Highbrow Magazine - alternative rock https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/alternative-rock en Rock Has Another Trick Up Its Sleave https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/12046-rock-has-another-trick-its-sleave <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/music" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Music</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Sun, 04/11/2021 - 19:27</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1music_0.jpg?itok=Z9-IWnk8"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1music_0.jpg?itok=Z9-IWnk8" width="480" height="243" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/bobbyowsinski/2018/03/10/album-dead/?sh=5ad172469864" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">With the erosion of the album</a> and the death of the rock star, discovering new rock music has become a sporadic journey through nonsensical algorithms and random chance. For young rock fans, it seems the only way to go is back, finding the classics of the genre. </p> <p> </p> <p>However, what about fans of rock's newer subgenres? It isn’t that far back to when your favorite genres had their peak in the 1990s-early 2000s. Finding the future of Pop Punk and Grunge has been my ultimate goal in the quest for new music and I believe I’ve finally reached an answer.</p> <p> </p> <p>While Pop Punk has somewhat managed to cling to relevancy from the continued popularity of bands like Twenty One Pilots and Panic at the Disco, Grunge and Hard Rock generally have suffered a waning interest, with <a href="https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100?utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=kgpromo&amp;utm_campaign=BB-Google" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Billboard’s Top 100 being dominated by Rap artists</a>. </p> <p> </p> <p>In fairness, one name that popped up several times on the Billboard top 100 as of the writing of this article has made an attempt at reviving the genre. In 2020, Machine Gun Kelly released the album “Tickets to My Downfall,” an album in which the musician who was known previously for his rap, <a href="https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/9460063/machine-gun-kelly-tickets-to-my-downfall-number-one-billboard-200/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">brought back the Pop Punk sound to significant success.</a></p> <p> </p> <p>However, the biggest issue with these more modern representations of the genre is their seeming overproduction. Part of what makes Grunge and Hard Rock generally so appealing is the raw energy. </p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/1grunge.jpg" style="height:522px; width:732px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>The appeal of songs like Nirvana’s “Smells like Teen Spirit” is the chaotic and unstable energy:  the way the song always feels like it’s seconds away from losing control. These types of songs are best performed when the line between playing the instrument and just hitting it as hard as you can is blurred. </p> <p> </p> <p>This kind of punch-you-in-the-face attitude is what really serves this music well. While early Pop Punk bands reined this in a bit, the genius of the genre was giving subtle structure to the chaos. </p> <p> </p> <p>Pop Punk adds production and poppy song structure but without taking away any of the “attitude.” This is best exemplified in the use of violins and other more classic instruments utilized in the “American Idiot” album by Green Day.</p> <p> </p> <p>It seemed as though a more raw less produced sound was out of the picture. With all the tools available to musicians, more digital sounds have become easier and more intriguing to use.</p> <p> </p> <p>Modern rock had lost this more bare sound and with it its chaotic energy, or so it seemed. Several bands have found ways to take advantage of the new technology and digital sounds without forsaking their gritty energy. </p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/2grunge.jpg" style="height:600px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Sleave exemplifies this. Sleave released its first full album in late 2019 on the <a href="https://www.engineerrecords.com/sleave" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Engineer Records</a> label. The 12-track album served as a personal renewal of faith in the Alternative Rock genre as a whole.</p> <p> </p> <p>Their songs call back to what makes Grunge and Pop Punk so great. They play on the line between control and chaos with songs like “Check Myself” and their biggest hit “Homebound,” which expertly shift from tame, and melancholic to big emotional crescendos.</p> <p> </p> <p>The band discusses increasingly relevant topics like mental health in songs like “Swept” and is able to convey the feeling of a real and personal emotional journey with its emotional singing and their raw, crunchy guitars. </p> <p> </p> <p>However, Sleave isn’t the only band bringing this kind of attitude back into music. Bands like <a href="http://www.momandpopmusic.com/fidlar" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Fidlar</a>, <a href="https://www.swmrs.com/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">SWMRS</a>, and <a href="https://www.puptheband.com/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">PUP</a> have also been channeling the deeply personal emotional journeys Pop Punk and Grunge used to bring their listeners.</p> <p> </p> <p>In some respects, these bands feel like their own genre, this bizarre combination of newer indie rock that calls back to and never forsakes the ‘90s Punk/Grunge roots. </p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/3grunge.jpg" style="height:400px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>All of these bands are moving into a new phase of these genres. While the call back to the home of what makes Alt Rock great, they don't concede to just dig up the past. They push forward. </p> <p> </p> <p>On Fidlar’s latest album “Almost Free,” released in 2019, the title track is an entirely instrumental blend of funk and big band music. A track like this seems to contradict the Alt Rock angst they call back to however it seems to fit into the album perfectly.