Yeah, so chances are if you're going to SXSW this year like we are, you probably aren't going to see local bands that play around here all the time. But we figured we would post when and where some of the Dallas/Ft Worth/Denton bands are playing anyway, just in case you wanted to go show your support or something dumb like that.

One exception: I think there is a good chance that we'll be seeing Midlake on Wed. They'll probably play mostly new stuff, and if the rest of it is anything like the recently leaked "Roscoe," it should be as good or better than any other show going on that night. By the way, this list is not complete, as it does not include dumb local crap that no one reading this blog will care about, or stuff that we've never heard of before and can't really recommend. Whoomp here it is:

WED

Midlake (Fox and Hound) midnight
Strange Boys (Velvet Spade) 9pm
Pilotdrift (Dirty Dog Bar) 10pm
Baboon (spiro's) 11pm
Crushed Stars (latitude 30) 8pm

THURS

Happy Bullets (Karma Lounge) midnight
Money Waters (Back Room) 8:45 (we weren't sure if anyone cares about local hip hop, so we decided to include it, even though we haven't heard much of it)

FRI

Best Fwends (latitude 30) 11pm
Centro-matic (Maggie Mae's) 1am
Pikahsso (Club One 15) 11pm (again, we really don't know about this one either)

SAT

The Theater Fire (Latitude 30) 10pm
Bosque Brown (Buffalo Billiards) 11pm
Salim Nourallah (Habana Calle 6) 8pm

Not that all these bands are totally bitchin' or anything, they just seem like the best that is being offered by DFWd this year. Beli dat.

Going out on a week night can be a bitch, especially if you have to get up in the morning. But if there is a reason to go out on any night Sun-Wed (Thursday really is the weekend, isn't it?), it is The Lost Generation w/ DJ Mwanza at the Cavern on Tuesday nights. There is no cover, and you'll be treated to one of the most eclectic mixes in the metroplex. Look at the list to the left: he really does play all of that stuff, and the guy obviously knows his shit. Give it a try. Even if you don't know anything about some of these genres, you'll hear something you like.

1. Van Morrison is playing at Nokia Theater (a crap venue) for like $8,000 ( a crap price), but I just wanted to say how much I love Van Morrison. I will NEVER get sick of that guy.

2. There will be a Yeah Yeah Yeah's listening party at the Cavern tonight at 10pm. Their new album Gold Lion will be played. We haven't heard it yet , but I'm not going to promise that it will be good. It might be worth listening to tonight before you buy it, because if it sucks you can save your money for more important things like white belts at Urban Outfitters or something.

Seeing Ariel Pink at SXSW last year was a less than thrilling experience. He played with a band that he obviously hadn't been playing with for long (or maybe just met that day), most of the set was improvised, and the performance was sloppy to say the least. It was mainly disappointing because I was expecting a lot, even if the humor of seeing him be extremely difficult at an industry showcase wasn't lost on me or most of the audience.

So it was with some apprehension that I trucked on up to Denton (again) on Saturday to see him (again). Saying I made the right choice is probably something of an understatement, because I can't imagine that there has been a more unique concert experience in DFWd in the past couple of months... at least. Despite some sound problems (I know, I'm starting to sound like a broken record around here), the show was captivating from the start. Pink was alone on stage throughout most of the set, and was accompanied by some homemade videos that were very well done in that K Records DIY kind of way, complete with sock puppets and camcorder footage of trees, etc. Pink stuck to his previously recorded material, and it was pleasantly surprising to hear how well he performed it live. Most of the time when someone says, " this sounds just like the record," at a concert, it doesn't really mean a whole lot. But the fact that Ariel Pink can replicate the feel, not to mention the structure and sound of his recordings is quite an achievement considering how random much of his stuff is. And although his songs all have a meditative, trance inducing quality to them, the underlying pop structure of his music was clearly discernible throughout the set, making it that much easier to loose yourself in the hazy loneliness of his music. There is a certain sadness that pervades in his songs, and that aspect of his work was communicated just as effectively as the goofiness that makes Ariel Pink a pleasant listen.

The show sort of took a turn for the worst when he started to improvise with a local band that he had hooked up with earlier in the day, but his humorous free form lyrics made even that part tolerable, although I could have done without it. Ariel Pink is an epic and talented songwriter that uses his music to not only convey ideas that seem to exist only on a subconscious level, but also to make it a little more difficult for the audience to comprehend just what those ideas are. And trying to figure it all out is part of his appeal.

