Here’ s the latest so-called “indie” band to not like: 120 Days from Norway.
They’re pretty much the nazz with bloggers, NYC clubbers, after-party goers, and underfed hangers-on.
A certain pleasant-but-aggressive US publicity company recently took the band on as clients. Another artist on their roster is the unyieldingly hyped Lady Sovereign, which should tell you something. Also, they’re on Vice, which might tell you something else.
I’ve been innundated with requests to review 120 Days for my other “outlets,” to use a lame music biz phrase. Surely, I’m expected to just fall in line.
120 Days are touted as a “modern-day krautrock band,” or some such nonsense. Fuck that. The sound like The Strokes with analog keyboards.
First of all, krautrock was a genre marked by idiosyncracies: most of the groups were wildly different from one another in process and result. Bands like 120 Days, on the other hand, seem to adopt whatever aesthetic happens to be in fashion.
For the original krautrockers — a post WWII generation of defiant art-school dropouts — it was important to work outside the realms of “polite” European classicism and borrowed American blues. Obsessed with rhythm and repetition, they drew inspiration from African music as well as emerging audio technologies. This sound later found its pop mark with New Wavers like the Talking Heads and “reformed” proggers such as Peter Gabriel and Robert Fripp. Bowie and Eno (who pretty much founded the New Wave) were both early champions.
Krautrockers sought to challenge preconceived notions of Germanic music, which had taken on some unfavorable associations. They traveled several sonic avenues, from the cold, motorik pulse of Neu! to the limber, pan-global grooves of Can. But some people assert that, with such a variety in sound, there is no real kratrock. This is a valid argument.
Anyway the little boys in 120 Days are about as far from Faust as a group can get. And that’s what I told their publicist.
No matter — they’ll no doubt get more exposure than I could give ’em by rocking those sponsored parties for Microsoft’s Zune MP3 player.
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Nice anti-review! I took a listen to the mp3 on the blog site that was linked & it’s pretty weak. And from the live pics on that site, I’m pretty sure they’re actually just Hanson with Moogs.Nice slam on Pitchfork as well; they need a good slap across the head every once in a while.
Surely they pale next to such local luminaries as Led Loco. Where oh where is the justice in this world?
I’m not slamming the band as much as the industry that tries to sell every scruffy group of lads as the Next Big Thing. I don’t think a band even deserves to be looked at in that light until they have at least three solid records under their belt. Then you know they might have some staying power.Pitchfork provides plenty of useful information; I go to their site every day. But they wield a disproportionate amount of influence, and some of their scribes are more interested in being the next Lester Bangs than commenting on a record. The same goes for the enormously overrated Chuck Klosterman. Once in awhile he writes something amazing in a manner all his own. The rest of the time he’s just farting in the wind to the applause of ironic hipsters.The biggest problem I have with today’s music criticism is that it’s lazy. Writers too often just repeat whatever buzzword or catchphrase gets foisted on a band by their PR company. Hence “krautrock” and 120 Days. Frankly, they have more in common with Oasis.There’s nothing wrong with that. But don’t shit in my hand and call it a Sundae.Led Loco could wipe the floor with any of these scrawny Nordic prettyboys, and we all know it!
Dear Mr. Rea,We do not understand the reason for your unkind comments towards our band and the representatives. We believe that we are bringing the sounds of classic Krautrock back to prominence and the value of our music is at least as high as the bands you mentioned from earlier times. Or is it that you are bitter towards Norwegians? While our home country may not be as hip as your Brooklyn, we are happy to believe that we are more than just another pretty face with analog synths. Do you not think our music has substances? We disagree. Please take away your bad comment about 120Days from the web. -Kjetl”120 Days”
Burlington’s latest sludgecore/Afrocktrobeat quartet: Casey Rea’s Brooklyn.Bad Brains’ Darryl Jennifer to play bass.
Daryl Jennifer! That band sounds sweet!But I love Norway, and Norwegians. I totally wanna go there. And I’m not joking. I’ve got a serious crush on Scandinavia, and have had for quite some time.The same cannot be said about my feelings for Brooklyn.Still, I don’t like the band so much. But that’s not really the issue. it’s more a case of marketing, which blows every stylistic leaning completely out of proportion.I’m gonna listen to the record again, though, just to see if it was merely the hype that put me off.And Kjetl, if you’re really in the band, understand that what I think about your music matters far less than how you feel about it. But the post stays.
