Comments on: A (hopefully) rousing defense of Insufferable Music Snobbery http://pandagon.blogsome.com/2007/09/21/6072/ Just another WordPress weblog Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:52:14 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=1.5.1-alpha by: Numad http://pandagon.blogsome.com/2007/09/21/6072/#comment-453559 Wed, 26 Sep 2007 20:03:30 +0100 http://pandagon.blogsome.com/2007/09/21/6072/#comment-453559 "Almost everything I listen to is shallow or elitist by someone’s standards." Isn't it because, in some way, any piece of (good) music can be praised for the wrong reasons? “Almost everything I listen to is shallow or elitist by someone’s standards.”

Isn’t it because, in some way, any piece of (good) music can be praised for the wrong reasons?

]]> by: libidojournal http://pandagon.blogsome.com/2007/09/21/6072/#comment-453407 Wed, 26 Sep 2007 11:05:43 +0100 http://pandagon.blogsome.com/2007/09/21/6072/#comment-453407 <blockquote>“jingo” laden?? Is there a new definition of “jingo”? Surely this should be “jargon laden”.</blockquote> Or "lingo laden." I suspect the two words got crossed up.

“jingo” laden?? Is there a new definition of “jingo”? Surely this should be “jargon laden”.

Or “lingo laden.” I suspect the two words got crossed up.

]]> by: herbert browne http://pandagon.blogsome.com/2007/09/21/6072/#comment-453277 Tue, 25 Sep 2007 18:43:30 +0100 http://pandagon.blogsome.com/2007/09/21/6072/#comment-453277 The "Amen" break is a permutation of the basic gypsy 4... which is also a mnemonic for the existence of Zero as an actual entity. It works like this: Beat/(null)/beat-beat/null where the "One" is followed by "Zero" followed by their 'sum'- ie 'Two' (and a rest). The 'zero' (of 'Arabic' numbers) came from India- just like the gypsies- a long time before 1969... maybe before 969; but non-literate cultures probably don't fret about niceties on paper (like copyrights)... What a payoff... books/authors, etymologies, music/makers, attitudes, one-liners... this thread got it all... ^..^ The “Amen” break is a permutation of the basic gypsy 4… which is also a mnemonic for the existence of Zero as an actual entity. It works like this:
Beat/(null)/beat-beat/null where the “One” is followed by “Zero” followed by their ’sum’- ie ‘Two’ (and a rest). The ‘zero’ (of ‘Arabic’ numbers) came from India- just like the gypsies- a long time before 1969… maybe before 969; but non-literate cultures probably don’t fret about niceties on paper (like copyrights)…
What a payoff… books/authors, etymologies, music/makers, attitudes, one-liners… this thread got it all… ^..^

]]> by: Eric, rejector of memes http://pandagon.blogsome.com/2007/09/21/6072/#comment-452898 Mon, 24 Sep 2007 18:31:04 +0100 http://pandagon.blogsome.com/2007/09/21/6072/#comment-452898 "jingo" laden?? Is there a new definition of "jingo"? Surely this should be "jargon laden". “jingo” laden?? Is there a new definition of “jingo”? Surely this should be “jargon laden”.

]]> by: Chet http://pandagon.blogsome.com/2007/09/21/6072/#comment-452885 Mon, 24 Sep 2007 17:13:39 +0100 http://pandagon.blogsome.com/2007/09/21/6072/#comment-452885 I couldn't care less about music history in general, but I find "weird history" endlessly fascinating. This particular video was as fascinating to me as the history of the Transformer known alternatively as "Starfire" and "Jetfire", the one that's actually a Robotech Veritech in Autobot colors. I couldn’t care less about music history in general, but I find “weird history” endlessly fascinating. This particular video was as fascinating to me as the history of the Transformer known alternatively as “Starfire” and “Jetfire”, the one that’s actually a Robotech Veritech in Autobot colors.

]]> by: Ian http://pandagon.blogsome.com/2007/09/21/6072/#comment-452845 Mon, 24 Sep 2007 14:39:34 +0100 http://pandagon.blogsome.com/2007/09/21/6072/#comment-452845 Being a pop music snob makes about as much sense to me as being a Pop Tart snob. That said, without Amanda around, I very much doubt I would have turned on to Gogol Bordello, or rediscovered some under appreciated gems from my ancient youth ( X, Gary Numan, but NOT Devo) Perhaps I should be more grateful (except for the Devo part) =) Being a pop music snob makes about as much sense to me as being a Pop Tart snob.

