Ok, here it comes, my official announcement: I am a Metal Hipster ©. No more any of that boring old rap/indie/electronic-crap, just pure metal music for me, thanks. I am on that bandwagon now.
I (mostly) only listen to these bands now:
- Earth
- SUNN O)))
- Khanate
- Boris
- The Sword
- High On Fire
- Sleep
- Om
- Wolfmother
- Mastodon
And I started playing guitar again, as reported earlier, as well as developing an unhealthy appetite for scoring old guitar effect pedals from the ‘bay.
Why? I don’t know really. But right after having been listening and really getting into all that stuff, partially thanks to my man Mark, I read a newspaper article about Metal Hipsterism and I realized immediately that it was talking about me.
As it turns out, Metal Hipster, which is of course a very negative term to any real head banging metal-dude, is a nerdy white male music fan who has recently started listening to some of these particular metal/stoner/doom/drone/whatever bands. And who used to be really into something else before that. And apparently it is mandatory to dig all and any bands that's on Southern Lord label. But I used to be really into metal as a teenager, you know? And the fact is that those bands really rock AND/OR play interesting and fresh music, mostly without that stupid Spinal Tap-style irony/self-parody, or on the other any of that technical wanking usually associated with metal bands. At least I think so.
And hey, if you put together early Motorhead, early Black Sabbath, some Black Flag & Stooges, some Celtic Frost, early Sonic Youth, Bleach-era Nirvana, Metallica’s first album etc. and mix ‘em well and turn it up really loud, can you really get anything else than just good old rock’n’roll music? And please note the ‘early’ in front of all those bands.
Another point is that most of these new metal hipster's favorite bands are simply too left-field and strange for the mainstream of metal music and they will never be accepted into that genre. After all most of the metal audiences are some of the most conservative popular music audiences, along with Country & Western fans. Yeah, come and kick my ass for saying that, you spiky-haired dude in your Slipknot long-sleeve t-shirt.
But maybe I am wrong. Or maybe next month I am really into something else again.
8 comments:
It's great that you're coming "out of the closet" here in public.
I think Wolfmother is cool and I must check those others out as well.
But honestly, too much metal is not healthy. This reminds me of the time I went to New York in 1984 when I was a little kid and asked a salesman at Tower records or etc. if they had any Twisted Sisters albums. The chubby guy turned down to me and said "Twisted Sister... that's metal music. Metal music will make you crazy young boy..."
The main point of blogs is to go completely and shamelessly confessional, right?
Anyway, I would really recommend you, as old fellow-metal head, to check out:
- The Sword, for pure old school Black Sabbath-style jams (and way better than Wolfmother in that)
- High On fire, for 100% raw & bullshit free full-on power heavy rock
-Sleep for some ultimate deep and dope stoner-heavyness
- Boris's 'Pink' album for some maniacly rocking stoner jams with feedback/drone weirdness added, done like only Japanese can do it...
i think all types of musical hipsterism is good for all people. that same thing goes with "metalipsterism" too. that way, at least you're listening to (usually) new stuff and not just the WASP and Kiss albums you used to love when you were 15. it's the anti-nostalgic me strinking again.
anyways, Wolfmother kicks ass, but otherwise i need to be checking new metal stuff out stuff as well. i was hoping that the neo-prog-genre would provide a lot of new interesting stuff after the success of Mars Volta, but that well drained right out.
btw: the last Slayer album still kicks butt.
but it's really hard for me to think about metal right now, when i have Robin Thicke's new album (think Pharrell meets Justin meets 80's Prince meets Lil Wayne meets MJ meets Ginuwine type neo-soul ish) playing in the background. it's beautiful.
its funny that a happy family man is listening to khanate which is the sonic equivalent of the absolute depths of despair. cool though
djfb
Yo, Khanate is not my number one new love of those bands I listed but it's something that every Metal Hipster should be into anyway, I reckon.
And I agree that it is not your everyday-changing-baby's-diapers-and-doing-laundry-kind of music.
yes, that's true. i usually do the diaper-changing with Bone Crusher, 8Ball & MJG or Three 6 Mafia booming on the system.
but if you see sunn0))) live, you'll be having to change yr own nappies
djfb
but if you see sunn0))) live, you'll be having to change yr own nappies
djfb
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