So I had no internet for most of the day yesterday after 5pm, and then this morning when I got it back, Blogspot was down. Thanks a lot God! Needless to say I didn't have time to do any updates. Back to normal later today.

Yeah. Two big games in one week and two subpar performances. I was pretty excited about this team, but this week they have demonstrated that they still have a long way to go before they can play with the likes of San Antonio and Phoenix.

There is no It List tonight by the way, so maybe you should vote for the J.R. awards, or read a book, or do whatever it is you do when you aren't totally rocking the fuck out.

Oh, and I'll have a review of last night's Ariel Pink show a little later tonight.



Oh, and don't forget to listen to Frequency Down with Frank on KNTU 88.1 tonight at 10pm.

Once again there is some good stuff going on tonight, and most of it isn't in Dallas. Shocked? We're not.

1. Ariel Pink/Belong (Hailey's Denton)
If you haven't heard Ariel Pink before, you should really give him a listen. It is like perfect pop music being played in the apartment next door. You can hear it but you can barely make out any of the details, even though you can tell that there are details and that they are good. A truly unique artist. His live shows are known to be hit or miss, so you might not love what you see tonight. But you'll sure remember it. Belong is a strange noise band.

2. Strange Boys | Cry Blood Apache | Blonde Girls | Eat Avery's Bones- Metrognome Collective (1518 E. Lancaster Ft. Worth)
An exciting DIY music venue/art space in Fort Worth featuring a show by a couple promising local bands and another good one from Austin. It is BYOB and five bucks. The EAB people suggest you get there around 11 to see their set.

3. DJ G (Avenue Arts 825 Exposition Ave)
Dj G will go on at midnight or so. The last time we went to one of these Melissa parties, Dj G played a great set of rare disco, house, and a bunch of other stuff we've never heard before. It was pretty fantastic. Hopefully it will be the same tonight. He'll supposedly be spinning till 4, so this could be a great after hours spot tonight. Its $8 and BYOB.

Blah. Not a lot going on tonight. This would be the place to post big house party info if you've got it.

Mi and l'au are playing at the Cavern tonight for $6. And while we like their quiet folksy stuff on record, we weren't all that captivated by their live performance in Denton opening for Akron Family. Maybe its because they told us to be quiet like the people in New York were. In response, someone yelled out "welcome to Texas." I liked that. But a pretty interesting band that might be worth seeing if you aren't looking to rock out tonight. Other than that, make your own damn fun tonight.

EDIT: And how could I forget that Strange Boys are playing a show with Cry Blood Apache at Avenue Arts tonight. its 5 bucks. And since the place doesn't have a real sound system, lets hope they bring enough shit to play loud.

I know I know, easy target right? And the fact that I decided I hated this album before I even knew it existed also probably makes this review a little unfair, while the album cover makes the music impossible to enjoy. But aside from all of this bias, listening to the record (which was really hard) inspired two questions: 1) when did Rhett Miller start using the Barenaked Ladies as his backup band? And 2) do musicians REALLY sit down in a practice space or a studio and say "ok, now I'm going to write a song for the sole purpose of getting it played on the Mix 102.9 morning show?" I don't know the answer to either, and I'm sure I really don't give a shit.

I used to like the Old 97's when I was a kid, but I haven't listened to them in so long that I don't know if I would like them now. If they sound anything like this, however, well then I guess I can pass off my former appreciation of the band as a youthful mistake, because this album is complete crap. I really don't even have the desire to go through and tell you which songs sucked and which songs REALLY sucked, because listening to it made having this website feel like a job, and writing about it would be even worse. Now of course most of this stuff is completely harmless pop music, and it probably isn't as bad as I'm making it out to be. I guess there are some catchy moments here and there, but I just can't believe that people around here still think this guy is cool. This is the kind of music that you hear in the background at the Mall, or Starbucks, or anywhere else you might go to consume products and services. In those settings, you probably wouldn't even notice it. The album is decently produced, adequately structured, and more or less run of the mill adult alternapop that is well written for what it is. Doing nothing else but listening to the album in your room, however, reveals how truly boring it is, and how music that is otherwise meaningless can really be annoying when you are forced to think about it for more than 30 seconds. That is all I'm really going to say about it, because writing bad record reviews should at least be somewhat fun. Any way you cut it, however, this album is even less fun to write about than it is to listen to. And that is saying something.

