Is Everybody Who Edits the Village Voice Really This Stupid?

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although it's almost worth it for the bad joke on your previous thread, what's the deal with calling Drag City "rock-hating" in your Suntanama preview, Chuck? It's almost too bizarre to even respond to, but I'm more puzzled by it than irritated. I mean, do you really think D.C. employees don't sit around the office listening to rock records all day long? And if you're gonna take potshots in print at people based on your skewed perception (unlike your thread about Pitchfork, which was based on the nonsense they actually write), how is what you write any better than Pitchfork?

(I know it's better, most of the time, but things like this make me think that cluelessness is just a matter of degrees.)

hstencil, Tuesday, 5 August 2003 06:11 (twenty-one years ago)

cluelessness is just a matter of degrees

Isn't it?

Kenan Hebert (kenan), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 06:13 (twenty-one years ago)

if the Trux aren't rock i don't know what is

electric sound of jim (electricsound), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 06:14 (twenty-one years ago)

mostly, yeah.

Anyway, can someone tell me which "dance" record labels are "dance-hating?" I'd like to know.

hstencil, Tuesday, 5 August 2003 06:14 (twenty-one years ago)

duh, warp

nnnh oh oh nnnh nnnh oh (James Blount), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 07:34 (twenty-one years ago)

Astralwerks, possibly. Blount OTM.

Captain Typo (kenan), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 07:36 (twenty-one years ago)

I was THISCLOSE to writing "Warp" before fucking off away from the computer for awhile, I swear to you

M Matos (M Matos), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 08:10 (twenty-one years ago)

almost every drag city record i have involve guitar, and most of them id file under a rock label, although some are more acoustic folky. and all of them are a little odd, mostly in a good way. so yes, chuck, what are you talking about?

Bob Shaw (Bob Shaw), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 08:23 (twenty-one years ago)

maybe that few of them actually rock?

M Matos (M Matos), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 08:29 (twenty-one years ago)

im afraid nothing rocks like "I Am Star Wars!"

Bob Shaw (Bob Shaw), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 08:34 (twenty-one years ago)

I have no idea whether much of it rocks, per se; I'm just trying to anticipate the response

M Matos (M Matos), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 08:36 (twenty-one years ago)

matos otm.

dc in most cases (rtx being one of the exceptions) does not even come close to rocking.

as for Suntanama, more like a burnt out hippy nodding off in his rocking chair with a copy of High Times open on his lap.

also note, however, that because something doesnt rock doesnt mean it isnt good.

still, it's been a long time since dc has really released anything extraordinary. it's roster is now going from grey to white.

jason without the argonauts, Tuesday, 5 August 2003 08:36 (twenty-one years ago)

rocking chairs rock

unknown or illegal user (doorag), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 08:37 (twenty-one years ago)

by definition

unknown or illegal user (doorag), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 08:38 (twenty-one years ago)

exactly.

jack cole (jackcole), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 08:38 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah i do kinda get the feeling that drag city does kinda rely these days on oldham/smog to make them cash and win critical love, and they usually do, i liked both their albums this year a lot. i really like drag city's mick turner releases too. but the more, how should i put this, "neil michael hagerty" sounding side of the label doesnt do much for me these days. but the oldham/smog side of things still gets much love from me

Bob Shaw (Bob Shaw), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 08:45 (twenty-one years ago)

all that said drag city are still a pretty damn fine indie label, and i dont really feel i have the right to criticize them, because i own a fair few drag city records, and a number of them are real favorites

Bob Shaw (Bob Shaw), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 09:12 (twenty-one years ago)

I LOVE this thread to bits.

good on ya h.

Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 09:20 (twenty-one years ago)

*bites tongue*

Ronan (Ronan), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 13:07 (twenty-one years ago)

Um, context? It would be too easy to take any custom adjective in a record review and consider it puzzling and irritating if taken at face value, I imagine. Would you mind providing the actual review, h?

donut bitch (donut), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 13:26 (twenty-one years ago)

who cares abt context. there should be more attacks on the village voice just for the sake of it.

Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 13:29 (twenty-one years ago)

I forget the thread it was in, but Chuck and I had a good-humored exchange wherein I noted that both Chuck and Drag City must clearly enjoy AC/DC and he responded with a laugh that he liked them the 'right' way, ie as a dance band. So context, again, is all -- it sounds like he just thinks they hate fun (ho ho).

Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 13:35 (twenty-one years ago)

what i mean is.. "rock hating" may not have been intended as a direct slight on the employees of Drag City, but meant more as a comment on the musical output of the roster. This does not mean the term's use was more valid even in context, of course. But I'm just saying the colloquialisms thereof in any music review can be far removed.. which is why i kinda wanted to check out the review before i make any judgements.

donut bitch (donut), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 13:36 (twenty-one years ago)

i think this thread is a sleeper. it's just getting up a head of steam. i can feel it.

scott seward, Tuesday, 5 August 2003 13:37 (twenty-one years ago)

maybe it will culminate in another xgau sighting

Vic (Vic), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 13:40 (twenty-one years ago)

i'm guessing that aside from the david grubbs and palace stuff that chuck has no interest in, the "rock" stuff that drag city puts out has great big quotes around it. as in: The Fucking Champs really "rock".same with royal trux and shellac. wait, they don't put out shellac. chuck doesn't like shellac though i don't think. oh, hell, what do i know.

scott seward, Tuesday, 5 August 2003 13:42 (twenty-one years ago)

Chuck's point is valid, and it's important to shine a light on the labels that have killed rock. Whilst Creed and Sugar Ray sadly toil in semi-obscurity, Will Oldham and Edith Frost are hugely popular. And the finger should be pointed right at Drag City.

I await his missive re: the hip-hop hating sissies over at Bloodshot.

ham on rye (ham on rye), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 15:54 (twenty-one years ago)

The obvious question here to the utter nullification of all others is of course - "is RTX rock?". Elaborate pls

dave q, Tuesday, 5 August 2003 15:59 (twenty-one years ago)

i have never heard an rtx record which convincingly "rocked", but that's not a mark in their minus column, for me.

strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 16:00 (twenty-one years ago)

You don't think Accelerator rocks?

Mark (MarkR), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 16:02 (twenty-one years ago)

it's certainly not the first word i would reach for!

strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 16:03 (twenty-one years ago)

ha, i mean, it's not like ABC roxx either, but i love them all the same

very little has convincingly "rocked" since the late 70s, and i'm not sure why that's a bad thing necessarily, anymore than lamenting the fact that nothing "swings with the beat of new orleans" anymore.

strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 16:04 (twenty-one years ago)

times change people! forward! hup hup hup! 1-2-3-4!

strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 16:05 (twenty-one years ago)

very little has convincingly "rocked" since the late 70s, and i'm not sure why that's a bad thing necessarily, anymore than lamenting the fact that nothing "swings with the beat of new orleans" anymore.

by this i mean that "rocking" is rarely the primary concern of music which supposedly "rocks" these days. or, even if it ostensibly is, it's way too tangled with other concerns to matter much.

strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 16:06 (twenty-one years ago)

All right we need to back up and work thru some definitions here -- Accelerator rocks me with one steady roll.

Mark (MarkR), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 16:07 (twenty-one years ago)

amateurist to thread!

strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 16:07 (twenty-one years ago)

the idea that words retain fixed meanings - not just over time, but between people - is one of the hardest things about talking about music.

strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 16:08 (twenty-one years ago)

by this i mean that "rocking" is rarely the primary concern of music which supposedly "rocks" these days. or, even if it ostensibly is, it's way too tangled with other concerns to matter much.

I blame Billy Joel, the man who pioneered the art of signifying that pretending to rock out is just as good as rocking out.

Well, him and the entire pretense of "art". haha

donut bitch (donut), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 16:43 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah, but even a lot of art-rockers know how to rock. the fall are a good example.you can be arty and weird and ironic and still get people moving.

scott seward, Tuesday, 5 August 2003 16:47 (twenty-one years ago)

but those bands who seem to be saying,"now here is our song that sort of sounds like metal/country/whatever", they hardly ever rock.

scott seward, Tuesday, 5 August 2003 16:50 (twenty-one years ago)

Sweet Sixteen actually rocks pretty hard. In a Paice/Glover, Butler/Ward sense. But I'd agree that's pretty much the only one.

Mr. Diamond (diamond), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 16:56 (twenty-one years ago)

"rock" is the new "fun"

amateurist (amateurist), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 17:01 (twenty-one years ago)

and "smog" is a verb. an action verb. "to smog."

amateurist (amateurist), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 17:02 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, I already answered this on another thread. Royal Trux certainly never rocked ME, not even when they improved on their boring lo-fi muddle-music bullshit by sounding like Black Crowes I mean Blind Melon I mean Kings of Leon. And Fucking Champs are a dumb art parody band, no matter how many riffs they steal. And otherwise, the music on Drag City has ZILCH to do with rocking. Anyway, here's how the other thread went:

---

a real suprise from the rock-hating piddle-fetishists at Drag City
I don't know what this means, but I can't think of people who "hate rock" LESS than the Drag City folks.

