That last point you make is funny. I know this isn't a 90's movie, but that was a very 90's thing. It's the whole "Eddie Vedder at the Grammys in a helmet" thing. I'm going to participate in this thing that I don't like and I'm very against, but I'm going to do it sort of detached and ironically so you know I'm still cool. I guess that still goes on today (Eilish's Grammy acceptance speech), but I feel like back then it was more of a thing
It's not that I like it, it's that I don't care. If you hear a song on the radio or on a tv show or commercial or a featured playlist or something, they have "bought their way into your ears".
For real, though, what's the recent obsession here with how rich the parents of musicians are? I understand that it leads to a leg up on promotion, record deals, etc. and I see where that gets really icky. But, like, are any of these artists acting like they clawed their way up from nothing? I'd think it was pretty shitty if Beabadoobee or Bridgers or whoever was going around doing interviews about how poor they grew up and how they had to scratch and claw just to get a break, but (as far as I know) they haven't, right? So who cares?
No, I guess I'm just more of an Authentic Music Fan than you are. My new favorite artist is so malnourished that he plays his ribs as a xylophone like a cartoon skeleton! His parents weren't rich, that's for sure!
Um, I only listen to artists who were and still are dirt poor. Like, I won't listen to a band that has been able to pay for a meal in the last year. Don't even get me started on artists who buy their instruments! I'll only listen if they had to fashion them from the bones of loved-ones who've starved to death in front of them. I don't know, there's just something so much more...authentic...about their music.
We had some kind of assembly to "Support the Troops" or whatever. Being a very small school, we didn't have a chorus to do this, so someone just played in on a boombox. They may or may not have borrowed my copy of the cassingle for that. I did definitely own and love the song at the time. I had really weird taste as a kid.
I was starting to think the Bridgers coverage was getting to be a little much, but then:
'Talking to Meyers, Bridgers said that Prine “represents, kind of, the pinnacle of American music to me.”'
And now I'm cool with it.
As a kid, I was a big Jackson fan. I had a Beat It jacket and a sparkly glove. I had Bad on cassette and listened to it constantly. Somehow, I have ZERO recollection of this song. Nothing. There have been songs in this column that I didn't recognize by name, but then immediately recognized them once I heard it. Not thing one. So weird.
Oh, I've also been into Painted Shrines. That's Jeremy Earl from Woods' side project with Glenn Donaldson. If you like Woods, you'll probably dig it.
That led me to listen to Donaldson's band The Reds, Pinks & Purples. I really like the two singles they've released this year.
That song always gets to me. I had a friend who was a big Prine fan. He died while on vacation with his family just a couple months after The Tree of Forgiveness came out. He loved it. The line about "hope I didn't ruin your whole vacation" gets me choked up every time.
That deluxe version of Berninger's album kinda pisses me off. I try to buy a physical copy of any album that I find myself liking, usually on vinyl. I'll get special editions when I can. I think it's bullshit to put out a different edition a couple months after the first one came out. You're just trying to bilk your fans for a few extra bucks. I know that times are hard for bands right now without touring income. I don't fault them for doing what they can. But, even before the pandemic, a few of the "bigger indie" bands have been doing this. Bon Iver released different editions of their last two albums a couple months after it came out. It seems like Arcade Fire did something similar at one point. People rag on Taylor Swift for releasing a million versions of her albums, but at least she does it all at once. That way, her fans can decide up front which one(s) they want. I know it's a stupid thing to get worked up over, but so be it.
Anyhoo, also looking forward to the Mills/Palladino album. Love both tracks I've heard so far.
I wish they'd do more guitar-based stuff. It's not that I don't like anything they did after Civilian. I like pretty much everything they've done since then a lot. Hell, Spiral might be their favorite song of mine, and it was basically their first post-Civilian "non-guitar" track.
It's just that I really love Jenn's guitar playing. That's it. She has a distinct sound and she's just really fucking good at playing that instrument. I'd like to hear some more of that.
I saw everyone raving about White Elephant so I was excited to hear it. I'm listening and I'm kind of thinking, "Ok. This is good and all, but why is everyone so excited about it?" Then it got about halfway through and I was like, "Ohhhh! Now I see."
Also, let's not forget - let's *not* forget, Dude - that keeping wildlife, an amphibious rodent, for uh, domestic, you know, within the city - that aint legal either.
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