|
|
Post by conor on May 2, 2015 19:39:27 GMT
I dont know why some posters are shitting on some of the artists without naming names like its some conspiracy. I used to not really like Kane West but he grew on me. Felicita isn't someone I listen to on the reg but he has some really interesting sound design, etc. What's the deal? If you have legitimate criticisms field them! It's worthless to hide behind your statements and not actually present criticism.
|
|
deathworld
Junior Member
what are the haps my friends
Posts: 98 
|
Post by deathworld on May 2, 2015 20:21:23 GMT
Wow this thread went crazy.
A lot of good points being raised here, and I agree that there's a core sincerity to a lot of the songs. I think that's what made EasyFun's last EP kill so hard, it's what makes AG Cook's love songs so intense, and it's why HD and GFOTY are so compelling as pop stars. But it does puzzle me that dudes like Danny and AG have very chilled out producer-type personas. Maybe it's the case that there's no points of reference for a cis white male producer to even have a compelling public personality, whereas acts like HD and GFOTY have a wealth of female pop stars to build on. It's tough for any act to communicate personality and build a following if they don't sing or rap on their own songs. But at least people like Sophie and Finn Diesel have a distinct look and personality, even though they don't sing. As a public persona, identity is a performance that takes commitment and effort to maintain, and sometimes I wonder if some of the PC acts need to "perform" a little more.
This also loops back to what some people are saying about Henrik and other soundcloud bubblegum producers. There sometimes seems to be almost too much performance happening in their personas and music, with no evidence of a real personality underpinning it. Emojis and cute ASCII faces are easy to literally copy-paste, and Tumblr-core artwork is easy to download and use as your own. And if you're a bedroom producer who doesn't sing, how can you possibly distinguish yourself even if the tunes are good?
I actually quite like Henrik's gimmick, but it does bother me a little that by being so eager and supersincere, he's really being quite cynical and sarcastic and not sincere at all. He talks so much about sincerity, and never about anything that you should be sincere about. The soundcloud scene can be quite derivative sometimes, which usually results in too many people re-using the same elements of an aesthetic without branching out to find their own influences or bring parts of their own personality and lived experiences into the music.
I do think it's true that if you're constructing a persona like that it needs to be based off of some element of your real personality, and it seems like Polly Salmon is quite outgoing and a bit wacky, and Hannah DiAmond is really smart, quiet and sweet. Even Danny is quite open about being "just a guy", but also a guy who makes some really diverse music and clearly has classical talent. His personality comes across clearly and without much irony at all. But who is Henrik really? It's hard to tell, because he wears his sincerity like a shield. His picture is one of him at like 12, which is very personal but ultimately tells us nothing. I think this is what people are reacting to.
|
|
|
|
Post by loukessler on May 2, 2015 21:32:21 GMT
The whole point thing about being sincere is kinda one of the reasons PCM is groundbreaking. The 90s were all about ironic detachment and it's been done to death. It was a response to thinking things that are sincere are naive, and thats true to some extent. PCM is saying "I know this could be taken as ironic but it is sincere in it's presentation". As good as henrick is I think he is still coming from that ironic sensibility. (and theres nothing wrong with that). But I think we will be seeing more artists in the vein of PCM where they present their personality and don't feel the need to use the shield of irony or will come from a place of ambiguity.
For instance, when the band Ween released their last EP, it had a lot of cheese trance/euro dance styled tunes on it. It was saying this music is cheesy and we know that and you know that. Another example would be Nirvana pretending to play their instruments on a tv segment when they were told to censor their lyrics. They viewed the performance as inauthentic and thus ironically acknowledged that in their presentation. Newer artists don't feel the need to take a stance saying if something is good or bad, rather it is left ambiguous.
|
|
|
|
Post by friopi on May 2, 2015 23:06:17 GMT
Wow I love this thread, this is the kind of discussion I was really hoping for when I joined the forum. Don't have time to add much but re:nonbinary, QT has tweeted "I don't identify as a man or a woman but as a liquid form." I've only seen Hayden referred to as she/her both in the press and on social media (including pre-QT/PC Music) though.
