definitely say that they should be proud of sticking to their guns - nothing has changed about these songs in 22 years - still pounding drums, slashing guitars, and that very same singing style rocking out, as though we're still watching Friends and drinking Icehouse. Before I give you one of those fully mediocre songs to enjoy, I was curious who this band actually is. I don't know squat about them. The band is actually out of San Francisco. Wikipedia says that they signed the largest ever publishing deal for an unsigned artist when they signed with Elektra in 1996. Wikipedia also says they kicked out the lead guitarist after Blue (and got sued over it), and have had many lineup changes since, with only lead singer and drummer as the constants. Also, that first album went six times platinum in the US, which is insane. Interestingly, no Grammy nominations for any of those huge songs or that debut album. Boy, sure hope they want to play a lot of their tunes from the new album at the show in the Fall! The opener of the 2018 album has the most streams, but I'm going to give you second place because I think it might actually be a better song - "Fuck Forever" - with 864k streams.
Just kind of a generic rocker and leaning on a cuss word to sound a little more edgy, instead of actually making something edgy. But not horrible, just whatever. "In the Fade" isn't horrible either. Also of note, they have a 2017 live album (foolishly called Summer Gods Tour Live 2017, I mean, come on, man. You're fucking Third Eye Blind, my dudes), and running through that album is actually really good. Even if I don't know most of the songs at all, the rock and roll is undeniable. The crowd participation is great - although his weird anti-Instagram rant in the middle of "Semi Charmed Life" seems out of place (even if I sort of agree with the sentiment). I already know I'm not going to see this show - Kacey Musgraves 4LYFE! - but I bet its actually pretty damn good.
I know I'm supposed to be only listening to sad eyed R&B singers who are coming to ACL right now, but take seven minutes and watch the ridiculousness that is this video of Missy blowing the doors off of the world at the VMAs.
Those two people in the yellow, breakdancing - freaking amazing. Taylor Swift trying to dance like a human - not amazing. I would like to formally petition the people of ACL to replace Childish Gambino (just tell him the Festival broke its leg and can't have him anymore) with Missy, and then pay whatever it takes to include spaceships and corn fields and 200 badass backup dancers and lets have the greatest Fest of all time.
One Liner: Another EDM guy Wikipedia Genre: Tech house, house Home: Australia Poster Position: 6 (really?!?) Both Weekends.
Thoughts: Gotta say, these last few artists have been hard to google correctly - banks, fisher, sigrid - the internet has a few things using that same name. Also, another artists with the yelling name. His real name is Paul Nicholas Fisher, which is a nice sounding name. Seems like the kind of mild mannered name that would end up being a mass murderer. His top song, "Losing It," makes liberal use of what sounds an organ copying an old school alarm clock, and I hate that aspect of it. Otherwise, its a pretty fun, albeit slightly generic, EDM song. With over 100 million streams, everyone else is digging it too.
He was nominated for a Grammy for that one (although he didn't win). His Wikipedia also says that he was a professional surfer before getting into music. Techno Jack Johnson! he used to be in a DJ due named Cut Snake - never heard of that either. He really only has 5 songs, which becomes very obvious if you go to listen to his Spotify and your brain keeps feeling like you've heard this song before. "Crowd Control" is kind of clever, since it references David Bowie. "Stop It" keeps saying "moving up and down side to side like a roller coaster," and I have to say, if the roller coaster is doing and side to side movement, then you want off of that thing immediately. You are about to die. I guess I'll give you his most recent single, called "You Little Beauty."
Sure, that one sounds like EDM too. I have no clue how anyone could differentiate this one from the majority of others out there in the world. Watched part of his Coachella set on YouTube - it honestly looked kind of boring, even for those in the crowd. They all just pumped their hands in the air, because that is what they think they need to do, but none of them really appeared to be that truly into it. They started a different chant than the music. This is weird. I would not choose to go see this cat push his laptop buttons in person.
One Liner: Relatively generic alt R&B pop songstress
Wikipedia Genre: Alternative R&B, trip hop, alternative pop, electropop, avant-pop Home: LA Poster Position: 7 Both Weekends.
