Editorial: The sound of 2010?
Thanks to the BBC Sound of 2010 poll, Stornoway is now on the musical map. Well the Oxford band is, not the Hebridean town.And that's about as Scottish as the record industry in 2010 is going to get, if you believe the BBC's 'tastemakers'.
In case you haven't yet heard, this is the list of names and locations of the artists who will be soundtracking next year:
Daisy Dares You - London
Delphic - Manchester
Devlin - Essex
The Drums - New York
Everything Everything - Manchester
Giggs - London
Gold Panda - London
Ellie Goulding - Powys, Wales
Hurts - Manchester
Joy Orbison - Croydon
Marina And The Diamonds - London
Owl City - Minnesota
Rox - London
Stornoway - Oxford
Two Door Cinema Club - Northern Ireland
The main criteria for the annual predictor game, which always ladles each act with a generous helping of hype, is that the artists tipped must not have had a top 20 single or album before mid-November.
Now we're not implying that any of the acts we've featured in the past year should necessarily have been included, because potential unit-shifting is not one of the criteria we adopt at UtR. But there are Scottish acts who could potentially make a commercial breakthrough but are conspicuous by their absence. Unicorn Kid, Broken Records or Young Fathers, to name a few.
If this sounds eerily familiar, then you may remember our last editorial debate, 'Does thinking local mean staying local?', where we lamented the flat-out rejection of four of Scotland's most exciting bands by a London-based music editor.
Disheateningly, the massed ranks of the music media appear to be resolutely stationed down south, and from 136 pundits, the BBC hasn't enlisted the help of anyone in the Scottish scene. If a music supervisor for Hollyoaks is deemed an expert, then where are the Scottish radio DJs, magazine editors, critics and label scouts?
We don't want to come across as bitter, Saltire-waving nationalists, but surely our native music makers deserve better recognition than they're currently receiving on a UK-wide level.
What do you think?
Is the BBC poll a good representation of cutting edge music, or is it unfairly weighted towards London?
Labels: BBC, editorial, Sound of 2010
16 Comments:
fairly outrageous that some of the people on that "expert" list could in anyway be deemed to have their ear to the underground.. i'm surprised they didn't ask mr simon cowell, surely his input would have been just as valid as some of those on there..
regardless, if/when something does come out of scotland to be the "sound of 2010" - whatever that even is - it'll only be to the detriment of the bbc's entertainment section not to have picked up on it. and by then, this list will probably have been forgotten about anyway.
I agree, the annual Sound of... lists rarely tell us anything new, and you're right, nobody really cares after January.
But the worrying trend here is the complete disregard for anything north of Lancashire. They could have at least let their own Vic Galloway have a vote surely?
The UK industry seems to be centred around London, in the same way that the Scottish industry is centred around Glasgow. If you look at the picks for T break, it was v much dominated by Glasgow acts in the way that London is over represented here.
such is life, no point in dwelling on it I reckon.
Ian
The Colourful Band.
ps Merry Christmas when it comes.
I think that the music media in general is geared towards london and to a lesser extent england in general.partly because it has more bands to choose from and partly because they're lazy.although i reckon broken records weren't included because they already have an album out (which in the media makes them not exciting anymore)
I also wonder how many of these acts had a helping hand in being introduced to the bbc 'experts'. i don't think you can ever remove label influence from any discussion on music lists or 'rising star' blogs etc. this site being the exception :)
i agree that scottish acts in particular deserve more recognition down south but i think that in itself is the problem. why are acts classified so staunchly in where they create their music? a 'scottish band' is immediately a different entity. noone within the uk ever says 'bloc party, yeah they're english'- noone cares where they're from.they will know instinctively from his voice but they don't care/categorise them by that.whereas frightened rabbit are a 'scottish band'.It somehow makes a band less worthy of attention/easily dismissed because they have their own group or something.at least thats how it seems. the music should count irrespective of where it came from. and i ask how many of these selected bands will produce a genuinely good album next year, rather than a money spinning nme touted bag of warm horse shit.i take solace in the knowledge that a scottish band will likely produce something of worth in 2010 rather than make some stupid list....
I think it's an AWFUL list & another example why such nonsense speculation (along with the contrived re-ordering & re-location of nostalgia via 'Best Of' lists) should be binned.
By 'awful' I don't mean it's geographically unrepresentative*, instead I'm referring to the piss poor 'choices' the so-called taste makers have 'chosen'.
