The other best handshake in music belongs to J.Tillman (another guy named Josh), aka Father John Misty, who is kind of a lovable asshole. Depending on who you ask, some people might debate the “lovable” part. But he has a really solid handshake that is neither moist nor fleeting nor creepily lingering, so I still go to his shows when he’s in town.
“Handshake” is not a euphemism.
A lot of musicians have shady, gross handshakes and I consider it a reflection on their character. I pay attention to that kind of thing.
conor oberrist facts
Conor Oberst has a limp and sweaty handshake and has been super wasted every time I’ve ever met with/run across him. He never remembers my name and I think I’m not unique in that regard.
Mind you, he is 32 years old. In fact, he is seven years and ten days older than I am. He makes me feel better about my life.
I guess I just gave away the fact that I don’t count Cassadaga as a Bright Eyes album, because it is the best thing Conor’s ever done and he’s been unable to top it since.
where dost thou suggest i start with listening to bright eyes
??
Having listened to Bright Eyes a considerable amount myself, I would suggest you start with: Don’t. Skip straight to Cassadaga, then proceed directly to Conor & The Mystic Valley Band.
But if you must, start from the very beginning of his discography (possibly even with the “Water” tape) and listen chronologically through to the very end. Don’t forget any EPs, because they’re often superior to the albums. Good luck!
Purity Ring: SHRINES
I’ve recently had the opportunity to hear Purity Ring’s upcoming release Shrines, and … it’s really good. It’s good in such a way that, if you like electronic music at all, you really should either mark your calendar and plan to go to your local record store on July 24, or click through the title of this post and preorder it now. It combines seemingly every effect that can be found on a dance/house/dubstep soundboard, but manages to be surprisingly dark and sophisticated instead of busy or distractingly unfocused, and is accessible even for people (like me) who don’t like club music or dubstep pretty much at all.
I know it’s extremely optimistic to be this excited about a more-or-less shiny-brand-new band that has just barely made its very first full-length, but I’m pretty excited about Purity Ring. Part of the excitement is because they are so young (Megan James is 23 or 24 and Corin Roddick might be 21 by now) — so if they’re this together now, I can’t wait to see what they’re coming up with when they’re 25 or 30. Or even just “next year.”
This is exemplary of everything I love about my line of work. Did I say love? I mean hate.
“… Outwardly, the indie scene might be less macho than others, but wankers get everywhere, and remain wankers even if they listen to fey guitar music. And just because one of them has swapped his pink Ben Sherman for a bootleg Dirty Projectors tour shirt, his raging cock issues won’t magically resolve themselves.
[But a commenter] … isn’t at all happy with this assessment. Not that he particularly disagrees with it. No, it’s more that he’s sick of journalists sullying the purity of his musical experience with their ‘political ideology’, such as that of expecting not to get sexually assaulted.”
- Speak You’Re Branes
And then said commenter goes on to opine that all females in bands are just useless “tokens” designed to appeal to audiences.
I guess somebody should inform the incredibly talented women in all of my ambiguously fabulous two-pieces about that. And it’s funny, I’ve always felt the opposite: that it’s dudes in the coed bands who are tokens, because without their presence, audiences won’t take female musicians seriously — or will even treat the female musicians as rape objects/eye candy and nothing more.
Unless some dude’s creative vision is so close to mine that it would be foolish to pass him over, or unless he is simply the absolute best at what he does and has no peer, that’s definitely why I play in bands with men instead of with equally talented female musicians: so I won’t be automatically dismissed as “some chick with an instrument” and/or seen as a walking target.
(Or let’s put it this way: I will still be dismissed and seen as a walking target, but the presence of a male will often put a man off of the idea of actually attacking me, and I don’t have that same security when I’m alone or with a group of other females).
Huh. Funny, that.
I can probably trace my love of architectural shoulders and suit jackets back to David Byrne’s influence on my life.
Also I already know what this deodorant would be like: one of those aluminum-free salt crystal-blocks (which work wonderfully, by the way).
(Source: amajor7, via digital-troglodyte)
B0ndy, thief of souls, shunner of audiences, maintainer of strange internet habits, player of ocean-spirit drone-guitars.
I’ve never met anyone else who thought I was a hallucination. I kind of want to keep it that way.
