Tuesday, January 19, 2010

HIPSTER RUNOFF

HIPSTER RUNOFF

Is Toro y Moi’s “Blessa” the official anthem of 2k10.1?

Posted: 19 Jan 2010 09:21 AM PST


I have been chilling hard to Toro y Moi lately. Feel like I am tired of ‘chill wave’ and the bullshit genre names that bloggers and websites make up just for their own convenience. It seems like so many websites have ‘lemming ass’ followers who just need a dumbed down term to generalize music, instead of listening to lots of music and having real discussions abt music by ppl who love music.

It seems like the video for Toro Y Moi’s ‘Blessa’ is intended to capture the zeitgeist of the modern alternative human in a group setting. In the postelectro + post-2k9-anco+chillwaves era, alternative ppl are sort of ’settling down’ and only attending chill house parties where mildly conceptual music is played while people smile and have a chill time. U can have a meaningful conversation, get buzzed, dance, but not get as bellig as u got in the electro era.

Unlike the traditional chillwave hit, the song has meaningful lyrical content, similar to Animal Collective’s cryptic delivery, except ToroYMoiBro doesn’t sing about fatherhood+kids. Instead, he focuses on the stage in a relationship when 1 member of the relaish chooses to leave ur local scene ‘in hope of finding something better.’ The song is abt embracing the pain that some1 else makes u feel, and give them/urself a peptalk abt how life should only be ‘a blessing’ cuz ur living it on ur own terms. Seems complex + vulnerable. Hopeful + sad. Kinda like humanity.

Feel like the ToroYMoiBro has an approachable post-blipster personal brand, that will help entry-levelers find his conceptual brand to be approachable. Like he is the type of who would snag a high level altbaguette.

He seems to have an ‘interesting look’ which will help him get crazie magazine press. Looks kinda ‘famous.’ Maybe it is the glasses. Also helps that he is ‘earnest’ and doesn’t have the typical ‘trying too hard’ interviewee brand of most entrylevel-altcelebs who are still ‘way in2 themselves’/over-excited because their band some what ‘made it.’

Wonder if Toro Y Moi will ‘chart’ in the best of 2k10 lists, or will it be ‘washed away’ with all of the ppl who are into ‘backlashing hard’ against chillwave. Even though it leaked in 2k9.8765, feel like the indie media might choose to ‘kiss the asses’ of pre-existing indie bands when reflecting on 2k10, and they won’t have enough slots to anoint a buzzyband as a ‘band2watch4thelongterm.’ Just going to try to enjoy Toro Y Moi in the before his post-SXSW extended tour dates, when all of the mnstrmr indie blogs + local alternative media outlets ‘cover’ him.


[MP3]
Toro y Moi Blessa

Should I start a sound project and pretend I am from South Carolina to get more ‘buzz’?
Is ‘the chill wave aesthetic’ the new ‘indie aesthetic’?
Should Washed Out+Neon Indian + ToroyBroi ‘merge’ into a supergroup for the sake of making more ‘mad bank’ off people who are interested in their vibe?

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