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Severian · 08.13.2015, 10:29 AM

Also, Mortte Jousimo:

What I wrote about Radiohead and Wilco was just a bunch of hooey. I was making fun of English music critics and certain really impressionable American & British music fans, who just kinda follow trends...

Personally, I don't think Radiohead OR Wilco are as innovative or important or good or "essential" as the U.S./UK music press seems to believe. I grew up on both bands, and honestly my love affair with Radiohead had more or less run its course before the '90s ended. I still like just about everything they've released, and some of it I even *love*, like Hail To The Thief, which reignited my interest in the band after a few years of basically forgetting they existed.

I probably like Wilco more, but I think they're terribly overrated as well. That new record is surprisingly good, but they haven't blown my mind in quite some time. Again, my love for that band is a product of another time. I'll never care about them as much as I did, and A Ghost is Born is never going to be topped for me. But it's true that both bands have had a real over saturation problem. They've topped so many lists and generated so much hype over such a long period of time that it's actually surprising to hear a new project (like Star Wars) that's just plain good, without being "transformative" or "definitive" and without being praised as some big hairy-ass goddamn work of art.

I feel like Star Wars is just a fun, rather basic research rock album that serves as a reminder of why people started listening to Wilco in the first place. I felt the same way about Radiohead's The King of Limbs, which I didn't even like until I heard the In The Basement live in-studio version, which was satisfying in a similar way. It was refreshingly free of over-the-top bullshit. It just kinda kicked along with a nice krautrock vibe and very little grandstanding "biggest band in the world" horseshit.

So I really wasn't judging you or making fun of you for not listening to Radiohead or Wilco. And I only recommended those Wilco tracks because I know what kind of music you do tend to like, and I thought that you would enjoy those songs, since you're a fan of classic rock, Neil Young, country-tinged rock and guitar based music in general.

I'm SO GLAD you ended up liking The Wipers!!! If I'm the reason you looked into them, then I guess I feel good about that... but really I'm just glad there's another Wipers fan in the world. As great as they are, they are frequently overlooked even in punk circles. They weren't in Our Band Could Be Your Life, and they never released a crossover classic like Loveless, so a lot of younger folks who have investigated the bands behind the sugar coated indie rock of the mid-'90s and early '00s have not been exposed to them like they have been to the Dinosaur jr's and MBV's and even SY's of the world.

So, I'm very glad you dug them.

As for me not paying attention to your recommendations, I have to say part of that is because you have recommended a lot of music (particularly '70s music) that I am already very familiar with, as are most American and English music fans in my age group.
HOWEVER...

When it comes to the Finnish music you've recommended, I have nothing to say in my defense on that one. I apologize. I am always searching for new music, and I have perhaps been a bit dismissive of the artists from your country that you have recommended. In fact, I'm sure I've been dismissive because I can't remember any of the Finnish bands/artists you've mentioned.

I am sorry. You're right that this has been pretty arrogant of me.

I urge you to try again. You must have a fairly good idea of the kinds of music I like, so with that in mind, please recommend me some Finnish artists (maybe some electronic stuff? Or perhaps some Finnish noise, or lush shoegazey post-rock? What about Finnish garage rock in the vein of the Sonics? Or -- fuck it -- anything! Recommend some Finnish artists that you think I will like, and I will promise to look into them just as thoroughly as you did with the Wipers and Minutemen.

Sorry again for writing so much. I should have maybe done this in a PM, but you called me out on a few things and you were right about some of them, so I felt it necessary to publicly admit this and extend an olive branch.

