One, thoughtful and effective in contextualizing an album that might not represent the most approachable of big name releases this year; the other reactionary and predictable.
Apparently, I’m not the only one who thinks that today’s “avant-garde” is tomorrow’s Kenny G. And this is not to say that I have a problem with our modern-day adult contemporary on the face. Actually, I think it’s great that more people are listening to indie rock - which I often think of as being better, more artful music (Sufjan would exemplify that). And while I find a some of these bands boring (Great Northern, I’m looking at you), I still think they make decent music - just not music that I especially want to give my attention to. What bothers me about indie-adult-contemporary are the empty acts that treat their audience as a ‘market’ and cater to them with shit songwriting that is as generic as it can be to cater to the broadest segment of this market. And to the public who listen to and perpetuate it. Yet again in America, status is assumed to be something that can be bought; and so if you buy an iPod, you automatically have acquired taste through the act of consumption.
It’s official: Jack Black is crazy funny. Freed and I had a lengthy argument over the point of Be Kind Rewind, and in the end I’m not really sure what we were arguing over. I think Freed liked the theoretical concept of ’sweding’: the act of redefining something through recontextualizing it (”putting ‘you’ into the thing you like”). I felt like the movie was a celebration of film; by doing impressions of other movies, they simultaneously celebrate and mock the originals. All in all it probably wouldn’t have been an argument had drinks not been involved. Despite a surprisingly conventional plot, it was definitely worth seeing, as is the self-referential Gondry ’sweded’ version. Watcha gonna do about Ghostbusters?
01. Frightened Rabbit - Midnight Organ Fighting
02. Tokyo Police Club - full length
03. Murs - Murs For President
04. Cat Power - Jukebox {01.22.2008}
05. Wilderness - new album
06. Magnetic Fields - Distortion {01.15.2008}
07. Nas - Nigger {02.2008}
08. Wolf Parade - new album
09. of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping {10.2008}
10. Constantines - new album
best albums 2007:
01. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
[topo: #1, zoviet: #1, freed: #1] video
The fact that they somehow managed to meet the exceed the impossible expectations we had for them is commendable. That they are getting better in the process has us salivating for more. - topomodesto
02. Okkervil River - The Stage Names
[freed: #2, […]
topomodesto:
01. Okkervil River - Unless It’s Kicks
02. Arcade Fire - Keep The Car Running
03. Grizzly Bear - Knife (Girl Talk Remix)
04. The National - Apartment Story
05. Deer Tick - Art Isn’t Real (City Of Sin)
06. Les Savy Fav - Slugs In The Shrubs
07. Ghostface Killah - Mighty Healthy (Nobody Remix)
08. The New Pornographers - My […]
topomodesto: (LA)
01. Girl Talk/Dan Deacon : Echoplex : 28 September
02. Arcade Fire : Greek Theater : 29 May
03. of Montreal : The Glass House : 11 November
04. TV On The Radio : Henry Fonda : 30 March
05. Neko Case : Henry Fonda : 17 February
06. Tokyo Police Club : Troubadour : 25 July
07. Fionn Regan […]
Favorite Videos 2007:
01. Bat For Lashes - What’s A Girl To Do?
02. Okkervil River - Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe
03. Arcade Fire - My Body Is A Cage
04. Menomena - Rotten Hell
05. Les Savy Fav feat. Bunny - The Equestrian
06. Kanye West feat. Zach Galifianakis & Will Oldham - Can’t Tell Me Nothing
07. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
08. Beirut - Nantes (Take Away Show Session)
09. Girl Talk - Bounce That
10. Escort - All Through The Night
01. Feist - KCRW, 10 May
02. Frightened Rabbit - eMusic, 16 March
03. Fionn Regan - BBC Radio One, 12 February
04. The New Pornographers - KCRW, 20 September
05. Okkervil River - Daytrotter, 12 November
06. Andrew Bird - Daytrotter, 29 October
08. The Twilight Sad - KEXP, 4 November
09. Band of Horses - KCRW, 6 September
10. Beirut - KEXP, 3 October
Just as we aren’t above criticism, neither are any of the critics. Some of these lists are absolutely ridiculous. And while we’re on the subject, there’s only one ‘e’ in ‘bread’, you cotton-headed ninny muggins meash pwd.
01. Nic Harcourt
Jessica Hoop #1, Great Northern #7… really just a complete disaster.
02. Stylus Magazine
LCD Soundsystem in the pole position is a joke. Stylus Magazine I love you, but you’re bringing me down.
03. Skatterbrain
OK Skatterbrain, I get it, you have more obscure taste than everyone else. I haven’t had people give me a hard time about my taste recently, but when they do, they point out that just because something is less popular doesn’t make it better. For once I agree.
04. Paste Magazine
#76: Okkervil River, #8: Modest Mouse… riiiight.
05. Uncut Magazine
An uber-crappy top 10 (not to mention - well I guess I am mentioning… The Hold Steady came out last year).