Franz Ferdinand have gone platinum, and the Killers are no. 8 in the albums charts - does this mean anything, well, culturally?

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I'm not wild about either band (think the Killers are quite bad), so have no vested interest...but they are both...well, y'know (insert: glam / dance / neo-post punk, or whatever). If this proves that the market is there in the US, is it silly to speak of a cultural shift amongt (a portion of) America's youth? Or is it just a couple of catchy singles?

― paulhw (paulhw), Thursday, 17 March 2005 21:57 (twenty-one years ago)

PLATINUM? Did the Strokes go platinum?

― David Allen (David Allen), Thursday, 17 March 2005 21:58 (twenty-one years ago)

ROCK IS BACK!

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 17 March 2005 21:59 (twenty-one years ago)

That nutty rock!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:00 (twenty-one years ago)

I think we're approaching maximum burnout in the neo-post-punk phenom. Between those guys and the Bloc Party (who I finally heard and actually quite like), the Futureheads, the Bravery, etc. etc. etc. ....well, let's just say that when the band everyone is borrowing from is roused from its Godzilla-like sleep and actually starts touring again (that being Gang of Four), then its probably a good time to try something new.

Not that the Killers sound like Gang of Four, mind you.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:01 (twenty-one years ago)

its probably a good time to try something new

Yay! Indie rock influenced by Destiny's Child!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:01 (twenty-one years ago)

alt radio (what's left of it) is just now completely breaking down to new rock, easing out/aside/beside latelatelate grunge and what's left of nu metal. same thing happened sorta with alt-radio last time (alt-radio completely gaining a foothold 93 or so, a while after nevermind - it takes awhile to make the switch), only last time it was actual changing of formats (ie. A REVOLUTION MAN! WE WON! ROCK WAS BACK!), now it's a shift within the format.

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:03 (twenty-one years ago)

Yay! Indie rock influenced by Destiny's Child!

I suddenly see the direction of the next Maroon 5 record.

― Jeff Reguilon (Talent Explosion), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:04 (twenty-one years ago)

ned have you heard "independent room"?

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:04 (twenty-one years ago)

it's a cultural lurch

― Sven Bastard (blueski), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:09 (twenty-one years ago)

It's the return of disco.

― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:10 (twenty-one years ago)

LET'S DO THE TIME WARP AGAIN!

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:11 (twenty-one years ago)

it's a cultural lurch heh, nice phrase. Yeah, I was checking the RIAA site cos I was bored at work, and FF have sold 1.1 million in the US.
Haven't exactly noticed a surfeit of young men in tight striped button-up shirts, but maybe music and youth culture don't fit in quite the same way anymore.

― paulhw (paulhw), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:13 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, the cultural signifcance of this in the States (two bands have minor success) is insignificant compared to what it is in the UK (if you're not a guitar band with an over-reliance on haircare products and a The Jam's back catalogue: you're not going top ten.)

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:14 (twenty-one years ago)

Haven't exactly noticed a surfeit of young men in tight striped button-up shirts

This past weekend I saw a couple of folks around here rockin' some kinda Interpol/FF/Hives 'look' -- all black, buttoned shirts, ties, etc.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:16 (twenty-one years ago)

kids like music that's danceable and about sex. Skinny ties and eyeliner are in.

― miccio (miccio), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:16 (twenty-one years ago)

i notice more high schoolers with long hair these days

― miccio (miccio), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:16 (twenty-one years ago)

This sounds about right.

My only worry is that with the shrinking number of alt-rock stations in the US, there won't be enough of a market for the shift to even be distinctly noticeable. Sad.

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:17 (twenty-one years ago)

This means the Mayan prophecies are coming true.

At some point in the near future, all those man made items, including white belts, black eyeliner tubes and burned copies of GO4's Entertainment are going to start attacking us.

Then the calendar ends, or something.

― Brooker Buckingham (Brooker B), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:20 (twenty-one years ago)

"History repeats itself; the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce."

- Karl Marx

― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Was new wave a tragedy?

― miccio (miccio), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:26 (twenty-one years ago)

Maybe not the whole thing, but surely some of those haircuts were.

― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:28 (twenty-one years ago)

with sting as fortinbras

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:30 (twenty-one years ago)

But to put this little mini-resurgence in perspective: Right Said Fred sold 5 million.

― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:34 (twenty-one years ago)

Cue the retro-grunge bands

― Keith C (kcraw916), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:38 (twenty-one years ago)

fishnet shirts?

(x-post)

― miccio (miccio), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:39 (twenty-one years ago)

the jesse mccartney album's gone platinum

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:39 (twenty-one years ago)

there's an upswell in beautiful souls these days

― miccio (miccio), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:40 (twenty-one years ago)

woah that john legend album is platinum too

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:40 (twenty-one years ago)

SOUL IS BACK

― miccio (miccio), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:41 (twenty-one years ago)

the NME are trying to force the term 'nu-gaze' on the world. despite this being a horrific phrase, and despite its present use being so woefully inappropriate (Ambulance Ltd?), i think that Shoegaze is the next indie rock sub-genre that should be reinvented. not MBV because that happens all the time, but the really terrible-good stuff like Adorable and early Ride. it's time the floppy haircut and the over-sized cardigan made a comeback.

