i think people consciously and deliberately rejecting whole genres is on the decline but surely the flipside of that, for better or worse, is a rise in tokenism or dilettantism, or people who only accept a type of music in very narrow or conservative terms. plus, i'm not sure if a generation of teenagers getting passionate about rap or dance through Mac Miller or Skrillex is any kind of net win for anybody.
― some dude (Mr. Stevenson #2), Thursday, 15 December 2011 17:21 (twelve years ago) link
i'm not sure if a generation of teenagers getting passionate about punk through Nirvana is any kind of net win for anybody.
― he said "grody" (henrietta lacks), Thursday, 15 December 2011 17:23 (twelve years ago) link
It would be nice if we are moving towards a genre-less utopia in which people listen to a wide variety of music and don't have narrow tastes.
I think we have definitely been moving in that direction in the last decade. dunno if I agree that it's inherently preferable (genre partisans produced great music, rules can be useful, etc.) but it is what it is.
xp
― aesthetic partisan (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 15 December 2011 17:23 (twelve years ago) link
it wasn't :(
― degas-dirty monet (lex pretend), Thursday, 15 December 2011 17:23 (twelve years ago) link
I think the idea of a genre-less utopia is worth interrogating. what would be so great about it?
― aesthetic partisan (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 15 December 2011 17:24 (twelve years ago) link
I wouldn't mind if a generation of teenagers got passionate about the Who through Raphael Saadiq.
― Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 15 December 2011 17:24 (twelve years ago) link
I got passionate about twee Scottish indiepop through Nirvana, is that any better? (Don't answer this, lex.)
― Illia Rump (emil.y), Thursday, 15 December 2011 17:25 (twelve years ago) link
like, why is it preferable to have everybody enjoying everything
― aesthetic partisan (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 15 December 2011 17:25 (twelve years ago) link
i'm not really one to beat anyone over the head with the canon but if your go-to parallel for Skrillex and Mac Miller is Nirvana i can't even
― some dude (Mr. Stevenson #2), Thursday, 15 December 2011 17:26 (twelve years ago) link
Nirvana was way better than Skrillex tho
― OH NOES, Thursday, 15 December 2011 17:26 (twelve years ago) link
lol xpost
people who only accept a type of music in very narrow or conservative terms
yeah this is what i was getting at earlier - it's like, maybe even narrower than the word "aesthetic" implies, it seems like it's more about social class. not in terms of actual specifically economic class but class in the koganesque sense - the kind of person we perceive ourselves to be. more & more i see music dismissed with the kind of formulation, "but that's music for [x]", where x = "chavs" or "hipsters" or "mondeo drivers" or "boring office workers" or whatever
― degas-dirty monet (lex pretend), Thursday, 15 December 2011 17:26 (twelve years ago) link
(Would love to see a thread about "the oddest pathway by which you discovered a genre/aesthetic of music you now love" but that might have to wait for real ILM to return)
― Thomosexual II (Fotherington Thomas), Thursday, 15 December 2011 17:27 (twelve years ago) link
lol all roads lead from the Fall
― he said "grody" (henrietta lacks), Thursday, 15 December 2011 17:27 (twelve years ago) link
more & more i see music dismissed with the kind of formulation, "but that's music for [x]", where x = "chavs" or "hipsters" or "mondeo drivers" or "boring office workers" or whatever
lol you do this all the fucking time
― aesthetic partisan (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 15 December 2011 17:28 (twelve years ago) link
i think people consciously and deliberately rejecting whole genres is on the decline but surely the flipside of that, for better or worse, is a rise in tokenism or dilettantism, or people who only accept a type of music in very narrow or conservative terms. plus, i'm not sure if a generation of teenagers getting passionate about rap or dance through Mac Miller or Skrillex is any kind of net win for anybody.― some dude (Mr. Stevenson #2), Thursday, 15 December 2011 17:21 (6 minutes ago) Bookmark Permalink
― some dude (Mr. Stevenson #2), Thursday, 15 December 2011 17:21 (6 minutes ago) Bookmark Permalink
true, true. maybe we are entering a new age of "genre-hopping" where bands will do a token track in a given style all through an album. But it doesn't have to. At least Skrillex isn't doing this - like it or not, he has a trademark sound that isn't really derivative of anything else (the nu-metal/dubstep/trance comparisons are overplayed). I like to think of Katy B as a positive example - she's equally credible to the dance underground as she is to the pop mainstream and she achieves this not by awkwardly cutting and shutting dubstep with pop - it's a very consistent, fluid, natural mix.
― dog latin, but cool (dog latin), Thursday, 15 December 2011 17:29 (twelve years ago) link
Katy B the innovator in brastep
― he said "grody" (henrietta lacks), Thursday, 15 December 2011 17:30 (twelve years ago) link
maybe we are entering a new age of "genre-hopping" where bands will do a token track in a given style all through an album
you mean like the Beatles or Primal Scream
― aesthetic partisan (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 15 December 2011 17:31 (twelve years ago) link
to expand on this a little - one of the things I like about (the increasingly rare) genre partisans is that their dedication often results in a treasure trove of a music collection, highly specialized knowledge, a more finely nuanced grasp of the genre, etc. When I come across someone whose got some huge country or jazz collection or whatever, I am deeply grateful that these people don't have broad collections, that they opted to specialize. Cuz y'know who else would take the time to digitize Waylon Jennings' entire (and largely out of print) discography.
