Shock & Awe(ful)

So... Death Grips' latest album NO LOVE DEEP WEB is out. I haven't heard more than a couple of the group's older songs and they didn't seem too bad and yeah Zach Hill is in there being awesome as usual but this isn't a review because frankly I haven't listened to the thing. And it's going to stay that way in the future.

If you already know what's under that black square on the .jpg above this, you can probably guess why.

CJ's previous essay "No Homo" touched upon an important point--no one really has control over what offends them or where the line is until they find something that makes them truly uncomfortable. It doesn't have to be a logically consistent thing, it's all rooted in emotion and cultural taboos and other bullshit that don't really make much sense to me most of the time because I am ridiculously hard to offend. Hell, I like things that most would find distasteful in the process of consuming a lot of strange media, and nudity--artistic or otherwise--doesn't even make me blink.

What's objectionable--or not even objectionable per se, just lame--is how these guys are so desperate to wring a visceral reaction out of people that they'd resort to the common pastime of drunken frat dipshits texting pictures of their junk at 2:00 AM. It's not creative, or even all that provocative. It's just fucking lazy.

It's the kind of stunt that's sub-Odd Future or even sub-Insane Clown Posse. And yet the professional music journosphere being full of pretentious cockwads "in on the joke" will heap praise on an album cover featuring a boner with sharpie all over it precisely because it's not from musical bottom feeders in Hot Topic gear trying to rustle the jimmies of suburban housewives, but from a fairly interesting alt-hip hop group that recently signed to Epic and has been getting some good press of late. This kind of shit is beneath them but it will move records, no question, and their riposte to Epic and the ensuing faux-controversy is also such obvious bait that I'd be surprised if there isn't a hooked worm attached. A quote from P.T. Barnum would go here if that wasn't belaboring the point.

Yeah, the irony is thick here. Wasting my time lambasting an a puerile album cover, telling you why it shouldn't deserve the attention that I am already granting it, that it already wants. Played me good, they did. Time may be one thing, but sorry Death Grips. You won't be getting my respect or my money.

Suck my dick.

Hang You From the Heavens

Jack White believes in three. Three main parts in the Stripes, Guitar, Bass, and Vocals, three colors he reps, three chords in the classic punk and delta blues that he based his style off of, three lines per stanza in the 12 bar blues, the list goes on and on. He went as far as to name his record label Third Man Records and he sometimes takes to calling himself Jack White III. 

So should it be any surprise that two bands was not enough?

The Dead Weather released their first single, Hang You From the Heavens, on seven inch vinyl and digital download today. The band is made up of Allison Mosshart of The Kills on vocals, Little Jack Lawrence from The Raconteurs on bass, Dean Fertita from Queens of the Stone Age on fuzzed out guitar, and Jack White on, get this, drums. So that leaves the man with one band on vocals and guitar, one band on bass, and the lucky number three on drums. 

Now I know you can't judge Mr. Whites endeavors based on the first single. Steady As She Goes was intriguing until it fell flat behind a dud of a record. Icky Thump as well kicked total ass but the album with the same name came off as hit or miss. Still, I have high hopes for Horehound, cumming out this June. Because, well, the single absolutely owns. And even though Jack White is the big name around it was actually Mosshart and Fertita who composed the song, which could suggest a much more collective nature to the whole thing. 

I'll be keeping an eye out for it but in the mean time I'll have this to hold me over: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlCFZCmbORg

and sell you off to the devel

It's All Nice On Ice, Pt II.

I guess Stuart said what I would've said if I had written the first post.

Anyways, on with the first music related post. I'm gonna be talking about Vivian Girls now, and this will begin our (or at least my own) section of First Impressions. I haven't heard much of their stuff yet, but from what I have heard, their music sounds like a fusion of standard chick indie pop in combination with some punkish aesthetic. They've been categorized as having a shoegazey sound, but I honestly don't know how true this is. I haven't listened to their album yet, so I have no grounds to 'grade' the band yet, but it's apparent that they're overhyped. But I guess they do deserve some recognition- for their looks.

Maybe that was too much for a first post. Maybe it was far too douchey. Maybe I'm just too tired for a 'first post'- the start of many.