Teh Internets
Monday, October 26, 2009
??!! / Media / Teh Internets Das...Surprisingly Intelligent
Posted by Eric Grandy on Mon, Oct 26, 2009 at 9:22 AM
Who would've thought that these guys:
...would've read this Sasha Frere-Jones piece in the New Yorker about how hiphop is dead vis-a-vis Jay-Z:
Weighing in early on what academics call “periodization” is a dicey proposition. If you try to locate the moment of a major paradigm shift, in the moment, perhaps by calling your album “Hip Hop Is Dead,” as Nas did in 2006, you’re slipping into weatherman territory. Will it rain tomorrow? Will another great rap album pop up? The life spans of genres and art forms are best perceived from the distance of ten or twenty years, if not more. With that in mind, I still suspect that Nas—along with a thousand bloggers—was not fretting needlessly.If I had to pick a year for hip-hop’s demise, though, I would choose 2009, not 2006. Jay-Z’s new album, “The Blueprint 3,” and some self-released mixtapes by Freddie Gibbs are demonstrating, in almost opposite ways, that hip-hop is no longer the avant-garde, or even the timekeeper, for pop music.
...and fired back at it with this:
Sasha Frere-Jones opens his article by admitting that “weighing in early on what academics call ‘periodization’ is a dicey proposition,” as a nominal caveat before launching into doing just that. This is a rhetorical approach that he’s used before (namely in “Whiter Shade of Pale”) and is basically just another flavor of the age old “Now, I don’t mean to be racist but [insert something racist here]” Kool-Aid.SFJ is savvy enough to know that before pulling a “white man speaks authoritatively on black culture” move, he needs to first establish an acceptable precedent for his argument by locating it in the ideology of a credible black artist (in this case Nas’s 2006 album Hip Hop is Dead). But notice how SFJ then immediately undermines that credibility: while he could just say “Nas called it three years ago,” he instead claims that while Nas’s sentiment was correct, the proclamation was three years premature, as if to say “Nice try, Nas, but leave it to the professional (white, college-educated) music journalist to make sweeping statements about (black, ghetto-originated) music.”
Oh, Das Racist, you so crazy educated at Wesleyan!
Friday, October 23, 2009
??!! / Teh Internets It Can't Be More Annoying Than Eminem's Stupid Fake Pakistani Accent
Posted by David Schmader on Fri, Oct 23, 2009 at 11:50 AM
Klenginem, aka the man who would rap Eminem songs in Klingon. Here's "SuvwI'pu' qan tu'lu'be," better known as "Without Me."
Thanks for the heads-up, Metafilter.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Teh Internets www.tracyandtheplastics.com
Posted by Gina Young on Wed, Oct 21, 2009 at 3:29 PM
If you've been feeling a raging lacuna in your life since the only quasi-official Tracy + the Plastics Myspace page disappeared several months back, you can do a little bedroom dance right about now. Wynne Greenwood's new website for her now-defunct multimedia project has just launched. It's deliciously 8 bit and gives you the opportunity to buy MP3s directly from Greenwood.
I'm happy to share that I've set up a tracy + the plastics song shop and archive at www.tracyandtheplastics.com (Thank you to Kellie!)There are a couple really old gems from 1999 when I was playing shows around Olympia as "Tracy" with just this exploded keyboard as my instrument. These are in the "Unreleased Songs" section. I'll also be putting up some of the last songs I wrote as tracy + the plastics, in time. Look out!
Also, www.wynnegreenwood.com also has the beginnings of a music shop. For songs, music, and recordings that have been happening and are happening now, and will happen. Big Candy and Culture Keeper from the unreleased self-titled record "wynne greenwood" are up there now. There's also info about projects I've made in the past couple years, like the large abstract textiles (curtains) called Sweated.
Poking around on the two sites doesn't take you super far, but does give you a fairly comprehensive overview of Wynne's output in the last decade, as well as allowing you to buy hard-to-find material directly from the artist (not that I'm entirely opposed to record labels or illegal downloading, but, you know... that's cool).
Should I also tell you, out of deference to my jet lag, that I keep picturing Lindsay Lohan's clique from Mean Girls in lieu of Nikki and Cola as Wynne's backup? Or, like, Bisphenol A? Heh, sure, it may be Wednesday afternoon for you, but it's Wednesday OH MY GOD I'M READY FOR BED for me. Maybe I should keep that to myself. Oh well, too late.
