Red Mosquito

Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.

tragabigzanda wrote:I'm normally a big Klosterman fan, have enjoyed most of his books and various podcasts. But I just couldn't get into But What If We're Wrong; something about it just struck me as too precious.

Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.

tragabigzanda wrote:

durdencommatyler wrote:A lot of really interesting things, actually. The host of the show as trying to make a point that Weezer is pandering to their audience now by trying to make records that sound like the records that the fans like. But Chuck kinda dismantles every argument the host throws at him. He's a lot less pretentious and far more thoughtful than I expected.

I thought the episode would be a pile-on episode. I thought it would be full of snark and self-congratulatory criticism but Chuck really does a good job defending Weezer and Rivers and trying to get to the heart of what pandering really means.

Klosterman always treats fandom with genuine respect. He speaks to the shared experience of being a fan with the proper acknowledgment that the fandom exists because art brings people together and helps us define ourselves as humans. But then he also does a great job of not taking himself too seriously. Glad you've latched on to him, durds.

Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.

tragabigzanda wrote:

durdencommatyler wrote:

tragabigzanda wrote:

durdencommatyler wrote:A lot of really interesting things, actually. The host of the show as trying to make a point that Weezer is pandering to their audience now by trying to make records that sound like the records that the fans like. But Chuck kinda dismantles every argument the host throws at him. He's a lot less pretentious and far more thoughtful than I expected.

I thought the episode would be a pile-on episode. I thought it would be full of snark and self-congratulatory criticism but Chuck really does a good job defending Weezer and Rivers and trying to get to the heart of what pandering really means.

Klosterman always treats fandom with genuine respect. He speaks to the shared experience of being a fan with the proper acknowledgment that the fandom exists because art brings people together and helps us define ourselves as humans. But then he also does a great job of not taking himself too seriously. Glad you've latched on to him, durds.

I had really mixed feelings about his Sex and Coco-Puffs book (parts I adored, others felt like criticism in a vacuum to me). But since then I've been getting more into his stuff: interviews and shorter essays, etc. And I really think I love where this guy is coming from most of the time. Obviously, I don't agree with everything he says and I don't need/expect to.

What are your favorites of his, trag?

Eating the Dinosaur or IV. My favorite individual pieces are the ones that explore a subculture I'm not too familiar with. Like, I don't care about football, yet I love his writing on the subject because it helps me understand why others love the sport so deeply.

swan wrote:Check out his appearance on Bill Simmons' podcast from last week. They start off with a good discussion of Cornell's death that also includes a decent amount about PJ/EV.

Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.

durdencommatyler wrote:

swan wrote:Check out his appearance on Bill Simmons' podcast from last week. They start off with a good discussion of Cornell's death that also includes a decent amount about PJ/EV.

Just added it to the pod-catcher. Thanks, friend.