It might make me unpopular, but… the cigarette company was right, and the government overreacted to Rolling Stone‘s Camel-sponsored “Indie Rock Universe” article. Back in 2007, a large feature ran as a gatefold (one of those special flip-out sections that wraps out of a magazine) with Camel ads on the outside and (strangely grouped) lists of indie-rock bands on the inside. The actual music-related content was generated by the RS staff (you can see some scans here) while the front and back ads were created by the cigarette company.
As a result of the article, several states sued the magazine, bands went into an uproar over their implied endorsement, and the cigarette company has now been found liable for fines because the ads were placed next to the illustrated feature (it was argued the piece constituted a breach of their agreement not to advertise using cartoons). After the jump, why Camel and Rolling Stone are right and everyone else is wrong.
After picking the brain of Questionable Content kingpin Jeph Jacques for well over an hour, we’d plotted the history of his groundbreaking webcomic, rationalized away the dated, overbearing aspects of DIY, and developed a revolutionary new model for independent music. The only thing we forgot to talk about was that one little thing: the comic itself.
After the jump, the Beard takes his place alongside fellow QC obsessives, hitting Jacques up for insider info on Dora’s new hair cut, Hannelore’s impending killing spree, the increasing absence of Pintsize, the likelihood of a surprise Marten/Faye bootie call, and the secret identity of Pizza Girl.
Founded in 2003 as an outlet for artist Jeph Jacques’ esoteric indie-rock rantage, Questionable Content has since blossomed into one of the most popular webcomics ever written. Originally couched in insider references, the strip now prizes inclusiveness over obscurity, unfolding the quirky, soap opera-like lives of a group of twenty-somethings in Northampton, Mass. [For a in-depth discussion of past and future plot points, check out part two of our interview, here.]
While many comics have done well on the web, Jacques is arguably the pride of the pack, especially is in his approach to making money. Through a combination of T-shirt sales and banner advertisements, he’s discovered the holy grail in the post-print age: a creative-industry business model that actually works for the web. After the jump, resident audio adventurer The Beard chats with Jacques about the role of rock in his work, the strip’s evolution as a viable business, and the way in which his model could pretty literally save music.
It might make me unpopular, but I think… anyone who can’t almost immediately identify Galaxie 500′sOn Fire album is somewhat suspect.
Before anyone unfamiliar with the record gets all up in arms, let’s step back a bit. I’m not saying you aren’t an upstanding individual; my contention is simply that, without any other evidence, you can’t be completely trusted. I understand that’s a bit obtuse, so perhaps a bit of anecdotal evidence is in order. After the jump, a true tale of sketchy head-shots, Hungarian dance troupes, secret ninjas, Home Alone 2 hats, and how I used On Fire to keep myself from getting stabbed by a new roommate.
It might make me unpopular, but I think… the Rolling Stones are completely, utterly overrated.
Working class heroes? Ha! More like slumming, middle-class poseurs. I’m not saying they don’t have a few good songs, but second best band of all time behind the Beatles? (A distinction that puts them ahead of the Beach Boys, Simon and Garfunkel, the Doors, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, the Who, the Turtles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and a dozen others with just as many hits.) Please. Not even close.
After the jump, ten unassailable reasons why the Rolling Stones are actually pretty awful.
The Village Voice’s annual Pazz + Jop poll is the end-all-be-all of year-end record lists. The ultimate in nerdy music romps, the alt-weekly’s annual cover story elicits the input of hundreds upon hundreds of professional music writers (including your beloved Beard) in an attempt to definitively capture the year’s critical darlings. Each participant is given a certain number of points to doll out to their “favorite” albums, and the resulting tabulations represent a closer consensus than pretty much anything else out there.
Of course, in any competition (especially when fueled by legions of cred-adorned music maniacs), there’s more at work than meets the eye. After the jump, our resident whiskerly warrior, goes at it with Voice Music Editor Rob Harvilla — who we’re told was indispensably aided by Zach Baron, Rob Trucks, and Jesus Diaz — on the decision to crown TV on the Radio king, whether style trumps substance, and how some critics try to rig the results.
Wherein heartless Flavorwire-music automaton the Beard tests album predictions based solely on artwork.
Released last August, but only now making its way out of our promo pile, Zappa collaborator George Duke’s Dukey Treats, appears, at first glance, to be a scatology-obsessed reimagination of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Book covers are one thing, but can we accurately judge this album by its artwork? After the jump, we listen to the actual album in an attempt to give Dukey Treats its doo…
It might make me unpopular but… containing year-end lists to 2008 is idiotic.
By their very nature, year-end lists can only encompass a small pocket of what’s actually on your iPod. Sure, 2008 was a great year (for indie rock especially), but at the end of the day there’s more to audio exploration than breaking new bands. Any crate-digger worth his whiskers will tell you that there’s just as much to be discovered from the past as the present. As such, many of the best records I found in the last 12 months were old, lesser-known works, long ignored, or only recently unearthed.
Thus, in a bid to push the year-end list to its absolute limit, Flavorwire presents The Beard’s Top Eight Records That Weren’t From 2008.
Whisker-twisting reviews and essential MP3s after the jump.
It might make me unpopular but… I think year-end lists are basically BS.
As new media expands, offering every snot-nosed blogger and Facebook fiend the chance to weigh in with an opinion, you’d expect year-end album lists to become a bit more all-inclusive. But, in indie rock especially, what’s emerged is a new consensus machine driven by the very mechanisms that could drive dissent.
No matter which way a writer goes, it’s inevitable that a host of Beardly wonders will fall through the cracks. So, rather than add another inane list to the pile, what say we look at (and listen to) some amazing rock records that you won’t see on anyone’s year-end lists? Thus it is that Flavorwire proudly unveils The Top Ten List That Never Was (And Never Will Be).
Whisker-twisting reviews and essential MP3s after the jump.