Business / Teh Internets Google Getting Into the Music Biz?
Posted by Grant Brissey on Wed, Oct 21, 2009 at 12:36 PM
The nail in the Myspace coffin:
Multiple sources are reporting that Google is on the verge of launching some sort of "music service."The rumors began with a TechCrunch story Tuesday night that claimed Google had spent "the last several weeks securing content" from the major record labels in the run-up to this alleged launch. But other sources say this content-acquisition bit is wide of the mark.
Both Wired.com and CNET News paint the service as more of a vertical search engine, offering links where users can purchase songs from music sites such as Lala and iLike, which was recently acquired by MySpace.
Since Google runs roughshod over competition in every market it enters, I can't see this boding well for Myspace, whose music tools for artists are really the only thing keeping them relevant, at least in terms of revenue generation. Also, "content acquisition" suggests Google will be selling, not just linking to a third party.
h/t: the Register
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Shit Talk / Politics / Teh Internets Speaking of Lily-White, Ivy League-Educated, Afro-Pop Appropriators...
Posted by Eric Grandy on Wed, Oct 14, 2009 at 10:02 AM
How do you all feel about Dirty Projectors (born in Connecticut, attended Yale, plays like Ali Farka Touré)? I'm guessing you must hate him just on principle, even if you haven't heard his music, right?
(PS. Pro tip: You want the Vampire Weekend to stop, quit making them the most commented posts on Line Out.)
Dirty Projectors play Seattle November 4th at Neumos, with Little Wings.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Song / History / Teh Internets Posse On Google Maps
Posted by Eric Grandy on Tue, Oct 13, 2009 at 3:41 PM
Finally, someone has meticulously retraced the route of Sir Mix-a-Lot's landmark Seattle hiphop joint "Posse on Broadway" on Google Maps! That someone is this guy, and you can find his map (with pop-up lyrical citations) here.
(ht: Matt Hickey)
Video / Teh Internets / Film Only 343 Days Until the Pavement Reunion!
Posted by Eric Grandy on Tue, Oct 13, 2009 at 10:22 AM
This week, Pitchfork is hosting the Pavement documentary, Slow Century directed by Lance Bangs, in its entirety. You can watch it for free here. Pavement, you'll recall, is motherfucking reuniting! This film is a fine way to while away an hour of your morning and get stoked for the band's slow-impending live performances (as is, of course, listening to some old records).
Monday, October 5, 2009
Teh Internets Re: Wilford Brimley Raps
Posted by Eric Grandy on Mon, Oct 5, 2009 at 2:34 PM
Here's the, um, "instrumental" version (in case any young MCs out there wanna rap about their own struggles with diabeetus):
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Shit Talk / Teh Internets The Dumbest Part of the Wavves/Black Lips Beef
Posted by Eric Grandy on Tue, Sep 29, 2009 at 5:13 PM
...Jared Swiley of the Black Lips' moronically homophobic "official" response:
“First of all, I just wanna say that Wavves was NOT involved in that fight. That faggot didn’t even touch me.I’ve never “come after” that kid, it wasn’t four a.m., that wasn’t my girlfriend, no one was spitting, and I didn’t attack him. I don’t give a shit about that kid and his music.
What happened was, after we finished our set I went to Daddy’s with some friends and saw that faggot from Wavves talking to a photographer friend of mine. The only thing I did was walk up to him and say “You’re that faggot from Wavves and I don’t like you”. He smiled a bit but didn’t say anything.
After that, I went outside and saw their tour manager hanging around with some guys. They started getting all chuckles with me and so I told them I wasn’t gonna have it. After that, Wavves tour manager hit me square in the face with a bottle. Blood started pouring out and six dudes fucking started kicking me until I blacked out.
All I remember is getting hit with the bottle and my friends dragging me to another bar. They wrapped my head up until I looked like a Confederate soldier.
So yeah, I lost the fight.
I also missed three flights. I’ve been in the airport all day having stewardesses cleaning my head because it kept cracking open. You can’t go on board if you’re bleeding.