How come their name is in English?Do they sing in English?When you abandon your native tongue to exploit foreign markets it’s probably a good sign of hype seekers.ben
I think i’ll stick to the classic kraut rock bands like Oneida, and Pharoah Overlord.
Let’s be fair. The one thing we agree on is that we all hate Brooklyn (Williamsburg) hipsters. Agreed?If only all pseudo-international conflict could be solved like this…
I have a Beacon’s Closet t-shirt so I guess I can’t badmouth Williamsburg…. :(Casey, as much as I usually hate the classic “Best of 2006”-style lists, I would like to hear what your favorite albums of the year were, both new albums and recently discovered finds.
I can’t badmouth a place, just the “cool kids” driving rents up!Man, I get so freaked out by year-enders. I have a terrible short-term memory for such stuff. Also, I have the tendency to get more excited about weird out-of-print stuff or forgotten gems than I do new music.But I’ll tty!
Personally, I’d rather hear about the “weird out-of-print” stuff than new stuff. I usually only fall in love with a few new albums each year, but I tend to get turned on to dozens of greater older albums throughout the course of the year. It would be great for you to post your list and then we could all post what we’ve been listening to.
This will go in my Top 10 Casey Rea Quotes of 2006 list:”The rest of the time he’s just farting in the wind to the applause of ironic hipsters.”Ah, the imagery.
Oh, man! Did I miss a good week to be hanging out on the solidstate front stoop.I also get a ton of emails about 120 Days from publicists. Not my thing. Love the country but not the band.But, as you discussed, the wave of emails from publicists has ruined the chances of any decent band submitting their stuff to me via email. I pretty much bin all of them. Once in a while, I’ll listen to their links but it’s rare.Unfortunately, having talked to some other music bloggers, enough of them pay attention to the promo emails to keep the publicists thinking that it’s a winning idea. At the NEMO Music Festival blogger panel, someone asked how they could get us to listen to their band. My response was, “Well, when I ask my friend what he’s been listening to lately, you need to have him say your band’s name.” It initially got a giggle from the crowd but then they seemed a bit annoyed at the idea of how much harder that is then just sending out a blast email with 1,500 people on the distribution list.
Gee whiz, paid publicists will say that their clients are the best thing since sliced bread, when sometimes they’re not! As much as this revelation may anger you, before you call a perfectly decent band “little boys” “not to be liked,” you might want to think about how low 7D sets the bar with regular fawning reviews of local dreck. I mean, 120 days are no Kraftwerk, but surely you recognize that they’re better than some local barista making plinky plonk on their laptop, burning it onto a CDR and selling it down at Pure Pop?
Yeah who do these fucking “baristas” think they are anyway! making their “plinky plonk”, pressing their, “cd-r’s” getting support from their “community”…what a bunch of douchebags.(i can think of 3 burlington bands, right off the top of my head, that have more “kraut” than 120Days.)
Ah, see, I thought music reviews were supposed to be something resembling honest assessments of musical efforts, not puff pieces masquerading as “support from the community.” Thanks for clearing that up.And if you’ll name those three bands for me, I promise to buy a copy of each of their CD(R)s the next time their drummers deliver my pizza.
Amen, Tan-man.Yeah, publicists are paid. So am I.But I’ve heard far more interesting CD-R releases local and otherwise than a lot of the assembly-line shit that comes down the industry pike.My musical worldview is fairly libertarian; bands can do whatever they like, and their agents can market it however they see fit. But somebody has to call bullshit every once and a while, or else there’s no difference between the “underground” and the prefab stuff that currently chokes the airwaves.AS far as 7D setting the bar low, I have to disagree. Some stuff has to be considered in respect to the environment in which it’s created. I personally try to respond to any album on its own terms. I’ve written plenty of “negative” notices about local releases. If I champion certain area efforts, it’s because they possess qualities that I believe are worthy of praise.The 120 Days record, upon repeat listens, fails to measure up in any significant way regardless of the hype surrounding it.That’s my opinion, anyway.But if one were to go back and read my original post and subsequent comments, one would see that I am only decrying the echo chamber so prevalent in mainstream criticism. The fact that 120 Days don’t personally appeal to me is secondary.I hate fake blues, funk and jam bands too, so there.I can only hope the baristas continue to concentrate more on creating art than appealing to the fickle tastes of Hype Lords.But we all probably have more important things to do than arguing about this. Maybe it’s creating compelling music and releasing it on CD-R.
i make plinky plonk on my laptop.its fun. i should take some of my cds over to pure pop.good idea.