― Lee F# (fsharp), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:47 (twenty-one years ago)

nu r all gaze

― mark s (mark s), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:50 (twenty-one years ago)

i always wanted to be in a band called Objectifying Gays

― miccio (miccio), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:51 (twenty-one years ago)

do these band stare at their 'nu' on stage?

― Hari A$hur$t (Toaster), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:56 (twenty-one years ago)

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:58 (twenty-one years ago)

that dude is the backdrop, band plays with backs to the audience as is traditional = gnu-gaze. ta da! it will be in the next NME, i assure you.

― Lee F# (fsharp), Thursday, 17 March 2005 22:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Did it mean anything when "Kid A" debuted at number one?

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 17 March 2005 23:00 (twenty-one years ago)

meant it was a slow week

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 17 March 2005 23:01 (twenty-one years ago)

It's high time Belinda Carlisle staged a serious comeback.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 17 March 2005 23:07 (twenty-one years ago)

Haven't exactly noticed a surfeit of young men in tight striped button-up shirts

This past weekend I saw a couple of folks around here rockin' some kinda Interpol/FF/Hives 'look' -- all black, buttoned shirts, ties, etc.

I haven't seen that around here, and I'm in a major college town. Then again, we are in a cultural backwater in the South...and the only station that plays FF within a 130-mile radius is in Albany, Georgia! (I'm a hundred miles south of there in Florida, mind you.)

― Quit glaring at Ian Riese-Moraine! He's mentally fraught! (Eastern Mantra), Thursday, 17 March 2005 23:45 (twenty-one years ago)

"..i think that Shoegaze is the next indie rock sub-genre that should be reinvented" - M83, Dykehouse, Bloc Party (just listen to "So Here We Are"), Doves, Ulrich Schnauss (make that all of MORR records), Mobius Band, Engineers, Asobi Seksu..........

Adorable - I always thought they sounded a lot more Bunnymen/ House of Love than Valentines. (The Stills = nu-Adorable?)

Really though, wasn't "shoegaze" an awfully lazy categorization to begin with. In retrospect, it seems like it was devised as a convenient means for the Britpress to level a group of bands with one fell swoop so it could move on to the adulation of Suede. The line between Just for a Day and Mezcal Head seems a little less than direct.

BTW, Modest Mouse went platinum too!

― Steve Gertz (sgertz), Friday, 18 March 2005 00:13 (twenty-one years ago)

dude come up to athens - PUHLENTY of faux franz ferdinands

― j blount (papa la bas), Friday, 18 March 2005 00:16 (twenty-one years ago)

faux strokes are still cooler

― j blount (papa la bas), Friday, 18 March 2005 00:16 (twenty-one years ago)

I know a lot of faux-Adam Greens.

― Gear! (can Jung shill it, Mu?) (Gear!), Friday, 18 March 2005 00:21 (twenty-one years ago)

GREAT music is back - finally. Thankyou Mr Flowers... your album is utterly tremendous, the first LP I reach for before going out now and - well - that "I never..." bit in Mr Brightside is just euphoric. The Killers are great, Franz are great - bring on the debut album from The Babyshambles and the next Raveonettes LP is what I say!

― Zarr, Friday, 18 March 2005 00:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Thankyou Mr Flowers

http://www.cwn.org.uk/skyblues/empics/players/emp-tim-flowers-020123-494309-180x250.jpg

Don't worry about it little buddy!

― Tim Flowers (Dom Passantino), Friday, 18 March 2005 00:30 (twenty-one years ago)

oh yeah i'd forgotten all about CIARA'S NEW COVER OF 'IN THE CITY' coming hard on the heels of girls aloud's 'TO HELL WITH POVERTY'. it sure is getting post-punky up in this bitch.

― N_RQ, Friday, 18 March 2005 09:04 (twenty-one years ago)

that got me really excited for half a second.

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Friday, 18 March 2005 09:07 (twenty-one years ago)

I can hear Girls Aloud doing "I love a man in Uniform" in my brane right now...

(Mind you, "Sound of the underground" owed something to "Shot by both sides" I always felt)

― mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 18 March 2005 09:08 (twenty-one years ago)

N_RQ I think the operative words were "guitar band" there

― DJ Mencap0))), Friday, 18 March 2005 09:38 (twenty-one years ago)

yeahbut the top ten is not full of guitar bands. or did dom mean that if you *are* a guitar band you have to be post-punky to go top ten? i don't know if this is true or not.

― N_RQ, Friday, 18 March 2005 09:41 (twenty-one years ago)

That is what he meant, I think. It's not entirely true, just magnified by the fact that none of these nominally post-punky bands would have sold in four figures until 2001 or so

― DJ Mencap0))), Friday, 18 March 2005 10:01 (twenty-one years ago)

John Legend is indeed a more positive thing for R&B than Franz Ferdinand and Killers are for rock.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Friday, 18 March 2005 10:33 (twenty-one years ago)

I was hoping that this was a random googler actually trying to adress this "Mr.Flowers" (who he?) No such luck.

― Daniel_Rf (Daniel_Rf), Friday, 18 March 2005 10:48 (twenty-one years ago)

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