Tuesday, March 2, 2010

HIPSTER RUNOFF

HIPSTER RUNOFF

Celebrity Alt of the Day: Jonah Hill

Posted: 02 Mar 2010 04:39 PM PST


Sporting skinny jeans, zany glasses, fly kicks, and a mad alt cardigan, Jonah Hill is the Alt Report’s Celebrity Alt of the Day. You might know Jonah Hill from mainstream comedies like Superbad, and other Judd Apatow films. It seems like every1 is transforming into the new plus sized alt in 2k10.

Is Jonah Hill the modern day Chris Farley/John Candy?
Does Jonah Hill look ‘mad alt’ in this photograph?
Is Jonah Hill on the fast track towards death?

Is Pavement a ‘good’/influential band or just an idea that old alts are ‘holding on 2′?

Posted: 02 Mar 2010 12:20 PM PST


Sup guys. We’re the Pavements– a band from back before the pre-Ben Gibbard era, before modern indie distribution channels existed. We play alt rock. The alt-est of 1990s alt rock. Guitars. Drums. Guy with a dopey voice. Earnest Lyrics. Yelling. I’m sure you’ve heard bands that sound like us, but these days our sound isn’t always ‘in.’  Fortunately we’re coming back and hitting the indie rock festival circuit.  It is highly lucrative to unretire, because people will pay u a lot of money 2 reconnect with ur brand.
///
Does n e 1 know what Pavement sounds like?
I have been hearing tons of ‘rumblings’ about them, but don’t really know much about them. Think that I might be ‘too young’ for them, but maybe if I give them a shot, I will have a better historical appreciation for indie music + alt culture.

Just found a Pavement music video for ‘Cut Your Hair.’

I think it sounds okay, but sorta like traveling back in time with a time machine to an era that seems chill in an ‘ironic’ kind of way. Maybe the 1990s are officially the new 1980s.

Maybe Pavement is representative of ‘how easy’ it was to be alt in the 1990s, enabling purists 2 glorify that era since every1 is alt in the 2k10s. Maybe if you get into Pavement in the 2k10s, you are double alt / not very alt at all.

They seem like the traditional image of a ‘band.’ Some bros who love to play music together, being a little bit zany, loving life.

The Pavement effect sorta reminds me of Pete & Pete, a Nickelodeon kids show that every1 claims was ‘really funny’ and that they were ’super into’ during the 1990s. It seems impossible to believe that any1 had a critical mind back then, like we could really differentiate between TV shows.

Power Rangers = Pete & Pete = R U Afraid of the Dark = vintage memes from the past that we can use 2 ‘connect’ with other ppl

Feel like we were trapped in front of the TV, watching mediocre tween programming before it was perfected [via Hannah Montana], but for some reason Pete & Pete was a ‘gem.’

Maybe we just want to go back in time and listen to music that sounds like the Pete & Pete theme song over and over again.

Can’t believe the 90s are coming back ’so hard.’

Just watched another Pavement video, and it was really ‘honky.’ Like some sort of wedding reception band, or maybe a team of dads/high school teachers who performed for the kids at the talent show.

Just watched another one. Seemed mediocre, like a band that would get a lot of buzz that I would choose to neglect these days because it wasn’t lofi/electro/chillwave enough for me.

Wonder why Pavement ‘came out of retirement.’ Do they ‘love the music’, or do they just see a great market to exploit? Maybe they had to wait for their core audience to mature and generate enough annual income to spend on their albums/live shows.

Can’t believe they are a Coachella headliner. Wonder if that is fair to new buzzbands who worked so hard over the past 5 years.

Should old alt bands be ‘grandfathered’ into credibility, or should the have to pass the same tests that new bands have 2?
Is Pavement ‘overrated’ bc they didn’t have to compete with tons of alt/indie bands in the modern world?

Is it alt to embrace the Pavement comeback? If I embrace Pavement, am I turning my back on the state of the modern mp3sphere?

If you are an older alt, is Pavement ur last chance to reconnect with ur past?
Should tweens embrace Pavement fever?
Does n e 1 know what Pavement sounds like, and why I should appreciate them?
Is Nirvana really that influencial?
Would yall rather be alt in the 1990s, 2k10s, or the 1300s?
Should Pavement play a 3 month residency at a Las Vegas Casino?
Is Pavement the AnCo of the 1990s?

Is going 2 a Pavement show kinda like traveling back in time in an alt time machine?

What vintage band do yall want 2 ‘come out of retirement’?

Some blogger does ’statistical analysis’ of Pitchfork ratings

Posted: 02 Mar 2010 10:49 AM PST

Links: http://www.parttimemusic.com/2010/02/25/pitchfork-a-statistical-look-at-their-ratings/


Many music fans consider ratings by the Pitchfork Magazine to be ‘the Bible of Indie Music.’ Recently, a blogger did an ‘in depth’ analysis of ‘what these ratings really mean.’ Many insiders have suspected that these numbers ‘don’t really mean anything’, and ratings are the ultimate advertorials meant 2 help bands move units.

It seems like the goal of the post to find out what was ‘average’ according to the Pitchfork robot. The score 7.0 seems to be ‘average.’

The bulk of the histogram centers around the 6.5-8.5 range with a score of 7.0 being the most common rating (51 times). Also, because pitchfork tends to not publish reviews on horrendously bad albums, it's a no brainer to see the plot negatively skewed significantly. Similarly, exceptionally performing albums (i.e. 8.7 and above) are also relatively rare events.

I have never taken a ’statistics’ class, so I cannot confirm that this statistical analysis is ‘legit’ or if it is just an entry level analysis.

Confirming our natural inclination that a majority of albums are rated around the "7″ mark, the box of the boxplot, representing the middle 50% of scores, occurs from 6.1 – 7.6. The final interesting part is that if an album scores below 3.9, it's considered a statistical outlier

Not sure if this was an ‘innovative study’ or something obvious/something no1 should care about. It also goes into the concept of ‘Best New Music’, and how statistics prove that there is ‘favoritism’ when it comes to assigning the label to legacy artists:

If you are a hyped record or are an established act, you have a better shot of getting a Best New Music when you are on the cusp. Now this seems kind of obvious, but there were some egregious instances where this occurred. Of the 41 albums that scored an 8.1 and 8.2, five were chosen as BNM: Surfer Blood's Astro Coast, Atlas Sound's Logos Cass McCombs's Catacombs, Bill Callahan's Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle, and Wavves's S/T

Is this a ‘conspiracy’?

Do yall like investigative blog journalism?
Are there only lies, damn lies, and statistics?
Can some1 create an alternative fantasy league?
Will MGMT get the highest Pitchfork Rating of all time?
Did yall take algebra, statistics, calculus, or a remedial math class in High School?

Plus Sized Alt Emerges on Lookbook (Big Beautiful Alt)

Posted: 02 Mar 2010 10:29 AM PST

Link: http://lookbook.nu/bigbeauty


Lookbook is a diverse community for alts across the world to come together and share bloggable looks. After the emergence of the Tiny Alt on lookbook, you can’t help but awe at the diversity of human alts on the website. Stephanie B. is a plus sized model and fashion coach from Paris. Even though she has a big build, it doesn’t mean she isn’t beautiful, and it doesn’t mean she isn’t alt.

Big Beautiful Alts can look good and live freely

Will u gain weight to morph into a big beautiful alt?

Does ‘alt’ have a color / shape / size, or does it just require a certain brand of clothes?
R u inspired to be urself?
Is this alt kinda like the ‘Tyra Banks’/Oprah of alts?