Bottom line is that faggot from Wavves didn’t even hit me. Never touched me. And he should’ve, cuz he had a free shot.
He’s coming to Atlanta October 3rd and we’re gonna get ugly on him. We’re gonna destroy their van, we’re gonna destroy their faces, we’re gonna get crazy on em’. Nasty style.
Seriously. Fuck these clowns. Anyone playing in a "punk" band (fuck, let alone a "flower punk" band) who uses insinuations of homosexuality as an insult* (because, you know, being gay is weak and despicable and thank god "that faggot" never touched him, because, eww gross) is either an idiot or a homophobe or both. Dudes sure didn't seem too homophobic when they played hella gay faggot bar Pony in its original incarnation, so maybe Swiley just has the mind and the mouth of an 11-year-old elementary school drop-out. In any case, stay assy, Black Lips.
*This post dedicated to anonymous commenter #2.
Teh Internets / Zzzzzzzzzzzzz How Fucking Lucky is Wavves to be Playing with Zach Hill?
Posted by Eric Grandy on Tue, Sep 29, 2009 at 12:14 PM
Catching up on the wacky Wavves vs Black Lips blood feud that's burning up the Internets has led me to an important realization: Wavves is lucky as hell to have Hella's Zach Hill as his new drummer. Just look how dude totally turns Wavves' poppy punk anthem "So Bored" into the fucking Zach Hill Animal Drums Show:
DAAAMN. Now Wavves can take all the ecstasy he wants and still sound awesome! WIN!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Shit Talk / Decibel / Teh Internets When Will the Stranger Finally Acknowledge Dubstep?!?1!
Posted by Eric Grandy on Thu, Sep 24, 2009 at 2:32 PM
From the comments on this week's Decibel Festival-previewing Data Breaker:
You suck. Your article sucks. Why do I have to be informed that N-Type, the biggest dub step dj in the world, is playing the festival by locals but it's mentioned no where in your recommendations to see him? This years Decibel Festival is focused primarily on Dubstep. Dubstep is the "soup de' jour" in Seattle and I don't think your article reflected that relevant fact at all. You're totally out of touch and your writing about OUR scene is garbage. I hope you get canned soon. You need to move on. Take a moment to reflect on what I've said. It's the truth.
Posted by RA KHAN on September 23, 2009 at 2:22 PM · Report
You didn't even mention CASPA! Can somebody wake up and realize that this guy does not keep in touch with this scene?!
Posted by RA KHAN on September 23, 2009 at 2:26 PM · Report
From this week's Decibel Festival-previewing lead, (ahem) Dubstepping into the Spotlight, also written by Dave Segal:
A striking change to this year's bill is the preponderance of dubstep and other bass-centric producers and DJs. Although Decibel director Sean Horton contends that Decibel has been high on low-end-Âintensive electronic music since its 2004 inception, it appears that this year marks an increase in attention paid to musicians and DJs prowling around the sound spectrum's lowest realms.
[...]
Decibel 2009 is undeniably stacked with more dubstep artists (Benga, Martyn, Mala, N-Type, Boxcutter, Caspa, Pinch, etc.) and dub-inflected techno producers (Echospace, Voodeux, the Sight Below, etc.) than were previous years' lineups. In addition, outright dub specialist Mad Professor, dub-informed pan-globalist DJ /rupture, and dub/dancehall vocalist DJ Collage will perform (the latter with Monkeytek). To that end, Decibel is hosting two "dB in duB" showcases and a "dB in duB Afterhours: Dub Mutants." And in a real coup, Horton is bringing in BBC Radio 1 DJ Mary Anne Hobbs, who's become perhaps the world's foremost tastemaker and disseminator of dubstep and its myriad mutations. She'll be anchoring the "Bass Lovers Unite" showcase with Megasoid, Daedelus, Nosaj Thing, and others.
Can somebody wake up, indeed.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
New Releases / Album / Media / Teh Internets Re: Why? - Eskimo Snow
Posted by Eric Grandy on Tue, Sep 22, 2009 at 3:38 PM
Another thing to keep you busy in between buying the outstanding new Why? album today and going to the act's show at the Vera on Oct 14th—this series of wacky promotional videos courtesy of anticon.:
More here.
