Tag Archives: The Hummingbird Awards

EDITOR PICKS: FINAL WORDS ON 2012, THE BEST TRACKS FROM RE & 2013 PREDICTIONS

31 Dec

Our Editor, Father Time is tossing out 2012 and saying hello to 2013

Our Editor, Father Time is tossing out 2012 and saying hello to 2013


EDITOR PICKS: FINAL WORDS ON 2012 AND THE BEST ALBUMS AND TRACKS FROM RE

God thank you for the end of 2012. We survived another apocalyptic prediction, guns killing people and another visceral election. But enough with the real world, the music industry saw another year of deaths. We said goodbye to Dave Brubeck, Das Racist and essentially The Beasties. Rest in Peace Adam “MCA” Yauch (1964-2012). Let’s cheer this up a bit, we also said hello to Spotify in the US, the best new artists and the Indie becoming ironically mainstream. It was truly the year that the major label was put to bed. What do they provide any way? Distribution, please anyone can upload a track to Bandpage or Soundcloud. Marketing, come on we run this blog on pure passion and we get more traffic than Kings of Leon’s Facebook page. It’s done, it’s over, say hello to the powerful Mr. Indie, he will be your gatekeeper of the future.

As far as music. Trends that died:
1. Bands named after animals, see our Ark comment.
2. Vocals without electronics…yep
3. Drummers
4. Indies being Indies. Alabama Shakes and The Lumineers topping charts…wow.

Trends that took off:
1. Folk is the shit, see The Lumineers (The highest charting indie track of all time)
2. The record release from so called dead bands, see The XX, Clinic oh and a My Bloody Valentine record coming in 2013
3. The female leads, see Jessie Ware, Class Actress, Beach House, Alabama Shakes, etc.
5. Mainstreaming of Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All…wow they’re like the North Carolina of music. The greatest rap draft picks come from Odd Future see Tyler the Creator, Frank Ocean…
4. Sophomore releases from our faves, Tennis, Best Coast, Sleigh Bells, etc.

So we close this year with one final statement to all those bands out there…
KEEP WRITING SONGS
KEEP RECORDING BECAUSE WE ARE ALL STILL LISTENING.
Music is not dead, just the business of selling it.
KEEP CREATING AND WE WILL KEEP SHARING Fight on!

EDITORS PICKS: Top Tracks from 2012

1. Johnathon Boulet “You’re An Animal”
2. Toy “Dead & Gone”
3. The Weeknd “The Morning”
4. Earlimart “97 Heart Attack”
5. Tame Impala “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards”
6. Toy “Lose My Way”
7. New War “Ghostwalking”
8. Class Actress “Keep You”
9. Fear of Men “Green Sea”
10. Bad Books “Pyotr”
11. Grimes “Oblivion”
12. Nude Beach “Radio”
13. Terrible Truths “Don Juan”

The Spotify Playlist:

Here are 3 Bands to watch in 2013:
Savages – These ladies will eat your face off.

Mt. Wolf – Sigur Ros with some balls. Their single hit our Soundcloud with “Life Size Ghosts”

The 1975 – Ed Blow has been peppering us with these guys and we love em. If Snow Patrol wasn’t the sold out Snow Patrol.

If you’ve already forgotten here are the Top 12 Best New Bands from 2012:
Hummingbird Awards 2012
#12 Rose Elinor Dougall
#11 Fear of Men
#10 The Weeknd
#9 Nude Beach
#8 Class Actress
#7 Johnathon Boulet
#6 DIIV
#5 Hey Sholay
#4 Alt-J (∆)
#3 Jessie Ware
#2 Grimes
#1 Toy

Hummingbird Awards – ALL YOUR BEST NEW BANDS FROM 2010, 2011 and 2012:

Hummingbird Awards 2012
#12 Rose Elinor Dougall
#11 Fear of Men
#10 The Weeknd
#9 Nude Beach
#8 Class Actress
#7 Johnathon Boulet
#6 DIIV
#5 Hey Sholay
#4 Alt-J (∆)
#3 Jessie Ware
#2 Grimes
#1 Toy

Editor Picks Best of 2012: RE’s PICKS!
Staff Picks Best of 2012: Arizona Turk’s Incredible List for 2012

Hummingbird Awards 2011
Hummingbird Awards 2010

Best New Bands of 2010 Hummingbird Award: #9 Sleigh Bells

17 Dec

Best New Bands of 2010 Hummingbird Award: #9 Sleigh Bells

Altering the landscape of music isn’t easy. 2010 was a year of passive, derivative drivel, made by machines and not musicians. But in saying that, we have answers and hope. We found at least 20 bands that have changed music and one or two that stand alone. Sleigh Bells is one of those bands, fusing searing guitars, fractured vocals and deep beats. It’s the XX/XY duo redefined. It’s the Slayer of our age. It’s angry and Alexis Krauss is our top Indie Hottie for 2010.

We made bold predictions for Sleigh Bells and we’re still waiting for the tipping point. We’ve seen the TV commercials, we’ve read all the “hipster” blogs, but we’re still waiting for that moment. We’re proud to have been the ones to introduce them to you and we’re even more proud to put them in our Top 10 Best New Bands of 2010. We might even say they are the Most Important Band of 2010. Their three best tracks are posted below.

Vitals:
Band Members: Guitarist/beatbox Derek Miller and vocalist Alexis Krauss
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Sonic Soulmates: MIA, Slayer, Your high school cheerleading squad
Tracks of the Year:
“Crown on the Ground” – This is the best song of the year. Check back on 12.28.10 for the full list.

