No spoken words
Blue Crack Supplier
I've not stopped listening to it for two days now.
1) Finally bought my ticket for the February show at Logan Square. Should be a wonderful time made all the more enjoyable by the fun sure to be had during the opening set of Titus Andronicus (who released a pretty damn good debut record, The Airing of Grievances, earlier this year)..
3) Still the best band in the world, at the moment. I would really, really, really like to see them work with producer Dave Fridmann (Mercury Rev, many others), for their next record. I spent a good chunk of time on the train, this weekend, listening to what he did with Sleater-Kinney (also produced by We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed helmsman, John Goodmanson), for their final blowout and definitive statement, The Woods. The band generally sounds nothing at all like it had sounded for nearly ten years, yet sounds exactly like they're supposed to. It is one of the five or ten best records of the decade, and perhaps the best (arguably) "punk" album to have been released in the last 15 years. It is gargantuan, and its willingness not to go to 11, but rather to 50, would, I think, suit this band remarkably.
I REALLY hope they add more dates this year, they don't presently have any dates scheduled for anywhere remotely near here (unless I consider Texas close).
If I see IYS at the show, what do you want me to do?
High five, hug, hold hands, kiss, and fist fight. In that order.
I don't remember at all why that whole "punch in the face" inside joke thing started, or what we were even talking about. I don't think Shouter ever even knew what we were talking about, now I don't either! GOW2 has rotted my brainz.
Just look for a guy who needs a face punching, and give it to him. Hard.
That's Utahn.
Of course, this doesn't mean to say or suggest or even really consider that NSW might be some kind of tool.
he might look at me and see all my bad, abrasive qualities (I'm hyper-critical [see this post], I hate everybody, I tend to ramble, I'm liberal to a fault, I often mistakenly say the most inappropriate thing at the most inappropriate time [and not in a quirky, self-aware way...rather, the sort of thing that the old lady is upset about, at the end of the night, when she's the first person to tell me that I brutally offended somebody],
This is not really the kind of post which belongs in a Los Campesinos! thread, I guess, but its tenuous contextual relevance helped me decide to put it here. Most of this is just me thinking about how message boards have potentially changed audiences and the experiences of said audiences at shows. I'm really curious to hear what you have to say, NSW, but no less curious to hear what somebody like lazarus or U2pm might have to say. I mean, I'm not the only person who thinks about this stuff, am I? ...Or am I just thinking this stuff because I pretty much hate everybody, to begin with?
Do discuss. Oh, and the band is still awesome, too! Wonderful stuff!
This is a typical very highly/over-considered post of mine. Be prepared.
So, I wonder quite often, these days, whether or not it's actually a good idea to meet up with message board people, at shows. The reasons for this are many, but none of them are necessarily or inherently able to cancel out the potential greatness of meeting in person somebody with whom you can truly connect. Allow me, if you will, to elaborate.
You see, I am a massive, massive, massive fan of The Hold Steady. Sure, my enthusiasm has somewhat lessened, as their output has relatively slowed and their records have moved them to a new place quite far away from the one they occupied when they came into my life and actually helped me through a lot of stuff. C'est la vie, you know?
There is a highly organized and very tightly knit community of The Hold Steady, fans, though, which calls itself "The Unified Scene" (taken from a lyric in a song on the band's first record). I was a part of the Yahoo newsgroup, or whatever you call it, that preceded the message board(s) which have now facilitated a great sense of organized and even, at times, purpose. Being there from the beginning, it seemed only natural to me that I should step up and try to help out with things, once the band finally opened up a message board to coincide with the release of Boys and Girls in America.
You see, though...here's the thing.
I lived in Japan for two years, while the whole thing was gaining momentum, and everybody seemed really cool. Then, I got back to the States. Then, I actually met them. Then, I was like, "OMFG, who the fuck are these douchebags, and what've they done with the genuine, non-psychotic/-embarrassing fans I left behind, those many moons ago?" It was startling.
Of course, this doesn't mean to say or suggest or even really consider that NSW might be some kind of tool. He might be, of course; so might I! I'm not really the most objective person to consult, here. Quite to the contrary, in fact, I'm not really too concerned about meeting him because he seems prone to douchebaggery; quite again to the contrary, I'm concerned because pretty much no matter what, he probably can't live up to the person I think he might be, in person. The same could and should be said of me, unless he thinks that I'm an asshead. "I'm not If you shout...," is pretty much what I'm trying to say. I'm just some dude.
The entire The Hold Steady situation has me thinking that it could possibly be better just to leave the internet on the internet, and just kind of deal with it. I go to The Hold Steady shows in and around Chicago, since meeting these people, and no longer have as much fun, because I'm spending most of the evening avoiding complete shitheads and dodging questions about why my wardrobe isn't Unified Scene-centric. It's horrifying. I rarely even go to the front row, anymore, just so that I don't have to talk to these people. It crushes me.
Still. The thing is, it's totally possible that I might meet somebody in real life who I know from a message board and really, really, really connect with this person! I mean, it stands to reason, right? We have similar interests and already have some kind of shared history to fall back on, so why shouldn't it work? I've made tons of friends over music, so why not another? It could lead to a really interesting and noteworthily "modern" kind of relationship, too--something which genuinely couldn't have existed in quite this way until 15-20 years ago (at most). Fascinating stuff, I think, from a sociological and/or virtual/imagined community perspective.
I just don't know if I want to roll the dice...which could, I'll say again, roll either way--I mean, I might just love NSW (just as all those idiots seem for some reason to love me), and he might look at me and see all my bad, abrasive qualities (I'm hyper-critical [see this post], I hate everybody, I tend to ramble, I'm liberal to a fault, I often mistakenly say the most inappropriate thing at the most inappropriate time [and not in a quirky, self-aware way...rather, the sort of thing that the old lady is upset about, at the end of the night, when she's the first person to tell me that I brutally offended somebody], I'm "honest" to the point of being more "rude" than "honest," and so forth...we're none of us perfect, and I'm hardly an exception). And will we feel comfortable enough around one another to really "get into" the show? I am willing to assume that we're both white, which means that we're already inhibited enough, on our own! God knows what sort of pain we'll suffer, if we don't really connect, and then wind up refusing to do some "bedroom dancing," just because we don't wanna look like assholes!
Would we be willing to break an awkward silence? Will we be willing, if things don't go off, to head in separate directions, or will out implicit social contract of "Meeting Up and Having Fun at the Los Campesinos! Show, Damn It!!!" outweigh all, and see us forcing ourselves to stick together, through thick and thin? Of course, that might not at all be a problem. It just makes me wonder.
Also, I just want again to be clear, NSW, that I'm not trying to say that you're a jerk or a loser or something. That's not at all the case! Like I said, I think that you seem like a pretty ballin' mo'fucker. I'm pretty sure that I do want to meet up, as a matter of fact. I mean...after writing this, we've gotta see what we can see, no? I dunno. I think that we gots to put our heads together and do some thinking.
This is not really the kind of post which belongs in a Los Campesinos! thread, I guess, but its tenuous contextual relevance helped me decide to put it here. Most of this is just me thinking about how message boards have potentially changed audiences and the experiences of said audiences at shows. I'm really curious to hear what you have to say, NSW, but no less curious to hear what somebody like lazarus or U2pm might have to say. I mean, I'm not the only person who thinks about this stuff, am I? ...Or am I just thinking this stuff because I pretty much hate everybody, to begin with?
Do discuss. Oh, and the band is still awesome, too! Wonderful stuff!