pitchfork is dumb (#34985859340293849494 in a series.)

(xpost - that's not actually funny, of course: people do like them some sandwiches)

i always heard the "eat a sandwich" bit as "penis terror"

though i think the sandwich lyric, in the context of the song's muscular schaffel, would basically make it a burger king commercial, which would be funny. sort of.

lolol xpost

I also first misheard the start of the chorus as "singing this hook, o-way-o," which made me imagine Battles as the Disney dwarves marching off to play songs -- hi-ho, hi-ho, singing this hook, playing this drum part, etc.

Yeah, so not spot-on, as he admits, but what Mike said in that review is clear enough, and cogent (whether you agree with him or not, he says why the band are worth considering, what's distinctive about them). Although I'm prejudiced, because I happen to agree with him:Battles are actually funny, and all about making giddy, hyperacticulate sounds that aren't just a blur or overload; in that sense, they have pop-rock appeal, like Don Cab at their best, and much more so than most of what gets called math-rock--they have a deliberately goofy-seeming grace, like the Harlem Globetrotters [which also goes with the visuals the music evokes-]and yeah, most prog isn't actually funny, def including most of the stuff that tried to be funny---although Soft Machine had their moments, til they canned Wyatt).

I also thought it was "sing this hook, o-way-o", which was much better.

people who think prog wasn't whimsical/jokey have never been forced to sit through a gentle giant cd

exception/rule.

Gong as well.

like I said, a lot of proggies *tried* to be funny (and some actually succeeded)(although whether it was as funny as the ones who didn't mean to be)

perhaps this is old news.....Atlas' lyrics, courtesy of Battles' myspace:
PEOPLE WONT BE PEOPLE WHEN THEY HEAR THIS SOUND
THAT'S BEEN GLOWING IN THE DARK AT THE EDGE OF TOWN
PEOPLE WONT BE PEOPLE, NO
THE PEOPLE WONT BE PEOPLE WHEN THEY HEAR THIS SOUND
WONT YOU SHOW ME WHAT BEGINS AT THE EDGE OF TOWN

THE SINGER IS A CROOK
THE SINGER IS A CROOK
THE SINGER IS A CROOK
THE SINGER IS A CROOK
THE KITCHEN IS THE COOK
THE SCISSORS ARE THE BARBERS
THE SINGER IS A CROOK
THE CHORUS, FULL OF ACTORS

*THE CHORUS DOESN'T MATTER (LAST VERSE)

okay.....thisreview

an iTunes-only collection of songs meant for charity? why is this even worth reviewing? (much less as the headlining review of the day?)

granted, i've got basically zero interest in this collection or Natalie Portman's charitable acts, but still, i guess i'm not sure whether a thrown-together comp meant to raise money for a charity really calls for substantive musical criticism. there isn't anything more musically interesting that was released this week?

It's a compilation with exclusive tracks from the Shins, Devendra Banhart, Beirut, M. Ward, and Rogue Wave and tracks by Antony, Vetiver, Thee More Shallows. That's relevant to our audience.

What else came out this week? Jay-Z, a Sigur Ros comp, a Grizzly Bear EP, Burial, a Tokyo Police Club EP, Citay, a Wire EP. A lot of records with little lead time between promos and release (burial, sigur ros), no promos (wire, jay-z), and some indie rock EPs.

That said, this isn't an ideal headliner to open a week. But expect a lot of compilations, reissues, and major-label releases as headliners for the next six weeks-- that's basically all that's being released.

thanks, scott. sorry for the tone - i didn't mean to come off as pissy i did

nah, it's ok-- there's also a Nas best-of, etc. This time of year advances go out very close to release dates in many cases and we don't review based on listening parties/sessions-- we prefer to wait-- so scheduling reviews is a bit of a hassle in Nov/Dec. Like I hinted, when I first made this sched this wasn't the review for today. (Hell, when I first made this sched, this release wasn't annoucned!)

Less getting up on my hind legs, more coffee.

November 6

Angels & Airwaves I-Empire Geffen
Barenaked Ladies Talk to the Hand: Live in Michigan Shout! Factory
Bright Eyes Motion Sickness: Live Recordings Team Love
Chris Brown Exclusive Jive
Dion Son of Skip James Verve Forecast
Nick Drake Fruit Tree Island
Dust Galaxy Dust Galaxy ESL
Grizzly Bear Friends EP Warp
Jay-Z American Gangster Roc-a-Fella
Daniel Johnston various re-issues Eternal Yip Eye
Van Morrison Still On Top Polydor
The Mother Truckers Broke, Not Broken Funzalo
Gram Parsons Flying Burrito Brothers Live at the Avalon Ballroom 1969 Amoeba
Sigur Ros Hvarf/Heim XL
Soundtrack American Gangster Def Jam
Tokyo Police Club Smith Paper Bag
Stevie Ray Vaughan Solos, Sessions & Encores Epic

Still no new High on Fire album review? :(

oh man, I just remembered something almost as obnoxious as the Kylie review on April Fool's, about a year before that Pitchfork had a weird ironic news item about Mystikal tourdates (and this was when they were reticent about running Talib Kweli reviews, way before the Lil Wayne stan era, so they weren't just randomly posting about NOLA rappers back then). it was when "Stutter" was out so the headline was "quit your lyin', heffer," which I guess was the whole stupid point of posting it.

haha alex, i remember that but i actually lol'ed at it i think :(

"quit your lyin', heffer" = funny in any context, but they were still being dicks regardless

heifer

haha yeah sorry, i googled the lyrics w/ "heifer" at first but found nothing until i spelled it as "heffer" so the wrong version kinda stuck in my head when i posted here.

