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Pop Quiz: Amazon or Christgau?

By Tom Hawking on

Yesterday we ran a series of hilariously negative reviews of classic albums, and noted at the time that we could have cited several more from the inimitable Robert Christgau, a man who’s never been shy about putting his most controversial foot forward when it comes to music. Christgau’s hairy-chested prose, idiosyncratic tastes, and habit of reviewing himself rather than the album in question have often perplexed us, as has his Dean of American Rock Critics™ schtick. In view of this, after the jump, we’ve set out a selection of mystifying reviews — both good and bad — of notable records, and we’re asking you: which quote comes from an Amazon commenter, and which was penned by the man himself? The results, which you can find at the end of the post, may or may not surprise you. … Read More

Music

A Brief History of Controversy-Courting Band Names

By Tom Hawking on

Tomorrow marks the release of Strapped, the new album by Californian noiseniks The Soft Pack. (You can stream the record at Spin right now, if you’re so inclined.) For those not familiar with the band’s history, they used to be known as The Muslims, a name that caused them all sorts of predictable problems and was eventually ditched in favor of their current moniker circa 2009. So, to celebrate The Soft Pack’s new record, we thought we’d look at some of music’s other great controversy-courting band names. Warning: naughty words abound. … Read More

Music

10 More Memorable Fictional Characters in Music

By Tom Hawking on

A couple of months back, our erudite music editor Judy Berman put together a list of her most memorable fictional characters from songs. The feature inspired plenty of talk, both among commenters and at Flavorpill HQ, and we’ve been meaning to do a follow-up ever since. Now, with all our end-of-year list making and beginning-of-year predicting over and done with, we’ve finally got around to revisiting the idea — so, after the jump, we’ve pulled together 10 more of our favorite fictional characters from songs. As ever, suggestions are welcome! … Read More

Books

A ‘Zeroville’-Inspired Protopunk Mix

By Kathleen Massara on

Recently, word got out that James Franco is planning to adapt Steve Erickson’s 2007 novel, Zeroville, into a film. In Zeroville, Vikar, the protagonist, hears punk for the very first time and becomes a man obsessed. At this point, he’s recognized as a difficult but talented film editor, so he moves from his home in LA to New York to work on a new movie. While there, Vikar becomes a regular terror in the mosh pit at CBGB, and back in LA, he heads to Whisky A Go-Go. … Read More

Music

Mixtape Primer: Dark Synthpop Sounds Past and Present

By Tom Hawking on

If you head over to Matador Records’ website, you’ll find the new Cold Cave album streaming in its entirety. It’s been on high rotation here at Flavorwire, and we’re particularly loving the strong influence it draws from the darker/harsher end of the 1980s synthpop spectrum – darkwave, coldwave, and other genres with names that sound like they were made up by Hipster Runoff but really, truly, actually do exist. These sounds have been creeping back into music over the last couple of years, coinciding with a resurgence in interest in the original genres. Synthpop got a bad name during the late 1980s, but when it began, it was a hugely exciting genre, taking the DIY philosophy of punk and applying it to newly affordable electronic equipment to create dark, raw electronic sounds. Here’s a C60 of some fine examples of this sound, with the old on Side A and the new on Side B. … Read More

Celebrity

59 Things You Didn’t Know About Virginia Woolf

By Paul Hiebert on

Virginia Woolf — most know the name, but few know the obscure biographical facts behind the name. Today, for example, is the day of her birth. To celebrate the 59 years that Woolf spent observing and writing about our world, we bring you 59 tidbits about her life. So, go ahead! Get better acquainted with one of the 20th century’s most important authors after the jump. … Read More

Fashion

Fashion’s Latest Advertising Trend: Suicide

By Paul Hiebert on

Controversy and the fashion industry go together like a pair of stilettos with matching clutch. So when the South Korean fashion label, Lewitt, released a 3:34-minute commercial directed by Ryan McGinley wherein the protagonist runs through empty alleyways and abandoned buildings only to jump off a building multiple times — in multiple outfits, of course — to her apparent death, should we be shocked? It’s important to note that South Korea has one of the highest rates of female suicide in the developed world, with nearly 19 out of every 100,000 women killing themselves in 2008. South Korea’s own rising fashion model, Daul Kim, hung herself at the age of 20 last November. Perhaps this data is preciously why Lewitt made the commercial they did: they know scandal requires context, and scandal sells. … Read More

Earplug

Five Bands from this Decade and Their ’80s Counterparts

By Matt McGovern on

Arrested Development (the TV show) had one of its best lines in mid-2004, when perennial alcoholic Lindsay Fünke made this offhand remark about fashion: “It’s the 21st century. We should be dressing like the ’80s.” It was ironic at the time, but now, at the tail end of 2009, after surviving an age that resurrected high-waisted jeans, we’ve come to realize she was dead right. Fashion wasn’t the only thing the first decade of the 21st century lifted wholesale from the ’80s.

Presented here are five blatant examples of bands who have begged, borrowed, or stolen from their ’80s predecessors. In the comments, let us know what ’90s sounds will see a revival in the next decade. We’re putting our money on grunge and Limp Bizkit-style nu metal. … Read More