Yes a well-deserved AOTW (if that honour is not going to Sleater-Kinney). Actually 'Viet Cong' and 'No Cities to Love' are both vying for control of my soul at the moment. I think that means it was a good week for music.
While I can respect your personal views on this particular song, your argument becomes something very different when applied to a court of law. If they can reveal "truth of character," then song lyrics, and all the subtleties of artistic expression that went into writing them, can be used against someone as a predictor of behaviour or as evidence of intent.
Whether or not you deem them to be "artistic" or metaphorical enough for your standards is irrelevant, lyrics are by definition a form of artistic expression and therefore should be inadmissible as evidence in a criminal case.
Yeah, there are definitely some great albums peppered in there along with the typical questionable and well past their prime choices, but it's really in that top 3 that the list loses all claims to legitimacy.
That Rolling Stone list is hilarious, though not surprising. If ever they were on top of what is happening in music (late '60s/early '70s maybe?), those days are long past.
Their last album was great, looking forward to this. There's lots of great music coming from this circle of musicians in Seattle at the moment (Shabazz Palaces is probably my AOTY).
I like the EP fine and Women was (were?) a great band, but this song is something special and has definitely raised my hopes that the album will be too.
I love that Tom doesn't try to hide his dislike of that album. As someone else has already commented, I think pom pom has too many great songs to dismiss out of hand, but if ever there was an album in need of an editor, this is it. If pom pom was pared down to its best 12 or 13 songs, it would be a classic. I can't help but see the back half as an extension of his trollish public persona.
I think if there's any commonality between these two positions, it's that all parties feel that musicians and artists should be able to actually make a living off of their work. And no doubt that given the realities, hard decisions need to be made. Corporate capitalism is ascendent at the moment and that's where the money is. And it's almost impossible to avoid, there are very few music festivals, for example, without corporate sponsorship. At the same time, taking money from that system means ignoring other realities, like labour and civil rights abuses. If there was adequate public funding for the arts we wouldn't need to have this discussion. By buying into that system as an artist, you are aiding the same system that has gutted arts funding. If artists aren't standing up for a better system, then who will?
whoa now this is a debate! It's not like I'm never going to listen to Blood Orange again because of this, but like I said I'm disappointed. And that disappointment stems from the fact that he has taken previous stands on social issues. So how can he then ignore sweatshop labour, or the racism/misogyny of Urban Outfitters? Whether you think that is hypocrisy or pragmatism is of course the point of this debate.
I don't think it's entitled to expect an artist you admire to not support sweat shop labour. I think we should hold our artists to high standards. Sure he's free to take Gap's money, and maybe he won't lose any sleep over it, but he's lost my respect.
It devalues his work because he's willing to sell his music and his image to the highest bidder, in this case to a company that uses sweatshop labour. Which is disappointing since Dev Hynes has taken a stand on other issues.
I know this guy never claimed to be fugazi, but I'm always disappointed when an artist I admire devalues their work by being in an advertisement. It seems that no one really bats an eye at this anymore, but I expected more from Dev Hynes.
I'll acknowledge that 'globalist shill' is a pretty sick burn but this is not up to the standards we've come to enjoy of late regarding music-related feuds. Also, I'm not sure if I've ever seen Billy Corgan smile before. Kinda nice.
If there's is one positive out of all of this, it's that more of the victims are feeling that they can come forward. to that end there's a petition circulating in support of the victims, led by some prominent bands (Fucked Up, Austra, Constantines, etc).
Of all the albums I like from this year, Benji and Lost in the Dream are the only two that I would ever consider playing in the presence of my aging boomer parents. Which makes the fact that these are the artists responsible for this year's biggest feud that much fucking weirder.
I'm interested to see if Ghomeshi will actually show up to that Lee's Palace gig. Amanda Palmer seems to think it'll all be chill times, but I'm not sure the audience will be as accommodating.
LP1 is a great album and she has some well-earned goodwill, but being in an ad always sucks, no matter what. And google, not even someone as hip as FKA Twigs can sell those glasses.
This is a good Chvrches song, but it's the soundtrack to a trip to the beach in the sunshine. If even the synthpop act can't land the moody neo-noir + neon vibe of the film, what is the point of this project?
Does this mean that Joel Ford is not involved at all? I thought the name change was just because of a legal challenge from a similarly-named artist. In any event, this sounds great, looking forward to it.
I don't know where De la Rocha has been hiding, but this is like the second coming. I love that they met him randomly on the street and then he fucking kills it on this track. This album is going to be awesome.
No it's the perfect setup for a Christmas album. A miserly old grump reaches a new level of surliness, learns a lesson, then embraces joy and War on Drugs. A miracle!
I hope Kozelek got all the bile out of his system, because War on Drugs don't deserve to be on the receiving end of any of this. And yeah, the best thing they can do is to not respond at all.
Seriously, I can't remember the last time a video brought tears to my eyes. Simple, poetic, elevating an already great song, distilling the themes of the album, while commenting on issues simmering in the larger society. That's a lot for one video to do.
It's be cool if he does follow through on the idea of singing on more of his songs, because 'Coronus' is a great track. But for right now, 'You're Dead!' is kicking my ass. Like his previous records, it's super dense and layered, and for such a short album it's crazy epic. Musically he's just operating on a different level from anyone else.
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