"Rock music for dance fans"

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Spinning off from something Ronan said, it's been noticeable over the past couple of years that certain guitar acts have a tendency to pop up in Muzik and so forth every so often while others will be overlooked almost entirely. Excluding Radiohead, I'm talking Doves, Kings of Convenience, Lambchop, Badly Drawn Boy, the Beta Band, Jim O'Rourke and a few others.

Aside from the fact that virtually everything quiet qualifies as "chillout" in this day and age, why are this lot popping up where the likes of Elliot Smith or Sparklehorse or even Mercury Rev wouldn't? What is it about this group of more or less unrelated bands that attracts people who (speaking in broad demographics here) wouldn't otherwise listen to guitar music?

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Tuesday, 24 September 2002 17:18 (twenty-three years ago)

i dont know about the rest but the betas have like this ninja understanding of dance music, even their guitar tracks are crafted with builds and shit and half the time theyre using beats anyway!!

― simon trife (simon_tr), Tuesday, 24 September 2002 17:24 (twenty-three years ago)

I've seen Mercury Rev get good reviews on Ministry.

― Michael Bourke, Tuesday, 24 September 2002 17:46 (twenty-three years ago)

fuckin' TRANS AM...

and I'd hardly call Kings of Convenience, Lambchop or Badly Drawn Boy 'Rock' music

― rms (rms), Tuesday, 24 September 2002 17:55 (twenty-three years ago)

and I'd hardly call Kings of Convenience, Lambchop or Badly Drawn Boy 'Rock' music

eh?

― gareth (gareth), Tuesday, 24 September 2002 21:19 (twenty-three years ago)

eh?

They don't RAWK, DUDE!!

― Daniel_Rf, Tuesday, 24 September 2002 21:35 (twenty-three years ago)

probably has something to do with their embrace of surge-and-ebb dynamics, and their studio craftery, and the fact that most of those above-named sound fucking STONED all the time. (and also that frankly most dance-folk have lousy fucking taste in rock music, and vice versa)

― M Matos (M Matos), Tuesday, 24 September 2002 21:36 (twenty-three years ago)

cause none of the bands you mentioned actually make anything approaching traditionnal rock. they just happen to use real guitars occasionally.

I generally despise *rock* but think that yeah most of these artists are making good music mostly. you could add..
Yo La Tengo, Stereolab, even Tortoise get mentioned a bit in Dance mags.

― dsico (dsico), Wednesday, 25 September 2002 00:12 (twenty-three years ago)

have there ever been any rock covers of dance tunes (80s and onward)?

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 25 September 2002 04:41 (twenty-three years ago)

if you count it as "dance," Juno did a very nice version of DJ Shadow's "High Noon"

― M Matos (M Matos), Wednesday, 25 September 2002 04:49 (twenty-three years ago)

The aforementioned Yo La have a nice disco cover but that's not post 80's.

― bnw (bnw), Wednesday, 25 September 2002 05:52 (twenty-three years ago)

Yeah, first Yo La Tengo song I ever heard was their cover of Tainted Love! Can't remember if it was good or not tho, it was about 1992...

― Charlie (Charlie), Wednesday, 25 September 2002 06:38 (twenty-three years ago)

There have been numerous punky covers of The Rockafella Skank, mostly played in dismal Camden toilets.

I heard a student band play an ACE live version of Red Alert once as well.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Wednesday, 25 September 2002 06:51 (twenty-three years ago)

some years back Therapy? did a rock version of Shadow's 'High Noon'. more recently, Dillinger Escape Plan and Mike Patton did a predictably underwhelming version of 'Come To Daddy'.

I believe it was Snuff who did the Rockafella Skank cover.

― Wyndham Earl, Wednesday, 25 September 2002 08:48 (twenty-three years ago)

Gomez do 'Pump Up The Volume' sometimes...but i'm not sure if its actually good...

Doves do 'Space Face' but then they would...

― blueski, Wednesday, 25 September 2002 09:27 (twenty-three years ago)

Are Public Enemy still the rock fan's rap group?

― Andrew L (Andrew L), Wednesday, 25 September 2002 09:30 (twenty-three years ago)

No, Public Enemy are the most-music-fan's rap group.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Wednesday, 25 September 2002 10:17 (twenty-three years ago)

Miocene do a cover of "Why Hip Hop Sucks In 96", called "Why Metal Sucks In 2002". Exactly the same song, though.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Wednesday, 25 September 2002 10:19 (twenty-three years ago)

There was a Radiohead/Massive Attack connection at one point (not quite sure what th plan was), & Arab Strap seem to appeal to both.

― Jez (Jez), Wednesday, 25 September 2002 14:51 (twenty-three years ago)

I guess those bands get mentioned coz they go for that kinda hypnotic build up thing or a tad whimsical and maybe they use beats sometimes.

I don't know the answer.

― jel -- (jel), Wednesday, 25 September 2002 15:06 (twenty-three years ago)

The Martini Bros remix of TokTok vs Soffy O - "Missy Queen's Gonna Die" is less a remix than a rock version.... sounds a little like if Stereolab had kept on with their Jenny Ondioline type kick.

I bought a Stereolab album in Glasgow in 94, the one w/Jenny Ondioline on it I think, and my mates were thrilled - they were all big acid house and techno heads. This alb looked very promising, what with the name of the album and all the pix of analogue wheels and knobs etc - it was quite an anticlimax when I dropped the needle. I'm trying to think what rock they liked then.... none really.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 25 September 2002 15:46 (twenty-three years ago)

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