My Husband's Stupid Record Collection

sorry, I'm still stuck on how resembling a "sassy indie librarian" is a statement on the quality of one's writing

I mean shit, several dudes now do music criticism as actual VIDEOS of themselves and yet people still mostly manage to talk about the content and not what their face looks like. for some reason.

I've seen sassy indie librarians. Sassy indie librarians are friends of mine. And stupid record collection broad, you are no sassy indie librarian.

yeah otm her appearance is immaterial. and commenting on the gender dynamics/her relative lack of knowledge to her husband can come off as similarly belittling. she should be left to do her thing

looking back at the blog, i like how her accounts are sort of phenomenological/not bogged down by the weight of discourse. this is a boon not a weakness

Yeah that Flavorwire piece had as much going on in the unpleasant gender politics realm as it accused the Tumblr's fans of having, so

i don't think there's anything wrong with either the faux-naif or the withering scorn critical approach. i don't think the validity of a writer's work is determined by the framework they set for themselves or by their writing style. there's good faux-naif and bad faux-naif (which is to say, pomplamoose), just as there's good withering scorn and bad withering scorn.

I mean shit, several dudes now do music criticism as actual VIDEOS of themselves and yet people still mostly manage to talk about the content and not what their face looks like. for some reason.

― katherine, Sunday, April 26, 2015 7:14 PM (35 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

True although IMO more ppl should def mention Anthony fantano's corny indie fuxx demeanor in discussions of his reviews

"sorry, I'm still stuck on how resembling a "sassy indie librarian" is a statement on the quality of one's writing"

it doesn't have anything to do with her writing. i never said it did. but the pictures of herself are a part of the presentation of her blog. they are what you see first. they are meant to be looked at. and although she is not holding a ukelele in any of the pictures i have seen, that's the vibe i get. from the pictures and actually, now that you mention it, the writing. so sue me. it's a uke vibe.

i think the whole thing is kinda twee and cutesy. which is fine for people who like twee and cutesy. i like some twee things. i am a big fan of the sarah records catalog. but her thing is not my thing. which i said on whatever thread this originally popped up on. i think it's AWESOME if she makes money from it! like, totally. i am all for that.

and i don't watch youtube rock reviews. so, i don't know about those. i was talking about print blogs. never seen anyone post a picture of themselves that much. on blogs that are devoted to writing about something.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oEwTQYzk84

It's funny how some people start throwing things at whoever gets 'offered' a 'book deal', for whatever reason.

folks, i really hate to resurrect the dread spectre of "rockism" here, and i'm also not wanting to pick on scott, but all this complaining about how o'holla keeps putting pictures of herself on her blog reminds me of people who used to complain about mtv for ruining christopher cross's career.

when i look at the most respected critics, the ones who have really made a name for themselves, it strikes me that they all have a voice. guys like bangs weren't just writing about the music, they were writing about themselves. current models of music criticism are all beholden to the "new journalism" of the 1960s. so if a writer gets to have a voice, what's the problem with her having a face as well?

i'm not being faux-naif myself here. i get it. i'm an utterly non-photogenic middle-aged white guy. nobody is going to read a blog to look at pictures of me unless they're really into schadenfreude. i grew up in an environment (the internet of the 1990s) where what you looked like didn't matter, all that mattered was how you expressed yourself in writing. it was beautiful, but it was also clearly only a short-lived technological accident, not some ideal form of human expression.

if what people are looking for in music journalism is less along the lines of christgau's "old self-righteous white male liberal" and more along the lines of "cute white girl", i'm not going to be so disingenous as to claim that as an example of "uncomfortable gender politics", because by and large the people it seems to really make uncomfortable are people like me who will never pass for "cute".

I don't think her appearance is part of her success as in "she's cute i want to look at her." I think it's more the idea of this indie couple in a cozy house listening to records that is appealing to people, maybe lonely unmarried people

The fact that they're lps are part of it, like this dream of listening to music in a way that's not in headphones on the subway by yourself

You Ok Treeship

this thread is weird

i think the whole thing is kinda twee and cutesy. which is fine for people who like twee and cutesy. i like some twee things. i am a big fan of the sarah records catalog. but her thing is not my thing. which i said on whatever thread this originally popped up on. i think it's AWESOME if she makes money from it! like, totally. i am all for that.

― scott seward, Sunday, April 26, 2015 6:31 PM (Yesterday)

Sorry but this is so fricking condescending.

And who cares if it's "not your thing?" So are a million other things and that's true for everybody. You're not making a criticism with any substance whatsoever.

I wish I remembered what thread we originally discussed this on, because, like scott, I am probably just repeating myself ... the thing that bugs me about it is how it functions to reinforce gender stereotypes re weird music -- that women aren't knowledgeable about it, that they are only exposed to it because of their male partners, that women don't really like it.

And who cares if it's "not your thing?" So are a million other things and that's true for everybody.

This is ilx, not the Supreme Court. Why are you being so aggro about scott not liking this woman's blog?

adorkability.

that flavorwire article said adorkability.

http://www.remix-ibk.at/image/remix_logo.jpg

Had a look at this blog and the true horror of it isn't really this lady describing punk/new wave greats as "toe tappy" and "peppy" but the realization that 99% of the population would agree and rather read that than any of my late night heavily referenced wordpress posts on the same material

"And who cares if it's "not your thing?"

probably nobody.

"So are a million other things and that's true for everybody."

we are talking about one specific thing on this thread.

"You're not making a criticism with any substance whatsoever."

yeah, you'd have to pay me money or something if you want substance. the word twee is all you're gonna get for free. i'll throw in cutesy too.

also i hate how her husband chimes in at the end of some of the reviews. but i guess that makes it more loveable to some people.

