What the fuck does angular even mean. I hate music descriptions like that!

btw i was kinda doing this post as a test to see how many people could talk about the band without mentioning her weight.

why is armpit hair gross on women as opposed to men? i have armpit hair which i haven't shaved for years. i'm also technically overweight. and you know what, i fucking love it!

i went to the show - stood in the front row. met beth ditto afterward. she gave me a giant hug. it was amazing.

You put emphasis on the fact that she is a girl before anyone else, not the fact that you started a thread about The Gossip.

The thing with The Gossip is that they themselves use her weight (amongst other things) as a selling point for the band, so it's not so strange if often that subject is brought up. Why would they play places like London's XXL nightclub, one predominantely for fat gay men, if they weren't against a little self-stereotyping? She might get more of a bad rap than Karen O for being a large woman, the fact remains that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs made better music than they did, so it can't be all that bad for them if they still find themselves riding the crest of success mainly because of a novelty factor brought into mainstream indie music.

as far as the fat thing goes, it's a gimmick but it's not a very good one because it's not musically viable. yeah she's got a good voice, but people pay more attention to the fact that beth ditto is an obese half naked lesbian with no eyebrows and armpit hair. that is the truth. they wouldn't have gotten half the recognition and press coverage they've gotten if she was just some skinny bitch. every other magazine shoot she's in she's naked, yet people go on about how her weight should be a nonissue. they're asking for it.

but then image is everything.

She has a good voice. A good voice alone seldom makes a crap song good, though. I don't get it when people say : ''Oh, but he/she has a good voice''. Whatever, get people to write better songs for you, so it will be appreciated more.

Plus fat is more fashionable than ever these days. I was just looking at a special edition of Vice magazine that has some trendy chubby guys posing naked on it.

how many sisters have you got?

One of those bands I'm peripherally aware of but occasionally got flak for opinions that I didn't have, at least from one particular girl I dated. Then again, I suppose they are one of those bands with a chip on their shoulder looking for a reaction?

om nom nom nom

what are the chances of them letting their love handles enlarge after they fInd out about the fashionability of being lardy?

I own Standing In The Way Of Control (the album) and like it. I never listened to their other albums though - I don't really like what I've heard of the new one. One album is enough for me. But yeah, I really like this album.

I know this guy who is very good looking, and since he started hanging out on the bear scene he decided to become one, so he puts effort into becoming larger. He is still very good looking, just enlarged. He hasn't grown a beard yet, he used to be clean-shaven, but now he goes out with a stubble. what do you think of that?

curvy (not fat) is the new skinny.
fuck the haters.

tits and hips and sexy legs y'all.

Yeah, there is space for everyone. Nobody should feel pressurised to fit a body-size in order to appeal to other people. Skinny and fat don't exactly constitute the potential attactiveness of the individual, anyway. Unless it looks unhealthy, both psychologically and physically. That is a different matter, though, as the person's capability of stabilising their own ideal weight is lost, and need to be regained.

eh, i mean beth ditto is the leader singer AND she's female, but no, there isn't too much emphasis on them as being a girl. that being said, i do tend to like female lead singers better than male leader singers in most cases. and i think the fact that beth ditto's weight is talked about or that the assumption that she is doing it to herself just really illustrates how fucked up things are. yes, she is proud her of weight and does not deny the fact that she's fat. but she doesn't do shit that skinny artists don't do. so many female musicians wear just bras on stage, knowing that they are acting as sex objects. but the blues are sexy! beth ditto has a voice and is a fucking hot bitch (seeing her live confirms this, i'm certainly not the only person who thinks this either) and has the right to show it off. and i dont think that she markets herself as being the 'token fat chick' - once again, she doesn't deny that she's overweight, but she's just all about being herself and being fat is something that the media has a hayday with. she's constantly getting shit because of it because she supposedly is out there 'normalizing obesity' and other crap liek that. from what i've told she's even been made fun of for her weight in the national enquirer when she's just an indie rock musician.

also yes, i admitted outright that part of the reason i wrote this thread was because i was curious how many people would talk about them as a band rather than beth ditto as a fat person. i did so because i've been having conversations with multiple other members of this board who also feel that female artists are discussed on this board is fucked up. if i'm at fault for perpetuating that dialogue, then i'm sorry i guess?

that being said, i dont' really like their new album. i'm pissed that they had to introduce synth.

Or maybe you made this thread hoping someone would mention her weight at all so that you could rant?

i mean, that's also not the only reason i posted the thread. i was also curious as to if there were other fans, especially cuz i'm pretty sure that the gossip are sonic youth fans. there seem to be a lot of sonic youth influenced bands out there who nobody here likes to like.

that being said, i'm not ranting nearly as much as i can be. i am, however, making some points about certain assumptions that seem to be held (ie the armpit hair thing)

You've replied more against these assumptions than in response to those who said they like them.

that's just because i've been skimming through this. also, to those who like them - yeah, i agree! and i've also stated my opinion - i love their old stuff, i'm not quite sure about this new album though.