Observer journalist claims that while the UK pop scene suffers from a surfeit of homogenous guitar rock, American music is enjoying a golden moment.

Interesting piece from The Observer's Ally Carnwath last week. In the article he states, as mentioned above, that the Americans are delivering more 'intellectual', or 'literary' bands than the British. I am in no place to argue here. With the exception, to my mind, of Bloc Party, Foals and old-timers like The Tindersticks and Radiohead, the UK is terribly void of bands who not only think about the content of their lyrics, but also, rock/indie bands who are prepared to experiment with new sounds and directions.
Quite annoyingly, the likes of Lily Allen and Kate Nash have been lauded for their kitchen sink Estuary lyrics, but anyone who has grown up in and around London couldn't have missed out on the shouting of cockney phrases in and around town. Deriving inspiration from so-called "working class speak" is hardly a genius move.
Anyhow, the problem with Carnwath's piece is that he has only recently noticed this fact and cites Vampire Weekend and Fleet Foxes as the new perpetrators of this 'movement', which is tragic.
It's probably been somewhere between 10 and 15 years since the Americans overtook the UK on this front. Back in the mid-90s, which neatly coincided with me starting a degree course in English Lit, the bands who shook my world at the time included Lambchop, Handsome Family, Red House Painters and Silver Jews. I couldn't bear the ubiquity of Definitely Maybe and the onslaught of z-rate Brit Pop bands (Shed Seven, Manson, Menswear). Blur at the time seemed hit-and-miss (still do, looking back), while Pulp were the only band who conveyed anything of relevance to me: I maintain to this day that while they were caught up in the Britpop marketing scam, they far transcended the 'cheeky chappy lads mag anthems' that were being pushed at us left, right and centre.
So, I looked to America and haven't looked back since. The list of bands is pretty phenomenal and each and every one laid the foundation for this new generation of US 'intellectual' acts that Carnwath praises. Among those I can't live without: The National, Wilco, Calexico, American Music Club, Clem Snide, Son Volt, Richmond Fontaine, Low, Smog, My Morning Jacket - the list goes on and on.
What's more, I find it incerdible that Bon Iver - the solo acoustic act - has received so much coverage in the mainstream press when so many before him were completely overlooked to begin with: Jim White, Bright Eyes, Mark Kozalek, M Ward, Josh Rouse and, again, so, so many more.
I've tried to get to the bottom of why this is the case. There are potentially many reasons. One person said to me once that because Americans have an intrinsic sense of 'discovery' - owing to the enormity of the country, even their songs are bound to me more pioneering. It's an interesting idea. I also maintain that we've had it pretty good in the UK, up until recently, and hence, there's little to protest about, or even, think about, whereas in the US they've been suffering under a universally-hated president. Maybe that gives them something to shout about. Who knows? Apathy runs wild in the UK and it does nothing for the "arts" in general.
Either way, the point is this: Ally Carnwath - you're late. Fleet Foxes and Vampire Weekend are nothing new. And what's worse: they're not even **that** good at it.

Over the bridge, the city sparkles so bright...

