Worst "genre" created by a journalist part 4534547668686 : 'Hypnagogic Pop' by David Keenan.

largely because he was riffing on something already described and it made some sort of sense rather than just making up a term and lumping some folk in with it.

I bet some of the folk felt pretty lumped in, if only by the law of averages... some ppl are guaranted to be butthurt at any attempt to describe their music

but like I said upthread, I feel like it does make a sort of sense FWIW

I'm not saying there wasn't lumping in done with New Weird America, just that it was a less arbitrary lumping in than hypnagogic pop.

Aren't all genres created by journalists, after a fashion?

I still think "gay fascist muscle disco" should take off

assumed this was already a thing

I put "hypnagogic pop" into a band's one sheet today for the hell of it.

But really, I don't get the claim that Skaters music has the same effect on the listener as Emeralds. I like em both for what they are but I don't see the similarity. Emeralds have that vast, tranquil Schulze-ish thing going on and Skaters produce the same feeling as when you realize your toast is burning and decide, fuck it, I'm eating it anyway.

Weren't Skaters the ones who were ripping people off with their mail order stuff? Or was that just one of the two guys, or am I misremembering something?

I think dude was just late on shipping something once, they both seem like stand up dudes.

I'm glad someone is finally taking a stand against people making up categories in music on an internet message board where almost no one has actually read the piece in question but intend to just as soon as someone else gets off their ass and uploads it for them.

where else would someone take this stand?

exactly!

this piece is not so long that you couldn't adequately skim it at the newsstand fwiw

haha or you could just buy the damn mag

and since I bought the magazine, I had read it before starting this thread..

David Keenan is Wire's Julie Burchill, he's the guy employed as much to wind up the subscribers as for any other reason.

He described Wolves In The Throne Room as emo and fuzzpop about four issues ago. If it's not Derek Bailey or something that he totally respects, he just pulls it out of his arse.

But really, I don't get the claim that Skaters music has the same effect on the listener as Emeralds. I like em both for what they are but I don't see the similarity. Emeralds have that vast, tranquil Schulze-ish thing going on and Skaters produce the same feeling as when you realize your toast is burning and decide, fuck it, I'm eating it anyway.

― Neotropical pygmy squirrel, Wednesday, July 22, 2009 1:14 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Their fans are pretty much the same 200 people though.

If it's not Derek Bailey or something that he totally respects, he just pulls it out of his arse.

Whiney OTM

why are we surprised that music critics are total and complete wastes of time?

"we"

"you"

I'm not. I'm a very good cook, cocktail maker and expert direction giver and map reader.

He described Wolves In The Throne Room as emo and fuzzpop about four issues ago.

Haha I can kind of get with this too!

Nah, seriously, "critics are awful" has been a favourite meme since I first read Henry Fielding rocking it from some point c. 1745.

Haha I can kind of get with this too!

Same here!

and you've been contrary since 1745 too?
xpost

Down this road lies the madness of C. Eddy and a lifetime toiling in the fields describing the influence of Die Kreuzen on Ashlee Simpson* but for all that it is sometimes a fun way of thinking

*paraphrasing from some old ILM post that stuck w/ me

xpost

It's nothing to do with contrariness and something to do with recognising a symbiotic relationship when I see one.

i heard they invented jokes in ice cr?ms college

Reynolds weighs in

so i've been reading blissblog lately and simon reynolds is kindof an idiot

that's kinda a dumb name for a blog.

Ironically enough.

I still never figured out what "hauntology" was about. I just figured anyone using it at the time was a hackademic I could delete from my RSS reader back when I used an RSS reader lol.

hauntology = the study of making moanwave?

I don't mind the stuff they mean when they talk about hauntology, but they make it such HARD WORK. I remember actually thinking Tender Buttons was kindof a fun record. TURNS OUT I WAS WRONG U GUYZ

http://www.xlr8r.com/mp3/2009/07/a1

Reynolds' post was a little, erm, academic, but I thought it was pretty interesting. Especially for looking at the new age element.

Basically just weighing in so I can make a promise to the world: I will never be one of those music critics who goes around making up genre names. (Oh god I hope I haven't already done this at some point.)

marchism

I'd think that making up genre names would be one of the fun things about being a music critic ... it's just that the ones Keenan's come up with are kinda lame.

Who coined "moan wave" anyway?

Yeah, what good are critics if not for coining new genres? Aren't those like clowns who don't make anyone laugh?

"who've realized that noise is a bit of a dead end (better late than never eh?)"

"The New Age thing (one of the main imprints, run by the Skaters, is actually called New Age Tapes) cracked me up initially, in a "hipsters! whatever will they think of next!" sort of way."

Really guys? Coining genre names sounds right about near "answering cell phone calls from publicists you don't remember giving your number" on my list of favorite things related to being a semi-pro music critic. But maybe I'm alone here.

Seems more like, I dunno, being a marketer or something. Which, fair play, but I mean, as a JOURNALIST, if people who listen to the music actually talk about it a certain way, debate whether it's moanwave or hauntology or punk or metal, then great, inform readers "hey there's this hypnagogic thing now." But I'd rather leave starting the next micro-trend to people who do that professionally. I'm just a dude who reviews those micro-trends. (I realize there's some give-and-take, I just don't want to come up with names that don't already have some meaning. There are too many awful genre names for the average music fan as it is.)

Who coined "moan wave" anyway?

― actually a decent question y'all fucked up with ironic bullshit answer (sarahel), Wednesday, July 22, 2009 5:37 PM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

pretty sure it started on sp0ckm0rgue, which is an SF/Oakland noiz3 dude email list

Why isnt Fuck Buttons included in Hypopnogaglic pop?

I think it would be more fun to make up genre names for music you think is crap, than stuff you respect.