I spend a lot of time thinking about why it is that some bands in local/regional scenes have a huge amount of hype behind them while others, while well-respected, don’t enjoy the same level of press coverage and public ardor.

And I’ve realized that it’s more or less a crap shoot. It seems that it’s becoming more and more unpredictable- some immensely talented bands slave away without too much notice, and some bands, despite offering nothing more than very good executions of music we’ve already heard before, are touted as local legends.

Last night I went to the Black Cat to see These United States, who you know I love, opening for Middle Distance Runner and Georgie James. To me, the lineup felt backward. These US should be headlining any local bill they play in this city by now.

I was speaking with a friend, who plays in another extraordinary band that should have a higher profile in this city, and he put it about as well as I could hope to, calling These United States “Wilco good,” and a band that deserves to be much more prominent than it is.

I’m not naive. I realize that hooks and a pop sensibility are much more likely to get you noticed, even in “indie” or “local” music, than complexity and nuance.

But come on.

Georgie James is really good, no doubt about it. Middle Distance Runner, ditto. I don’t mean to slight them at all, but I have to wonder why it is that they’ve become two of the most hyped bands in this city as opposed to other bands that are at least as good. Hooks, pop sensibility, I know. And they’re talented; they deserve recognition.
But…

We have bands that are giving us something entirely unique and fascinating and intricate and, to me, irresistible, that aren’t receiving the same level of attention.

Often when listening to music, I find myself drawing parallels to the stuff I work with in my “real job,” wine.

I taste an awful lot of wine. Plenty of it is delicious, enjoyable and fun to consume. And I think to myself, fine, this is enjoyable, but why do I need to sell this as opposed to the hundreds of delicious, enjoyable, fun wines I already have?

I taste plenty of unique and interesting wines too, and I think to myself, fine, but do I need to sell this just because it’s unlike anything I’ve tasted before? Different doesn’t necessarily mean good.

And every once in a while, something special happens. I am faced with a wine that I can tell is giving me something valuable. It is a totally one-of-a-kind product that is made by people who put their hearts and souls into it, that reflects a whole world in a glass: the geology of the soil, the history and culture of the place where it is produced, the weather of the year in which it was grown; a whole and complete and totally new thing that wraps up a universe in one sip. And is irrestistably delicious to boot.

And my lament is the same- why do so many of these wines get overlooked in favor of simply delicious, or simply unique, wines that offer impact in place of resonance, a fleeting enjoyment in place of a rewarding experience?

That’s how I feel about These United States. They have a record , The Forest And The Garden, which from the tracks already made available, is going to be the same sort of rewarding thing- and it has yet to find a home.

What gives?

If Hardly Art, a label run by some of the guys from the legendary Sub Pop, signs Le Loup after three shows, there should be an all-out bidding war for These United States’ forthcoming record. I’m sure they’ve had offers, but apparently none have been good enough, and it’s frustrating to hear tracks like what’s on their MySpace page and know that there’s a magnificent record on the way, and that there isn’t a label that’s done what it takes to get it out there.

Okay, just a few thoughts on the matter.

I promise not to harp on the These United States topic anymore, for at least a few weeks.