Tonight / Decibel / Teh Internets Cosby Show Nights' Decibel Netcast
Posted by Dave Segal on Tue, Sep 22, 2009 at 1:47 PM
Seattle DJ/producer/label boss Ill Cosby plans to play a special Decibel-centric set on his Cosby Show Nights netcast on glitch.fm at 6 pm Pacific time today. He elaborates below.
For anyone in need of it, this will be a good crash course on the festival's artists with a slant towards the dubstep and broken hip-hop acts. I'll be playing tunes by Benga, Caspa, Boxcutter, Take, Mike Slott, Ana Sia, and many more. As a HUGE bonus, Muti Music artists Heyoka and Mimosa have given me two exclusive minimixes. The two will be appearing at the Muti Music Showcase Sunday night at Sole Repair, which looks to be one of the hottest tickets at the festival.
Teh Internets A Beastie Boy Blogs
Posted by Dave Segal on Tue, Sep 22, 2009 at 11:24 AM
Beastie Boys' Ad-Rock is blogging—possibly even as I type—at skullsnaps.org. It is diverting, like Grand Royal for the 21st century, but with less luxurious, papery texture.
Mr. Horovitz had the audacity to name his blog after a group responsible for one of the most sampled tracks in the history of music, so he has a lot to live up to. The Fall Collection mix Ad slapped together gets him off to a fine start; love that Odd Couple theme. Bookmark this.
Monday, September 14, 2009
History / Television / Teh Internets Re: Oh Look! It's Kanye West Being an Egotistical Fucker! Again!
Posted by Eric Grandy on Mon, Sep 14, 2009 at 12:02 PM
Some other classic Ye interrupts:
Of course, he's no ODB:
Or
Or Jarvis Cocker.
Or, as someone put it in this fantastic rabbit hole of Ye Interrupts comics on ILM:
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
??!! / Upcoming / Teh Internets Want to Play Soccer With Rivers Cuomo?
Posted by Megan Seling on Tue, Sep 8, 2009 at 4:37 PM
Yesterday the Weezer frontman Twittered:
"Does anyone know of a pickup soccer game I can join in Seattle on Tuesday or Wednesday?"
It seems the band's in town a little early for their Endfest appearance on Thursday (at the White River Amphitheater with Blink-182).
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Decibel / Upcoming / Teh Internets Decibel Festival's 2009 Website is Live
Posted by Eric Grandy on Thu, Aug 27, 2009 at 11:04 AM
Details on the internationally renowned electronic music festival, taking place in Seattle September 24th-27th, as well as some right snazzy design can all be found at http://www.dbfestival.com/. (Stoked!)
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Politics / Teh Internets / Zzzzzzzzzzzzz Mike McGinn - Bigger than Mad Rad?
Posted by Eric Grandy on Tue, Aug 25, 2009 at 4:25 PM
??!! / Teh Internets
I Hate Love Am Terrified of the Future
Posted by Dave Segal on Tue, Aug 25, 2009 at 10:51 AM
This video will haunt you for days. Internet, the gauntlet has been thrown.
ht: @questlove & @angusbatey via Twitter
Friday, August 21, 2009
Video / Teh Internets American Idol Kicks Dildo
Posted by David Schmader on Fri, Aug 21, 2009 at 12:40 PM
...that was hucked at him by an audience member, who was probably a homophobic dickbag, but enjoy.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Teh Internets Juggalize Your Life
Posted by Michaelangelo Matos on Wed, Aug 19, 2009 at 3:30 PM
Less than a month ago, Dave Segal posted about "The Most Controversial Music Festival in the World": the Gathering of the Juggalos, Insane Clown Posse's superfan squad, per the clip above. Since the internet is a place where every stone thrown creates two dozen ripples in every direction from triumph to farce, it was only logical that the video would inspire something good—something very good, indeed. Ladies and gentlemen, ThA JuGGaliZer. It's as if Perez Hilton's coke-nose "drawings" had an actual purpose in the world: celeb photos newly made up to resemble Juggalos. Presenting David Crosby: Byrd, Woodstock veteran, and Shaggy 2 Dope acolyte:
Monday, August 17, 2009
Album / ??!! / Teh Internets All Together Now
Posted by David Schmader on Mon, Aug 17, 2009 at 10:52 AM
As a MetaFilter commenter pointed out, if you listen to all the songs on a Megadeth album at the same time, it sounds pretty much like My Bloody Valentine.
