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MEGA-CRITIC-COMPETITION JULY : THE CLUES

Guess (Deadline = 25th) the highest new entry into this month´s Mega-Critic-Chart (Publication = 31st) and enter the chance to win that CD.

The following five acts for the moment seem to become the highest new entries :

Clue to Act 1 : Last month´s Bubbler with 6 Grammy awards.

Clue to Act 2 : Last month´s Bubbler San Francisco Psych-Folk-Pop Dup.

Clue to Act 3 : Marissa Ribisi´s husband, produced by Danger Mouse.

Clue to Act 4 : Brooklyn Rock Quintet, favoured by Harry Potter.

Clue to Act 5 : Disbanded with Punk tag, reformed with pink flag.

Guesses noted so far (can be changed until the 25th)

BillAdama : The Hold Steady ´Stay Positive´
Penguin : The Hold Steady ´Stay Positive´
Paranoid Android : The Hold Steady ´Stay Positive´
Dumbangel : The Hold Steady ´Stay Positive´
Htims : Black Kids ´Partie Traumatic´

Good Luck !!!

Re: MEGA-CRITIC-COMPETITION JULY : THE CLUES

Coldplay, the Dodos and Beck !
Got 3 ^^

Re: MEGA-CRITIC-COMPETITION JULY : THE CLUES

#4: The Hold Steady
#5: Wire

Re: MEGA-CRITIC-COMPETITION JULY : THE CLUES

You kids is crazy. It's not guessing the clues, it's guessing the #1.

I'll go for The Hold Steady.

Re: MEGA-CRITIC-COMPETITION JULY : THE CLUES

... caaaaam on, it's much more fun to play it that way. who cares about transient rankings anyway...?! (ladyless geeks, better keep quiet now ..)

Re: MEGA-CRITIC-COMPETITION JULY : THE CLUES

Guess I'll go with The Hold Steady too.

Re: MEGA-CRITIC-COMPETITION JULY : THE CLUES

Another vote for the Hold Steady.

Re: MEGA-CRITIC-COMPETITION JULY : THE CLUES

sure why not... The Hold Steady - Stay Positive

Re: MEGA-CRITIC-COMPETITION JULY : THE CLUES

I'll vote Wire just because I already have the Hold Steady album

Re: MEGA-CRITIC-COMPETITION JULY : THE CLUES

i still know who you are, brennen.

Re: MEGA-CRITIC-COMPETITION JULY : THE CLUES

Stay Possitive -the Hold Study

Re: MEGA-CRITIC-COMPETITION JULY : THE CLUES

No one care about the Hold Steady out of USA, so I'll bet on the Dodos !

Re: MEGA-CRITIC-COMPETITION JULY : THE CLUES

Right, no one cares about the Hold Steady outside of the U.S. - which is why UNCUT, DROWNED IN SOUND, NME, the OBSERVER, the GUARDIAN, HOT PRESS, MOJO and Q all gave STAY POSITIVE a rating of 80 or higher, according to Metacritic. Because no one cares.

Whenever someone says, "No one here likes [xxx]", it needs to be heard as: "I'm here - I don't like [xxx] - therefore..."

Re: MEGA-CRITIC-COMPETITION JULY : THE CLUES

LonelyPanda, it seems that you have read Les Inrocks !

Re: MEGA-CRITIC-COMPETITION JULY : THE CLUES

I agree you LonesomePanda, almost no one really cares about Hold Steady in Europe.
And I don't say that because I find this band boring.
Harold, you talk about the good reviews the album has in the NME, Uncut and other british rockpress, but british rockpress is very influenced by US rockpress. Pitchfork is a world-wide influent media, the most influent music media in the world. And even if NME and others have always their "local favorites" that american don't often care, you can't deny the Pitchfork influence.
Talking now about music fans, consumers, people who buy (or download) music, people in Europe REALLY don't give a f**k about Hold Steady. Just look at the sales the band make in Europe.

Re: MEGA-CRITIC-COMPETITION JULY : THE CLUES

Well, they're not exactly going multi-platinum here in the States, either, which I'm not expecting to change with this album. I love the Hold Steady, but they're as textbook an example of a "critics' band" as exists right now.

Re: MEGA-CRITIC-COMPETITION JULY : THE CLUES

I don't understand what is so exceptional in Hold Steady's music. It's not that I "hate" this band but I just find it banal and boring, just another classic-rock band. I like classic-rock but if I want some good american rootsy classic-rock, I prefer by far listening to The Black Crowes.
No matter what I think, anyway Hold Steady is gonna be the July critics favourite for sure.

