My apologies for not blogging in approximately seven years. Since I've been stuck in the armpit of the concert-going world (Pittsburgh), I haven't really had any shows to discuss. But let's get to the bitter part: co-blogger Jim is currently at a St. Vincent show in Philadelphia. And yours truly is ...listening to St. Vincent. Recorded. I thought I'd take my mind off of this incredible injustice by sharing some of my recent finds/thoughts on them. As usual, I will be using lots of youtubez.
First, I'd like to expound on the eternal struggle: to hipster, or not to hipster? Let me explain. Today, while trying to find out if Jens Lekman has a twitter (it would be the most adorable thing ever), I found a poor, abandoned twitter account that seemed to be him, but it only had one entry, with a link. Fate, I say. I clicked on it and was introduced to Dent May... and internal crisis. This next part requires the cooperation of you, dear reader. I need you to click this YouTube video, and then SHUT YOUR EYES. For the whole song, just shut your eyes and listen.
(INTERRUPTION: Jim just called me from the St. Vincent concert, and I am listening to a lovely live rendition of "The Bed" as I type.)
ANYWAY back to Dent May. Shut your eyes!
He sounds vaguely like Jens Lekman, his voice is beautiful, and this music is... kind of reminiscent of the Beach Boys? Anyway, I heard it and immediately loved it. But then... I watched the music video.
...watch it with your eyes open.
I think the epitome of what worries me is at about 1:15. This man is clearly... a hipster. That in itself mightn't be a problem, but I think it's pretty obvious that he doesn't take his music seriously. ...is it possible that his music career is based entirely on irony? Does he not even like his own music? This strikes me as a legitimate problem. I know it's fashionable to hate hipsters (www.latfh.com if you doubt me), but this goes beyond that... is one able to like music like this, where the artist doesn't even take his own music seriously? And I'm not talking about a Bloodhound Gang-esque situation, because they absolutely CANNOT take themselves seriously. I'm talking about, did this guy Dent May (Who was an NYU film student for a few years, which may or may not complicate my problem) just decide one day to start making beautiful ukulele music... for the lols? "Hey guys, wouldn't it be totally rad if I ...started making ukulele music that sounds like it's from the 1960s? Lolz, it'd be so funny."
Anyway, the moral of the story is, this album is REALLY good and I recommend it, but I don't think I could see him live, for the sake of my own sanity.
Now let's completely change courses and take a look at someone that's been explored on the blog before: that someone is Asher Roth. We all know that "I Love College" is a frat boy anthem, and that Asher Roth raps kind of scarily like Eminem. Imagine my joy when The Hood Internet (www.thehoodinternet.com) decided to attack this song in their usual way: by meshing it with an obscure indie song. To hilarious results.
I Love Friction (Asher Roth vs The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart) - The Hood Internet
The new driving beat behind "I Love College" takes a while to feel right, but when it does, the song loses its lazy Weezer influence and starts to (scarily) remind me of an un-classy Arcade Fire song. Which is glorious.
Anyway, I'm off to explore the internets more for goodness to bring to you, lovely reader. I'll leave you with a link to a playlist I made on youtube. It's absolutely perfect, and absolutely NSFW.
Yum yum.
Enjoy!
Love,
Kristina
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