All's well that ends well, mostly. Computer's back, but my hard drive is currently being babied by a friend who is a data extraction wizard/experimental music nerd. If anyone can get Bryan (yes, my computer is named Bryan, as in Bryan Ferry...) to open up and spill his contents, he can. So I'm just sitting tight, reinstalling programs on my fat, new uncorrupted harddrive, and keeping my fingers crossed that I'll get that interview I did with What Made Milwaukee Famous back, as well a all those rare remixes. I'm sure it will all be okay in the end. This is the third drive I've lost in 12 years, and I'm trying to keep the perspective that sometimes it's good to purge.
Anyway, on to the music for today. Yes, my darling little minskies, I've decided that what will make your day better (as mine is already pretty good -- did I mention I have the day off as the markets are closed for President's Day, and I got to sleep in?) is the Sugababes cover of the loathsome Arctic Monkeys' "I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor." Needless to say, I find it much more satisfying than the original, but you know how I feel about English girl pop and the (need I say it again?) loathsome Arctic Monkeys. I won't argue that it's a damn catchy song (how can it not be when you just pound out hook after hook after hook -- we can blame Franz Ferdinand for starting/reviving that trend), but it's surely not going to save rock'n'roll (thanks, NME and every other publication and blog in the universe...) -- I'm getting to the point where I hope they choke on their own hype and I never hear about them again. That would be glorious. (Thx to robotmonkey7 for tipping me off to this track on Friday; I was able to find copy not ripped from a radio stream over the weekend, yay!)
Sugababes -- I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor
Moving on, so what are the general thoughts on the new Britney Spears? It reminds me of something, but I'm not sure what -- something horrible, at least, I can say that. It kind of feels like the unholy marriage of the worst parts of a mediocre Madonna or Cher slow jam from the early/mid '90's -- the post-New Wave string/synth combo arrangement just isn't sitting right with me at all.
Britney Spears -- And Then We Kiss (Junkie XL remix)
Obviously, we need to close out today with something a little more sublime, so in honor of the fact that Bloc Party are nearly forgotten now despite being the name on everyone's lips this time last year, here's the lovely Minotaur Shock remix of "Tulips." And btw, if you haven't heard Minotaur Shock, they're fantastic -- give 'em a listen. Recommended for fans of Boards of Canada, Four Tet, etc. (And don't tell, but I have a massive crush on Dave Edwards...)
Bloc Party -- Tulips (Minotaur Shock remix)
Okay, I have a million errands to run and emails to write, and all that nonsense. Have a good day!
Anyway, on to the music for today. Yes, my darling little minskies, I've decided that what will make your day better (as mine is already pretty good -- did I mention I have the day off as the markets are closed for President's Day, and I got to sleep in?) is the Sugababes cover of the loathsome Arctic Monkeys' "I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor." Needless to say, I find it much more satisfying than the original, but you know how I feel about English girl pop and the (need I say it again?) loathsome Arctic Monkeys. I won't argue that it's a damn catchy song (how can it not be when you just pound out hook after hook after hook -- we can blame Franz Ferdinand for starting/reviving that trend), but it's surely not going to save rock'n'roll (thanks, NME and every other publication and blog in the universe...) -- I'm getting to the point where I hope they choke on their own hype and I never hear about them again. That would be glorious. (Thx to robotmonkey7 for tipping me off to this track on Friday; I was able to find copy not ripped from a radio stream over the weekend, yay!)
Sugababes -- I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor
Moving on, so what are the general thoughts on the new Britney Spears? It reminds me of something, but I'm not sure what -- something horrible, at least, I can say that. It kind of feels like the unholy marriage of the worst parts of a mediocre Madonna or Cher slow jam from the early/mid '90's -- the post-New Wave string/synth combo arrangement just isn't sitting right with me at all.
Britney Spears -- And Then We Kiss (Junkie XL remix)
Obviously, we need to close out today with something a little more sublime, so in honor of the fact that Bloc Party are nearly forgotten now despite being the name on everyone's lips this time last year, here's the lovely Minotaur Shock remix of "Tulips." And btw, if you haven't heard Minotaur Shock, they're fantastic -- give 'em a listen. Recommended for fans of Boards of Canada, Four Tet, etc. (And don't tell, but I have a massive crush on Dave Edwards...)
Bloc Party -- Tulips (Minotaur Shock remix)
Okay, I have a million errands to run and emails to write, and all that nonsense. Have a good day!
posted by cindy hotpoint at 1:33:00 PM
11 Comments:
Sugababes link doesn't seem to work.
What is it, exactly, that you find loathsome about the Arctic Monkeys? Is it their music, or just the media hype surrounding them? Or some combination of the two?
Thanks, anon. I've fixed it and it should be working now.
angryrobot: It's totally a combination of the two; I find them to be horribly mediocre and derivative, and completely undeserving of the hype. It doesn't help that I'm working on an article for depravedfangirls.org on Internet hype surrounding new bands, and I'm having to listen to the album more than I would ever care to. I think the other thing that bugs me is that music journalists and bloggers are buying the hype unquestioningly. It's frustrating, they're really not that good, and writers are falling over themselves to press upon us that no, really, they are! And they're saving rock'n'roll! And it's so great that they completely promoted themselves over Myspace and built up a huge audience that way! Its just getting so tiresome, this mass hysteria group think. I'm generally not a crumudgeon about when a band finds popularity or success, but I am when I think it's wholly undeserved.
I KNEW I could count on you to have that Sugababes cover...
Hiya. Long time (well, few weeks ;) reader, first-time commenter/
I've listened to the AM album a few times now and I enjoy it pretty well. For sure they are not saving rock, but I'm not going to hold the hype against them. Also, maybe they are saving rock, from the viewpoint of someone less than half my age. All things being equal, I'd rather have excited hype than jaded, detached cynicism. But yeah, I wish people weren't all excited about the same extact band at the same exact time. As for being derivative, well, if I used that as a yardstick, I'd probably need to purge 98% of my music collection; not every band is going to invent a new form of music. Sooner or later, everyone fan has to ask themselves exactly what amount of copying is okay. If a band is 23% derivative is that okay, but if they've copied 24% of their sound it's not? Maybe it's like pornogrpahy -- you know it when you see (hear) it.
I would argue that if you're tired of the music blogging groupthink, then you're tired of music blogging, given that about 98% of music blogs appear to contain no original writing or content.
Glad you could find the Sugababes' cover. Thanks for posting that.
As for the Arctic Monkeys, well...you know I like them. Or maybe I should clarify that -- I like many of their songs. Not all of them, but most. As for the guys in the band, I don't know a thing about them. Don't particularly care to, for that matter.
Are they the saviors of rock? Hell no.
Best band on the planet? Hell no.
Deserving of the mountains of hype? Hell no.
But a fun listen? Hell yeah.
It must be kismet. I just posted recently that the Arctic Monkeys are just a copy of the Libertines.
>the Arctic Monkeys are just a copy of the Libertines...
... and The Libertines are just a copy of The Clash, and The Clash were really just ripping off a bunch of reggae and American blues and rackabilly, which we all know was really just copied from...
I love how you hate the hype and media madness around the Arctic Monkeys, yet you like the Sugababes, a completely manufactured and talentless bunch of chancers. Funny stuff.
You know, I've noticed, based on comments left here and in other entries and the editorializing on other blogs that link to this entry, that Arctic Monkeys fans are so overly sensitive. They remind me of how tetchy Oasis fans were, back in the day.
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