Propagating the Conspiracy..

Just in case you didn't know, WeSC men's and women's clothing is now available at mxmcty. You're welcome.

Coming soon to mxmcty.

Ring My Belle

The following was sent in by an "anonymous" reader regarding my dismissal of Belle and Sebastian as "twee". I'll warn you, this gets ugly:

Your entire argument against Belle and Sebastian so far is that you don't like twee pop. I reject that statement based on the following statements:

1. "I like this music... This is legitimately good." - From your review of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart.

2. "This is a good album and I think as far as indie pop goes, it's better than most." - Your review of Camera Obscura.

Neither of those reviews were gushing with praise, but neither were they dismissed for being unabashedly twee. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart come replete with jangly guitars and tales of young, brooding lovers. Tracyanne would be just at home singing "A Teenager in Love" as she would "French Navy". Maybe it's the hazy, lo-fi aesthetics of Pains that lets you think it isn't twee?

I am confused by what you mean when you say "twee" and "indie pop" (which is the genre you chose to place Camera Obscura in). What makes Belle and Sebastian twee while Camera Obscura is indie pop? Is there a distinction in your mind? Camera Obscura sounds much more like twee progenitors Heavenly in instrumentation and lyrics than B&S do.

I won't deny Belle and Sebastian have twee elements and don't mind them being placed in that category. I believe however that your dismissal of B&S simply for being twee is a cop out at best and disingenuous at worst. So I have to believe you either (a) have a more substantial and serious argument against B&S that you have chosen not to go into (b) really have not listened to very much Belle and Sebastian to have a more informed opinion or (c) have a visceral dislike of the band that can't be put into words.

Nausea Obscura

It's no secret that music elitists, critics and hipsters love obscure music. It seems like the more obscure the better. Now, some obscure music is good. Maybe it's not well known because the artist is just starting up, can't get publicity or just doesn't want a lot of attention. That's fine.

But then there are the people who intentionally search for the most obscure music possible, even if it's completely wretched, and claim to like it. To me, the only reason for this is to be cool. Or appear cool.

Jandek is a perfect example. His music is absolutely terrible. It's unlistenable on every level. But because he's very mysterious and.. obscure, critics and indie nerds alike fawn over this guy. Why the need to say you like something that you probably don't? Well, first of all, it's a character flaw on your part. The other reason is because people might think that it reflects on them in some positive way to say they "understand" something that other people don't get. Well I don't want to get it. Actually, there's nothing to get.

I like to think that I know a thing or two about music, and I'm definitely picky, but I won't hesitate to tell you that there is more than one Paramore song on my iPod or that I find Lady Gaga entertaining. If that makes me less cool, oh well. Have fun wincing your way through the rest of that Daniel Johnston CD.

If music is good than it's good. That's it. There's too much posturing and snobbiness when it comes to music these days, especially in indie rock. The bands people "like" are treated as accessories to an image that they try to portray to others. Even if they don't actually like those bands.

The bottom line is that just because people don't know about a band doesn't mean that band is good and that you are an extraordinary person for knowing about them. Most of the time there's a reason that said band or music is obscure. It's not good and people don't like it.

Now if Jandek had bled out of his eyes at the MTV Music Awards...

Let's Hopscotch.

Wow. North Carolina has finally stumbled into the present by introducing The Hopscotch Festival in downtown Raleigh this September. The lineup includes some really good bands, some okay bands, some bands I've never heard of and some bands that I really don't want to pay to see but I have to because of the whole concept of festivals. But that's fine, because I remember three or four years ago when Soul Asylum was the big downtown summer attraction.
I don't like the word "festival" because it makes me think of white people with dreads and irony so I will now just refer to it as Hopscotch. Actually, that's kind of lame too, so how about "Raleigh is Going to Try and Hopefully Succeed at Rocking Your Face Off: The 2010 Music Experience Experiment". RIGTTAHSARYFO: T2010MEE for short. It rolls right off the tongue.
A few acts that I'm personally looking forward to are Kylesa, Skyzoo, Birds of Avalon, 9th Wonder, Harvey Milk, Harlem, Tortoise and, of course, Public Enemy. Although, regretfully I would probably pay the full price NOT to see Flav at this point in his "career". Noticeably missing are Superchunk.. But that's a band that I don't question.
This is probably going to sell out, so jump on this bandwagon while you can. For all the information you need, including the band lineup, visit the official site at: http://hopscotchmusicfest.com

Introducing...

Welcome to mxmsound. This site is dedicated to presenting new music and promoting the bands we like. Pretty simple. We will do our best to avoid the outwardly elite attitude of Pitchfork, the underhanded snarkiness of Vice (but we love the "do's and dont's") and the utterly stomach hemorrhaging banality of most mainstream music magazines. We just like many kinds of music and demand that you like them too. We also encourage readers to expose us to new music as well. It's a win/win situation for everyone.