I strongly second the sentiment that the male members of PC music should step up their persona games. Or maybe add some new artists to the roster.
|
|
|
|
Post by fffawn on May 3, 2015 2:52:56 GMT
(I'm just using the word "she" here just because there isn't really a good universally accepted gender-neutral pronoun.) they/them : ) I agree with what lemonadebrezhnev about needing a genuine/"sincere" core to any personas developed for performing. A G and Danny just use their real names, so i think their whole "we're just dudes makin music" thing makes sense with that. but back to what shitdog said, i totally understand where thats coming from and completely agree with the sting of "...but its ironic, dont worry!" because ive been thinkin the same thing, i love the irony and how they manipulate perceptions of artists on the label but at the same time i do think that the whole male-producers in pretend hiding is really... not a new concept, at least. maybe ive noticed that trend and im more accustomed to it, but that concept is already like ¬_¬ for me. maybe thats why i exploded when gfoty and spinee released the dog food mix hehe i hope theres more productions from spinee on her album! imagine gfoty smashing a guitar over a case of QT that sprays thru organ pipes and into the crowd so everyone can taste some or like maybe if they all came on stage at once like the end of an SNL episode cept they danced n stuff that'd be fun :') |
|
|
|
Post by friopi on May 4, 2015 19:16:13 GMT
When I saw QT live, before she came out a QT crossdresser walked across the stage. When/where was that? I wonder who it was... Dressing as QT is a hobby for me too  |
|
|
|
Post by BaRt on May 4, 2015 23:41:13 GMT
imagine gfoty smashing a guitar over a case of QT that sprays thru organ pipes and into the crowd so everyone can taste some or like maybe if they all came on stage at once like the end of an SNL episode cept they danced n stuff that'd be fun :') lmfaoooo feeling a lot of the discussion going on here, that feminine appropriation article kinda set if off for me in terms of thinking about politics and net music. just wondering how we can talk so much about the pop culture of the 90s yet theres not a single major black woman in all this?... trying to wrap my head around that how HD will talk about TLC's video being sucha big influence but still no black faces.. especially in the midst of all this other 90s revival of shit that kinda got panned the first time around, im just not sure i should be looking to ag or the pcmus scene when everyone from azalea banks to tkay maidza making all this beautiful foreward thinking music not built around recasting the 90s as one flattened club culture.. this shit sound real vicious though and thats not how i mean. things pc music has done for our scene (black n gay included) are super important and beautiful but im tryna hold my artists to a higher level of commentary u get me? |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 5, 2015 5:33:11 GMT
imagine gfoty smashing a guitar over a case of QT that sprays thru organ pipes and into the crowd so everyone can taste some or like maybe if they all came on stage at once like the end of an SNL episode cept they danced n stuff that'd be fun :') lmfaoooo feeling a lot of the discussion going on here, that feminine appropriation article kinda set if off for me in terms of thinking about politics and net music. just wondering how we can talk so much about the pop culture of the 90s yet theres not a single major black woman in all this?... trying to wrap my head around that how HD will talk about TLC's video being sucha big influence but still no black faces.. especially in the midst of all this other 90s revival of shit that kinda got panned the first time around, im just not sure i should be looking to ag or the pcmus scene when everyone from azalea banks to tkay maidza making all this beautiful foreward thinking music not built around recasting the 90s as one flattened club culture.. this shit sound real vicious though and thats not how i mean. things pc music has done for our scene (black n gay included) are super important and beautiful but im tryna hold my artists to a higher level of commentary u get me? I agree with this completely 100%. Like yes they are doing things somewhat differently; however, in A. G. Cook's radio tank interview he talks about "particularly enjoying recording music with people who don't normally or really make music" and yet everything so far is done by/with white people. The closest is SOPHIE hiring a black trans woman to "do" his D.J. set which is still...unsettling to me. |
|
|
|
