in 2008...
its insanely easy to become the best band in the world ever. literally the ONLY shitting thing in the world that matters is aesthetics.
LET ME EXPLAIN
music is advertising, but as all you girls know, Andy Warhol taught us that advertising is OK, so dont start crying thrrough your tired bloodshot marxist eyes yet. aesthetics applies to all aspects of a band (or music artist). ironically, even though no one has owned a cd in 5 years, artwork, appearance of a band, posters, photography, and visuals are pretty much 1/2 the deal. the music itself is part of the band's aesthetic, but even your dead cousin could tell you that when you 1st hear about a band, you are weighing up all aspects of them as a product, if only subconsciously.
00's bands & artists with notable aesthetics include:
The Strokes///////////////// these snotty NYC middle-class house party hounds got it super right. ironic minimalist nihilistic velvet garage rock. it's everywhere from the fact they have their producer and manager in the band photoshoots in the liner notes (that's the 00's armoured we-dont-mean-anything irony there) to the photography of the band - nonchalant monochrome blah, the sexy Is This It cover (the UK edition, natch), that peachy white arse with the S&M biker glove. it made hella sense, basically, and thats not mentioning the Bret Easton Ellis lyrics of Julian Casablancas, the endless, endless quaver patterns in every song (minimal noughties), yet this overwhelming sense that it shouldve been done before.
Kanye West////////////// arguably mainstream hip hop's ultimate, tireless reinventor (even though he sucks pretty huge balls now, how many ideas would you like from Ed Banger records this time Mr. West?), Kanye West's College Dropout was a clearly-defined new direction for the genre. and it was all thanks to the bear.. (?). West's early work was all about joyful, tongue-in-cheek wit combined with fit production and 'the thing everyone does in hip hop', being insanely high PITCH SHIFTED vocals! how stupid did that sound when you 1st heard it! (Through the Wire) but now, of course, stanndard.
Crystal Castles/////////// pretty much the ultimate aesthetic of the decade (ahem - the forward slashes?). I discovered this band way before you did and that makes me pretty happy, downloading poorly mixed versions of xxzxczx me (that was before they respelt it kid) about 4 years ago with Mp3 Gopher to satisfy my utter lust. Castles are at the stage now where pretty much anything they say goes. Castles have a picture of a bluebird on their MySpace? 'wow, arent bluebirds amazingly cool' ---- vid of Alice wearing a Vader t-shirt on youtube? 'i'm totally getting my star wars figures out tonight'. its pretty incredible really - they live on their own island completely - with taxidermy, thrift store synths, battered leather jackets, sheer punk sexuality, darkness, apathy, and as many stolen 8-bit samples as they like (and that, is exactly the point - they get away with anything). i plan to write a pretty dick-sucky, tit-licky post about their unreleased track 'Baptism' soon so stay tuned.
Kap Bambino///////////// one of the most exciting French acts of the moment, the hyperactively red haired, hoodied combo of sheer industrial doom. imagine every bassline from Parisian new dance put through one of Justice's compressors with a gorgeous slut on dist vox and youre basically there. I've been raving about them for a while, but perhaps they're too much for some. they're aesthetic is much like their predominant sound - contained chaos - their webpages covered in delicately scratchy drawings and montages.
Late of the Pier//////////// 1st Brit act in this list (i felt i had to boost numers jokes), LOTP have an astonishingly recognisable shtick, kind of Klaxons but not cunts shot through a visually autechre love for Gary Numan. I want to like them, haven't got round to it. (i wont)
These New Puritans//////////// are wannabe-chemists with Ian Curtis' old phonenumber and a weird tendency to run parallel with some really strange trends, yet tie it all together with gold and black string. for example, Swords of Truth begins sounding like some lost M.I.A. song and then becomes a bit BoNo Must Die-ish with weak boy vox, before J.B. sings '60 seconds', but it really sounds like a Missy Elliot song, but really not. they modelled for Dior (or some shit, cant really remember, you dont mind) even though they are supremely geek chic 4000, but that just made me like them more.
Those Dancing Days////////// i cant believe im writing this but i have an extremely guilty pleasure for these at the moment. : S x 4892. its something about that ice-cream truck organ and the hummable, sunwashed choruses. im not a paedophile. yet. anyway, TDD's aesthetic is simple as they are really - cutesy cutesy cutesy Swedes having cute fun alot alot.
Panda Bear/////////////// the actual brilliance. potuguese sun, sand, Beach Boys, looking after your newborn daughter, looking after your new fashion designer wife, paddling pools, a lot of animals, genuine courage. its an amazing aesthetic that Noah Lennox has, and perhaps because his aesthetic is basically his life, as pure as he can express it.
