A Paler Shade of White---Sasha Frere-Jones Podcast and New Yorker article Criticizing Indie Rock for Failing to Incorporate African-American Influences

I know Grant is apeshit crazy. The absolute gall of artdamages' comment is still offensive.

I get the sense it was a joke.

yeah i know, that's why i made the whole army joek thing...although...i don't know how any redblooded gay dude could manage to keep his hands off this hott dish for two weeks:

http://www.artrocity.com/rockshots/images/BOBM03.JPG

thats a picture of a baby

a sexy baby

"hott dish" = cream of wheat?

hot dish forever, casserole never!

The absolute gall of artdamages' comment is still offensive.

otm but good luck with that one M, I mean as Big Hoos notes "it's a joke"

can we have a different thread at the top of the new answers page plz

good thing you bumped it

From the OED entry for "miscegenate, v.":

1994 Harper's July 49/1 Clogging, Scotch-Irish in origin and the dance of choice in Appalachia,..has now miscegenated with square dancing and honky-tonk boogie to become..country tap dance.

otm but good luck with that one M, I mean as Big Hoos notes "it's a joke"

-- J0hn D., Wednesday, 17 October 2007 21:32

As an earnest statement it would be offensive. As a joke it's just in bad taste. There's a difference.

But I'm speaking for myself, obviously. Feel free to be offended.

I'll remember art damages' advice next time I walk into a straight bar. The first one to look at my crotch gets a punch in the face.

i didn't feel like my comment took any gall. i won't try to back it up though because whats the difference what an artist's intentions are?

guys artdamages is gay.

and black.

(wouldn't that be awesome?)

Here's a very recent pic of Grant Hart

http://lh4.google.com/yonilizer/Ruw6h8D8w_I/AAAAAAAAAng/AEPOBLqvyVE/2grantplymell.jpg

SFJ has moved on to praising Tori Amos and Radiohead on the respective blogs, I suppose we should all move on too

respective NYer and personal blogs, rather

Not much Africa in Radiohead.

two gay guys walk into a bar ...

... and walk right back out because the music sucks.

uh, a straight bar damn it

otm re: "peacebone"

"(wouldn't that be awesome?)"

yes.

fair enough, then--hadn't realized it was a joke

This isn't actually the best format for debating/discussing an article as provocative as SFJ's, is it? I'm certainly looking forward to Carl Wilson's response piece in Slate tomorrow (apparently).

Here's a very recent pic of Grant Hart

-- dally, Wednesday, October 17, 2007 5:50 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Link

best post on thread

Here's a very recent pic of miscegenation.

820 comments later…

Hey, did he remember to call Merritt a racist this time?

(I like SFJ, and even agree with him re: why a lot of indie rock is boring as fuck, but he should be forced to drop acid and watch a loop of Watermelon Man for weeks).

Hey, did he remember to call Merritt a racist this time?

Wait, what's this in reference to?

http://www.slate.com/id/2141421/

ILM Mega-thread on it somewhere.

I figured it was about the thread, which I've been looking for forever.

I didn't know anything about the J-Hop beef, though.

i love these old threads, they really bring me...hey, wait a minute! you people are just pretending to be old!

My favorite thing about this thread is that the New Yorker gets as close as it can to sensationalism and then doesn't have the good sense to have comments on their blogs. Message to print media: comments and such like make advertisers v. happy.

And holy wow I still can't get over the use of 'miscegenation.' As was said upthread, this is a really hateful word. Whatever happened to using 'cross-pollination' or 'hybridization' for stuff like this. And by stuff like this I mean nostalgic (read: reified) kerfluffle about something as insignificant as indie rock not being black enough?

It just feels like criticizing Metal because it's not mellow enough or rap that doesn't have three part harmonies, literary references and a glockenspiel solo. I don't really want some all encompassing musical behemoth that compiles a best of of all peoples favourite bits of music. Hang on, wasn't that done?

I don't really want some all encompassing musical behemoth that compiles a best of of all peoples favourite bits of music.

He doesn't either. After all, where is all the criticizm of current R&B lacking great melodies with a great building from verse to chorus, where is the critizism of R&B and hip-hop lacking sophisticated art rock values? His critizism goes just one way after all.

This thread is not miscegenated enough for my liking.
More miscegenate plz kthx.

i imagine his use of 'miscegenation' is based on lester bangs' use of it in his article

If that's a tradition he wants to keep going, he should have asked "when did hipsters become so white?" Which is loaded and bullshit too, but less obviously ridiculous than wondering when indie rock became white.

what could be more frightening than the vision of a "funky" arcade fire?

The Decemberists covering Maggot Brain in it's entirety?

The Shins covering "Let's Pretend We're Married"?

i'm waiting for his follow-up article "the indie-mulatto ideal: tv on the radio, black kids and har-mar superstar"

Where would the civil rights movement be without rock critics?

Where would the civil rights movement be without rock critics?

The "I've had a preview of the new album' speech.......

"I have a dream that someday little indie-rock girls and boys ..."

Jess Harvell's Idolator thing was pretty funny (Ned linked to it above), and Simon Reynolds nicely catalogues all the 2007 doom and gloom articles and postings-- (Deej linked to it) and offered his take on SFJ's piece. I don't think critic/blogger Carl Wilson's Slate piece is out yet.

I don't think critic/blogger Carl Wilson's Slate piece is out yet.