they need to bring in dr folkenstein
― dell (del), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 17:32 (eleven years ago) link
more slavery, less beet-pickling
― dell (del), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 17:33 (eleven years ago) link
Django
― dow, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 17:35 (eleven years ago) link
xp if not beet pickling, then slavery. you make a good point.
― Spectrum, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 17:42 (eleven years ago) link
Aside from how terrible the music is I don't see how this is any different than the impulse towards Steampunk or Victorian-era-fetishization in general. It's more than a bit ignorant -- given that it was a horrible time to live in for most everyone, but a lot of the trappings I think are arguable quite attractive -- horse drawn carriages, the clothes, moonshining, fancy beards...
I think the old-time rural Appalachia fetishizing is a bit different from the Steampunk or Victorian-era fetishizing though. Steampunk is more like H.G. Wells or Jules Verne or something, with an element of sci-fi weirdness in it. Also, it's not the horse-drawn carriages, fancy beards, top hats and tails that are being fetishized. This look is a bit humbler, scruffy and worn, kind of hobo-chic. Not to get all Marxist here, but perhaps there's an element of economic consciousness manifesting itself in a generation that has not been able to catch a break. Plus these clothes are probably not hard to find in vintage thrift shops for reasonable prices.
― o. nate, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 18:55 (eleven years ago) link
"Vintage 90s. 1990s. Hahaha."
"Die."
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 18:59 (eleven years ago) link
hmmm... good points o. nate.
― Frobisher the (Viceroy), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 19:14 (eleven years ago) link
edward sharpe and the magnetic zeros have a lot to answer for imo
― inste grammophon (rogermexico.), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 19:30 (eleven years ago) link
I pickle the hell outta some beets but this stuff makes me sick. EIII otm.
― this customer is a jerk (La Lechera), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 19:45 (eleven years ago) link
Also I like ruffles and lace up boots but this home family sweetheart safety baloney makes me retch.
― this customer is a jerk (La Lechera), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 19:48 (eleven years ago) link
there's something too cute and insincere about it
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 19:50 (eleven years ago) link
"Plus these clothes are probably not hard to find in vintage thrift shops for reasonable prices."
this certainly helps... Additionally, from a fashion point of view these guys are not exactly creating something new and interesting. The clothes in that Stereogum picture are just slightly less primped versions of outfits that have been in every J Crew catalog for 5 years.
― skip, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 19:51 (eleven years ago) link
suspenders = vintage never should have happened, imo
― space phwoar (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 19:53 (eleven years ago) link
but perhaps there's an element of economic consciousness manifesting itself in a generation that has not been able to catch a break.
could be mistaken but i was under the impression that mumford & co are all old money
― tpp, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 19:56 (eleven years ago) link
Naw, most of that first record, at least, sounds like it's from the 60s.
― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 19:56 (eleven years ago) link
outfits that have been in every J Crew catalog for 5 years.
I've thought about this connection, too. Or Anthropologie, maybe.
― jaymc, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 19:57 (eleven years ago) link
I mean so much wrong here.
http://assets.rollingstone.com/assets/images/story/the-lumineers-on-their-two-grammy-nominations-is-this-a-joke-20121210/1000x600/20121210-the-lumineers-02-x600-1355172030.jpg
1) Suspenders with white tee shirt2) TWO guys wearing basically the same dumb hat3) guy on the right just needs a different face altogether, looks like woody harrelson after a very severe bar brawl4) girl is smiling like it's a camp photo
― space phwoar (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 19:57 (eleven years ago) link
this home family sweetheart safety baloney
Coincidence that "Home" is the title of hits for both Edward Sharpe and Phillip Phillips?
― jaymc, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 19:59 (eleven years ago) link
I don't entirely hate this kind of music -- rousing sing-alongs can sometimes be catchy -- but the aesthetic as a whole is definitely hard to embrace.
