I’ve been meaning to do something similar to this for years now. Essentially, I want to induct bands and/or specific albums into what I will call the Indie Canon: those artists and albums that have already exhibited staying power and/or independent scene importance as well as the indie zeitgeist that will hang around if all goes well. After all, a canon is Continue reading
Tag Archives: hipster
Ex-Girlfriend Sightings
15 OctWhy do I have to look like absolute shit every time I run into an ex?
My dream is to bump into an ex girlfriend at some formal event where I’m in a suit, looking sharp, hair did, holding a high ball of scotch, with a better looking girl on my arm; Continue reading
Spreadsheeting
3 OctIt’s not a hobby. I have an unhealthy obsession with spreadsheeting.
Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a disorganized, dumpy piece of shit. That is true for the most part; however, I spend a lot of time organizing the things that I actually care about (i.e. music, movies, books, video games etc…)
My DVD’s are organized alpha by title and sequestered into movies, box sets, television, documentaries and music. In similar fashion, my books are Continue reading
Egan – A Visit From the Goon Squad
3 Oct
A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan (2010)
Time is a goon…and so is this novel.
Whatever happened to the conventional novel as opposed to the contemporary novel-ty novel? I’m all for creativity and trying for something new, but a chapter done in Powerpoint? What’s next…Chapter 14 is displayed at night in the lit windows of a Manhattan skyscraper (hmm…maybe I’m on to something). I am getting a little tired of contemporary literature that lets the story/characters take a back seat to Creative Writing 101 toying.
The novel is Continue reading
Atari 2600
2 Oct
Sadly, my downstairs neighbors, Marc y Mark, moved out a few months ago. There is, however, usually a silver lining to every cloud. In this case, it was free stuff. I was gifted a number of vinyls, a few DVDs including Fellini’s “Amarcord” which saves me $30 (fucking greedy Criterion Collection), a statuette of the Stay Puft marshmallow man, a Mr. Beer kit and an Atari 2600.
The system, released in 1977, admittedly predates my time, though I did play some growing up with older cousins. I have amassed a sizable collection of video games which I will continue to post on. The Atari fills an important void in my collection of home consoles as it was really the first of its kind.
I actually have the 1982 “Darth Vader” model. This is not the first Atari I’ve owned. In fact Continue reading
The Auteurs – New Wave
29 Sep
New Wave by The Auteurs (1993)
This debut album has a slew of great tracks. The Auteurs, unlike Oasis and Blur, find themselves amongst a number of other Britpop bands that never made a [big] name for themselves in the US: namely Suede, Pulp and Denim. (I feel like I need to start a Britpop band named “Flannel”…who’s with me?) The Auteurs’ sound, Continue reading
Hesse – Steppenwolf
28 Sep
Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse (1927)
Der Steppenhipster
Our protagonist, Henry Haller, is introduced in a brief preface by Haller’s landlord’s nephew. The preface is largely expository and not all that interesting. This novel takes a good 100 pages before it really drags the reader in; that’s when I start finding more and more notes and dog-eared pages. Haller is plagued with a “sickness of the times.” At the end of the preface, the nephew tells us that the story is “an attempt to present the sickness itself in its actual manifestation. [It] means, literally, a journey through hell, a sometimes fearful, sometimes courageous journey through the class of a world whose souls dwell in darkness, a journey undertaken with the determination to go through hell from one end to the other, to give battle to chaos, and to suffer torture to the full.” I learned from Hesse’s 1961 forward to the novel that Continue reading
last.fm Adult
27 SepI have had a last.fm account for almost two and a half years now. I started one at the recommendation of a friend after the untimely death of my first external hard drive, Gigi. When I purchased my current hard drive and “re-acquired” the bulk of my albums, I thought it might be fun to track my musical life going forward. I am a total statistic shill and so a last.fm profile seemed like a must have. Of course I would have had a vague idea as to Continue reading
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today
19 Sep
Before Today by Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti (2010)
I was introduced to Ariel Pink’s Worn Copy and The Doldrums in college by my glorious roommate, Robakabob. Before Today isn’t a complete departure from the Ariel Pink that I knew and loved [parts of], but it is certainly a more focused and market-saavy approach. It is technically Pink’s 10th album. His albums prior to Before Today were often sprawling, lacked consistency and were even unlistenable at times—not unlike his mentor Continue reading
The Olivia Tremor Control – Music From the Unrealized Film Script, Dusk at Cubist Castle
11 Sep
Music From the Unrealized Film Script, Dusk at Cubist Castle by The Olivia Tremor Control (1996)
The Olivia Tremor Control’s first album, Dusk at Cubist Castle, is a psych pop tour de force. It is supposed to be the soundtrack for an unreleased film about two girls, Olivia and Jacqueline, and an apocalyptic quake in California. The album offers a wide range of genre exploration: neopsychadelia, indie rock, lo-fi, folk, Krautrock, surf rock and noise. The first time I listened to it, I expected Continue reading
the self-hating hipster 