Re: MEGA-CRITIC-COMPETITION JULY : THE CLUES

I agree Dumbangel, and they are from my hometown. I like them because Finn writes about places I know well (I live about 5 blocks away from The Quarry), but I don't get how they became a worldwide sensation since it's nothing we haven't heard before and kind of gimmicky. Not terribly gimmicky because the substance is still there but I was really surprised that this new album still got good ratings. They are exactly the type of band critics eat up and spit out.

It's really funny because Finn isn't singing about the streets of Minneapolis or shady parts of town. He's singing about suburban shopping malls and the nice parts of Minneapolis. But, the experiences he's recounting are not the same experiences I had (or saw)!

Re: MEGA-CRITIC-COMPETITION JULY : THE CLUES

I never really saw it either, but Stay Positive pleasantly surprised me (even though it's mostly the same). It's just a fun album to listen to I suppose.

Of course there's still a few hundred better albums out there, but it's quite good.

Re: MEGA-CRITIC-COMPETITION JULY : THE CLUES

I did not read the Inrocks and I will correct my sentence : non english speaking countries don't care about Hold Steady.
I have not heard their new albums and it is far from being my priority since I did not enjoy much Boy & Girls in America (I'm not good enough at english to find appeal from lyrics, at least on the first times I listen to an album, and musically I found Chips Ahoy and a few other track slightly funny but that's all). Anyway, I have never read a single article about Boys & Girls in America in France, and just look at the ranking of it in the 2007 end of year ranking and it will seems obvious (not even in the top 100)

Re: MEGA-CRITIC-COMPETITION JULY : THE CLUES

For me the Hold Steady are a perennial #20-ish of the year. I like them but don't get the people who think they're the greatest new band out there.

Maybe it's because of the cultural backlash of political correctness. Right now 'offensive/not politically correct' is considered synonymous with honestly and thus sufficient to be called avant garde.

But it is true this formula penalizes albums only liked in one region, so it's possible it's not Hold Steady. I'd be kind of surprised if the Dodos suddenly jumped all the way up to highest debut after being around for months. (Even though Visiter is a way better album than Stay Positive).

Re: MEGA-CRITIC-COMPETITION JULY : THE CLUES


ladyless geeks, better keep quiet now


what about geekless ladies, young miss?

Re: MEGA-CRITIC-COMPETITION JULY : THE CLUES

Anyone see Pitchfork's 'review' of the new Black Kids record? They managed to attain Pitchfork nirvana! They found a review that was perfectly self referential and didn't even talk about the music, while simultaneously basking in their masturbatory college sense of humor and self importance.

Never before has I seen so much smoke blown with nothing more than a picture. They not only cast themselves as the last word on the quality of an album, they make the implication that they don't even have to justify not liking an album: That they don't like it is enough.

They managed express the same sentiment as "BLACK KIDZ SUXXORS" in a way that still comes off as faux-hyperliterate.

Pitchfork has out Pitchforked itself. And I think they deserve a round of applause.

---

Yeah, Hold Steady isn't liked that much outside the US. Also the US doesn't really care about The Strokes or their 5000 imitators anymore. So, whatever. Regional concentration of popularity has no bearing on an album's quality whatsoever.

Re: MEGA-CRITIC-COMPETITION JULY : THE CLUES

I didn't mind the Black Kids "review" that much. They hyped a band so much and it turned out to be really bad. Would you have rather had a full article about how they built it up only to be disappointed? I guess it kind of sucks for the band but I think you give Pitchfork too much credit. It's not like everyone in the world is going to be talking about The Black Kids like they are the new Britney Spears crotch shot. Pitchfork is still pretty underground and it's only really known by music geeks.

Re: MEGA-CRITIC-COMPETITION JULY : THE CLUES

I don't think they should have written an entire article about how they hyped it up and were wrong: I think they should stop being so god damn self referential in their reviews period. They should tell their general impression of the album and give a reason. Some of their reviews read like C-grade college essays and they barely even touch on the actual music. Their Black Kids 'review' reads like a message board troll.

Pitchfork has a tendency to use albums only as a jumping off point to expound half-assedly modern philosophy, which usually culminates in just a bunch of hipster sneers and disses. I'm suggesting, instead of this, in their album reviews, they actually review the album.

Re: MEGA-CRITIC-COMPETITION JULY : THE CLUES
Re: MEGA-CRITIC-COMPETITION JULY : THE CLUES

I would bet that 90 percent of the people who visit Pitchfork don't read the reviews other than the caption on the front page. People like it because PF reviews a ton of music and are very predictable. I would bet most people would agree with you on the quality of the writing or wouldn't have an opinion at all.

Re: MEGA-CRITIC-COMPETITION JULY : THE CLUES


I would bet that 90 percent of the people who visit Pitchfork don't read the reviews other than the caption on the front page.


C'mon John. You know that makes no sense.