News came out yesterday via Rolling Stone that the Ween in no more. My first reaction was, "I thought there were already done." So it got me thinking about a few bands that have been turning up on my iPod in shuffle mode that had me curious about their current status. Broken-up, in limbo or M.I.A.? Time to troll wikipedia and old myspace pages to find the answer.
Black Kids: The Florida band is the best evidence of internet over-hyped. CMJ 2007 they were the band on every body's must-see list. 2008 was their big breakout year -- sold out shows, airplay, song placement, beloved status. Now ask yourself, when was the last time you thought about this band? Their website, http://www.blackkidsmusic.com/, is no longer active. Opps, somebody didn't pay the bill. On their twitter feed, they've posted when their song was used on TV sitcoms. Now, that's progress. Owen Holmes at least has been busy with his Gospel Music project.
The Vines: Get Free, Outtathaway! and the car-selling tune Ride got the Australian garage rockers into people's hearts. When you have to look at Wikipedia to see if a band is still around, it's time to consider another line of work. From wiki: On 30 March 2012, The Vines' Facebook page changed its profile picture to a single previously unseen promotional photo of Craig, strongly implying that he is now the only remaining member of the band. Yup, time to go off into that big clearance bin in the sky.
The Mooney Suzuki: When the band first started out in the 2000s, they were a fantastic live act. I saw them at Maxwell's during the Electric Sweat days and it was loud and insane. Then they got Avril Lavigne's production crew The Matrix to mainstream their sound on Alive & Amplified, and that took out the band's edgy garage rock vibe. Have Mercy was their last in 2007. Now, nothing. File this under inactivity.
Louis XIV: Chocolate girl, you're looking like something I want (finding out true love is blind). Ah and your little Asian friend she can come if she wants (finding out true love is blind) This band had one-hit wonder written all over them. Thus, this is why they are defunct. I remember when I saw them during Wireless Festival and everybody was waiting for to play that one song, so they can go back to not paying attention to them.
The Propellerheads: If there ever was an outfit that never capitilized on their sudden success, it's the DJ/producing duo Will White and Alex Gifford. They were one and done with their only album, 1998's Decksandrumsandrockandroll. It was the following year when their major hit, Spybreak!, scored one of the best, most innovative shootouts in cinema history in The Matrix. Other songs on that Dreamworks album appeared in iconic ads and TV shows. Since then, not a peop from the duo, with Gifford doing production work for the Jungle Brothers and Rufus Wainwright.
Embrace: The veteran British band didn't make much of a dent in the U.S. market even when Embrace superfan Chris Martin wrote "Gravity" for their album, Out of Nothing. That got them their first U.S. release. I went to their Bowery Ballroom show back in the day, and I remember being a little lost when they played their back catalog. Since then, they haven't returned. BUT! They are back in 2012, with activity on their social networks and dropping hints of a new album. Don't all clamor to their website at the same time, you don't want to bring it down.
Travis: Another one of those bands that creep into my ipod on shuffle mode, which causes me to skip past them. Just not bothered to remove them. Heck, "When Does It Always Rain On Me" might score my mood at the right time. Hey man, The Man Who was the bomb back in 1998. It was a polarizing album because you either fell for the melancholy or dismissed it as bed-wetter music. Since them, they had that song "Sing" and holy crap! they've released three albums since then. I didn't even know. Or I knew about it but chose to forget it. I know Fran Healy has been around New York playing solo shows, but I guess Travis is still plugging away waiting for a revival. The band is aiming for 2013 for a new album and a few summer festival in Europe to get them in the music making mood.
It's interesting to see all these recent bands disappearing so suddenly. It would be cool to see some of them come back.
Posted by: Felix Wankel | June 02, 2012 at 02:54 AM