<![CDATA["Let's Talk" About One Of The Most Interesting Music Books You'll Read This Year - Idolator Comments]]> http://cache.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/idolator.com.png <![CDATA["Let's Talk" About One Of The Most Interesting Music Books You'll Read This Year - Idolator Comments]]> http://idolator.com Mon, 08 Oct 2007 16:50:35 EDT Mon, 08 Oct 2007 16:50:35 EDT http://idolator.com/tunes/idolator-book-club/lets-talk-about-one-of-the-most-interesting-music-books-youll-read-this-year-307746.php <![CDATA["Let's Talk" About One Of The Most Interesting Music Books You'll Read This Year]]> http://idolator.com/tunes/idolator-book-club/lets-talk-about-one-of-the-most-interesting-music-books-youll-read-this-year-307746.php#c2596280 we r all mainstream now...

i can see this book being the topic (or at least jumping-off point) of many a heated pub conversation, this year's rip it up/words and music etc (this is a GOOD THING, obv)

CarsmileSteve

]]> 33:307746:c2596280 Mon, 08 Oct 2007 16:50:35 EDT <![CDATA["Let's Talk" About One Of The Most Interesting Music Books You'll Read This Year]]> http://idolator.com/tunes/idolator-book-club/lets-talk-about-one-of-the-most-interesting-music-books-youll-read-this-year-307746.php#c2592379 Yeah, the detached voice really, really wigs me out, mostly for unrelated personal reasons (someone took my own writing to task for demonstrating the same qualities) last week, and I'm still smarting.

ANYWAY, I just had a terrible realization -- 1998 is so going to be the year that's nostalgized to death as that glowing period right before irony died and stuff. I remember watching the proceedings outlined above, and getting kind of weepy. If I'd only known then that seeing E. Smith on the Oscars was just the tip of the iceberg of the uncomfortable intersection of socially retarded indie rockers with mainstream culture...

the rich girls are weeping

]]> 33:307746:c2592379 Mon, 08 Oct 2007 11:36:41 EDT <![CDATA["Let's Talk" About One Of The Most Interesting Music Books You'll Read This Year]]> http://idolator.com/tunes/idolator-book-club/lets-talk-about-one-of-the-most-interesting-music-books-youll-read-this-year-307746.php#c2590747 I realize it's only an excerpt, but the tone of this piece is very weird. It don't see how the personal feelings of the author or of Elliott Smith himself towards the Oscar anecdote are in any way significant, or what "one of the ruling paradoxes for partisans of 'alternative' culture" is, or even how to relate one with the other.

Outcasts feel alienated and displaced by mainstream culture. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences sometimes goes for the safe choice. Ummm, illuminating...

Maybe it's supposed to make me want to read more.

MJ

]]> 33:307746:c2590747 Mon, 08 Oct 2007 08:06:17 EDT <![CDATA["Let's Talk" About One Of The Most Interesting Music Books You'll Read This Year]]> http://idolator.com/tunes/idolator-book-club/lets-talk-about-one-of-the-most-interesting-music-books-youll-read-this-year-307746.php#c2588817 I liked Madonna, who danced on the art/commerce borderline as nimbly as anyone. But right then, I squeezed my fists wishing she'd preserved a more dignified neutrality ("dignified neutrality" being the phrase that springs right to mind when you say "Madonna").

This verges on self-parody, although the "fist squeezing" is a great comedy image of an uptight pseudo-intellectual little dork who taking this shit way too seriously.

Seriously, though, anyone who picks Elliott Smith and his frankly mediocre Oscar song as his champions in the battle against the evil mainstream cares more about trying to make his point, whatever that may be, than he does about music.

drjimmy11

]]> 33:307746:c2588817 Sun, 07 Oct 2007 18:01:10 EDT <![CDATA["Let's Talk" About One Of The Most Interesting Music Books You'll Read This Year]]> http://idolator.com/tunes/idolator-book-club/lets-talk-about-one-of-the-most-interesting-music-books-youll-read-this-year-307746.php#c2586946 You have just turned me onto the next booklet I will eat in an afternoon. I thank you!

