The Black Keys - Tighten Up

The Black Keys are ridiculously good right now. Still moving, so blog is kinda on semi-leave at the moment.

FM Belfast - Underwear

Jammed for time as I am moving, but enjoy FM Belfast's "Underwear"!

Goldfrapp - Alive

Goldfrapp released her new album Head First earlier this month. The retro-respective romp provides a nostalgia for sounds that were predominant in the 1970s and 1980s. The video for "Alive" is no exception. The current craze of vampires is melded with the 80's throwback of large hair and legwarmers. Enjoy!

Battle of the Divas: Queen Gaga, NY Beyonce, and Italy still loves Madonna

Hello all-

Some more datafaction for you today. First up, which diva is ruling the internets? Let us consult the might oracle Google to see which artist tops the search engine out of Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Madonna, and Keisha (without the money sign).

Figure 1. Search volume index versus time for the search terms Gaga, Beyonce, Madonna, Taylor Swift, and Ke$ha. Data provided by Google Trends(c) and accessed on May 18th, 2010.

Lady Gaga's popularity exploded and has cast her as the dominant diva to date.  Even Taylor Swift's drama dwarfs the peak searches for Lady Gaga.  Beyonce comes in a distant second with Taylor Swift and Madonna coming in about third.  Keisha (or Kei$ha) will be discussed at the end.  However, do not discount the power of Beyonce, let's zoom into New York City.

Figure 2. Search volume index for New York City, NY for the search terms Gaga, Beyonce, Madonna, Taylor Swift, and Keisha. Data provided by Google Trends(c) and accessed on May 18th, 2010.

While Lady Gaga may be Queen of the World, Beyonce dominates her in the City that Never Sleeps.  And Madonna still has global staying power, look at Italy.

Figure 2. Search volume index for Italy for the search terms Gaga, Beyonce, Madonna, Taylor Swift, and Keisha. Data provided by Google Trends(c) and accessed on May 18th, 2010.

NOTE: In the bar graphs, Kesha is spelled wrong, the search term was correct though.

Now back to Kesha (or Ke$ha, or what have you). The problem she is facing is that most people know her song and not her. Nearly as many people have searched for the song "Tik Tok" as they have "Kesha". So, she hasn't reached stardom yet, her music is just a little catchy (and poppy annoying).

Ramona Falls - Russia

I've posted previously about Ramona Falls, but they just released a new video for "Russia", the song that originally made me listen to this band. The video is really well done and pretty humorous as well, and in a way, teaches a good lessen. Sometimes you have to let go. Sometimes you have to escape.

Gorillaz' Plastic Beach - Success or Otherwise?

The Gorillaz released Plastic Beach nearly five years after their mega-hit Demon Days hit the shelves. The two albums offer slightly different stylistic sounds from the band, but overall are very similar and would appeal to the same audience. So, how do the releases compare? Let's consult the graph below...

Figure 1. Search Volume Index versus Time. Data provided by Google(c) Trends with a search term of Gorillaz.

From the graph, note that the maximum search volume index for Plastic Beach is nearly 3/5 of what it was for Demon Days. Thus, the trend suggests that there could exist a decrease in the popularity of either the album or the Gorillaz in general. Before we jump off the bridge here, several distinctions need to be made. First, the decline could be representative of other factors including listeners using streaming services like Pandora and Last.fm. Second, Plastic Beach has only been available for two months, therefore a second boom could occur a little after the release date. However, the previous pulse suggests that the peak has passed.

Overall, I would say it is a successful album. Unfortunately, the time between releases, lack of tours, and artists occupied with side projects may have thinned out those who are interested in the Gorillaz. But hey, they are still super stars, maybe not mega-stars like Lady Gaga... look for tomorrow's post on her.

Enjoy a nice stop motion video from Plastic Beach for "Some Kind of Nature".

Back, after a small hiatus...

After a small hiatus, I am back to blogging. I decided to take a break to do my other more time consuming job of science, yay!

However, while data-mining for my research, I began to think about the state of music today. Essentially, there are SO many bands, musical styles, and fads that come and go very quickly. You are essentially defined by what you listen to. In conversations, people tend to ask "who do you listen to" and the overlap tends to show similar personality traits, age, and background. How did we get here?

