Fun piece by Kieran Press-Reynolds looking at oblique strategies for digging up weird music, with a hierarchy of engagements mode from basic to ultra-obscurantist.
I had to look up the word "ran-through"
Fun piece by Kieran Press-Reynolds looking at oblique strategies for digging up weird music, with a hierarchy of engagements mode from basic to ultra-obscurantist.
I had to look up the word "ran-through"
To be frank, I wish Todd in the Shadows were in the top tier. Not because he's obvious, but because he's obviously the best YouTube music reviewer. Especially, one should cherish his assessments of how Robin Thicke, Lauryn Hill, Ringo Starr, the Carpenters, Liz Phair, MC Hammer, Styx, Kid Rock, the Human League, Jewel, Van Halen and (best of all) Katy Perry made albums that bazookaed their careers.
ReplyDeleteHere's his one on the Clash: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L75tI8qZhIc
Imagine an alternate timeline where Playboi Carti made the cover of The Wire!
ReplyDeleteCertified Discogs / Rate Your Music guy reporting for duty!
ReplyDeleteThere's also the post-digital option of visiting an RL record store - I can't tell if the piece is ironic or serious or what, and at risk of coming across as totally humorless, but surely this would be as relevant 21st C hipster an activity as anything else listed? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
ReplyDeleteNot for Zoomers I don't think. I think they've finally moved completely past the idea of music-as-object, music-as-something-you-own.
DeleteI find with my students even the idea of radio is foreign to them.
It's a generation where they want to hear exactly what they want to hear when they want
Or is they want randomness and discovery there's either the algorhythm or there's the techniques and ruses Kieran lists to create serendipity
I find I've grown to use the internet, YouTube, almost as a surrogate record store - a used record store, where you "flick" through piles of rubbish and come across things you never knew existed.... but that becomes the buzz, you keep moving on for another surprise, rather than say repeat play and uncovering depths within the discovered piece of music...
And yet there's the example of the barista, one of the few off-screen social moments. The record store is of course not just about something-you-own, it's also an experience of filtering, fortuitous finds, sharing recommendations, anecdotes, myths, etc. Same with performance spaces, gigs, clubs. If you're doing a Spotify exodus in search of new experiences, why not fully explore the post-digital horizon I wonder? Do we need more hybrid spaces? Another irony is that at parties apparently one talks, but doesn't listen - but maybe this is the satire of it?
DeleteNever liked record shops at all. The ones that sold new discs, like Our Price and Virgin, were always unpleasantly glossy, in-your-face. They had the worst ambience of any kind of shop for aggressively trying to SELL. Also tended to have a dry, prickly atmosphere, were physically unpleasant to be in.
DeleteSecond hand record shops were generally just depressing, and came in two forms - the one where everything was overpriced, and the one where everything was neglected. Also tended to have a musty, unhealthy atmosphere, were physically unpleasant to be in.
Ironically, this was a manifestation of the music-as-drug metaphor.
DeleteJust as you always bought drugs off somebody you didn't want to buy drugs from, so you always bought records from somebody you didn't want to buy records from.
I remember one dealer we had who was a lovely fellow, and used to stash his gear (and his scales!) in his saxophone. He always had top quality gear and was meticulous in ensuring we got the right amount.
DeleteThe only downside was that he was an avid fan of The Cardiacs, and would INSIST that we got the BENEFIT of a good Cardiacs listening session every time he paid a visit.
I remember one time he brought round a VHS recording of The Cardiacs playing live. So all four of us spent an hour watching grainy footage of the band doing their spasticated thing, with big rictus grins on our faces, thinking "WTF is this shit?"
Obviously this is tremendously amusing to recall in hindsight, but was terrible at the time.
Personally I feel as though I already know, and have listened to, far too much, and would actively welcome a selective memory wipe.
ReplyDelete