2k9 was a special year, not only because of critically acclaimed releases by legacy indie bands, but also because of an ‘influx’ of new bands/chillwave projects/musicians like the chillwave Indians, Washed Out and the XX. 2k10 has really been a ‘buzz drought’, and indie fans have ‘grown wary’ of ‘bands that are hyped’ after 1.5 mp3s. Such a ‘robust’ infrastructure for buzzing buzzbands, but hard to know which bands are ‘worth taking seriously’ on a critical/conceptual level. Honestly have been having a lot of doubts in my personal brand, lost confidence in my ability to ‘tastemake buzzbands’ and share them with my lesser-connected friends. Slowly realized that it’s ‘not me’–it’s ‘the system’ ‘failing us.’
2k10 has been a ‘complex’ year. We’ve seen large scale indie bands release hella ‘meh’ albums. At the same time, we’ve grown a little bit distrustful of chillwave + lofi artists, wondering if they are ‘authentic musicians after seeing them live’ 4 the first time. Such high expectations to earn our consumer trust in 2k10. Feel like the ‘demand for musicianship/high production value’ has risen in 2k10, searching for a ‘series of complete mp3s’ instead of auto-glorifying a band that sort of ‘lucked’ into creating 1 high-listenable mp3 in Ableton.
Twin Shadow ‘seems chill’ and has been ‘brought to market’ with a series of MP3s, giving indie blog buzz fans a ‘better chance’ of talking themselves into his product after sampling 8-15 mp3s. In addition, his video ‘makes u kinda 90s hornie [via Calvin Klein]‘, so u can get into the conceptual nostalgic images of youth. Modern indie consumers view buzzbands sorta like a harvestable crop that will ‘continue giving’ all year long. You need a stream of mp3s, live date opportunities, conceptual music videos, plus ‘the illusion of growth’ to make the internet audience feel ‘satisfied’/emotionally invested. [via the >Memefication of ur Band Theory]
Wonder if he can ride a new wave of ‘ethnic’ indie musicians, kinda like Chaz Bundick of Toro Y Moi. Is the era of ‘white man’s indie’ over now that the Arcade Fire went honky-core? Do u ‘buy into’ Twin Shadow, or are u wary of anything new? Are lofi indie consumers being brainwashed into endorsing ‘low-end music that actually sux’ in order to keep their personal brands ‘authentic’?
What 2k10 buzzbands do u ‘endorse’? Do they all ‘effing suck’? Do u trust the indie blogosphere any more, or are they too impatient with buzzbands that haven’t percolated in an organic manner? Do u feel ‘sad’ that Best Coast, WAVVES, and M.I.A. ‘hogged’ headlines this year? Do u trust indie blogs as tastemakers any more, or is there too much 3rd rate lofi/chillwave noise? Is Twin Shadow ‘better than Ariel Pink/Neon Indian/Panda Bear solo’? Do Avey Tare + Panda Bear need to ‘step it up’ b4 they lose even more market share? Can Twin Shadow make ‘the leap’ and create memes that are in high demand by the indie blogosphere? Can Twin Shadow be ‘successful’ because they provide a wide palette of MP3s that indie blogs can compare to ‘whoever the eff they want’ (bands + genres)? What are we going 2 remember abt 2k10?
Still trying to figure out ‘Bieber Fever.’ Not sure what makes him so popular/ why so many tween girls want to ‘S his D.’ Just want to understand the societal forces that created Justin Bieber + learn more abt his ‘upbringing.’ Feel like now that I know he has a ‘cool dad’ who is covered with tats, I can finally see that he had tons of freedom to become a tween sensation. When I was a tween, my parents were ‘rlly conservative’ and just wanted me to make good grades/be a ‘team player’ [via youth sports]. Not sure if they understood that I had the potential to be a ‘fucking cash cow’ if they knew how to market me correctly.
Sorta wish my dad was ‘kewl’, covered in mad tats, able to surf. Feel sad that my dad is ‘trapped in suburbia’ with some sort of ‘menial job.’ Wish he had more time to go to the gym and research d-bag wave fashion. Get kinda bummed that my parents are ‘dealing with getting older/falling out of love’ instead of ‘trying 2 stay young forever’ (like me). Feel like if I had parents who valued the concept of ‘cool’ a little bit more, things would have turned out better for me. Either I would be a ‘true alt’, or I would be a tween sensation, getting ‘mad road pussy.’