JR- weshotjr@yahoo.com

I'll be having "One bad A** evening" that night. As far away from Deep Ellum as I can get.

Here is the link.

PS- maybe the Hampton Inn after party will be pretty cool.

Sheesh. Lots going on around here lately. But, what can you do? Here the list be:

1. Mile End with DJ Laureen (Fallout)
Britpop, electro, shoegaze, and a lot of obscure shit you might not have heard before.

2. Happy Bullets are at Doublewide tonight for some rollerskating thing.

3. Wanz is playing his Lost Generation stuff at the Elm St. Bar tonight. Check out this cool as fuck playlist from Tuesday at the Cavern:

Major Swellings - FlavoursaverThe Juan Maclean-Shining Skinned FriendThe Spoecials - Ghost TownHildegard Knef - From here it gets rough(from the In-Kraut comp)Liars - It fit when i was a KidDJ Technics & Rod Lee - Poke Ya Ass(Baltimore Club Music)Serena maneesh - Drain CosmeticsEllen Allien & Apparat - RetinaAphex Twin - Falling Free(Curve Remix)Cobra Killer vs. The Holon - Heavy Rotation Christopher Just remixThe Jesus and Mary Chain - Never UnderstandThe Birthday Party - Release the BatsEnnio Morricone - A Fistful of DollarsPixeltan - Get Up Say what(DFA remix)Can - HalleluwahM.I.A. - Fire FireThe Specials - GangstersDangerdoom - The Mask(ft Ghostface)The Dirtbombs - Ode to a Black Man(otherwise known as The Wanz Dover theme song)Gang of Four - Damaged GoodsWire - Ex Lion TamerThe Stooges - 1969The Jesus Lizard - MouthbreatherThe Clash -London's BurningMC5 - High SchoolNo Means No - Sex MadSonic Youth - Dirty BootsRites of Spring - SpringFun Boy Three - The Lunatics(Have taken over the Asylum)The Litter - Whatcha Gonna do about itBo Diddley - Bo DiddleyCelebration - HolidayThe Pop Group - She is Beyond Good and EvilArt Brut - My Little BrotherThe White Stripes - Jimmy the ExplorerThe Specials - Too Much too YoungJoy Division - DigitalPublic Image Limited - Swan LakeBauhaus/Brian Eno - Third Uncle(Wild Bull mashup)Primal Scream - Swastika Eyes(Jagz kooner mix)Public Enemy - 911 is a JokePJ Harvey - The WindX - Johnny Hit and Run PauleneNick Cave & The bad Seeds - Do You Love MeThe Velvet Underground - Venus in FursPulp - I SpyBloc Party - Banquet(Phones mix)Silver Apples - The ProgramFunkadelic - Hit it or Quit itThe Slits - ShopliftingGet Hustle - Revolution VanJimi Hendrix - Machine GunThe Stooges - Down on The StreetAmon Tobin - BridgeStereolab - We're not Adult OrientedThe Flaimng Lips -Yeah Yeah Yeah's -Verev - Slide AwayOve-Naxx -Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - what Have you done for me latelyScreaming Jay Hawkins - Constipation BluesBad Brains - the MeekFela Kuti & Africa 70 - Expensive ShitBaby Huey - Hard TimesSuicide - Ghost RiderKano - Ps and QsK.M.D. - Boogie ManTortoise & Bonnie Prince Billy - Thunder RoadTortoise - Djed(Unkle remix)David Bowie - Speed of LifeDavid Bowie - WarszawaTelevision - See No EvilBuck 65 - Double HeaderChocolate Watchband - Darkside of the mushroomBraniac - Hands of the GeniusFugazi - Do You Like MeFaust - JeniferKuno & the Marihuana Brass - Marihuana Mantra(from the In-Kraut comp)The Raconteurs - Store Bought BonesDr dre - Nuthin but a g thangSonic Youth - Kill Your IdolsScratch Acyd - She SaidYo La Tengo - Big Day ComingLadytron - High RiseDeerhoof - O'Malley, Former UnderdogDJ Rich - (Balitmore club music Mash up mix by The Wild Bull)

That is the shit. Also, this guy had the nerve to start a blog on top of being in like eight bands and a great DJ. Damn it. I'm sure it will be a good regular read in these parts:

dalostgeneration.blogspot.com

In the past couple of weeks we've almost tripled our average daily readership, and we've started to get all kinds of positive feedback from bands and local music fans that dig what we are doing. Honestly, we can't believe that people care enough to come on here every day, and we're really glad that people use the comments as a forum to express some of their own opinions about music in DFWD, even if their opinions are sometimes dumb. It has really been quite a thrill. Thanks.

