Sunday, February 24, 2019
Sunday, February 17, 2019
Saturday, February 9, 2019
LOOK AT THE TOP OF HIS HEAD
what has allowed for sunlight to spill into this cold dark earth?
although operatively mean-spirited and objectively kind of cruel, LOOK AT THIS DUDE brings me more joy than any other video. its is shrouded in mystery in that every youtube video claims to be the original, but i have yet to figure out who made it, or even what platform it originated on. the only certainty it brings is that is so delightful.
"look at this dude" is about more than petty associative humor. it is about the anticipation of funniness itself. that narrators voice spillith forth with sheer joy and hes quivering and sputtering around the images, sometimes prefacing them with a sound effect or naming them before we see them, warning "wait till you see the—". hes stifling laughs before the punchline hits, and thats what makes it so warm and inviting: presumably he's seen all the images before, and knows that theyre fucking dynamite, and is just leading us through the sequence and still being earnestly overjoyed and continually shocked at how powerful it is. its amazing. it's like he's sitting on a couch next to us. his screams are cathartic and infectious. it is just perfect. BOOP is brilliant.
conversely, here are shadows the sun does not reach. as another xiu xiu album inevitably lumbers forth, presenting itself in its self-loathing hideous glisten, we must revisit the reasons why xiu xiu is absolutely awful— artistically, politically, ethically, etc.
jamie stewart has built his entire career off of the fetishization & exoticization of asian women so shamelessly that we've bought his excuse that it's either satire or commentary on that imperialism, even though he has never once acknowledged the fact that his american band is using the imagery, symbols, language, themes, aesthetics, etc— of late 20th century east asian "underground culture". it's fucking embarrassing. his obsession with the dark fantasy of asianness that he has created cannot be divorced from his rotating cast of asian women as band members that he uses as ornaments or gimmicks to frame him (and his white manliness) in press photos. it fucking sucks. also can't be divorced from his using a vietnamese prostitute as a cover or creating a music video of his bandmate inducing vomiting.
STOP USING ATROCITIES TO FUEL YOUR WEIRD EDGELORD BROODING WHITE GAY GOTH MAN FUCKING GARBAGE!!!!!
YOU ARE EVERY FUCKING SELF-IMPORTANT BROOKLYN ASSHOLE WITH A RICHARD SPENCER HAIRCUT THAT YOU USE YOUR QUEERNESS TO EXCUSE.
these are such laughably, unfathomably awful lyrics. they don't even have the privilege of being cringey art school poetry. its like an 11 yr old NIN fan's attempt at grossing out their parents. it is not controversial, it is not evocative, it is not challenging, it is literally just terrible.
and the Nintendo shit is crazy gimmicky. using outdated technology and attempting to divorce a very recognizable and culturally weighted sound from its original context rules— if you do it tastefully and successfully and inventive ways. This Is Not That.
fuck that guy.
nearly simultaneous with this new xiu xiu— which reaffirmed & provided useful fodder for my burning rage—was a new panda bear album, which similarly reaffirmed what i understand to be the new panda bear era of paternal care and artistic decline.
that is NOT to say that this issue is coolness. it's not that he's a lame dad. in fact, the most refreshing aspect of animal collecrtive has always been their staunch anti-coolness. while their peers exorcised their cool kid-complexes by leaning into them or ironically detaching (but inevitably engaging) with trendiness, animal collective were of the few to completely disengage. they didn’t lean on intellectualism or straightforward emotional earnestness. they literally just jammed. they have never been shy about their detestably uncool inspirations (grateful dead). their post-merriweather directions have confirmed this: they seem peacefully unconcerned with what is hip, content to carry on as dads tinkering with toys. almost defiantly unbothered by their critical reception.
understanding this reframe their white-hot 5-yr run from 2004 - 2009 not as them especially in tune with what was cool, but almost as a coincidental aligning of brooklynite appetites and their particular explorations with technology. so what does that mean going forward?
although operatively mean-spirited and objectively kind of cruel, LOOK AT THIS DUDE brings me more joy than any other video. its is shrouded in mystery in that every youtube video claims to be the original, but i have yet to figure out who made it, or even what platform it originated on. the only certainty it brings is that is so delightful.
"look at this dude" is about more than petty associative humor. it is about the anticipation of funniness itself. that narrators voice spillith forth with sheer joy and hes quivering and sputtering around the images, sometimes prefacing them with a sound effect or naming them before we see them, warning "wait till you see the—". hes stifling laughs before the punchline hits, and thats what makes it so warm and inviting: presumably he's seen all the images before, and knows that theyre fucking dynamite, and is just leading us through the sequence and still being earnestly overjoyed and continually shocked at how powerful it is. its amazing. it's like he's sitting on a couch next to us. his screams are cathartic and infectious. it is just perfect. BOOP is brilliant.
conversely, here are shadows the sun does not reach. as another xiu xiu album inevitably lumbers forth, presenting itself in its self-loathing hideous glisten, we must revisit the reasons why xiu xiu is absolutely awful— artistically, politically, ethically, etc.
jamie stewart has built his entire career off of the fetishization & exoticization of asian women so shamelessly that we've bought his excuse that it's either satire or commentary on that imperialism, even though he has never once acknowledged the fact that his american band is using the imagery, symbols, language, themes, aesthetics, etc— of late 20th century east asian "underground culture". it's fucking embarrassing. his obsession with the dark fantasy of asianness that he has created cannot be divorced from his rotating cast of asian women as band members that he uses as ornaments or gimmicks to frame him (and his white manliness) in press photos. it fucking sucks. also can't be divorced from his using a vietnamese prostitute as a cover or creating a music video of his bandmate inducing vomiting.
STOP USING ATROCITIES TO FUEL YOUR WEIRD EDGELORD BROODING WHITE GAY GOTH MAN FUCKING GARBAGE!!!!!
YOU ARE EVERY FUCKING SELF-IMPORTANT BROOKLYN ASSHOLE WITH A RICHARD SPENCER HAIRCUT THAT YOU USE YOUR QUEERNESS TO EXCUSE.
these are such laughably, unfathomably awful lyrics. they don't even have the privilege of being cringey art school poetry. its like an 11 yr old NIN fan's attempt at grossing out their parents. it is not controversial, it is not evocative, it is not challenging, it is literally just terrible.
and the Nintendo shit is crazy gimmicky. using outdated technology and attempting to divorce a very recognizable and culturally weighted sound from its original context rules— if you do it tastefully and successfully and inventive ways. This Is Not That.
fuck that guy.
nearly simultaneous with this new xiu xiu— which reaffirmed & provided useful fodder for my burning rage—was a new panda bear album, which similarly reaffirmed what i understand to be the new panda bear era of paternal care and artistic decline.
that is NOT to say that this issue is coolness. it's not that he's a lame dad. in fact, the most refreshing aspect of animal collecrtive has always been their staunch anti-coolness. while their peers exorcised their cool kid-complexes by leaning into them or ironically detaching (but inevitably engaging) with trendiness, animal collective were of the few to completely disengage. they didn’t lean on intellectualism or straightforward emotional earnestness. they literally just jammed. they have never been shy about their detestably uncool inspirations (grateful dead). their post-merriweather directions have confirmed this: they seem peacefully unconcerned with what is hip, content to carry on as dads tinkering with toys. almost defiantly unbothered by their critical reception.
understanding this reframe their white-hot 5-yr run from 2004 - 2009 not as them especially in tune with what was cool, but almost as a coincidental aligning of brooklynite appetites and their particular explorations with technology. so what does that mean going forward?
Sunday, February 3, 2019
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