Wish my dad had a soul patch, and could teach me how 2 use it to ‘eat out pussie.’ Do u wish u were bros with ur dad? Is ur father a cool dad? Do u wish ur parents made u a tween sensation instead of ‘normal ass parents’ who just raised u with suburban values? Is ur father just a ‘forgettable middle aged man’ who is ‘somewhat honorable’, some what ‘aloof/out of touch’, and just ‘trying to do his best by his family’? How mainstream is ur family? Do u think JBieb and his dad go out and ‘bang teen pussie’ together? Just wish I could throw down bro-rific chills with my dad, vibing out in board shorts.
Oh those hipsters… When will they ever learn? So proud of buzzbands that no1 has ever heard of holding them close to their hearts Maybe they should realize that the consumer choices they make don’t make them who they are
Effing hipsters… wish yall would ‘stand 4 something’ Something more than ‘looking cool’ ‘chillin on social media’ and obsessing over yourself Effing ‘millenials.’ Thinking ur so special because of something so trivial Owl City… I’m sure when every1 likes them you’ll stop liking them a totesally hipster thing 2 do…
You and ur goddamn cliched books Vonnegut, Salinger, Chicken Soup 4 the Teenage Soul
Why don’t yall just grow up Get real jobs and stop being worthless 20something living at home with your moms and dad
Do yall h8 hipsters? Do u think Owl City is a cool band, or effing lame? Have u ever made a video where u threw tissues around ur room? Is this alt post-hipster or hippity-hipster-wave? Do tween alts seem chill or vibe-crushing?
Gorilla Vs. Bear is a popular lofi chillwave no-wave shitgaze wavewave fuzzy buzzy indie mp3 blog that posts some of ‘the best undiscovered blog bands in the world.’ Sometimes the bloggers from the blog go to festivals and concerts, and take intimiate, non-sexual photographs of buzzbands with polaroid cameras. For some reason, the New York Times did a ‘profile piece’ on Gorilla Vs Bear, talking to them about ‘the sweet ass polaroids that they take’.
Do yall respect Polaroid photography more than ‘ass hole photographers with DSLRs who want to be paid $1000 per .jpg?’ Is concert photography ‘bullshit’? Are photographers ‘artists’, or just ppl who want to ‘buy back’ their investment in a DSLR?
Seems like Radiohead’s Thom Yorke wasn’t ‘alt enough to ‘get’ polaroids:
Mr. Bartholow, 30, takes many of the photographs for the Gorilla vs. Bear music blog and is also its creative director. His camera gets noticed because it is a plastic Polaroid. That tends to disarm and surprise his frequently photographed subjects. "A lot of times they're really intrigued by the Polaroid," Mr. Bartholow said.
Some — like Thom Yorke of Radiohead — are downright incredulous, as Mr. Bartholow recalled about a 2008 show. "My wiry arm emerges with this plastic camera that looks like a toy, something out of 1982, and I vividly remember him looking at me like, 'What are you doing here, kid.'"
Damn. Thom. Cmon bro.
Do yall appreciate mp3 blogs with a ‘stunning, visual, engaging aesthetic’, or do u like blogs that try to look ‘professional in a forgettable way’?
Music blogs tend to rely on stock images of performances and on scans of vinyl album covers. So the use of original artwork on Gorilla vs. Bear means that visitors frequently come across photos of artists they've seen nowhere else.
Should I start a buzzworthy mp3 blog, discovering unsigned, unheard artists? Should GVB ‘expand’ into nude alt polaroids, marketed as high-end, barely legal alt porn? Was it a bad idea that the ALT REPORT HQ just invested in $20,000 worth of polaroid camera technology to start a better blog + get an NY Times writeup? Did Polaroids die, or was that just a marketing gimmick/rumor? Is Gorilla Vs Bear the best ‘pound for pound’ mp3 blog on the internet? Does Gorilla Vs. Bear ‘transcend’ the concept of the ‘professional photographer’? Did GVB ‘invent’ polaroid pictures of buzzbands? Do photographers deserve to be paid, or should they just ‘let go’ and upload that shit 2 the internet? Is .JPG capturing a unique service that humans should be paid 4? What mp3/alt/music blogs do u read? What makes u like them? Is ‘concert photography’ ‘art’, or should robots be installed in venues so that photographers don’t ‘take up spots at the front’ from authentic fans?