― jaymc, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 20:09 (eleven years ago) link
most of that first record, at least, sounds like it's from the 60s. --Johnny Fever
are you suggesting that e.g. Lumineers/Of Monsters and Men sound old-timey? bc to these ears they sound a lot like "home"
― inste grammophon (rogermexico.), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 20:46 (eleven years ago) link
it's funny that there have now been 6 different posters using the phrase "old timey" itt but nobody has traced this trend back to the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack at all yet.
― big yansh theory (some dude), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 21:05 (eleven years ago) link
6 different posters including me, i should say
[3) guy on the right just needs a different face altogether,
lol
― sleepingbag, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 21:08 (eleven years ago) link
― big yansh theory (some dude), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 21:05 (3 minutes ago) Permalink
Believe it or not, the following stream of thought went through my head "Haha, yeah, slavery. I should post something about how they should ironically drive railroad spikes or break rocks with hammers on the "hey / ho" part. Wait, does something like that happen in O Brother Where Art Thou? Oh yeah, O Brother Where Art Thou."
― space phwoar (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 21:11 (eleven years ago) link
No, I'm saying that most of the Edward Sharpe debut doesn't sound like "Home".
― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 21:13 (eleven years ago) link
No, I'm saying that most of the Edward Sharpe debut doesn't sound like "Home". --Johnny Fever
Oh. Right. Well, carry on then :)
― inste grammophon (rogermexico.), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 21:16 (eleven years ago) link
The worst part is that I know and love lots of people who like music like this, and I can't explain to them why I hate it. I think we could also consider adding Ryan Gosling and his chorus of children to this group too.
― this customer is a jerk (La Lechera), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 21:25 (eleven years ago) link
My friends and I have labeled this stuff "goat folk" due to the vocal stylings. I tend to parse the meaning of each song as "somebody took my mandolin and now I feel ba-a-a-a-a-a-a-ad"
― Darin, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 22:48 (eleven years ago) link
hahah
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 23:03 (eleven years ago) link
lol looks like denver is officially the center of the faux-lk movement.http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/arts/music/the-lumineers-strange-road-to-the-top-10.html?pagewanted=all"(Mr. Fraites had already begun wearing his trademark suspenders.)"
― tylerw, Wednesday, 6 February 2013 18:43 (eleven years ago) link
Therefore I BLAME YOU.
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 6 February 2013 18:48 (eleven years ago) link
first the broncos now this
FUCK YOU DENVER
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 6 February 2013 18:51 (eleven years ago) link
i have a really hard time not thinking of the lumineers as a band made up of special-needs ppl
― call all destroyer, Wednesday, 6 February 2013 18:59 (eleven years ago) link
i'm gonna ride this gravy train all the way to the moon motherfuckers. where can i get some suspenders and a mandolin.
― tylerw, Wednesday, 6 February 2013 18:59 (eleven years ago) link
a lotta gems in that article-- “It’s really short and catchy, and people can remember it after they’ve heard it once or twice,” said John Ivey, senior vice president for programming at the Clear Channel radio chain and program director of KIIS-FM in Los Angeles.^^^this guy has figured it OUT.
*adds John Ivey to hitlist*
― ron paulstretch (crüt), Wednesday, 6 February 2013 19:05 (eleven years ago) link
With its folksy guitar and its foot-stamping, tambourine-driven beat “Ho Hey” arrived as a startling anomaly in the pop Top 10, where it’s surrounded by Auto-Tuned voices and electronic beats...It’s one more hint of a pendulum swing back toward naturalism in pop.
when this pendulum hits 2*Pi phase, please hand me my revolver
― that Django got me Nuages (Sufjan Grafton), Wednesday, 6 February 2013 19:06 (eleven years ago) link
lol "naturalism" -- surely the Lumineers are bigger fakes than any autotuned recording star
― ron paulstretch (crüt), Wednesday, 6 February 2013 19:12 (eleven years ago) link
they are named after a fake tooth product!