“somebody has to call bullshit every once and a while”Thank god the common man has you to put a reality check on all of these press releases each of us gets every day. It’s once in a while, by the way.The 99% of music journalists who seem to be fine with mediocrity put some kind of spin on their writing. Some of them are influenced by publicists to say that merely decent stuff is great. And some say that every piece of crap recorded in a bedroom by someone they might run into the next day is a masterwork. I find the latter more offensive as a reader, especially when said scribe inexplicably starts slagging the decent but “overhyped” bands as if they’ve just discovered that there’s no Easter Bunny. But hey, maybe that’s just me.
Thanks for catching my poor grammar. I’m not accustomed used to proofing my posts at 12 a.m. with a belly full of wine. Need a job?Oh wait — that was Murph’s mistake. Shame on you, man!”And some say that every piece of crap recorded in a bedroom by someone they might run into the next day is a masterwork.”I like pristinely recorded albums. And I try to avoid most everybody. So neither statement applies to me. (I don’t think, anyway).Sure, it’s obvious to point out that bands are over-hyped. But that doesn’t mean I’m gonna stop doing it. Political bloggers write about how our leadership is overrun by corporate stooges with no concern for civil liberties.That’s pretty obvious too. I’m glad someone bothers to point it out, though.I think the real issue here is that you have a different aesthetic, Donna. That’s perfectly OK with me. At the end of the day, people will make up their own minds about what they like to listen to. Might as well check out as many records as you can. Maybe you’d actually like some of these “bedroom recordings.” But I’m curious about one thing — you said “all of these press releases each of us gets every day.” Who are you working for, scribe?Anyway, thanks for the comments — particularly about usage. Have a happy Thanksgiving.
I am happy to see that our band 120Days has caused such a vibrant conversation in your community. I am thankful to Donna and others who are supporting good musical efforts by bands such as ours. We too have made bedroom laptop music in Norway and are now enjoying the success of your fruits. We wish that critics like Mr. Rea would not judge us by the publicist we have chosen but by the quality of the music we made. 120 Days is a band with a vision that is very strong and bright. Won’t you please come to the next performance near your home and make judgements? The important things are that we are speaking openly about music in todays world. Thank you for your supportKjetl,120 Days
Well said, Kjetl.Thank you for your comments. I hope to get the chance to hear your band live. Then I’ll “make judgements.” Oh, and sorry I called you “little boys.” You’re certainly old enough to drink, right?
“Sure, it’s obvious to point out that bands are over-hyped. But that doesn’t mean I’m gonna stop doing it.”Ignoring for a moment the mind-boggling analogy between a publicist that’s hyping a band and Halliburton et.al. who are destroying our country – pointing out that a band is over-hyped is a safe, but uninteresting, way to fill column inches. Saying that a band is “not to be liked” because they’re over-hyped is just wrong.”you said ‘all of these press releases each of us gets every day.'”Yeah, and I said that Led Loco are “luminaries.” It’s called sarcasm.
To clear it up: A band is not to be liked ’cause they’re dull. That’s OK. It only reaches a level of annoyance when you see them in dozens of media outlets being touted as the saviors of rock, or what-have-you. Then there’s the barrage of PR requests touting the same line.Also, I don’t consider this blog to be “column inches.” It’s more of a clearinghouse for my personal ruminations on music. But I think I’ve got a pretty good grasp on sarcasm, thanks.We’ve all made our points, I’d say. Complaining about the music industry isn’t as productive as volunteering at a soup kitchen. But it’s surely more fun.Donna, if you’d like to try your hand at writing music reviews, feel free to send some samples to: casey@sevendaysvt.com.
“Donna, if you’d like to try your hand at writing music reviews”No offense, but writing for a free paper whose readership barely cracks five figures would feel a bit like talking to myself. Not sure I’d exactly fit in at a paper that calls this “world-class electro-rock,” anyway.
