I've never been one with their finger constantly on the pulse of the hip new thing in music. Heck, I still don't think I could name one Kanye West song or tell you what's currently at the top of the charts and I just last week realized who Bon Ivor was, but I guess through friends/family on Facebook and my occasional glances at music blogs such as Pitchfork,
I have noticed a general trend happening in popular music at the moment that I really just do not understand.
Now I realize, especially within popular music, there are two sides of the coin. What's popular does not often last, though the two things are not necessarily mutually exclusive (i.e. The Beatles).
For instance, if you look at what was really popular in the 1970s and not what people remember of that era, you'll see that it was utter pap like James Taylor and KC & the Sunshine Band. Sure, people dug Neil Young, Nick Drake, Black Sabbath, CAN etc etc but that wasn't the music being consumed by the population at large so of course the popularity of bands like Mumford & Sons, the Lumineers, and Tilly & the Wall that perplexes me so is understandable; it's 'nice' music made by 'attractive' people singing about love and loss and all the other things that make up the human experience, but come on now, it's just you and me here and I think at least in private we can both agree that really, actually, to be frank, or Jeff or whatever else you want to be called, I really don't care at this point, as long as you stay here me out on this, they're just, shit.
Shit, shit, shit, shit shit. Yes, I know; I've seen the memes popping up with everyone's favourite Manchunian curmudgeon Mark E Smith, being quoted as saying that he thinks Mumford & Sons are an 'Irish mongoloid folk band' (which, whilst, HILARIOUS may or may not even be genuine), but I feel there are bigger things at stake here.
First off, before even discussing the music, there's the look. What are they shooting for even? 1980s hipster chic? You bought that hat at Target (or Primark, if you happen to be in Mumford & Sons), the shirt's from J. Crew and those weird tweed trousers you stole off a tramp outside one of your gigs.
You almost look homeless yourself except I just saw you step off a giant tour bus that I initially mistook for a docked space station due to it's size, and the music, the bread and butter of what you're pedaling is no better.
Remember folk-punk? Yeah, me too, it was awful and even without the nasally front person who used to like NOFX but just last week discovered Billy Bragg; it's still awful.
Finally, and this is what really pisses me off about the whole thing, is the fact that these bland, fake folk motherfuckers and their stupid clothes and no proper drummer, are selling out HUGE stadiums around the world (yes, even in Sweden, where practically everyone I met had awesome music taste) and people are eating it up like we're not going through a huge economic recession led by corrupt governments who spy on our every move and go to war over oil and lies and the spreading of capitalism but then, I realize.....that's the whole point.
Music is an escape, even for me.
So I just go back to blasting Fugazi and try and forget about it.
I have noticed a general trend happening in popular music at the moment that I really just do not understand.
Now I realize, especially within popular music, there are two sides of the coin. What's popular does not often last, though the two things are not necessarily mutually exclusive (i.e. The Beatles).
For instance, if you look at what was really popular in the 1970s and not what people remember of that era, you'll see that it was utter pap like James Taylor and KC & the Sunshine Band. Sure, people dug Neil Young, Nick Drake, Black Sabbath, CAN etc etc but that wasn't the music being consumed by the population at large so of course the popularity of bands like Mumford & Sons, the Lumineers, and Tilly & the Wall that perplexes me so is understandable; it's 'nice' music made by 'attractive' people singing about love and loss and all the other things that make up the human experience, but come on now, it's just you and me here and I think at least in private we can both agree that really, actually, to be frank, or Jeff or whatever else you want to be called, I really don't care at this point, as long as you stay here me out on this, they're just, shit.
Shit, shit, shit, shit shit. Yes, I know; I've seen the memes popping up with everyone's favourite Manchunian curmudgeon Mark E Smith, being quoted as saying that he thinks Mumford & Sons are an 'Irish mongoloid folk band' (which, whilst, HILARIOUS may or may not even be genuine), but I feel there are bigger things at stake here.
First off, before even discussing the music, there's the look. What are they shooting for even? 1980s hipster chic? You bought that hat at Target (or Primark, if you happen to be in Mumford & Sons), the shirt's from J. Crew and those weird tweed trousers you stole off a tramp outside one of your gigs.
You almost look homeless yourself except I just saw you step off a giant tour bus that I initially mistook for a docked space station due to it's size, and the music, the bread and butter of what you're pedaling is no better.
Remember folk-punk? Yeah, me too, it was awful and even without the nasally front person who used to like NOFX but just last week discovered Billy Bragg; it's still awful.
Finally, and this is what really pisses me off about the whole thing, is the fact that these bland, fake folk motherfuckers and their stupid clothes and no proper drummer, are selling out HUGE stadiums around the world (yes, even in Sweden, where practically everyone I met had awesome music taste) and people are eating it up like we're not going through a huge economic recession led by corrupt governments who spy on our every move and go to war over oil and lies and the spreading of capitalism but then, I realize.....that's the whole point.
Music is an escape, even for me.
So I just go back to blasting Fugazi and try and forget about it.
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