and still, the randomness

[Nick Ink]

Hand in hand is the only way to land, always the right way round, not broken into pieces like hated little meeces

[Nick Ink]

meeces 

[YojimboMonkey]

robert smith was the first lolcat

(although there was that old cartoon with the cat who said "I hates meeces to pieces!")

[Nick Ink]

robert smith was the first lolcat

The other key member of The Cure then of course was Lol Tolhurst.

[davy]

robert smith was the first lolcat

(although there was that old cartoon with the cat who said "I hates meeces to pieces!")

Trixy and Pixy were the meeces, right? What was the cat's name?!

[Nick Ink]

robert smith was the first lolcat

(although there was that old cartoon with the cat who said "I hates meeces to pieces!")

Trixy and Pixy were the meeces, right? What was the cat's name?!

Pixie and Dixie, apparently, along with Mr.Jinks

[davy]

Fuck yeah, Mr. Jinks!

[Chet]

I'm gonna go ahead and say that in terms of music that is made up of guitars, bass and drums (and keys) that The Walkmen are as good as it gets in the 21st Century.

I dare you to name any band that sounds like them. It's really quite miraculous how they have created such a unique sound in this day and age. Not to mention the fact that every record of theirs, barring 100 Miles Off, is like very, very, very good.

[davy]

Agreed. Sometimes I take them for granted, but even so, they're one of the very few bands whose new records I buy on release day, no questions asked. I've even come around to 100 Miles Off.

[Chet]

It has some good stuff on it. Louisiana, is a killer of an opener, but there is some weak stuff on there also.

[Chet]

does lana del rey have a record out?

[elpollodiablo]

ffffffuuuuuuuu

This whole Lana Del Rey critical bugaboo thing has turned into an emblem for everything I find distasteful, petty and dumb about the intellectualization of popular culture, even though I literally have not heard ten seconds of a single track. I see her face and name *everywhere*, even in the places where I'm usually insulated against dominant pop music trends, because smart people evidently think they're under some obligation to discuss the "controversy." You're not!

And that's what pop music criticism means to me

[coldforge]

My experience of Lana Del Ray:

Her song was on Who Charted? and they said she named herself after a car. I guess her record just came out, AV Club absolutely hated it; but I guess it's interesting because they also mentioned the 'controversy', i suppose in that she used to be a normal singer songwriter who sang under her own name? And when they mentioned that fact on Who Charted?, and the bit about the car, I can't say it struck me as particularly noteworthy. And I'm almost certain that when I try to think of what she might sound like, it's actually Adele I'm thinking of.

[YojimboMonkey]

what is the controversy about her? when she was on SNL and wasn't very good or whatever? I don't know shit about her except that, and that she was on the youtubes or something, and that I don't have to listen to her if I don't want to, so I don't.

[nonotyet]

She kind of sounds like the singer from Mazzy Star to me, therefore her music creates this pleasant fuzzy nostalgia. Also "Video Games" feels like it's 45 minutes long, and I think the same principle applies to movies and songs--if at any point you are conscious of how long it is instead of  just experiencing or absorbing it, bad news Larry.
The controversy has to do with the SNL thing but also regarding whether she is authentic or not, whatever the fuck that means. 

[davy]

This is the first I've heard of her.

(I win?)

[dieblucasdie]

The controversy is that she's a failed popstar who went by "Lizzy Grant" who was then repackaged and sold the Pitchfork crowd, who did the predictable embrace/backlash/backlash-to-the-backlash/grudging-acceptance thing, but this time the entire cycle completed itself before her album even came out. Now that her album is actually out, AV Club, pfork, etc etc just seem exhausted and don't even know how to review it

[Chet]

I think her stuff is pretty interesting, as far as mainstream pop music goes.
Tho I have no desire to listen to a whole album of it.
The whole hype/controversy storm is a sad indictment of the twitter/tumblr/youtube culture.

Anyway, I just wanted to post the funny picture.

[coldforge]

Don't get me wrong, Chet. That's a funny picture. Worth posting.

[elpollodiablo]

Yeah man sorry if it seemed like I was snapping at you; totally didn't intend to.

[Chet]

Oh, I didn't get that impression at all, I just figured you were snapping at the LDR meme.

[Dick]

This is the first I've heard of her.

(I win?)

yeah me too.

Moderately curious but the whole thing sounds too exhausting to bother reading about.

[jm]

honestly, not reading about it but seeing other people talk about it has been pretty exhausting.

[dieblucasdie]

Yeah you are not missing anything. It's basically people on the Internet getting angry for no reason, and music critics patting themselves on the back for not caring about "authenticity." And both groups being super-misogynistic about it. Like pollo said, the whole incident just makes me hate everything.

[Black Amnesia of Heaven]

music critics patting themselves on the back for not caring about "authenticity."

now i never have to read sfj's take.