-- Sam J. (xp75hid0...), June 23rd, 2003.


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ac/dc
-- James Blount (littlejohnnyjewe...), June 23rd, 2003.


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Brooks & Dunn have to come out with a single called "All The Good Rock&Roll Drums Are Down In Nashville". alright, that's a shitty title, but it's true. Is that why mutt lange ended up making country-pop?
-- scott seward (skotro...), June 23rd, 2003.


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yeah, ac/dc(who hide all the good drum sounds at their house), and me, and brooks&dunn.we all hate rock less than drag city.
-- scott seward (skotro...), June 23rd, 2003.


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The single is "Red Dirt Road," I think. My favorite songs so far are probably the "Start Me Up"-started-up opener, plus "When We Were Kings," "Memory Town," and "Good Cowboy" (with six or seven more in the running, including Dylan doomsday rap where the Jews fight the junkies, and no, I haven't figured out why they're fighting, or whether it's anti-semetic or junkiphobic for that matter, either. The words are *weird*.) People at In the Red, Sympathy for the Record Industry, Get Hip, Southern Lord, Century Media, and lots of other independent labels hate rock less than people at Drag City. (Man's Ruin is dead, right?) So does Justin Timberlake, probably. Or at least he rocks harder than any record I ever remember hearing on that label. (Though maybe there's stuff I HAVEN'T heard. Maybe I'm WRONG!)
-- chuck (cedd...), June 23rd, 2003

chuck, Tuesday, 5 August 2003 17:03 (twenty-one years ago)

Um, the new Neil Michael Hagerty rocks in places (esp. the live version of "Rockslide" even has the word ROCK in there). Smog occasionally rocks, esp. on Knock Knock, "Cold Blooded Old Times."
Even Oldham has occasionally rocked, like Viva Last Blues's "Work Hard/Play Hard."
A reckless comment to be sure.

Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 17:04 (twenty-one years ago)

Or is he smogging us on?

amateurist (amateurist), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 17:05 (twenty-one years ago)

to claim that Drag City "hates" rock is the problem with this thread.

they're probably as concerned with rocking as they are being wholesome.

drag city is indifferent towards rocking is perhaps more valid.

gygax! (gygax!), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 17:08 (twenty-one years ago)

It's true that Royal Trux does not "rock" in the Justin Timberlake/Brooks & Dunn sense of the word.

Mark (MarkR), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 17:12 (twenty-one years ago)

actually, Horace, I think Chuck's reckless comment had something to do with Eddie Cochran and Nik Cohn's Rock From the Beginning (which I've still never tracked down, darnit).

Mr. Diamond (diamond), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 17:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Weird War rocked!

dave q, Tuesday, 5 August 2003 17:13 (twenty-one years ago)

So how much of this crap winds up in the actual newspaper? And how many pages is the music section these days? (I haven't seen an actual issue in forever, not that I want to.)

xhuxk, Thursday, 18 October 2012 17:13 (twelve years ago)

music features take up two pages, the rest is on the web

maura, Thursday, 18 October 2012 19:47 (twelve years ago)

Thanx Bulger!

Raymond Cummings, Friday, 19 October 2012 00:57 (twelve years ago)

I didn't even know someone as stupid as Brian had the capacity to get his feelings hurt -- I assumed he just stared off into space all day drooling and jerking off:

Brian McManus ‏@mcguilloteen
The ilx circle jerk up boring mountain trudges forever onward.

Sug ban (Nicole), Saturday, 20 October 2012 13:23 (twelve years ago)

*shutters*

The Owls of Ja Rule (DJP), Saturday, 20 October 2012 13:49 (twelve years ago)

Shutters will never not be funny.

Sug ban (Nicole), Saturday, 20 October 2012 13:50 (twelve years ago)

beef shutters

WmC, Saturday, 20 October 2012 13:52 (twelve years ago)

most ppl would think a circle jerk has to be essentially static but this kid flips all scripts

zvookster, Saturday, 20 October 2012 14:11 (twelve years ago)

can't believe no one invited me to the ilx circle jerk ;_;

tylerw, Saturday, 20 October 2012 19:02 (twelve years ago)

jerking off while hiking sounds rather revolutionary, i'm impressed

lil dirk (J0rdan S.), Saturday, 20 October 2012 19:18 (twelve years ago)

Googling turns up all sorts of healthy outdoors activities.

