pitchfork says "twee as fuck" is a good thing.
bokonon25: uhoh
bokonon25: i'd better revise what i think is cool
I like to avoid giving music commentary. In order to function properly as Houston's indie-compass and keep our playlist fresh, all ktru dj's are required to review at least 5 cd's every semester. I may have reviewed a total of 5 since my first semester - 2 years ago. The only reason they let me have a shift at all is because I partnered up with Renee, who spent her free time sitting around Montrose coffeeshops writing CD reviews like a real ktru dj should. I bet she doesn't constantly get these notification e-mails:
You checked stuff out a long time ago. I miss my stuff, so if you could find it in your heart to bring it back, that would be awesome.
Thanks,
The Komputer
It asks so nicely, too. If I weren't so immune to passive aggressive persuasion tactics, I might actually be an asset to my own station. But unfortunately for ktru and all related underground music enthusiasts, my mother trained me well.
Part of the reason I don't like writing CD reviews is simply that I'm no good at being a critic (as established in a previous entry). Here's an excerpt to prove my point: "Some crunchy electronic samples combined with delicate keyboard melodies produce a dreamy quality. They sound like Notwist and Postal Service had a laptop pop lovechild." What the hell does that mean? What is she talking about? Those are just some of the questions asked by people reading my CD reviews.
Another part of the reason is that I'm self-conscious. Being affiliated with ktru makes some sins forgivable in the public circle. It's like proclaiming your love for Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo and then casually dropping that Wes Anderson is your best friend. But it's nothing like being Wes Anderson. He's untouchable. I, on the other hand, am capable of saying really great things about really bad music and I'm just not keen on the idea of immortalizing that in the ktru library.
That being said, the people at pitchforkmedia.com recently released their picks for the top 50 singles of 2005 and I am generally displeased.
47. Feist - "Inside and Out" -- This is Leslie Feist. She splits the female membership of Broken Social Scene with my current indie music crush, Emily Haines. Ian introduced me to her in an effort to lead me astray, but I am proud to say I've remained faithful to Emily. There's only one explanation for why Leslie eclipsed Emily's side project (Metric) on this countdown. Leslie Feist practices black magic.
35. Gwen Stefani - "Hollaback Girl" -- Out of all the singles released in 2005, this is their pick for the 35th greatest one. I can't make this shit up, bananas or no bananas.
25. Kanye West - "Gold Digger" -- Pitchfork says, "Despite all evidence to the contrary, you're not saying she's a gold digger? Sure, we love to hear about it, and it's not like I have enough money to even worry about this kind of shit. But seriously. Look at the signs, they add up. I'm not asking you to stop the girl from getting down. Go ahead, let her get down. Just check your monthly statements, man." As a sidenote, this song annoys the hell out of me.
18. The Killers - "Mr. Brightside" -- I love both this song and the man who sings it (he may be Mormon and engaged, but love conquers all). It should have been number one. That is all I have to say.
17. LCD Soundsystem - "Tribulations" -- Everyone and their dead dog calls the station to request "Losing My Edge." I'm okay with that because that's 7 minutes and 53 seconds that I don't have to find something else to play. Not to mention I enjoy the song despite the fact that he supposedly name-drops a gagillion indie music icons and I don't get any of them. So everyone was buzzing about their first full length LP and the reason I'm mentioning this is to say that "Tribulations" was my favorite and pitchfork's got my back.
13. M83 - "Don't Save Us From the Flames (Superpitcher Remix)" -- I'm only mentioning it so my current music choice makes sense. M83 is probably what I would feel like if I took drugs. I like M83 a lot. You should really try this stuff.
09. R. Kelly - "Trapped in the Closet" -- After hearing this song (and seeing it performed on the MTV Video Music Awards), the only way I can fall asleep at night is by believing that there is a special room in Hell where people who make and condone this kind of music are sent.
05. The Futureheads - "Hounds of Love" -- I love covers. I loved this song before I knew it was a cover. After discovering Kate Bush's original, I had two versions and two is better than one. Also worth noting is how if Kate Bush had died before Tori Amos was born, I'd believe in reincarnation.
04. Kelly Clarkson - "Since U Been Gone" -- Yay. This was the theme song for the Laguna Beach: Season Two premiere episode. So what if she replaces words with letters? So does Jewel and she's a poet. So what if Ted Leo pointed out that the bridge guitar solo is ripped off a Yeah Yeah Yeahs song? It's not a huge surprise that the person at pitchfork who put Kelly in fourth is a woman, but I'm going to quote her anyway: "while Karen O [of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs] was sitting around whining about how she couldn't live without her man, Ms. American Idol was shouting that, now that he had walked on out that door, she would survive. Kinda ironic is all I'm saying."
I realize quoting pitchfork writers is bad form, seeing as how they produce some of the worst displays of music journalism ever. I don't mean that in a pretentious "their taste in music makes me vomit" way, but there are seriously countless articles on this website that make absolutely no sense. I am admittedly bad at writing CD reviews, but even I resist phrases like "oafish Aristotelian philosophy" and "all rife with stilted obfuscation". At least I use pronounceable words like "crunchy".