(To "extend an olive branch" is -- if you didn't know -- to "reach out" and offer a hand to re-establish friendship or to show goodwill in the aftermath of a misunderstanding or falling out. Basically, I'm just saying "Hey, Let's Be Friends!" ... I don't mean to talk to you like you're a child, but I really don't want to assume that you understand more English than you do: I should be as well versed in your language as you are in mine, but in this part of the world, we don't teach multiple languages to our children unless we have to. Americans expect everyone to know English, because Americans are arrogant and rude and often completely full of shit

)

08.13.2015, 10:29 AM	#47158
Severian invito al cielo Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 11,741	Also, Mortte Jousimo: What I wrote about Radiohead and Wilco was just a bunch of hooey. I was making fun of English music critics and certain really impressionable American & British music fans, who just kinda follow trends... Personally, I don't think Radiohead OR Wilco are as innovative or important or good or "essential" as the U.S./UK music press seems to believe. I grew up on both bands, and honestly my love affair with Radiohead had more or less run its course before the '90s ended. I still like just about everything they've released, and some of it I even love, like Hail To The Thief, which reignited my interest in the band after a few years of basically forgetting they existed. I probably like Wilco more, but I think they're terribly overrated as well. That new record is surprisingly good, but they haven't blown my mind in quite some time. Again, my love for that band is a product of another time. I'll never care about them as much as I did, and A Ghost is Born is never going to be topped for me. But it's true that both bands have had a real over saturation problem. They've topped so many lists and generated so much hype over such a long period of time that it's actually surprising to hear a new project (like Star Wars) that's just plain good, without being "transformative" or "definitive" and without being praised as some big hairy-ass goddamn work of art. I feel like Star Wars is just a fun, rather basic research rock album that serves as a reminder of why people started listening to Wilco in the first place. I felt the same way about Radiohead's The King of Limbs, which I didn't even like until I heard the In The Basement live in-studio version, which was satisfying in a similar way. It was refreshingly free of over-the-top bullshit. It just kinda kicked along with a nice krautrock vibe and very little grandstanding "biggest band in the world" horseshit. So I really wasn't judging you or making fun of you for not listening to Radiohead or Wilco. And I only recommended those Wilco tracks because I know what kind of music you do tend to like, and I thought that you would enjoy those songs, since you're a fan of classic rock, Neil Young, country-tinged rock and guitar based music in general. I'm SO GLAD you ended up liking The Wipers!!! If I'm the reason you looked into them, then I guess I feel good about that... but really I'm just glad there's another Wipers fan in the world. As great as they are, they are frequently overlooked even in punk circles. They weren't in Our Band Could Be Your Life, and they never released a crossover classic like Loveless, so a lot of younger folks who have investigated the bands behind the sugar coated indie rock of the mid-'90s and early '00s have not been exposed to them like they have been to the Dinosaur jr's and MBV's and even SY's of the world. So, I'm very glad you dug them. As for me not paying attention to your recommendations, I have to say part of that is because you have recommended a lot of music (particularly '70s music) that I am already very familiar with, as are most American and English music fans in my age group. HOWEVER... When it comes to the Finnish music you've recommended, I have nothing to say in my defense on that one. I apologize. I am always searching for new music, and I have perhaps been a bit dismissive of the artists from your country that you have recommended. In fact, I'm sure I've been dismissive because I can't remember any of the Finnish bands/artists you've mentioned. I am sorry. You're right that this has been pretty arrogant of me. I urge you to try again. You must have a fairly good idea of the kinds of music I like, so with that in mind, please recommend me some Finnish artists (maybe some electronic stuff? Or perhaps some Finnish noise, or lush shoegazey post-rock? What about Finnish garage rock in the vein of the Sonics? Or -- fuck it -- anything! Recommend some Finnish artists that you think I will like, and I will promise to look into them just as thoroughly as you did with the Wipers and Minutemen. Sorry again for writing so much. I should have maybe done this in a PM, but you called me out on a few things and you were right about some of them, so I felt it necessary to publicly admit this and extend an olive branch. (To "extend an olive branch" is -- if you didn't know -- to "reach out" and offer a hand to re-establish friendship or to show goodwill in the aftermath of a misunderstanding or falling out. Basically, I'm just saying "Hey, Let's Be Friends!" ... I don't mean to talk to you like you're a child, but I really don't want to assume that you understand more English than you do: I should be as well versed in your language as you are in mine, but in this part of the world, we don't teach multiple languages to our children unless we have to. Americans expect everyone to know English, because Americans are arrogant and rude and often completely full of shit )
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