But it highlights what I think is the main reason for tokenism among indie mags, which is that metal’s extreme subdivision is alien to reviewers used to indie’s more amorphous classifications. So they don’t put the albums in their necessary context.

To expand on what janine said, most of the harsher genres of metal have their own distinct sort of, well unpleasantness to be honest: muddy production or squeeled vocals or trebly guitars. That stuff is an aquired taste which dominates your impression of the music if you aren’t used to it (making it sound samey) and it isn’t fully compatible between subgenres. I find most death metal unpleasant and samey, and hardcore actually uncomfortable, but black metal is perfectly listenable. And I haven’t seen many Pitchfork reviews that take that sort of thing into account.

“TheThingThatShouldNotBe: if you’ve been sporting long hair and black t-shirts since junior high, by your mid-20s you have no one to impress anymore”

This is definitely my favorite quote of the whole piece. Ridiculously true. Even though I’m long out of junior high and work in the finance industry, at the end of the day, my uniform of choice isn’t exactly clothes people would wear to church. Accordingly, I don’t think “dirtbag” is quite the word you want to use when insulting a metalhead. I mean, as the man said, I don’t think I’m allowed to get too mad when someone calls me a hesher for wearing a t-shirt with skulls on it and having a beard/long hair. Buy the ticket, take the ride and all that…

Not to be a dick (and it’s not as if I’m this huge metal head) charges that metal is samey are insane and evidence of an ear that can’t hear the differences. There’s no crime in that, our ears carry our history with music family, friends, that year you decided to lose weight and secretly became a Crystal Waters fan… but when you don’t acknowledge that fact, it’s super lame.

I’ll tell you what, metal could have never produced the Vivian Girls.

“I understand it, obviously, and I think it’s good for people to be policed and held accountable when they don’t do what they said they would.” –Another reason to shun indie rock.

Seriously.

Yeah, I think you’re right. Something about that just seems a little bit dangerous to me, though. Eventually that line of thinking boils down to “Aw, of course we can’t expect metal fans to challenge themselves. They’re not smart enough! And anyway, they’re proud of it!”

I guess I just find it somewhat upsetting that “indie rock” (a term I use to include its artists, critics and fans) has become something of a punching bag for failing to live up to the high standards it’s set for itself, while it’s ok for everyone else to just set really, really, awesomely low standards. I understand it, obviously, and I think it’s good for people to be policed and held accountable when they don’t do what they said they would. It would be nice, though, if someone had the guts to suggest, without fear of being called an elitist, that it would be good all people to challenge themselves a bit more.

Even in in the Southwest it’s missed far too often. And it is very, very true. I’d say that the Iron Maiden/Motorhead/Dio show I saw a few years back had a crowd that was around a third to a half Latino.

I could watch this guy all day.