Comments on: Marnie Stern Gets Mad As Hell, Reads A Lot

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 06:01:26 +0000

Wow, she’s so forward thinking she left out conventionalities like: melody, rhythm, and tuning. It sounds like a couple of kids with terrible add got together, each snorted an eightball, then a five pound bag of sugar, and then went for an album in one take with no editing or mixing. I guess I’m just Debbie Downer, and don’t get it. But somehow I never thought of Milton Bradly’s Simon™ as musical entertainment.

By: Sara Sherr

Sara Sherr — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 03:44:43 +0000

Yes, there are times when you want to not know anyone at a show when you are running into exes or unpleasant people you’d rather not want to know.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 03:38:54 +0000

I don’t understand what is wrong with attending a show alone.I don’t hear or see a band any better with the help of my friends. If I want a social experience, I don’t go see live music. Most of the time I’ve been at shows with other people, there is too much talking during the music.

By: fabulousrobots

fabulousrobots — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 01:49:12 +0000

I like Marnie Stern too, she seems weird and smart. Going to shows makes me super anxious for some of the same reasons she mentioned.
But, I stopped reading most press about her after all articles last year (year before?) mentioned these three things, in order: 1) she’s a woman, 2) she’s an amazing guitar player, and 3) she’s fucking hot. Repeat #3 at least five times. Yawn.

By: mike a

mike a — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 01:38:53 +0000

@walter_dean: I'm definitely in the camp that's OK going to shows alone. I did it for years and years in NYC, and only rarely found it boring (and that was usually because of the typically unpredictable set times). For awhile there I actually was part of one of those NYC music scenes, and half the time I wished for the solitude back. There's a real freedom in being able to come and go as you please; it's the same reason movies alone are so much fun. And if you're a fan of the bands, it's fairly easy to tune out the cliquishness around you.

By: RaptorAvatar

RaptorAvatar — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 11:58:13 +0000

Personally, I find 90% of everything I’ve read from Marnie Stern in interviews ultra relatable. This may be because I’m (pick as many as you like) nerdy/hermity/too intellectual/obsessive/neurotic, but there’s something that resonates deeply with me about the idea of trying to transform the entire secret life of one’s mind into bottled lightning. I feel like I generally create from the same place and there’s something affirming about seeing someone who proves that it isn’t a dead end. As for hitting shows alone, I’ve done it quite a few times. However, I always have a note/sketchbook with me. If someone wants to give me shit for not having “made it” yet, chances are that they’re an irrelevant wanker. I don’t know, maybe being in LA tempers this some. I mean, The Smell scene is suspicious of outsiders and incipiently cliquey (this is actually a symptom in every DIY scene I’ve ever encountered, so I don’t really fault them for it). However, I wouldn’t say that it’s necessarily mean or exclusive in the way that NY has been heretofore described. Plus, I think there’s a subtle anti-intellectual undercurrent to a lot of the noise/prog scene (some of this is due to the fact that the genre is somewhat invested in mystification). If you talk about ideas in front of a lot of these people, they tend to clam up and think you’re trying to make their “art” less “authentic ” or something. Definiteley a little unwelcoming when you’re sort of accustomed to framing what you do in conceptual terms.

By: Thierry

Thierry — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 11:48:17 +0000

@Maura Johnston: I haven't seen those in years! Still, my faves were Pac-man cereal ("with marshmallows!"):

Part of a nutritious breakfast? Sure...

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 10:43:37 +0000

Perhaps Bloom is the solution. “No I can’t tell you what record label I may or may not be on because I’m too busy creating Eno-esque ambient music on my iPhone.”

By: Maura Johnston

Maura Johnston — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 10:27:32 +0000

@Thesemodernsocks: what about

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 09:28:24 +0000

@Audif Jackson Winters III: Good grief! Amen to that. Put down the black berry and pick up a good bit of blue berry.