Joanna Newsom --- "Ys"

[thirdform]

I can't relate to indie. It sounds too placid. Too inhibited. To me, it sounds like music for people who don't like the occult transportative powers of sound. I am very very depressed, but indie just washes over me in a haze of indifference. Soul works for me when I'm depressed much better. But I don't hear pain in indie, what I hear is mediocrity. I know that's part of the appeal, but it requires me not to be very disciplined (mentally speaking...)

What I'm trying to say is I don't here a zealotry in indie fans. The idea of a voice, and some string arrangements fine, but there is no antagonism. There is no attempt to convince me to like it, it's almost a scene of self-love. I can admire that, one could say dnb has the same intransigence, but with dnb I am approaching it with junglist ears so I can understand it. Indie just says to me no, you're not the chosen kind, so GTFO.

 

[luka]

I don't really understand Gus. I want him to be happy but he's a complicated character

 

[thirdform]

Gus might say that its actually the norm to like hip hop and edm for people of our upbringing and on one level hes right but he also knows hes wrong. He knows that as a youngster there was visceral discord in his constitution when he heard a hip hop song.

Yeah, I mean, I always got that impression from indie fans at uni. This attempt to seem inoffensive and placid, not to be too boorish, too expressive, etc. Which of course means they end up treating people as commodity friends, by and large. Not to say that indie music makes them that way, such would be absurd. But this mindset meshes with indie music quite well.

 

[thirdform]

I don't want to resort to some nonsensical identitarian posturing because I know many black and brown people into indie, but to my ears (and i grant this is subjective) it does truly sound like the church for the disenchanted white person. I don't know how I picked up those associations, although I probably could put something down if you asked for it. And there is a lot of white European music I like, although mostly classical and avant.

 

[sus]

Maybe but your analysis of my music is haha drugs or oriental savages or it's too flat, so I'm disinclined to give you the attention you're lusting after.

Bad reply. Blatantly untrue; I've never made any of these criticisms except once when I called a vocal line flat. In fact I've both listened to and enjoyed more of your Middle Eastern stuff than probably most folks around here.

I can't relate to indie. It sounds too placid. Too inhibited. To me, it sounds like music for people who don't like the occult transportative powers of sound. I am very very depressed, but indie just washes over me in a haze of indifference. Soul works for me when I'm depressed much better. But I don't hear pain in indie, what I hear is mediocrity. I know that's part of the appeal, but it requires me not to be very disciplined (mentally speaking...)

What I'm trying to say is I don't here a zealotry in indie fans. The idea of a voice, and some string arrangements fine, but there is no antagonism. There is no attempt to convince me to like it, it's almost a scene of self-love. I can admire that, one could say dnb has the same intransigence, but with dnb I am approaching it with junglist ears so I can understand it. Indie just says to me no, you're not the chosen kind, so GTFO.

Good reply, thank you for engaging.

What I hear emerging from the "mediocrity" in indie is more like the beautiful, human moments in Detectorists than anything machine-like, transportive. More in tune with myself, with my humanity; made to feel something; instead of transported out of my body or the emotion drummed out.

You're right though I feel little need for my mood to be adversarial more often than, say, a blue moon.

 

[linebaugh]

I will actually listen to this album and report back.ive bever thought of newsom as 'indie' per se to be fair

 

[sus]

I don't want to resort to some nonsensical identitarian posturing because I know many black and brown people into indie, but to my ears (and i grant this is subjective) it does truly sound like the church for the disenchanted white person. I don't know how I picked up those associations, although I probably could put something down if you asked for it. And there is a lot of white European music I like, although mostly classical and avant.

There's no way you're gonna tell me that indie music is "church for white people" and rave music isn't lmfao

Dance culture epitomizes secular religious activity

 

[linebaugh]

Indie as music for people who dont like music

 

[luka]

There's no way you're gonna tell me that indie music is "church for white people" and rave music isn't lmfao

Dance culture epitomizes secular religious activity

True but this is surely good

 

[sus]

Thank you Linebaugh. You can also consider just picking one of the songs, like "Emily" or "Only Skin" and just listening to it once a day for a few days, watching how it grows on you, how it becomes a companion and advisor.

 

[sus]

True but this is surely good

I take no issue with it, but as a misanthropist, my habit lies closer to the hermitage than Sunday sermon.

 

[luka]

I like some of the same moods obviously, as a human person. I like feeling all broody to Joni Mitchell's Blue, I like Blue Nile and Talk Talk. All of those things are indie.

 

[linebaugh]

There's no way you're gonna tell me that indie music is "church for white people" and rave music isn't lmfao

Dance culture epitomizes secular religious activity

Not to get into a whats whiter contest but electronic dance music is a black creation. Indie is pretty unique for a musical form in that it was a white creation

 

[sus]

Not to get into a whats whiter contest but electronic dance music is a black creation. Indie is pretty unique for a musical form in that it was a white creation

Sort of. Like basically every genre, it's a racial co-creation.

 

[DannyL]

What Van Dyke Parks and Newson share is a tweeness. I'm not opposed to sappy sentimental strings, I quite like say, The Loving Spoonful "Darling Be Home Soon") - I generally think psych is improved by a orchestra - but there's something quite neutered about VDP and Newson is just... I don't know, it's partly the voice.

 

[luka]

I own Nick Drake albums

 

[linebaugh]

At least in america its pretty solidly a one race creation. Who were the great white djs of detroit and chicago?

 

[DannyL]

I find it very easy to slip into thinking that she should just shut up and make way for something with a bit of sonic aggression. It's this offcentre strange world of music where black people don't exist or so it feels to me.

 

[linebaugh]

I love van dyke parks

 

[luka]

I love van dyke parks

Kiddy fiddler