So Kai Hansen wrote I want out because he was sick of Helloween, now bands can't stop covering it!

I'm seriously wondering - is there any band that got better or at least more successfull by turning from 2005-era indie rock to electronic pop? Several did it (Mando Diao, The Kooks, now Kaiser Chiefs), all pretty much lost what relevance they had, along with many fans...
Meanwhile the bands that stayed successfull either developed their sound in a less drastic, more organic way (Arctic Monkeys) or stayed true to their sound. I feel like turning towards more mainstream-friendly pop is a desperate move when the songs aren't there anymore.

We Never Change and Sparks are my favourites off that fantastic first record.

As a Divine Comedy fan one should know never to second guess Neil Hannon at any stage of his career...

It's less to do with different pots than general business sense- The Divine Comedy can do a video to promote a new single which can at least be subsidised if not covered wholly in costs by advertising and publishing synchronisation, with the added advantage that their entire fanbase worldwide who have access to the internet can view it.

A tour is a different thing all together, with band and crew salaries, accommodation, travel and equipment transportation, etc. eating into the earnings. With the USA or any overseas territory these increase with flights, shipping, etc. as examples, and if they are only playing one or two mid size or a string of small shows then financially they will take a hefty hit which may not be worth it compared to return on merchandise, records and ticket sales. The cost of doing a handful of shows like this can wipe out the UK & Irish earnings for a tour for a band like The Divine Comedy, as well as eating into earnings from other areas such as general merchandise, publishing royalties and record sales as they have to cover those costs.

This is one of the reasons when you get a group of say a few thousand fans in an overseas territory complaining their favourite artist hasn't toured- it is even harder in a country the size of the USA as the number of fans won't be localised, so you could book a small or mid sized NY theatre and find that most would have to travel from other states making it prohibitively expensive for many of them.

The decline in record sales hasn't helped as back in the early nineties when labels did well off comparatively small sales US labels who licensed UK bands such as Lush, Ride, Slowdive, etc. would finance US tours and recoup easily on 100,000 plus sales. With those sort of earnings no longer possible labels leave bands and promoters for the most part to organise tours out of their own pockets, and a promoter isn't going to cut an artist favourable deal in return for very low earnings themselves.

This song smells of early morning and summer rain.

God, I used to listen to this all the time but I haven't heard it in years. Thanks for reminding me of it, perfect reading music.

Happy birthday, babe!

Dankjë.

Soundtrack for my late night thoughts.

(great track by one of the greatest post-rock bands)

I think this blogger nailed it in 2013 when One Direction of all people properly called Jake Bugg out during a spat on credentials which actually made me laugh out loud at the time because I could imagine Jake Edwin Charles Kennedy (his birth name despite Bugg being his father's surname) spitting feathers whilst trying to find a way to reply that his image and sound isn't as contrived as any boy band...

Why I Agree With 1D About Jake Bugg