OK, is this the worst piece of music writing ever?

back in my younger days, i actually enjoyed some of rick moody's books. what's amazing to me about this piece is that it actually was published (and that moody was probably paid for it)! not just for the opinions but that it is a ridiculously long ramble. is this the way salon is now?

hahaha
he's like frank deford of music now?

ameri-hornby

oh dang that was a good zing, LL
you too, scott

I was thinking about this on the drive into work this morning and realized that at some point he had to have reread his own words in the dialogue and still thought it was worth publishing. He really does think these things!

frank deford=A+

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/files/2010/11/frankd.jpg

"Haim is when I reach for my revolver (metaphorically)"

he looks like Vincent Price

kind of amazing that you can talk about an album for that long and really say nothing about it, but really say a whole lot about yourself

Rick Moody wears a cool hat

http://ewshelflife.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/rick-moody_l.jpg

nope

also that's not London, that's Milwaukee

Break it on down!

Breakin' it Down with Waterface

non-rap fan writes about technical speed, doesn't recognize joey badass as a professional rapper
http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/the-fastest-rapper-in-the-game/

Joey Bada$$, who manages 180 wpm, is the best amateur of the bunch

may belong in the rap genius thread as the pernicious "i googled it so i understand it" influence seems to be the biggest problem

i wouldn't exactly be surprised if internet rapper joey badass had a dayjob or side hustle

you don't think he's a professional rapper?

I had no idea that Joey Bada$$ was having some success. His profile looks like he started off as an amateur there so I guess he is the test case in the sample here of whether speed increases your chances of making it!

Everyone starts out as an amateur

Someone needs to tell the dork who wrote that article that rapping quickly does not automatically equate to being a talented rapper.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1thvEtGM5M

1:30

Well, it didn't work for Silver Bullet

You just know that, as soon as the italicized finale of that article was written, the author did that stereotypical "lean back-cross your arms-look 'tough'" move was ubiquitous among jerks mocking rap in the 90s.

Joey Badass is a 19-year-old dude, why are grown men worrying about his side hustle?

Chip-Fu is the most amazing rapper of all timez

Normally I'd get pretty annoyed if someone added something that they haven't yet read and really have no intention of reading but, y'know, fuck everyone connected with this:

Twee: The Gentle Revolution In Music, Books, Television, Fashion, And Film

The blurb alone is the worst thing ever:

New York Times, Spin, and Vanity Fair contributor Marc Spitz explores the first great cultural movement since Hip Hop: an old-fashioned and yet highly modern aesthetic that’s embraced internationally by teens, twenty and thirty-somethings and even some Baby Boomers; creating hybrid generation known as Twee. Via exclusive interviews and years of research, Spitz traces Generation Twee’s roots from the Post War 50s to its dominance in popular culture today.

Vampire Weekend, Garden State, Miranda July, Belle and Sebastian, Wes Anderson, Mumblecore, McSweeney’s, Morrissey, beards, artisanal pickles, food trucks, crocheted owls on Etsy, ukuleles, kittens and Zooey Deschanel—all are examples of a cultural aesthetic of calculated precocity known as Twee.

In Twee, journalist and cultural observer Marc Spitz surveys the rising Twee movement in music, art, film, fashion, food and politics and examines the cross-pollinated generation that embodies it—from aging hipsters to nerd girls, indie snobs to idealistic industrialists. Spitz outlines the history of twee—the first strong, diverse, and wildly influential youth movement since Punk in the ’70s and Hip Hop in the ’80s—showing how awkward glamour and fierce independence has become part of the zeitgeist.

Focusing on its origins and hallmarks, he charts the rise of this trend from its forefathers like Disney, Salinger, Plath, Seuss, Sendak, Blume and Jonathan Richman to its underground roots in the post-punk United Kingdom, through the late’80s and early ’90s of K Records, Whit Stillman, Nirvana, Wes Anderson, Pitchfork, This American Life, and Belle and Sebastian, to the current (and sometimes polarizing) appeal of Girls, Arcade Fire, Rookie magazine, and hellogiggles.com.

Revealing a movement defined by passionate fandom, bespoke tastes, a rebellious lack of irony or swagger, the championing of the underdog, and the vanquishing of bullies, Spitz uncovers the secrets of modern youth culture: how Twee became pervasive, why it has so many haters and where, in a post-Portlandia world, can it go from here?

"Years of research"

examples of twee include beards + pickles?

I don't see the problem with that blurb but I also don't care to read a book about twee so, yeah.

XP: Ha ha ha. Was just posting about the pickles.

I was ready to smash something to pieces until I read the phrase "artisanal pickles" and now I just feel despondent.

can we shoot this book and writer into the sun?

there is a lot of talk on the indiepop list about this twee book right now. some are dreading it. i'm looking forward to seeing just what a carnival-mirror-image of "twee" spitz manages to capture.

XXXP: I guess it's a personal POV that Bon Iver, pickles and couple blogging is better than acid house, drum and bass and hardcore but it was enough to spoil my afternoon.

obviously no one's read it yet, but i suepect the music will be the least of the twee book's concerns.

the first great cultural movement since Hip Hop

my prediction: pamplemoose gets two chapters; orange juice, half a page; the pastels, a passing mention.

my jaw was wrenched into an expression of horror by that part, and wasn't returned to it's proper place by any words following xp

"why don't you gently revolve on this"

So, is Marc Spitz twee's Greil Marcus or Twee Greil Marcus?

New York Times, Spin, and Vanity Fair contributor Marc Spitz

stopped reading here

one might say that the book description is worthy of a spitz take

I like how it traces the "roots of twee" to...children's literature

A lot of this stuff passes me by, and I tend to think "not for me, really" but the level of *vitriol* that gets hurled at anything of this aesthetic... well, I find it kinda baffling really.

Like this vitriol says a lot more about the people who are expressing it than it does any (perceived or real) lifestyle of the people involved. It's one of ILX's uglier emotions.

the old "says a lot more about the people doing the criticizing" saw

It's PR fluff but is it possible we're actually offended by the idea that this book makes the case that his definition of "twee" is a cultural force the size of hip hop?

I mean, not that offended. It might be a good book, might be a bad one, but that's pretty ridiculous on its face. I think you're mistaking water cooler conversation for actual vitriol.

what's worst, standing around the water cooler talking about how you can't believe some judge's opinion on a singing competition television show, or standing around debating whether someone's posited take on a cultural force is valid

they're probably both bad, but it's ok to have opinions

Spitz posts on ilx?

from that "i listen to my husband's records" blog:

Part of me feels like I want to be avant garde enough to get this, but then another part of me feels like the emperor isn’t wearing any clothes!

she's talking about albert ayler! :(

And he was like, “Yeah, this album has gotten a lot of play.” Um, who am I even married too?!?

i dunno about you folks, but i don't know that i would get to the point of wanting to marry someone if they were so "amused" and condescending toward my tastes. i don't expect them to share exactly the same tastes (though having some common ground seems important) but... sheesh.

sorry I'm late to the party.

xpost isn't this the same author who wrote a memoir about being a punk rock drug addict wannabe badass? seems an odd follow-up subject.

lol amateurist