OK, is this the worst piece of music writing ever?

I like how the writer of the Battles piece spells John Stanier's last name wrong twice in the first paragraph, then just gets on a first-name basis with them for the rest of the piece. And honestly, he's gotten a little better - he only did the that's-almost-the-adjective-you-want thing a few times, as opposed to doing it in every sentence like he used to.

alabama shakes, fairly or unfairly, strikes me like the aughties version of Hootie

they need to have at least one hit single first to earn that comparison

imo they're more the '10s Lone Justice

I feel like this is verging on needing a separate thread, but it was interesting to me to read the contrast between that NPR interview and the comments thereon -- perhaps not surprisingly, a lot of NPR listeners (and probably a lot of music fans in general) really resist political readings of any popular music or the placing of music in a political context.

a josh ritter/alabama shakes/carolina chocolate drops show around here would be pandemonium. latte in the streets...

"resist political readings of any popular music or the placing of music in a political context."

they really like things comfy casual.

the choc drops stuff is really explicitly socially political and explores historical ideas about race and appropriation in a way that very few bands were doing
of course, that's not quite what got them on the national radar and they've basically atomized these days into new projects anyway

there is a thread for that too:

Can we agree on a definition - "NPR Rock" ??

from the first post on that thread:

"Comfy, Acoustic, Literate, Upscale, Non-Threatening......... what else???? (white?)"

non-threatening is good. i would add toothless. just because.

to be fair, those listeners are the only people who never forgot tracy chapman.

to be fair, those listeners are the only people who never forgot tracy chapman.
--scott seward

Pitchfork 80s list stans for Tracy Chapman

"Fast Car" is one of the greatest songs ever written

I got a plan to get us outta this thread

Be someone
Be someone

;_;

i will stan for tracy chapman any day. she remains a bucket list concert.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jakwsneGokg

I don't really read many music sites so I'm a bit nonplussed at the word count and approx reading time in the Battles piece... is that normal practice these days or am I right in finding that kind of weird?

That was the first thing I noticed as well. Was going to make fun of it but then realized that I'm not sure whether it's normal, either.

A fair amount of big-name sites (Slate, Vox, etc.) do that now. It's the New Thing.

yeah approximate reading time is the norm now

I'm a very busy man so i appreciate this information. I just wish they gave a range, from the time it would take to scroll for key info to the time it would take to savor each phrase like fine wine

this is a weird way to open a review of a roland young compilation (it's quite a poorly-written review in general:

Lines can and should be drawn between the notion of the working musician and that of the charlatan. The working musician applies their skill as a trade and makes decisions on how to do so based on merit and need; the charlatan does not treat their skill as such, and applies it however strikes their fancy. It might be fun for a charlatan to be in a band as a way to meet people and gain access to parties, drugs, and discounted alcohol. The working musician sees each gig as a way to make next month’s rent. They may have a side job as a baseline of financial stability (if that) but the idea of playing, of being artists, of expressing themselves, drives them to keep going.

So, let no one ever refer to Roland Young as a charlatan.

Lines can and should be drawn between the notion of the working musician and that of the charlatan. The working musician applies their skill as a trade and makes decisions on how to do so based on merit and need; the charlatan does not treat their skill as such, and applies it however strikes their fancy. It might be fun for a charlatan to be in a band as a way to meet people and gain access to parties, drugs, and discounted alcohol. The working musician sees each gig as a way to make next month’s rent. They may have a side job as a baseline of financial stability (if that) but the idea of playing, of being artists, of expressing themselves, drives them to keep going.

Fred? He's a charlatan, and we should kick him out of the band.

No place for charlatans in a business built around getting on a stage in front of people and performing an act for them.

No surprise Lefsetz in a recent email/blog postingis all excited about that Seabrook book quoted in that Atlantic book review above, and not questioning much

And if there aren't enough hooks in the track, they start all over. They're in the business of hit singles, not album dreck. And they know one hook is not enough, that you've got to grab the public instantly and continue to thrill them.

And this formula is working.

I'm not judging it, just telling you how it is.

gadzooks

"And they know one hook is not enough, that you've got to grab the public instantly and continue to thrill them."

"And this formula is working."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CI-0E_jses

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhyhP_5VfKM

Need to get back to the days of artistically pure dreck, IMO.

http://www.maxlandiswrites.com/macklemore-white-eminem/

should I click, maura

HOT TURDAKES

"should I click, maura"

don't do it.

Is that the same Max Landis famous for 'scripts' for Ghostbusters III, Super Mario Bros. The Movie, and other fanart things that every kid of that generation made up w their friends on the bus to school?

In the 2010s, the era of Macklemore, mainstream top 40 rap, with a few notable exceptions some of whom I’ve already mentioned, is getting…What’s the word…Stupider. Not in a bad way, but the rise of artists like Young Thug, a man who raps like a homeless man yelling, Pitbull, a fun raconteur whose every song seems to be a rearranged grouping of a limited number of catchphrases, and Tyga, whose songs about excess and irresponsibility are so simplistically worded that they border on accidental self parody, the art form is folding in on itself. Standing amongst this wreckage on the pop charts is a seemingly perpetually calm man with an interesting haircut rapping quietly to you about gay marriage, how nice it is to hang out with your friends, and the perks of owning a moped; he’s wearing your grandpa’s clothes, and he looks incredible.

BLACK BAD WHITE GOOD

finally a stoic rapper in neat clothes and an interesting haircut, enjoying camaraderie and owning novel modes of transportation

Pitbull, a fun raconteur

Young Thug, a man who raps like a homeless man yelling

Macklemore IS happy, he’s stylish, he’s upbeat and occasionally is going to fuck a fat girl.

well he does ride mopeds

http://www.strangecosmos.com/images/content/181357.gif

matos on the case...

http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/john-seabrooks-pop-music-treatise-the-song-machine-is-h-1736113168

we were talking about some seabrook thing here, weren't we?

Good candidate for it, yup.

Ted Gioia is back, you guys:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/10/11/is-artisanal-music-the-next-new-thing.html

this is it

this is the nopegularity

wowwwwwwwww "artisanal music" I can't believe someone actually went there lol

I am offended on so many levels.

"But check out Ms. Lauryn Hill channeling Nina Simone on her latest album. "

wut