I forgot to blog about The Ting Tings! They’re awesome! I heard about them last year via the Guardian’s Band of the Day page, but at the time, I was amused by the name because a friend’s ex-girlfriend’s name is Ting (I even sent him the myspace link without listening to them myself). Later on I heard two of their songs. And they’re pure pop perfection. Brilliant beats, catchy tunes, and sufficient layering to satisfy multiple listens. And Katie White has a surprisingly strong voice for this kind of music (and she also seems to have buck teeth, which can be cute).
The Ting Tings — That’s Not My Name
[You can look for their videos on youtube. I'm not sure if I've seen them. But listen to the songs. They're great fun.]
Okay. See this is the thing about the internet. Why isn’t there a cute button combo for showing two thumbs up?
They are great. The Sounds, is what comes to my mind. Cracking good pop. Or should I say cracklingly. Aha. The red line. No such word. Nor am I allowed to spell it.
Dude, it seems all cool for a while till you realise that you cannot go to a shopping mall in the land without having to hear “They call me Hell, Mary Jo Lisa…”. It results in `Oh Shit, not again’ moments. Plus it does not help that locally you are known as Ting-Ting because some cougar can’t say your name right…
Woo hoo! Glad you liked them Sleel.
@T: We can’t deal with your domestic UK issues. Or your trysts with cougars.
Here I’m even impressed that Coldplay is on the radio. Hehe. (But Viva La Vida is actually rather good.)
Sorry Hanover. I didn’t mean it that way. You know that all the cool has been sucked out of a band when they use their music to sell ipods. “I ain’t faking, I ain’t freakin’, I want something unignorable…” But, damn her name, why did they have to be so catchy :-)
I don’t have any major issues with iPod commercials either. CSS let them use “Music Is My Hot Hot Sex” — and the song remains awesome. Even the Fratellis got a song on an iPod ad. Since I hardly watch TV, it’s no biggie in terms of annoyance.
And anyone who thinks that bands should operate as non-profit organizations is a bit deluded. I like (some) indie because of how it sounds, not the fact that the label is owned by two chubby musos from the Midwest.
(Sorry if that was a bit rant-like.)
Autobhan (sic), haven’t we had this discussion before? 9th comment from the bottom (or 39th comment in):
http://ahashakeheartbreak.wordpress.com/2008/02/16/the-crucial-second-album-or-nice-legs-shame-about-the-face/#comments
Two chubby musos from the midwest? That would be Wilco, will it? I endorse nothing and I decry equally little. I simply am averse to repetition, of which you clearly get too little and I too much. The Fratellis are hopelessly overexposed in this country (they play their songs at the Darts (One Hundred and Eightyyyy)). And that is what killed off the Kaiser Chiefs. These things don’t matter, you just feel a pang of pity for the bands.
Having said all of which, the Ting-Tings song is a cracking good pop song and that is all that matters, eh?
I was thinking more along the lines of American indie labels, and also Pitchfork (and I have no idea if they’re chubby or not). I don’t quite get Wilco yet.
The UK has a lot of good pop compared to, say, the US, so even the good stuff gets repeated. But where does the repetition happen? Malls? Pubs?
In the US half the shops and restaurants pipe oldies radio, and the hip places try to create playlists jam-packed with indie touchstones. There’s no balance.
And in their day, the Beatles were probably repeated a lot. It doesn’t have to kill anyone off. (Although “Ruby” was pretty bad compared to “I Predict A Riot”.)