Just heard this ‘new song’ by Beach House called “White Moon.” Sorta only half listened, but the song sorta got me thinking about the year of 2k10, and how we are ‘winding down’, and we have 2 start thinking abt the Best Albums/Most Memorable Bands of 2k10. Seems like there is a ‘huge battle’ to be the #1 white indie female of 2k10 between Victoria LeGrand of Beach House and Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast. Feels like whoever ‘tops’ the female indie charts this year will have a ‘prolific career’ while the runner(s) up will have hollow, empty careers.
Feel like as I listened to this Beach House song, felt like it could have been a Best Coast song that is ‘masked’ with hi-fi production techniques. Wonder if Best Coast is ‘hiding’ some weakness with her fuzzy buzzy reverb techniques. Wonder if Beach House = Best Coast on some sort of level. Not sure if this ‘theory’ is a compliment to Best Coast or a ‘huge insult’ to Beach House. Is Beach House ‘too meaningful’ to be mainstream popular? Is Best Coast too ‘danky’ to be on MTV?
Seems like most traditional, conservative indie rock critics will choose ‘Beach House’ as the #1 female of 2k10, but magazines/sites that are trying to be ‘progressive’ in a generic way [via 'appealing 2 kidz'] will go with Best Coast.
Does the song “White Moon” have a similar structure/vibe/tone 2 a traditional Best Coast song where she cries abt boys? Which female indie artist r u gonna let ‘take the top spot’ of the female indie rankings in 2k10? Has Victoria LeGrand earned ur respect because she doesn’t tweet abt weed all the time? Will Best Coast’s long term brand as a ‘serious artist’ be compromised because of her personal brand? Does Best Coast = Beach House = Feist = Cat Power = Lisa Loeb = Madonna = Lady Gaga = Katy Perry = the Lilith Fair lineup? Should both of them dump the ‘men’ in their group, form a band together called “The Dank Babes” and take over the indiesphere?
Scott Pilgrim is a movie starring Michael Cera abt some comic book that a bunch of wannabe-alt tweens ‘tweeted abt’ but didn’t actually go see. The film has been named one of ‘the biggest box office bombs’ of all time, and many are trying to figure out ‘why’ it tanked. Some say ‘shitty commercials/branding’, while others say that Michael Cera will ‘never be able to carry a box office hit.
N e ways, the popular music reviews site Pitchfork decided to ‘pan’ the soundtrack, giving it a 6.7.
Feel confused, because the review seems ‘kinda positive.’ Feel like even the standard 8.4-and-up reviews are more critical than this review.
Even with some unnecessary and redundant inclusions, the soundtrack comes together very well as a whole. Whereas many modern film soundtracks are glorified compilation discs with a seemingly random track selection, the Scott Pilgrim vs. the World soundtrack is very thoughtful in its curation and stands as a very accurate interpretation of O’Malley’s fictional world.
Shoulda probably given this soundtrack like a 2.0, just so they wouldn’t disrespect other artists who probably ‘tried harder’. I think Scott Pilgrim gets a good deal of ‘internet buzz’, sorta like Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber, so maybe ‘appearing as being chill with Scott Pilgrim’ might help them ride the last wave of buzz [via twitter trending topics.
Googled for the track list. Seems pretty worthless. Apparently the Beck songs feature vocals by Michael Cera
01. SEX BOB-OMB (Beck): "We Are SEX BOB-OMB" 02. Plumtree: "Scott Pilgrim" 03. Frank Black: "I Heard Ramona Sing" 04. Beachwood Sparks: "By Your Side" 05. Black Lips: "O Katrina!" 06. Crash and the Boys (Broken Social Scene): "I'm So Sad, So Very, Very Sad" 07. Crash and the Boys (Broken Social Scene): "We Hate You Please Die" 08. SEX BOB-OMB (Beck): "Garbage Truck" 09. T. Rex: "Teenage Dream" 10. The Bluetones: "Sleazy Bed Track" 11. Blood Red Shoes: "It's Getting Boring by the Sea" 12. Metric: "Black Sheep" 13. SEX BOB-OMB (Beck): "Threshold" 14. Broken Social Scene: "Anthems for a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl" 15. The Rolling Stones: "Under My Thumb" 16. Beck: "Ramona (Acoustic)" 17. Beck: "Ramona" 18. SEX BOB-OMB (Beck): "Summertime" 19. Brian LeBarton: "Threshold 8 Bit"
Feel like Broken Social Scene has really 'committed suicide' this year, but hope they are making $$$ or something. Miss u 'You Forgot it in Ppl' era.