This will probably be the final posting from the original Mongrel who started this blog, leaving, on my exit tomorrow morning, the cohort who has posted below to continue with bringing you the lowdown from Austin.
It's been a strange old time here in America. In the middle of the city (which could be any city in the world, really), surrounded by the usual faces at the British bbq, Mongrel started to get a little freaked out - a tad despondent. Having for so long had an obsession with 'the real America', Mongrel felt as though maybe those fantasies and dreams were unfounded....that this was it: high rises and people talking about nothing in particular. How could it be that the US music Mongrel has loved for so long has conveyed an untruth about the place it comes from? Then, there was the realisation: Mongrel loves the music made by the American outsiders...and surely if we could find that, then all would be OK again? The America of 6th St, Austin is not a place Mongrel ever wanted to see. A cab driver told us to head out to South Congress, on the south side of town, for the shops. "Girls like it there," he said. We walked a couple of miles out of town and realised that this was the place to be. South Congress is gorgeous. It has its own, genuine, American personality with interesting shops, and to top it all off, venues and shows which have nothing to do with Britain or Europe - it's the place where the outsiders congregate - suitably void of industry types talking nonsense and chasing the 'buzz bands'. Within seconds we had stumbled upon a car park with a makeshift stage and a few stalls selling weird US food, clothes, toys, memorabilia and so on, under the name SxSanJose. We were drawn to the place on account of a band playing - Frank Smith: a six-piece with male/female vocals. This might only mean something to Uncut readers, but think Mendoza Line (who have a great new album out, '30-Year Low') with the traditional musicianship of the Handsome Family. By the way, if you are an Uncut journalist - you need to check this lot out. It got better - we introduced ourself to the band and their manager, Jeff Goodman who, it turns out, also manages Juliana Hatfield. It is her label - Ye Olde Records - which has put out their latest album, 'Heavy Handed Peace and Love'. Then, it got even better. It turns out that this stage was organised by the agents who handle Wilco, with some funding from the band itself. Mongrel felt like she had come home and stuck around for more acts: AA Bondy (who is unsigned, but will appear on the Conan O'Brien show in the next couple of weeks) - solo act, voice to kill for, simplistic, beautiful acoustic melodies. Uncut - take note, please? Then, it was all completed by a great performance from Americana classics The Felice Brothers. It really couldn't have got much better.
Still, it had to end and Mongrel went off to meet some British cohorts - if anything to rant about what a wonderful day it had been. We ended up at the Elk Lodge out of town on the south side to see Gruff Rhys' latest project, Neon Neon - all pop, electro, hip hop with vocals on one track by Har Mar Superstar. The singer from Does It Offend You, Yeah? (who DJ'd afterwards) told us he thought it sounded like Duran Duran and Eurythmics. Take from that what you will. We all headed back into town for the Radio One party and MGMT, who were alright (one song stood out, on account of it sounding like Hall and Oates!!), but Mongrel had better things in mind: Mark Kozelek at the Central Presbyterian Church. It was midnight by this point and although he rattled through all the new songs from his latest Sun Kil Moon album - none of which we knew - it was OK. His voice is so captivating, so illuminating, so delicious, we could have stayed there all night. You see, in his voice you hear the sound of an outsider in this strange country. And Mongrel is so grateful to have found it.

SxSW Day One: Mongrel tries to avoid the indie boy bands...(!)

Let’s get something straight here – it’s dangerous sending this kind of Mongrel into Texas unaccompanied. You see, with a love for alt.country and Americana which goes way beyond a mere passion, you’re only going to get a rundown of music that features slide guitar and lyrics about having a broken heart. We’re meant to be chasing the ‘next big thing’ (what happened to the star-bound trajectory of Tapes N Tapes and Be Your Own Pet?), but when this Mongrel passes a bar full of plaid shirts and Stetsons, it has to go inside. The day started well: straight to Mohawks on Red River (great name for a street, don’t you think?) for A Place To Bury Strangers, followed by The Forms. Neither were alt.country. Place To Bury Strangers will be releasing material in the UK in the next couple of months, and to Mongrel’s ears sounded like a more scuzzed up, epic, but less melodic Primal Scream in their dirty era (XTMNTR etc) – only three of them, the noise was pretty impressive. The Forms came next: a New York four-piece, indie outfit with more melodic tunes, on the Threespheres label. They covered a Nirvana song (Mongrel can’t remember which one it was right now), which seemed a little strange, but after giving them a quick whirl on MySpace, the influence is actually pretty clear. After too many boys with indie guitars (enough now please!), it was off to Flamingo Cantina to see a few tunes by Akron/Family. Mongrel has long been a fan of this Pennsylvania, blues/gospel gang and they didn’t let us down. Sure, we’re probably telling you nothing new here, but they were fantastic. With mere seconds to spare, Mongrel ran like the dog it is to catch a few songs by New Zealand artist Liam Finn. Mongrel had heard a couple of people mention him back home, and was glad to have made the effort. He’s a great new discovery. Then came the onslaught of Americana – had to be done. Blue Mountain at Mother Egan’s were spot on, as too were The Silos, who have been around for years and years. The band has just released a new album, Come On Like The Fast Lane, on Bloodshot and Mongrel will be downloading it as soon as possible. Lastly, Mongrel finally saw Andy Davis play live (see below for loads of chat about him) for the first time: my, he’s a star. As of today (it’s early morning as we write this), there will be two new Mongrels in town. We’re going to hand the lead over to them for a bit…maybe you can expect less alt.country worshipping, but maybe not if this Mongrel gets her way. Yee-ha!

