Im in need of new music so i might take your word and check these guys out. BTW i want to say thanks for introducing me to Cold War Kids, unfortunatley I just heard about them in Januaray

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

this is the most ridiculously off base new bands list ever!

L magazine is beyond clueless

Can there be a moratorium on animal names in bands ? ...please its been long enough...
especially Bears (this years wolf)
Grizzly Bear & Panda Bear can stay but no more

Wow...that's a lot of white people.

Are any of these bands worth checking out?

i fuckin hate white people.

L Magazine?! Who the hell reads L magazine?

Vampire Weekend are really really good! Much better than the little description makes them out to be.

I really liked the groove of the White Rabbits when they opened for PB&J way back when at the Mercury Lounge.

They're sorta stuck in the middle of that whole Walkmen/French Kicks/Cold War Kids sound but with a little more depth.

OK, that's fucking it! There are too many "bears" in this county and I declare it's time to control the population. Indiecrap names=so predictable.

yeah that list is pretty off-base, except for the first band: those dudes are gonna be HUGE!

their music actually sounds original

How many people on here have actually heard all the bands?

I saw Bear Hands open for Man Man and wasn't impressed. Nice enough guys but nothing exciting about them.

I've heard most of these bands, I think the list is pretty right on.

vampire weekend is fuckin sweet

The Muggabears were awesome when I saw them live a few months ago.

yeah, ive been hearing pretty decent things about almost all the bands on this list actually.

then again, i also read the L magazine

Hey Vampire Weekend, stop posting about yourself in 3rd person. Busted!

I don't read L magazine but Muggabears and My Teenage Stride are right on.

I'll second support for White Rabbits, good stuff, think they have a show coming up in the next few days.

i wasnt at the man man show but i've seen bear hands before, and they're pretty fucking dope. so is vampire weekend.

vampire weekend is some hippy bullshit

Vampire Weekend is frat party rock in the guise of indie kids. And not all that great frat party rock, either. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some slaying to do.

I totally read L Magazine when San Loco Burritos is out of the Voice, the Onion, NY Press, old AM New Yorks from a few days ago, and missing pet and roommate wanted flyers

Their musical opinions fall somewhere after the high esteem to which I hold the NY Sun's entertainment section

gotta love the wisdom of a listings mag who's deadline for listings is like a month before press time

Why in the world anyone thinks San Loco actually qualifies as making "burritos" as opposed to "horrible imitations of Mexican/Tex-Mex food using visually similar ingredients" is beyond me.

But then again, if you the Rob Harvilla is a good guy to get music tips from, eat up.

Whoa, what's with all the pent up anger, anon 1:32? You should probably see a therapist for that.

yeah vampire weekend is some preppy frat boy shit. it's catchy, but i mean, prep school kids singing about cape cod dont really do it for me.

Not true about the listings...I book for a club on the Lower East Side and the listings are due to the L the week before the next issue comes out.

Did anyone see The Onion's spring music feature? Now THAT was a load of crap.

My Teenage Stride is great

the Onion is pretty much stuck in 1996 - see how high they jump next time Bob Pollard or Malkmus put something out

but at least that's somewhere - the L music section is a random sampling of Piano's bands and coverage of Ryan Adams concerts. Why do they bother?

Dare I say it, even the Deli is more turned on

San Loco may not be Mexican food, or even texmex, but as drunk surfer food, they slay

frances is pretty good

8 bands someone at L magazine is sleeping with / wants to sleep with / works a day job at the same graphic art firm as

i really like vampire weekend but i like VAMPIRE HANDS way better....

http://www.myspace.com/vampirehands

muggabears are great. the list may not be the most diverse or spot on but still...the muggabears have a great show.

where the HELL is steaming wolf penis? robbed.

jealous girlfriends are worth seeing live.

Everything you need to know about bears.

http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=The%20Bear%20FAQ

are you aware that bears are godless killing machines?

White Rabbits are awesome

Hmm, lots of I'm sure hard-earned cynicism at work here. A bunch of these bands I've heard, and I liked all of them a lot, specially Muggabears, My Teenage Stride, and Vampire Weekend.