Did yall go see the movie, and was the soundtrack 'as lame' as it reads on paper?
Maybe they shoulda just had Mikey Cera and Juno broad sing a bleepy bloopy video game remix of the Juno Moldy Peaches song.
Was it 'mean' for Pitchfork to bully this soundtrack? Do u wish they had reviewed the soundtrack for 'We Got Switched, Yall!' / 'The Expendables' or 'Vampires effing Suck'? R u happy that Pitchfork went ahead and cyberbullied this failing product a little bit more? What are the best movie soundtrack(s) of all time? 'Empire Records'? -some 90s bro? The Bodyguard Soundtrack?
The Space Jam Soundtrack?
A Jock Jams Compilation? Would Pitchfork have given the Garden State a 10.0 in its prime?
[via soundtracks that get 'tons of buzz' for featuring 'emerging indie artists' that were 'curated' by the filmmaker who has a 'genuine interest' in buzzbands]
Sufjan Stevens recently released the hit indie EP, The All Delighted People EP. A lot of people have been emailing me, asking, “Yall who is on the cover of the Sufjy EP? So many faces… Just wish I could figure it out. Seems like it might tell the complex story of Sufjan Stevens’ life. Wonder if it explains who he is as a musician/indie buzzband/human being.”
Who are all of these bros on the Sufjan Stevens EP cover?
1. Sufjan’s ethnic maid who cleans out his buzzband loft space 2. Goth teen who Sufjan befriended Sufjy outside of a Hot Topic in 2k6 3. Sufjan’s high school photo. What a dork, yall! 4. The leader of Sufjan’s parent’s Christian militia cult 5. Sufjan’s landlord. Kinda helped him out a lot b4 he got rich. 6. Christian Bale 7. Guy who Sufjan used to ‘play hookie from school’ with 8. Jeff’s first AZN friend 9. Jonny Taylor Thomas [via JTT] 10. The guy who fixes Sufjan’s lil yellow van that he purchased after Little Miss Sunshine 11. The first ‘pair of titties’ that Sufjan fondled during adolescence 12. The first ‘grown up’ that Sufjan 13. Lenny Kravitz 14. Sufjy’s All-State insurance broker 15. the CEO of bandcamp.com 16. Sufjy’s first twink that he keeps enslaved in his ‘sex dungeon’ 17. David Duchovny, star of the X-Files 18. the Hit MP3 ‘I want to Fly Away’ by Lenny Kravitz 19. the cast of the Golden Girls 20. Prostitute / P.O.W. who saved Sufjan’s life during Vietnam 21. Sufjan’s first illegitimate son, Sufjan Jr. 22. Sufjan’s first illegitimate daughter, Sufjette 23. Sufjette Jr. the III 24. Another ‘roadie’ claims this is his child. Has not taken paternity test yet 25. A child that Sufjan abducted from a local McDonalds playground 26. Erotic porn star from the 1990s who took Sufjy’s ‘beating off’ virginity 27. Sufjan’s college dorm Resident Adviser. Was super chill abt ‘drinking’ in the dorm room 28. Chris Martin from Coldplay, huge influence 29. Sufjan’s step-sister who his stepdad forced on this cover 30. Sufjan’s domineering father 31. Sufjan’s dad’s mistress who he left his mom for and married 32. Dude from Pete & Pete 33. a young Bobby DeNiro 34. Local AZN dry cleaning bro 35. Dry cleaners AZN employee. ‘Light on the starch’ -sufjy’s pants 36. 14 year old sniper who Sufjan was forced to murder during Vietnam to prove to his brigade that he awas a ‘real man’ who hated commies. 37. Class Bully who made Sufjy’s life hell in middle school 38. Jeff Goldblum 39. Sufjette IV (illegitimate child) 40. Guy who Sufjan used to emotionally bully 41. Young Santa Clause 42. Sufjan’s high school music teacher 43. Guy who Sufjan got ‘experimental’ with at band camp 44. A ‘fuck doll’ who Sufjan treated like a real human for _ years. 