There are bad towns in America, even the people in them don't know they're bad yet....

Austin sure ain't a pretty town. Maybe Mongrel's first impressions are wrong, but it's hardly easy on the eye. After waiting more than an hour for a cab to pick up the four-legged stray, Mongrel headed into town to get its bearings - first time here, you see. After wandering the streets, we called into a bar to meet some locals and came across Evan Cowley. He runs karaoke here. Wide-eyed, blatantly on drugs, he begun to tell Mongrel about Austin and Texas. He told me that 6th St is full of stupid frat boys. He told me he was from Waco - "one of those American towns where everyone is bad, even if they don't know it yet." He asked if we have an equivalent in the UK - a town where all the folks are bad. I couldn't think of one. London's Canning Town has always struck me as a bad place, but I couldn't account for all folks being bad there.
Anyway. Mongrel had other plans and headed up to the pretty place pictured above: the Mansion at Judge's Hill hotel to meet Big Helium label boss, Hugo Vereker. Mongrel has long been ranting about one of his artists - Andy Davis (mentioned below), but was left exhilirated by talk of some of Big Helium's projects and artists. The label has an exclusive deal to distribute through Barnes and Noble here in the US and has also released the amazing Sunday Music compilations put together by Vereker himself. Tracks on those two CDs (which only go through Barnes and Noble) include material from Chris Martin, Imogen Heap, Craig Armstrong, Peter Gabriel and Faultline. It's impressive stuff and is shifting by the bucket load out of the stores. Vereker also has other plans up his sleeve - but he'd kill Mongrel for writing about them here. Safe to say, it really shouldn't be too long before the label makes an impact in the UK - they deserve it.
So, it's still pretty quiet here. Calm before the storm, so to speak. Mongrel would head out to Waco to find out if all the people are genuinely bad there, but did that once in Canning Town and soon regretted it. And there's no jubilee line here for a quick exit.

Mongrel is an official mongrel....

Little update to RotD readers: the weather in Austin is horrendous today - terrible thunderstorms. The forecast is looking up however and the temperatures (roughly 21c) are in stark contrast to Toronto where it went to -20c at the weekend. Mongrel is officially a proper mongrel because Continental Airlines (the most HORRID airline in the world) has lost Mongrel's luggage. Mongrel is kitted out in thermals and snow boots - hardly appropriate for this warmer weather. On arrival at the hotel - on some interstate - Mongrel had no food, drink or cigarettes (filthy habit, we know) and the nearest store is 3 miles away in a cab. Fortunately a genuine cowboy (he had been to a rodeo that day - seriously) took us in and gave us some fags, a burger (what else!) and a beer...thank god for Texan hospitality....
With little else to do than wait for the arrival of luggage, we checked out the schedule. These are the highlights that stick out for us right now:
Weds 12th 5pm (venue as yet unknown), the wonderful Andy Davis (signed to little indie, Big Helium, which has an exclusive deal to distribute through Barnes and Noble - more on that after Mongrel meets its label boss tonight).
Weds 12th 3.45-5.00 Fader at the Fort: The Kills.
Weds 12th 5.15 Gorilla vs Bear: Holy Fuck
Thurs 13th 9.30pm Austin Music Hall: Yo La Tengo, My Morning Jacket (well done to Rough Trade for signing them - one of Mongrel's faves - after, we guess, they parted ways with SonyBMG)
Thurs 13th The Fort: Tribute to Lou Reed with Mark Kozelek (Mongrel adores him) playing among others.
Fri 14th Antone's 1am: Constatines (straight in from Canada)
That's all for now. Mongrel is reluctant to book too much in - it's all about the suprises, surely?