― aesthetic partisan (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 15 December 2011 17:37 (twelve years ago) link
Drowned In Sound - Albums 2011http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4144253-drowned-in-sounds-albums-of-the-year--5-1
20: Destroyer Kaputt19: The Field Looping State Of Mind18: Aidan Moffat & Bill Wells Everything’s Getting Older17: Wild Beasts Smother16: A Winged Victory For The Sullen A Winged Victory For The Sullen15: EMA Past Life Martyred Saints14: Low C’mon13: Tom Waits Bad as Me12: Bon Iver Bon Iver11: St. Vincent Strange Mercy10: Metronomy The English Rivera9: Beirut The Rip Tide8: Bright Eyes The People’s Key7: Nils Frahm Felt6: When Saints Go Machine Konkylie5: Kate Bush - 50 Words for Snow4: SBTRKT - SBTRKT3: PJ Harvey - Let England Shake2: Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 19721: The Antlers - Burst Apart
― los krampusinos! (pomplamau5), Thursday, 15 December 2011 17:39 (twelve years ago) link
yeah honestly i have pretty much zero problem with people who have a very rich and nuanced appreciation of some particular musical niche to the point of total disinterest in anything else -- so long as they can talk about what they love without ranting about what they don't listen to and why every 5 minutes (xpost)
― some dude (Mr. Stevenson #2), Thursday, 15 December 2011 17:41 (twelve years ago) link
Is there a word for the sort of desperate bending over backwards people do to consider people like Skrillex because, despite not really liking them they're terrified of suddenly seeming old/missing out on the new Nirvana?
― Matt DC, Thursday, 15 December 2011 17:47 (twelve years ago) link
it's called a "reverse Tebow"
― OH NOES, Thursday, 15 December 2011 17:48 (twelve years ago) link
lol
― Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 15 December 2011 17:49 (twelve years ago) link
ban dog latin
― є(٥_ ٥)э, Thursday, 15 December 2011 18:47 (twelve years ago) link
skrillex is pretty much the music i've been waiting for all my life, it just came 16 years too late. i don't think he's the next nirvana, but i don't not like it. really, "skrillex" is a shorthand for that filthstep sound in general, and i'm kind of tired of having to make analytical excuses for liking it. because, fuck it, it's fun and dirty and daft, and in that way, yeah it brings the teenager out in me.
― dog latin, but cool (dog latin), Thursday, 15 December 2011 18:52 (twelve years ago) link
ban away, if that's a problem.
PS KILL PEOPLE, BURN SHIT, FUCK SCHOOL
― dog latin, but cool (dog latin), Thursday, 15 December 2011 18:54 (twelve years ago) link
tbh i'm not hating on anyone who genuinely likes skrillex music, just engaging in "kids like it, it's the new nirvana" type bullshit whether facetiously or sincerely is nagl
― some dude (Mr. Stevenson #2), Thursday, 15 December 2011 19:05 (twelve years ago) link
also "it's a THING so we HAVE to make ourselves like it"
― degas-dirty monet (lex pretend), Thursday, 15 December 2011 19:09 (twelve years ago) link
lex yr transformation from wide eyed poptimist to grumpy old man has been a wonder to behold
― aesthetic partisan (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 15 December 2011 19:13 (twelve years ago) link
so tired of every lex post being immediately followed by urgent reports about whether they square w/ other people's idea of who the lex is
― some dude (Mr. Stevenson #2), Thursday, 15 December 2011 19:18 (twelve years ago) link
Should've stopped after first six words there
― є(٥_ ٥)э, Friday, 16 December 2011 01:35 (twelve years ago) link
there are people around here i'm more sick of than lex
― some dude (Mr. Stevenson #2), Friday, 16 December 2011 01:39 (twelve years ago) link
Guess I set myself up for that one
― є(٥_ ٥)э, Friday, 16 December 2011 01:48 (twelve years ago) link
Pitchfork Top Albums of 2011: 20-1
20. Nicolas Jaar – Space Is Only Noise19. Danny Brown – XXX18. Atlas Sound – Parallax17. Clams Casino – Instrumentals16. Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring For My Halo15. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues14. Shabazz Palaces – Black Up13. EMA – Past Life Martyred Saints12. James Blake – James Blake11. St. Vincent – Strange Mercy10. The Weeknd – House of Balloons9. Real Estate – Days8. Drake – Take Care7. tUnE-yArDs – w h o k i l l6. Oneohtrix Point Never – Replica5. Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost4. PJ Harvey – Let England Shake3. M83 – Hurry Up, We're Dreaming2. Destroyer – Kaputt1. Bon Iver – Bon Iver
― Dan S, Friday, 16 December 2011 06:18 (twelve years ago) link
For the record, my comparison was not Nirvana to Skrillex. My comparison was 'kids these days' to the generation directly preceding it...
