St. Vincent is a ‘critically acclaimed’ female artist. Her content is usually ‘picked up’ by respected music sites, but her female brand isn’t always as inherently marketable/eye-popping as other indie/mnstrm females. While her music seems to ’sound good’, I think she generally only appeals to high-end markets. Probably people who are very into the Dirty Projectors. She is not a more universal female product like Feist/Avril Lavigne/Dido/the ‘Not Gonna write u a love song’ broad.
In order to make her latest music video ‘more bloggable’, she had Fred Armisen ‘dress up in drag’ for the video, and play a zany role. Fred Armisen is an authentic character actor from the popular night life comedy show Saturday Night Live. I have read that he ‘dabbles’ in the indie music scene, attempting to brand himself as an ‘alt comedian’ who ‘listens to kewl music’ (similar to Aziz Ansari’s personal branding strategy).
In the video, Annie Clark plays a ‘character’ of herself. I am not sure if this is a good move, or too post-Flight-of-the-Conchies to seem ‘original’ to authentic markets. Is this video ’successful’, or was it too strategically crafted for male bloggers to ‘gush’ over? Is Fred Armisen the most authentically funny SNL cast member? Will St. Vincent ever ‘cross over’, or should she ‘dumb down’ her music and play more piano driven ditties? Is St. Vincent trying to ‘pitch’ a comedy show to HBO?
Jersey Shore was a popular ‘Guido Show’ on the MTV Television Network which built a solid fan base of ‘people who couldn’t believe this disgusting subculture existed.’ After the show’s success, the network and the stars of the show wanted to ’stay in the lime light’, so they shipped the uninformed cast members to the Grammys to conduct interviews. In this web video, the popular character Snooki, who was known for being small, dumb, orange, and slutty, interviews the Grammy Winning mindie band Phoenix. The French bros are generally ‘baffled’ by this human Snooki, but probably just think she is ‘another stupid American.’
Snooki asks the band ‘What kind of music they play?’ They tell her that they are a ‘rock band’, unwilling to go into the complexities of the evolving indie genre.
In this clip, you can watch as humans from two completely different cultures ‘collide.’ Do u think Snooki should start an indie music blog? Are French ppl smarter than Americans? Is MTV generating ‘better/more compelling content’ than most blogs/music sites?
A blipster in a red beanie + post Vneck covers Grizzly Bear’s hit 2k9 anthem “Two Weeks” backed by a plucking acoustic guitar bro. The blipster bro wears a red beanie, and emotes the song in a traditional R & B manner. Do u think this song is ‘chiller’/'more ethnic’ than the original version? Will Grizzly Bear replace ‘front man’ Edward Droste with a blipster to appeal 2 new markets?
Keffiyehs, also known as ‘hipster scarves worn by ppl who are trying 2 hard 2 look alt’ have become a relevant fashion trend in the post-electro world. Apparently some Jewish/Israeli company made these as a ’sign of unity’/bloggable topic to inspire mad sales.
Message by the Alt Jew creators of this scarf/meme:
I as a Jew am not offended by the Pope who wears a "kippah" and in the same respect, I don't feel there is any reason for anyone taking offense to a Jewish person wearing a version of the Keffiyah which they identify with; especially considering the significance of this article of clothing in both of all of our histories. There are numerous variations of the Keffiyah today; the red and white Keffiyah is associated with Jordan and worn throughout the Middle East and Somalia and have been worn by Bedouins for centuries. The black and white Keffiyah, idolized in the 1960s by Yasser Arafat, has become the symbol of the Palestinian resistance movement. The way that symbols are politicized and used to divide people, rather than as common ground for discussion and dialogue is exactly the kind of thought-provoking topic that we at Shemspeed explore with our music, as well as our programming. Our Israeli remix of the Keffiyeh, available through Shemspeed, is just one more interpretation of a scarf worn by our brothers for thousands of years. We hope you enjoy them.
Is Yasser Arafat ’spinning around in his grave’ because his #1 personal branding tool was stolen by his enemy?
Or did his head already explode when entry level alts started wearing them during the peak of the electro war?
Will AltJews ‘adopt’ this trend as a sign of resistance against mnstrms/Palestinians/ http://www.hipsterrunoff.com/2009/05/should-i-become-a-fabulous-altjew.html Do u think this scarf is just ’stirring the pot’ and the Israeli-Palestine conflict will never be resolved? Whose side should the USA be on?
Apparently one of the ‘high level producer bros’ who ’started DFA Records’ (Tim Goldsworthy) has ‘moved to the other side of the world.’ DFA is an ‘authentic’ electro/disco label. James Murphy is probably ‘the face’ of DFA Records. I wonder if there were issues because James Murphy is a Tier 1 alt celeb, but Tim Goldsworthy might be like ‘a slave who doesn’t get any credit.
Reached for comment by e-mail, Galkin told Resident Advisor: “Tim Goldsworthy moved away to somewhere in the United Kingdom, without informing anyone here at DFA. We have had no word from him since he left the United States. So we moved on with our lives and our business. Simple as that. He most definitely took a piece of us when he left, but we wish him the best with whatever he gets up to next.”
Tim Goldsworthy = the bro who ‘produced’ the hit electro album “In Ghost Colours” by the Cut Copy, and is considered by web critics to be ‘the fifth member of the Rapture before they went mainstreamish.’
Do u have any conspiracy theories abt why there is a ‘huge rift’ in DFA Records? Can we assume that the new LCD Soundsystem album is ‘going 2 blow’ because of the deteriorating corporate culture at the DFA studios? Does n e 1 know the real story, or is this just a ‘non-story’ that blogs are sensationalizing in anticipation of the upcoming LCD Soundsystem record?
