The other day, I was talking to the new guy on the block. We were watching our kids and flipping through back issues of Spin and Rolling Stone (back issues from 1987 through 1991: Ma is resigning her post as custodian of the crap I have been storing in her attic for 20 years).
Chuckling over a review, Peter (who had a head of hair like A Flock of Seagulls when he was in college or I am a bald nun) said, "Remember Hugo Largo?" I remember Hugo Largo - I worked at the college radio station and lived for music and I remember Orange Juice and the Woodentops and Scraping Foetus and a million other totally obscure bands (all whom are inexplicably touring again, including Pylon and Shriekback).
Gang Green, touring again
But when he asked if I had heard Sufjan Stevens, I had to mumble that wasn't he the guy who did a record about Indiana? Woeful. What passes for new music in my house is a dribble of South African hip-hop and Indian techno. I don't know nothin about these new bands.
So tonight I spent my evening trawling iTunes, Pitchfork, and a few unnamed music blogs (ok, Jane magazine and Idolator) listening to what people like me are supposed to like.
And goddamn - I don't like it! I know that makes me old, but I am not sorry. Most of the hip stuff - Rilo Kiley, Feist, Badly Drawn Boy, the Bon Savants, the Hold Steady, the Decemberists, the Annuals - these people are all too fucking pretty sounding for me. What, are all you kids smokin DOPE? Doesn't anybody RAWK anymore? They do have nice web sites though.
I mean, I'm not stupid, there's some new stuff I like. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, yeah I'll jump on that bandwagon. Scissor Sisters I like. Goldfrapp. Bonobo. Asobi Seksu. Tilly and the Wall. TV on the Radio, so I got that from Zach Braff's playlist, it's not like I'm downloading Jack Johnson for hell's sake, god, do adults really ENJOY that stuff?
Hrmph.
I wonder if you still have the Spin issue where they did a profile of the louvin brothers. Somebody who is now releasing Charles Louvin's record does not believe me that the article said that not only did these guys have a bigoted past but one of the brothers still gave into all sorts of hateful comments even recently. the issue was a few years ago and the article might have been about rock unluckiest bands.
ReplyDeleteI lost track of new music almost completely in the mid '90s. Except what was playing on the Club Charles Jukebox and at the depot. Even back in the 70's Iggy still couldn't scream loud enough to penetrate my curious but row home consciousness here in backwater B'More (county to boot) except through Creem and Rolling Stone articles. He seemed a bit scary plus no airplay at all here.
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