Unique, strange, talented and volatile....

It takes people with veteran histories in the music industry to put everything in perspective and yesterday's interview with the last, living Ramone - Tommy - and Sire founder Seymour Stein did exactly that. Amid constant talk about the "terrible state of the industry," here were two guys - true renegades who believe in the power of music and the spirit of rock 'n' roll who proved, to Mongrel's mind, that this is what the business really lacks these days and because of its demise, we will continue to despair at the sorry state of what was once a thrilling, world-changing, fascinating, energising industry. Stein remarked that he was able to stick with the Ramones - despite them being pretty unsuccessful to begin with - because the industry allowed it. There was no chasing the quick buck back then. You remained loyal to the artists you believed in. Mongrel was close to tears at one point: when Stein talked about Joey he did so with tears in his eyes, a frog in his throat: it still chokes them up to recall a man they called 'a true humanitarian in the music business, if there can be such a thing.' They talked about so many illuminating things that the fact Bob Lefsetz attracted a bigger crowd, in the same room the day before, made Mongrel feel slightly despondent. Mongrel was only one month old when the band released their self-titled debut (which included songs like 'Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue'!), but they have become part of my musical fabric...I still listen to 'Sheena Is A Punk Rocker' once a month - no lie. Many of their stories were new to Mongrel: how, when the band played their first London show, The Clash, Pistols, Chryssie Hynde, Damned, Buzzcocks and Stranglers were all in the audience; how Road To Ruin was their attempt at mixing country music with pop - they were genuinely inspired by the Eagles. How too, the Ramones weren't accepted at first because people thought it would mean the end of bands like the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac. It just goes to show how even back in 1976 the music industry had false impressions of what music fans really want. Some things never change. We also discovered that lobbying by John Frusciante and Eddie Vedder meant that the band were inducted into the US Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, and how this would have meant everything to Joey Ramone, who before he died told Tommy that it was the last thing he needed to accomplish. To be in the same room as these two men was a complete honour.
On to more dry matters, Mongrel attended a royalties seminar in the afternoon where NRCC (almost equivalent of the UK's collection society PPL in Canada) general counsel Sundeep Chauhan revealed that his organisation does not bother collecting performance royalties for US artists because they are not entitled to them by US law. As you may know from reading RotD magazine over the past couple of weeks, this is not the case in the UK. We're wondering who is getting it right here....
Mongrel also popped into self-proclaimed 'music futurist' Gerd Leonard's talk about the future of music distribution. Gerd has a new book out called Web 2.0 - and was obviously promoting his new ideology. Trustworthy people we have met in recent times have told us to be very cautious of his musings and in a way, his latest idea seems a tad far-fetched: that we will pay for our music consumption with 'attention'. That is, advertising will become content and by watching small ads, we will be given music for free. Mongrel is a little suspicious of how this might work as a model going forward, but remains open to the idea. Leonard also revealed that OneHouseLLC (a digital music strategy firm) chief Jim Griffin is in talks with Warner Music about developing a 'flat fee p2p network'. Mongrel was aware that these conversations between digital players and labels have been ongoing, but thought it slightly naughty that Leonard would openly tell a room of delegates about it.
Mongrel tried to get out and see some music but Toronto is suffering with the worse snow storm of the winter. Many people (including yours truly) might not be able to fly out of the city tomorrow. Temperatures plunged to -20c last night and looking out the window now, there are cars on a main intersection which simply can't go anywhere. Mongrel's pelt isn't thick enough to brave the conditions, but has a suitably thick enough skin to brave another day of cries that our industry has been 'destroyed'! Hey Ho Let's Go!

ps - just remembered: Mongrel caught Canadian band Creature at a packed gig the night before last. Signed to Universal here, the pop-rap-funk outfit are seeking support in the UK. Check them out - they're lots of fun.

Larger than life: Bob Lefsetz and Canadian manager Bruce Allen...and more on copyright enforcement.