Looking at this dreadful, lazy list it is fairly obvious who the BBC are inevitably going to push in 2010 (both Welsh, by the way, even though M&tD is listed by their current abode, rather than place of birth): these are pre-determined 'careers' & the Beeb'll gladly coat-tail them in order to trumpet the "you heard them here first"s.
Essentially this list is a couple of sure / safe bets surrounded by hipper than thou scensters on the periphery of "who gives a shit?".
With regards to the likes of Ellie Goulding, possibly the most likely to top this tip list, you don't pump the likes of Mark Ronson into what is essentially a mash-up of the early, pre-hysteria bedroom demo versions of Kate Nash, Florence & The Machine & Little Boots without knowing there'll be payback. The Beeb recognize this much, at least. Hell, somuchso, Jools et al have already cemented her rise to mediocrity, albeit with annoyingly chirpy, but thoroughly tuneless, crystal edged bpm synth pop monstrosities.
Yesterday I asked via Twitter if anyone could explain why Ellie Goulding was going to be big as predicted by Wales & the BBC.
No one replied.
I made some throwaway remark about no one with any sanity giving a foreskin about this Kate-Nash-alike, but the truth is I was interested in why people liked someone so, um, not manufactured but certainly life-styled & why they couldn't tell the difference between one cosmetic overcoat & another.
Madly, Goulding, who I had no idea was following us, messaged me with 'shhh!'.
Upon further investigation I found she had issued the same rebuke to 2 other twitterers who had dared to question her inclusion on the list.
A fan of Goulding's got in touch & told me she will be huge “cos she has a brilliant voice & stuff”. I asked fan’s opinion on the marked transformation from bedroom demo to unrecognizable over-produced panic sound (a la Marina, Florence, Nash, Emmy, etc.), which I saw as a result of the amount of $$$ sitting the other side of the production desk.
Fan believed this new 'sound' is exactly what she thinks Goulding wanted to sound like before, during the myspace/shitty pub acoustic gig days, but wasn’t able to until the likes of Frankmusik came along & tweaked her silly.
I asked fan if they were saying it was the accessory that had the talent & not the raw project.
No answer.
I think it's best to leave it that way. You know, ignore it, her, the list, & trot on.
*Broken Records have to get a little less Hothouse Flowers meets Del Amitri in their production & tunesmithery if they ever stand a chance of crossing over as a ‘big thing’.
Joy Orbison is a great name/pun for a band.
I quite like Everything Everything.
Under the Radar should publish a blog with their tips for 2010. Scottish naturally!
For the record, mine would be (and because I like them, not because I think they will be massive);
Futuristic Retro Champions - unashamedly pop, they have taken their time developing and now have an amazing selection of songs. Releasing their debut EP in February.
Nevada Base - if these guys lived in New York City they would be massive. Dancefloor fillers, superb.
Seventeenth Century - brilliant sounds. Passionate and heartfelt.
Burnt Island - I've not seen them live yet but their songs on myspace sound very promising.
The Second Hand Marching Band - ambitious project full of fun. Check out their song 'Don't' on myspace
Sonny Marvello - with ambitions that rise above the majority of bands on the gig circuit and songs to match, this is a band that could take off in 2010 and leave others trailing in their wake. Vintage style with soul with a pop twist.
That BBC list is notorious for being the kiss of death for most of the bands who end up on it. Be grateful there's no-one you know or like on it.
Sorry, are we really getting fed up here because we aren't producing more boring pop stars? We've got loads of them already - Calvin Harris, Paolo Nutini, The Fratellis - y'know, the kind of Scottish act that the BBC generally favours, being one of the biggest media institutions in the world. The more people take part in this kind of poll, the more likely that safe picks will rise into the top ten - it's the nature of consensus. The BBC has to cater to all its taxpaying audience - not just the music geeks - and, if we can escape our little bubble for a minute, 99.9% of BBC-funders haven't heard of any of these people. They WILL begin to hear these artists on Radio 1 next year: job done. Personally, I'd be far more interested in e.g. Lukowski's tips for next year than the Daily Star pundit, but then DiS isn't a 5-million-per-week-selling print publication, is it?
PS. that last Marina & The Diamonds single was actually quite good
PPS. 2009 has been an awesome year for Scottish music. Seven(!) entries in the Skinny's top 50 for the decade, wildly disproportionate, particularly so because canons take time to form and so e.g. the Pitchfork list hugely undervalues 2007/8/9 records). And that seven didn't even include Danananaykroyd, Hudson Mohawke or There Will Be Fireworks. So let's stop handwringing about what bloody London thinks.