Do people like L Magazine less than the Voice or something because it actually admits that cool people in North Brooklyn care about being cool? Does that make sense?

Meanwhile Ultragrrrl, that paragon of highbrow musical criticism, is on the cover of Voice (or not actually meanwhile, but like 3 weeks ago).

dude, no shit. Why does the Voice have any "cred". Because they're endlessly snide about EVERYTHING? Sasha Frere Jones calls Stephin Merrit a racist because he quite accurately observed that hip hop has been worthless crap for quite a while, and the man is still respected as a journalist.

whatever, Voice.

Muggabears new album "Night Choreography" review: http://www.imposemagazine.com/mag/?cat=2

nobody would claim the Voice knows what's going on, but - gimme a fuckin break - the L is clearly way more clueless

the only reasonably reliable music section is Time Out

"Do people like L Magazine less than the Voice or something because it actually admits that cool people in North Brooklyn care about being cool? Does that make sense?"

this above statement is totally indecipherable. what are you trying to express here?

I thought Sasha Frere Jones was at The New Yorker or am I missing a reference here?

Can't say that I've heard any of these bands except one song by my My Teenage Stride that I thought was good, but in defense of L Magazine it would seem that "Bands You Need To Hear" would imply that they tried to scour the club circuit for bands a lot of people haven't yet heard and are trying to give some exposure to. You may disagree with the picks, but the premise is fine by me. It would have been sort of silly to hype Grizzly Bear, Hold Steady, TV on the Radio and every other Pitchfork-certified band that everyone has already heard.

Anon 3:44 -- You must work for Time Out because CLEARLY, no one with any common sense would claim that they're the most reliable source of music criticism. I can't imagaine what your idea of good music could be if you actually believe that.

The L has been a favorite of mine for a while....especially during CMJ when I use it as a guide to all the shows going on.

I agree with Will....this just seems to be a list of emerging NYC bands that they think are worth giving a listen. The L did this last year, too. We're not always gonna agree that the bands on the list are the greatest (thought I do like a few of them), but I'm gonna go out on a limb and stick up for the L, too. They're giving these relatively new bands exposure and I don't see anything wrong with that at all.
All this smack-talking has got to stop. Are we only allowed to listen to recommendations that Pitchfork makes? Give me a break!

let me get this straight... there's a band named "grizzly bear"?

how out there is that?

"The L has been a favorite of mine for a while.... especially during CMJ when I use it as a guide to all the shows going on."

The L goes great with CMJ! - I guess crap compliments other crap well

"this just seems to be a list of emerging NYC bands that they think are worth giving a listen."

what a novel concept, let's list some bands, how charitable.

there are hundreds of bands in New York that no-one's ever heard of. Many are excellent, just not (by and large) these 8.

Nobody faults the L for trying to peg some new folks as good or whatever, it's just that they've chosen to spotlight such shit bands.

If you can't criticize music critics for their tastes, then how can you talk about them at all?

Well, what are the bands that no one's heard of that are worthy?

All of these bands sound so un-interesting....

no wonder they give L mag away for free

you tell me 1 band on this list thats going to sell more than 200 tickets on any given night a year from now

yay! white rabbits!

how much do you figure it cost each of these bands' labels/publicity agencies to get on this list?

luckily it's just the L, probably bargain

buncha yawners that sound like the Shins - hooray

VAMPIRE WEEKENDDDD

so true - at least they have an original style.
www.myspace.com/vampireweekend

hey stop anonymously talking about your own band

that's so lame!

The one band on the list I've heard sounds nothing like the Shins. The L hates the Shins anyway. And I seriously doubt it would cost anyone any money to get on this list, not to mention...do you think these bands that you've barely heard of having massive budgets?

i cant decide whats sucks more: the list, any band of the list, or l magazine.

White Rabbits are clearly well-connected - they've scored opening slots on like ten big shows recently (Cribs, Mystery Jets, Peter Bjorn and John, David Vandervelde, etc..)

