pitchfork is dumb (#34985859340293849494 in a series.)

xp the isley brothers thing is so wtf

the average of the individual Isleys scores is 7.4, not 8.5. the median is even a bit lower. why not just a score for the whole package when there's clearly no correlation?

I like the review though.

me too. always happy to see Erlewine show up in unexpected places.

my favorite isleys record changes every few months so I found the scoring interesting

Morrissey, meanwhile, isn’t overly fussed with convincing the non-believers. When the lights dim, he marches up to the microphone and begins an acapella rendition of Willie Nelson’s "Always on My Mind".

*sigh* if we're just going to throw accuracy out the window why not The Pet Shop Boys "Always on My Mind"

Pitchfork is never gonna acknowledge professional songwriters when talking about country. Though to give them some credit, if you're gonna pick a version to cite, that's the one - Elvis's only hit #20 in the US, but Nelson's hit #5.

Elvis's was the bigger hit in Britain though (Elvis #9, Willie #49). PSB version went to number one.

Apparently it was a single in the UK but a B-side over here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Always_on_My_Mind#Elvis_Presley_version

Nelson's version is neither the original - since he didn't write it - nor is it the first. Calling it his song is weird.

I mean sure it's the most famous but why is that relevant

I totally agree, btw. I hate when people (OK, marketing people) claim that an artist has recorded an album of "Elvis covers" or "Frank Sinatra covers." Elvis never wrote a song in his life. Frank Sinatra, either.

especially in reference to Morrissey - who I would suspect was more familiar with other versions more popular in the UK than Nelson's

xp

Morrissey's probably really into the Brenda Lee version or something

elvis was on the cover of shoplifters btw

Dropping obscure terminology and hyperlinking to its wikipedia page.

people should never write about music

http://pitchfork.com/thepitch/910-the-masterful-mockery-of-father-john-mistys-1989-jibes/

Highlights from that column include:

Tillman’s interpretations were less homage than tongue-in-cheek criticism, serving up wry commentary about the imbalance between surface and substance in endeavors like Adams’...

"My reinterpretation of the classic Ryan Adams album 1989," he wrote, his tone practically dripping with sarcasm, the word "classic" a jesting arrow aimed at Adams...

Under Tillman’s thumb, "Welcome to New York" became a palimpsest, barely recognizable as the original Swift song save for the lyrics, thanks to his and his band’s uncanny ability to play it in the style of the Velvet Underground...

Leave it to Tillman, then, to one up Adams’ attempt to mine the musical past by showing off his killer Lou Reed impression. It’s a Shakespearean move à la "I do bite my thumb, sir," though intended more for comedic effect than dramatic...

Whether listeners interpret Tillman’s "Blank Space" and "Welcome to New York" as mean-spirited or comical depends upon the ear, but they are deeper reimaginings of what it means to perform a cover, and what that cover can actually say within the greater cultural melee. It’s a reminder that not all that glitters is gold.

Crazy stuff. Anyway, is this Tillman a bit of an idiot too?

The headline should probably be included too, if highlights be polled... "masterful mockery", v good

Or maybe the whole piece is meant to ridicule Tillman by mimicking his self important tone?

It’s a reminder that not all that glitters is gold.

why didn't I think of this?

The FJM dream post itself has to be up there w the most hackneyed cliched indie rock writings of all time. Anything responding to or taking that seriously is doomed to be poisoned tripe.

it's up there w worst music writing of all time. It makes Amanda Palmer seem restrained, unpretentious, and selfless by comparison.

You haven't got a great ear for humour have you?

some incredible point-missing going on here

I mean yeah that piece is p DO YOU SEE but apparently some people actually *don't* see so idk

Are you guys saying he is performance arting the whole thing and it's one of those jokes you get only if you start w the premise that it is a joke?

Like that guy who stole his mom's car bc Anita Sarkeesian is trying to kill him? Po-mo "I don't really mean any of this I'm just putting on an act aren't I clever?" stuff?

No I don't care for that kind of 'humor'.

I don't think "Aren't I clever" is an inherently funny premise.

hmmm this guy seems like an indie douche but comparing him to a dangerous stalker is maybe a bridge too far

the Father John Misty thing is v clearly and explicitly a performance of a persona for comedic purposes, idk how anyone could miss this it is really heavily foregrounded

... and (sometimes) it's deep too! like the best comedy

Okay, so let me try and explain the joke:
It would be hilarious if some pretentious indie/roots musician tried to ridicule Ryan Adams' take on 1989 by issuing non-sequitur covers of two songs done in the style of Velvet Underground chosen as cliché counter-culture signifier, so Father John Misty is pretending to do so?

I had not gotten that, thought dude was just an idiot.
I guess it is kind of funny.
And then the Pitchfork piece pretends to go along with it, mocking an what an earnest response could have sounded like if written by a very bad music crit?

pretentious indie/roots musician

this is a strange characterization of the two FJM records imo

so Father John Misty is pretending to do so?

he really did record and post those covers afaict, so idk why you would say he "pretended" to do so

No no, what I meant was that Tillman is pretending to be a person, Father John Misty, that would do something like that?

this exercise does not come from the sincerity part of the FJM catalog (which definitely exists, just not here). strictly the performative-for-effect arsty d-bag part

it's pretty confusing imo

also didn't mean to diss the albums at all fwiw have not listened to them proper

slothroprhymes otm

what I meant was that Tillman is pretending to be a person, Father John Misty, that would do something like that?

yes this is accurate

cool!

and funny too, I guess, just went completely over my head

I wonder how it's received in general - like, I imagine a lot of "rockist"/old school rock fans who would find the Misty versions fitting put-downs of Adams/Swift, and then I guess the joke would of course be on them (as it was just on me) but still... moral scale aside, isn't it a bit similar to mocking racism by coming up with a caricature racist persona? (running same risk of actually appealing to racists)

racing thoughts.

isn't it a bit similar to mocking racism by coming up with a caricature racist persona? (running same risk of actually appealing to racists)

FJM >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Borat imo

Basically the most appropriate way for me to fully express that I don't think he is funny and have it accepted would be to write a snarky and self-congratulatory parody of a FJM post in response.

Because then I would be taking on a persona and any criticism at me could be deflected by that persona.

Have you guys ever heard of Weird Al? He does the same thing but he is funny and also was doing so 30+ years ago.

The difference here is not bothering to change the words and substituting awkward pre-internet geek culture for safe and commercially proven indie rock snark.

I am perplexed by your attitude towards performance and public personas

Weird Al doesn't do what FJM does

cool if you don't think it's funny, not everyone has the same sense of humor

father john misty will look like weird al when he gets older

to write a snarky and self-congratulatory parody of a FJM post in response.

tbf that could be pretty funny. weird al comp's a bit strong, innit?

i mean it's fair to think the guy's an asshole up to a point, because there's as much real venom in some of his angrier songs as there is exaggerated-for-effect venom. i'd never say it's bad to object to the real venom, or think it's a total put-on - i just think his actual music ultimately has enough sincerity to elevate it from the hipster art project it may appear to be on the surface