Before we move on to discuss one of the most entertaining parts of CMW - commentator Bob Lefsetz in conversation with Canadian manager Bruce Allen (Bryan Adams, Michael Buble), let's chat a bit about the morning session which was dominated by one seminar: 'Should ISPs and mobile companies become copyright enforcers?'. As a UK publication, we were proud that three of the five panellists were from Britain - manager and copyright expert, David Stopps, Beggars new media chief Simon Wheeler and MCPS-PRS chief economist, Will Page. The room was overflowing with attendees, all keen to put their points of view across. Interestingly, when posed with the question of whether ISPs should be held accountable for P2P traffic via legislation, it was only Stopps who said he supported the idea on the basis that it would "instigate a cultural change". The other panelists, including Rogers Wireless' (the leading mobile company in Canada) Ken Thompson, supported the idea of a voluntary agreement which would see both the rightsholders and technology firms work together to build a better marketplace. Mongrel was impressed that a telco representative would even show up to the event - apparently many were invited but turned down the opportunity...surprise, surprise. Wheeler pointed out that introducing a 'levy' for music on an ISP or mobile bill would not make up for the loss it would incur on other revenue streams such as iTunes, physical product and subscription services. Mongrel promptly pointed out that up until recently, the music industry has relied on music fans buying only two CDs per year - amounting to little more than, say, £20 a year. A 'levy' charge - often touted as £5 per month would generate £60 a year per head...so, what's the better deal? No-one really came back with a legitimate answer for that one. Still, it was great to see so many people engaged in the argument. In another P2P session, Mongrel noted with amusement a depracating comment from the RIAA's David Hughes who introduced the organisation as "most famous for giving out platinum awards and suing 12-year-old, grannies and everyone in between." Silicon Valley tech firm Wilson Sousini's Gary Greenstein was ferocious in his comments on the panel saying, "no-one owes the record labels a business." Mongrel couldn't help but think there was an element of truth to his words.
Moving on, the biggest crowd of the day showed up for Bob Lefsetz's showdown with Bruce Allen. They talked frankly about a number of subjects from touring, labels, the state of the industry and so on. Here are some of the comments Mongrel found particularly poignant/interesting/funny/wrong:
Lefsetz (L): "rock critics are eunuchs in a whorehouse."
L: "Vampire Weekend are jaw-droppingly bad live."
L: "Major labels ruined the music industry by putting out sh*t music."
Allen (A): "Some artists like Van Morrison who charge $175 for concert tickets get a kick from taking the money and putting in a bad show on purpose."
L: "It's the same with the Rolling Stones, isn't it?"
L: Michael Buble is only popular because housewives like to masturbate to his music." (Mongrel's stomach churned at this point)
A: "Entertainment has gone from the music industry. Tom Petty is entertainment, Plain White T's aren't and that is why no-one cares about music anymore."
L: "Dave Matthews Band are the only US act who can still sell out arenas after 15 years in the business."
A: I don't buy Terry McBride's (Nettwerk) crap, especially after he did that Blackberry ad."
L: "Bruce Springsteen's album is limping towards 1m sales in the US." Mongrel thinks there's a Springsteen revival in the UK, so all can't be that bad.
A: "The industry has devalued music by putting singles on TV ads/TV shows up to 18 months in advance of them being released. It's all become about the song and not the artist."
L: "Feist is crap. She can't write like Joni Mitchell. What's all that, "1,2,3,4.." that's not a song."
Cue gasps, laughter and shock around the audience. If truth be told, Mongrel thought it was like listening to two old, grumpy men get all nostalgic about the 'good old days'. We could have called our Dad if we wanted to hear a load of boring reminiscing.
One final note: Mongrel met a load of people here yesterday who were ranting about how great (Rotd-featured - have to get that in!) Yoav is. We met up with the owners of Baom.net, which releases all music for free, but capitalises on its database by organising live shows and merchandise etc. Apparently Yoav is one of 700 artists in Canada to have benefitted from the system. Owner Guillaume Deziel made it very clear: "we have no intention to sell music, that's just not where the money comes from." Mongrel will be, hopefully, popping in to the Yoav show on Saturday night. On another artist related note, we will be trying to catch UK artists Steph Fraser tonight after lots of folks recommended her yesterday.
Over and out.