</p> <p> </p> <p>Similarly, SWMRS “Berkley’s on Fire” and “Lose Lose Lose” use groovy basslines and interesting rhythms that separate them from the standard order Alt Rock, but still have enough attitude and Punk guitars to be described as anything else. </p> <p> </p> <p>It feels almost disrespectful to compare these bands with each other because of their undeniable individuality. While they call back to similar themes and sounds, they still never feel recycled or unoriginal.</p> <p> </p> <p>This is the true beauty of these bands, and Alt Rock in general in the modern age. With algorithms creating more homogenous playlists, it's refreshing to find a group of bands that are able to so expertly maintain their independence while still carrying on what makes their chosen genre so great.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/4grunge.jpg" style="height:450px; width:450px" /></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p><strong><em>Garrett Hartman is a contributing writer at</em> Highbrow Magazine.</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>For Highbrow Magazine</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Image sources:</strong></p> <p><em>Micadew (</em><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/micadew/36321930392" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline"><em>Flickr</em></a><em>, Creative Commons)</em></p> <p><em>Sven-Sebastian Sajak (</em><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RiP2013_GreenDay_Billie_Joe_Armstrong_0013.JPG" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline"><em>Wikimedia</em></a><em>, Creative Commons)</em></p> <p><em>Fidlar, Too album ( Mom + Pop Music, </em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FIDLARtoo.jpg" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline"><em>Wikipedia</em></a><em>, Creative Commons)</em></p> <p><em>Sleave EP</em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/sleave" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Sleave</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/fidlar" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">fidlar</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/grunge" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">grunge</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/punk-rock" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">punk rock</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/green-day" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">green day</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/music" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Music</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/garage-bands" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">garage bands</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/rock-and-roll" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">rock and roll</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/nirvana" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Nirvana</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/alternative-rock" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">alternative rock</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Garrett Hartman</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Sun, 11 Apr 2021 23:27:32 +0000 tara 10271 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/12046-rock-has-another-trick-its-sleave#comments Simple As This: Is Jake Bugg the New Bob Dylan? https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3819-simple-jake-bugg-new-bob-dylan <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/music" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Music</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Fri, 03/14/2014 - 11:02</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1jakebugg%20%28wiki%29.jpg?itok=R6kRNEjo"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1jakebugg%20%28wiki%29.jpg?itok=R6kRNEjo" width="480" height="288" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>To see him play live, you would hardly know that Jake Bugg is just a kid. Feet planted before the microphone, head bobbing up and down to the rhythm of his guitar strumming, he exudes the subdued confidence of a more seasoned performer. His voice – distinctively nasal, irresistibly British – carries strongly over the crowd, sounding impressively similar to his studio recordings. He strolls along the edge of the stage at intervals and glances casually about the room, as if to demonstrate just how easily this comes to him.</p> <p>And, at the tender age of 19, with two well-reviewed albums and a growing fan base to his name, the English wunderkind clearly possesses a natural knack for music. Born and raised in Clifton, Nottingham, a notoriously crime-ridden area that Bugg describes repeatedly in his music, he first picked up the guitar at 12. Although enrolled in a music technology program during college, he dropped out at 16 because his teachers did not allow experimentation and because he wanted to write and perform his own songs.</p> <p>His career took off after a performance at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival prompted Mercury Records to offer him a record contract on the spot. He was 17-years-old at the time. Two Brit Awards and two NME Awards later, Bugg has already established a significant reputation in the music industry. His style has quickly drawn comparisons to rockabilly and folk artists of the 50’s and 60’s, such as Bob Dylan, Donovan, Buddy Holly, and the Everly Brothers, although his newer material bears more resemblance to alternative Brit-pop groups like Oasis and The Arctic Monkeys.</p> <p>Bugg’s eponymous debut album, recorded under Mercury Records and released in the U.S. in April 2013, features 14 songs ranging from upbeat, early-rock-inspired anthems to mournful, sweeping love ballads. Considering his age, and considering that this represents his first stab at album-making, “Jake Bugg” is impressive. At its best, the tunes are infectious and the lyrics are simple yet sincere – remarkably insightful for a 17-year-old.