February 2012
28 posts
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“I’m not a rude guy who just goes around calling women “b*tch” but at this point,...”
– —Too $hort, in dialogue with dream hampton in Ebony.
There are many parts of this conversation that almost made me cry, for so many reasons. Ms. Hampton talking about what young girls accept as normal behavior from boys. Too $hort realizing, at 45 years old, that his idea of how to turn a...
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“Morris said he made his discoveries after talking to some knowledgeable...”
– LA Times reporting on Rep. State rep for Indiana, Bob Morris, who sounds like he is confusing the Girl Scouts and Riot Grrrl. I wish there was such thing as a “Communist Agenda” patch, I probably woulda stuck around Girl Scouts way longer
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Free in February! →
Handy guide for museum free days around Chicago this month.
chicagonannyconcierge:
As great as today was, let’s face it, chances are February will still be cold in Chicago. Here are some ways to beat boredom and warm up- for free!
Adler Planetarium: 1, 6-9, 14, 15, 21
Art Institute: Every weekday until the 10th
Chicago Children’s Museum: 5 and Thursdays 5pm-8pm
Chicago…
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“I remember being 14 and knowing this Lou Reed album and some David Bowie and...”
– Craig Finn on Lou Reed’s 1973 album Berlin.
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POLL!
Quick poll:How do you guys think Sleigh Bells SNL performance last night rated on the Brian Williams Musical Outrage Scale? If Lana Del Rey is 100, like through the roof indignation beefing concern for America
and the other end is pure vocal pleasure, i.e. the happy feeling he gets when The Association “Windy” comes on in the NBC elevator—how do you think he is feeling...
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“It is possible that one might be able to be both a bitch AND a mother at...”
– Molly Lambert on the MIA/Madonna backlash, stating something that should be so obvious, but amid/after MIA-gate and Lana-lash ‘12, the truth feels like a revelation.
“He ended his performance by back-flipping off the stage, though sadly not off...”
– Sasha Frere Jones recap gets in the best dig yet at Chris Brown’s 81 performances at the Grammys. I was hoping that at the end of that performance he was going to jump from the top of the set, Black Swan style, but no luck. (via rookiemag)
“1. Go through your piece and flip the gender of your descriptive phrases’...”
– Maura Johnston, “How Not to Write About Female Musicians: A Handy Guide,” fuck yeah. (via judyxberman)
(via rookiemag)
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“The connection she’s forged with M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj, however,...”
– Ann Powers on the tangled web of Madonna, as pop provocateur and cultural-gran-mere to MIA. All this fuss’ bout a finger really outs us as the puritans we are, no? Or maybe Lana’s SNL showing has turned everyone hungry for drama, everyone channeling their inner Brian Williams (outrage!),...
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“On the other hand, being grossed out by certain Humbertish reactions to the...”
– Jonathan Bogart, 13 Ways of Looking at Lana Del Rey. Really great stuff here on identity and performance, female character.
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Gee Whiz! Yr Small and Yr Female and Yr Shy and... →
Guy Raz’s questions made me cringe despite his total enthusiasm, but Sharon Van Etten’s answers made me love her more. Mr. Raz—note Children are “small”, grown women are “petite”.
“I think a big reason many girls shy away from calling themselves feminists is...”
– Tavi Gevinson, Rookie (via grrrlstudies)
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The context and dare of Mike Kelly. →
Author/teacher/critic/poet Maggie Nelson discusses Mike Kelley’s work in this Bookworm interview about her book Art of Cruelty (essential reading), but also gives context to his work around abuse, and talks about the dare of Kelley’s work, the challenge of it.
January 2012
27 posts
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“The issue with Lana Del Rey is not whether she is some corporate test-tubed...”
– This is the gist of my Lana Del Rey story, if you are not burnt out entirely on her yet, you can read the whole thing over at SPIN. As my editor said “contains actual reporting”. It is a bit about the story of the story, the myth of the myth, sexism, dreams coming true and how a bad girl...
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“Why is pop music the only art form that still inspires such arrantly stupid...”
– Lana Del Rey’s Image on “Born to Die” : The New Yorker
(via judyxberman)
SFJ is on the money, per usj. Andthe other question to ask: why are female artists the only ones who inspire such “discussion”, or “authenticity” “discussions” where sexism is masked...
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“Dog movies and dog footage tends to be the dumbest. It’s like the lowest common...”
– Everything Is Terrible’s Commander Gilgamesh on remaking The Holy Mountain out of footage from dog movies.
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Après Ski Instructor: Yeasted Beer and Sour Cream... →
apresskiinstructor:
This morning Max popped out of bed when the sun was brushing its teeth. He whispered into my ear, “let’s make mom some waffles. shhh.” “My Famous Yeasted Beer and Sour Cream Waffles?” I said. “Shhh,” Max whispered, “yep, the yeasted beer ones.” “Let’s wake up the yeast,” he said.
We tip…
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“The Lana Del Rey-bashing economy moves faster than the actual Lana Del Rey...”
– Jon Caramanica on LDR’s album in ye olde New York Times. I only agree with parts, but namely this one.
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“I saw so many movies with Michael Cera in them, they all began to run together,...”
– I reviewed Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist for Rookie.
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Odd Future Strikes Back with...Gay Cats tee. →
My guess is that no one is that no music reporting on this to-do b/c everyone is too busy writing Lana Del Rey-deflating trend pieces.
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The new Lee Ranaldo solo record proves my theory on the SY divide: when you are young, you want to be a Thurston (effortlessly and impossibly cool, slavishly devoted to your record collection, exploring your art, effusive shaggy man child, making poetry zines)—but post 30/32, when you hit the adult-getting-your-shit-together streak, you want to be a Lee. Writing linear riffs, playing tennis,...
“I’m very conscious about it, but I also want it to not be a big deal. But I...”
– »The new Perfume Genius is really quite fine and I too hope people are smarter than that.
Perfume Genius’ Mike Hadreas talks to us about being gay in the world of indie rock and his new video, which features gay porn star Arpad Miklos. (via pitchfork)
“Rick from Pittsburgh” is today’s Joey...
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Inside David Crosby's Sailboat with Tyler, The...
I was the only critic that didn’t write a thinkpiece on Tyler, The Creator in 2011, but the first in 2012! Here’s my essay on Tyler’s “Yonkers” and EMA’s “California” for the Village Voice Pazz and Jop Critics Poll. Always an honor and privilege, and props to editor Maura for keeping in my quasi-cryptic Black Flag joke.
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WatchI hope this summer is really the summer of MNDR. I wanna be owned by her pop. The rest of my thoughts bee-low:
rookiemag:
New MNDR single/video. She is such a genius—she records and produces all her own work, not just sings. I am obsessed with that scratchy squeak in her voice. This is probably the record I am most excited to hear in 2012. She told SPIN for the video she ‘” took inspiration...
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“BrooklynVegan is the worst, it just becomes like a rating board for guys to have...”
– Caroline Polachek of Chairlift, interviewed by Pitchfork’s Larry Fitzmaurice.
I’m glad she said this. I think more people need to talk about this, to call it out, because I think there’s this assumption that the indie world is full of nice guys who have evolved beyond sexism, which is anything but...