The New Pornographers Music Videos, Pictures and Photos including Use It (Artist Commentary), Use It, All For Swinging You Around Music Videos on Roxwel

The New Pornographers

"When I seriously started to try to write songs, my main influences were, like, Burt Bacharach, Jimmy Webb, and Brian Wilson", said Carl Newman of The New Pornographers, a Juno-award winning Canadian indie rock group. The New Pornographers, exploding into the scene in 1997, have since released four successful albums, the first three of which have ranked in the top 40 on the Village Voice's Jazz & Pop. In 2007, Blender magazine ranked their first album, Mass Romantic, the 24th best indie album of all time. On this list, it was also the second-highest Canadian album, falling behind ubiquitous indie band Arcade Fire's masterpiece Funeral.

Such success can be attributed to a number of factors, perhaps the most important being the unique quality of the band's sound. Reminiscent of early power-pop groups such as The Cars and Cheap Trick, and contemporized by newer trends in music, The New Pornographers have managed to remain distinctive in an industry where nondescript noise has become ubiquitous. With confectionary melodies and hook-heavy songs, The New Pornographers have sent an irresistible, infectious resonance through the airwaves, evident by the success of single Use It from third album Twin Cinema.

Making a slight departure from their former carefree sound, their newest album, Challengers, has a slightly melancholic feel. Newman says that a majority of the songs were influenced by his recent move to New York, finding love, and the search for the meaning of life. This example of maturity is a tell-tale sign of impending prominence: bands that don’t progress linearly and instead stagnate in one style for the duration of their careers fall out of favor with the general public and are forgotten in their monotony. The New Pornographers continue to write music and are currently touring to promote Challengers.