45. Sufjan’s favorite casserole 46. Sufjan’s life coach 47. Sufjan’s Grandma 48. Sufjan’s angsty teen little brother who the entire family is ‘somewhat ashamed of’ 49. Sufjan’s grandfather who gave him his first banjo 50. The bass player from Vampire Weekend 51. Emerill (Sufjan loves the Food Network) 52. Pat Tillman (R.I.P.) 53. One of the Golden Girls again 54. Guy who Sufjan Stevens stole his first songs from 55. Another road baby (so hard 2 be an indie musician) 56. Leonardo Di Caprio–Sufjan’s biggest celebrity crush 57. Noah Lennox (Panda Bear 58. Guy who made Sufjan’s myspace layout 59. Bam Margera (Sufjan was an original cast member of Jack Ass) 60. Santa Clause ‘fuck doll’ 61. Serial Killer 62. indie stalker who won’t leave Sufjy alone 63. A cool dad from Pavement 64. Sufjan’s Weed dealer 65. The girl who runs the Sufjan Stevens Unofficial twitter account 66. Son who is Sufjan recently found out was ‘not his’ after going on Maury Povich 67. The bass player from the Strokes peen: Sufjan’s erect peen in some cute lil shorty shorts 68. an NBA Basketball player, possible LeBron James 69. 90210 Cast member 70. a ninja 71. hornie bro 72. hornie bro spread eagle 73. Sufjan’s son with his first wife 74. AZN guy who gets Sufjan black market audio equipment/cute, fake designer purses 75. Sufjan’s old hunting buddy 76. Guy who works at AT&T store 77. Newborn illegitimate son 78. Guy who owns Sufjan’s fave organic California-style burrito restaurant 79. Deakin from AnCo 80. Johnny Knoxville 81. Illegal immigrant who Sufjan employed for 2 years before she was deported when he outsourced banjo work 82. Kim Kardashian–Sufjy <3s junk tv 83. woman from Sufjan's cult 84. Kid who wandered into the Sufjan compound, not sure who he is 85. Kid A 86. 2 many kids, yall 87. The dictator of South Korea 88. Daniel Gill, CEO of Forcefield PR 89. Samuel L Jackson 90. Sufjan's dental hygienist 91. Mark Zuckerberg 92. the cobrasnake bro 93. Photographer teen who travels with Sufjy cuz he ran away from home 94. Aunt Jemimah--Sufjy <3s pancakes 95. Youth group leader from Sufjan's teen church with modern themes 96. The lady who taught Sufjan how 2 play banjo 97. Tonya Harding 98. Sufjan XXI 99. Guy who is plotting the assassination of Sufjan 100. An 'effing hipster' who Sufjan is making fun of 101. One of Sufjan's three wives and five husbands [via progressive cult] 102. Sufjanito 103. Jack Black--Sufjy <3s Tenacious D song structures 104. Unidentified AZN man 105. Sufjan's Body Guard 106. The World's youngest Sufjan fan 107. bro who has the flu
Do yall know who any of these people are? Did I miss any1/mis-identify some1?
Just wanna get to know to know Sufjan... Maybe his stories are in his music, but 'wanna get to know more abt him' so I can determine whether or not I wanna ride the folkwave with him. Seems like a 2k5-2k7 type of genre, but Sufjan might be so keut and dreamy that I will look into his eyes and get swept away (as opposed to some bro with a mangled beard). Do u think this album cover tells his life story? If u made a collage of people in ur life, would it have 500+ people or 1-10 people? R u disappointed by this EP, or are u gonna ride his folkwave? Does Sufjan Stevens have a ‘high level’ personal brand, or do u want him to develop a little bit more as a human meme indie celeb? Should he start a twitter or something? [via M.I.A. theory]
Do yall like Sufjan’s collage on his album art, or do u wish he had a chillwave jacuzzi party with a bunch of ‘underaged kids’ + a collective of animals, similar to the cover of Panda Bear’s Person Pitch? (Wonder if these are Noah Lennox’s illegitimate kids). Do yall know if more indie celebs have illegitimate road children (similar to professional athletes), or do the girls who have the babies ‘abort’ because they know buzzband members usually aren’t rich?