Post by Jake on May 5, 2015 14:29:35 GMT
'but i cannot get behind it cos of all the bullshit anonymity/"artist"/pretending to write like a 3 year old shtick'
Henrik the Artist is a dude called Henrik and he isn't anyone else.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 5, 2015 15:25:27 GMT
When/where was that? I wonder who it was... Dressing as QT is a hobby for me too This was at the show in San Francisco last month. I'm not sure if it was a planned thing or just a fan they met and decided to put on stage. And about the SOPHIE thing... I actually think it's really funny that most people refer to the person behind the decks at the SOPHIE boiler room set as a "trans woman". How do you know? They could have just as easily been a cis male crossdresser. You can't determine a person's identity from their physical appearance, after all. I haven't quite figured out exactly what Sophie is trying to say about gender and identity, and I honestly feel that if I tried to, I would only be projecting my own views. Perhaps it's supposed to leave us all confused. Oh shoot! I thought it was confirmed in some article that I read that they were a like Semi "well-known" trans person in the area in some way or another. But you are right shouldn't assume things! My bad |
|
|
|
Post by friopi on May 5, 2015 15:56:40 GMT
This was at the show in San Francisco last month. I'm not sure if it was a planned thing or just a fan they met and decided to put on stage. Hehe I'm a creep but I think I know who that was... And about the SOPHIE thing... I actually think it's really funny that most people refer to the person behind the decks at the SOPHIE boiler room set as a "trans woman". How do you know? They could have just as easily been a cis male crossdresser. You can't determine a person's identity from their physical appearance, after all. Agreed, that bothers me too, especially since I've read up on the performer, whose name is Ben Woozy & IIRC he's a cis male drag queen. Although all the questions about what Sophie was trying to say with that move remain. |
|
|
|
Post by friopi on May 5, 2015 16:00:47 GMT
Oh shoot! I thought it was confirmed in some article that I read that they were a like Semi "well-known" trans person in the area in some way or another. But you are right shouldn't assume things! My bad I don't blame you for being confused when almost every article in the press has misgendered him as a trans woman...smh I've been sorely disappointed by the lack of basic research put into the majority of press covering PC Music. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 5, 2015 16:57:02 GMT
Oh shoot! I thought it was confirmed in some article that I read that they were a like Semi "well-known" trans person in the area in some way or another. But you are right shouldn't assume things! My bad I don't blame you for being confused when almost every article in the press has misgendered him as a trans woman...smh I've been sorely disappointed by the lack of basic research put into the majority of press covering PC Music. Yeah wow lmfao damn thank you for informing me though! I think it definitely still does raise a lot of questions though...oh well  |
|
|
|
Post by conor on May 5, 2015 17:50:42 GMT
I don't think that the fact that HD found TLC to be an inspiration aesthetically gives PC music any social responsibility to get more racial diversity in the label if only for the sake of it. It's a label of mostly friends and acquaintances and I think its preposterous to come in from that angle and imply that there is some intention to their lack of racial diversity.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 5, 2015 18:14:18 GMT
I don't think anyone's really saying they're being intentionally and viciously racist; it's just the fact of the matter. Like I'm not saying they need to go out pull random people of color and queer people off the street and force them to make music with them! It just is disheartening that they're looked at for being so "future of pop, forward thinking" and "taking people who generally wouldn't make music and making them music artists" and then they're all essentially (from what it seems) cis (mostly straight) white people. If that's the future of pop music no thank you! I'm not trying to brutally attack them specifically it's just my way of looking at how people praise them and what people are saying about them as a label.
EDIT: I will note that Finn Diesel is gay before anyone yells at me for that, but that doesn't suddenly make everything different (I also live for Finn Diesel's mixes/designs and the fashion and design his boyfriend Matt takes part in)
|
|
