The fact that I never really know what to make of Mac DeMarco makes me not doubt the possibility that he is some kind of artist. He's full of surprises. While I haven't really heard anything of his that really moved me, I'm always siding with his fans over his haters.
Also, yeah, what Miles said-- let's not forget about Angel Olsen when we're making our end-of-the-year lists. Hers is still the best in my book...
I did not find this as obnoxious as comments here are making it out to be. So she doesn't have an encyclopedic knowledge of every artist she likes. What is the big deal?
His apology seems heartfelt. I didn't even really find his original remarks all that offensive-- just a thoughtless and careless, especially considering the amount of lost (and probably depressed) souls who found solace in his work over the past several decades. Henry is known for his off-the-cuff, candid way of speaking. I can forgive him for sounding ignorant once in awhile.
I am more than willing to disagree on this. I think I really understand where you're coming from. Any rational person who experiences the suicide of a loved one has to deal with being angry with about it, but it's taboo to speak about this anger. Maybe that's what Henry Rollins is getting at here, but he has an ignorant-ass way of saying it. Read that quote over again and find the part where Henry Rollins is talking about something he finds important that is something other than Henry Rollins.
It's just my opinion, but I can't see his comments as anything other than self-aggrandizing. It would be one thing if family members or close friends of Robin Williams voiced their unsettling feeling of anger towards him, but this is Henry Rollins voicing his contempt for Robin Williams because Henry Rollins is disdainful of suicide and you should check out Henry Rollins' records, books, and films about Henry Rollins talking about people who have left Henry Rollins' "analog world" because Henry Rollins has something to say about how it affected Henry Rollins. Henry Rollins.
He's displaying a lack of empathy here, and I think that's the main thing bothering me. For most of us, there is no rationalizing suicide. But people who commit/attempt/contemplate suicide aren't thinking rationally. They aren't thinking about all the pain the act of killing themselves would cause everyone around them. They just feel like every cell in their body is screaming, and they mistake their desire to silence the screaming in the quickest way possible as a biological need. I'm oversimplifying, but I think I've experienced all sides of this issue, and it really looks to me that the only thing Henry Rollins is thinking about as he voices his opinion to the press is Henry Rollins. His selfishness is kind of ironic (in the true sense of irony; he's not trying to be ironic).
I have had a close family member and a close friend who have committed suicide. I have personally battled with major depression (or whatever you want to call it).
I am also a Henry Rollins apologist, because, you know, Black Flag, and smart shit he says every once in awhile.
I also can't help but read his editorial as if he is seeking attention for having a "controversial" opinion about suicide, and he's capitalizing on Robin Williams' death by "having something to say" about it. He doesn't know shit about Robin Williams' life, his career, or his family, and he even admits it. But here he is, being about as judgemental as one can be. I guess that's really "punk" of him.
Henry Rollins can go fuck himself over this one.
You have to give this video credit for giving ejaculation simulations (i.e. the coconut milk, and later the whipped cream on Nicki Minaj's breasts) more screentime than the Beats by Dre product placement. I jerked off and bought headphones, in that order, and have no regrets.
"and where the fuck do you get racist you dumb mother fucker??"
I never said you were racist, but good for you for figuring out I was implying it. I said you were "nostalgic for slavery" because of all of your confederate flag bullshit.
Also, my beard isn't graying. Those are blonde hairs.
Also, yes, my hairline is receding.
Also, calling a football team the "Redskins" is racist as fuck. It doesn't matter how long that team name has been around. If there was a team called the "Blackskins" it would be so, so fucked up. The only reason keeping the "Redskins" name alive is even an option is because we basically killed all of the "redskins" during a holocaust no one wants to talk about, and there aren't enough of them alive to protest the use of that name.
I dunno. Optimistically, if I were a writer for a middle heavyweight music journalism site, I think I'd have dementia after about five years. If I were to listen to every fucking thing that comes out for a decade or more in an age where it seems the music coming out any given week is twice the amount that came out the previous week, I can understand a scenario where a hair-metal throwback band with absolutely nothing new to offer might strike a (power)chord with me. I'm luckily not a music journalist. I have the luxury of getting hung up on my favorite band for months on end, and then have the luxury of relistening to my favorite albums months/years later for months on end without freaking out about WHAT'S NEXT, so I have the luxury of complaining in a comment section that this particular music sucks, because it really, really does.
Stereogum isn't the reason her allegations were taken seriously. If Stereogum was a 24-hour news network on cable that devoted a bunch of segments to "Conor Oberst: The Rapist Story", you would have a point. Yeah, they perpetuated the speculation that perhaps there might be truth to Joanie Faircloth's story by considering it newsworthy, but as I look back at their articles, I find it hard to see any motive behind their coverage other than, "Yo, this is happening in the news; we should write a little bit about it." Perhaps you're right in thinking they're at fault for considering it newsworthy, but only hindsight bias would inform that opinion.
I 92.78% agree with you.
Even though I've been complaining about Stereogum jumping the shark lately, they didn't pick up this story until it had already gained traction elsewhere, and from that point they were reporting on a story that was already a story on the rest of the internet for the sole reason that it was relevant to "indie news." I really don't blame them for following it. I was following it, and Stereogum was one of my sources.
I agree that one internet comment shouldn't have blown up to the proportion that this has, but I am also not going to ever dismiss someone claiming she was raped as someone who is merely seeking attention, even though Joanie Faircloth clearly made these allegations because she was seeking attention. Our attitudes towards rape and sexual abuse have historically been so incredulous and dismissive that I almost see it as a good sign we took this one somewhat seriously.
I guess I 92.78% agree with you because rumors, especially internet rumors, should never qualify as "news". However, the topic of rape carries so much weight to it, historically speaking, that I find myself not assigning a whole lot of blame on the media for holding an attitude that takes it seriously.
Mr. Scott Lapatine, I berated you on here a couple weeks ago, but let the record show I'm defending you now.
And Joanna Newsom raped me in 2005, you guys.
I really could have forgiven her for the initial attention-seeking post on XOJane, but the fact that she kept going with it creating a tumblr with more lies, and even briefly tried to be a poster child for rape victims makes her a super terrible person. I'm not even saying this because I happen to be a Conor fan, but because of the damage she is doing to actual rape victims/survivors who may be reluctant to tell their stories because of a culture that is already too incredulous. It's unfortunate that this is a high-profile story, because it rarely happens, and now dudes who don't know anything about sexual violence are going to use it as a frame of reference the next time they hear rape allegations because they are fucking idiots. And take it from me, I've been to many shows and most of Conor Oberst's fans are fucking idiots.
What a relief. If anyone needs me, I'll be in my room looping "Lover I Don't Have to Love," my least favorite Bright Eyes song, because now I can say to myself with confidence that it isn't rapey.
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