― he said "grody" (henrietta lacks), Friday, 16 December 2011 06:25 (twelve years ago) link
looking at all of these in one place is so numbing
― wil smif, Friday, 16 December 2011 06:41 (twelve years ago) link
LWE 5-1
05. Steffi ft. Virgina, “Yours”04. Kassem Mosse, “Untitled-A”03. SCB, “Loss”02. Tin Man, “Nonneo”01. Omar-S, “Here’s Your Trance, Now Dance!!”
― toby, Friday, 16 December 2011 06:48 (twelve years ago) link
yah srsly
lol p4k tho
― є(٥_ ٥)э, Friday, 16 December 2011 07:02 (twelve years ago) link
Liked quite a few things on the LWE list but none that would make my own EOY list. None of my 2011 picks have appeared on any list yet (with RA still to come) - I have just bought that Citizens Band record from the lwe list but not really had a chance to listen to it properly yet
― april wowak, Friday, 16 December 2011 07:05 (twelve years ago) link
Would happily listen to 10 of the Pfrk top twenty. The only one I had a strongly adverse reaction to out of the other ten is Destroyer.
― pandemic, Friday, 16 December 2011 07:10 (twelve years ago) link
i find focusing on pj harvey is a somewhat effective method of retaining my zen when looking at these lists
i have always been a grumpy side-eyeing poptimist, shakey
― degas-dirty monet (lex pretend), Friday, 16 December 2011 07:44 (twelve years ago) link
i mean my formative years were the heyday of britpop, obviously i learned how to be disdainful then
― degas-dirty monet (lex pretend), Friday, 16 December 2011 07:45 (twelve years ago) link
oh man this might be the best yet
Glovidge
15 December 2011 7:15PM
Is this the Guardian music writers M-People moment?
YES! yes it is
I'm guessing it'll be more like that year when Let England Shake won the Mercury prize, Glovidge ya big douche.
― los krampusinos! (pomplamau5), Friday, 16 December 2011 09:25 (twelve years ago) link
5. Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost4. PJ Harvey – Let England Shake3. M83 – Hurry Up, We're Dreaming2. Destroyer – Kaputt1. Bon Iver – Bon Iver
Oh you fucking clowns, Pitchfork.
― Matt DC, Friday, 16 December 2011 09:32 (twelve years ago) link
4/5ths utterly indefensible. why are those people allowed to be tastemakers again?
― degas-dirty monet (lex pretend), Friday, 16 December 2011 09:38 (twelve years ago) link
despite the preponderance of tumblr&b in the grau list, i am s0 proud to be part of an organisation that has katy b, beyoncé and rustie in its top 10 instead
― degas-dirty monet (lex pretend), Friday, 16 December 2011 09:39 (twelve years ago) link
Several XPs: I'm guessing Jimmy Riddle is Nate Carson? I prefer Hammer for the writing even if the music in Terrorizer and R-A-R is more to my tastes generally speaking.
I understand everyone's problems with Frank Ocean bar the thing about him not being able to sing. This is just nonsense. Also, I like what I've heard by Goalpele but I don't think her songs are as strong (and no, I wouldn't want to hear her singing over Take Me To The Limit or Yellow). The problem is one of taste though, she's simply slightly too slick/sophisticated for me. If there's one RnB singer who I would have voted for personally this year if I'd heard him earlier it would have been B Bravo. As for FO, I think he's more complex than just 'sensitive', for example I don't think Bon Iver would start a song with a rumination on how much he'd like to fuck Emma in the garden. Also, this talk of 'indie' is a red herring; Frank Ocean isn't Gayngs.
I just can't subscribe to this narrow view of what should or shouldn't be allowed in certain genres though. If it works it works. It's not for me to say if Frank Ocean is great pop/rnb in general as I don't know enough about the genre. The idea that this is the only RnB I can cope with is a bit daft. I've listened to plenty of other albums/tracks that have been recommended here and most of them are - to my tastes - too insipid or too urbane. I really like Nostalgia/Ultra though, and that's good enough for me. I'm sure it's not double standards however as I like Liturgy as well. I'm not going to not listen to them just because they wear V neck sweaters, look like Vampire Weekend and live in Williamsburg.
Sorry to state the obvious but the only important thing to me is that they don't sound like Vampire Weekend.
I think Lex's point about free albums might be right however. It seems like it's worth mentioning to me that so many of my choices this year have been free downloads but I guess this is old news elsewhere.
― Doran, Friday, 16 December 2011 09:41 (twelve years ago) link
jimmy riddle = kerr/algerian goalie/pfunkboy etc
― los krampusinos! (pomplamau5), Friday, 16 December 2011 09:44 (twelve years ago) link