</p> <p> </p> <p>The first four tracks burst out of the gate with pent-up energy. “Lightning Bolt,” a toe-tapping melody reminiscent of early Beatles hits, considers the role of fate and the wisdom of seizing opportunities when they arise. “Two Fingers,” its upbeat drums disguising darker themes of drug use, poverty, and abuse, features the joyous declaration, “So I hold two fingers up to yesterday/ Light a cigarette and smoke it all away/ I got out, I got out alive.” In “Taste It,” he considers the bittersweet nature of leaving the past behind, and in “Seen It All,” a night of partying gone awry causes him to declare, “I swear to God I’ve seen it all/ Nothing shocks my anymore after tonight.” This is where Bugg excels, when talking honestly about his experiences of living in a rough neighborhood and the feelings that accompany growing up and leaving those experiences behind. Yet many of Bugg’s slower songs also ring true, as with the charming, acoustic “Simple As This,” about searching for meaning in life, or “Broken,” an emotionally raw description of Bugg’s desperation following a friend’s suicide.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2jakebugg.jpg" /></p> <p>Fast or slow, Bugg’s melodies harken back to the golden age of rock and roll, prompting critics to nickname him “the next Bob Dylan.” In fact, “Ballad of Mr. Jones,” a story about a man wrongly accused by a crooked jury, bears resemblance to Dylan’s early narrative songs (although Bugg never quite attains Dylan’s mastery of poetic language). “Trouble Town,” with lines like, “Stuck in speed bump city/ Where the only thing that’s pretty/ Is the thought of getting out,” and “Sitting on the pavement/ Boy you’ve missed your payment/ And they’re gonna find you soon,” sounds similar to Johnny Cash’s “At Folsom Prison” album. And the simple, acoustic tracks, “Country Song,” and “Simple As This,” pay homage to folk heroes like Donovan and Paul Simon.                  </p> <p>Still, the album is not perfect, and the first half stands out as markedly stronger than the second; at its worst, especially when he ruminates over his (limited, at 17) love life, Bugg’s writing wanders into dangerously self-indulgent territory, resulting in eye-roll-inducing lines like, “I’ll wait all on my own like a flower in the snow/ With just my shadow following me out into the cold.” To his credit, though, these lyrical blunders occur infrequently, as the majority of his tracks are narrative in style and only rarely veer into the sappy philosophizing of a teenager.</p> <p>A mere seven months after the release of his first album, Jake Bugg released “Shangri La,” which he recorded with the renowned Rick Rubin in Malibu (in fact, the album is named after Rubin’s studio). “Shangri La” demonstrates a noticeable style evolution, both lyrically and musically; it is less folk and more indie rock, less Bob Dylan and more Arctic Monkeys. Yet this second album lacks the earnestness that made “Jake Bugg” so magical. His songs touch on familiar topics – his hometown, love, criticism of modern culture – but the sincerity of the first album, which captured the regard of so many critics and fans, seems to have dissolved and been replaced with something a bit more contrived.</p> <p>Some of the most memorable songs on “Shangri La” incorporate Bugg’s newly-acquired punk sound, with its rapidly-delivered lyrics and shouted choruses over the pulsing of electric guitars. For instance, “There’s a Beast And We All Feed It” lists everything that is wrong with today’s society, and “What Doesn’t Kill You” finds the singer ruminating about life’s hardships.</p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/3jakebugg.jpg" /></p> <p>In “Slumville Sunrise,” Bugg returns to his favorite topic, his hard-knock upbringing, and he declares what we all know about him by now: “This place is just not for me/ I say it all the time.” However, the album also features at least a couple of pleasant (if bland), slower songs, both on the topic of love. They include the sweetly optimistic “Me and You” and the soaring “A Song About Love.” Every once in a while, we even catch a glimpse of the old Jake in these new tracks. The acoustic song, “Pine Trees,” possesses a Donovan-esque quality in its simple melody, and the song, “The Storm Passes Away,” employs the forlorn tone and country rhythm of a Johnny Cash tune. However, an abundance of forgettable music overshadows these rare, genuine moments. Tracks like “All Your Reasons,” “Kitchen Table,” and “Simple Pleasures” sound uncomfortably like the songs you skip over on an Oasis album – dull, generic, uninspiring.</p> <p>Whatever the reviews about his second album, one thing is for certain: Bugg is serious about the craft of music. He shies away from interviews and public appearances. Though he has accounts on Twitter and Instagram, he rarely updates them. Between songs at his concerts, the only banter he shares with the crowd is to announce the next title and the album it comes from. And this says it all. Bugg isn’t interested in the celebrity that accompanies a rock star’s life. He is here for the music.</p> <p>For his second encore, Bugg plays Neil Young’s “Hey Hey, My My,” belting out, “Hey hey, my my/ Rock and roll can never die” over a cheering crowd. If Jake Bugg has anything to do with it, rock will live to see another day.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p><strong><em>Melinda Parks is the pen name of a contributing writer at</em> Highbrow Magazine.