Category: Music bands

The New York indie scene is well, laying down a vibe that is causing a stir everywhere. Bands like The Virgins, MGMT and Vampire Weekend among others, have been living up to the awareness that they received last year. These Cool New Bands, were tipped by all of the majors of the released press and made giant outpourings online and blogosphere. Spin, Rolling Stone and NME all saw the potential in these young bands. Now virtually a year later the bands have released their debut albums and have been going from strength to strength. This new wave of Yank talent has been lapping at our shores. The Virgins have been to Europe many times, particularly playing Paris Fashion Week a bit back and lately returning to the city of love.

MGMT, (officially The Management) and Vampire Weekend have both been hitting the EU holiday circuit including here in the United Kingdom and in Iceland.

NY has traditionally been a beacon in the musical world, nurturing talent which has gone on to typhoon the globe. This latest iteration of Manhattan cool is being controlled by bands like The Virgins, MGMT and Vampire Weekend. They reflect the diversity in the US, with Vampire Weekend obviously being influenced by West and Central African music as well as Western Classical music. The Virgins on the other hand play straight indie rock and have been selling out shows in NY, and lately in Europe, at the majority of their gigs. Representing a certain piece of Manhattan cool, it does not hurt to have 2 previous models in the band and a large number of A-list celebrity mates with which to party with.

Pals with designers Agnes B and Henry Holland, and UK model Agyness Deyn, the group are one of the coolest groups to come out from NY lately. MGMT have taken a marginally different trail to celebrity. Their up to date release of their dbut album, Oracular Spectacular, has been commended by the press since it hit the shelves. Taking their kind of psychedelic electronic pop, the band has managed to form a sound that’s both different yet also reassuring familiar.

The album features the title track from their earlier released EP, Time to Pretend. The bands are also open in their praise for their producer, David Friedman, of the Flaming Lips, who worked on the new album.

I know this is a frightening task and I completely and prepared to have folks disagree with me. I attempted to take any bias out of this, so without any more wasting of time, here it is.

1. The Beatles – Really about the sole number most should be in a position to agree on. They electrified numerous bands in the future and were pioneers when they became gigantic. After they split up, all of them went on the have solid solo careers

2. The Rolling Stones – This band has stayed together forever, and have also put out a bluesy taste of rock ‘n’ roll. The past few years have been a little dodgy, but they’re sill solid. Songs like “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” have lived on as a classic.

3. The Who – Part of being a great band is display, and nobody did it better at the time than the Who. Also, their nine / eleven appearance simply robbed the show and gave folk the idea the Who still had it.

4. Led Zeppelin – Announced the post-Beatles time by dominating announcements with a great collection of songs.

They played a lot of complicated songs in that time, and even took themed music to a higher level.

5. U2 – Personally, I am not a big fan of the band. That shouldn’t keep them from being this high on the list though. The group personified the 1980s, led by Bono. They heralded the post-punk age.