Having passed the half-year checkpoint for 2013, what better time to reflect back on the year’s music before rolling into the last half and its many, many exciting releases?
BBC Radio have done just that in their ‘Half-Yearly Zeitgeist Report‘, a special broadcast made over the weekend of a list of the year’s most talked about artists… well written about, as the British broadcasters teamed up with tastemaking blog aggregator The Hype Machine to compile the Top 20 most blogged about artists of 2013 so far.
After trawling through more than 850 of the internet’s most popular blogs, the BBC Radio 1 show then counted down the Top 20 of the artists and bands that have gotten the most blogosphere attention in the last six months.
The most buzzed about band according to the online music community? That’ll be the electronic music making Lawrence brothers, Guy and Howard, of Disclosure. “It’s weird ‘cause me and Howard don’t really follow blogs too much cause it’s a bit scary,” Disclosure’s 22-year-old Guy told the BBC host Tom Robinson on air. “[But] blogs are a huge reason Disclosure are in existence. We started out this whole thing by getting on a few blogs.” Daft Punk only landed at #5 on the rankings – despite it seeming like they held the entire Internet hostage [for] Random Access Memories
The Brits, who are headlining the revamped Listen Out (nee Parklife) festival this September/October, take top honours as the most blogged about artist of 2013, helped in no small part by their debut album Settle, which features a host of emerging talent including Jessie Ware, Eliza Doolittle, Jamie Woon, and – in new single ‘White Noise’ – fellow UK buzz band AlunaGeorge, who come in at #11 on the new Top 20 list (and also due in Australia for Listen Out).
Coming in behind Disclosure at #2 are French indie rockers Phoenix, while fellow Parisians Daft Punk only landed at #5 on the rankings. Despite it seeming like they held the entire Internet hostage in the lead-up to the release of Random Access Memories, including a drip-feed campaign of behind the scenes interviews with the album’s all-star cast of collaborators and the strange-but-true launch of the album in the tiny NSW town of Wee Waa, the robots didn’t quite stoke the necessary discussion on the 850 blogs used to formulate the Top 20 list.
Sandwiched between the Phoenix and Daft Punk are synthpop Glaswegians CHVRCHES (at #3) and forthcoming Splendour favourite James Blake (at #4). In fact a number of bands who are playing the three-day winter music festival later this month make an appearance in the list, including sister trio Haim (at #8), New York duo MS MR (#13), and refined indie band Daughter (#15).
Unlike the Hype Machine-curated Top 50 most blogged acts of last year however, there’s a distinct lack of Australian artists in the Top 20. Meaning not even the internationally trouncing beats of Sydney’s Flume could match the star power of Gotye or Tame Impala, who both made the Zeitgeist list for 2012; but with Flume’s forthcoming appearance at the inaugural Laneway Detroit lineup, alongside fellow Aussie and musical pal, Chet Faker, there’s every chance both soultronica makers could appear in a similar year-end list. (Especially if those rumours of a new side-project following Chet Faker’s own album release come to fruition).
Top 20 Most Blogged Artists Of 2013 So Far
1. Disclosure
2. Phoenix
3. Chvrches
4. James Blake
5. Daft Punk
6. Youth Lagoon
7. Local Natives
8. Haim
9. Justin Timberlake
10. Lana Del Rey
11. AlunaGeorge
12. The xx
13. Ms Mr
14. Classixx
15. Daughter
16. The Strokes
17. London Grammar
18. Foals
19. Grizzly Bear
20. Say Lou Lou
