Jesus , What A Pretentious Cunt!

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am i a latecomer to the bashfest? i don't care. a new low in deluded cliche-propogating self-regard:

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/interviews/b/bloc-party-05/

― john clarkson, Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:11 (twenty years ago)

I thought Jesus was reasonably low key myself, if given to Messiah-complexes.

As for Bloc Party, I've read a hell of a lot worse! And encountered it in person. And since their music is great, rah.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:14 (twenty years ago)

I too was really hoping this thread was about Jesus.

― Hurting (Hurting), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:17 (twenty years ago)

pretty humourless bunch.

"That postmodern thinking is really exciting. It's totally of the moment. It's right now."

riight.

― N_RQ, Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:23 (twenty years ago)

Wouldn't "postmodern" thinking not be of the moment, but in fact be of the future?

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:27 (twenty years ago)

Postprefuturism.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:27 (twenty years ago)

sat on the crest of a hypewave it's must be almost impossible for some of it not to pass through your arsecheeks by osmosis, but really, that guy needs to take a step back and get a sense of humour about himself.

it's certainly down to perspective - mine is that their music is pretty meh. i'm unsophisticated like that. i just don't 'get' really advanced highbrow Art like theirs *coughcough*

― john clarkson, Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:28 (twenty years ago)

You demmed Philistine. I weep for you. *proceeds to not do so*

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:29 (twenty years ago)

phrases like 'step up to the plate'... they're ok, but usually completely unnecessary, as in the intro to this interview.

― N_RQ, Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:29 (twenty years ago)

Yeah it's a shame that Kele talks the talk but I'd still much rather listen to the White Stripes. Hm.

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:35 (twenty years ago)

Roxor or um something.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:38 (twenty years ago)

Hey, music needs its humorless students too, give 'em a break; it's not like they were given very interesting questions to work with. But I think dude sounds less pretentious than the last five things I've heard either Gallagher say.

― Haikunym (Haikunym), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:38 (twenty years ago)

"I really want to propose that Bloc Party is a post-modern band. We're not afraid to take from anywhere. There's too much rock that relies a fetishism or nostalgia for the old ways. That's a real enemy to music. It needs to be constantly looking forward."

Huh boy......

Listen buddy -- I've seen you play and I own your music. What makes you think you're any more "forward-looking" than Oasis or anyone else? Because you're young?

And I just love people categorizing themselves as "post-modern" without having really any inkling what the word means other than "different."

― PB, Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:40 (twenty years ago)

I actually kinda like that because it's a very eighties use of the word, which seems appropriate.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:40 (twenty years ago)

it's not like they were given very interesting questions to work with

i know, i know, but it's still the oldest trap in the book - lay out some questions that pander to their musoid self-importance and watch 'em stumble right in.

you'd have thought after 18 months they'd be meeja-savvy enough to dance circles around this kind of shit, but no.

― john clarkson, Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:43 (twenty years ago)

"I really want to propose that this is a post-modern dump I'm taking."

― PB, Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:43 (twenty years ago)

Exactly. Whole samples. Whole songs. That postmodern thinking..

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think he's referring to sample-based music as being postmodern, which is pretty much in line with what's been said for the last few decades. Metacontextualism and such.

― mike h. (mike h.), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:46 (twenty years ago)

No but mike the word Postmodern is preeetenshus and being preeeeetenshus is a Bad Thing cos we should all be into like Status Quo and stuff. C'mon, get with it.

― I Ain't No Addict, Whoever Heard of a Junkie as Old as Me? (noodle vague), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:48 (twenty years ago)

wow Kele. it must be so hard to stay humble.

― john clarkson, Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:49 (twenty years ago)

Oh yeah, I forgot. So why does not the PFM dude ask if Kele is gay? Because dude, I totally heard he's gay and that's why they won't do interviews with Vice despite being on their label.

― mike h. (mike h.), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:50 (twenty years ago)

I had this bookmarked as "Blocparty's crappy manifesto."

― Eppy (Eppy), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:50 (twenty years ago)

"That postmodern thinking is really exciting. It's totally of the moment. It's right now."

it's not the pretentiousness or the wrongness it's the quarter-century-out-of-dateness.

also: britpop was postmodern.