OK, then! No offense taken. Happy holiday.PS: Readership is 70,000. If that’s talking to yourself, then you must hear a lot of voices in your head.
By “readership” I meant “people who read the music reviews.” “If that’s talking to yourself”To clarify: compared to everyone I’ve written for in the past. Glad you’re happy with it, though.
Holy crap Donna you’re awesome! Can i be your friend?you wanted the 3 bands?Greg DavisThe Cush Ryan Poweroh yeah and *cough* Nest Material, or pink bacon, or gay rabies.
Wow again. I liked this thread before but now I love it.Donna, the general consensus of the bloggers I’ve spoken to about this is that the best publicists don’t send out mass emails. The best ones actually read a blog and decide which bands they are promoting match the bands that the blogger is talking about. Unfortunately, there are about two of those publicisits in the world. The vast majority create a massive distribution list and fire out platitudes and links about Gwen Stefani without thinking for a second why someone who writes about Les Breastfeeders and Kashmere Stage Band would give two shits that Gwen Stefani has a new album out.Regarding your comment about “regular fawning reviews of local dreck”, you should ask Justin Levinson how he feels about that comment.
Tanner, if you’re seriously suggesting that any of those three acts have some sort of connection to krautrock, then no, you cannot be my friend. Or was the common thread “releases that have received glowing 7D reviews that resulted in low two-figure sales”?Murf, publicists are poopyheads, got it. And never said anything to the contrary. If you love the thread so much, you should try reading it. Also, Levinson either lives in Boston or is trying very hard to convince us all that he does. Given that, I would have expected an even worse review.
Donna (aka Ryan Schreiber), as mentioned earlier”Krautrockers sought to challenge preconceived notions of Germanic music, which had taken on some unfavorable associations. They traveled several sonic avenues, from the cold, motorik pulse of Neu! to the limber, pan-global grooves of Can. But some people assert that, with such a variety in sound, there is no real kratrock. This is a valid argument.” So, yes i’d say these bands can lay as much a claim to “kraut rock” as say… 120 Days; more so, if you are basing this comparison on the idea of experimenting or creating something interesting and new. Not simply regurgitating. – Now if we wanted to be specific, we could say Kraut rock involves post ww2 german experimental bands, roughly ’65-’75, and then non of those bands would be relevant either. take your pick. And i’ll have you know, Nest Material easily made 3 figures on CD-R sales… if you count the decimal points. douche.
Wow…this is getting kinda ugly!I would just like to make it known that I can back up Tanner’s claims about Nest Material–I have spent well over thirty dollars on their various LPs and EPs.BTW, I am going to want that money back at some point…
Wow, any band that’s doing something new is krautrock? That is quite an analysis. Guess what, your three bands still don’t qualify.Neither does “nest material” for that matter – shitty noise made by non-musicians was played out years ago, but the pack mule carrying that memo apparently hasn’t made it this far north yet.
I really, really don’t want to get in the middle of this debate, but I thought it would probably be best to clarify that Tanner (or anyone else in this message thread) never referred to the VT bands (including Nest Material) as “krautrock”. I’m not going to speak for Tanner, but I think his statement that he could “think of three burlington bands who are more ‘kraut’ than 120 Days’ was more of a sarcastic remark on how if all it takes to be a “krautrock” band is some analog synths, there are a few bands in Burlington that fit that mold more successfully and innovatively than 120 Days.Like I said, don’t want to get dragged into an argument or speak for Tanner, but it’s just how I interpreted it. But this seems like one of those “let’s-argue-for-arguments-sake-and-see-who-plays-the-devils-advocate-better-and-won’t-break-first” kind of things. So proceed!
donna,im surprised you havent heard of my music yet. where have you been?im all the way up to low-4 figure music sales now.in fact, im so popular, my music is even on the soulseeks now. yahoo!!AFAIK, casey hasnt reviewed any of my discs for 7D yet. although he mentions me almost every week for shows im putting on in town and whatnot. -greg
Wow! We have a bona fide superstar in our midst! Greg, can I borrow your learjet next weekend? I wanna meet Donna at Martha’s Vineyard where we’ll sup on pancreas while debating Norweigan synth-pop.While it’s true I haven’t reviewed any of Greg’s music for 7D, there was that lil’ ol’ profile I did on him last year.And one of those other podunk places I write for (readership, um, jillionz) wants another full piece by mid-January.So think of some interesting shit to tell me, mister chartbuster.
