Idolator
Anyone who's perused the music blogs in the last two weeks is well aware that Peter, Bjorn & John—the Swedish trio whose fantastic Writer's Block is finally being released stateside—is in New York City this week for a multi-venue concert run. And while the sold-out shows have been enthusiastically received by many fans, there have been rumblings that the band blew it every time they performed the whistle-led single "Young Folks." Or rather, they didn't blow it. Some comment excerpts from a BrooklynVegan.com message board regarding Tuesday night's Bowery Ballroom show:
I SAW THEM AT THE MERCURY LOUNGE AND THEY WERE HORRID. THEY WERE FUCKING LIP SYNCHING THE WHISTLE ON YOUNG FOLKS. THIS BAND REALLY SUCKED SO SO MUCH. I HATE THEM. I WISH I COULD BEAT THEIR HEADS IN. THEY SHOULD WRITE CAR ADS...
...wasn't it kind of a letdown to see that he was lip-synching the whistle parts?..
...Sad to realize the whistling is canned...
Gorilla vs. Bear has a clip of the group's Conan appearance, which also drew some lip-smacking criticism; clearly, this is just the sort of important, generation-defining debate that will shape the indie-rock community for weeks—if not years—to come. Our verdict: Getting up on stage and whistling in front a few hundred strangers is no easy task. But if Axl can do it, shouldn't we all at least give it a try?
Comments
I saw the Union Hall and Mercury Lounge shows. It wasn't like he was lip-synching, he was whistling along with the backing track... don't singers and rappers do this all the time in concert?
And at the end of the song, Peter is singing overtop of the whistling, so that could be the real reason they do it this way. The drummer was triggering all sort of things... it didn't really irk me too much (though I mentioned it in my post about the Union Hall show). I guess the real question is why couldn't Bjorn or John handle the whistling?
The canned whistling was a a bit of a let down, but more importantly it was just an average show. Also, the Swedish are not as funny as they think they are and should keep their stange banter to a bare minimum.
Well, there's actually a part of the song where Peter would have to whistle and sing at the same time. Can Axl do *that*?
It seemed to me they were lip-synching on the Conan performance as well, definitely the whistling parts.
wait? a pop band that wrote and recorded popular music
playing to a bit of sample?
some lip syncing?
are ANY OF YOU happen to be aware of the first 10/20 years of musical performances on television?
this is no milli vanilli here.
or even ashley simpson.
this is something most bands do.
perhaps a drum loop, a guitar line, or backing vocals.
there are more pressing matters going on in the world than if Peter Bjorn & John uses a backing sample to whistle over their song.
i saw them perfrom last night, and i thought it was a fantastic show.
here is what the band had to say about "whistlegate"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=lXPSNR7len8
Comment on this post
Reply by EmailLogin with your username and password below. Or comment on this post via email.
Forgot your username or password? New User?