Not Many Experts

Last week I posted this, an attempt to pre-empt who would appear on the BBC’s annual longlist for the “Sound of 2010”. The aims were twofold. Primarily, I was just trying to see how predictable the list was. This was not in itself a criticism, and you can decide for yourself whether you think that a list being “predictable” is negative, or what it otherwise suggests about the list. Secondly, it was also a poorly veiled attempt to gorge my already expansive ego on the collective knowledge of music bloggers. Well, we got 7/15, leading to a warm and fuzzy feeling inside me that is no doubt my ego having a small Christmas party. (If you read that without thinking it was sarcastic, please go back and read it again)

In all seriousness, 7/15 isn’t an insanely impressive number considering the amount of artists that were actually on our list. Regardless, the fact that we correctly guessed pretty much half of the list shows that it is, to an extent, predictable. And this is completely natural – I mean, the list is voted for by tastemakers, and the people who I consulted regarding the list pretty much are tastemakers anyway! I guess the point that I’m trying to get across is that, yeah, we got 7/15, but considering our list was devised people who relentlessly love music and devote a good amount of free time to it, it would have been disappointing if we had got any less, really.

Personally, though, I think that the 2010 long list has, intentionally or not, shown a big swing towards more left field music. Sure, there are still pop stars poised for success lying in the longlist (Daisy Dares You, The Drums, Marina, Ellie Goulding), but the blatant increase in support for really original artists like Devlin, Giigs, Gold Panda and Joy Orbison is a marked difference from last year’s list. I suppose that the 2009 list was fundamentally just a list of a few artists who seemed very likely to do very well in 2009, whereas this year’s equivalent seems to include more people that the industry insiders are just genuinely excited about! Herein, I think, lies the reason why we missed 8 of them!

This brings me to my last point, which I brought up at the beginning of this piece. Predictability? What about it? Well, If we are concluding that the list is inherently made predictable just by the way that it’s put together, then what does this say about the Sound of 2010? Clearly, the predictable elements this year have been really well balanced by the introduction of more avant-garde artists, but we’re still left with the inescapable conclusion that, regardless of the commentary, nit picking, and painstaking analysis, the Sound of 2010 will continue to divert attention from Cowell’s glorified karaoke competition winners to really talented artists such as these, bringing mainstream attention and, eventually, success, to a group of artists who have all demonstrated more talent, flair and originality in their collection of demos and singles than any of Cowell’s media puppets. And it’s for this reason that, regardless of any degree of predictability, we should be grateful  for the Sound of 2010.

Artist profiles and mp3s after the jump…

We’ve already covered Marina, Ellie Goulding, Everything Everything and The Drums to an almost psychopathic extent, so I just thought we’d cover a few of our favourite artists from the longlist who we might have posted about before, but just in a less obsessive way.

Joy Orbison

I really thought that the 2010 list would be the first list to champion a dubstep artist, which is why I included Rusko, who is rumoured to be releasing a new album in 2010. I was half right, but it was Joy Orbison who walked away with the dubstep-related-inclusion this year. “Hyph Mngo” has excited dubstep regulars and outsiders to “the scene” to an almost equal extent so far, making it easy to understand why many believe that Joy Orbison will go far next year.

Delphic

We posted about Delphic’s likely rise to success as soon as they were signed earlier this year, but since seeing their spectacular live show and now their inclusion in this list, and the release of new single “Doubt” on 4th January, success is pretty much inevitable.

Gold Panda

He made his presence felt with a smattering of confusingly brilliant remixes, and the surprisingly popular “Quitter’s Raga”, but it’s “Back Home” that really showcases his talent. Hardly likely to be that Lady Gaga of 2010, but originality in mesmerising amounts qualifies his inclusion.

Hurts

Manchester. Gloomy. Rain. The perfect backdrop for Hurts’ ethereal pop, who might just be 2010’s equivalent to White Lies. Just, slightly less gloomy (though still pretty damn unimpressed) and with fewer guitars.

Two Door Cinema Club

Comparisons to the Wombats might be an easy way to throw a promising career in the bin, but the geekiness of both bands and their love of 3 minute guitar-pop perfection really are similar. Undoubtedly capable of success, as their live show is packed with potential singles, but they’ll need to mature and expand their repertoire if they want to make an album that’s going to last the year.

Who do you think was missed from the list? We’ll be covering all of the many who should have been included in the next few weeks.

Joy Orbison – Hyph Mngo

Delphic – Counterpoint

Gold Panda – Back Home

Hurts – Wonderful Life

Two Door Cinema Club – Do You Want It All