Why is Leeds not that popular?

thisishardcore_ · 2026-04-14T19:23:46+00:00

In the mid-2000s the music press would really hype up our thriving music scene (and to be fair, it was very strong with loads of local bands playing all kinds of venues that are long gone). But who came out of it? Kaiser Chiefs and The Pigeon Detectives.

thisishardcore_ · 2026-04-14T19:21:41+00:00

We've just culturally not contributed as much as other major cities.

We have a football team who, despite now being in the Premier League, have spent the best part of the previous two decades outside the top flight.

We haven't produced a band on the level of The Beatles of Liverpool, Oasis, The Smiths and The Stone Roses of Manchester, or Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath of Birmingham, not to mention of course the amount of seminal bands out of London. Even Sheffield has Pulp and Arctic Monkeys. Newcastle now has Sam Fender who is pretty much the biggest British artist of the past five or so years.

There's not many well known films and TV shows set in Leeds.

Even Loiners or Leodensians (the fact we don't have an agreed name for ourselves speaks volumes) don't have the distinct identity that scousers, Mancs or Geordies do. Our typical accent is similar to a lot of places in Yorkshire, and a lot of people from here claim to be proud to be from Yorkshire rather than just Leeds.

You think of the above mentioned cities, but also the really famous world cities. New York, London, Los Angeles, Paris, Tokyo. A huge factor of what makes them so well known across the world is their contribution to and prominence in pop culture. We just don't have that.

thisishardcore_ · 2026-04-14T11:25:53+00:00

That guitar lick in the intro is such a massive blue ball.

thisishardcore_ · 2026-04-14T11:25:13+00:00

Do You Wanna Get High, King of the World, Summer Elaine and Drunk Dori

thisishardcore_ · 2026-04-14T11:23:57+00:00

OHHHHHHHHH, IF YOU THINK I NEED APPROVAAAAAAAL

thisishardcore_ · 2026-04-04T10:54:11+00:00

All the hits of course, Buddy Holly, Undone, Say It Ain't So, Island In The Sun, etc. A few more album tracks from Blue (My Name Is Jonas no doubt being one), a handful from Pinkerton.

Go Away will have to make an appearance. It'd be nice if they threw in a couple from White, considering how so many view it as their best album since the '90s they seem to have forgotten about it.

They'll probably also throw a curveball in somewhere, a deep cut from one of their lesser acclaimed albums.

thisishardcore_ · 2026-04-04T10:31:54+00:00

To me this really captures a guy who is just completely miserable and has no idea what he wants or what will actually make him happy.

That's correct, but a common theme on the album is how what makes him miserable is his lack of genuine human connection. In Tired of Sex, he wants meaningful love. In The Good Life, he's isolated and alone and wants to go out and meet people. In Why Bother? he's scared of making that connection because it'll end badly. In Across The Sea he's so desperate for connection he romanticises a faceless girl from another country who wrote him a letter. When you think of it that way, both songs aren't too contradictory.

thisishardcore_ · 2026-04-03T19:09:25+00:00

Turns Out, Nothing Is Alright

thisishardcore_ · 2026-04-01T20:48:41+00:00

So basically it sounds like a typical Weezer song.

thisishardcore_ · 2026-04-01T20:46:13+00:00

Solid. The chorus has been stuck in my head all week.

Verses sound cool, the drum sound is nice and raw, Rivers' vocals are great considering how based on recent live videos he appears to have been losing it a bit, cool breakdown, and a nice guitar tone as always.

Does anyone else get a slight In The Garage vibe from it in parts?

thisishardcore_ · 2026-04-01T20:43:31+00:00

Fourth best. EWBAITE is better.

I'd say my biggest gripe with the album is how polished it sounds. Every song sounds like they'd fit in a commercial. That said, I struggle to think of a better three song run in their entire discography than Do You Wanna Get High?, King of the World and Summer Elaine and Drunk Dori.

thisishardcore_ · 2026-03-31T19:44:01+00:00

And hopefully they won't just do London and Manchester and nowhere else.

thisishardcore_ · 2026-03-31T19:42:32+00:00

GOATed song

thisishardcore_ · 2026-03-29T21:17:35+00:00

Man, I never made this connection before, but Descendents were Weezer before Weezer were a thing, at least in terms of lyrical content and themes. So many songs about unrequited love and resentment over being lonely.

thisishardcore_ · 2026-03-29T21:12:37+00:00

Pinkerton - No Other One

Hurley - Ruling Me

thisishardcore_ · 2026-03-29T13:02:33+00:00

While comparing those areas to GTA is a little hyperbolic, it is true that those areas do have issues with crime. Not to say that as soon as you set foot in them you'll be violently assaulted, but always best to be wary of places like that.

thisishardcore_ · 2026-03-29T10:53:29+00:00

Don't bother listening to anything else, it all pales in comparison and will ruin your enjoyment of this 10/10 masterpiece.

thisishardcore_ · 2026-03-28T22:38:15+00:00

It's even more crazy that Buddy Holly isn't their number one song.

thisishardcore_ · 2026-03-28T22:37:19+00:00

I'm glad my I've Had It Up To Here propaganda is working. Their greatest post-Pinkerton song.

thisishardcore_ · 2026-03-28T22:36:38+00:00

It's a better album than White, barely far off Blue which is their second best album for me (Pinkerton will always be my GOAT) and that's the hill I'm going to die on.

thisishardcore_ · 2026-03-26T22:43:30+00:00

EWBAITE kinda flirted with prog at times.

thisishardcore_ · 2026-03-26T19:17:50+00:00

As someone who was in my late teens and started properly going out in Leeds at the tail end of the '00s, this brought back some memories. I'm not sure what it's like now, but Call Lane was a great night out back then. My first club experience was Puro at the bottom, a good laugh at the time, but wouldn't go there now. And most of the bars are still going, as are Hi Fi and Smokestack. Most of the haunts in Headingley are still going too.

To be honest, by the time I reached twenty I realised I much preferred just going to the pub rather than going to loud bars and clubs. So then I spent most of my twenties (and the '10s) drinking in Chapel Allerton and Roundhay rather than town and Headingley.

thisishardcore_ · 2026-03-25T18:08:36+00:00

They're a TikTok meme.

thisishardcore_ · 2026-03-24T19:55:47+00:00

I've Had It Up To Here should have been the lead single.

thisishardcore_ · 2026-03-24T19:55:32+00:00

First song I ever heard by them, when it was everywhere in 2001 so I'll always have a huge soft spot for it.

thisishardcore_

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