So do you think it's quite acceptable that no-one in Scotland was consulted? Yes, the poll is predictable, and no, we don't need to be spoon-fed new music, but it's the geographical imbalance that's unsettling. It's the British Broadcasting Corporation, and the last time I checked that still included Scotland.
The voters were also told this: "They should be the best, most exciting acts, in your opinion. Please base your choices on quality, not on hype or size of record deal."
So they touted it as most exciting, not most commercial, although this obviously hasn't materialised.
Just to reiterate my point, I'm not remotely troubled by this poll or its impact, it's the assumption that the only people with their fingers on the pulse reside within the M25.
Well fucking said, Ally.
Nick, very good point. fair enough that we can dismiss the selections/experts but the problem is that scotland didn't even have any experts contributing, completely ignoring that scottish music has people involved who can offer a valid opinion. Basically they assume that if 'experts' down south don't know about a scottish band then they ain't worth knowing.
Its pretty terrible if that is the assumption but in lieu of anyone wising up, it just highlights the need for scottish bands to play more outside of scotland and raise the profile of scottish music to a point where it really can't be ignored anymore.
It's just been announced Ellie Goulding has won the BRITs Critics Choice award for 2010.
So it begins...
i think it's just another way that the BBC (and mainstream media in general) have proved how out of touch they are with what's actually going on. Which makes it even more important that music blogs and sites exist like this one exist. To make sure there are people reporting on what's happening outside of London, and outside of mainstream/safe bet territory.
I think it's worth pointing out that on (london based) Drowned in Sound, two of the last three singles of the week have been by Scottish bands (North Atlantic Oscillation, and now Meursault.)
Hello
I was one of the so called 'experts' who voted on this years list, and yes I am based 'down south' (Portsmouth to be exact - you can't get more south than that).
For the record the three acts I voted for were Ellie Goulding, Stornoway and Unicorn Kid.
My voting was not influenced in any way by where bands came from. You mention Broken Records in your post, but they are not particularly a 'new' band anymore in my opinion, having released an album and therefore I didn't even consider them in voting.
The list is also notable for its absence of Swedish, Canadian etc bands who have to a certain extent in the past done well in the UK, so its not just a Scottish thing.
In my opinion, your article raises some valid points however. For example Marina and the Diamonds is half welsh / half greek but had to move to London to get noticed. (Although one of the first people to expose her was actually an American blogger, who is now Neon Gold Records !)
As for those who make comments about the list being rubbish - well, opinions on music are entirely subjective, so fair enough. However I would say this - it is very easy to spend 5 minutes on the internet writing a cynical comment. Much harder to spend months (or years) developing your talent, skill and levels of exposure to put yourself in a position where you are in a position to possibly get voted onto the list. Irrespective of what you think of this years list, it is a great tool for new artists to gain mainstream exposure that isn't via a route such as X Factor, and for that reason alone it should be celebrated. Even although the list isn't about 'the next big thing' a look at last years list shows artists such as Florence and the Machine, White Lies and La Roux all being named who all went on to have significant commercial success, so it shows that at least someone agreed with the voters choices.
I've just posted a blog on some of these thoughts and more on my blog www.breakingmorewaves.blogspot.com
Some fair points there BMWB.
Nick: "The voters were also told this: "They should be the best, most exciting acts, in your opinion. Please base your choices on quality, not on hype or size of record deal." So they touted it as most exciting, not most commercial, although this obviously hasn't materialised."
that's a false distinction you're making there Nick, because what a lot of people (and this poll did ask 136 pundits!) find exciting is likely to be very similar to what is also "commercial". Almost by definition. Like I said, it's the BBC, we can hardly expect them to be listing My Kappa Roots. Maybe an artist like that could theoretically get two or three votes but in such a huge poll they're going to be at the bottom end, not in the top fifteen. And if they DID make the top 15, it'd be because something about them was "commercially viable".
But yeah, the BBC should've consulted a few Scots, Vic Galloway being an obvious omission.
If you go to the "fanzine" section of the Pin Ups site http://www.pinup-nights.co.uk you'll find a spoof "sound of 2010" article written about a month ago which is a pretty good summary of my thoughts on this (I actually named Ellie Goulding and Marina & the Diamonds as I think they are the most shameful record company acts on the list).
I think Everything Everything, Stornoway and 2 Door Cinema Club are not bad.
Delphic have been getting hyped now for about a year so there's an agenda there - tagian, they're not bad, but have failed to come up with the big hit single industry folk want them to produce.
Anyway the scandal here which I actually wnated to write about is the lack of Scots being consulted. How can they justify that?
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