Do any of you fucking moaner groaners acutally read the Village Voice? maybe some of you creepy lurkers looking for a cheaphooker

you're all wrong its the New York Press with the best music section

I do like that while I don't think anyone's totally happy with the list, no one has suggested a single other band that should've been on the list instead.

The Kinks

"Do any of you fucking moaner groaners acutally read the Village Voice? maybe some of you creepy lurkers looking for a cheaphooker"

wa ho! now it's getting good! somebody's feelings got hurt! run with it - even tho I can't fathom at all what the fuck point you're tryin to make

Why's everyone so pissed off about a list? Make your own if the idea of someone suggesting bands to you is so infuriating. Or if you're from a band and are angry because you feel excluded, work harder. Jeez.

Uhh, anyone with a real ear to the ground out on the real streetz knows that TV On The Radio are the real underground band everyone needs to hear, but y'all don't want to hear that because you're all RACIST!

And how come none mentioned Wolf Bear?? HELLO!? Get a clue and buy a vowel already....

I feel SO excluded!

re: the kinks

the kinks have gone from being the forgotten british invasion band to the british invasion band that a shitload of people listen to but like to think that they are still forgotten. i'm pretty sure most people have heard the kinks. seen Rushmore?

now seriously, stop acting superior and name a band i NEED to hear that you feel this list has left off.

Oh wait, I have three that both Brooklyn Vegan and OhMyRockness have already vouched for: Professor Murder, Apache Beat and Pela.

hey Anonymous 6:07, the point is that the Village Voice is a PIECE OF SHIT. They fire every single decent writer that've had over the last 40 years and at least The L Mag is truly independent and they make a serious effort. The Voice farms every writer out of Arizona for their 40+ different publications, and it's a fukin shame because they used to be important.

oops I mean Anonymous 5:31 aka "wa ho" aka nappy-headed "wa" ho

stop this silly argument.

Nobody reads the L, it's distribution boxes are always full, it's music section is hopelessly irrelevant.

those of you hear defending it clearly work for the rag, you're not fooling anyone.

i met vampire weekend...some party... i feel lame for saying that. but hey they were even lamer.

The guys from bear hands are awesome. such an incredible group.

vic thrill + the saturn missile is where its at

i dig those white rabbit tunes.

ko approved!

l is for the l train

i'm disppointed in the list... there seems to be a profound lack of "Wolf" based band names...mcuh like rock beats scissors... does bear beat Wolf now?

hey, and whatever happened to nautically themed indie band names?

for shame NY.

Okay, well, I'm in one of those bands and I can only speak for my own when I say that we're not well-connected, outgoing, rich, 20 years old, or whatever. I went to community college & state school.

And I can also tell you that it seems that the editors of L genuinely, actually chose bands that they actually like and want people to hear. There are thousands of bands in New York, and a lot of them are already well-integrated in the press machine and certainly don't NEED any help- T.V. On The Radio is a silly example- they're all over Spin, Rolling Stone, CMJ, and they're on a major label now. They're gettin' plenty of "exposure". And all those Todd P bands don't need the help because they're mostly made up of pretty well connected kids and get a rather disproportionate about of attention as it is.

As for me, L just heard our CD and liked it. I can't imagine it was any different for any of the other bands,

I like L. It's the only actual independent publication I know of around NYC, except for maybe The Deli. Why its opinions are less valid than anyone else's entirely depends upon how cool you think they are, and lord knows no one has any control over that in the long run. Moreover, it doesn't have the shitty, dismissive, po-mo attitude that plagues much of NYC "arts & culture" press.

NY Press is good as well.

these bands shall bring a plague of boredom upon us all

these bands shall bring a plague of boredom upon us all

hey someone... are you the guy with the sunglasses?

Seems pretty obvious the anons saying The L has no credibility are just people in bands not on the list. Why would they get so angry otherwise? I listened to each band and while not all are fantastic, some definitely are.

no, I'm not. Actually I'm way in the back- being obscured by hats. I don't think you can really see me.

