Rick Moody defends Gentle Giant

Those articles are kind of depressing. It's not that the music is bad, it's just not my thing, especially the "no drum machines" bit. However, it made me want to read his books! Not often a novelist comments about music.

I want to say that "strolling across the room" to get your CD is a rockist act, but it's probably not.

what about strolling across the room to activate iTunes

Or walking across the room to fix your WiFi so Spotify will work?

Well he kind of undercuts his own argument about being able to walk across the room to select a physical media from a collection when he says, "collectors are suspect".

I actually had a WiFi problem until today that was seriously undercutting my music appreciation Maybe RM is right.

Why is CD collecting not "collecting"? Old vinyl is expensive nowadays...30-40 for a decent LP. But collector CDs can cost over $100!

What in the shit.

'Narcissistic, hackneyed pap' = 'I have no articulate criticism of this music'

what a weirdo:

These sentences do constitute a provocation, but, even now, I don’t shrink from the sense of them. I still dislike this music passionately.

First, it is alleged that I am a misogynist for the “marrying up” line, with the particular charge being that I wouldn’t say this about a male artist. I would, however, say this about a male artist, so let me correct that misperception now: Larry Fortensky married up, David Gest married up, Tim McGraw married up. And even the president of the United States has admitted to “marrying up,” I believe, in referring to himself. There has also recently been a Redbook article on the subject of “marrying up.”

I will write about the structural similarities between the careers of P. Diddy and Taylor Swift.

^yeah both started as young up and comers in the record labels, quickly hitched their wagon to one of the greatest rappers of their generation, both watched on as their friend became and icon and was tragically killed in a driveby shooting

I am glad they have music they love, even if I believe they will be bored of her ultimately, just as I once was happy about the Bay City Rollers, or Sweet, or Alice Cooper, or, differently, Kiss, even though I recognized that music was kitsch.

you fuck

from comments:

You are not shocked in the least. You expected a backlash, you wanted a backlash, so you could parley another article out of a topic and hear your own self talk.

OTM

This guy is giving Gentle Giant fans (all six of them) a bad name

A response:

http://www.maura.com/472/post-menopausal-antiquing-or-please-rick-moody-just-quit-it

The other thing is can't really take the main lead singer's grating voice. Kerry Minnear, the keyboardist and other lead singer, had more tolerable vocals, but at his worst sounds like an anemic choirboy.

Man, this is exactly what I think! Derek Shulman sounds like a de-warbled Roger Chapman, can't improve on 'grating' as a description but I'd add ugly. Keyboard player sounds like a Peter Hammill... as a 7 year old, from Wikipedia:

Minnear did not sing lead vocals at live concerts, because of his inability to support and project his voice at a level suitable for live amplification

... phew, rock 'n' roll or what? Big brother Phil had the best voice but he was only with them for a few albums.