“Neither does “nest material” for that matter – shitty noise made by non-musicians was played out years ago, but the pack mule carrying that memo apparently hasn’t made it this far north yet”word up! tell thoes fucking hippie freaks where they CAN (get it?) go! Maybe if “nest material” would get their shit outta my ear I could possibly hear the “kraut”peacemotherfuckingoutt/l/d
“im surprised you havent heard of my music yet. where have you been?”Not in your friend’s living room when you’re playing there, that would explain it. I did listen to an MP3, there’s a minute of my life I’ll never get back.”You’ve been called one of the founders of electro-acoustic composition, or ‘laptop folk.'”Oh goddamn, that was a funny interview! Maybe I will start reading the 7D music section, instead of just looking at the club listings and chucking the rest of paper like 69,800 of my fellow Vermonters!
way to tell ’em! maybe that guy should just stick to beard growing and leave the music making to the professionals!
Thanks Jay for clarifying what i was trying to say – that pretty much hits the nail on the quotation mark enclosed “head”.
“Thanks Jay for clarifying what i was trying to say”That almost would have worked before you actually named three bands and then embarked on that convoluted attempt to cast them as “krautrock.” As it stands, your failed attempt to defend your buddy has only served to make it clear that you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.
Donna- it seems like you’re raining shit all over the local scene. Is there anything you like about local VT music? I think Casey does a pretty good job of reviewing music in 7D’s- although sometimes I think he is TOO harsh on the local jammyfunksters. Now I understand that you disagree with the original anti 120 days review, and that is your right, but the whole ‘this guys music is laughable, these guys are non-musicians, this guy doesnt know what the hell he’s talking about’ seems kinda pointless. All in all CAN rocks, Ryan Power is my hero, and I’ll probably never listen to 120 Days so who the fuck am I?werd.
“who the fuck am I?”There are people who get $300/hr to answer questions like this for you, and I’m not about to tread on their territory.Trick question about the local scene, because there isn’t one. Unless there is some sort of cameraderie between the endless string of “jammyfunksters” whacking off on Nectars’ stage, hoping that Mike Gordon will swill a pint in the next room so they can tell their friends that Phish are really into them.My thoughts about local acts have been by invitation – except for the one about Led Loco. I’m sorry Led Loco, you’re the best ACDC/Led Zep cover band whose members pretend to be from some strange Aussie/Brit hybrid country targeting drunk students in the Burlington area.
no local scene? why do you read this blog then?
Oh, is that all this blog’s about? Didn’t realize 120 Days were local.
ps. good one!”There are people who get $300/hr to answer questions like this for you, and I’m not about to tread on their territory.”you are
Donna, your not understanding my connotation of what “kraut” (note the bunny ears)is, doesn’t mean i don’t know what I’m talking about, it means you don’t know what you’re reading. Next time I’ll try and use less sarcasm and subtlety.What i was trying to say:”kraut” as defined by casey, and in general = a loose term for experimenting musically, using non-traditional instruments and/or new methods of creativity.I pointed out 3 groups, and lightheartedly included my old band nest material, and a couple new projects of friends. I would never attempt to use NM as a reference for Kraut perfection, either out of modesty or honesty, but mainly because i lack objectivity about the projects I’m involved in.However the three i did mention, greg D, the Cush, and Ryan Power, all share that said quality of experimenting using new and modern technology. And like i said, i feel, that they create a much more interesting and progressive sound than that of 120 days.If i contradicted myself in there, please let me know, but more likely than that you’ve got a mild case of Asperger’s Syndrome and can’t distinguish sarcasm, understatement or complex figures of speech, you retard.
See what my negativity hath wrought? I promise never to write another harsh word about a band and their representatives, Norweigan or otherwise. And I hope that my writing improves to the degree that someone deems it worthy of a wider readership.Or else I’ll have to fall back on releasing CD-Rs!
“‘kraut’ as defined by casey, and in general = a loose term for experimenting musically, using non-traditional instruments and/or new methods of creativity.”See, there’s your problem. That’s just incorrect. There actually is such a thing as “krautrock,” and that’s not it.Even if we accept your reworked definition – which, if you think about it, means that everyone from Jandek to Half Japanese to my three-year-old nephew kicking the cat is playing krautrock – the three acts you named STILL don’t fit. I hear guitars, drums and keyboards, and I’ve been subjected to dickheads running Apple laptops through PA systems for the last ten years.