Anyway, I figured quoting someone who sings Kelly Clarkson's praises was safe. I am sorry if my bad form offended anyone. I also would like to apologize to any reader who has made it this far and has no interest in music whatsoever. So music's not your thing. We can still be friends. But if music isn't your thing and food isn't your thing, you've probably arrived at this url by mistake. May I suggest http://earth.google.com?
bokonon25: i'd better revise what i think is cool
I like to avoid giving music commentary. In order to function properly as Houston's indie-compass and keep our playlist fresh, all ktru dj's are required to review at least 5 cd's every semester. I may have reviewed a total of 5 since my first semester - 2 years ago. The only reason they let me have a shift at all is because I partnered up with Renee, who spent her free time sitting around Montrose coffeeshops writing CD reviews like a real ktru dj should. I bet she doesn't constantly get these notification e-mails:
You checked stuff out a long time ago. I miss my stuff, so if you could find it in your heart to bring it back, that would be awesome.
Thanks,
The Komputer
It asks so nicely, too. If I weren't so immune to passive aggressive persuasion tactics, I might actually be an asset to my own station. But unfortunately for ktru and all related underground music enthusiasts, my mother trained me well.
Part of the reason I don't like writing CD reviews is simply that I'm no good at being a critic (as established in a previous entry). Here's an excerpt to prove my point: "Some crunchy electronic samples combined with delicate keyboard melodies produce a dreamy quality. They sound like Notwist and Postal Service had a laptop pop lovechild." What the hell does that mean? What is she talking about? Those are just some of the questions asked by people reading my CD reviews.
Another part of the reason is that I'm self-conscious. Being affiliated with ktru makes some sins forgivable in the public circle. It's like proclaiming your love for Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo and then casually dropping that Wes Anderson is your best friend. But it's nothing like being Wes Anderson. He's untouchable. I, on the other hand, am capable of saying really great things about really bad music and I'm just not keen on the idea of immortalizing that in the ktru library.
That being said, the people at pitchforkmedia.com recently released their picks for the top 50 singles of 2005 and I am generally displeased.
47. Feist - "Inside and Out" -- This is Leslie Feist. She splits the female membership of Broken Social Scene with my current indie music crush, Emily Haines. Ian introduced me to her in an effort to lead me astray, but I am proud to say I've remained faithful to Emily. There's only one explanation for why Leslie eclipsed Emily's side project (Metric) on this countdown. Leslie Feist practices black magic.
35. Gwen Stefani - "Hollaback Girl" -- Out of all the singles released in 2005, this is their pick for the 35th greatest one. I can't make this shit up, bananas or no bananas.
25. Kanye West - "Gold Digger" -- Pitchfork says, "Despite all evidence to the contrary, you're not saying she's a gold digger? Sure, we love to hear about it, and it's not like I have enough money to even worry about this kind of shit. But seriously. Look at the signs, they add up. I'm not asking you to stop the girl from getting down. Go ahead, let her get down. Just check your monthly statements, man." As a sidenote, this song annoys the hell out of me.
18. The Killers - "Mr. Brightside" -- I love both this song and the man who sings it (he may be Mormon and engaged, but love conquers all). It should have been number one. That is all I have to say.
17. LCD Soundsystem - "Tribulations" -- Everyone and their dead dog calls the station to request "Losing My Edge." I'm okay with that because that's 7 minutes and 53 seconds that I don't have to find something else to play. Not to mention I enjoy the song despite the fact that he supposedly name-drops a gagillion indie music icons and I don't get any of them. So everyone was buzzing about their first full length LP and the reason I'm mentioning this is to say that "Tribulations" was my favorite and pitchfork's got my back.
13. M83 - "Don't Save Us From the Flames (Superpitcher Remix)" -- I'm only mentioning it so my current music choice makes sense. M83 is probably what I would feel like if I took drugs. I like M83 a lot. You should really try this stuff.
09. R. Kelly - "Trapped in the Closet" -- After hearing this song (and seeing it performed on the MTV Video Music Awards), the only way I can fall asleep at night is by believing that there is a special room in Hell where people who make and condone this kind of music are sent.
05. The Futureheads - "Hounds of Love" -- I love covers. I loved this song before I knew it was a cover. After discovering Kate Bush's original, I had two versions and two is better than one. Also worth noting is how if Kate Bush had died before Tori Amos was born, I'd believe in reincarnation.
04. Kelly Clarkson - "Since U Been Gone" -- Yay. This was the theme song for the Laguna Beach: Season Two premiere episode. So what if she replaces words with letters? So does Jewel and she's a poet. So what if Ted Leo pointed out that the bridge guitar solo is ripped off a Yeah Yeah Yeahs song? It's not a huge surprise that the person at pitchfork who put Kelly in fourth is a woman, but I'm going to quote her anyway: "while Karen O [of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs] was sitting around whining about how she couldn't live without her man, Ms. American Idol was shouting that, now that he had walked on out that door, she would survive. Kinda ironic is all I'm saying."
I realize quoting pitchfork writers is bad form, seeing as how they produce some of the worst displays of music journalism ever. I don't mean that in a pretentious "their taste in music makes me vomit" way, but there are seriously countless articles on this website that make absolutely no sense. I am admittedly bad at writing CD reviews, but even I resist phrases like "oafish Aristotelian philosophy" and "all rife with stilted obfuscation". At least I use pronounceable words like "crunchy".
Anyway, I figured quoting someone who sings Kelly Clarkson's praises was safe. I am sorry if my bad form offended anyone. I also would like to apologize to any reader who has made it this far and has no interest in music whatsoever. So music's not your thing. We can still be friends. But if music isn't your thing and food isn't your thing, you've probably arrived at this url by mistake. May I suggest http://earth.google.com?