One of the most influential websites in the world of music is Pitchfork. This website is very powerful and having your album featured in its "Best New Albums"-category can make for an incredible uptake in an indie bands existence. Recently featured were Vampire Weekend, Hot Chip, Four Tet, Gorillaz and Charlotte Gainsbourg (the last of which had a very bad review in one of the most influential Belgian magazines which goes to show it's all relative).

Those are the names of the groups you do know. There are also those you don't know. Take latest additions The Morning Benders or Fang Island. Take my favorite Titus Andronicus (in the Charlatan soon ) or take Gil Scott-Heron, Gonjasufi, Local Natives, Liars or Pantha Du Prince.

That said, one could have seen the last one coming. Pantha Du Prince is friends with Animal Collective (and he opened their show in the AB last year ) and AC are the darlings of Pitchfork. They get a Best New Album mention if they fart so why wouldn't their friends? But it's also brilliant music:

I've not been listening to a lot of electronic dance music. It doesn't excite me anymore. I'm not sure if it's the genre or if it's me that is to blame. For a while I thought that it was the genre since nothing interesting seemed to come out of it. Like Hot Chip, sure, nice poppy tunes. I'm sure this song with the brilliant video is ironic and it's fun and all, but: so what? It's a crappy popsong and provokes the same feeling Weird Al Yankovitz used to do: nice and fun but I wouldn't exactly listen to it again given half a choice.

Don't get me started on Justice or New Rave or the recent female electropop singers like La Roux. Soulwax in their Night Versions, OK. But that was the starting point for the rock scene to take over. Nowadays if you go to a rock concert like the one from Vampire Weekend you see a lot of people dancing and that's great. On a sidenote: you should go and see Vampire Weekend now, before they turn big as coldplay. I have a feeling they will become that big.

LCD Soundsystem was the last great band I guess. Me jumping around in my little apartment to their Yeah Yeah Yeah, that was exciting. And their debut album, that was exciting, when it finally came out I could not be at the record store fast enough. Alas, James Murphy is thinking of quitting . Can't blame him. They'll be at the Ancienne Belgique but apparently that's sold out.

What do you think? Am I missing out on dance music (electronic music) or has the scene really become less interesting? Who do you see as great contemporary bands in the genre? Let me know. I kind of miss it. Until then: Pantha Du Prince.