Music in 2011 – Part 4: Predictable Predictions
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Dub-step hits the mainstream
Just as garage, d'n'b and grime have all done in the past to varying success, Dubstep is the latest urban genre to move into the mainstream. 2010 saw some big moves in this direction but I think 2011 will be the defining year for the genre. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals" (Allmusic.com). In summary, wobbly bass and catchy samples.
Some dubstep artists you may have heard of are Burial, Skream, Benga, Chase & Status, Magnetic Man, Joker or Rusko.
The track below 'La Roux - In For The Kill (Skream Remix)' is an example of what to expect.
2011 will see diet bass lines and more commercially viable vocals. Pop-Step is born.
The recent BBC Sound of 2011 contained a number artists with their foot in the pop-step world. James Blake is one of this crop who will be thrust to stardom in the coming months. If you haven't heard his single 'Limit to Your Love' the video is below. Pretty decent if you ask me. Expect to hear plenty of this in the coming year.
Who will play Glastonbury - Before we get on to the topic of this year's headliners, I'd first like to focus on the ticketing process. When I say focus on, I mean criticise. Admittedly, a friend of mine was going through this agony for me, i.e. waking up early on a Sunday and clicking refresh for 5 hours before being told that the festival had sold out. Surely in an age where we are offering holidays to the moon, we have the technology to handle lots of people trying to access a website at the same time. Apparently not.
Here is who I think will headline:
Friday: Arcade Fire / Prince
Saturday: Radiohead / Kylie Minogue
Sunday: U2 / Pulp
In addition you will see Tinie Tempah, Jessie J, James Blake, Beady Eye, Foals, Black Keys, Beach House, Interpol, Mumford & Sons (can't wait for this silly fad to be over), Caribou, Warpaint, Bonobo, Tame Impala, Crystal Castles, The Crookes, Morning Benders, Anais Mitchell, Delorean, Violens, Beastie Boys, White Lies, Cut Copy, The Coral, Laura Marling, Manic Street Preachers, Grinderman, Paul Weller, Fleet Foxes, Janelle Monae, Mona, The Vaccines, Brother, Naked & The Famous, Everything Everything, The National, Band of Horses, The Walkmen, The XX, Yeasayer and The Decemberists.
I look forward to coming back to this list in May and seeing how wrong I was.
Kings of Leon decide that live performances are too dangerous
I deleted all KOL songs from my I-pod after they didn't play at Benicassim in 2009 because it was "too windy". What a load of b*llocks that was. They claimed that the festival was shut down because of the extreme weather conditions - how come another band (Tom Tom Club) came out to play instead then?
I could have probably forgiven them had they not continued in this vain by cancelling another gig this year for an even more pathetic reason. The reason this time...pigeon droppings. Drummer Nathan Followill explained to their disappointed fans “So sorry St Louis. We had to bail, pigeons sh*tting in Jared’s mouth and it was too unsanitary to continue.” What the f*ck. Why didn't he just stand in a different part of the stage? The support bands played without a problem.
If you haven't seen the incident watch the video below. Then for some perspective see what the 'bird-man' has to say about it.
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Fair comments...my irrational hatred of many things in life is something you will get used to in my blogs.
Pottsy's Pottsy 16 months ago
Excellent predictions, it really looks like a feasible line up. Prince will be right at home… in the middle of a field with the Internet nowhere near to hurt him.
However, your Mumford and Sons hatred is both irrational and unfounded. They provide a great balance of Indie and Folk sounds and have the ability to produce both contemplative, thought provoking tracks as well as upbeat ‘let’s have a summer party and dance around with pints of cider’ type songs. They also have the ability to produce the all important ‘epic’ track, such as with Thistle and Weeds, which takes you on an excellent journey culminating in a huge, explosive and dramatic finish.
Aside from their musical nous they also come across as an extremely gracious and humble band, qualities which are so often lacking in the modern ‘celebrity’ culture. I saw them live at Hop Farm festival and they produced a performance of maturity, quality and entertainment. You would not have thought them relative new comers and their interaction with the crowd only enhanced their strong live presence. It was this sort of performance and the fact they provide a refreshingly upbeat take on folk that earned them a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist. Perhaps you should spend some time listening to their music instead of forming negative opinions based purely on the fact they are popular!