on a Lazy Thursday...
Seemingly random musings on a slow work day...
1) Sonic Youth sucks. Last night I was listening to a tape of a Space Monkey Rock show from my senior year. At one point I played a set going Knoxville Girls -> Honeymoon Killers -> Sonic Youth (death valley '69) -> Blonde Redhead. Which is fine, but is revealing of the wonky-side of my then approach to planning out my radio sets. (ie Bob Bert played drums on both K-Girls and that SY song, the lead singer/guitarist is shared between K-Girls & the H-Killers, SY and BR are forever linked.) Hearing death valley '69 is always a binary experience for me. Either I think it's the fucking rockingest song ever or (more typically) I found it extremely boring and kind-of an overwrought bullshit navel-gazing, trend-spotting, shallow song about Manson & the end of the California Love generation. And that really is my winnowed-down critique of SY; how blatant and icky is their trend-spotting, sign-waving nature. Do they have value outside of that? Do they have commitment to their thing other than keeping their place as cool-kid insider king-makers?
2) THIS reflects poorly on this band. Can you imagine a more boring hipster bands responses to these questions? Oh, yr in a hipster electronics/noise (but not really that noisy) duo who like Animal Collective and Black Dice? Oh, you like punk and to you that means Black Flag & the Stooges? Oh, you think Rough Trade is the best record stores in the UK? You called your band WHAT? And what about these make you interesting AT ALL?
Begging the question, how often do bands shoot themselves in the foot w/ these sort of things. I was somewhat interested in hearing what Fuck Buttons sounded like before reading their 'guest list', now not-so-much. To see an even worse example: VW's Rostam's Guest List (and yes, I still read pitchfork regularly.)
3) from the Other Music description of the Crystal Stilts
"... With primitive girl group stand-up drums and reverb-heavy and melodic surf/rockabilly-soaked guitar lines, the four songs on the EP are the perfect amalgam of the pop immediacy of C86/Flying Nun and a DIY take on the spacious '60s sounds of Spector and Nitzsche."
I like this band but um... wouldn't the one phrase encapsulation = They sound like early Jesus and Mary Chain.
1) Sonic Youth sucks. Last night I was listening to a tape of a Space Monkey Rock show from my senior year. At one point I played a set going Knoxville Girls -> Honeymoon Killers -> Sonic Youth (death valley '69) -> Blonde Redhead. Which is fine, but is revealing of the wonky-side of my then approach to planning out my radio sets. (ie Bob Bert played drums on both K-Girls and that SY song, the lead singer/guitarist is shared between K-Girls & the H-Killers, SY and BR are forever linked.) Hearing death valley '69 is always a binary experience for me. Either I think it's the fucking rockingest song ever or (more typically) I found it extremely boring and kind-of an overwrought bullshit navel-gazing, trend-spotting, shallow song about Manson & the end of the California Love generation. And that really is my winnowed-down critique of SY; how blatant and icky is their trend-spotting, sign-waving nature. Do they have value outside of that? Do they have commitment to their thing other than keeping their place as cool-kid insider king-makers?
2) THIS reflects poorly on this band. Can you imagine a more boring hipster bands responses to these questions? Oh, yr in a hipster electronics/noise (but not really that noisy) duo who like Animal Collective and Black Dice? Oh, you like punk and to you that means Black Flag & the Stooges? Oh, you think Rough Trade is the best record stores in the UK? You called your band WHAT? And what about these make you interesting AT ALL?
Begging the question, how often do bands shoot themselves in the foot w/ these sort of things. I was somewhat interested in hearing what Fuck Buttons sounded like before reading their 'guest list', now not-so-much. To see an even worse example: VW's Rostam's Guest List (and yes, I still read pitchfork regularly.)
3) from the Other Music description of the Crystal Stilts
"... With primitive girl group stand-up drums and reverb-heavy and melodic surf/rockabilly-soaked guitar lines, the four songs on the EP are the perfect amalgam of the pop immediacy of C86/Flying Nun and a DIY take on the spacious '60s sounds of Spector and Nitzsche."
I like this band but um... wouldn't the one phrase encapsulation = They sound like early Jesus and Mary Chain.
posted by furtanic at 9:47 AM
1 Comments:
It's kinda funny that he talks of Dirty Projectors as his favorite band of the last year, because of their Black Flag impressions album, and then busts out that he's listening to Black Flag, to throw in that he has cred, already, so we know; and that he doesn't actually say he's listening to the Stooges, exactly, but rather "Raw Power" (sw00sh!). Though since they're brits, that means they're the most avant garde people in their country.
I was in Other a few days ago, and was surprised by the employees who I remember once being quite knowledgeable on all the weirder things, if less so on the pop; but the 18 year old gal behind the counter looked shocked that I inquired about the sound of the record I might want to buy and no one in the store could answer my question ("Does this Dreamhouse LP sound like the band sounds live? What does it sound like anyway?" even though I thought the band was a local hipster fave.) She was able to brush off my How many years before this place gets a listening station, anyway? Though what I really meant was Why do you guys charge so much for completely unknown beat up old vinyl, and yet don't install even the crappiest of turntables? still, dollars is crap. w00t!
Post a Comment
<< Home