SxSW gig recommendations from RotD fave MP3 bloggers

Click here for the full list.

The Millennials = Generation Brainwashed?

Nursing a hangover brought on by hanging out with a bunch of gold diggers (not **that** kind, but a real bunch of Canadian miners), Mongrel dragged its sorry tail out of bed to attend an offshoot conference to Canadian Music Week - The Millennials, organised by Digital Media Wire. Who are The Millennials, you may ask. The phrase, new to us, describes the generation aged 18 to roughly 26 which has grown up with technology and takes for granted access to the internet, mobile phones and related platforms such as MySpace, Facebook and so forth. One panellist claimed they are the 'brainwashed generation,' another explained that those in the 30-40 bracket are Generation X - the 'miserable, nihilistic generation', whereas the 'Millennials' are more playful and upbeat as a response to, and rejection of pressing world issues such as global warming. Mongrel enjoys a modicum of nihilism, but that's another matter....Anyhow, the conference discussed how to market music and games to this bunch of happy-go-lucky techno-friendly folks. However, many of the issues raised, Mongrel felt, were being bandied around at Midem five years ago. Regardless, we noted with amusement that QTrax chairman and CEO Allan Klepfisz - who was down to attend a panel on 'Connecting with a new generation of music users' - failed to show up. One delegate said that it was more likely he was "hiding" than stuck in the massive snow storm Toronto has suffered in the last 24 hours. On another note, one prominent Canadian DJ loudly complained that "it's an untrue cliche that all music can be found on the net, even on P2P." He added, "If you take the most popular music and add five percent of the music ever produced, that's all that is available." Interesting....
Mongrel was pleased to find a fellow Brit at the event - Joe P*rn (yes, that's his name) who helps to run UK firm MusicGlue which has created a tool allowing artists/labels/managers to distribute free and paid-for music over P2P networks and build detailed fan databases that remain owned by the clients (unlike MySpace, Bebo or FaceBook) that can be exported at any given time. The company soft-launched last year, but expect to formally launch in the near future. Mongrel was rather taken with the idea.
One of the much-loved and much-talked about bands here in Toronto is Constantines, who actually aren't playing CMW (!), but will be at SxSW. Now signed to Arts and Crafts (home to Broken Social Scene and Stars among others), the band previously had a deal which covered the UK with Sub Pop - but are now free for licensing. The band, it's rumoured, have also recorded a rendition of a Dolly Parton song (we're not sure which one) with Feist which will come out on ltd. edition 7". One to look out for....
It's not all been about work in the last couple of days: Mongrel took the trip up CN Tower last night. The view was spectacular, the glass floor petrifying and the 'sway' of the tower, stomach-wrenching. The stiff drink(s) with the gold diggers was the only thing to calm the nerves!

On arrival in Toronto....

Despite packing thermals, it turns out that snow is pretty thin on the ground here in uptown Toronto. Apparently they're expecting at least 10" tomorrow. Mongrel doesn't care too much about the state of the weather having endured an almost 24-hour flight to get here. Continental Airlines - who kicked us off a flight at Gatwick owing to a broken door - are no better than British Airways, regardless of what they say. Still, we're here now and have just discovered that Canadian Music Weeks kicks off with an alternative conference tomorow called The Millenials. MTV Canada and MuchMusic head Brad Schwartz, Live Earth president Nina Guralnick, and Championship Gaming Series COO Geoff Stevens headline a group of speakers for the inaugural event. Mongrel will be there stirring up trouble, but in the meantime, it's off to hunt moose and bears.

One last thing - a Greek sociologist told Mongrel on the horrendous flight yesterday that CD piracy is rampant in Athens - no shock there. However, the police is very reluctant to stamp it out because each department receives 65Euros per *new* prisoner, per night from the government. Each day the police lets the 'pirates' out to re-offend and arrests them again at the end of the day in order to generate more cash. Apparently the EU piracy department has been warned.