Thoughts: Why do all the band names have to scream now? Can't we use lower case letters again? I AM BANKS! I AM LANY! I AM BROCKHAMPTON! Also, I feel like a lot of these songs involve her yelling at me. "Look What You're Doing To Me" is the one I am listening to as I write this opening, and it very much feels like she's pushing her voice to the point of breaking, and autotuning (or some other effect I don't know the name of) it, so that it comes off as unnecessarily aggressive and screamy. "Till Now" was the one before this, and it also had elements where it felt like she was yelling at me. I am not enjoying this.
She also broods in her pop R&B stuff. She shifts back and forth between yelling at me and hiding her eyes behind her hair and hoping I'll notice her. Its exhausting. The album overall is lots of indie pop voice, with too many effects, and relatively generic electronic tunes. Real name is Jillian Banks and she's highly critically acclaimed, with a platinum single. Wikipedia says she taught herself to play piano as she was trying to get through her parents' divorce. I can't play piano for shit, but I find it truly amazing that someone could just sit down and make it happen without a teacher or lessons. Shows a commitment and stubbornness that I don't possess. She also earned a psych bachelors from USC, so she's not a dummy. Randomly, I'd also like to note that Banks and Steelz came to ACL in 2016, and that is not related to this lady. And Jacob Banks came to ACL in 2017, and that is also not this same person. Weird. Almost all of her currently most popular tracks are from her most recent album - 2019's III - but the tracks with a ton of streams are from her older albums. Her top track, the one that has gone platinum, is called "Beggin For Thread" and is from 2014's Goddess.
Interesting thing, when I went to click on this video, YouTube believes that I have already watched the whole thing. I don't think I've ever heard this song or watched this video before? Maybe the middle kid has been jamming this semi-erotic video on the couch when I think she's just watching Sofia the First. It's a pretty sleek, sexy track - very breathy vocals. Oh, and a Tiny Desk! She's not just a pop machine!
That is from 2014, so has none of her second or third album, just appears to be after her debut and they picked her up to come in and go unplugged diva all over the place. It is good - nice to hear her voice without all of the effects and junk on it. Got a Fiona Apple vibe, which is pretty cool. I figured I would check out what Pitchfork thought, thinking they would give her glowing reviews and 9.5 ratings and Best New Music designations, but they're actually pretty lukewarm on her as well, calling out her anodyne songwriting and saying, even though this one is still weak, its her best one yet. No thanks.
One Liner: 80's pop redux balladry like The 1975, but more 80's
Wikipedia Genre: Indie pop, synth pop, dream pop Home: LA Poster Position: 7 Both Weekends.
Thoughts: Their name stands for Los Angeles New York and I already hate them. Wikipedia quotes this: "We knew we wanted a four-letter word because of design and aesthetic purposes, but as you can imagine, all the four-letter words in the entire world are taken. We moved to acronyms and for a while we thought we would be TTYL, but then we decided we didn’t want to be 13 for the rest of our lives. I eventually thought of the span across the country from L.A. to New York, and at first I was thinking it would be L-A-N-Y, but people kept getting confused on how to pronounce it when I told them, saying things like 'L-A-and-Y?' So then we’re like forget it—let's call ourselves LANY, pronounced Lay-Nee." So, there you go, Lay-Nee. The tunes themselves are very slick 80's synth pop stuff with soft falsetto harmonies layered over throwback jams and soft-rock, sleepy guitar licks. "Let Me Know" and "I Don't Wanna Love You Anymore" make me want to take a nap. Feels like something I would have heard on the Grand Theft Auto Vice City soundtrack 20 years ago, trying to act like a throwback song in 2001. Their most recent album is 2018's Malibu Nights (even their album names sound like cheesy 80's prom themes re-used in an ironic way in a 90's sitcom). The top song from that album is "Thru These Tears," with a whopping 102.4 million streams.
This one at least feels a slight bit more active than the rest of the album. It still feels like 80's throwback synth pop the whole time, but at least it trades out the tired guitar splashes in favor of a more driving synth run. It's still like a new Snow Patrol that is trying to make the music Snow Patrol would have made if Snow Patrol was Snow Patrol in 1987 instead of 2003. Instead of going with any of the other new tracks, let's go back in the past and see if any of those are any better. Oh, look, their 2017 debut album, LANY, has a track with even more streams - "Super Far" has 170.9 million - so I'm sure it is going to be a great track!
Nope. That is 38% less of an 80's redux, but instead it is more like a 90's boy band redux instead. Even has the group dance moves thing in the video! But that synth beat in the background of most of the track is definitely still thirsty for the 80's. I absolutely do not want to witness this live.
