Grimes/Claire Boucher thread

"Unfortunately, this rules" is my pop music sentiment

*favourite pop music sentiment, that is

Still not used to the fact that when you look it up on YT, the subsequent result is fantano's 7 minute review, posted 19h ago.

{SCREAMS}

You're not clicking the "Not Interested" button enough.

Hard work, that.

I don't care who she's fucking and I don't trust anyone who does and this track rules.

to be fair I think it's less about "who she's fucking" and more about potential fascist over/undertones (although no more, really, than NIN)

Grimes: I have an idea for a song
Studio guy: go on
Grimes: cyber Eugenics...
Studio guy: yea yea spit it out
Grimes: cyber eugenics would be cool?
Studio guy: ok i have Guitar_chug1.wav loaded in just punch in the vocals

— 🔣🆖🔢🆖 (@dei_genetrix) November 30, 2018

:/

Are we really not doing irony anymore?

There's space in this world for quality shade, especially when coming from someone else who makes Canadian industrial pop

this song rules

it's a pretty shitty joke given how vocal she has been about producing all her own stuff

Are we really not doing irony anymore?

Evidently not.

potential fascist over/undertones

oh come on, I thought it was funny. I don't even hate the song!

I don't know what's so objectionable about that comment given that I have seen multiple people make variations on it upthread that have gone unremarked upon

I don’t think the “fascist overtones” are that problematic. It’s a sci fi fantasy.

oh don't worry it's not any more ridiculous than many of the comments in this thread

like, my computer might actually die if I load this entire thread (and grimes won't want that!) but within the buffer there's

fascist art with a hook.

― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Thursday, November 29, 2018 1:24 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

my post was really to point to other objections that have been raised and I really don't understand why I'm the one taking shit for it

and obviously it's playing with her i-produce-everything claims in a spiteful way that's (part of) the joke ugh

I'm just trying to get you all to listen to Black Dresses - badly, it seems

I also disagree with caek

and obviously it's playing with her i-produce-everything claims in a spiteful way that's (part of) the joke ugh

so obvious it took until now for you to come up with that rationalisation

just fuck off

I wasn't specifically targeting anyone with my question fwiw.

*takes his ball and goes home*

Let’s all be cool and not ruin this thread’s reputation for chill times

lol — this thread is just bonkers.

fascists don't just come out and say "we appreciate power." it's fascist like starship troopers is fascist. in fact the whole formulation is pretty hilarious we "appreciate" power - who talks like that? ppl hunger for power, fight for it, but they rarely appreciate it. in this case it's bc it's an acquiescence, an attempt to get along with those who want power. don't mind me i also appreciate power. or if it is sincere it is stating the lust for power in a superficial casual way. "appreciation" is not a fascist word. it's making a mockery of the desire to accumulate power. either way the song has a relationship to fascism but it's obviously not a fascist song. no fascist is going to listen to it and feel represented or moved.

i wouldnt say nin were ever lyrically techno-fascist or anything like that?

grimes is just a nerd who thinks roko's basilisk is a cool concept or whatever instead of a ridiculously silly thing just like her recent tweets about how cool it will be when everyone has chips in their brain to control their behaviour etc which is bad vibes even if shes just a nerd messing around with sci-fi tropes. i don't get the feeling shes sincerely i much prefer her in any other lyrical mode, even kill v maim which was supposed to be from the perspective of a time-travelling vampire mobster? idk

anyway i hope the album is on its way soon so theres something better to discuss in this thread

fascists don't just come out and say "we appreciate power." <--- honestly not sure this is true anymore

What if it's a concept album?

xp

xp they definitely don't say "we appreciate power." maybe "we love power." but appreciate it such a weird word to apply to power.

I assumed the "we appreciate power" part was where grimes was trying to emulate moranbong -- their songs translate to stuff like "we call him father"

(wouldn't be surprised if it turns out to be an actual repurposed lyric but I'm not going to google this at work)

Nah, I think Mordy's right, 'appreciate' is too soft-hued for today's alt-right. If anything, they've made a point of 'rehabilitating' more obvious fascist signifiers. 'Appreciation' doesn't even make the dog-whistle cut.

xp

the "no fascist is going to listen to it and feel represented" part at least is true -- they have their own musical taste and artists, the year in kanye didn't get them to listen to kanye

soft hues are helpful when you're cloaking your sentiment, though? (not accusing grimes of anything here, just pondering alt-right language patterns)

Apparently the 4ÆM demo has leaked and it sounds good and has a drastically different style from “we appreciate power”, is this the first time she uses a drum n bass beat?... the production sounds really good so wouldn’t be surprised if the album version is practically the same as this demo.

http://grimeslife.tumblr.com/post/180622337146/grimes-4æm-demo

I think this song fails insofar as it relies upon its audience being familiar with the concept of Roko's Basilisk for the joke to land

"We Appreciate Power" is the same joke as "I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords"

I think this song fails insofar as it relies upon its audience being familiar with the concept of Roko's Basilisk for the joke to land

maybe, maybe not -- being familiar with the concept probably has an equal chance of making the lyrics seem "oh god, this again" (source: me)

lol

yeah that was my reaction too katherine

soft hues are helpful when you're cloaking your sentiment, though? (not accusing grimes of anything here, just pondering alt-right language patterns)

Sure, but it seems to me that even in their most underhanded uses of language, they tend to steer clear of potentially 'feminine' words such as this one, unless they need a) neutral filler for purposes of diplomacy or b) to demean the object of 'appreciation' (Trump 'appreciated' McCain, for instance).

I agree that Roko's basilisk is boring af, as is the trolley problem and the thankfully mostly defunct brain-in-a-vat thought experiment.

WTF is Roko basilisk

Courtesy of the somewhat insufferable Rational Wiki: https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Roko%27s_basilisk

Roko's basilisk is a thought experiment about the potential risks involved in developing artificial intelligence. The premise is that an all-powerful artificial intelligence from the future could retroactively punish those who did not help bring about its existence, including those who merely knew about the possible development of such a being. It resembles a futurist version of Pascal's wager, in that it suggests people should weigh possible punishment versus reward and as a result accept particular singularitarian ideas or financially support their development. It is named after the member of the rationalist community LessWrong who first publicly described it, though he did not originate it or the underlying ideas.