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The first time I heard This Is Ivy League (back when they were known as just Ivy League), I assumed they were from Sweden, where this brand of sophisticated, historically-minded twee pop apparently bubbles up from underground springs. Actually, Stephen M. Deusner, they’re members of Cobra Starship. I was wrong, of course. The duo–Ryland Blackinton and Alex Suarez–actually hail from Brooklyn, and they recorded their self-titled fell-length debut in their own borough apartments. Which are probably paid for with money made from Cobra Starship. “The Richest Kids”, the album’s opening track, portrays them still cutting their teeth career-wise: “Oh we’ve been working, we’ve been paying our dues,” they sing over dreamy backing vocals, crisp guitar licks, and a distant tambourine. “We’ve got dirt on our hands and holes in our choes.” They’re singing about being in Cobra Starship and I think you mean “shoes.” Yet their tender Chad & Jeremy melodies and polished harmonies sound pretty professional, as if they’ve been at this for years. They have. As members of Cobra Starship.
Look, we’re not saying this song isn’t a perfectly pleasant ’60s homage. But how can you play these guys off as babes in the woods when a simple Google search reveals that they make their bread helping bring snakes on a plane alongside Gabe Saporta and whoever the lady keytarist is at the moment? These aren’t just touring members. Cobra Starship actually has a song named “Pleasure Ryland.” Here’s Gabe, Alex and Ry-Ry dropping that bomb on the acoustic tip.
So just say it, OK? “Featuring members of Cobra Starship.” It’s not that hard, trust me. It’s actually kind of fun to type the words “Cobra Starship” in a post. Anyone who wouldn’t listen to their anonymous little Rutle of a number just because they’re in Cobra Starship isn’t a fan they’d want anyway.
[The Forkcast post has been edited to note that the band's press release didn't mention they were members of Cobra Starship, and really, how could they know something that wasn't in the press release? We sympathize.]
Cobra Starship – Pleasure Ryland acoustic [YouTube]
New Music: This Is Ivy League: “The Richest Kids” [MP3/Stream] [Forkcast]
I saw their video on New York Noise this weekend, and my first reaction was “These guys are posers.” The Cobra Starship connection doesn’t help things.
ooh a sassy edit has been added to the forkcast piece
@AL: Beat me to it. I was going to use “tetchy” in place of “sassy” though.
Got dam. Not only can they not be blamed for not researching the origin of the band, but they’re actually COOLER THAN YOU for not knowing it:
Not caring at all about arena-emo bands on Pete Wentz’s label, we didn’t snap to attention at the names Ryland Blackinton and Alex Suarez.
Damn, Pitchfork… points, at least, for the sheer gall.
How quick we all forget that Pitchfork doesn’t REPORT on music, it regurgitates press releases! Clearly, the job of any music source is regurgitating into the mouths of music lovers!
@Halfwit: “We thought they were a new band … but it turns out that they were just guys we’d never cared about before!”
Actually guys… they did a track review before they had the “Forkcast” back in 2006 on their EP CD which came out almost two years prior being tagged on the shoulders to peform in Cobra Starship…
@ClydeErwinBarretto: That wasn’t on the press release, so I don’t know why you’d expect Pitchfork to know that.
Actually, it was on the press release.
Hey guys, criticism is of course fair and all – even if Anthony deliberately misread the original forkcast post to make a point that was more appealing to him than the more logical conclusion/the truth* but your addition below even more willfully skirts and counters what we added to our post:
“The Forkcast post has been edited to note that the band’s press release didn’t mention they were members of Cobra Starship, and really, how could they know something that wasn’t in the press release? We sympathize” is simply not correct. The edit to the Pitchfork post merely points out that looking at every available This Is Ivy League band resource, which the writer/editor did, does not mention their other activities. (I have no idea what the press release says, having thrown it out.) Anthony’s conclusion, however, that we looked at the press release and stopped there, is nowhere close to what we said. I assume it’s simply the impression he wanted to give.
Pitchfork sincerely apologizes and regrets merely investigating the band’s collective online resources rather than going all the way and googling every member of this band individually before posting about it.
* “As if they’ve been at this for years” should indicate that neither the writer nor his editor knew who these people were. Instead, Anthony concludes/accuses them of knowing and outright lying and covering that up because they were “embarrassed” to be confronted with that awful truth (although Anthony didn’t manage to spell “embarrassed” correctly). Oddly enough, if anyone is therefore embarrassed or interested in masking that these dudes are in an emo-pop band, it would seem to be the group itself and its label, though I guess that isn’t as interesting as trying to make Pitchfork look foolish or lazy for not caring about Fueled by Ramen.
We’ve also covered them twice in the past. I believe this was before they were members of Cobra Starship and This Is Ivy League apparently pre-dates Cobra Starship, so they aren’t a “spinoff” of that band, as you claim. I’m surprised Anthony’s expert googling and concerns for accuracy didn’t unearth that.
Now if only they could get around to admitting that Titus Andoronicus is actually the Desapercidos.
@scottpl: we actually just got a cranky e-mail from their pr firm noting that Cobra Starship IS on the press release, so we apologize to Fanatic for assuming it wasn’t when Pitchfork added its edit.
Scott’s right, Fanatic wasn’t cranky.
Tempest in a tweepot.
I will go so far as to say I actually thought the song quite pleasant. It’s more tuneful than the Panic at the Disco song from the other day by several fathoms [blushing emoticon].
And the “London Bridge” song from whenever is/was good.
Hadn’t heard of Cobra Starship until the “keytarist” blip. And, though, he never really had a keytar that I know of, I will say here it’s a shame there’s been no new real Thomas Dolby records since 1992. While I’m here.
Is this a real controversy? Is this really happening?
@scottpl: So rather than being too cool to admit they were overly familiar with Cobra Starship, P4K was, in fact, too cool to be overly familiar with Cobra Starship.
Okay.
Comment on Pitchfork Writer Too Embarrassed To Say “Cobra Starship Spin-Off” Howdy. As Clyde noted, we not only mentioned that the boys are part of
Cobra Starship in our press release, we mentioned it proudly and liberally.
As for being cranky, that describes me perfectly 89% of the time. Cheers!
Josh
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