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Despite last week’s glut of CMJ coverage on music blogs (we’ve done it too in past lives), the most pressing question went virtually unasked: does anyone actually care about this industry conference outside of New York?
Sure, next to its BBQ-obsessed brethren SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST, CMJ is pretty much the biggest game in existence, but that doesn’t mean much in the real world.
Our friends at Idolator (who, ironically, devoted a number of posts to the event) contend that the “breathless commentary…doesn’t mean much to those outside your particular favorite coastal metropolis.”
After the jump, why we think that they’re wrong.
There’s no question the tidal wave of coverage is overwhelming, even for us — and we REALLY care. But do we really need to know every move made by every whisker-hawking Pitchfork writer? Does it really matter that we had trouble getting into a venue? (FYI, rolling a friend’s wet stamp onto your hand totally works at the Music Hall of Williamsburg!).
The problem is that many bloggers really do care, at least about seeing lots of bands, and to score that coveted press credential, you’ve got to actually write something. Since everyone else is also out in force, you feel the need to distinguish yourself. Thus the blogger brigades emerge from their half-lit rooms and fight to offer the most comprehensive coverage — even though no one actually asked for it.
But that doesn’t mean CMJ isn’t relevant outside of New York. Sure, the hype is unbearable, but this event consistently crowns the next year’s kings and queens of the indie music scene — and act as a good indicator of who is destined for mainstream success or sure to pop up in the background on next week’s episode of GOSSIP GIRL.
Next year maybe the thing to do isn’t to describe, photograph, and analyze every bead of sweat on LYKKE LI’s brow. How about we wait until a few days after the event, let the dust settle, and then, if it still seems important, talk about the fact that this fairly unknown Swedish singer really did have the best set of the fest?
- Andrew Phillips
* photo by Malarky
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17 Responses
So, what’s the verdict on the king and queen?
Honestly, this was a tough year — not a lot of clear stand-outs. I think part of that was because the festival curators clearly made an attempt to focus on lesser-known acts (the original point of the thing), and so it wasn’t quite clear who the real winners were. As evidenced by the landslide of articles about her, Lykke Li obviously (and probably rightfully) came out on top. As far as bands I saw with a ton of potnetial, it’s a few years off probably, but I see big things for Brooklyn-bred Morrissey mopers The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Other stand-outs as far as actual potential for mainstream appeal included Death Vessel’s unbelievably delicate alt-americana and Mother Mother’s super quirky dance rock. Any folks have other recs?
King: the drunk guy I met outside of Piano’s who broke about five cigarettes before finally getting one lit, then tripped as he stepped off the curb and fell into a car. But goddamnit he held onto that cigarette.
A resounding meh. I didn’t end up surprised by anyone — the bands I went to see were good, and the bands I coincidentally saw were so-so. Gold stars go out to Ponytail’s exuberant spazz, Madlib’s blunted beats, and the always-stupendous Cause Co-Motion. -1 point for not getting in to see Wale, who I’m sure killed it. Social Registry @ Santos on Friday was pretty rad; Sian Alice were so-so, but Psychic Ills were spooky-good. Still can’t touch TVOTR at the Masonic Temple, though.
I personally was glad that there were more lesser-known acts this year. As someone who has been out of the loop where college radio is concerned, I for 5 whole days, felt in-the-loop again. That being said however, with a Sub Pop party in friggin Piano’s, there was very little hope of my running around and making it into every show. What piffle.
French Horn Rebellion,(FHR) from Brooklyn via Milwaukee blew me away!
They’re right on the dance indie rock edge. But it’s impossible to see all the show to even make a stand for the queen and king. I think the press/bloggers go for the same thing and then it’s whomever they choose or the A&R have heard is the next thing and then everyone is after that and comments on it.
I agree, manex. I think of CMJ more like a debutante ball than a place where people discover new bands (it’s like a coming-out party for folks that everyone’s already been buzzing). That said, I wouldn’t dismiss it entirely. Every year I inevitably stumble blind into one or two things that blow me away (this year it was The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, last year it was Ida Maria, and two years ago it was Ra Ra Riot). Whether or not those bands EVER get their due is another thing entirely.