heffer=The Girls Next Door (icky "reality" show about "girlfriends"/coyly in-sin-uwaiting huffers of King Tut Hef, although I bet He don't get none of that and don't remember)

way before the Lil Wayne stan era

Ryan Schreiber:
01. Dismemberment Plan - Emergency and I (DeSoto)
02. Built to Spill - Keep It Like a Secret (Warner Bros.)
03. Lil' Wayne - Tha Block is Hot (Cash Money/Universal)
04. Ghost - Snuffbox Immanence (Drag City)
05. Olivia Tremor Control - Black Foliage (Flydaddy)
06. Archer Prewitt - White Sky (Carrot Top)
07. Jimi Tenor - Organism (Warp/Sire)
08. Beck - Midnite Vultures (DGC)
09. Sam Prekop - Sam Prekop (Thrill Jockey)
10. Pavement - Terror Twilight (Matador)

^^^is that a joke or was schr3iber 6 years ahead of the time of his own site?

people who think prog wasn't whimsical/jokey have never been forced to sit through a gentle giant cd

-- strongohulkington, Monday, 5 November 2007 13:28 (1 week ago) Bookmark Link

Gah, I'm listening to The Power and The Glory right now and it's fantastic.

i saw gong live and that was really whimsical and shitty

they took down the interpol interview where Ryan Schrieber makes an affirmative action joke re: Nelly. :(

the bass player really looked like a hobbit though and even went barefoot and played a one of those steinberger headless basses from the 80s and it was the singer's 65th birthday and he wore a silver suit with wings

ok maybe it was awesome

^^^is that a joke or was schr3iber 6 years ahead of the time of his own site?

-- J0rdan S., Tuesday, 13 November 2007 21:22 (2 days ago) Bookmark Link

Simon Reynolds was a Wayne stan back in 1999, dude probably picked it up from there.

lol they edited it out!

"Wait, you look really familiar."

"Yeah. Ryan." I extend a handshake. "I'm here from Pitchfork."

"Ohhhh!! Man, thanks for putting us on your 2002 list. That paragraph was fantastic!"

Which was a surprising response, since the paragraph in question was something of a piss-take, noting the band's "skinny ties and terrible hair," and referring to them as "art-house darlings" whose "appearance was their most embarrassing aspect."

"Well, uh, it was pretty much you guys or Nellyville."

used to have a line about how they were gonna give it to Nelly due to affirmative action but that they couldn't get past the "stupid band-aid."

the bass player really looked like a hobbit though and even went barefoot and played a one of those steinberger headless basses from the 80s and it was the singer's 65th birthday and he wore a silver suit with wings

-- M@tt He1ges0n, Friday, 16 November 2007 10:55 (1 minute ago) Bookmark Link

terry gilliam made a movie about this

Can't wait for them to shit all over the new Hives record, largely because I like it so much, so they'll clearly be sharpening the knives.

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/47031-frank

Just as guilty of reviewing her persona rather than her music as what it's railing against.

Really, what the fuck else is there to talk about with Winehouse though? Her music?

Certainly.

Re: expected trashing of the Hives. WTF? 6.2 and not a bad word against them.

LARF!
http://www.pitchforkmediadotcom.com/

^lolled at this

Ha, what else would the guy expect?

Seriously, it's like pretending like you're about to punch someone in the face and then getting mad when their first reflex is to punch you in the face for real.

I just mean ... there are lots of things people will joke around with you about via permanently preserved correspondence, but legal issues surrounding key business trademarks = seriously not one of them! I don't know that that's even a punch for real, more of a "this is not really an area in which anyone is going to dick around and have fun with you."

Ouch.

pitchforkmediadotcom is dumb (#1 in a series)

Given how many times this album was pushed back, it wouldn't be out of the question to suspect some quality control issues, but RZA himself said in The Wu-Tang Manual that he tended to gear the overall style of an album based on what time of year it dropped, and 8 Diagrams couldn't have debuted at any time other than winter-- perpetually overcast, dark before the afternoon ends, and freezing your eye water.

freezing your eye water
freezing your eye water
freezing your eye water
freezing your eye water
freezing your eye water
freezing your eye water
freezing your eye water
freezing your eye water
freezing your eye water
freezing your eye water
freezing your eye water
freezing your eye water
freezing your eye water
freezing your eye water
freezing your eye water
freezing your eye water
freezing your eye water

http://virginsuicides.no.sapo.pt/frozentear.bmp

the comments on the 'worst covers' list are, for the most part, more embarrassingly awful than the artwork.

Seriously, it's like pretending like you're about to punch someone in the face and then getting mad when their first reflex is to punch you in the face for real.

-- Alex in Baltimore, Friday, 16 November 2007 20:28 (4 weeks ago) Link

It is more like yelling, in your worst French accent, "Ah m goiiin too pawnch zhoo in theh fehce (frog laugh)" with one eye closed while dangling a baguette delicately between two fingers like a distasteful pornographic magazine discovered during an unscheduled room cleaning by your disapproving Belgian mother and then being forced to write every victim of violence in the entire world ever (even those made into kidney pie maggot-styley) explaining that a consciousness-raising committee had been formed to ban people like yourself from ever talking in silly voices about silly things again.

that is what the pitchforkmediadotcom.com situation is like.
what do I know, though?? I am just a PASSIVE OBSERVER.

No, threatening a lawsuit and assuming everybody's gonna know you were just a-funnin' because, hey, the way you phrased things was totally funny - that doesn't really compare to telegraphing your intentions via ridiculous accent and costume.

webdev lulz.

Seems more intelligent and thought out than usual. What gives?