"Seems pretty obvious the anons saying The L has no credibility are just people in bands not on the list. Why would they get so angry otherwise?"

this is the most ass-backwards logic ever.

a.) noone is getting angry except for the folks who work for the L, who's feelings are hurt. Sarcasm and dismissiveness do not equal anger.

b.) maybe people are irritated that anyone would be so clueless as to take the L's opinion's seriously - but beyond that, that the L has wasted so much newsprint on promoting mediocrity. Some of us actually like and care about music - and therefor we find mediocrity - and it's boosters - sad and irritating in the face of all the genuine talent that goes unheralded.

"Some of us actually like and care about music - and therefor we find mediocrity - and it's boosters - sad and irritating in the face of all the genuine talent that goes unheralded."

right on!

and, btw, you don't have to be in a band to feel that way!

But this is entirely subjective, which you forget. I find the shit that gets pushed on people by a lot of more "respectable" publications to be pretty fucking mediocre.

Your argument isn't any more logical than the person's you're reacting to. You're trying to sell a completely subjective assertation as to the illegitimacy of a particular magazine as "logic". How is it? Just because you don't think L Magazine is as cool as come other source? That's pretty specious. Be honest. This all comes down to coolness.

In fact, a logical argument for the legitimacy of L might go along the lines of...they're not owed by some media conglomerate, which can't be said for a lot of even NYC publications.

I've seen very little "big press" about any of the bands picked. That's good. You don't have to like any of the bands, but trying to sell your opinion as "reason" is not..uh, good.

""Some of us actually like and care about music - and therefor we find mediocrity - and it's boosters - sad and irritating in the face of all the genuine talent that goes unheralded."

right on!

and, btw, you don't have to be in a band to feel that way!"

- No, but you really should start suggesting some other bands, 90 comments into this. If you have such a hard time with "mediocrity" getting boosted, boost your superior shit, man. Quit griping and list bands. 8 of 'em.

Yeah, I want to see your list 2:56. You obviously think your opinion matters more than anyone else's so let's see your pick of 8 up and coming NYC bands you think we should all know about.

Yeah. And remember to bury your band to #3 or #4.

I think this is interesting. I've read about Frances on Pitchfork. The Jealous Girlfriends were on the cover of The Deli. I've seen the White Rabbits play some really impressive bills(they're great btw) and the first time I heard of The Muggabears was on this blog. But the magazine that puts them all on a list of bands to check out gets dragged through the mud. wow.

"Just because you don't think L Magazine is as cool as come other source?"

no - I don't think it's as -good- as many other sources.

And others must agree with me, because I've never seen an empty distribution box of L Magazines. I wonder how many get landfilled every issue?

Why isn't it as good? Tell me. Otherwise, you leave me no choice than to assume you're just some elitist without any real opinions of their own. Personally, the only paper worth a piss to me in NY is NY Press.

I don't think The L's writing is any better or worse than the Village Voice, Pitchfork, the New York Times, or whoever else you think is better.

And how's about listing some bands YOU'D put up there?

I'm pretty sure you just don't think it's cool. And that it's not eligible for "guilty pleasure" status, either.

But I'm willing to hear your reasoning on this.

I see empty L Magazine boxes all the time. I don't know where you live.

I see empty L boxes all the time....I live in Park Slope and walk by a few boxes on 7th ave everyday and from what I've seen they empty out pretty quickly.

I read L magazine. I really like Audrey Ference. Also, I like the ask-a-taxi-driver & ask-a-bartender opinion pieces. Also, if you thumb through the listings, there are side bar pieces about miscellaneous New York history. No, I don't work for them.

And let me list three more bands that I think that are worth seeing live:

Tiger City, Soft and Secret Life of Sophia.

Stop the bullshitting and name some names.

That's a whole lot of white rabbit vampire bears, for sure.

Vampire Hands is a go. They're actually in Minneapolis, as opposed to being from there and pretending you're a New York band. Which none of these groups are.

another: school of seven bells

I don't know what the hell you mean, but I've lived here for almost 7 years, and I'm in one of these bands. All of the bands in the article formed in New York, as far as I know.