THE END
Andrew
LET ME EXPLAIN
music is advertising, but as all you girls know, Andy Warhol taught us that advertising is OK, so dont start crying thrrough your tired bloodshot marxist eyes yet. aesthetics applies to all aspects of a band (or music artist). ironically, even though no one has owned a cd in 5 years, artwork, appearance of a band, posters, photography, and visuals are pretty much 1/2 the deal. the music itself is part of the band's aesthetic, but even your dead cousin could tell you that when you 1st hear about a band, you are weighing up all aspects of them as a product, if only subconsciously.
00's bands & artists with notable aesthetics include:
The Strokes///////////////// these snotty NYC middle-class house party hounds got it super right. ironic minimalist nihilistic velvet garage rock. it's everywhere from the fact they have their producer and manager in the band photoshoots in the liner notes (that's the 00's armoured we-dont-mean-anything irony there) to the photography of the band - nonchalant monochrome blah, the sexy Is This It cover (the UK edition, natch), that peachy white arse with the S&M biker glove. it made hella sense, basically, and thats not mentioning the Bret Easton Ellis lyrics of Julian Casablancas, the endless, endless quaver patterns in every song (minimal noughties), yet this overwhelming sense that it shouldve been done before.
Kanye West////////////// arguably mainstream hip hop's ultimate, tireless reinventor (even though he sucks pretty huge balls now, how many ideas would you like from Ed Banger records this time Mr. West?), Kanye West's College Dropout was a clearly-defined new direction for the genre. and it was all thanks to the bear.. (?). West's early work was all about joyful, tongue-in-cheek wit combined with fit production and 'the thing everyone does in hip hop', being insanely high PITCH SHIFTED vocals! how stupid did that sound when you 1st heard it! (Through the Wire) but now, of course, stanndard.
Crystal Castles/////////// pretty much the ultimate aesthetic of the decade (ahem - the forward slashes?). I discovered this band way before you did and that makes me pretty happy, downloading poorly mixed versions of xxzxczx me (that was before they respelt it kid) about 4 years ago with Mp3 Gopher to satisfy my utter lust. Castles are at the stage now where pretty much anything they say goes. Castles have a picture of a bluebird on their MySpace? 'wow, arent bluebirds amazingly cool' ---- vid of Alice wearing a Vader t-shirt on youtube? 'i'm totally getting my star wars figures out tonight'. its pretty incredible really - they live on their own island completely - with taxidermy, thrift store synths, battered leather jackets, sheer punk sexuality, darkness, apathy, and as many stolen 8-bit samples as they like (and that, is exactly the point - they get away with anything). i plan to write a pretty dick-sucky, tit-licky post about their unreleased track 'Baptism' soon so stay tuned.
Kap Bambino///////////// one of the most exciting French acts of the moment, the hyperactively red haired, hoodied combo of sheer industrial doom. imagine every bassline from Parisian new dance put through one of Justice's compressors with a gorgeous slut on dist vox and youre basically there. I've been raving about them for a while, but perhaps they're too much for some. they're aesthetic is much like their predominant sound - contained chaos - their webpages covered in delicately scratchy drawings and montages.
Late of the Pier//////////// 1st Brit act in this list (i felt i had to boost numers jokes), LOTP have an astonishingly recognisable shtick, kind of Klaxons but not cunts shot through a visually autechre love for Gary Numan. I want to like them, haven't got round to it. (i wont)
These New Puritans//////////// are wannabe-chemists with Ian Curtis' old phonenumber and a weird tendency to run parallel with some really strange trends, yet tie it all together with gold and black string. for example, Swords of Truth begins sounding like some lost M.I.A. song and then becomes a bit BoNo Must Die-ish with weak boy vox, before J.B. sings '60 seconds', but it really sounds like a Missy Elliot song, but really not. they modelled for Dior (or some shit, cant really remember, you dont mind) even though they are supremely geek chic 4000, but that just made me like them more.
Those Dancing Days////////// i cant believe im writing this but i have an extremely guilty pleasure for these at the moment. : S x 4892. its something about that ice-cream truck organ and the hummable, sunwashed choruses. im not a paedophile. yet. anyway, TDD's aesthetic is simple as they are really - cutesy cutesy cutesy Swedes having cute fun alot alot.
Panda Bear/////////////// the actual brilliance. potuguese sun, sand, Beach Boys, looking after your newborn daughter, looking after your new fashion designer wife, paddling pools, a lot of animals, genuine courage. its an amazing aesthetic that Noah Lennox has, and perhaps because his aesthetic is basically his life, as pure as he can express it.
THE END
Andrew
3 comments:
I loves the Panda Bear.
no way! person pitch
is THE ONE. sickness
'their unreleased track 'Baptism'
they played at the astoria in february, it's rather ace to my mind.
Post a Comment