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

gotta wonder how much different a piece like this, or the reaction to it, would be if it was coming from, say, Greg Tate.

let's watch!...

i have a feeling greg tate wouldn't write such a shoddy article. also this kind of piece is only ever written by white dudes. not that it has to be, but i am sure greg tate would be approaching this from a completely diff angle.

funny how sfj seemed like such a relief after the nyer's occasional use of nick hornby

greg tate\\\ "my indie rock band burnt sugar was never able to believably incorporate the sounds of pavement and other authentically white bands."

xpost Tremendoid I wasn't sure at first because SFJ's use of miscegenation is so off-base but I think you're really on to something there. Masculinity in indie rock culture is in a really weird place right now--Witness the awkward dudes I know who listen to wolf eyes and wear bad clothes and are really into their bikes who refer to most average white dudes as "Bros," a term which totally has its place, but in this case all those bros are going to clubs or fratty parties and listening to rap.

maybe you can loan me some from your 90-minute daily lab sessions of coming up with weak slams towards nobodies like alfred soto

haha ethan i like you becuase you think of ILX as the internet WWE

maybe you can loan me some from your 90-minute daily lab sessions of coming up with weak slams towards nobodies like alfred soto

ethan only slams the dangerous and high-profile, he is truly living on the edge

you should know, you're considered "big game" back at the zing lodge.

god this podcast is terrible. this shit is just str8 retarded.

<b>You describe in your article that part of the great thing about music before this split happened is that it was hard to tell the difference sometimes between black and white music.</b>

<i>Right, and you've got Nirvana, who I think were the greatest rock band of the 90s, easily. You've got Dave Grohl, who's a phenomenal drummer. His beat for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" - that's a dance song. One of the many reasons that song is about as good as one song can ever get. It's already, like, <b>nine different kinds of music</b>, and his beat for it is, like a hard, slightly modified funk beat."

yeah the podcast was much worse than the article

Nine different kinds! Jeepers, would you name them all, please?

the New Yorker has become a flyer for the worst internet radio show ever.

http://www.omg-ponies.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/most_dangerous_game.jpg

1) pixies
2) pixies
3) pixies
4) pixies
5) dinosaur jr.
6) mudhoney
7) boston
8) boston
9) boston

i also love the "slightly modified funk beat"...modified ever so slightly to the point where it is not actual a funk beat at all.

6) mudhoney

you misspelled "modified funk" (xpost)

Aren't the drums on "Smells Like Teen Spirit" entirely overdubbed from session guys?

His beat for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" - that's a dance song.

Did he really say this?

"black" francis.

http://www.cdmarket.eu/img/364f1f49e2426a7b476f4f1a5ef66fdc.jpg

masters of the "slightly modified funk beat"

xpost

that shit above, minus my dumb wrong html things, is transcribed word for word. honest.

Aren't the drums on "Smells Like Teen Spirit" entirely overdubbed from session guys?

waht? i've never heard this

His beat for "Machinehead"--that's a dance song.

Aren't the drums on "Smells Like Teen Spirit" entirely overdubbed from session guys?

-- Dom Passantino, Wednesday, October 17, 2007 3:39 PM (23 seconds ago) Bookmark Link

dunno if this is a joke, but I'm pretty sure Butch Vig did a lot of drum sampling on Nevermind, which basically means you're hearing everything as Grohl played it, but Vig cut-and-pasted a bit to make sure each snare hit was as loud and spotless as every other one, etc.

for squirrels threw down so many nasty grooves

1991: The Year Funk Broke

you guys are cracking me up right now, this is great

load up on funk and bring your friends

Aren't the drums on "Smells Like Teen Spirit" entirely overdubbed from session guys?

waht? i've never heard this

I think somebody overheard Bernard Purdie indulging once again in "that was me on _____" , as my friend likes to put it.

load up on funk and bring your friends

-- Alex in Baltimore, Wednesday, October 17, 2007 7:44 PM (37 seconds ago) Bookmark Link

!!!!!!!

I think Carol Kaye played bass.

"8:02pm" is a great song Matt.

is this all some sort of convoluted justification for sfj to listen to overplayed white rock music, by saying it's actually dance-funk

is this all some sort of convoluted justification for sfj to listen to create overplayed white rock music, by saying it's actually dance-funk

I think by playing Elvis in his podcast and playing up some vague "funk" influence in Nirvana, he's trying to prove some musical Darwinism that the best music is 'miscegenated,' nevermind him contrasting that with a bunch of bands that are at least as black (?) as "Teen Spirit."

t's already, like, <b>nine different kinds of music</b>,

This reminds me of when Christgau in Pazz and Jop last year talked about Nirvana's "inspired, if accidental, synthesis", and Frank Kogan told me he must mean their "inspired synthesis of Husker Du style music with Bob Mould style vocals".

is this all some sort of convoluted justification for sfj to listen to create overplayed white rock music, by saying it's actually dance-funk

-- and what, Wednesday, October 17, 2007 12:51 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Link

No one plays Ui records, though.

oops

i didnt know if 'overplayed' meant unbiquitous or proggy

Smells Like Teen Spirit's beat is square as fuck anyway.

unbiquitous lol

you know who had a funky drummer? steppenwolf! that drummer was hard as fuck

otm

"Born To Be Wild" is like 28 different kinds of music

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" was regularly played in a dance club in East Lansing Michigan in 1992, sadly enough.

does sfj not know what the word miscegenation means or is he trying to make a metaphor? is this what tremendoid was talking about? if "smells like teen spirit" is miscegenated does it mean that like the nirvana's influences had sex w/each other? (i am guessing the "funk" came via led zepplin?)

classic rock radio is often pretty damn funky (xpost)

bob mould has denied ever sleeping with grant hart

listen to the break at 2:27

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdoaMPSd5OU

holy shit!