this article written by Carles is so full of truth it hurts
http://hipsterrunoff.com/2012/10/how-indie-finally-officially-died-broken-indie-machine.html
^ fucking knows. I always knew Carles was a smart guy. his truthishness is peppered with occasional untruths, but for the most point, SO ON POINT.
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not down with his constant wittering about white/black music
not sure what to make of that.
there's the normal amount of good albums released
but i def think 2012 didn't seem as fun in terms of releases. probably just japandroids and the i get wet reissue. maybe i'm just missing the fun stuff, idk.
that post isn't really anything about music
it's about branding. I'm sure lots of people would argue that the two are mutually inclusive but such talk makes me want to jump off a bridge. I mean, I read lots of reviews and online content, but I don't LIVE through it, in terms of music. Maybe I'm in the minority though, I dunno.
the way I see it
there was this utopian notion of a post-major label internet free-for-all, but as was always going to be the case, a new system has seized control, and as before, it's all money-driven, and it's actually even more hermetic than before because it has a much more insidious and far-reaching grip on music. music is content and the flow of it is tightly controlled.
the chance element is almost gone. the innate spur of creativity in isolation is too rare. for example, you don't hear nearly as much about localised scenes any more. everyone is linked in to the same controlled flow of content.
I mean, there are areas where music is thriving: the sphere of electronic music with UK bass music at the core is a hypercreative free-for-all.
but 'indie', the sphere Carles inhabits, it feels horribly contrived these days, just a more credible version of the mainstream - it's a talent pool for the commercially viable alternative.
I don't know what Carles knows re: insider knowledge, but I figure you have knowing and unknowing participants in a of this. Pitchfork, for example, with its very visible 'Sponsors' section being very knowing, whereas at lot of the bands just go along with it. plus less wisened/weary/cynical listeners who just like what they hear.
he asks in an older article
what it would be like for the big 'indie' or w/e bands of today in the era before all of this auto-generative hype, in a more organic world where the media middle-men had less influence. well, that's what he's getting at, anyway.
by auto-generative hype
I mean...the hype is created before the real organic reaction these days. it seems to just happen. like there's a network of hype-bots out there.
Seems like he turn a wrong career turn somewhere
He's bored of indie. I got bored of his bored-with-indie blog post halfway through. We'll call it even.
reading three paragraphs of that made me want to hit myself in the face with a telephone
that would hurt
hi codpieceface
once you learn to parse the Carles-speak, there is a remarkable degree of insight to his madness.
Reading this...
...made me want to kill someone. At least at first. However, once I'd got past the writing I realised that this is maybe one of my favourite pieces of music journalism this year.
Thanks.
My hatred for his writing style is double-edged
Firstly on a superficial level because its intensely annoying. Then secondly when it used as a means of defending him, i.e "if you see past the spiel, there is a lot of sense".
Get real incandenza_. You were complaining an awful lot in the 2012-list threads, just go hibernate in a cabin for 6 months until you reconnect with music. 2012 hasn't been a great year for me but I'd say mainly because my main resources have pointing me in slightly misguided directions. There's still a goldmine of good stuff being made, indie or not.
get real, incandenza_ ... !!
I wish I was as bright eyed and bushy tailed as you, wonton.
I've gone through periods of indifference
Even sceptism in regards to new music. By in the past I've realised I just needed to switch my perspective a bit, look for different qualities in upcoming artists. For example, a few years ago, an ambient/RnB debut LP by a shady producer wouldn't register highly on my wishlist, but now Mowgli by Mister Lies is my most anticipated new release.
Apologies for the get real comment though, bit childish.
sounds like he reads too many shit blogs and has got bored of it
i don't read any blogs and subsequently love the purity ring album without having to over-intellectualise any cognitive dissonance i might get from reading too much about them on douchebags' websites.
he nails them, though
I can appreciate the music only in the sense that 'yeah, that sounds like a well put-together approximation of something that *should* be good'.
i.e. I only enjoy it in a theoretical sense.
i.e. I don't enjoy it in a very real sense.
it sounds like exactly what it is: an anaemic reduction of vague internet-era indluences.
indluences!
posterity, pay no heed to the typos of a message board with no edit function.
my eloquent invective, indelibly abated.
(I need to go to sleep).
plenty of people think they're genuinely good and doing something inventive
i really connect with their music, to use his word. Not because of anything she says in her lyrics, but i could count the amount of artists for whom i do connect with their lyrics on one hand. That, as far as i can, tell is the only criticism he has of their music, except for the bit where he says it sounds like it's made in 2012. Which, y'know, it is. They sound like they've taken inspiration from people like burial (maybe), the whole witch house scene, various other artists that use 808s or whatever, and i don't really get what the problem is. Their music couldn't exist without these artists to take inspiration from, and couldn't exist at any earlier moment in time. They don't just regurgitate either, they sound genuinely novel.
I'm defending purity ring too much but basically he's whining about something he's just got too caught up in. It's pretty avoidable. I doubt people at the quietus have the same problems, for example.
I reckon the folks at the Quietus
would agree on a lot of this, but they're probably quite content in their own sphere.
I don't disagree with your point about him being too caught up - he often seems like he could do with some fresh. air - but it doesn't diminish his views (that much).
I get that some people genuinely connect with this music and good for you, but...idk. I'll just say that my dislike has nought to do with being jaded or lacking the faculties to appreciate the music.
I had no idea HR was still running
that's some commitment to the cause from Carles there - still have my Genre t-shirt from way back in the day
This article seems to be written by, and for,
people who spend too much time on the internet. If all music is doing is soundtracking your deaperate hunt for more music, of course it's going to collapse in on itself in your mind. This dude should like, listen to Purity Ring whilst he's cooking, or go for a walk in the park or something and he might get a lot more out of a record once it's stripped from it's context / his context of self conscious hipster fuckwittery.
I don't even have an internet connection at home
phone-aside. but yeah, I certainly don't spend that much time online, and I agree.
I already hated the article at the word '2k12', persevered until 'every thing seems so boring 2 me' and then stopped, realising I was in the presence of high level cuntitude. As I closed my browser tab I noticed 'R u s000 b00red with indie?' in my peripheral vision, and vowed never to read anything by this man ever again.
It all used to feel like it meant something real -every1 about the past
Man consumes too much of something, becomes jaded. World continues to turn.
as above this reads as the ramblings
of someone who needs to spend less time on the internet to rekindle his interest in music
Yeah that article is a nonsense.
what an embarassing and pointless piece of writing
(i havent read it)
Don't worry
it's exactly what you think it is.
he's right tho
I fucking love HRO
The first couple of times I read articles on there I was like wtf is wrong with this man, but then it clicked.
I AM CARLES
seriously? I get his shtick
and he is very irritating. Doubly so for all the people who post in the comments "in character".
oh god the other people are the worst
easily the most embarrassing human beings alive
It's like landfill indie part 2, maybe
but this time it's happened with 'cool' internet music, instead of British indie 2003-2008 (sorry, 2K3-2K8).
Also, to me that Purity Ring album sounds like a watered down version of lots of that Witch House stuff from 2 and a half years ago. It's boring and devoid of meaning but fairly pleasant to listen to.
Isn't the point of this that he's mocking people who think like this?
I really don't get it when the internet goes meta...
For anyone who makes statements about how "this hasn't been a great year for music"
http://www.theonion.com/articles/pitchfork-gives-music-68,2278/
ding ding ding!
*balloons and confetti fall from the sky as seedler is presented with a cheque for 6.8 million pounds*