Is Everybody Who Edits the Village Voice Really This Stupid?

Maybe the album in question simply blows. I just don't see any rock-hating myself, just an absence of rock.

Quite likely a rock band might not want to sign onto DC anyway, for fear of being mistaken as another Will Oldham side project.

now, what about a rockin' ghost album - would it pass the homer litmus test?

http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0113/eddy.php

Hey Doom-e, do you like Sour Vein? Or have you heard them? I never have, and it turns out that one of my best friends from high school is their guitarist. they have an album on Southern Lord, I think.

Nerdly aside: I wonder if it would be possible to write some kind of computer program that did a spectral analysis on a clip of music and rated it's rockitude on a scale of 1 to 100. It might save music critics a lot of trouble, and there'd be fewer arguments over who does and doesn't rock. (And no, before anyone asks, spectral analysis has nothing to do with ghosts... or Ghost.)

''They've done all sorts, Mr. Julio, trust me...refer to the AMG for my various rants. ;-)''

nothing like a bit of self-promotion eh?

at least c. eddy does not have to think a) does it rock? an b) will it make a sixteen seem super cool and fly if he bought it. i use the homer litmus test before i say something rocks!

not being taken seriously is rockin'! we are talking about rock'n'roll here, taking it seriously does not rock! listen to me, i love the cult ...

Also, clearly a bunch of people missed my point if they think this thread was supposed to be about whether Drag City "rocks" or not. They could release Eastern European polka techno thrash jazz records for all anyone who reads the preview could care - the point is it said "rock hating" not "rock non-releasing." Why Chuck or any other critic feels they have the authority to make such assumptions is beyond me. And yes, I have a conflict of interest: I only saw the preview because I was looking for the (Smog) preview, written by another author, which only seemed to mention how said author thinks Bill Callahan makes music to showcase his "weirdness," another ridiculous assertion by someone who seems incapable to describe the music or experience in any significant way as to actually help a Voice reader make a decision whether or not to go to the show (not that it mattered: we had 359 at the Bowery that night anyway).

And finally, amateurist, I believe I've only ever gotten in any sort of "online dispute" with Chuck over the dub metal thread. I certainly don't try to bait him, as should be patently obvious. However, no matter how many books he's written, I do feel that it's certainly within my rights to call out anything that I see as bullshit, so that's what I chose to do with this thread. It wouldn't matter to me if it was Chuck who wrote it or whomever; I thought it was ridiculous, and I said so. Why some people around here choose to be so cowed by those they deem the "experts" is beyond me.

HStencil I think you might be reading someone else's post and attributing it to me. I never even mentioned you on this thread or any past conflicts with Chuck. Your words actually could have come out of my mouth, for what it's worth; I entirely agree. I've been accused numerous times of baiting him myself and I don't think challenging a professional rock critic when he makes a dismissive comment in print is baiting at all. And I don't think Chuck has quite explained why the comment was made. In context it does seem pejorative, but at one point on this thread he claims he was just making some kind of observation, whcih begs the question, of what value was the observation alone?

"Featuring three members of NYC free-jazz avant-drone ensemble the No Neck Blues Bland, the Suntanama are an anomaly on rock-hating Drag City. People who've never heard a Point Blank album peg them a 'Southern Rock,' though their lazy drawls are more *Workingman's Dead* than *Street Survivors,* more 'Nantucket Sleighride' than 'Missisippi Queen,' more hippie or grunge than redneck. But they can be dadburn gorgeous about it."
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And again, if Drag City didn't hate music that rocks, I expect they would put out some music that actually DOES rock. THEY make their decisions about what to release; I don't. And one would expect those decisions to be based on the label's tastes (and what music they think might be profitable with the audience they've established, and so on, but let's not get into that). It's pretty darn simple. (For the record, even Suntanama don't rock as much as I wish they would. But either way, they're straightforward enough to sound to ME like an anomaly. And guess what? It was MY FUCKING PREVIEW. Which means it's based on what MY ears hear. What Hstencil hears doesn't matter at all!)

(x-post)

As far as I can see, they do the exact thing all those Elephant 6 groups do -- take perfectly good '60s rock, subtract all the energy and rhythm and catchiness and push from it, thereby turn it wispery and watery and bland, and pretend that makes it "weird" or something.
-- chuck (ceddy@vil...), March 28th, 2003 5:31 PM.

This seems to be a long-standing gripe with him about a lot of what passes for indie rock.

I like that Big Flame comp., mind.

I have no probs with calling labels that release recs by guitar bands as 'rock-hating'. In fact, that's a what labels should be aiming for.

Rock can't just stay the same, that road leads to wynton marsalis type museum music and that's the last thing I would like.

Were SST rock? obv some bands on it live on 'rock' but they changed it to something by synthesizing (sp?) other precursors together.

Probably true (again, IT WAS JUST A FRIGGING SHWOW PREVIEW, Y'KNOW? --and hey, Amateurist, you use capital letters too --i,.e. "So saying the band 'are an anomaly on rock-hating Drag City' is another way of saying they ROCK. Why not just say that? Or better yet, explain HOW" -- which is fine with me, seeing how italics aren't available here and all.) But again, my point, obviously, is that merely saying "they rock" (which again, they DON'T, not as much as they SHOULD) would have been (even) *less* interesting. Though I keep forgetting that lots of indie-rock fans *like* being bored. I'll make a note of it.)

SST was not a rock-hating label, I don't think. Though it WAS too slow, a lot of the time. (After it stopped being too fast, I guess.) For the record, I always prefered DC-3 to Painted Willie or Das Damen.