"I don't know what the hell you mean, but I've lived here for almost 7 years, and I'm in one of these bands."

That's exactly what I mean. Get back to me in 8 more years or so and we'll talk, Junior!

Williamsburg= The New Midwest. Squares!

what a carnival of jack assery this thread has become.

Agreed, and I am participating in that jackassery.

7 years ain't enough for you, huh? I live in Greenpoint, incidentally.

You've failed to make your point, but I will say that I grew up in an area that fell prey to a great deal of NYC carpetbaggers looking for a bit of "the country", so as far as I'm concerned, it's my turn to tokenize their turf.

okay, I'm done.

anybody else check in on their "Check in With Last Year's Crop of Must-Hear NYC Bands" thing?

pretty weak track record!

that little feature is all anyone needs to say about how irrelevant L Magazine's take on the NYC scene is.

Then again, everyone said Johanna Newsom was going to be a star, and she is now, but she's horrible- so I don't know what to think.

The L Magazine's taste in music is pretty lacking.
The music section usually bores me.

The L Magazine's taste in music is lacking, it usually bores me. There are so many good new bands that never get mentioned in the mag. Just the same old shit.

Yeah, but most new music is boring. 90% of it, in fact. Other eras only look better because time has filtered out the dreck. For that reason, I'm a little flabbergasted by people who mostly listen to "current" bands.

That said, I don't think L Mag is any better or worse than most any other publication when it comes to music. Thing is, regardless, you can easily click on links to each of these bands and MAKE UP YOUR OWN FUCKING MIND, instead of pointlessly and pompously talking about the "credibility" of one mag vs. the other, like a bunch of preening 7th grade girls in the bathroom. gossiping.

god, now I'm angry.

Yeah, but most new music is boring. 90% of it, in fact. Other eras only look better because time has filtered out the dreck. For that reason, I'm a little flabbergasted by people who mostly listen to "current" bands.

That said, I don't think L Mag is any better or worse than most any other publication when it comes to music. Thing is, regardless, you can easily click on links to each of these bands and MAKE UP YOUR OWN FUCKING MIND, instead of pointlessly and pompously talking about the "credibility" of one mag vs. the other, like a bunch of preening 7th grade girls in the bathroom. gossiping.

god, now I'm angry.

intelligent people talk about the relevance of one publication over another because it's the only way to evaluate them.

most of us don't want to (and don't have time to) read everything printed. we compare the importance and the insight of one source over another in order to not have to read garbage twice.

complaints about the quality (and lack thereof) of the L Magazine are completely valid.

aside from the taxi driver interviews, the L is a dull, aimless read with yuppie sensibilities. The bands they've spotlighted here are also largely dull, with yuppie sensibilities.

The L music section shows no awareness of any kind of underground, by and large focusing on the sorts of clubs who buy strip ads, and ignoring (or more likely, remaining blissfully unaware of) anything that happens outside of those kinds of clubs.

Indie pop is a dead end genre, these 8 bands are quintessentially indie-pop sounding bands. Few stray from the territory pioneered by 90's indie rockers like Belle & Sebastian, Pavement, Built To Spill, etc. A few throw in elements of early 00's post punk and new wave revivalism, which is more boring.

People who like bands like these like them because they remind them of 5 or ten years ago, when they were young and had interesting tastes.

You can shit talk it to death, but the only vibrant and interesting rock music being made in this town are the avant pop and experimental bands in the Brooklyn community, particularly loft punk shows and the noise scene.

Other publications (Time Out, Village Voice, the New York Times) cover these bands and events well, why is the L so clueless?

Your arguments are meaningless as they rest entirely on the subjective. I don't find non-song oriented music that interesting, generally, unless it's jazz or some classical music (the latter of which is song-oriented in a roundabout way). So your assertation about the noise and "avant garde" groups in city doesn't mean shit to me. I've been to a lot of those shows and enjoy them, generally speaking. In fact, I enjoy that stuff live sometimes more than pop bands live. But songs are what I care about, and most of the world who aren't semi-elitist art kids agree with me. And even some of those art kids come around and starting writing songs when they realize that, unless you're a serious musician, self-indulgent art rock is a dead-end road, creatively.

