MySpaced

Ahhhh MySpace. I really don't like it as a social networking site. It's waaay clunky for me. I still have a profile, though. It's strength is in band promotion - listen to some tunes, see some pics, read up on the coming tour dates. Sweet!!

I use it quite a bit to find new bands. This could be a first glance... but usually it's more of a second glance for me. I'd have to have heard of them somehow to purposely look them up on MySpace, no?

Here are some I've been peeking at lately...

Santigold
This is a weird one... Santogold is one of my favourite artists of the past year. Totally love her!! This past week, I read that she has now changed her act name to Santigold. I haven't seen anything official explaining the name change, but I think it has to do with some guy that has been using the name Santo Gold for 30 years. I smell a lawsuit that couldn't be resolved by the record company!!! So now she's Santigold - with a new MySpace page, new album artwork, and no doubt an endless string of headaches trying to make the name change on everything she's done!! The biggest questionmark I've had is about the MySpace -- the Santogold MySpace page doesn't even exist anymore, and you won't find the name Santogold on the new MySpace page. So... folks looking for Santogold will have to dig a little to find Santigold. Messed.up.

(Update: someone re-enabled the Santogold MySpace account, and added a link to Santigold... Dood!)


Bat for Lashes
OK, so I'm sure we all saw the video for "What's a Girl to Do", thought of Donnie Darko, and forgot to check out the rest of their material. Wait - was that just me that did that? I guess Bat for Lashes has a new album coming out or something, so I thought I'd give them a listen. I'll admit - the first thing I did was rewatch the video (that song is so friggin' cool!!! Yeah, that might be on my list for this month).

They're much slower, dreamier than I expected... but cool. Not like other things I'm listening to right now, but gives me a similar feeling to listening to Tori Amos in high school, or Kate Bush (something powerful in something so minimal). I should say that I'm not a fan of their Cure cover... I prefer their own music. I'm liking the sounds of the new songs that aren't on the MySpace (been doing a bit of further digging... Glass is amazing and WILL be on my playlist once the album is out).

One thing I should point out -- lots of bands are offering a free MP3 download for signing up to their mailing list these days!! Bat for Lashes and Client are two examples of this...

Trouble Andrew
Heard a song, again forgot to actually check out his stuff, was reminded by a friend that he existed. This all happened over the course of a week, so I don't feel too negligent here. Trouble Andrew is an "associate" of Santigold, if you will (I hear he's her fiance... but that's just personal gossip). Also possibly a Canadian that spends time in the US (GO TEAM CANUCKLEHEAD!). Regardless, he has some pretty cool tracks here that sometimes vary in style and appeal. I *like* all of the tracks posted on MySpace, but there are some things that stick out more. Check out Uh Oh.


Zeigeist (mostly to listen to Neverending Love... )
Yeah, I've posted about them before. They are cool and insane, and have now disbanded. Booo!