A Paler Shade of White---Sasha Frere-Jones Podcast and New Yorker article Criticizing Indie Rock for Failing to Incorporate African-American Influences

I just used the "Suggest Ban" button.

that mr. diamond post is great

whoops! in regards to my wl/wh dub post, 'not hear'='hear'

Hi Geir, the influence does exist, but we don't have to buy it wholesale, it happened as a complex process, and it does not imply any obligations or debts. The way some people put it, it sounds as if black musicians are supposed to get 40 acres and a mule as reparation, and that of course puts the whole debate under a politicized, bitter perspective.

I dislike these "Elvis simply took black rhythms and styles blah blah blah" faulty generalizations. That's oversimplifying a complex and politically charged equation. I'm also puzzled that black influence is often equated simply with "rhythm", i.e, with some tribal pusating undercurrent to make people shake, rattle and roll. When Johnny Marr does that counterpoint thing in "This Charming Man", for instance, that's an african influence as well to a certain extent, but again, it's complex, because there's also a strong european contrapuntal tradition and so on.

Plus, I encourage people to express their dislikes a little more openly, and this is a subterranean discomfort that must be let out in the open: many people who like stuff like train,Garth Brooks or martial industrial bands loathe black music of any kind, particularly contemporary styles. So let's not rush anyone into being force-fed anything and respect all kinds of perceptions and worldviews.

BTW, I use black because 1)"african-american" it's a PC cop out which I reject and 2) to include other important traditions such as african-brazilian, afrocuban etc. So, 'till things are brighter, I'm the man uses the word "black".

lol

I didn't miss this place.

The way some people put it, it sounds as if black musicians are supposed to get 40 acres and a mule as reparation, and that of course puts the whole debate under a politicized, bitter perspective.

Dude...

Hi Geir, the influence does exist, but we don't have to buy it wholesale

I would say about 50 per cent of each. The Beatles got the mix between "black" and "white" elements just about right from around 1965 onwards.

(Otherwise, I'd much rather give them 40 acres and a mule - imperialism is a factor that shouldn't be ignored. But in music it may)

...

jesus

http://www.allglittergraphics.com/miss_you/glitter_graphics/miss_you_graphics_12.gif

This time I hit "Confirm".

hahaha

oh hey, ilm is back

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j244/egyptianlover661/itunes5.jpg

http://img11.nnm.ru/imagez/gallery/3/f/c/3/5/3fc353a0c2df7974bf61aeaa7a124670_full.jpg

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/rupert_christiansen/blog/2009/02/24/has_rock_music_got_a_cultural_diversity_problem

Nice comment from Jimmy Tarbuck there.

I think that's Peter Sissons

Oh hold on, he was at school with Jimmy Tarbuck too!

It may well be failed London Mayoral candidate Steven Norris.

most black music concerts almost always have a much larger spectrum of people from diff races than any rock show ive been to, even ones where the bands have black/non white members (bloc party, tvotr, cornershop etc etc).

from http://www.thedaily.com/about

For six years, Sasha Frere-Jones has been a staff writer and pop-music critic for The New Yorker, where he continues to write. He is expanding his 2007 essay "A Paler Shade of White" into a book for Farrar, Straus & Giroux. [...]

this is the first time i've heard that news

god i forgot about this clusterfuck

Ha, this is the thread where Geir told me to shut the fuck up!

Oh brilliance.

Really, one of my proudest ILM moments.

were u talking greasy about genesis?

Iirc, Ethan had been quoting things from a white supremacist message board and then Geir posted something that looked like a quote from a white supremacist message board and then I asked Geir if it was a quote from a white supremacist message board and then he told me to shut the fuck up.

Iirc, Ethan had been quoting things from a white supremacist message board

haha aw man...the good ol' daze :)

you keep up with ethan? i hope that dude is good, miss him on the board still

Not really, he occasionally pops up on fb, but that's it. Seems like he's doing alright tho.

I am totally psyched for this to be a book, honestly no way it can disappoint

lol good attitude

I am totally psyched for this to be a book, honestly no way it can disappoint

are your expectations really that low

http://www.sashafrerejones.com/2009/11/best_of_2010_1.html

ethan never responded to my fb request ;_;

also smh, that article is less relevant than ever now

Arcade Fire made his best-of list for 2010, so how will that fit into his premise (whatever it is at this point).

2007:There’s no point in faulting Arcade Fire for what it doesn’t do; what’s missing from the band’s musical DNA is missing from dozens of other popular and accomplished rock bands’ as well—most of them less entertaining than Arcade Fire

]I asked Geir if it was a quote from a white supremacist message board and then he told me to shut the fuck up.
Wow, I didn't catch that the first time around. Can't believe Geir actually told someone to STFU. He's always so unnervingly polite.

nah the "you're a nazi/racist" accusations REALLY set him off.

the curious case of the racist who didn't want to be thought of as racist

ILM has always been preoccupied with this topic. It is what ILM was based on, the entire "black" music is superior to "white" music is the entire foundament of what ILM was originally meant to be.

― Geir Hongro, Wednesday, October 17, 2007 4:36 AM (3 years ago) Bookmark

board description?

So I just noticed on the New Yorker's contributors page this week that SF-J's book about "identity and popular music" is now being referred to as a memoir? (Has that always been the case?)

It's actually a viral marketing campaign for Ui albums, I hear

Ha, this is the thread where Geir told me to shut the fuck up!

― The Reverend, Thursday, February 3, 2011 6:57 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Really, one of my proudest ILM moments.

― The Reverend, Thursday, February 3, 2011 6:58 PM Bookmark

So I just noticed on the New Yorker's contributors page this week that SF-J's book about "identity and popular music" is now being referred to as a memoir? (Has that always been the case?)

― Sax Blatterday (jaymc), Tuesday, December 18, 2012 12:55 PM (1 year ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

And now his Chicago Humanities Festival bio says that he's "currently working on a two-volume memoir about New York and the arts." So this probably has nothing to do with "A Paler Shade of White" anymore, right?