I can't bellieve how transparently "cool" some of you folks are. I mean you say shit that I find completely amazingly shallow and try to pass it off as high-mindedness. Aren't you embarassed? I guess you're not self-aware enough to be.

Indie pop has kept itself going for 25 years or so without the help of the rich kids who run the record industry. Now it's being noticed again and the art kids are snubbing their noses. Typical.

And frankly, pretty much all indie culture is kind of yuppyish in NYC. Trying to make distinctions between Todd P and the rest is specious.

is someone gonna name some fucking bands or what?

here's one:

overlord

Is Overlord really avant-pop and experimental? Or are they just another version of a type of music that's already well represented on the list? Seems to me that it's the latter.

Did I say they were avant-pop or something? No, they write good songs. That's all I meant.

Avant-pop and experimental art rock is far, far, better represented in the local press than "indie pop". If L isn't reporting on the latest incarnation of private school kids making funny noises, maybe it's because they don't like it. And that's their perogative.

No, I am not in overlord.

Did I say they were avant-pop or something? No, they write good songs. That's all I meant.

Avant-pop and experimental art rock is far, far, better represented in the local press than "indie pop". If L isn't reporting on the latest incarnation of private school kids making funny noises, maybe it's because they don't like it. And that's their perogative.

No, I am not in overlord.

Apologies, I thought you were the same person who'd made the call for avant-pop / experimental stuff.

8 NY bands more interesting than those L's list. imo of course. Off the top of my head and in alphabetical order:

Aa
Animandible
Antonious Block
Brightside
Lidia Stone
Parts and Labor
Proton Proton
Team Robespierre

I am not in any of these bands, I have not previously commented here, and I have nothing against L personally, though I do find their list a bit vanilla. that said, I do enjoy some of the bands up there(My Teenage Stride in particular have some really catchy tunes). anyway it's all just a matter of taste and opinion. just dig deeper if you want to find more interesting local bands. theres plenty more where that came from.

I've heard several of those bands, and they are good, but they're all art rock bands, as far as I can tell, and not really song-oriented. And that's sort of the thing. I think some people were reacting to the fact that none of the bands on this list were in the Aa, Panthers, Parts & Labor ilk, but that's a silly thing to be upset about, because those bands get coverage ALL THE TIME. And they get coverage because people think it's more legitimate "art" than a band with 3 minute pop songs. But it's not. It's just an aesthetic difference. But we NEED more good songs, because not enough of the pop bands are GOOD at it, and they're not good at it because they're preoccupied by the cult of personality thing, which a lot of the arty bands are even more preoccupied with. People get caught up with these notions of "serious" music versus "pop", and it's asinine, because it's all enterntainment in one way or another.

Still, the point is, the art rock bands get plenty of attention here. I think it's great that someone's focusing on something else. It doesn't make them any more yuppyish than anyone else.
And yeah, My Teenage Stride are really good.

Yeah, I mean, of the eight bands you just listed, one could make the argument that they're all as similar as people are saying the eight bands on the L's list are, just leaning a bit more toward noise-pop. Which is fine, really... it's just that any list will show slight biases and ultimately be subject to all the same scrutiny.

and what the hell is with the rampant mis-use of the term yuppy? what makes any of these bands yuppies?

I don't know if the persons throwing the yuppy word around were calling the bands yuppie per se, but it started with someone saying the L is yuppyish- a suspicious claim coming from someone who clearer is a regular reader of this site- no knock intended, it's just that why is the L more yuppyish than a lot of things? Like the Voice, for example? I'll bet you the amount of people working for the voice who are not white and from highly groomed backgrounds is pretty damned low.

whad kinda fuggary is dis?

ah, the memories.

since when was the L magazine authority

over indie "it bands"?

it's so cute to look back on Vampire Weekend pre-soul selling to MTV.