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.
Music opinions are like assholes: up close, they all sort of stink. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a difference between records, people, and events that are only sort of awful, and ones that are actually evil. After the jump, musical cribbage master The Beard separates the wheat from the chaff, explaining why Sant(i/o)gold should have stuck it out, why the media ought to lay off Chris Brown, how the Grammys aren’t just the industry’s golden shower, and what this week has in common with the one where Diana AND Mother Teresa died. It involves Fred Durst.
It might make me unpopular, but… for once, TMZ actually said something intelligent. When it comes to Etta James talking trash, I’m behind Beyoncé.
In case you missed it, soul legend Etta James kicked up (and then retracted) a cross-generational duel of the divas this week, purportedly saying “I can’t stand Beyoncé” on stage. This came after Beyoncé performed James’ biggest hit, “At Last,” as the first dance at a post-inauguration party for President Obama, an offense which James said was “gonna get her whooped.” After the jump, we explore arguments, thumb our nose at the idea of ownership, and explain how the tabloids are sort of on to something.
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.
It might make me unpopular but… I’m willing to stand up for Brian Eno (even if some people say he’s anti-Semitic).
Liberal activism in entertainment is so standard that no one batted an eye when 623,000 celebs come out for Obama, but what happens when someone says something that could actually inspire outrage? In the infamous case of the Dixie Chicks’ anti-Bush outburst or the ousting of pop politicos like Bill Maher and Donahue for “un-American” actions, unsanctioned activism got them berated and summarily blacklisted.
Why is it then that legendary UK producer and performer Brian Eno’s recent screed on the Israel/Palestinian conflict — an infinitely more controversial and untouchable issue — has elicited fairly middle-of-the-road response?
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.
Unpopular Opinions is a weekly column written by Flavorpill’s resident music curmudgeon and esoteric record-bin enthusiast, the Beard. His opinions do not reflect those of Flavorpill, Flavorwire, or any of their affiliates…
It might make me unpopular, but i think… that indie rock is as rife with mediocrity and musician-as-commodity acts as anything else.
But, rather than wax on about Beard-abhorred bands like the National, Tapes ‘n Tapes, and others without any retort, perhaps its best to try and explore both sides of the “paint-by-numbers” indie-template argument. Sure, I think my follicly-challenged buddy Scruff is sadly misguided when it comes to defending indie kingpins the National (a band that pretty well embodies the crux of the argument), but when the time comes for a bona-fide IM throwdown, he does put up a good fight — despite the fact that he’s clearly wonting for whiskers…
Perhaps the most anticipated album of our age, Guns ‘N Roses’ long-brewing Chinese Democracy broke its 15-year gestation period with a bit of a whimper. While the media’s incredulous exhortations of the album were unrelenting in the weeks before its release, sales and radio response have been somewhat less stunning. The critical reaction is similarly mixed: Paste called the record “a bottomless pit dug by disposable income, a persecution complex, and egomania,” while Rolling Stone maintained that it was an “audacious, unhinged and uncompromising hard-rock record.”
While his guest review for the Onion addressed a number of shortcomings, best-selling author, acclaimed music critic, and general Axl enthusiast Chuck Klosterman ultimately came out in heavy defense of the album. After the jump, Klosterman goes one-on-one with Flavorwire’s resident hair-metal hater and Unpopular Opinions aficionado, The Beard, on the album itself, the reasons for its muted reception, and the underpinnings and larger implications of his outlook.
