This morning Pitchfork reviews the new Kaiser Chiefs record and gives it a fairly decent 6.8. But, know what? I just don't care. I don't care about 97% of the bands Pitchfork goes on about. Same with Stereogum. The vast majority of it: bo-ring. And despite my well-worn proclivities to appreciate music alternative to the mainstream--I'm simply starting to: just not care. And it's obviously not for TRYING to care or reading the alt-indie-blogs...because I do - daily - HOPING for some savior. Or, a new BREED of saviors...but whoa lord, it ain't coming.
And I'm starting to get pissed, frankly. I think of 'kids' today getting excited over a new Kaiser Chiefs release and I wanna slam my head with a hammer. I'd like to write it off as "just getting old" because, really - it'd be easier that way. But when so few bands of the PitchGum generation sound marginally, oh - I don't know...fresh? Interesting? Compelling? Have something--ANYthing to say -- it's not about being old, it's simply about: knowing the difference.
And really, I shouldn't knock the Kaiser Chiefs. They're actually 'ok'. It's just that: I don't care. (OR, I haven't been made to care...there's a difference.)
And despite yesterday's claim to forego "theme weeks" here at TVD...suddenly there's a theme a-brewing...
Supergrass - In It For the Money (Mp3)
Supergrass - Late In The Day (Mp3)
Supergrass - It's Not Me (Mp3)
Supergrass - You Can See Me (Mp3)
Supergrass - Hollow Little Reign (Mp3)
4 comments:
Hear Hear!!! Bands of today just aren't doing anything to make us love them. They all hope that because they have a following everyone will jump on the bandwagon (pardon the pun) and follow blindly. Where is that band that will push the envelope?
C'mon there is a lot of great new music out there. With time we can look back at only the good stuff right? We've just forgotten that 99% of the music from 1989 or '79 or '69 was just as bad. Hindsight makes everything seem sweet and light. Of course, 10 years from now the Kaiser Chiefs may well be a footnote... we don't know. But Pitchfork and Stereogum have their role to play: pushing their latest drug on us. Me, I do blindly line up for the fix on occasion, but I'm smart enough to realize that once the buzz wears off what I'm left with. Gimme more. Shamus
Firstly, I understand your sentiment. I just disagree with your expectation.
No artist should be burdened in having to create transcendence for anyone. Their job is to create songs someone might care about. So, where is this generation's Sgt Pepper, Exile on Mainstreet, or Physical Graffiti? I'd say it's OK Computer and Jeff Buckley's Grace. On the other hand, maybe there isn't one; Maybe there shouldn't be. Those were albums of their time. The last of the good album bands came of age in the early nineties (for me that'd include Radiohead, Blonde Redhead, Thin White Rope, and a few others). Any band born in the '00s missed the album age and they don't understand music that way. But that's okay. It's not armageddon.
For better or worse, the album is dead. I still buy them (once in a while, when some local music retailer is going out of business) but don't manage to listen to them much. (Full disclosure: I'm 50. I remember vinyl when that's all there was.) If you remember, there was a period before the golden age of the album when artists were only expected to produce singles. No one is going to include any Elvis Presley album on a greatest album list. Many of his best singles were never on his original release albums.
There's still a lot of great music, it's just being made in a different way. Blame the iPod. Blame the iPod the way we might blame the shopping mall on the death of small retailers. All this happened with our aid and abetting. We helped push the boundaries and now that is the world we have to live in.
Thanks for the Supergrass. I love Supergrass. I just listen to them on my iTunes playlists.
I'm curious...do you read Pitchfork or Stereogum?
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