― N_RQ, Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:50 (twenty years ago)

"Pretentious" is another way of saying "trying to look smart and failing to do so."

― Eppy (Eppy), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:50 (twenty years ago)

The problem is that they're not pretentious. Boring, yes. But they don't put across any ideas in that interview - and they take the most commonplace things as new. Postmodernism! Wow. And if they think that The White Stripes are any less postmodern than them they are nuts.

Kele Okereke: When you grow up, you're told that rock 'n' roll is the only authentic way to express yourself. Live instrumentation, singer, live drums. You're told that's the best medium to communicate. So much of modern rock is referencing music from 20 years ago.

...

Pitchfork: Do you have any plans to translate the studio electronics to the stage?

Kele Okereke: No. I don't really believe in the use of drum machines live.

Matt Tong: Why is that?

Kele Okereke: It's like watching Automato.

― Raw Patrick (Raw Patrick), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:52 (twenty years ago)

Patrick on the post-money. That's not pretentiousness, that's childlike naivety crossed with stoopidity.

― I Ain't No Addict, Whoever Heard of a Junkie as Old as Me? (noodle vague), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:54 (twenty years ago)

SHOCK HORROR.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:55 (twenty years ago)

Of course the history of Pop is full of people who make great music thanks to childlike naivety and stoopidity. I'm unsure about Bloc Party though, I only really like remixes of their stuff. As a self-contained unit, they're a bit Automato.

― I Ain't No Addict, Whoever Heard of a Junkie as Old as Me? (noodle vague), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:57 (twenty years ago)

Check it out as they deconstruct the press release. deconstruction is very new and a la mode.
Bloc Party is an autonomous unit of un-extraordinary kids reared on pop culture between the years of 1976 and the present day. Like many such kids, between them they eventually concluded that their own attempts to imitate what had informed them could be construed as a worthy variation on the many forms that preceded. They do everything that's required to conform to the currently received ideas of what a band is: ostensibly to play instruments at the same time, but also have a title for the work created.
Kele picked up a guitar when his hands enabled him to do so and his brain gave him the inclination. Russell had already done as much beforehand when they met in 1998. In the fine print of music papers and in telephone conversations they enabled meetings with Gordon and Matt who also had ideas of some relevance to bring to the collective effort. In this sense a band was created.

Henceforth should follow a list of auteurs and musicians that figured in the formative minds of the four as they went about their work. But to do as much seems churlish in an already self-referential world. Suffice to say there would be no band without the efforts of guitar bands formed in British and American towns in the 70s, 80s and 90s, aswell as visionary writers and artists of various kinds whose work has informed the world and culture itself as it stands. The precise names are as good as any you can come up with, in fact probably much, much better.

― Raw Patrick (Raw Patrick), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:58 (twenty years ago)

"We just need to redefine the art."

"That low art/high art distinction comes from the establishment telling me how I'm supposed to think."

hahaha

― Nigel (Nigel), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:58 (twenty years ago)

childlike naivete + stoopidity = fun music, sometimes! why is everyone here so grumpy these days?

― Haikunym (Haikunym), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 13:59 (twenty years ago)

Noodle Vague's right. They're a band made to remix. That remix album coming out will be much better than their proper album. Maybe that really is new! They've stumbled into postmodernity by their own clumsiness.

― Raw Patrick (Raw Patrick), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 14:00 (twenty years ago)

x posts

Haiku, I said the same thing further up. But that Kele, he's no Green Gartside is he?

― I Ain't No Addict, Whoever Heard of a Junkie as Old as Me? (noodle vague), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 14:00 (twenty years ago)

sterling defence Haikunym, but you're not really suggesting BP are fun???!!

― john clarkson, Tuesday, 30 August 2005 14:01 (twenty years ago)

I think they can be great fun, actually.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 14:02 (twenty years ago)

I was talking in general, I haven't heard the BP album. And Green Gartside has always seemed like a lot of hard work to me.

― Haikunym (Haikunym), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 14:03 (twenty years ago)

I like that Pitchfork have transcribed the word automata as Automato in order to start inter band beef.