But enough with the sentimental crap. Because of this new interest in the site, it has obviously become much more work to keep up with everything every day. So we've decided to do two things. The first is to form a loose partnership with the podcasters over at dconstruction. We like what they do over there, and even if we don't always agree with everything they say (although we agree with much of it), we think they are smart guys that have some exciting ideas about what local music media can be all about, and we want to play a roll in that. In short, this partnership will consist of the following:

1. We will write a bi-weekly column for their site
2. We will make a weekly concert pick and put it on their site
3. We will compile our own "We Shot JR Music Podcast" which they will put together and feature on their site. This will be a podcast of local music selected exclusively by us, and we think it is going to happen once every couple of months.
4. We are going to plan some dconstruction/weshotjr concerts for some time in the near future

In the interest of full disclosure, we should tell you that one of the dconstruction guys, Robert, is the owner of Summer Break records. We will restate this fact every time we mention any of the bands on his label, and we certainly will not let this affect our opinions on his bands (he doesn't know who we are either, so he can't track us down and kick our asses or anything). If we say something negative about any of them, then you'll know that we haven't let our relationship with dconstruction affect our review in that particular case. If we say something nice about one of his bands, I guess you'll have no way of knowing if we are being honest or not, so you can believe whatever you want. We will always post the disclaimer, however, just to remind you of what is happening. Hopefully that doesn't bother anyone. We will say that the guys at dconstruction don't know who we are, and this will not change.

This leads us to the second thing we are doing. Since the design on this blog is really pretty basic (we didn't really design ANYTHING, did we?) and the space we have is quite limited, we are going to make a move in the next couple of weeks to a new website, Weshotjr.com. This will allow us to have more room to do more things, not to mention the fact that we will (with the help of dconstruction, who is providing the site for us) get some actual web design done on the site, making it a little more pleasing to look at. The important part, however, is that we are going to expand what we do. In addition to my regular writing and the It List, we're going to try to get a few other people on board to: take pictures at concerts, do an occasional concert review here and there (to help us save some gas money), write a regular column on local visual art and galleries, etc. and have an occasional writer or two that we like come in and write about books, media, and other things that interest us. The site will still be ad free, and will pretty much be the same thing, just bigger and better. We're not sure about all the details yet, including when this move will take place, but we'll let you know when we find out.

So, we ask two things from you:

1) If you want, go on to this comment thread and provide us with any suggestions you have for making this site better , along with any other ideas, criticisms, or questions you might have concerning what we do or what we are planning to do.

2) if anyone is interested in taking pictures or videos for us REGULARLY, or is interested in doing a little writing ( including a REGULAR local art column with text and pictures), please email us at weshotjr@yahoo.com. No real experience is necessary, just a knowledge of (and good taste in) music, as well as access to what you need to do the job (your own camera, etc). We can't afford to offer you anything in return for you work (other than making you a little more cool, and probably getting you into some concerts for free), so you'll just have to look at it as a little exposure and some experience.

We also will not meet in person with anyone we work with, since this can all be done over the internet, and we figure we don't want to get to know any of you anyway. Just kidding, but we feel that it is important for the site to remain anonymous, so that is how we're going to keep it.

Hopefully everyone likes where this is going. We do. And you should always listen to us.

1. The Party w/ Dj Nature (Rubber Gloves- Denton)
Instead of talking about The Party like we always do, we'll give you an exclusive MP3 of Nature's remix of the Yeah Yeah Yeah's "Maps," featuring the vocals of Bonjay.

Link

2. Callithump's Pre SXSW Party with Strange Boys/Pikahsso/Crushed Stars (Darkside Lounge)
You know the Strange Boys, and Pikahsso is apparently one of the better rappers in Dallas, although we've never heard him. Can't figure out why he spells his name like that. Anyway, Crushed Stars do some pretty decent quiet indie pop, and sound like they're worth checking out.

Also, vote

Here is the text from an email interview we did with the Undoing of David Wright:

We noted a while back that we heard the influence of New York No Wave bands such as Suicide, DNA, and James Chance and the Contortions in your music, in addition to Gary Numan and Thomas Dolby. What would you say are some of your main influences? Are we way off?

