rfi: brooklyn
A few days ago, one of our users, burnboy, started a thread on our message boards about Brooklyn bands, and some thoughts/questions he has about them, whether there’s a scene, etc. Since a lot of us 17 Dots writers and readers hail from/spend a lot of time in Brooklyn, I thought this might be a good place to pose the question. (Hope this was cool with you, burnboy.) I’ll save my thoughts for the comments, and everyone else please jump in there as well. Read on for the questions!
After seeing Yeasayer / Man Man last night, I got to thinking about bands from Brooklyn (i.e. Yeasayer) ..
I love Yeasayer’s album. It was on my ‘heavy rotation’ for a few weeks and I still really enjoy a listen here and there on random.(Sidenote: I always pronounced Yeasayer as Yeah-Sayer instead of Yay-Sayer, which rhymes with Naysayer. They pronounced it as the latter. My mistake.)
But last night when I saw them, I have to say I was simply not impressed. It also coincided with the recent hullabaloo about Crystal Stilts, who is also from Brooklyn.
The style is similar in the sense that they draw from new wave or progressive inspirations from the past but they also incorporate a bit of electronic music to garnish.
Simply, it’s experimental music based on old sensibilities.
Without opening Wikipedia, I also think Animal Collective is based (not from, right?) in Brooklyn?? I LOVE AC. They are my favorite band .. as far as STUDIO albums. I’ve not had the chance to see them live, unfortunately. They canceled their last tour date in Minneapolis for the Varsity (or maybe it never existed).
Having said that, from what I’ve seen with various YouTube videos, their live show, while most likely amazing, doesn’t appear to be as tight. My friend claims the show is mind-blowing, but I have to wait to experience first hand.It seems that there’s a certain … scene coming from Brooklyn. It’s not new, it’s been around, but it’s certainly been making itself more known.
My questions:
1) What are some of your favorite Brooklyn based bands?
1a) Is the Brooklyn scene your main source of music?
2) Why does it seem there is a recurring theme where the bands mentioned above have incredible studio albums but the live shows may end up being rough around the edges?*
2b) Is it harder to produce the same sound when you’re traveling around to random locations, having to adapt to new venue sound systems?
3) Is there something in the water in Brooklyn that’s causing such an extreme departure from current (2005-Present) independent music standards?I guess I’m just wondering if there’s something Brooklyn knows about music that I just haven’t been introduced to yet. Maybe it’s my level of musical experience .. maybe it’s my current life phase that doesn’t mesh with it yet .. maybe it never will.
Even if I haven’t assimilated, I’m still intrigued.
*Yeasayer/Man Man are touring together but their styles are really pretty different. Yeasayer made me feel like I was in the 60’s, swimming in pot smoke while the guy next to me thought about why they don’t make Hot Pockets less Hot. The contrast to when Man Man came on was immediate. Man Man are a better band live. I love both bands, I just mean that Man Man was more true to their studio album .. this probably leads into some other argument about recorded music not being as pure as a live performance, but take that to another thread.
Sadly I neither hail nor spend a lot of time in Brooklyn but I have two words: Bishop Allen. Also the Freaknomics angle oocurs to me, you’re an indie band and you want to be in NYC but you can’t afford Manhattan so you go to Brooklyn.
The National and The Hold Steady would be at the top of my list. I guess they’re obvious choices, even if they’re not born and bred in Brooklyn. Another Brooklyn band that I’ve been listening to a lot is Team Robespierre. When it comes to me trying to work out lately, the whole Team Robespierre album keeps me moving a lot more than Boxer can, even though I think Boxer is a great album.
What is “RFI”?
request for information
Wow, this went nowhere. Geez ..
I really like the high places! I’m not sure why so many bands are from brooklyn, is the rent really that cheap? Are there many venues? It’s interesting lets keep up the thread people.
tooth collector tooth house and.
1. bishop allen, mixel pixel, ghosts i’ve met, national, clap your hands say yeah
1a. no
2. i cannot speak to the bands you mention in particular but, in general, i have the opposite experience you seem to have: because i live in the city, i see a fair amount of brooklyn bands that i really like live. when they produce a studio album, however, I often think that something gets lost in translation. different strokes for different folks i guess. maybe i just like the rougher sound.
2b. i would assume that is true. even within the city the same band can sound different in different venues.
3. i’m not sure what you mean by “extreme departures” from current indie standards. i’m not sure there are such standards in place and, even if there were, i’d have to question the idea that brooklyn bands depart from it to a greater degree than bands from other locations. but honestly, if they did, i guess i’d see it as a point in their favor.
the dirty projectors ; vampire weekend ; gang gang dance – all on emusic, and all very worthy of your attention.
My Teenage Stride, whom I have yet to see, and Ladybug Transistor.