Lets dumb this down a bit. Lets bring this down a first grade level, and mask it in the form of a question your teacher might ask while pointing to a brightly colored groups of objects in the book you are using:Which one of these do not belong?
Modest Mouse, Jimmy Eat World, Angels & Airwaves, Spoon, and Paramore.
My friends, there are two correct answers, and I'm sure a good amount of you who feel the same way I do (and you do) know what I am talking about.
In my opinion, the lineup for Not So Silent Night has been getting progressively worse each year. And I have only attended three years of this concert. Each time I went, it was fun to be there in the atmosphere and hear all these bands together. They mixed well, and the crowd was a good medley of different types of people. But I began to notice that there was always one major let down every year. Who can forget The White Stripe's bomb performance? Or the, er, shall we call them "sound issues" for Modest Mouse? I began to believe that this was what happened at NSSN: every year something bad just had to happen.
But this year, I never expected it to occur before I could even buy a ticket.
Upon hearing this lineup from my friend, I was infuriated. I was even angrier when they announced the order the bands would be playing in. I mean, lets be real people. They put Spoon second. Second. That gives them, what? A forty-five minute set? Hello Live 105. That is Britt Daniel. You are giving Britt Daniel a forty-five minute set. Spoon co-headlined Treasure Island Music Festival with Modest Mouse. And now you're throwing them into second place.
On top of this, they have managed to enclose Isaac Brock and Tom Delonge into the same backstage area. Enter Tom Delonge: whiney voice, cute face, pop-punk ruler of the universe of the former maniac fan band blink 182, who sported lyrics as "'I said I was the cops, and your husband's in jail. This state looks down on sodomy!' And that's about the time that bitch hung up on me." Since these frantic post-post-post teen days have passed, Tom has sacrificed himself to his new project, Angels & Airwaves, growing bangs over his eyes and dying his hair black.
Now enter Isaac Brock: Modest Mouse front man, grew up all over the North West, and lived in a shack for a good part of his adolescence. He has been accused for DUI, drug abuse, and has served jail time. Songs like "Shit Luck" demonstrate his immediate need for a bit of stirring up in his world, and not the prank phone call kind, with the opening being him yelling "This plane is definitely crashing!".
Now place these two in a glass box together and what is going to happen? Conduct the experiement yourself. Or attend NSSN this Friday night and watch.
To make matters worse, this so-called evening of celebration of independent music and the holidays is none of the above. Okay, so I made up the holidays part. But there is obviously some sort of correlation, what with it being December and the name of the freakin' gig. But the independent, anti-mainstream music? This sentiment has dissapeared.
I lost hope in Live 105 a long time ago, but I thought maybe this once a year outreach to the music community might still be their chance to demonstrate their real desires. Alas, no. Once again, I ask you to study the lineup. Modest Mouse have strong connections to the independent music scene, as they worked their way up through it, and Brock used to be at Sub-Pop (he signed Wolf Parade). Spoon have always been considered to be an American indie band. But Jimmy Eat World have been signed to a major label since day one. As have Angels & Airwaves, since Tom coming over from probably one of the most commerically successful bands of the past ten years aided that. Paramore, although more unknown than the previous two aforementioned, still have strong ties with MTV (their videos are constantly played) and VH1. You name the "music" channel, they are there.
Look, NSSN: I don't wanna totally bring you down. Because I think this show is a great idea! The three years I went, I had a great time. I'm not going to pretend I didn't. I loved it, Meg's drunken escapades and all! Because I loved it, I care about it's future. And by caring I am giving my opinion. That is all.
This Friday night, expect to see me in a cafe with some friends, having our first non-NSSN ever. It hurts, Live 105. It really does.
For your listening pleasure:
Modest Mouse - Shit Luck
Modest Mouse - Gravity Rides Everything
Spoon - The Infinite Pet
Spoon - Back To The Life
Angels & Airwaves - The Adventure
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