The bands you’ve mentioned are definitely within one of the many primary spheres of musical influence for us. Along similar veins, we’re also big fans of Liquid Liquid, The Birthday Party, Teenage Jesus & The Jerks, etc. No Wave bands are definitely not the end all of inspiration for us, however. We’re also heavily influenced by Post-Punk bands such as Gang of Four, Wire, XTC; Industrial pioneers such as Throbbing Gristle, Klinik, Einstuerzende Neubauten, Deutsche Amerikanische Freundschaft, Coil, Psychic TV, SPK, Skinny Puppy, TKK; Electronic music such as Kraftwerk, Yellow Magic Orchestra; New Wave such as Ultravox, Oingo Boingo, Adam & The Ants; Prog such as Yes, King Crimson, Emerson Lake and Palmer; Rock and Glam such as David Bowie, Stooges, T-Rex, NY Dolls; 20th Century composers such as John Cage, Philip Glass, Harry Partch; Kraut Rock like Faust, Silver Apples, Can, Neu!; and the expected gothic influences of Rozz-era Christian Death, Bauhaus, Cramps, 45 Grave, etc. We always hate this question because we’re pretentious fucks and the answers never make any sense.

It seems like in many of your songs, and really the band's presentation in general, there is a strong sense of story telling or a literary element. What are some of your favorite books, and are you reading anything interesting now?

(Lars)Absolutely. The use of our music as a narrative format is a primary goal of the band. Storytelling isn’t alone the property of Experimental Indie Neo-Folk bullshit. The previous album, and even more so, our upcoming album, both rely heavily on literary allusions. The first album leaned towards Biblical and Homeric references, in an attempt to reconstruct the tone of a classic romanticist 19th century ghost story. The new album is birthed out of 19th century adventure and science fiction: H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, Robert Louis Stevenson, Rudyard Kipling, and more specifically, the tone in which classical Hollywood films of the 1930’s chose to reconstruct these stories. Besides the ones I’ve mentioned, a few of my other favorite authors are Lewis Carroll, Neil Gaiman, and J.R.R. Tolkien. Most recently I’ve begun reading a collection of Icelandic folk tales.

(Shane)I tend read exclusively dystopian/utopian science fiction. My favorite book is a collection of short stories by Arthur C. Clarke called, The Nine Billion Names of God. One of our newest songs has a strong “underground lower class, doing all the work for ground-living upper class” theme. It’s much like Metropolis, but a little goofier.

(Lars)And more colorful.

How did you first meet the Strange Boys, and what about their band compelled you to begin playing so many shows with them, despite the fact that the two bands seem to come from completely different places musically?

(Lars)I was invited to go see The Strange Boys almost two years ago I think, by Mike Melendi (of The Skin Trade), and I enjoyed the show very much. We love those boys, they are close friends now, but while we’ve seen each other dozens of times I don’t actually think we’ve shared more than 4-5 bills with them. Despite the fact that we do come from two completely different places musically, I think we stand as comrades in our relationship to the local scene. We are the two “younger” bands in the Dallas/Denton scene that, in addition to the support of our peers age-wise, seem to also have a heartfelt appreciation from the “older & wiser” audience. Also, we’re both three pieces involving narcissistic, clean-shaven young lads with great hair who love playing music real fuckin’ loud.

(Shane)I went out to see them at the Doublewide when they opened up The Falkon’s farewell show. I was completely blown away by Ryan’s stage presence, attitude, and killer songwriting. He introduced himself to me while The Falkon was playing, and we immediately hit it off. Strange Boys invited to us play at one of their residency nights at Doublewide, and we received a positive response from everyone down there. We’ve become a team.

Without knowing too much about music, it seems that your songs use strange scales, as well as interesting and often changing rhythms that you don't usually see in rock music, specifically with local bands. What kind of musical background do you guys have, how long have you been playing your instruments, and do you have any formal training, etc?

(Lars)We all more or less learned by listening and fucking around. I had the obligatory three months of piano lessons when I was eight years old. Aaron and Shane have been playing their instruments for about a decade each and I have been doing my thing for about 3 years now. My background in computer programming definitely helped me conceptualize the technical aspects and principles behind sampling and sequencing, so when I started – I knew how to write the beats, but had no clue what I was actually doing. That blind experimental stage still has a great influence on my style, both in terms of song structure and sequencing. I think each of us has developed our own unique way of playing (or in my case programming) our respective instruments. It took us a while to really “get” each other musically at first, but now we have a very specific vibe that relies wholly on each of us in equal measure. We energize the most eccentric elements of each other’s styles.

