Didn't see the show (not coming to Providence - not unusual since *no one* ever fuckin' plays here). Didn't know that Petra was playing with the Decemberists; very cool. that dog were one of my favorite 90s also-rans. And I love me some Decemberists.
Mostly, I had to applaud your comments about the "celebration of dumb" that has even come to grip pop music. When did smart music become something bad? Like you, I'm all for some stupid pop music. But I refuse to feel ashamed just because I can listen to a Colin Meloy song and understand what he is on about, and not have to look in the dictionary every few lines. And what's wrong with looking the dictionary.
Thanks, guys! you left out some high points,tho:
Colin introducing Petra as "the reigning queen of lit-pop" (so there, NY Times)
and that Sonic-Youth-style extended-drone-vamp they did on the last song before encores
and they way they let the audience sing the 'Los Angeles' lyrics by themselves
and they biggest thrill: a kickass "Chimbley Sweep" with full audience singalong
yes, they are the thinking person's Flaming Lips....
...and that's a good dthing...
Yo, Kelefa getting that Times post is probably the best thing to happen to rock criticism in mainstream media since Spin was good. He likes smart stuff too! Didn't he write, like, a good Okkerville River review a little while ago? I'm seriously amped that there's someone who can write about the Mountain Goats and Amerie with equal passion and eloquence - right next to each other - working for such a major culture machine. And plus that Houston rap story he did was really good.
As you were.
(I've never heard the Decemberists.)
Dude. David Bowie was there? Did you get me his autograph?
Kelefah's stuff is usually great, and much needed. But that "literary rock" piece from a couple weeks ago made just two basic points: Okkervil River are geniuses (debatable, but I haven't heard enough) and the Decemberists are pretentious goofs (sacrilege). It was your typical I-need-a-whipping-boy maneuver-- really uncalled for...
I actually think that Kelefa is an amazing critic and generally very catholic in his tastes. I'm referring specifically to a piece he wrote that took the Decemberists to task for being too literary. I wanted to link to the article, but it's in the Times' archives already.
Re Bowie: A reference to my weird experience getting kicked out of my VIP seat by Sir Duke at the arcade show, as covered here:
http://moreinthemonitor.blogspot...feb-1-
2005.html
'popist', good call! all these smart white dudes need to know their role and get back to listening to dorky music made for, by, and about smart whiteness ASAP
also, re: NYT links, are you aware of http://nytimes.blogspace.com/genlink? basically, free perma-links for articles that will work even after they go in the archives - ostensibly for blog-use, but also handy for going back and reading old articles (e.g. the decembrists article) for 'personal' reasons. they don't do this for all sections, but I *think* they do it for arts
Sigh. That's not what I was saying. I'm all for pop music in all its forms and the celebration of said music and serious critique of said music. I also enjoy music that's not meant to be popular and the celebration of said music. Race is a canard in this discussion. If anything, early jazz was the prototype of important yet difficult music that eschewed the structures that would invite it into more homes. And rap presented itself early on as focused at a small band of listeners. Perhaps lit-rock will storm the country in the next 5 years. I await the Decemberists' turn on TRL. But for now, by and large, the culture celebrates a president who has a degree from Yale but masks anything he may have picked up there under a veneer of y'allness. And I think the culture at large is following suit. Kelefa is hardly the standard bearer of this syndrome, I was just ranting because his take on the Decemberists seemed to encapsulate some of the frustrations I am feeling right now.
Thanks for the link to archived Times material; very helpful.
Hmmm, maybe the Times has caught on; I couldn't get the link thing to work.
I was able to get the link to the interview with the new PBS head:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/2...5d72dc8&
ei=5070.
One last thought: All I am saying is give gravitas a chance!
I just wanna say that Petra Haden's The Who Sells Out is way better than any a capella re-recording of a '60s rock album has a right to be.
Gravitas? And here I thought the Decemberists were all about loopy fun. Silly me!
Hey, let a thousand flowers bloom...
Gravitas in terms of intent, not outcome.
oh, yeah, sorry for like expanding your point beyond your comfort zone, didn't mean to conflate rap-ism and pop-ism, though there's obviously a lot of overlap. it is mostly awesome that the internet has enabled legions of nerdy music boys to transcend social/racial/geographical barriers between them and enthusiastic rap fandom, but, you know, it gets kind of obnoxious sometimes.. or does it? I am speaking as someone that has embraced both popism and Bush to varying degrees in recent years, so I'm obviously kind of conflicted about the whole thing.
Douglas Wolk's piece on rockism should be read by anyone who cares about this topic: http://www.seattleweekly.com/
fea..._smallmouth.php
Now if we can get the honorable Douglas on the case re popism (only a slight blood relation to rockism, really). Then again, Jay Z sums it up nicely and does a nice take down of hypocrites like me as well.
"I dumbed down for my audience to double my dollars
They criticized me for it yet they all yell "HOLLA!"
If skills sold, truth be told, I'd probably be
lyrically, Talib Kweli
Truthfully I wanna rhyme like Common Sense
But I did five mill' - I ain't been rhymin like Common since"
---Jay Z, Moment of Clarity
Not that anyone's reading this anymore, but the Decemberists are pretentious because, when properly used, that means "using the impression of intelligence to pass for diminished quality." You can be literary and still suck, and you would probably suck less if you didn't try to be so literary.
Being a straight white guy, why do all my guy friends make fun of me when I say I like, even love, The Decemberists. Is it wrong to be sensitive and smart? Is it wrong to enjoy the Colin's lyrics? Why do my friends like Bright Eyes but diss me for dissing Conor and liking Colin? O the Humanity 
being a latina who loves all kinds of music (intriguing when you have to include a racial indentification prelude prior to contributing your opinion. for sheer internet perversity, I should be billing myself as white, straight guy with an ivy league education) I like the decemberists just fine & I equate them more with "playing dress-up rock" than "white people music". they are a band whose music comes across, to me anyway, as the work of a group of nerdy outcast kids who play exciting, overly imaginative games of "lets pretend"; pirate tales & victorian penny dreadfuls as pop music. so how does smart equal caucasian only? I'm not sure you can argue that caryn's opinion has a secretly racist component.
my question is: WWCFD? or what would chris funk do? not sure who my favorite decemberist is, but anyone who can manage the lifesavas while playing in the decemberists is clearly leaping over this whole rap/indie debate and getting on with it. go chris!
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