</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>For Highbrow Magazine</strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/jake-bugg" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">jake bugg</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/music" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Music</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/bob-dylan" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Bob Dylan</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/british-musicians" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">british musicians</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/british-music" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">british music</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/folk-music" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">folk music</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/rock-and-roll" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">rock and roll</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/alternative-rock" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">alternative rock</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Melinda Parks</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Wikipedia Commons</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Fri, 14 Mar 2014 15:02:44 +0000 tara 4438 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3819-simple-jake-bugg-new-bob-dylan#comments Strength in Independence: The Strokes and The National https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3452-strength-independence-strokes-and-national <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/music" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Music</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Fri, 01/17/2014 - 10:30</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1thestrokes.jpg?itok=F7aAHo9b"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1thestrokes.jpg?itok=F7aAHo9b" width="480" height="369" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>New York City at the turn of the 21<sup>st</sup> Century: a time largely before fixed-gear bikes and ironic facial hair, pre-September 11, pre-Brooklyn-as-tourist-destination, mid-Giuliani crackdown and facelift – a place whose population was a million people less than it is now, a place where (believe it or not) you could still see and hear live performances from the city’s best up-and-coming musical acts, free of charge.</p> <p>When Luna Lounge opened in 1995 on Ludlow St., it was a pioneer of modern rock venues, simply for the sheer audacity of its location south of Houston in the gritty Lower East Side of Manhattan. By 2005, it was a dinosaur – the only club left in the neighborhood that never donned a cover charge for its shows and consequently shut its doors and moved to Williamsburg rather than keep up with skyrocketing real estate prices. So went the Indie Boom of the modern fin de siècle at a time when a rapid spread of gentrification ushered in a new era for New York; a time when the Big Apple of Manhattan was rapidly being supplanted by the organic, local farmstands of Brooklyn.</p> <p>Midway through its tenancy, in October 2001, two of Luna Lounge’s regular acts released their debut full-length albums and would, sooner or later, go on to become beloved darlings of indie rock. After a year of buzz, record company bidding wars, and international success surrounding their three-song EP, The Strokes released their seminal <em>Is This It</em> on October 9 to a hungry U.S. audience. Seemingly overnight, The Strokes <em>were</em> New York City: their effortless look, their neo-retro sound, the very air they breathed so much cooler than anything that preceded it. Inarguably one of the most important and influential albums of the century so far, <em>Is This It</em> launched the revival of guitar-based garage rock, paving the way for the success of fellow New Yorkers The Yeah Yeah Yeahs as well as The White Stripes, The Hives, The Vines, and The Libertines. It’s no small understatement to say that rock music has never been the same since.</p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/1thenational.jpg" style="height:625px; width:625px" /></p> <p>Meanwhile, back at the Luna Lounge, a group of Ohioan transplants quietly released a self-produced eponymous album, <em>The National</em>. They’d hang on to their day jobs through two more albums and three more years, while The Strokes cinched the cover of <em>Rolling Stone</em>, played sold-out stadiums and headlined festivals, and inspired a contagion of Converse sneaker-wearers.</p> <p>A dozen years later, the roles aren’t exactly reversed, but the tunes have changed. In the spring of 2013, both bands released new and much-anticipated albums – the Strokes’ fifth, <em>Comedown Machine</em>, and the National’s sixth, <em>Trouble Will Find Me</em>. In terms of sheer numbers alone, the National outsold their former clubmates nearly 2-to-1 in their first week. <em>Trouble Will Find Me</em> popped up on Best of the Year lists from <em>Pitchfork</em>, <em>Stereogum</em>, and <em>Rolling Stone</em> and is nominated for a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album. <em>Comedown Machine</em> hasn’t even roused a whisper from most major music media since its release (with the notable exception of the UK’s <em>NME</em>, which has always acted as the Strokes’ surrogate head cheerleader).</p> <p>A simple side-by-side comparison of the albums doesn’t really suffice to explain how two successful bands of such close origins could have fallen into such disparate ways. Year after year since the initial implosion of <em>Is This It</em>, the Strokes have only waned in public popularity and critical significance, while the National have since skyrocketed to the forefront of indie music’s heart and soul. But it’s not that <em>Comedown Machine </em>is bad, or even mediocre – it’s a well-balanced album showcasing loyalty to that famous old grit and forward-moving experiments in sound. But somehow, <em>Comedown Machine</em> just misses that critical, intangible mark of being significant to and in 2013, the way <em>Is This It </em>was in 2001. Twelve years is a long eon in pop music, but to simply dismiss the Strokes as old, washed-up, and irrelevant seems unfair when the group’s oldest member is still younger than the youngest member of the National.</p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2thestrokes.jpg" style="height:245px; width:625px" /></p> <p>With the aging of both groups has come the maturation of the indie movement itself. While both New York City bands through and through, the Strokes have always been associated with the Manhattan-esque ideal of New York nightlife – effortless urban cool – while the National are almost exclusively linked to the nouveau Brooklyn mentality of DIY and collaborative artistic communities. Over the past decade, the indie mindset has made that very same transition: from urban to pastoral, from individual to communal, from Manhattan to Brooklyn, from the Strokes to the National.