Contributors: This was Jae-Hak's original idea for the rule for last week. Please post your favorite Johnny Cash song. You can use Johnny covering other artists, but you cannot use other artists covering Cash. Bonus points for telling me to "Fuck off!" and posting Hank Williams.
I'm very proud of myself for being able to say "fuck you" to the hipster fan bases of two perfectly good bands with this post. This is a Crystal Castles song that samples Sigur Ros. About 10 years ago, I could not open an issue of any music magazine or look at any sites online that discuss music without some reviewer talking about what geniuses Sigur Ros were because they make extremely soporific music with lyrics in a made-up version of Icelandic that they called "Hopelandic." I enjoyed falling asleep at night many times to their albums, but worked really hard on not going and telling anyone that bit of information up until this point. Now, on to CC. I think their first album is highly overhyped and overrated and really try-hardy; it sounds too much like they are making an effort to be abrasive and transgressive and ANNOYING. However, when they calmed down and started working on writing enjoyable electronic songs on their second album, I feel they really hit their stride. "II" is an excellent album and is great to work out to. I did get sick of hearing it in every indie boutique in Lawrence for a period of about 9 months, and I still hear it sometimes in boutiques and restaurants around LA, as well as tracks from their third album, which is also pretty good. HOWEVER, it seems like their fan base (anyone I've seen in a CC t-shirt or overheard talking about how good their new album is) is overwhelmingly composed of douchey art students living in Silver Lake or Los Feliz who work at vinyl-only record stores, ride bikes everywhere, loudly bash vegans and talk about how good pork and steak are (which is now even cooler than veganism here, since the vegans can get pretty annoying), and, if they talk to me, universally start every conversation with asking me about my tattoos so they can then show me theirs and talk about them. These are the kids who come dance at the gay bars with their hetero partners because they like the "vibe," who take photographs while loudly explaining that they are NOT using Instagram and really prefer film anyway, and bring their goddamn dogs everywhere, sometimes putting them in a "working animal" vest right before going into a restaurant so they can have them in there (uh yeah, I have seen this, and come on, it is pretty suspicious that your animal is not wearing the vest until right before you need to go into a place where your pet, uh, animal is not allowed; I also once met a guy in New York who bragged about how he gets away with this and everyone TOTALLY believes his dog is a service dog when she is NOT, so I'm sure it goes on elsewhere). Yes. So, don't tell anyone, especially not these other fans, but I love Crystal Castles, and this song sampling Sigur Ros is fucking DOPE.
Contributors: The rules for this week are graciously provided by our Korean correspondent, Jae-Hak.
"New idea that my friend came up with yesterday. Post a song by the best
possible band that has the worst possible fan base. Like, Jimmy Buffet
would be perfect except that his music sucks."
Thank you, Jae-Hak's friend!
So, a few restrictions here. Obviously, no one can post Jimmy Buffet (sorry Honey Bear), but let's also try to avoid easy targets. For instance, I don't want to see five Grateful Dead songs this week, or five ICP videos. So no repeats. And maybe try to include some sort of reason why you consider the fan base "the worst possible". And keep in mind that Kyanimal is a big Juggalo so he will probably get pissed at you if you trash ICP.
This post is in honor of Mr. Boyd Rice, who is, despite his misanthropic image, a really nice guy. After I wrote what he said was a "very sweet and nice message" to him on his Facebook page, he put me and a friend on the guest list for the show he played in LA last Friday (June 14th), which definitely got us "fired up." Much to my delight, he played a set that included several of my favorite songs by NON, including this one. True to his claim that he was excited to meet us, he stayed around after his set to chat with us for several minutes and have us take photos with him. I am so pleased that I caught him on his last US tour and had the opportunity to meet him and tell him how much his music and art means to me, and how grateful I am that he cares about his fans. Even if this really is his last tour, I hope he continues to make music for quite some time.
It is difficult to tell you what my dad's favorite song was. He died 15 years ago, so I can't just ask him. I know a lot about the music he liked; when I was a kid, my dad took my musical education in hand with great relish. He played me the Beatles, Dylan, the Stones, Zappa/Mothers, Janis, Jefferson Airplane, and loads of his other favorite rock, as well as lots of jazz and blues to remind me of rock's roots (both musical and cultural). The further into my teens I got, the more my tastes diverged from his indoctrination; we could agree on the Clash and the Ramones (and even Guided By Voices!), and he always thought Jello Biafra was "politically right on; he knows what he's talking about," but he was never much for the Dead Kennedys' music. My dad "didn't get" stuff like Black Flag and the Circle Jerks, and was utterly unimpressed by any of the grindcore and death metal I played, but he excused himself, saying, "You know, when you finish your professional schooling, you are therefore discharged from any obligations you have to seek out, listen to, understand, and enjoy music currently being made. It's true, look it up!" However, my dad could often be found in our dining room at the computer, playing computer Risk or fantasy baseball, and listening to music on the stereo. I seem to remember him playing a lot of Cream, and if that was what was on, I'd come in and listen, too, and allow my dad to tell me all kinds of stuff about the band. I am very glad to do this as a tribute to my dad; he was definitely at the root of my predilection for the study of popular music, and since he always told me that music is cultural production, even pop music, and therefore worthy of serious consideration and study, I have carried that attitude through to my own research interests as a scholar. I hope all of you get to sit and chat with your dads about music this Father's Day!
Contributors: This Sunday is Father's Day, the most important holiday of the whole fucking year. Please post your father's favorite song, to the best of your ability, of course.
It's triply arty. "So I go to this special place/It's like a theater..." "They are dancing, drinking/smoking, f*cking..." Two forms of art right there. And the band is Digital Dance. So, there.
Contributors: Soup flaked on making the rules for this week. Her exact words were "I'm drawing a total blank." Please post something "artistic" this week - a song that has something to do with drawing, painting, dancing, sculpting, whatever. Not looking for anything high brow here, but, no Jae-Hak, stripping does not count.