Ned Raggett, Saturday, 20 October 2012 19:31 (twelve years ago)

hah so next level to respond to criticism of yr writing w/a mixed metaphor tweet

--bob marley (lag∞n), Saturday, 20 October 2012 19:57 (twelve years ago)

yes! amazing

Cap'n Hug-a-Thug (The Reverend), Saturday, 20 October 2012 20:24 (twelve years ago)

still hasn't been fixed!

sleeve, Saturday, 20 October 2012 20:28 (twelve years ago)

most ppl would think a circle jerk has to be essentially static but this kid flips all scripts

― zvookster, Saturday, October 20, 2012 10:11 AM (6 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lmao

awful wedded wein (some dude), Saturday, 20 October 2012 20:47 (twelve years ago)

It's the oldest established permanent floating circle jerk in New York

Cap'n Hug-a-Thug (The Reverend), Saturday, 20 October 2012 20:57 (twelve years ago)

"The Oldest Circle Jerk In New York" is one of the best Simon & Garfunkel tunes.

EZ Snappin, Saturday, 20 October 2012 21:04 (twelve years ago)

ha, not sure your got the reference

http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/198848/Guys-and-Dolls-Movie-Clip-The-Oldest-Established.html

Cap'n Hug-a-Thug (The Reverend), Saturday, 20 October 2012 21:22 (twelve years ago)

I got it. Just added another tune to the jerk fest.

EZ Snappin, Saturday, 20 October 2012 21:24 (twelve years ago)

three weeks pass...

:o

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/2012/11/ocean-weekend-miguel-best.php?page=all

my hands tra cer (some dude), Wednesday, 14 November 2012 01:53 (twelve years ago)

Ocean is an "emo soulster"

the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 14 November 2012 01:54 (twelve years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM5U7tAw47o

my hands tra cer (some dude), Wednesday, 14 November 2012 01:56 (twelve years ago)

(This thread is so close to the Neil Young thread, I keep reading it as Everybody Knows This Is Stupid.)

cruel silver of hope (Eazy), Wednesday, 14 November 2012 01:57 (twelve years ago)

Not a gripe, but it'd be cool if people posted the full Voice headline with a link so we know what the troll bait is without having to give them any more page hits.

Come Into My Layer (Old Lunch), Wednesday, 14 November 2012 02:01 (twelve years ago)

Three artists are on the lips and minds and fingertips of critics

TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Wednesday, 14 November 2012 10:14 (twelve years ago)

a chest-thumping façade that's foreign to Ocean, who seldom covers the heart on his sleeve

TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Wednesday, 14 November 2012 10:15 (twelve years ago)

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9ts5d2Q8s1qf7pbs.gif

#YOLO ONO (lex pretend), Wednesday, 14 November 2012 10:16 (twelve years ago)

In a perfect world, these r & b rebels would all get their due from the pale-faced criterati at the end of the year. But let's be real here

TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Wednesday, 14 November 2012 10:16 (twelve years ago)

Other years each would've made a fine token choice.

TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Wednesday, 14 November 2012 10:17 (twelve years ago)

tbh I was surprised this revive wasn't about the jazz article

thraeds of life (The Reverend), Wednesday, 14 November 2012 20:53 (twelve years ago)

lol lex

flopson, Wednesday, 14 November 2012 21:02 (twelve years ago)

lex needs to go in the overuse of the same gif penalty box tbh

bish don't kill my bosch (some dude), Wednesday, 14 November 2012 21:43 (twelve years ago)

tbh I was surprised this revive wasn't about the jazz article

So was I!

It's sad how thoroughly dumb their music section has become. McManus is the editorial equivalent of Guy Fieri.

this will surprise many (Nicole), Wednesday, 14 November 2012 21:46 (twelve years ago)

i put the jazz thing here instead

OK, is this the worst piece of music writing ever?

it was a toss-up...

scott seward, Wednesday, 14 November 2012 21:52 (twelve years ago)

a fine token choice
a fine token choice
a fine token choice
a fine token choice
a fine token choice
a fine token choice
a fine token choice
a fine token choice
a fine token choice
a fine token choice
a fine token choice
a fine token choice
a fine token choice
a fine token choice
a fine token choice

TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Wednesday, 14 November 2012 21:57 (twelve years ago)

haha there's no way i'm actually reading that thing (i thought it was just a joke on twitter at first) but that the fucking VILLAGE VOICE is running a ten jazz albums you should hear before you die listicle (and apparently calling quintet at massey hall super obscure) is as big a sign of the voice's decline and betrayal of its former self i can imagine short of endorsing romney.

balls, Wednesday, 14 November 2012 22:00 (twelve years ago)

romney made a jazz record?