</p> <p>To be fair, the Strokes have never truly been “indie” in the purest sense of the word, and the cover of <em>Comedown Machine</em> is a blatant, if perhaps tongue-in-cheek, reminder of that fact: the logo for RCA, a record company subsidiary of Sony, is bigger than the name of the band or the album title combined. With more than one extended hiatus and a multitude of side projects from virtually every member of the band over the years, this shameless act of self-branding lends weight to the theory that <em>Comedown Machine</em> was only created to fulfill the band’s five-album contract to RCA and let everyone get on with their separate lives. You might even call the cover, at least in the hipster sense of the word, “ironic.”</p> <p>But maybe the National, all those years ago at Luna Lounge, were ahead of their time – or at least slow on the uptake. When the world, and thus the record companies, revved interest in the noughties New York music scene, scouting out bands like Interpol, stellastarr*, and Fountains of Wayne, the National missed the boat. But with every passing album, first on their own label and then on the British independent Beggars Banquet Records, critical notice and popular attention grew and grew. It wouldn’t be too far a stretch to call the story of the National a triumph of the American Dream: five Midwestern men (with two sets of brothers, no less) continue to work hard without reward, never letting the odds break them down – and they do it on their own. They truly are the self-made band; a noble success story for independent business and a model for other DIY-minded musicians.</p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2thenational.jpg" style="height:625px; width:625px" /></p> <p>On the other hand, the National’s roots in Brooklyn “before it was cool” positioned them in the right place at the (eventually) right time. The indie boom of the ‘00s quickly spilled from lower Manhattan into the outer borough, and the exponential growth of artistic culture in Brooklyn mirrors that of the band’s following. At their homecoming show in the massive, pristine, and newly-erected Barclays Center arena in June, singer Matt Berninger eyed the 15,000 attendees and joked that this was where it all started for them. It couldn’t have been a further cry from it –12 years ago, the idea of packing a stadium in downtown Brooklyn for an indie rock show would have been beyond ludicrous.</p> <p>Unfortunately for the Strokes, they broke their own genre. Just like <em>Appetite for Destruction</em> signaled both the epitome and the end of the glam metal era – when Guns ’n’ Roses were just getting started – <em>Is This It</em> marked the beginning of the end of the reign of the major-label gritty rock band. Indie in style but not in practice, the Strokes may be, as far as we can tell, the last and final Biggest Rock Band in the World. Their explosion on the market fueled the confused shift of “indie” from an ethical guideline to a genre; independent music suddenly appeared mainstream, while mainstream music businesses sought to capitalize on the indie aesthetic. On top of that, the shift in music distribution from the radio and the record store to the Internet allowed for anyone to self-publish their work and anyone searching on the other side to discover it. While labels no longer define artists like they once did, the overnight success story of the Strokes is probably now a relic of the past, at least for rock bands. In this modern age, commercial achievement is a snowballing endeavor.</p> <p>When the Strokes breathed new life into the tired field of guitar rock at the dawn of the 21<sup>st</sup> century, the world took it and ran. <em>Is This It</em> will always remain an anthem of the live-fast-die-young rock variety, but its themes of ennui and overindulgence don’t age well on anyone. We can’t blame the Strokes for trying to move past what they once were – and for most of the members today, that means moving beyond the band itself and into the heart of their solo projects. But, as groups like the National prove, being young and reckless is no longer a prerequisite for making great rock music. Work hard, play hard, and the world will eventually listen.</p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p><em>Sandra Canosa is a contributing writer at </em>Highbrow Magazine.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/strokes" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the strokes</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/national" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the national</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/indie-music" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">indie music</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/indie-rock" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">indie rock</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/grammy-awards" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Grammy Awards</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/alternative-rock" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">alternative rock</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/garage-bands" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">garage bands</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/luna-lounge" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">luna lounge</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/new-york-city" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">New York City</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/music" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Music</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Sandra Canosa</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Fri, 17 Jan 2014 15:30:29 +0000 tara 4135 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3452-strength-independence-strokes-and-national#comments