Is Lykke Li really that unknown? Girl is selling out shows all over the place! In a few months time she’ll be the featured video on MTV. Or is she already? Do they even play music videos on MTV anymore? I don’t have cable television.
Good way to put it Andrew!
French Horn Rebellion – http://www.myspace.com/frenchhornrebellion
I’m terribly disappointed that this post leaves the question raised in its title unanswered; I won’t take “a good indicator of who is destined for mainstream success or sure to pop up in the background on next week’s episode of GOSSIP GIRL” for an illuminating point. If by “mainstream success” you mean some sort of a mass appeal, then there is a certain kind of really good music that the masses (even small ones) will never quite fall in love with, so I find that to be a useless measure of quality. I wonder why in this post and Idolator’s, there isn’t much interest in the most obvious answer: that by either attending or reading about some of these showcases, which feature a ton of lesser-known bands of a certain caliber, you just might just come upon music that will interweave with a good part of your life. After all, and regardless of where you live, the list of bands that play small venues in New York City every night does for a whole year what CMJ magnifies and condenses in a few days: expose you to new and promising bands.
Personally, I was disappointed that a few big names (like Broken Social Scene) were involved; the inclusion of bands that reached their peak more than a year ago seems to go against the spirit of the marathon, but to be fair, CMJ does provide such bands, especially those that aren’t from here, a “no question asked” excuse to just play; as for smaller bands that qualify and travel from elsewhere, it gives them the chance to book several shows and make the best of their traveling costs, and it gives us the listeners a bigger likelihood of catching at least one of these bands.
As for Lykke Li’s being the best set: unless someone saw every band who played, it remains disputable and unprovable. In any case, I’d rather not see someone like Lykke Li during CMJ week since she’s the sort of artist who can afford to return for a New York anytime she wants.
Thanks S. I appreciate your point, but I think it is on some level taken as read: of course deep diggers will find it useful to get a list of up-and-coming bands and see lots of coverage. I certainly do. But, sadly, most only care about next week’s episode of GOSSIP GIRL. Does that mean we shouldn’t cover CMJ or the underground? Hell no. But it does means we should cover it smarter.
Before I lived in New York, I did just what you’re saying, scoured summation pieces for the names of bands to learn more about (I still do, but now I’m searching publications in Sweden). I think the problem is, the majority of coverage doesn’t help you do that. It’s bloated and self-serving. Look at Pitchfork’s, for example: each day each writer did a long update about their wanderings. To get that filtered list of lesser-known bands to learn about (the thing you really want), you have to cycle though, what, maybe 18 posts, 8,000 words, and 500 pictures over the course of 5 days. That takes a lot of dedication. Why make you do all that when they could have just done a smaller piece that told you about 15 or so of the best under-the-radar bands after it was all over? Or, if you’re a pub tailored to deep diggers, how about 40? The point is, we could keep it a lot more condensed.
I wanted to do that here actually, but after 5 days of intense coverage by other folks, everyone’s too exhausted to care.
As far as Lykke Li being the best, it’s all subjective and even if you could see everything, taste ultimately dictates what gets declared the best.
I’m still heart-broken about the two-song Death Vessel set at The Studio @ Webster. Sure, Jealous Girlfriends and Miles Benjamin were dope, but I was really there to see Joel. I guess there was some kind of Vice metal party starting, but c’mon! I was crushed.
It’s all about School of Seven Bells. Seriously.
I think this post – which mentions a few of this year’s CMJ bands – adds an interesting new element to things.
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/node/146962
I feel the same way Bill. That was terrible.
I was impressed by Fujiya & Miyagi, as well as the following band, Walter Meego (at Mercury Lounge) – maybe not totally original electro-pop, but really, full of unadulterated fun.
I also like Fujiya & Miyagi, but thought that overall CMJ was a bit of a letdown. It was my first and I'm sure it'll be my last.