So the big question then Donna is does 120 Days constitute in your mind the definition of krautrock? I think the whole issue here is that most people don’t believe they do. And if music journalists and music reps are going to pass off any band that uses analogue synths as “krautrock”, then they are responsible for us being at the point that ANY kind of experimental music being classified as “krautrock”.I don’t think Tanner would have ever referred to Nest Material as “krautrock” before this thread. It’s just that the ludicrousness of placing a band like 120 Days in such a genre made it necessary for him to point out that any band could then be labeled as such.That’s enough on this. You obviously are either completely lost on concepts such as sarcasm and facetiousness (which I doubt) or you’re just bitter, misanthropic & looking for a fight (which I think is the case). So if you think you’re right…start your own blog. They’re free and almost as easy to do as posting combative nonsense in the comments field of the blogs of others.
“And if music journalists and music reps are going to pass off any band that uses analogue synths as ‘krautrock’, then they are responsible for us being at the point that ANY kind of experimental music being classified as ‘krautrock’.”What in the name of God are you talking about? First publicists are completely full of shit, now they’re the sole arbiters of what music with certain attributes can or can’t be labeled? And because you incorrectly believe that these supreme beings call any band that uses analog synths “krautrock,” then that gives you the right to apply the term to ANY experimental music? How in the world does one thing equal the other? Tell you what, why don’t you wait until tomorrow and try again before you take your first bong hit of the day.
BTW, to answer the one question that floated out the haze of your comment, I do hear some pretty clear krautrock influence in there and am baffled that anyone would say that they don’t. But I have to take Casey at his word that they’re being touted thusly, because neither of the blog posts that he linked to used that word once. Nor does their new record’s writeup on Vice’s page. Nor does the official bio, or anything else, on their myspace page (which is apparently their only “official” website.)I did think Casey’s Strokes analogy was the one clever thing in his post until I realized that Stereogum came up with it first – twice.
I think the feeling is pretty universal that if anyone is smoking anything around here, it’s probably you Donna; you’ve managed to misinterpret nearly everything written here, including my own words. How you managed to mentally mangle my critique of music industy demagogues as considering them “the sole arbiters” of what music is I’ll never figure out. Whereas your diatribes have been muddy (at best) I think my statement was not only quite lucid, but incredibly simple and difficult to misinterpret. But, not surprisingly, you have found a way.My recommendation remains. Start your own website or get back to writing for whatever mystery music magazine with 100,000+ readership had the lack of foresight to hire you to write for. Because obviously nobody gives a krautrock about what you have to “say” around here.
Since you didn’t take my advice about waiting until the noggin de-fogged, I’ll help you out:”And if music journalists and music reps are going to pass off any band that uses analogue synths as ‘krautrock’, then they are responsible for us being at the point that ANY kind of experimental music being classified as ‘krautrock’.”This is like saying that any fruit can be called an apple because a journalist called an orange an apple. Not only is the statement broken logically – and not in any way relevant to the topic at hand, since no one but your buddy has said anything like “any band that uses analog synths is krautrock” – but it assigns an overriding power to the opinion of the journalist. It was an indefensibly ridiculous statement, but you are free to simply say that you were stoned when you wrote it, and I’m sure pretty much everyone else reading this blog will sympathize with you.And I’m sure that dedicating an entire website to responding to a semi-professional music writer and a few sad local performance artists who desperately need his approval sounds like a perfectly legitimate idea to you, but trust me when I tell you that you’ll have better ways to spend your time after your painful transition to adulthood.
Sad.
As far as I know, Casey makes his living writing about music, for 7D’s and others. So calling him a ‘semi-professional music writer’ is false and stupid and just shows that you are bitter. Also, some of these ‘sad local performance artists’ are among the happiest, most interesting, talented people I know. Can anything positive come out of your mouth, Donna? Or is your foot so far up it you’re constantly chocking? That might account for your negativism. But its late, and I just saw some great local music at Metronome so I’ll shut up now.