During the dawn of rock-and-roll, there was limited access to both recording studios and national exposure. The Ed Sullivan show was a platform to expose the average American viewer to bands such as the Doors, Beatles, and Rolling Stones. Music's transportation was also much more limited due to being on vinyl.

As technology progressed inside the studio and out, the cost for recording and exposure plummeted. The a-track, tape cassette, and compact disc revolutionized the way music could be stored and transported. Listening to your favorite bands moved from your bedroom to the street. You could also broadcast to the world what you listened to via boomboxes. More radio stations came online allowing a diversification in the interest of the listener. Communities of listeners could be established with the same taste.

Additionally, some artists began to explore unique sounds to gain an edge (Brian Eno with ambient, the synth revolution) while others stuck to formulas to seek pop star fame. Thus, subclasses of certain genres hit.

Two of the most important factors that have propelled the music industry to where it is today is the dropping cost of quality recordings and the ability to mass distribute a song without a major record label contract. Enter the era of the MP3. Although the roots of indie recording stretches way back (the Pixies, Smiths, etc.), the number, diversity, and popularity of independent and main-stream post-independent bands is due to the digitalization of music. Allowing music to be compressed in an easily stored, listened to, and transported file essentially broke open the music scene.

Just some evolutionary thoughts on music for you today. I may follow this post up later with some statistical analysis, because that is the frame of mind I am in!

Sigur Ros

Wednesday seems like a Sigur Ros day. Enjoy!

Drake - Find Your Love

I am only posting this to say that Drake live was one of the worst performances I have ever seen. His rhymes were lazy and prepackaged, his crowd engagement missed the mark, and his performance of his own material fell well short of entertaining. I think the crowd of drunken undergrads sang most of his lyrics for him. Overall, I am disappointed with the taste of music the Slope Day Programming Board sees fit to bring to Cornell University. Ithaca College had a much better representation of Indie music that seems more appropriate for my generation and the students who attend both schools. However, they are also not as Frat based. Off my soap box for now.

WhoMadeWho - Keep Me in My Plane

The Danish trio WhoMadeWho is starting to gain notoriety. They were one of the featured artists at the famous indie SXSW music festival. Overall, their sound is combining indie rock with dance punk. They are also legendary live performers, so add them to a list of bands I would like to see live... Enjoy "Keep Me in My Plane" off of their 2009 album The Plot.

The Chemical Brothers - Swoon

The band who won't quit, the Chemical Brothers, are releasing their new album Further this June. They have weathered the rise and fall of electronica/big beat and along the way continued to produce stellar albums. Overall, by sticking to their own sound and the collapse of the majority of the bands around them, the Chemical Brothers are left a unique voice. Although some of their music borders on the line of retro sounds, it is hard to call the Chemical Brothers throwbacks since they were producing albums when many of their competitors in the indie music scene were not even born yet. Enjoy the new video "Swoon" from their album. Additionally, find "Hey Girl, Hey Boy" below.

Ratatat

Ratatat is releasing their new album LP4. They are known for their techno infused rock and overall craziness. "Mirando" is a prime example. The song has a fairly simple construction, but set the music to remixed images of The Predator and suddenly you have a modern classic (okay, maybe not but it is still awesome). "Shempi" from the same album is below.

Silversun Pickups - Substitution

An older song from the Silversun Pickups. "Substitution" is off their 2009 album Swoon. The style of the video slightly reminds me of St. Vincents "Actor Out of Work". Enjoy!

Lazer Crystal - Love Rhombus

Welcome back 80s. Thirty year retro for Lazer Crystal's 2010 album MCMLXXX. I'm not sure I am enjoying all of this 80s throw back, making ME feel old.

On Music Matters

The Black Keys - Next Girl

Ah, the Black Keys. Overly sexualized women. A singing T-Rex hand puppet. 70's glitz and glam. Sprinkle in some awesome southern, blues infused indie rock and suddenly you have the sound and style of the video for "Next Girl" off of their upcoming 2010 album Brothers. To note, this is not the first video of theirs with a T-Rex hand puppet...

Daft Punk - Technologic

Just a Daft Punk Sunday.

The Dodos - Fools

The San Francisco based Dodos have been producing high quality American Idie Rock since 2005. "Fools" is off their 2008 album Visiter. Since then, they released the 2009 album Time to Die. Overall, their sound is very similar to bands such as the Antlers, Bear in Heaven, and the Animal Collective. Enjoy!