Picked To Click 2010: Predictions
CityPages local “Best New Music” poll Picked To Click should be coming around the bend again soon – letting us all know once again who local-music-types view as the best upcoming talent in the Twin Cities’ scene (as well as who, year after year, still considers Atmosphere a “new” band).
Just for fun we have decided to not only choose who we would like to see end up in the top ten spots, but also who we think will actually end up winning (because dog knows we don’t always get what we want).
Josh
Votes:
1. Capricorn Vertical Slum
2. Velvet Davenport
3. Buffalo Moon
4. Haunted House
5. Audio Perm
6. Dada Trash Collage
7. PRGHS
8. Mother of Fire
9. A.R.M.
10. Communist Daughter
Predictions:
1. Gayngs
2. BNLX
3. Rogue Valley
4. Communist Daughter
5. Buffalo Moon
6. Hildur Victoria
7. Mayda
8. National Bird
9. Adam Svec
10. Phantom Tails
Jon
Votes:
1. Brute Heart
2. Mike Swoop
3. Tender Meat
4. Mother of Fire
5. Velvet Davenport
6. Buffalo Moon
7. Haunted House
8. Coral Legs
9. Dada Trash Collage
10. Pawlic
Predictions:
1. Peter Wolf Crier
2. Gayngs
3. Communist Daughter
4. Buffalo Moon
5. Mayda
6. Marijuana Deathsquads
7. BNLX
8. Rogue Valley
9. Book of Right On
10. Pink Mink
10.5. Blue Sky Blackout/We Are The Willows
*P.S. For my own picks I considered bands that achieved a great deal of recognition in 2009 (like Peter Wolf Crier, No Bird Sing) ineligible since in 2010 they wouldn’t be considered “new” to most people.
Adam
Votes:
1. Mother of Fire
2. Velvet Davenport
3. Brute Heart
4. Pink Mink
5. Buffalo Moon
6. Teenage Strangler
7. Voytek
8. Blackcloud Stallionheart
9. The Quaking Bogge
10. Buildings
Predictions:
1. Peter Wolf Crier
2. Gayngs
3. Pink Mink
4. Velvet Davenport
5. Marijuana Deathsquads
6. Dada Trash Collage
7. BNLX
8. The Goondas
9. Fuck Knights
10. No Bird SIng
Keep an eye on the CityPages for the actual winners soon!
.
God Damn. I was thinking Brute Heart got votes last year, but shit, they did not. They would be in my top 5. I also have changed slightly since last week when I made this list, so for whatever it is worth here is my changed picks.
Votes:
1. Capricorn Vertical Slum
2. Velvet Davenport
3. Buffalo Moon
4. Haunted House
5. Brute Heart
5. Audio Perm
6. Dada Trash Collage
7. PRGHS
8. Mother of Fire
10. Food Pyramid
(rising fast: Tender Meat)
I also agree with the two of you about Peter Wolf Crier, he will totally win. I guess I just forgot about him.
AUDIO PERM REPPIN HARD!!!!! WE GET IT IN LET’S GET IT YA’LL AIN’T READY!!!!!!!!!!!!
I guess I was thinking more of artists who have been around but all kind of took off between September 2009 and now, like No Bird Sing and Kristoff Krane and Chastity Brown (and Guante & Big Cats, for that matter– not making the mistake of NOT voting for myself like last year; our debut LP came out in January, after all).
I forget when No Bird’s actual release was, but their huge, star-making (I would argue) shows have all been in the past year. Kristoff has been around for a long time, but I consider his last album his proper debut; I think his new sound is much more definitive for him. Chastity is just amazing, and I think this is her year. I also voted for Mayda, someone I just really enjoy. Audio Perm and the Tribe are both personal favorites, but I’d wait a year for both of them.
And yeah, I also forgot Peter Wolf Crier, but that’s a band who will likely get in no matter what, I’d assume.
It’s a pretty cool experiment, this whole thing. How people define “new,” how people vote, all the bands I’ve never heard of. Excited to see the results.
audio perm really does go the hardest out of all these bands.
To those of you who are allowed to vote on this, please select bands that truly impressed you THIS year. I’m sick of the same bands getting spotlighted when they haven’t done anything new or impressive this year. Check your facts.