Curious parties might enjoy further all-at-once studies involving Judas Priest, Rush, and Neutral Milk Hotel.
(Also, to quote another MeFi commenter: Just because you can doesn't mean you should.)
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Radio / Teh Internets Zowee, Cowie: Tuning in to Turquoise Wisdom
Posted by Dave Segal on Tue, Aug 11, 2009 at 12:42 PM
Former Seattleite and Sub Pop employee Zach Cowie currently hosts an internet radio show called Turquoise Wisdom. You can listen to his most recent program here.
From what we’ve heard, the show follows in the tradition of the fantastic DJ sets Cowie used to spin around town before moving to Chicago to work for Drag City and then to Los Angeles, where he spins as part of the Small Town Talk DJ trio with another ex-Seattle citizen, former Stranger contributor Jed Maheu and Chad Brown. Which means Turquoise Wisdom features an epicurean, internationally diverse mix keenly picked from the psychedelic diaspora/mother lode. Or, in Cowie’s words: “Loner/stoner, bootcuts, shreddy kruegers, critter jams, brain basil’d breaks and various other demonstrations of universal sound.” Whatever you want to call it, this is some deep, sweet brain food.
ht: @dronecrit via Twitter
Monday, August 10, 2009
Album / Teh Internets Shedding Light on Luminous Night
Posted by Dave Segal on Mon, Aug 10, 2009 at 1:30 PM
Dusted Magazine interviews Six Organs of Admittance's Ben Chasny about the site's review of his new album, Luminous Night, as part of its Face the Musician series.
Luminous Night is the first album Chasny has recorded in Seattle, his adopted home. He enlisted some of the city's most gifted, innovative musicians—Eyvind Kang, Randall Dunn, Hans Teuber, Dave Abramson, and Matt Chamberlin—to help him realize his vision. The result is a beautiful orchestral-folk opus, arboreal and tinted many shades of dark.
Below, Chasny offers an interesting observation about his use of drones.
A lot of the drone aspect in Six Organs comes from people like Thomas Köner and Organum, though I guess those artists do use more acoustic means to achieve their drones. Context is a large part of any listening experience and perceptions are often just regurgitated and passed on without any thought, though maybe I’m being too cynical. If people think they are listening to a person who is more concerned with folk forms, they will think they are listening to folk, even if it doesn’t sound like what is usually considered folk. Trust me, I could record the next record with Ableton Live and throw it all through insane bit crunching VSTs and people would still say, "Yeah, sounds like Fahey."
Read the whole interview here.
Luminous Night is released Aug. 18 on Drag City. That same night, Chasny plays with Master Musicians of Bukkake at the Crocodile; he will perform in a trio with Sir Richard Bishop and Chris Corsano Sept. 12 at Sunset Tavern.
Conflict of Interest / Video / Teh Internets Blaow!
Posted by Larry Mizell, Jr. on Mon, Aug 10, 2009 at 12:44 PM
Too good not to mention:
Do you maybe remember that, some almost 8 years ago, The Stranger briefly had a 10-year old film and theatre reviewer on the payroll- a Mr. Sam Lachow? Anyone? OK. well he recently popped up on the 206proof.com forums- not to mention the newly minted Game of Rap blog- with his rap group Shankbone- claiming an old chestnut: to be the Future Of Seattle Hiphop. (Also acceptable: "putting Seattle on the map".) As such- and as a former employee of The Stranger, it's only fair that homie clocks his due shine. Tunes come after the skit.
This is their song "Blaow"! (That's vintage rap gun onomatopoeia there that you might hear 90's Wu-tang cats saying, it's pronounced like "wow".)
(Epilogue: later, the real (?) Mr. Lachow popped up on The Proof afterwards admitting that "Blaow" was "corny", a "dumb, catchy, happy song about everything finally going right for a teenage white boy in seattle. It is supposed to appeal to mainly high school kids and I could totally see getting pissed off by this song if you are older." He went on to add that the first Lachow who initially posted the video to be a fake, a fugazi, a fraud. Do we all have evil-spirited dopplegangers out there? Heavy shit.)
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