― Raw Patrick (Raw Patrick), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 14:03 (twenty years ago)

p.s. yeah i'm a grumpy cunt - as charged your honour

― john clarkson, Tuesday, 30 August 2005 14:04 (twenty years ago)

THE STAKE FOR YOU

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 14:04 (twenty years ago)

"I think [Jack White] is a great player, but I think they base they're whole shtick around wanting to sound like an authentic rock machine."

Whoops.

― Nigel (Nigel), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 14:05 (twenty years ago)

eat my bile ragwort!

― john clarkson, Tuesday, 30 August 2005 14:07 (twenty years ago)

I'm lost in this strange new universe where Bloc Party are frothy pop funsters and Scritti are angst rock.

― I Ain't No Addict, Whoever Heard of a Junkie as Old as Me? (noodle vague), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 14:09 (twenty years ago)

There's a disturbing case of skinny dude long neckism going on in that picture on the "manifesto" page.

― mike h. (mike h.), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 14:16 (twenty years ago)

Bloc Party are pure, man. no hype, all substance. not like fucking white stripes

― gear (gear), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 14:18 (twenty years ago)

it's nice to see nu-wavers are copping authentically vapid 80's pseudointellectualism to compliment postmodern technologies like synthesizers and drum machines

― Zack Richardson (teenagequiet), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 14:28 (twenty years ago)

I WAS PROMISED A PARTY!

― Yes, I have heard of pizza (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 14:33 (twenty years ago)

Another way in which they are postmodern: their best song is a cover. ("Hounds of Love.") Unless I am thinking of the Futureheads again, in which case that is not THEIR best song. Also, having your best song be a cover is a tradition that dates to the beginnings of pop. So never mind.

― Eppy (Eppy), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 14:33 (twenty years ago)

What makes you think you're any more "forward-looking" than Oasis or anyone else?

Because their influences are *younger* than those of Oasis, I guess. ;-)

― nathalie's pocket revolution (stevie nixed), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 14:35 (twenty years ago)

When did THE PARTY become so bile-worthy? Was it the placement in Target commercials? Is their music even in Target commercials, or does that even matter because it could be? My god, this is so postmodern of me!

I think I'm going to start calling them THE PARTY though, I like that. You guys are overreading, if anything these guys sound way too earnest and want their music to mean something, but nothing too important -- but pop is important!

― mike h. (mike h.), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 14:35 (twenty years ago)

I WAS PROMISED A PARTY!

Now here is a man with some sense.

― Confounded (Confounded), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 14:41 (twenty years ago)

"it's nice to see nu-wavers are copping authentically vapid 80's pseudointellectualism to compliment postmodern technologies like synthesizers and drum machines
-- Zack Richardson (teenagequie...), August 30th, 2005."

bing! pow!

― N_RQ, Tuesday, 30 August 2005 14:44 (twenty years ago)

I'm lost in this strange new universe where Bloc Party are frothy pop funsters and Scritti are angst rock.

No wonder you're lost when you insist on misreading the map! No one said Scritti was "angst rock," no one compared Bloc Party to the Archies. READ THE THREAD MAN.

― Haikunym (Haikunym), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 14:59 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, man, and what's up with the fucking beard? Oooh, very 'free folk,' very of-the-moment, asshole. Stigmata? Gimme a break, hippie. And your book is mostly stolen from Bob Dylan lyrics. I guess that's very 'postmodern,' right? To steal? You're an asshole, Jesus, a pretentious asshole.

― God Body (Roger Fidelity), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 17:29 (twenty years ago)

Kele Okereke: I'm finding it hard to listen to other rock bands. It's been hard for me for a long time, but now I can't listen to any new bands at all.
Pitchfork: Do you look back for that kind of thing?

Kele Okereke: Not backwards. I think there's a lot of great stuff being made right now.

I'm sorry, oxymoron?

― Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 18:20 (twenty years ago)

Well, really just conflicting opinions one sentence after the other, but y'know.

― Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 18:21 (twenty years ago)

Great stuff not being made by rock bands, maybe?

