Interpreting Activity

For the most parts, a lot of bands seem to hum along at a pretty stable level of attention, but every so often we'll see a sudden large spike of activity. Most of these bands recorded a record volume of blog mentions back in January when the full line-up (or almost full) for SXSW was released. Again, for many of them, their mentions dropped quickly back to "normal", then began building up slowly in anticipation of SXSW. Bands that garnered a lot of attention at the four day music festival in Austin saw an even greater increase over the March 15-18 period, and then again, a slow, steady decline back to "normal".

A single spike, such as that of January, typically represents a major announcement or single appearance. A week's worth of activitycould often be a festival appearance, while something that lasts longer, but is more intense early on, represents the release of an album or EP. An artist with a runaway hit, like Mika, displays an ever-increasing rising action.

The following are bands that released albums or EPs post-SXSW:

The Ponys
Tokyo Police Club
The Good, The Bad, and The Queen
Blonde Redhead
Andrew Bird
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists