Is it just me, or are the big industry, buzz worthy bands just not as good as they used to be. As CMJ drew to a close a week ago, I was saddened by how unenthused and inspired I was by this year’s crop of sometimes but not so unfound up-and-coming stars. This year also seemed heavily burdened by “those who already have a lot of buzz about them” – Lykke Li, Janelle Monae, Jens Lekman, Deerhoof, etc. Now, I can’t pretend that all of these acts are well known to the masses. But I do like to pretend that New York is still a lot closer to the action of new music than I will ever be. Plus, I am not actually in the industry. I’m just an avid observer who will listen to anything. So I was surprised (in the negative way) to see so many names that I had already seen.

In all fairness, this may be a projected reaction from a recent concert. Two heavily buzzed bands from CMJ – the UK’s next Franz Ferdinand, Friendly Fires and Lykke Li – were featured and I couldn’t resist seeing if they were worth it. First, the Friendly Fires actually used their CMJ noteriaty to promote themselves during the show (read – some random girl and her friend with a book bag totally got in front of me while I was watching and forced a promo flyer in my hand with a button attached that stated the Friendly Fires did 4 shows at CMJ. Not a good way to sell yourself. Keep it all at the merch table please). While they did have the exuberance mentioned in all of the post-CMJ rehashes, it looked terribly forced. OK, I get it, when a white boy does pelvis thrusts and shakes his booty uncontrollably, it’s supposed to show that he is really excited and I should be too. But I wasn’t. And while the music was fun it wasn’t anything special. Lykke Li, however, did deliver the goods with an unforced mystical stage presence similar to Stevie Nicks, but, you know, for hipsters. And while her 12 song set was stellar, I still came away with a nagging feeling that these weren’t going to change the world. Or even make me interested enough to crave a second album. So, what gives? Is it me or has “underground” music lost a lot of it’s appeal? Am I finally getting too old – music nowadays just ain’t what it used to be? Let’s hope I am wrong.

You make the call – The NYT Review of CMJ

Tags: CMJ, concerts, Friendly fires, Independent music, Lykke Li, music industry