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 Post subject: Discussion question: Eisley's image problemPosted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 4:51 am 
Last night I posted a request for Eisley on a prominent Dallas DJ's facebook. Someone posted a response of "why don't you play Avril Lavigne after you play Eisley, then?" That response sort of irked me. But then it got me to thinking.... My question is: does Eisley have an image as a teeny-pop band? I would say, yes. I don't think it's the band's fault; I think it goes back to linking the band's age and sibling factor--plus appearing in teen magazines before the general public had even heard of them. I was talking to a friend of mine who wrote reviews of Room Noises and Combinations, and he said that the only other times that he saw major label bands with the amount of insane security on their promo releases were...the Avril Lavignes and the Justin Biebers and the other teen-pop sensations. And I admit--my first thoughts of the band when I heard the EP's was the same. In my mind, there's a reason a lot of major publications like Pitchfork didn't touch those first two albums--and it's not just with the heightened security on the promotional releases...it's because the band seemed targeted in a direction that stood in contradiction with who they are. Do you think that that's one of the reasons The Valley has resonated with people--that they sound somehow real now? PS I'm a fan of the band--so this isn't hating... _________________ "Die Sonne scheint noch" -- Sophie Scholl <3 <3 <3 |
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Joined: 22 Jun 2004 | Posts: 535 | Location: texas is the reason
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Post subject: Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 5:06 am
Just to touch on the high security of their last two releases... Back in 2005-2007 EVERYTHING was a high-security watermarked advance. Labels (well, at least the idiots at WB) were frightened to death of the evil spectre of piracy. Room Noises leaked about 2 weeks early from a watermarked copy that was sent to a college newspaper (or something like that) and WB did nothing about it. So it seems they didn't actually care about security, just security theater. _________________ |
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Joined: 29 Nov 2003 | Posts: 1088 | Location: Somerville, MA
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Post subject: Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 5:19 am
Actually, that's not entirely correct. I frequently got promo releases from WB that did *not* have those heavy security issues. It really puzzled me why Eisley had such security, when other bands with bigger profiles (and more guaranteed higher sales on release) did not. i also made the unfortunate mistake of mentioning to Sherri about that hideous "Lost at Sea" remix being on the Room Noises advance. She...wasn't happy about that... _________________ "Die Sonne scheint noch" -- Sophie Scholl <3 <3 <3 |
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Joined: 22 Jun 2004 | Posts: 535 | Location: texas is the reason
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Post subject: Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 5:23 am
WB had a very irrational fear of piracy... if you think Eisley got more security than other releases, it was probably a simple decision on the label's part: Some WB Jerk: Hey, Eisley's got a pretty huge online following! Some other WB Jerk: ONLINE YOU SAY?!? THAT IS A VAST SEA OF THIEVERY. LOCK IT DOWN. _________________ |
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Joined: 29 Nov 2003 | Posts: 1088 | Location: Somerville, MA
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Post subject: Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 6:14 am
I don't think Eisley ever had an Image Problem per se'. When I saw the video for Marvelous Things my first thought was, "I like this song, this video is oddly unsettling." (no one smiling, all the slow-mo, surrealist lyrics, Em chord and rhodes) like the girl in the backyard eating Ice Cream in Black Hole Sun." The pictures from Combinations made me think of Village of the Damned a little and the Invasion video played off the "Something's not right..." Pod People Bodysnatchers motif really well. That said, the whole "Otherworldly Children" thing that was all the rage in Hollywood from the mid-to-late 90s onward seemed to work as far as the image with the album art and a couple of those vids. Nothing Avril about it. As for the music, it may have not have matched every tune, given their overall style, but the vibe of the vids and photoshoots is one they could/ can grow with. Even the Valley maintains that vibe, fully embracing them as adults. The Phelps shoots were done in the summer, and yet they manage to portray the band in a darker/ moody light, contrary to their own photography of themselves. They've worn it well, and grow it organically. It's artistically flexible and resolute. I think, if there's a problem, it's with the way people tend to generalize things based on looks, first impressions/ associations etc. It's fair to call Eisley's music Pop - Rock, but it's not like Modern Pop, and more an amalgamation of all the Pop - Rock that came before it, indie and mainstream. That's a good thing. It's "A special find of music" for everyone really. I think fighting the uphill gender battle is the biggest hurdle they'll ever have to endure, more so than being associated with Christian bands, Teen Pop, Indie-like, or being a "Family Band." Case in point: Kings of Leon were put out there and people associated them with two of those three last things I mentioned, and now they're another would-be heir apparent to U2. _________________ yup, that's my name. FOR YOUR RATING PLEASURE: 4 LIKE Buttons, 1 NEUTRAL, 1 VEXED, 5 DISLIKE buttons. LC > FB           
 = personal fave  = Eisley fans should dig it
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Joined: 09 Apr 2008 | Posts: 9654 | Location: Greater St. Louis Area
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Post subject: Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 6:20 am
I remember WB tried to give Eisley an image. I asked about it once and people seemed to get super pissed about it...even though I was right. |
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Joined: 12 Jun 2005 | Posts: 20735 |
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Post subject: Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 6:59 am
I think even most of Eisley's detractors would argue that they don't sound watered down in the same way that Avril or Taylor do. They straddle a fine line between radio pop and the left of center. Therein lies the rub. They are not a Pitchfork band. But, they are not a vacuous pop band either. It's a tricky combination to pull off. MuteMath has kind of the same dilemma. A band like Eisley would have been easier to promote to radio in the 90s. I definitely think they have a radio single in them though, especially on this record. |
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Joined: 03 Jan 2003 | Posts: 476 | Location: Austin TX
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Post subject: Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 7:06 am
i have never heard of pitchfork before today. so i have never wondered if a band was "pitchfork" or not. so the question is...does that even matter? _________________ Wil's excellent description of me. wilsmith wrote: You're the Anti-Censorship+Topless Twitpic Parodying+Youth Group Video Directing guy that's a champion for the 1st amendment, Videogames as Art, and unrepentant file sharing... Instagram - Facebook - Twitter - YouTube |
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Joined: 09 Aug 2004 | Posts: 4838 | Location: illinois
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Post subject: Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 7:19 am
mr pine wrote: i have never heard of pitchfork before today.
