Post by igniz on Dec 3, 2015 9:54:58 GMT
Possibly. My musical path through life so far has had me being obsessed with a few different acts/labels really intensely, usually for a year or two, and then they kinda fizzled out and I went to something else, and PCM fit the mold pretty well. The labels in question, the best parallels I can think of are Ed Banger and anything french electro-house back in like 2006-8, and Night Slugs from 2010-12. Ed Banger was a totally internet-centered phenomenon, they for a time had a very idiosyncratic sound that was a sharp departure from the general dance zeitgeist just prior to them, they had a visual identity that was very much theirs, and their music was pretty divisive, ie the RA crowd had no time for it lol, and they went on to be aped endlessly. Of course, nowadays, like, Justice may have had songs in multiple network TV commercials, got sampled on a jay-z record etc, but their ideas pretty much ran out and that crew, while I imagine they're still active in some way shape or form will never have the kind of relevancy or impact they did at that time, and I have a pretty hard time listening to their music nowadays, but I stand by it as a big part of the soundtrack to my high school years lol.
Night slugs had a similar trajectory, ie an absolutely crushing first year of releases, super fresh sounds, airtight visual game, you name it, they had it going on. Difference is I think that they were always favored by pretty much everyone I think because their music, especially the early stuff is pretty accessible for anyone and it's a lot smoother to the ears. But same thing, you can only "have it" for so long, and after a couple really good years, the ideas started to run thin, then so did the releases, and so did the relevancy/impact. They're not really dead but their apex came and went.
I would honestly be surprised if PCM can surpass or even match how hard they knocked it out of the park from like, late '13-14. At this point the magic of discovery and seeing something emerge is done, and that's fine, but also I feel like since Pop Cube, which I don't feel really matched the potential of what it could have been, or perhaps just kind of got itself overhyped and couldn't match up, and the unfortunate GFOTY incident, it's been a lot of waiting and not a lot of delivery and I have a hard time feeling like there's been a true classic addition to the catalog since almost a year ago with Deep Trouble. Like, even when stuff does come out, since then it's always felt kinda compromised - Product (yes i know sophie is not technically part of the label ) could have been incredible but for the diehard fan it's a document of stuff they've already heard 1000 times, and as far as the new songs go, sophie has way better tracks to show off to the uninitiated than MSMSMSM, that are still totally MIA and may not ever come out. Snow Globe and easyMix, while both good, felt like teases, and IDL is imo completely forgettable. I also kinda feel AG/Danny's musical ideas losing density over time - I've been listening to Lifestyle and This Life a bit lately and to go from something like City Break or the kaleidoscope of that mix to just relentless ultra-saw huge chords on every song kinda feels like something is slipping, or it's about time for them to start painting from a different palette for a bit at least. Anyways lol idk, I have faith that they will put out good things but it's not crazy at all I think to see how musical movements throughout time and ESPECIALLY in the dance/electronic realm have a very hard time sustaining fresh output to match the levels of hype put behind them, and that while they're due for a bit of a resurgence (when was the last time an AG Cook solo song came out? beautiful?) it'd be natural to assume we've seen, or are watching right now, the peak of power/relevancy for them and that things will taper off over the next year or two. The great thing is, someone with a music brain that is in sync with our shared sonic instincts that led us here, will start putting out something new and exciting and the cycle will begin anew
Night slugs had a similar trajectory, ie an absolutely crushing first year of releases, super fresh sounds, airtight visual game, you name it, they had it going on. Difference is I think that they were always favored by pretty much everyone I think because their music, especially the early stuff is pretty accessible for anyone and it's a lot smoother to the ears. But same thing, you can only "have it" for so long, and after a couple really good years, the ideas started to run thin, then so did the releases, and so did the relevancy/impact. They're not really dead but their apex came and went.
I would honestly be surprised if PCM can surpass or even match how hard they knocked it out of the park from like, late '13-14. At this point the magic of discovery and seeing something emerge is done, and that's fine, but also I feel like since Pop Cube, which I don't feel really matched the potential of what it could have been, or perhaps just kind of got itself overhyped and couldn't match up, and the unfortunate GFOTY incident, it's been a lot of waiting and not a lot of delivery and I have a hard time feeling like there's been a true classic addition to the catalog since almost a year ago with Deep Trouble. Like, even when stuff does come out, since then it's always felt kinda compromised - Product (yes i know sophie is not technically part of the label ) could have been incredible but for the diehard fan it's a document of stuff they've already heard 1000 times, and as far as the new songs go, sophie has way better tracks to show off to the uninitiated than MSMSMSM, that are still totally MIA and may not ever come out. Snow Globe and easyMix, while both good, felt like teases, and IDL is imo completely forgettable. I also kinda feel AG/Danny's musical ideas losing density over time - I've been listening to Lifestyle and This Life a bit lately and to go from something like City Break or the kaleidoscope of that mix to just relentless ultra-saw huge chords on every song kinda feels like something is slipping, or it's about time for them to start painting from a different palette for a bit at least. Anyways lol idk, I have faith that they will put out good things but it's not crazy at all I think to see how musical movements throughout time and ESPECIALLY in the dance/electronic realm have a very hard time sustaining fresh output to match the levels of hype put behind them, and that while they're due for a bit of a resurgence (when was the last time an AG Cook solo song came out? beautiful?) it'd be natural to assume we've seen, or are watching right now, the peak of power/relevancy for them and that things will taper off over the next year or two. The great thing is, someone with a music brain that is in sync with our shared sonic instincts that led us here, will start putting out something new and exciting and the cycle will begin anew