I don’t know if it’s cool to like Mumford & Sons now, or if they’ve already moved on to overplayed and overrated.
I remember when Coldplay was the hippest band around and then a year or too later they were the punchline of a “You know how I know you’re gay?” joke in The 40-Year-Old Virgin. I have the feeling that Mumford & Sons is on the brink of that conversion.
I bought their first album when everybody else did — the week after their stirring Grammys performance alongside Bob Dylan and The Avett Brothers. The whole rootsy folk thing felt brand-new then, but already it seems to have blown up and started receding.
I never did pick up their follow-up record, Babel, because it sounded like more of the same. And while I liked the sound of their debut, it never really stuck with me enough to stay in my rotation.
Also, as you can tell by this video, these guys take themselves just a bit too seriously.
I came out of the woods by choice
The shelter also gave the shade
But in the dark I have no name
So leave that click in my head
And I will remember the words that you said
Left a clouded mind and heavy heart
But I was sure we could see a new start
So when your hope’s on fire
But you know your desire
Don’t hold a glass over the flame
Don’t let your heart grow cold
I will call you by name
I will share your road
But hold me fast, hold me fast
Cos I’m a hopeless wanderer
Hold me fast, hold me fast
Cos I’m a hopeless wanderer
Wrestled long with my youth
We tried so hard to live in the truth
But do not tell me all is fine
When I lose my head I lose my spine
So leave that click in my head
And I will remember the words that you said
You brought me out from the cold
Now how I long how I long to grow old
So when your hope’s on fire
But you know your desire
Don’t hold a glass over the flame
Don’t let your heart grow cold
I will call you by name
I will share your road
But hold me fast, hold me fast
Cos I’m a hopeless wanderer
Hold me fast, hold me fast
Cos I’m a hopeless wanderer
I will learn, I will learn
To love the skies I’m under
I will learn, I will learn
To love the skies I’m under
The skies I’m under
Meet Me In Montauk 
I suspect you will shortly receive a passionate rebuttal to your comments by Amy as she really loves this band like few others that have come along of late.
While I understand your point regarding the new album being more of the same, “the same” is a great sound and we have really enjoyed listening to it.
I am not sure whether or not this band will be the next punchline for a hipster joke, but you and I have liked many an artist over the years who could have been replaced as the punchline for that joke, so this hipster will continue to enjoy this band while drinking my Starbucks caramel macchiado (okay it will really be an iced tea, but that didn’t sound as hip)😄
Jason Sadakis (sp?) on SNL and Jason Bateman…thank God for Google, I was just about to make a goon of myself.
Although, I have not listened to their first album I have listened to babel a few times and have found the song very enjoyable every time, and I have to say that I disagree with this post … I really like their music and think of them as an indie that happen to have a big fanbase. I don’t know if that makes them “hip”. Although I guess that their music could be played on the radio less often I don’t think they’re overrated and would prefer to have them on the radio than other artist. I personally don’t like coldplay, but nonetheless I don’t think that this band is similar to coldplay in many ways. Maybe they will be the punchline of a 40 year old virgin scene like that (which by the way was unscripted). But for the present moment I like their music and would like to hear more…
Okay, here’s my thoughts in no particular order:
– Jason Bateman should always have a beard.
– The beginning of the video is like instrument porn – God, those instruments are gorgeous. And, yes, you can call me whatever “hip” or “hipster wannabe” or whatever label you want, but I love seeing those instruments rather than electric guitars being carried down that dusty road 🙂
– I don’t begin to understand the last line of your blog post. Do you fault the band for having a sense of humor? Does that somehow increase their chances of being the punchline of a joke? I don’t get that at all. It seems to me that a band that actually takes itself seriously (*ahem* – Coldplay) warrants the ribbing more than a band that is willing to be in on the joke.
– Since I was late to come to this party, not picking up a Mumford and Son’s album until after last year’s stirring appearance on the Grammys (when Babel was already the “new” album to buy), I haven’t begun to tire of them. That was also the show where I was shocked to hear them accept a Grammy and learn that they were British!! Maybe that earns them double hip points, but I don’t care. It’s awesome to hear that rootsy folk music come from a band that originates in West London.
– This SNL performance –
solidified my love. Perhaps that’s when they started recruiting for their newest music video.
– Finally, you know I couldn’t care less what music has receded or is consdered hip or decidedly not hip. I just like what I like and listen to what I listen to. And this band I could never stop listening to if they keep creating music like the music on Babel.
That is all 🙂
This might be my most misunderstood post ever!
First of all, the last line was intended as a joke. The idea was that readers unfamiliar with the ‘Hopeless Wanderer’ video would play it expecting something pretentious and instead be treated to something hilarious.
Second, I didn’t mean to suggest that whether Mumford & Sons is considered hip or not has any bearing on whether I listen to them or like them. I’m just curious in an anthropological sense about their current pop culture status, because those waves seem to ebb and flow faster than ever before.
I like the band’s sound (and yes, I love their instruments) but not enough to listen to them very often. That’s all.