so i have never wondered if a band was "pitchfork" or not. so the question is...does that even matter? Hipster-type band = Pitchfork band I don't really know to answer your "does it matter" question. In regard to how I determine what I like, the answer would be no. |
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Joined: 03 Jan 2003 | Posts: 476 | Location: Austin TX
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Post subject: Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 7:38 am
norad wrote: I remember WB tried to give Eisley an image. I asked about it once and people seemed to get super pissed about it...even though I was right. About them all being dressed up when playing live shows, right? I remember that. I specifically remember it on the Mutemath tour. WB wanted them to look the part the WB wanted them to play, not that Eisley actually was, or is, I guess. _________________ cynlovescandy wrote: kulvir wrote: I bet R. Kelly approves of peeing in the shower. The world is R. Kelly's shower. It's a golden world. Nowhere Man wrote: mr pine wrote: is there a difference between dubstep and techno?
you know besides the name? techno: uhnd chik uhnd chik uhnd chik uhnd chik dubstep: BOOM Chik.. Boom Boom Boom Chik.. PEOOOWWwwww BOOM BOWowoWOWoWOWow zipzipzipzipzipwoowooowoow EEEEEeeeeeerrr BOOM BOOM BOOM Splat! |
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Joined: 02 Mar 2006 | Posts: 2522 | Location: Kansas
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Post subject: Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 8:11 am
Kit wrote: mr pine wrote: i have never heard of pitchfork before today.
so i have never wondered if a band was "pitchfork" or not. so the question is...does that even matter? Hipster-type band = Pitchfork band I don't really know to answer your "does it matter" question. In regard to how I determine what I like, the answer would be no. Hard to call Pitchfork "hipster-type" music--considering it gets hundreds of thousands of visitors per day. They can make or break your band, too--so they do have influence. PS EVR has ads on it for The Valley.... _________________ "Die Sonne scheint noch" -- Sophie Scholl <3 <3 <3 |
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Joined: 22 Jun 2004 | Posts: 535 | Location: texas is the reason
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Post subject: Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 8:23 am
mr pine wrote: i have never heard of pitchfork before today.
so i have never wondered if a band was "pitchfork" or not. so the question is...does that even matter? You Slacker  Me and Big Ideas went back and forth for like a month on an entire Thread about Pitchfork... you'll probably get a kick out of our argument, and what it actually was about  http://www.eisley.com/laughingcity/viewtopic.php?t=38231&start=0&postd ays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=
If you ever want to see me mince words and beat around the bush, go read that one and then a few people just swoop in and put it bluntly, and I felt SUCH relief. _________________ yup, that's my name. FOR YOUR RATING PLEASURE: 4 LIKE Buttons, 1 NEUTRAL, 1 VEXED, 5 DISLIKE buttons. LC > FB
= personal fave = Eisley fans should dig it
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Joined: 09 Apr 2008 | Posts: 9654 | Location: Greater St. Louis Area
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Post subject: Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 8:28 am
mister_joseph wrote: Kit wrote: mr pine wrote: i have never heard of pitchfork before today.
so i have never wondered if a band was "pitchfork" or not. so the question is...does that even matter? Hipster-type band = Pitchfork band I don't really know to answer your "does it matter" question. In regard to how I determine what I like, the answer would be no. Hard to call Pitchfork "hipster-type" music--considering it gets hundreds of thousands of visitors per day. They can make or break your band, too--so they do have influence. PS EVR has ads on it for The Valley.... I'd wager that there are hundreds of thousands of hipsters in the world, or at least hundreds of thousands of people who think they are. As for the Pfork/Eisley connection, I have definitely seen ads, but Pfork has never reviewed an Eisley record. Oddly enough, I think they've reviewed all of Keane's proper releases. |
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Joined: 03 Jan 2003 | Posts: 476 | Location: Austin TX
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Post subject: Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 8:34 am
Regarding the "hipster or not" argument, I would readily call anyone who relies on Pitchfork for their music news, and who uses it to decide whether to listen to an album, a hipster. _________________ INTELLECT AND ROMANCE OVER BRUTE FORCE AND CYNICISM Smokemonster |
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Joined: 24 Sep 2003 | Posts: 14510 | Location: Alone on an airplane, fallin' asleep against the windowpane...
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Post subject: Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 8:39 am
^ and don't forget the one's who read it or ignore and dismiss it just to be contrary and are snarky about what they praise and what they hate...  waaaaaiiiiitttt... I think that's most of us on here who know about it _________________ yup, that's my name. FOR YOUR RATING PLEASURE: 4 LIKE Buttons, 1 NEUTRAL, 1 VEXED, 5 DISLIKE buttons. LC > FB
= personal fave = Eisley fans should dig it
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Joined: 09 Apr 2008 | Posts: 9654 | Location: Greater St. Louis Area
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