― and that sounds like a gong-concert (La Lechera), Wednesday, 6 February 2013 19:13 (eleven years ago) link
how could they represent anything natural?!
the lumineers CD was in the box at the end of Seven. They are the embodiment of human rage
― that Django got me Nuages (Sufjan Grafton), Wednesday, 6 February 2013 19:15 (eleven years ago) link
OK, so we've probably discussed this already, but all this minor-key mining, hat-wearing, suspenders-suspendin', kick-drum kickin', guitar-strummin', wordless-chorus yelping stuff - this, Mumford, Of Monsters and Men and probably a bunch of other stuff on the radio - this is all the Arcade Fire's fault, right? I love the Arcade Fire, tbh, and think they're much more than this, but man, their impact has been as destructive as U2's.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 12 February 2013 12:39 (eleven years ago) link
Everybody in these bands, man and woman alike, reminds me of:
http://xfinity.comcast.net/blogs/tv/files/2009/05/blossom.jpg
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 12 February 2013 12:42 (eleven years ago) link
keep thinking thread title says lumerians, who are infinity better
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG_QFQq65t0
― Crackle Box, Tuesday, 12 February 2013 12:58 (eleven years ago) link
i am very cross at this "two dudes wearing hats" business, it's either one dude wears a hat or all three of them wear hats, no splitting the difference. i vote the suspenders guy gets to wear the hat, the other guy can coast on his vaguely cary elwes-esque looks.
― says a future man to his crystal son (reddening), Tuesday, 12 February 2013 13:51 (eleven years ago) link
lumerians is good, best thing to come out of this lumineers thing
― Spectrum, Tuesday, 12 February 2013 15:14 (eleven years ago) link
― ron paulstretch (crüt), Wednesday, 6 February 2013 19:12 (6 days ago) Permalink
I think that comment (which I don't disagree with) indicates what I've skimmed to be the overriding complaint against the Lumineers, which is that they're merely branding/positioning themselves in some sort of idyllic and fake (to be charitable) musical setting. But I don't know - the beginning of that article linked to toward the top,
"The Lumineers are simply superb, which is the reason they are the focus of this installment of Lyrical Life Lessons. Seriously, listening to them makes me want to learn to play a unique, unappreciated instrument like the banjo and beg to be a part of their front porch-loving indie rock trio."
doesn't make me think that they're normatively 'bad'. I'm not a fan of their music from what I can tell, but I also don't think that there's anything especially holy about listening to Replacements or VU or even Kanye West and then being inspired to go out and start a band or start producing music.
The sheer artifice of the Lumineers (which again from what I can tell, as in I don't claim to be an expert on them since I only saw photos of their Grammy performance and listened to the one song once on YouTube) seems to be quite up front. Are they not more honestly shitgrinning than Kings of Leon, who were once pretty respected (I think?) and who subsequently fell off/got super popular around the same time that their back story was debunked (from what I recall)? I'm doing something I don't really like doing, which is to 'speak up' for something, as it were, just for the sake of it. But it does seem to me that the choices they make are choices, just like anyone else, and it seems like they're being criticized for their 'choiceness', as if the guy from Fiery Furnaces hasn't made some obvious choices about presentation and aesthetics. (Which I say just because that's what I'm listening to right at this moment.)
― BMICHAEL, Tuesday, 12 February 2013 15:39 (eleven years ago) link
tbh i have no business snarking on the lumineers because of their outfits -- i love bob dylan, the band etc. and those dudes are the kings of let's-play-americana-dress-up. it's all BS ultimately. instead, i'll just dislike the lumineers' music. it is boring and annoying. and josh otm about arcade fire, they have destroyed rock n roll for a whole generation.
― tylerw, Tuesday, 12 February 2013 15:43 (eleven years ago) link
The "naturalism" part is more a criticism of the article's author. Don't know if the lumineers themselves lack self awareness about their act. But their music sure is bad.
― that Django got me Nuages (Sufjan Grafton), Tuesday, 12 February 2013 15:47 (eleven years ago) link
Given that I like a fair bit of '80s-'90s alt-country and couldn't care less about authenticity or w/e, I can only attribute my aversion to Mumford/Lumineers/Civil Wars/etc to the basic weakness of the tunes and stultifying harmonies.
― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Tuesday, 12 February 2013 16:35 (eleven years ago) link