I'm with Scott on this one. This song reminds me of California and surfing, and since we have the windows open and just got ice cream from the ice cream man (choco taco for Alex, chocolate eclair for me...) seems too much like "we had a cupcake party and here are photos" for me to have much interest as a music review.

Sara I mentioned it in the OP. Worst Music Writing thread.

Tbh reading this (or anything) thru a gender politics lens seems like a boring and depressing way to go thru life bt ymmv I guess

yes gender politics lenses suck thank you finally

lol nv i was trying to figure out a response to that ty <3

is the world depressing or is it just these accursed gender politics lenses?

(nb i have not read this woman's blog i am just on the internet right now)

(wearing my gender politics lenses that's why everything looks so boring all the time)

xp

that's 2 of us :D

(actually i read a bit when it started and from title on down, whatever yr opinion, pretending gender isn't in play is...a bit disingenuous, at least)

This is ilx, not the Supreme Court. Why are you being so aggro about scott not liking this woman's blog?

Because his posts are annoying, condescending, and lack substance. I thought I made that clear.

this blog sucks

NV you have a thread dedicated to how bored and depressed you are, bt "lenses" ws an astounding zing, sure

YOU'RE BORING

NV you have a thread dedicated to how bored and depressed you are

― sonic thedgehod (albvivertine), Monday, April 27, 2015 6:35 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

you're an asshole

Tbh reading this (or anything) thru a gender politics lens seems like a boring and depressing way to go thru life bt ymmv I guess

worst post of 2015 top candidate right here

congrats on yr first thread albvivertine

Thanks

Had a look at this blog and the true horror of it isn't really this lady describing punk/new wave greats as "toe tappy" and "peppy" but the realization that 99% of the population would agree and rather read that than any of my late night heavily referenced wordpress posts on the same material

― Leonard Pine, Monday, April 27, 2015 5:32 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

normally I'm pretty good at sussing out satire but this post has me stumped

More like 51% of the population ammirite

i love that leonard pine post xp

Is Anthony Fantano the long-lost nephew of Alton Brown? They both grind my gears in the exact same way.

To my shame, I've watched the 1st 30 seconds or so of the Anthony Fantano review of To Pimp a Butterfly more times than I've actually listened to TPAB.

I feel like 70s Woody Allen is more subtle than people are giving credit for.

how does timellison not understand scott at all? I don't get it

although she is not holding a ukelele in any of the pictures i have seen, that's the vibe i get. from the pictures and actually, now that you mention it, the writing. so sue me. it's a uke vibe.

it's true, there is this entire sound/aesthetic that is indie/cute/twee/adorkable that is completely not my thing, and I guess it's fine if it is someone's, but I feel like it's somehow destructive to my own world view! it lacks all the kinds of nuance I am into, and while it is interesting to listen to all records as if they are just kind of some sort of novelty, I can't live that way. so many people take music way too seriously, in so many ways (having a CANON, collecting objects, unquestioningly loving musicians no matter what they release) and that's not really how I approach it, but this is a right-angle approach that isn't about wondering who artists are or digging their works, just kind of assigning a sentiment and moving on

is there any point where the writer actually emotionally reacts to an artist and gets into them?

thanks friend

subjectively? i hate her writing style. it's nails on a chalkboard to me, and it fills me with a deep sense of personal animosity against anybody who would willfully commit to paper such banalities.

objectively? there's absolutely nothing wrong with the way she writes. it's just not the kind of writing i prefer to spend my time reading.

I'm sorry for defending this blog and more generally for being a contrarian on threads where it wasn't needed

she should combine this with those new vinyl collector scams, like "I'll send you one record from my husband's stupid record collection each month. He doesn't know!"

So did she never get past the Cs?

must have stopped being profitable.

Did she stop when online started giving her shit? If so, that's pretty sad.

Maybe they broke up!

"Want to feel old? The creator of 'My Husband's Stupid Record Collection' is 70 years old today!"

xp: They were still together as of 2018 https://offspring.lifehacker.com/how-i-parent-alex-goldman-1825426314

Did she stop when online started giving her shit? If so, that's pretty sad.

Had the same thought. I enjoyed her reviews! They were predictable: she liked anything that was mainstream rock or pop and couldn't get her head around noise-rock or free jazz. (A couple surprises, e.g. she liked Alice Coltrane.) That was part of what made the project interesting, though: it would have been interesting to see how her perceptions shifted as she exposed herself to hundreds and hundreds of those records.

Never really got the gender politics issue w her doing this, esp since I could spend all day on Youtube watching reaction videos where men do m/l the same thing. (Lost in Vegas guys are p much prog/metal experts by now.)

the gender politics issue was with the reception (positive & negative) more than the actual blog

actually there were interesting things about the gendering of certain types of music & fandom implied if not actively explored by the blog but it got nasty quick when the internet got hold of it

(Lost in Vegas guys are p much prog/metal experts by now.)

I feel like I'd enjoy their videos if I watched a few but the whole reaction video concept is just totally alienating to me.

actually there were interesting things about the gendering of certain types of music & fandom implied if not actively explored by the blog but it got nasty quick when the internet got hold of it

I think she did explicitly address these things at times with e.g. the review of the SST comp with the rape image on the cover.

lost in vegas is m/l real-time music criticism by non-music journalists. 95% of what they "react" to I have no interest in tho.

I think she did explicitly address these things at times with e.g. the review of the SST comp with the rape image on the cover.

Remember that she actually spoke to and quoted a gender studies professor in this one.

in stick-to-itiveness, she did better than Sufjan Stevens but quite a bit worse than Sue Grafton.