That said, without Amanda around, I very much doubt I would have turned on to Gogol Bordello, or rediscovered some under appreciated gems from my ancient youth (
X, Gary Numan, but NOT Devo)

Perhaps I should be more grateful (except for the Devo part) =)

]]> by: BDM http://pandagon.blogsome.com/2007/09/21/6072/#comment-452772 Mon, 24 Sep 2007 10:50:52 +0100 http://pandagon.blogsome.com/2007/09/21/6072/#comment-452772 I guess we have different definitions of "music snob." When I was in college, there were all these lame punkers who acted as if music started around 1976, with no acknowledgment of such "proto" punkers as Iggy Pop, the MC5 or the Troggs. Nowadays, electronica fans do the same thing by failing to acknowledge Brian Eno or Frank Zappa, among others, without whom their idol, Richie Hawton, could not exist. This trend is especially perplexing considering the rampant sampling that defines electronica. It's like appreciating only Kurt Vonnegut or JD Salinger without recognizing Knut Hamsun or Theodore Dreiser. Looking for influences and obscure connections between seemingly unrelated genres strikes me as the exact opposite of snobbery. I guess we have different definitions of “music snob.” When I was in college, there were all these lame punkers who acted as if music started around 1976, with no acknowledgment of such “proto” punkers as Iggy Pop, the MC5 or the Troggs. Nowadays, electronica fans do the same thing by failing to acknowledge Brian Eno or Frank Zappa, among others, without whom their idol, Richie Hawton, could not exist. This trend is especially perplexing considering the rampant sampling that defines electronica. It’s like appreciating only Kurt Vonnegut or JD Salinger without recognizing Knut Hamsun or Theodore Dreiser.
Looking for influences and obscure connections between seemingly unrelated genres strikes me as the exact opposite of snobbery.

]]> by: FlipYrWhig http://pandagon.blogsome.com/2007/09/21/6072/#comment-452767 Mon, 24 Sep 2007 10:41:41 +0100 http://pandagon.blogsome.com/2007/09/21/6072/#comment-452767 <i><b>Amanda</b>: Marc gently teases me for what he says is this sort of stellar inability to give a shit about anyone who’s good “enough”, aka a lot of the music that tends to find its popularity in being esteemed enough but not so obscure that it gets a wide semi-yuppie audience.</i> But is this really an "inability to give a shit" or a conscious choice? Because the IMS reaction to something like Foo Fighters is along the lines of "This is the kind of thing you mainstream people expect me to like, because it's about as adventurous as _you'll_ ever hear on commercial radio. Nice try." There's no cachet in liking Foo Fighters because Foo Fighters is positioned to be the edge of popular taste. Then there's the case of Coldplay, much despised by IMS types in no small measure _because_ they're pushed as a sensitive thinking-person's band. Liking Coldplay is made equivalent to liking Starbucks coffee, because it's the statement of a consumer who wants to show a minimal difference from Everyone Else (who's content with Folgers Crystals) and yet stay within the mass market. It's that element of pretentious intent that doesn't go very far into actual pretension. The Insufferable Coffee Snob would only want special beans from a special shady hillside somewhere -- _or_ would reclaim the value of Folgers Crystals. Amanda: Marc gently teases me for what he says is this sort of stellar inability to give a shit about anyone who’s good “enough”, aka a lot of the music that tends to find its popularity in being esteemed enough but not so obscure that it gets a wide semi-yuppie audience.

But is this really an “inability to give a shit” or a conscious choice? Because the IMS reaction to something like Foo Fighters is along the lines of “This is the kind of thing you mainstream people expect me to like, because it’s about as adventurous as _you’ll_ ever hear on commercial radio. Nice try.” There’s no cachet in liking Foo Fighters because Foo Fighters is positioned to be the edge of popular taste.

Then there’s the case of Coldplay, much despised by IMS types in no small measure _because_ they’re pushed as a sensitive thinking-person’s band. Liking Coldplay is made equivalent to liking Starbucks coffee, because it’s the statement of a consumer who wants to show a minimal difference from Everyone Else (who’s content with Folgers Crystals) and yet stay within the mass market. It’s that element of pretentious intent that doesn’t go very far into actual pretension. The Insufferable Coffee Snob would only want special beans from a special shady hillside somewhere — _or_ would reclaim the value of Folgers Crystals.

]]> by: bernarda http://pandagon.blogsome.com/2007/09/21/6072/#comment-452733 Mon, 24 Sep 2007 07:34:01 +0100 http://pandagon.blogsome.com/2007/09/21/6072/#comment-452733 As for "snob", there is the French song by Boris Vian, "Je suis snob". http://www.nomorelyrics.net/fr/chanson/Boris_Vian/Jsuis_snob.html As for “snob”, there is the French song by Boris Vian, “Je suis snob”.

http://www.nomorelyrics.net/fr/chanson/Boris_Vian/Jsuis_snob.html

]]> by: bernarda http://pandagon.blogsome.com/2007/09/21/6072/#comment-452730 Mon, 24 Sep 2007 07:24:37 +0100 http://pandagon.blogsome.com/2007/09/21/6072/#comment-452730 I don't quite understand. I gave a reference and link to Herbert Marcuse and it didn't appear. I'll try again, http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/marcuse/index.htm I don’t quite understand. I gave a reference and link to Herbert Marcuse and it didn’t appear.

I’ll try again,

http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/marcuse/index.htm

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