(Shane)I’ve been playing music for about 9 years. I’ve never had any formal guitar lessons, but I was in percussion in middle school. I pretty much learned guitar from tablature magazines and listening to punk rock albums over and over. Rhythm is the most important part of the song writing process to me, and I work together with Lars to make each song interesting rhythmically. I don’t like any one particular beat to be playing too long in a song; I guess that has a lot to do with my musical A.D.D., but I like to catch the listener off guard most of the time, do something that they wouldn’t necessarily expect.

What are some of the problems that you see with the Dallas- Fort Worth-Denton music scene?

(Lars)As far as Dallas goes, there is no decent all ages or 18 & Up venue, so a lot of Dallas kids can only come see us when we play in Denton. As far our band is concerned, both cities only seem to be drawing more and more, so we really have no right to complain about anything. Then again, I suppose I could count the bands I like in the DFW area on the fingers of one hand. Maybe two hands.

(Shane)NO MUSIC COMMUNITY, NO SCENE.

(Lars)The Eighth Continent, however, will change all of this forever. Give us one year.

Are there any below the radar local bands that you guys are into these days that most people have yet to hear?

(Lars)Zom Zoms and Cry Blood Apache, from Austin. Eat Avery’s Bones from Dallas.

(Shane)Cry Blood Apache is one of the best new bands, period, I’ve heard in a while—not just locally.

Are you guys recording right now, and if not do you have any plans to do so in the near future?

(Lars)No, and yes. Our plans involve recording with John Congleton during the Summer. This album will be much more ambitious than our last, including a series of well produced radio melodramas dispersed between and throughout the songs. Our sampling/sequencing potential has evolved significantly in comparison with our previous album thanks to new hardware, so expect more diverse sounding samples and more complex, multi-layered percussion.

Some people say that the movie Clifford with Martin Short is one of the most annoying films to come out in the past twenty years. However, it appears that quite a strong argument can be made that Black Sheep is much more annoying. If you could avoid watching these films, would you?

(Lars)Yes.

Just to let you know, in the beginning of the year we planned on doing local album reviews, but haven't yet because none have really come out thus far. One album of note came out this week however, so I guess we'll start with that on Thursday or Friday (guess which one!). We're going to use a "star" system, and the graphics we will use are on display here, obviously in reverse order from top to bottom. We know that a lot of people from local bands read this blog, so if any of you would like us to do an album review, please email us at weshotjr@yahoo.com and we'll figure out a way to get your CD or Mp3s. This will be very helpful since we don't really have the money to go buying all your goddamn CDs!

In other news, Gorilla vs Bear has posted a short review and some pics from the Sigur Ros show last night. Sounds (and looks) like it was pretty goddamn amazing. There is also an interesting comment (the first one) in response to the review. I happen to disagree with the author about Sigur Ros, but it does remind me of how difficult it can sometimes be to form an opinion contrary to that held by most people in the "indie rock community," especially when most of the people with great taste and good writing skills seem to share many of the same opinions on the same bands. We've talked on here before about how much context matters when people are analyzing music, and the opinions of tastemakers (like Chris from GVB) play an important role in that context, don't they? You might think that you've got pretty original tastes in music and art and that you don't let the hype machine influence you and blah blah, but you can't tell me that you don't sometimes listen to an album (maybe even a few times), decide that you don't really like it, and then give it another chance later because people and media outlets that you respect speak highly of it. Maybe you just didn't get it the first time, you think, or you didn't listen closely enough. And maybe thats true... many albums do take a while to get used to. But it might also not be true, and the album might not really be that great.

This is all so subjective and impossible to really quantify or fully understand, but it just seems that the opinions of tastemakers play a more important contextual role than most people are willing to admit, especially when one considers how most people even hear about bands in the first place. Many times, its because tastemakers have decided to talk about them for whatever reason. This has been true forever, and the internet really hasn't changed it that much, although it has changed who some of those tastemakers are. Its really too much to get into whether or not this phenomenon is good or bad per se, but it simply is a reality of modern music that more people should probably think about.