ok so i know "rock is dead" and all, but when is the irony going to get cut out of it? I mean there's no sense of sex or danger or anything in indie rock or for that matter any other kind of rock. i get it, rock as a (popular) art form is long since dead, but still, do we have to have a bunch of sniveling hipsters being ironic all the time? It was the same thing 10 fucking years ago and nothing has changed since except the names of the newly crowned ironically challenged bands..Does anyone have something to respond to this? Because I'm at a loss. Especially after watching Live Earth. And yes, I have heard the new Spoon record, and that's not helping matters either.
and i don't buy the "oh we're getting old" shtick. It's still the same thing as when we were in our 20's. nothing has really changed in 10 years except that the music has become even more sexless which i didn't think was possible.....
sorry needed to vent. was looking at some pics from recent McCarran pool shows. ugh
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
A Friend Writes In...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
This is my reply:
Cassandra Wilson--Love is Blindness
Raul Midon--If You're Gonna Leave
Lucinda Williams--I Changed the Locks
Maroon 5--Secret
Morphine--You Look Like Rain
Paolo Nutini--These Streets
Ray LaMontaigne--Jolene
White Stripes--Seven Nation Army
I hope your friend finds these tunes reassuring; I know they're not rock but they aren't snivelling irony.
I've always intensely disliked the smashing pumpkins because they are just weak. They radiate weakeness.
Well, given the fact that most "stars" nowadays are absolutely faceless and have no individuality at all anymore given the industry's molding tactics, what do you expect? Eunuchs are not exactly famous for their sexual vibes... neither are any of these "persona's". I don't mind music being sexless to be honest, after Prince, everything has been said and done in that department pretty much, but I do regret it is all so soul-less, so totally devoid of anything "real". There's just "nobody home".
thankfully the arcade fire are bringing it irony free.
I share your friend's disgust, especially with all things McCarren Pool, but I try to look at lulls like the one we're experiencing now as the motivating force for the next wave of important music. And until that day comes, we can use this time to not worry about new releases and instead discover and enjoy all the wonderful music of yesteryear, like wicked Pickett. On the Dick Cavett show, Zappa once pointed out that every music trend is accompanied by a fashion/style trend. I think many of us have just grown tired of the current trends in rock, both musically and stylistically. And not only can I not afford to dress the part, I can't afford to spend another hour on mediocre, indie rock albums.
As Dylan wrote in his poem, Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie, "And it ain't in the ones that ain't got any talent but think they do
And think they're foolin' you
The ones who jump on the wagon
Just for a while 'cause they know it's in style
To get their kicks, get out of it quick
And make all kinds of rnoney and chicks
And you yell to yourself and you throw down yer hat
Sayin', "Christ do I gotta be like that?"
No, you don't.
I too have listened to the new Spoon record. And I have to say, they do make it better...
They're a band that's never disappointed me, either live or on record. They grow with each album, incorporating additional influences and delivering ever more interesting songs (lyrics and structure).
They (like the White Stripes) epitomize what I want from a modern band.
They are relevant in the present, rather than another of the litany of bands that are forever capitalizing on the success of their first record (see: Counting Crows).
Seeing them live (I have tickets to both) carries with it the excitement of seeing them play songs from their new album rather than the ever-fading hope that songs from their "seminal" record will be featured.
What they're doing right now actually matters. It's not unlike why Amy Winehouse is relevant where plenty of other "retro" soul artists aren't. It's because she's relevant in the present.
I like Spoon. They're a good band. But for whatever reason, I don't really feel anything when I listen to them, and I go to music to experience feeling - whether it be joy, sadness, despair, lust, regret, happiness, etc. When I listen to them, I hear Spoon, nothing more, nothing less, and unfortunately, that's not enough for me to feel any satisfaction when I listen to them.
Post a Comment