― mike h. (mike h.), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 18:21 (twenty years ago)

Kele Okereke: Not backwards. I think there's a lot of great stuff being made right now.

I'm sorry, oxymoron?

Which implies, to me anyway, that he's finding a lot of excitement in stuff which isn't like that produced by his indie peers.

― Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 18:27 (twenty years ago)

Banhart did the look first for sure. It really bugs me when Messiahs moon around like they've been given some God-given fucking right to save mankind. 12 disciples? big deal. my mate's band's up on myspace and they've got 631 friends. when are self-righteous doughnuts like this gonna wake up to the fact that there are more important things to be worrying about than martyring yourself to take away the sins of the world?

The allusion to Jim Morrison in The Crucifixion scene is a nice referential touch but it still doesn't justify the hype.

― john clarkson, Tuesday, 30 August 2005 18:38 (twenty years ago)

Kele is very interested in the grime scene apparently.

― jive session (elwisty), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 19:23 (twenty years ago)

I love Bloc Party's crappy manifesto though. It reads like Stewart Lee wrote it in five minutes for a bet.
It's clear they'll make only one more record. Once indies bands start feeling ashamed of their chosen genre, they're on the slippery slope to EFL teaching, or worse, band management.

― snotty moore, Tuesday, 30 August 2005 19:34 (twenty years ago)

From:

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000025558.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

To:

http://www.ucrchina.org/images/tefl.jpg

It's a slippery slope...

― jive session (elwisty), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 19:41 (twenty years ago)

i dont think they are good. thanks for askin!

― huell howser (chaki), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 19:52 (twenty years ago)

a slippery upwards slope

damn that huge paycheck hurts at the end of each month - covers all those new recordings and hey - i ain't being bent over the corporate table for 12 points plus a few grand

come after me above the line kele and you'll reap the whirlwind you mimsy little oaf

second thoughts i'll leave you to jack - i hear he's pretty handy in a fite

― john clarkson, Tuesday, 30 August 2005 20:21 (twenty years ago)

I'm sorry, oxymoron?

Well, really just conflicting opinions one sentence after the other, but y'know.

Logical thinking and simplicity is so 1960's guitar-rock. Contradictions are and jibberish are post-modern ya know. Don't you read Radiohead's blog?

― Cunga (Cunga), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 21:17 (twenty years ago)

p.s.

i hear Gang Of Four are all management consultants these days

damn. i bet they're jealous of bloc party

it must be difficult being so old and mediocre faced with such an onslaught of youthful Genius

*chortle*

― john clarkson, Tuesday, 30 August 2005 21:47 (twenty years ago)

i hear Gang Of Four are all management consultants these days

Dave Allen was at Intel for a bit working on media technologies.

Then he started his own entertainment promotion business.

Don't know if anyone's posted this before... his tour diary (or whatever.. public diary) from the January reunion shows.

― Confounded (Confounded), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 21:58 (twenty years ago)

Because this is so obviously a Gang of Four thread.

― Confounded (Confounded), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 21:59 (twenty years ago)

I was disappointed to open this thread and discover that it wasn't about me.

I didn't think Bloc Party were pretentious in the interview (certainly not as pretentious as you twats thinking you're engaging in a critique of the band); sincere and a bit dull, but not pretending to anything. And they're correct in saying that the whole Gang of Four comparison is overplayed.

I first read the press release last year. Found it charming. Still do.

― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Wednesday, 31 August 2005 00:02 (twenty years ago)

Bloc Party's concept of postmodernism is sad in light of their music. I think postmodernism at this moment is a sentiment more than anything. There is a self-serious aspect to Bloc Party that I find antithetical to the postmodern attitude. I feel postmodernism is about being omnivorous in terms of influences and embracing them by openly referencing and merging diverse, often disparate works. Also, I think it is about connecting with the audience in a way which at once humors them with irony and sincerely moves them emotionally. Bloc Party does not do any of these things. I think the best examples of postmodernism these days are probably the films of Wes Anderson and the songs of Dave Longstreth.

― RB, Wednesday, 31 August 2005 02:37 (twenty years ago)

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