Random Music Talk CXXIX: Gump attends a concert

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
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The irony is that Pitchfork is not remotely an indie stalwart these days, in that they go really hard for uber popular artists that were overlooked in the indie scene for a long time.

Artists included in their top 20 of the 2010s: Frank Ocean (twice), Kanye (twice), Beyoncé, Kendrick (twice), Solange, Robyn, Rihanna, Drake, Lorde, Lana. The only artists I'd call indie to make into the top 20 were Sufjan Stevens and Joanna Newson. Maybe Grimes and Vampire Weekend if you want to be generous and focus on their origins. Only Newson is remotely obscure from this group.



They’re definitely not anymore. But at their core, they’re still the same hype culture adjacent outlet. Not hype culture as in “what’s the next big artist”, but rather “that limited edition Supreme foldable chair was so last week, have you seen this limited edition Supreme Oreo cookie?”
 
The year end lists are for a broader demographic than their day to day readership, which ultimately leads to them sanding down a lot of the interesting edges. They pin it on "staff consensus," but that's what dictates the scores to begin with. Plenty of esoteric 8.3+ albums have been ignored for popular <8.0s over the years.

Pitchfork Fest is part of the problem, but it's also one of the only things they offer that stands out from the pack at this point. Those lineups aren't being replicated elsewhere.
 
I read that Airborne Toxic Event review and they left that style a long time ago. The site was never going to grow if they remained a niche review site that only reviewed indie darlings and shat on artists in that way.

LN7, I feel you'd be a lot happier if you're able to let go of some of your (totally understandable) anger and pain in regards to being bullied for your love for music. It doesn't really seem to bring you much benefit.

I've copped shit for half my life for my U2 fandom. And a long time ago I decided to stop caring what other people thought about them, or thought about my fandom, and it's meant I've been able to be an obsessive in peace. I went on a fucking national quiz show (and won!) showing off my nerdy love for U2. No one likes them, all my friends actively dislike them and hang shit on them, and I just don't care. If I took it personally every time someone hung shit on them, whether it's a friend or Pitchfork or someone on Twitter, I'd be miserable.


I’d made the point earlier about U2. Believe me, I get you. I don’t take it personally. I’m the same way you are, minus the national quiz shows. I don’t really care what someone thinks about my tastes.

Pitchfork occupies 0% of my daily mind space. This topic regularly occupies 0% of my daily mind space. There’s nothing to let go of (unless you’re suggesting I should forgive a website or something, which I won’t because it’s not a person). Maybe I can let go of feeling the need to call an elitist an elitist when an elitist acts like an elitist. Elitists make me angry. Supremacists make me angry. I probably won’t ever stop feeling that way. I’m very happy to expend my energy to oppose these people. I might not be the most concisely articulate person, so if my walls of text were not very clear, my intent is this: I feel an obligation to engage anyone who stands in the way of openly loving what they love. That does not preclude objective criticism, but absolutely precludes elitism and all forms of direct or implied superiority.
 
doesn't pitchfork just occupy the same kind of "self-appointed genre taste arbiter" space that rolling stone and MTV did (on a much larger level) in the 70s and 80s?
 
Did we ever find out which artist Pitchfork attacked that somehow scarred LN7 for life?


I assume it's Airborne Toxic Event. A band I find to be needlessly maligned in indie circles, and likely unhelped by their disastrous debut album review from Pitchfork.
 
Speaking of indie rock, the band Bachelor released a really good debut last week. Jay Som is one of the members.
 
When I saw it was only 33 minutes, I just went ahead and turned it on. It's quite pleasant. I have about two tracks left.

There's a lot of music out right now that sounds like this, IMO, so it doesn't really stand out, but it has the benefit of featuring an artist I like quite a bit, so I'll probably spin this at least a few more times.
 
I should listen to it. I haven't liked Melina's collaborative work as much as her excellent solo albums but maybe this one will change my mind.
 
That Cassandra Jenkins album we talked about earlier this year has won me over. The spoke word parts turned me off in the beginning, but I really enjoy them now. Hard Drive is one of my favorite songs of the year.
 
That Cassandra Jenkins album we talked about earlier this year has won me over. The spoke word parts turned me off in the beginning, but I really enjoy them now. Hard Drive is one of my favorite songs of the year.
Oh thank God. I won't lie, you hating on that song saddened me. Glad to have you on board.
 
I finally got the vinyl last week and gave it a full listen. Very impressive album indeed. I haven't heard anything quite like it before.
 
Oh thank God. I won't lie, you hating on that song saddened me. Glad to have you on board.

I'm sorry! I don't know what didn't click initially. I'm generally not into spoken word, but I think it really works well in that song with the overall theme of the album, and then the music is just so good.

This album and Ignorance have been on regular rotation lately (Ignorance pretty much since it came out, and it's still my favorite album to come out this year). This year has been really good so far as far as I'm concerned.

