- Look, poking fun at Mumford & Sons is pretty easy, and so easy that, as I stated, it's become pretty much a cliché to do so. So part of me wants to give the band credit for being self-aware enough to have a bunch of funny comedians illustrate that the band is in on the joke and understands that what they do might be considered obnoxious. But then after I think about that for a minute, my brain realizes that is bullshit. I'm a kid who grew up loving folk music. I still will argue that Bob Dylan is the greatest songwriter of our time, and that Self-Portrait is his best record and incredibly underrated. I'll argue that folk music can tap into a side of humanity that we all must appreciate and engage with in order to learn about ourselves, about why we think the way we do, and about what that all means. So are we really going to allow a band that has bastardized this genre and makes shitty music and makes a lot of money bastardizing the genre and making shitty music off the hook simply because they showed a little self-awareness? No. This is something that we should not do.
Thoughts?
From the comments: It's funny that you're posting this because a few days ago two of my roommates and I (we 3 DSR guys) ended up in an hour long discussion that revolved around Mumford & Sons and the rise of Indie Folk in general. There's not really a point in it, they appeal to the masses by producing an inoffensive version of Folk with elements that are just unique and accessible enough to the casual music listener. It's not necessarily marketed towards people that are truly into music, who might find it bland and unoriginal (as the three of us do). Eventually this will pass and another genre will be hip and in to the public and we'll be making these types of articles about those bands. I've come off as a pretentious douche to too many people by trying to tell them that they music they like kind of sucks. That's not going to stop people from liking this band, it's not going to stop them from selling records, the best I can do is nod and show them other lesser-known bands that they might enjoy more.WHY DON'T PEOPLE LIKE THE THINGS THAT I LIKE
I think a lot of the complaint comes from a simple place: "how come that band looks twee but they're knee deep in ladies?" The unspoken second sentence is usually "I dressed like that for years and my shows never filled the club let alone sold out a festival." If you analyze M&S, it falls apart. The lyrics don't tell a full story and they don't change much from tune to tune. The tunes are wicked similar. Nevertheless, they rawk out -- err, folk out. It's good fun. It's not deep, it's not challenging. It's not folk -- it's pop-rock with banjos and mandolins. It's like Cheap Trick: totally fun, not challenging, and probably an amazing live show. "This... is the first... song... on our new... album." We are also spoiled to live in an era of interesting music again, even in the pop world. For every One Direction are hundreds of other directions, any one of which could be coming to your town this weekend. Is !!! deep? No. Are they a killer live show? Worth standing two hours outside.
Thoughts? Hm. When Will Forte and Jason Sudekis kissed, I laughed out loud. That was hilarious. No comment on Mumford. Or his sons.
It's an interesting point, I think, and it has at least a grain of truth in it. A lot of people are rather willing to change their views and jump on the bandwagon as soon as whoever's carrying the wagon acknowledges that the wagon exists (or something, that's rather a weak way of phrasing it). BUT, I think it's jumping from one bandwagon to another. The people I see saying this like "I usually don't like Mumford and Sons, but..." are the same ones who previously have ragged on them so much that it's obviously over the top, obviously not their own, rationalised and thought-out opinion.
I have never knowingly heard a Mumford and Sons song. If I heard them, I wouldn't know it. As far as I know, this was my first exposure to them. I was pretty surprised by how "big" they are.
You've probably heard them by now -- particularly since the guitar in the first minutes of "The Cave" sounds totally like a song on The New Green's album. Which one? I'll get back to you on this.
Hmmm... I've listened to this song all the way through and I can't guess which "me" song it sounds like. Do tell :)
I first came across them probably as they hit the first sort of "big": when "hip teens" start talking about them and playing covers at open mic nights. Because of that, they've always had the association in my mind of folk catering to the popular music crowd, as ButterflyEffect described. They've gotten bigger since, to no surprise, and, also not surprisingly, most of those "hip teens" who were talking about them and playing them a few years ago are now the people who hate on them endlessly.