I don’t actually read Sterogum, despite the link. My info comes from press releases, as should be evident! Although you might not be able to comprehend this, the Strokes comment was all my own. But it’s a big interweb, and I guess someone else felt similarly. Wow! Imagine if several critics, working completely independently, noticed that Interpol sounded a bit like like Joy Division?By the way, I make 100% of my money from writing. It’s a great income. I pull in extra scratch by recording. And not for CD-R!So what do you consider professional?I like music. Donna, what do you like? Oh, and I’ve noticed that, while your posts refer to some kind of CV, you’ve not yet revealed your vaulted (and supposedly enviable) employment history.Nor have you illuminated what types of sounds you actually enjoy. Regarless of my infrequent bitching about ludicrous press releases, I regularly share such small pleasures with my admittedly small readership.I don’t think that someone whose main form of recreation seems to be taunting a group of strangers for their supposed provinciality is in any position to offer advice on “growing up.”You’d likely counter that I shouldn’t call a group of sallow-cheekboned Europeans “little boys.” Could be, could be.But so far, you make me look like a fuckin’ bodhisattva. And Hemmingway.
“Although you might not be able to comprehend this”Oh, I can comprehend it. I just don’t believe it – 120 Days don’t actually sound anything like the Strokes, even Stereogum had to explain the comparison. But I understand that you have no choice but to deny it, your employers are probably reading this.”It’s a great income.”I’m sure that a writer who can’t spell Hemingway’s name is just raking it in. That would explain the palatial manse you’re kicking it in. Good for you!While the devolvement into whining is a bit unsettling to watch, I’m pleased to see that you’ve all abandoned the original premise of the post. Next time, a quick “yeah, I don’t know what I was thinking” might be more expedient and less embarassing. Toodles!
Ok, I’ll take it under advisement. Thanks!
Wow…this is good and long. Im going to have to head home grab a beer and pull up a chair!
Yeah, get comfy… And feel free to throw down!
I’m still wishing I had trusted my instincts and not have touched this one with a ten-foot pole; it’s like having a fist fight with your shadow. Your arrogant, mildly retarded shadow…
“I’m still wishing I had trusted my instincts and not have touched this one”I’m sure you have did done wish that, master grammarian. And you needn’t cast such aspersions on your shadow, it can’t help who’s throwing it off.
LOL; still can’t let go, can you Donna? It’s like a human version of one of those blow-up clowns; no matter how much you knock it down, it still keeps bopping up, looking as foolish as ever.
Your analogy isn’t bad, you just seem to have forgotten who did the popping up after two days, and unprovoked I might add. Sure does look like someone can’t let go.I guess we just have different ideas of what constitutes looking foolish. Making half-hearted attempts at an argument, quickly backing away, then later calling the other party “retarded” when you hope they’ve stopped reading would meet my criteria. You’re welcome to take another crack at defending your bizarre statement if you like – I thought the “grunt and slink off” approach suited you, but it’s a free country.
I personally like to check in to see if there’s been any new demonstrations of linguistic ju-jitsu. But I don’t want people to feel like they can’t argue a point without getting into a fight. Particularly when there’s a semi-anonymous party involved — it just ain’t fair.So, for the sake of keeping all reader/posters feeling warm ‘n’ fuzzy, I respectfully suggest that we all just drop it. Or I will be forced to establish some restrictions.Man, I feel like someone’s dad at a rowdy sleepover.
Agreed. This has gotten childish and stupid, and it’s not fair to pollute Casey’s blog with such nonsense. I will not be posting further to this thread.
No Way, lets shoot for 100, then i’ll print it all and compile the hardcopy and hand it out as stocking stuffers. I’ll get Cathy R. to conduct interviews with all involved parties and we’ll devolope it into one act directed by Seth Jarvis. Hey Donna you ugly bucktooth hillbilly stain – you’re retarded, and… and, uh.. a shadow – i give up.
hi there,im playing a show in Donna’s living room on december 12th.ill have my apple laptop computer and plug it into her PA system so i can make some electronic plinky plonk sounds.i might have some new CDr’s for sale of my album that i just made yesterday. i cant wait for this show. its my biggest gig ever! ive made the big time!
Speaking of childish and stupid: Casey, you should have a limerick contest about this thread.There once was a genius called Donna.Don’t know her real name and don’t wanna.Her attitude sucked,her perspective was fucked,krautrock shadow clown Norway bong retarded publicist.