Albert Crampus (NickB), Wednesday, 14 November 2012 22:04 (twelve years ago)

balls you must read it. compared to the writing itself, the concept is like a robert wilson opera.

s.clover, Wednesday, 14 November 2012 22:07 (twelve years ago)

1. Miles Davis
Kind of Blue
I can still remember the first time I heard this album. I was 17, and I was driving my Subaru Legacy Wagon in the rain. I drove the car to my grandparent's house, and put it on. It was only about a five-minute drive, but I ended parked outside of their house, the windshield wipers swatting away rain -- the album blaring. I sat in the driveway until the album ended, and, well, music was never the same for me. It's a composition, released in 1959, that is often considered the definitive jazz album. Honestly, there are some jazz purists who probably would die if they found out our generation was unfamiliar with it. Just listen to who was featured: Coltrane, Bill Evans, Cannonball Adderley, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb. If you're about to go sky diving, and you're not sure if you're going to survive, play this album on the car ride over. Why is it so great? Let's not try to put it into words. It might be something unsayable.

might be

balls, Wednesday, 14 November 2012 22:17 (twelve years ago)

really think this era has to be the nadir, anything dumber is just gonna be sentence fragments, something abstract enough it's occasionally accidentally poetic. this reads like some english teacher assigned the backup left tackle on a jv football team an essay on jazz and he put it off until the bus ride to school the morning it was due. this hack's twitter feed is hilarious btw - lots of musings, posings at being a modern day bukowski, kerouac even occasionally interrupted by "Check out my piece on SNES, nostalgia, and multiplayer games. RT @OCWeekly"Top Five Super Nintendo Multiplayer Games http://ow.ly/fg4xd";

balls, Wednesday, 14 November 2012 22:28 (twelve years ago)

wait, don't get confused. there are now TWO listicles. the one posted yesterday that was subject to mass ridicule and the apologetic almost real one today that was posted as if it were a correction.

massey hall wss on the listicle posted today.

scott seward, Wednesday, 14 November 2012 22:30 (twelve years ago)

yeah i saw that also, good lord

neither as hilariously 'i am in way over my head' bad as this - http://blogs.ocweekly.com/heardmentality/2012/11/10_albums_while_studying.php

balls, Wednesday, 14 November 2012 22:32 (twelve years ago)

Joseph A. Lapin ‏@JosephALapin

I had a zombie portrait made today.

goole, Wednesday, 14 November 2012 22:37 (twelve years ago)

oh that classical link
i can't even

Everybody did shit, art happened! (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 14 November 2012 22:44 (twelve years ago)

I LITERALLY can't even. It would hurt me too much.

multiple decades of jazz (Jon Lewis), Wednesday, 14 November 2012 23:06 (twelve years ago)

That was pretty bad.

Mule, Wednesday, 14 November 2012 23:17 (twelve years ago)

i only skimmed one page of the classical bit, i don't want to live in a world where things like that happen

only Brod can judge me (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 14 November 2012 23:25 (twelve years ago)

Fellow New Yorkers,

We hope that this message reaches you well. The New York City metropolitan area, New Jersey, Long Island and beyond has been hit very hard by Hurricane Sandy. We would like to update you in regards to Hurricane Sandy and The Village Voice.

As many of you know, The Village Voice office is located in the East Village in Manhattan, which remains without power since Monday evening but we were very lucky to have sustained no damage. We are working diligently to resume our normal day-to-day operations and functions with our staff, readers, clients, and partners.

Please note, this week's issue is in the process of being circulated, our website continues to be updated with news, and our client and partner campaigns are unaffected. If you have any specific questions, please reach out to your sales rep directly or email ret✧✧✧@villagevo✧✧✧.c✧✧. We stand as your partner and are ready to assist you in any way that we can during this time.

Thank you for understanding. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Our best wishes to all of you who have been, and continue to be, affected by this storm.

Just received this.

how's life, Friday, 16 November 2012 15:40 (twelve years ago)

one year passes...

http://gawker.com/village-voice-staffers-sick-of-low-wages-and-bad-coffee-1598032905

everybody loves lana del raymond (s.clover), Monday, 30 June 2014 18:33 (ten years ago)

Granted they kind of brought it on themselves by putting it in their list of demands, but I really hope this doesn't get attention only for the "lol employees want good coffee" angle.

Bus Sex Teen Busted After Queef Beef (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Monday, 30 June 2014 20:06 (ten years ago)


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