I don’t think you can deny that any of our pics here haven’t done impressive things this year. Almost every artists we have picked here has released significant new music in 2010. Don’t confuse our predictions with our votes
I would have put Audio Perm at #1 on every list IMHO
As a 20-year reader/10-year critic of P2C, this was very interesting. Would the Reviler panel of experts care to take a short stab at why they feel there is such a chasm between your picks and the seemingly accurate predictions. You guys seem both excited, and dismissive, of the P2C. Just axin’. Check ya later.
p.s. Thanks for linking samples for your reviews.
I should clarify that although I am a 20/10 guy, I am a seven-year voter, 12-year bemused bystander.
Well, the most straightforward response is that our predictions are our guesses as to, locally, what is most popular right now – which doesn’t necessarily mean the same thing as (at least our opinions of) which bands are the most talented. In matters of local music (and I can only speak for myself here) more often than not I feel like my own taste in local bands isn’t shared by the majority of local music consumers.
Another big factor as well is that while PTC is supposed to be a “best new band” contest, every year bands/musicians that have been around for awhile get nominated. For instance Peter Wolf Crier won “Best New Band” of 2009 in the Radio K poll, but people will probably still vote for them as a “new band” in 2010 (And I don’t say this because I don’t like PWC – I do like them, I just don’t consider them “new” anymore). Also it looks like two other longstanding local musicians, Dessa and Chris Koza, have a decent chance of being nominated as well (Koza for Rogue Valley) – even though they have both been around forever.
I don’t mention any of these bands because I don’t think they are deserving of the nominations – I just think that with a vibrant local music scene there are plenty of actual new bands that might be healthier choices to keep fresh blood flowing. Still, I am as guilty of this as some others though – I chose Brute Heart even though their debut came out last year. Still, I feel like BH never really got the attention they deserved so I ended up voting for them again. Same with Mother of Fire, who have also been around for awhile but never received a huge amount of attention.
Make sense?
Winners going to be announced LIVE on Radio K, October 19th
the purpose of Picked To Click has never been what bands you think are the best though, it’s what bands do you think will blow up/get big
The email I got says: “2010 marks the 20th consecutive year we have asked the local music scene to weigh in on their favorite best new bands.”
It doesn’t say anything about picking the bands that you think will “make it big”
I think we all try our best to be invested in the local scene, so we have the bands we think/feel should win a competition like this (whether is it “best new band” or “band likely to blow up”). That being said, we also know enough other people who vote for these types of things to get a feel on who actually is “popular” and will win, hence the list of who we think will come out on top. You can simply look at shows, with 20 people at the Turf to see Velvet Davenport/Haunted House and a sold out venue for Peter Wolf Crier show to see where popular sentiment lies. One list is our point of view; the other is us being realistic.
My question now seems more pitifully mundane than when I wrote it. I think I was trying to get at something larger and failed greatly. Don’t get me wrong; I loved the side-by-side lists. I agree with you about the predictability, and so your list of other bands to watch was far more functional. Thanks again.
p.s. Jon, I’ve been skimming some of your other posts around here — having really discovered Reviler.org about a week ago — and I enjoy their breadth and ambition. Thanks. See you around.
Glad you are enjoying what we do Meyer! We are all definitely trying to find a unique voice in local/national music media
Take care
Two bands and one artist deserving much wider recognition in the local press:
-Junkyard Empire
-Madiba, featuring EG Bailey and Sha Cage
Junkyard because of the behind the scenes work they do, a killer release in Rebellion Politik with a badass new one on the way, a tour of Cuba that nobody within the Twin Cities really even wanted to know about, and their usual appearances, like Guante and others, at events that promote the greater social good.
Madiba because of their amazing and unpredictable look at the African culture in America, and the concept of setting poetry to music without it becoming rap – genius.
EG Bailey for his album American African. If you have not listened to that record, you are lame.
We reviewed “American Afrikan” a while back: http://www.reviler.org/2010/02/09/e-g-bailey-american-afrikan-review-2/
Great stuff
Haven’t heard Junkyard Empire yet but looking forward to doing so, especially since Chris Robin Cox just contributed to us a very interesting article:
http://www.reviler.org/2010/09/21/bars-have-bands-to-bring-in-customers/
Thanks for the feedback