For the sixth year now, the
Village Voice in New York has sponsored the
Siren Music Festival, attracting headliners such as Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Modest Mouse and Death Cab For Cutie in years past and making a name for itself - well, sort of - in the indie rock underground.
But this year's festival, held this past weekend in New York, was about as lame as an indie rock festival in New York City can be.
With the exception of Voxtrot, a fairly popular indie outfit from Austin, the line-up and performers were a bust to indie fans, and especially to New York Times' snippy music critic Kelefa Sanneh:
Among other things, Sanneh wrote, the festival was missing "a hint of Brooklyn’s ethnic and musical diversity; a reminder that nonpopular [sic] music can be noisy or chaotic or dangerous; thrills. With a few exceptions the lineup felt full of second and third choices...to indie-rock fans outside the city this nit-picking probably seems crazy," Sanneh wrote. (Editors at the NYT: The correct word is unpopular, not nonpopular. Come on folks!)
"But this is New York, and this summer especially, fans of indie and indie-friendly music have been embarrassed by riches."
So, I guess I won't plan to go to the Siren Music Festival 2008; there are so many others that are worth going to, usually that cost money which can be a downside for indie rock fans who cannot afford to go to festivals or concerts.
Then again, thanks to the Internet, anyone with a computer and a connection can pretty much see any band they like perform. But it still doesn't compare at all to actually being there.
Labels: Death Cab For Cutie, Indie Rock Artists, Indie Rock Concerts, Indie Rock Festivals, Modest Mouse, Music Concerts, Siren Music Festival, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Each week, IRC posts the Top 20 Indie Countdown (aka "the weekly play"), highlighting great songs from indie bands from today and yesterday. Please support your indie bands by also visiting their websites.
Top 20 Indie Rock Countdown: Week of Dec. 171. "Chariot" - Page France from Hello, Dear Wind (2006) - Suicide Records
2. "The Night Will Go As Follows" - The Spill Canvas from Sunsets And Car Crashes - One Eleven Records
3. "No Complaints" - Beck from The Information
4. "Space Travel Is Boring" - Sun Kil Moon from Ghosts of the Great Highway
5. "She's So Cold" - The Golden Republic from The Golden Republic 
6. "The Start of Something" - Voxtrot from Raised By Wolves EP
7. "Shine The Light" - Wolf Parade from Apologies to Queen Mary
8. "We Both Go Together" - The Decemberists from Picaresque
9. "Sand" - Pokett from Your Picture Here
10. "Sun A.M." - Moonbabies from The Orange Billboard
11. "Cathie Cline" - R. Stevie Moore from I Killed The Monster
12. "Los Feliz Arms" - Sunday's Best from The Californian
13. "Boardline Creep" - The Matches from E. Von Dahl Killed The Locals
14. "Black Tongue" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs from Fever To Tell
15. "Song For The Angels" - Great Lake Swimmers from Bodies and Minds
16. "Grey Machine" - Pinback from Offcell
17. "On/Off" - Snow Patrol from When It's All Over We Have To Clear Up
18. "The Art of Losing" - American Hi-Fi from The Art of Losing
19. "I Saw Three Ships" - Sufjan Stevens from The Christmas Songs
20. "Honey I Sure Miss You" - Lumberob from I Killed The Monster
Note: We always welcome your suggestions and feedback. Place a comment to discuss the playlist. There is no registeration or ads popping up to make a comment. It's fast and easy. Indie Rock Cafe Radio Podcasts will be available in coming weeks and will be much like the Top 20 Indie songs. If you want to be alerted when the Podcasts are available send an to sunmoonrain at Gmail.com. In the subject line type: "Subscribe Indie Podcast."
Labels: American Hi-Fi, Indie MP3s, Indie Music Series, Indie PlayList, Indie Podcasts, Pinback, Pokett, Snow Patrol, Voxtrot, Wolf Parade, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
