steering clear of the mainstream
since 2001

june 2010

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next big thing
Over the past few years, the mainstream music scene has become more fickle than it ever was before. The silly dance pop of boy bands and girl groups has seemed to fizzle, making way for a whole onslaught of rap and hip hop. As rap started to die down, it was quickly revived in the form of nu-metal, a cross-breeding of verbal freestyles and numbingly aggressive macho rock. As soon as you could say "THIS MUSIC MAKES ME WANT TO SHOOT MYSELF AND EVERYONE ELSE I CAN FIND," everyone started tuning into garage rock revivalist music in the form of The Strokes, The Hives, and The Vines. Quite an improvement, but it, admittedly, isn't the freshest sound around.

So what's next? Well, there are a whole host of possibilities. And while only the music marketers at MTV may know what's coming, we've decided to make a list of our predictions, including odds for each one!

Heavy Metal Revival!
With garage rock now freshly plucked from its semi-obscurity, it's obvious that our indecisive little mainstreamers like to groove to the music of past generations. So wouldn't it just be natural progression to go from garage to heavy metal? The answer is yes; don't ever think that I'm wrong. Can you not imagine a whole generation of kids banging their heads to modern metal outfits like Fucking Champs? And can you not imagine Warner Brothers trying to convince the band to change their name to the Fugging Champs? Yes, admit it, you can.
Odds: 2 to 1

The Electro-Pop Onslaught
Everywhere you look, electro-pop's fanbase is increasing. Indie rockers are tuning into DNTEL. People are beginning to pay more attention to labels like Tomlab. Mikron 64 is starting to seep into the public's bloodstreams. It won't be long before it starts blaring out of everyone's radios. Combining computers (everyone loves computers!) with melody and, sometimes, vocals, who can resist? Electro-pop is in the air, my friends. And I can't see any reason why it won't make a big splash.
Odds: 5 to 2

The Indie Rock Revolution
With the White Stripes and Weezer bouncing around the scene, teenyboppers have heard the word "indie" being mentioned quite a bit as of late. It's only a matter of time before one of them decides to investigate the whole scene. Then, as soon as you know it, Archers Of Loaf and Sebadoh will be all over the airwaves, and us indie fans will be both laughing at the irony and weeping at the tainting of our sacred genre.
Odds: 3 to 1

It's Hardcore Punk Time!
People are constantly looking for harder, more extreme styles of music. Everyone wants to have their music over the top. And while they love everything to the max, they also need a certain amount of accessibility that they can hum along to. So what better place to look than the always fruitful hardcore punk scene? Though many of the more diy bands will be ignored, there will likely be a whole assortment of "glossy" melodic hardcore acts to follow. My bets are on the wicked Dim Mak Records roster.
Odds: 10 to 1

Minimal Electronica Uprising
Everyone was anticipating a big splash of minimal electronica after Mego Records started gaining attention at the end of last decade. It turned out they were wrong. While Fennesz's Endless Summer, in all its intelligent accessibility, did manage to rack up quite a few fans with its release, the genre still seemed to remain primarily a specialized niche. But perhaps it's finally time for the minimal uprising!!! Perhaps this new year will usher in the birth of a very different, very bizarre "big thing"!!! But probably not.
Odds: 40 to 1

Nash-Hop
Well, come on - if they got away with rap-metal hybrids, they sure as heck can blend country with hip-hop.
Odds: 70 to 1

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