Idolator, between this and the delightful episode I'm sure we all recall from a few weeks back that I'll dub "The National Review Fracas", I'm beginning to think you actually have a serious, cold hard Beef going with Stereogum; and I for one have your back.

Homage

]]> 33:307746:c2586946 Sun, 07 Oct 2007 04:25:04 EDT <![CDATA["Let's Talk" About One Of The Most Interesting Music Books You'll Read This Year]]> http://idolator.com/tunes/idolator-book-club/lets-talk-about-one-of-the-most-interesting-music-books-youll-read-this-year-307746.php#c2585769 Would it be intellectually irresponsible to read the book without listening to the album? Not that I plan to do either, I'm just wondering.

Hyman Decent

]]> 33:307746:c2585769 Sat, 06 Oct 2007 21:07:43 EDT <![CDATA["Let's Talk" About One Of The Most Interesting Music Books You'll Read This Year]]> http://idolator.com/tunes/idolator-book-club/lets-talk-about-one-of-the-most-interesting-music-books-youll-read-this-year-307746.php#c2582159 You know you're crusty as fuck when you can just skip over the paragraph that explains who Richard Marx is.

Pop Cesspool

]]> 33:307746:c2582159 Fri, 05 Oct 2007 22:51:45 EDT <![CDATA["Let's Talk" About One Of The Most Interesting Music Books You'll Read This Year]]> http://idolator.com/tunes/idolator-book-club/lets-talk-about-one-of-the-most-interesting-music-books-youll-read-this-year-307746.php#c2581901 The Amazon user reviews for this book are going to be AWESOME.

Elijah-M

]]> 33:307746:c2581901 Fri, 05 Oct 2007 22:02:28 EDT <![CDATA["Let's Talk" About One Of The Most Interesting Music Books You'll Read This Year]]> http://idolator.com/tunes/idolator-book-club/lets-talk-about-one-of-the-most-interesting-music-books-youll-read-this-year-307746.php#c2580133 I thought you mean the other Carl Wilson, who's been dead for ten years. I got excited :(

Lax Danja House

]]> 33:307746:c2580133 Fri, 05 Oct 2007 18:13:08 EDT <![CDATA["Let's Talk" About One Of The Most Interesting Music Books You'll Read This Year]]> http://idolator.com/tunes/idolator-book-club/lets-talk-about-one-of-the-most-interesting-music-books-youll-read-this-year-307746.php#c2580007 Wow. Great excerpt. You just made me interested in purchasing this improbable book, thank you.

Are any of the other books in this series this interesting re: pure pop music? (Am excepting Matos's Sign 'O' the Times book, for obvious reasons.)

Chris Molanphy

]]> 33:307746:c2580007 Fri, 05 Oct 2007 17:59:38 EDT <![CDATA["Let's Talk" About One Of The Most Interesting Music Books You'll Read This Year]]> http://idolator.com/tunes/idolator-book-club/lets-talk-about-one-of-the-most-interesting-music-books-youll-read-this-year-307746.php#c2579800 This sounds like the Stay-free maxi-pad version of "Please Kill Me" by Legs McNeil...

yolakayak

]]> 33:307746:c2579800 Fri, 05 Oct 2007 17:42:20 EDT <![CDATA["Let's Talk" About One Of The Most Interesting Music Books You'll Read This Year]]> http://idolator.com/tunes/idolator-book-club/lets-talk-about-one-of-the-most-interesting-music-books-youll-read-this-year-307746.php#c2579430 Is this at all like when they used Modest Mouse for one of the American Idol commercials last year?

Rory B. Bellows

]]> 33:307746:c2579430 Fri, 05 Oct 2007 17:15:27 EDT <![CDATA["Let's Talk" About One Of The Most Interesting Music Books You'll Read This Year]]> http://idolator.com/tunes/idolator-book-club/lets-talk-about-one-of-the-most-interesting-music-books-youll-read-this-year-307746.php#c2579384 I liked the first two chapters. My only fear is he won't adequately address the many issues he brings up - which I assume he won't, considering the breadth of the discussion required, and the assumed brevity of the book. But nonetheless, I look forward to it.

The Mozfather

]]> 33:307746:c2579384 Fri, 05 Oct 2007 17:12:25 EDT