Has anyone else (other than LM) checked out the new black midi? I'm pretty confident that iron yuppie would enjoy it.
 
I'm sorry! I don't know what didn't click initially. I'm generally not into spoken word, but I think it really works well in that song with the overall theme of the album, and then the music is just so good.
Haha, all good! Opinions and all that, but I do really love that song. Also, you would've hated my DI list if I'd ever finished it.

Has anyone else (other than LM) checked out the new black midi? I'm pretty confident that iron yuppie would enjoy it.
I heard it. I'm confused by it. It's very good, but it's not like many other records so it's hard to even know what to compare it to. I don't actually know if I like it, but I respect it.
 
I'm sorry....what?


BRB.
Hmm, I'm not sure. I love how Robert's voice sounds on this, though. The song itself just kinda sounds like Chvrches doing Chvrches, but it's not like I don't like them or anything, so that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
 
I've not listened to that much new music this year yet. I'm finding myself overwhelmed and frustrated again at the amount of things I want to be into it (new music, old music, books, video games, TV shows, etc etc) and needing to find a solution.

Speaking of music however, I really want to talk about Doja Cat. I came to her music through TikTok, that new song Kiss Me More with SZA (which is dope) is everywhere, and then I started hearing Streets a lot, and that beat is fucking so good, and that led me to Hot Pink, which I think is pretty fucking outstanding, so many good songs, including a dope track called Bottom Bitch that fucking samples blink 182.

And then I was talking to some friends about how I love her and they all started responding with cow emojis and I was like what the fuck, turns out, I had no idea about this song, which apparently is what made her popular in the first place!!

First of all, holy fuck, like the song is so stupid but it's really done, it's really funny, the film clip is fucking next level good, the way she interpolates like five popular R&B/hip-hop songs towards the end is amazing. AND I actually genuinely really like the song - the beat is really fucking nice, and the way she sings matches the beat so nicely, like if it wasn't a fucking troll I'd be like this song absolutely rules. But it does rule! (Oh and she's really fucking hot.) The only thing I can compare it to is Turquoise Jeep - because not only are the lyrics really funny, but the lo-fi film clip is brilliant, AND the song is really good. Turquoise Jeep and Michael Dapaah are the only other artists I've come across who's been able to pull all that off in recent times (obviously shout-outs to Weird Al and Richard Cheese, but they're more in the covers area than originals).



The only thing souring it for me is that the next song that plays in my iTunes is fucking American Pie which completely destroys my vibes.
 
I heard it. I'm confused by it. It's very good, but it's not like many other records so it's hard to even know what to compare it to. I don't actually know if I like it, but I respect it.



It is decidedly weird, and I agree, almost impossible to place it in the context of other genres. I really liked the mix of prog rock and jazz, some moments are incredibly beautiful. I didn’t like their debut all that much, but Cavalcade struck me as such a mature record. The vocals can be a bit of a turn off at times, he makes me damn anxious. But it works so well in a song like John L.
 
The new Wolf Alice is currently sitting at a 97 on metacritic (albeit only from 9 reviews), and from what I've heard so far, it's pretty great.
 
The new Wolf Alice is currently sitting at a 97 on metacritic (albeit only from 9 reviews), and from what I've heard so far, it's pretty great.


Thank you for reminding me that tomorrow's going to be a great day for music.
EDIT: Oh wait! It's already up on YouTube music, oooh, does that mean Japanese Breakfast is too? Why yes it is! Omg, there's a song on here about Kokomo, Indiana.
 
Thank you for reminding me that tomorrow's going to be a great day for music.
EDIT: Oh wait! It's already up on YouTube music, oooh, does that mean Japanese Breakfast is too? Why yes it is! Omg, there's a song on here about Kokomo, Indiana.

You're welcome. On Spotify, new music is always out at 12am ET so I can always start listening at 10 pm Thursday.
 
Yesterday I was listening to Swing Low Magellan, and while it's a step down from Bitte Orca, that album is a masterpiece and hard to match, so I can't really consider it a disappointment. Some great, great songs on there.

Made me nostalgic for the late 00s/early 2010s days here when B&C saw the warring factions of those who championed THE COFF! and those who backed THE DOO!

And talking about which of the Los Camp! ladies deserved the bigger crush.

Shouter :sad:
 
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The new Wolf Alice is currently sitting at a 97 on metacritic (albeit only from 9 reviews), and from what I've heard so far, it's pretty great.



I thought it was great. I’m really glad, as I was disappointed in Visions of a Life after loving their debut. I like the new direction (is it new? To my years it’s more polished) a lot.

The new Japanese Breakfast also didn’t disappoint. She’s such a joy. The final stretch of the album is really excellent, starting with Savage Good Boy. What a fantastic song that was, even if the lyrics were perhaps too on the nose (but rightfully so given the theme).
 
I wouldn't call myself a fan of Vampire Weekend, but damn Step is a good song. Probably the only song of theirs that I really enjoy.
 
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