“Beach Girls”

“Infinity Guitars”

Follow:
Facebook
MySpace
Band Site
Twitter

Original BOD Post:
Sleigh Bells was originally posted on our Facebook profile. One of the first bands ever to be profiled. 3.24.10

They also made our “Best of 2010…So Far”

2010 Hummingbird Awards
Hummingbird Award #20: Crocodiles
Hummingbird Award #19: Miniature Tigers
Hummingbird Award #18: Gamble House
Hummingbird Award #17: Tame Impala
Hummingbird Award #16: Paper Crows
Hummingbird Award #15: Perfume Genius
Hummingbird Award #14: The Fresh & Onlys
Hummingbird Award #13: Tennis
Hummingbird Award #12: Memoryhouse
Hummingbird Award #11: Karkwa
Hummingbird Award #10: Lord Huron
Hummingbird Award #9: Sleigh Bells

Best New Bands of 2010 Hummingbird Award: #11 Karkwa

15 Dec

Best New Bands of 2010 Hummingbird Award: #11 Karkwa

Wow Karkwa created a stir. The Canadian complexity of their sound is followed by a GIGANTIC fan following…oh and they won the Polaris Prize for 2010. We originally profiled the band before they won. American music fans have no idea how incredible music is outside of their borders. We’ve showcased bands from Sweden, Ireland, London, Tokyo, Colombia and of course Canada. But no one band created more buzz this year at New.Band.Day then Karkwa. Their big, complex Rock sound is so good. We love them here in Northern California and we hope the world finds out how great they are.

Vitals:
Band Members: Louis-Jean Cormier, François Lafontaine, Martin Lamontagne, Julien Sagot, Stéphane Bergeron
Hometown: Montreal, CN
Sonic Soulmates: The Arcade Fire, A little Radiohead a splash of Sigur Ros

Track of the Year:
“L’acouphène” MP3

Follow:
MySpace
Band site

Original Band of the Day Post: 7.23.10

2010 Hummingbird Awards
Hummingbird Award #20: Crocodiles
Hummingbird Award #19: Miniature Tigers
Hummingbird Award #18: Gamble House
Hummingbird Award #17: Tame Impala
Hummingbird Award #16: Paper Crows
Hummingbird Award #15: Perfume Genius
Hummingbird Award #14: The Fresh & Onlys
Hummingbird Award #13: Tennis
Hummingbird Award #12: Memoryhouse
Hummingbird Award #11: Karkwa

Best Bands of 2010 HUMMINGBIRD AWARD: #20 Crocodiles

5 Dec

Best Bands of 2010
#20 Hummingbird Award – CROCODILES

Best 80’s retro re-love of our days in So Cal listening to Richard Blade and KROQ. It’s the layered sounds of Jesus & and The Mary Chain coupled with so cal skater vibes that bring Crocodiles to our list.

Vitals:
Hometown – San Diego, CA
Members – Charles Rowell and Brandon Welchez
Sonic Soulmates – Jesus & The Mary Chain, Love and Rockets and Echo & The Bunnymen

Fave Track:
“Sleep Forever”

Follow:
MySpace
Facebook

Original Post: Band of the Day 11.1.10

WHAT ARE THE HUMMINGBIRDS?

THE HUMMINGBIRDS (The 20 Best New Bands of 2010)

5 Dec

You Want One of These

First of all let me thank you! This is the First Annual Hummingbird Awards and we owe it to you. This has been an amazing year for us here at NBD. We profiled over 200 bands, bands have thanked us and you fans have been supportive of us. So to close out this year, we going to count ’em down. It’s time, we’ve taken the last week to study our picks. We’ve found a few things..

1. You fans love your bands
2. Canada is producing some amazing music in 2010
3. Sweden and the Nordics are producing even better music (I’ll leave it to you to defend your music)
4. The Pet Sound was hot in early 2010, but it’s been replaced by….
5. XX/XY duos – WOW there a ton of female/male duos this year.
6. Singer songwriters will be all over our top 10
7. Arizona Turk has a lot to say about the list
8. We don’t give the award to bands that have already made it…we reward the ones who need it.
9. Our favorite band of the year is a shocker
10. Hummingbirds are amazing birds…Your Band Wants To Win a Hummingbird!

A Hummingbird is the most prestigious award a new band can receive. Hands down, if you win one, your life will never be the same.

2010 WINNERS

2010 Hummingbird Awards
Hummingbird Award #20: Crocodiles
Hummingbird Award #19: Miniature Tigers
Hummingbird Award #18: Gamble House
Hummingbird Award #17: Tame Impala
Hummingbird Award #16: Paper Crows
Hummingbird Award #15: Perfume Genius
Hummingbird Award #14: The Fresh & Onlys
Hummingbird Award #13: Tennis
Hummingbird Award #12: Memoryhouse
Hummingbird Award #11: Karkwa
Hummingbird Award #10: Lord Huron
Hummingbird Award #9: Sleigh Bells
Hummingbird Award #8: Crystal Fighters
Hummingbird Award #7: Efterklang
Hummingbird Award #6: Best Coast
Hummingbird Award #5: Jim Jones Revue
Hummingbird Award #4: Chapel Club
Hummingbird Award #3: The Radio Dept.
Hummingbird Award #2: The Pomegranates
Hummingbird Award #1: The Tallest Man On Earth

Read our Music Excavators Picks:
Editor Gems (Albums)
Editor Gems (Songs)
Arizona Turk Gems (Albums)
Arizona Turk Gems (Songs)
Music Muse Gems (Songs)

All the Hummingbirds