Only in Williamsburg!

[tina]

First of all I would like to point out that I didn't say I was shocked or "couldn't believe it!" or anything like that ....it's par for the course to hear good music just about everywhere around here.  All I said is that it seemed "funny" and "seemed out of place" at that kind of store.

If I had heard the same thing playing at the same kind of store in rural Ohio, that may have surprised me.  Here it's not surprising, just funny.

I realize that people like good music everywhere, but I think it's safe to say that most stores across the country that cater to the Betty Crocker crowd would have some sort of policy about what can and can't be played over the loud speaker.  I can't see Suicide being on the recommended play list.

And I think it's ridiculous to say that nothing less than the Mentors at a toy store should be surprising.  Are you seriously that jaded?

[bradx]

i dont hear anything good here in public, ever, and we have the same internet/sattelite radio as the rest of you big city slickers

[frankie teardrop]

In Chicago, I have only heard one song I truly was surprised to hear one time, "Coast to Coast" by Ducks Deluxe. And that was at fucking Reckless, so it doesn't even really count. Otherwise, not a single store, no matter how supposedly "cool" it is supposed to be, has ever played one cool song in Chicago.

[LayawayButch]

so called "normals" encroachment

exactly, 'so-called' normals. who the fuck is normal? everyone is in some way an idiot or degenerate in one way, shape, or form. everyone.

That's why that little "so-called" bit was thrown in there, bub. People with musical pallets who are your peers or family members whose eyes get a little bigger out of fear or misunderstanding when you put something on and talk about that piece of music. I don't have a word for it. At no point in time did I make a reference to myself being some cloaked, taste avenger in the underworld of arts, entertainment, etc. Every note and every page is out there and waiting for anyone who wants to listen or read. That's my philosophy.  I was only stating a knee-jerk reaction to elements of what most of us wade in everyday being appropriated by the institutions who traditionally shun those sounds. This is mainly because I would prefer familiar sounds and images not selling me things I don't need.  Like Alan Vegas voice trying to get me into that wooden spoon set. There is nothing here for me to get over. I enjoy the fact that more people are getting exposed to SUICIDE. There's a great deal in that band that we all have in common. Being part of a cabal who tries to hide books/movies/music/art from people in the form of an "exclusive club" has never been my aim like some folks in the punk/psych collectors circles. Let's explore this wonderous world together.

I watch a fucking Die Hard movie every month. Burgers, beer, football, and hockey are some of my favorite pastimes. Maybe this means we are all coming together in the middle somewhere...

no, i think we're pretty much in agreement, but i would totally buy a wooden spoon set from Alan Vega - or Damo Suzuki for that matter, someone mentioned Can somewhere in here - if they walked up and asked me to. it's the subliminal thing that irks you. like if you hear ghost rider while you were checking out the spoon set you might think the that wooden spoon set is way cooler than it really is? and then you get home and put on hawkwind and the spoon set doesn't seem that great....

Exactly. And I probably phrased the whole arguement wrong and didn't think of it until after I fell asleep (dream baby dream). Anyone on this board would probably feel somewhat akward and possibly angry if one of their good friends tried to sell them Amway Products, prepaid legal, or an unwarranted Kirby vacuum. That was probably closer to the idea I was getting at. Creative and personalized capitalism seems to be the main offender and content programmers or district managers of that store with the Dave Brock Washless Wooden Spoons Set might just be trying to subvert the system. I know if I was in the same position at "Lysergic Spoon Roundup", I'd end up fucking with the in store playlist, too. All of that ESL/Dining Rooms type muzak would get a little old. You could start by tossing in some Ash Ra Temple or Walter Wegmuller between all of the ambient trip hop and eventually work your way down the food chain until you hit Mentors territory! It would make the eventual termination worth it.

Like Tina and Kevin have said, being from Ohio/Midwest makes you greatful for places with even a remote sense of musical taste for public consumption. Like walking into a bar and hearing The Pagans or Chrome. Where I come from, if it isn't Bob Seger or contemporary country...it isn't on the juke. These bars make occasional forays into Breaking Benjamin and Buckcherry but should anyone be greatful for the bar owners keeping the "kids" in mind? But you can't fuck with The Bob Seger System, on a side note.

[SSR]

Sorry, Scott, about the Grid in Sacto being a low-order goods desert with hardly anything good to eat. You shoulda moved to the southeryly orientation to be in torta heaven and pho heaven and walking distance from five different kindsa supermarkets. Maybe that's why I'm leading the cheer now.

Why the fuck would I want to move to the south area? Too many fucking cars, too many gangs, too many ugly strips of crap. I like walking and not to the strip mall. Oh yeah, I know you CAN ride your bike down there, but fuck that area. I'd rather live in LA, seriously. 

[SSR]

First of all I would like to point out that I didn't say I was shocked or "couldn't believe it!" or anything like that ....it's par for the course to hear good music just about everywhere around here.  All I said is that it seemed "funny" and "seemed out of place" at that kind of store.

If I had heard the same thing playing at the same kind of store in rural Ohio, that may have surprised me.  Here it's not surprising, just funny.

I realize that people like good music everywhere, but I think it's safe to say that most stores across the country that cater to the Betty Crocker crowd would have some sort of policy about what can and can't be played over the loud speaker.  I can't see Suicide being on the recommended play list.

And I think it's ridiculous to say that nothing less than the Mentors at a toy store should be surprising.  Are you seriously that jaded?

Of course no, I was just cranky and argumentative. Bad news at the end of a long day. Dental insurance! They say you NEED to have it but when it comes down to paying, they kick in $200 for a $1100 procedure. Fucking scam. So yes I was grumpier than usual.

Anyway, for curiosity sake: What Suicide song/record were they playing? First or second? I can see the second played in any store. And was this in a mix? If so it was probably cable radio or some service. Really. Stores subscribe to that stuff so they dont have to pay the ASCAP/BMI fees. 

[erickelric]

So much for this thread being a string of hilarious jokes about Williamsburg and the many ridiculous fuckfaces who live here.

You let me down, Termbo.

Go on, continue arguing about who has it better/worse.

[Vince Clortho Keymaster of Gozac]

So much for this thread being a string of hilarious jokes about Williamsburg and the many ridiculous fuckfaces who live here.

You let me down, Termbo.

Go on, continue arguing about who has it better/worse.

Only in Williamsburg would a Japanese wigger show up at a Spits show and proceed to hit on Mrs. GoZac and Mrs. Werewolf then accost me and Jordan outside the club while we're smoking and tell us that all the cabs are undercover cops and then raid the swag bags that was courtesy of Scion and then ask if we wanna go to some shitty techno dance party. Only in New York kids, only in New york.

[erickelric]

Haha, I missed that.

[I Am Not Marty Feldman]

...But for us Mid Westerners this kind of thing is pretty rare and cool.

Definitely.  

The novelty of it hasn't worn off for me yet, but it's getting there.  I have to believe that when the Homosexuals are overheard at Top Shop (easy joke here), it has way more to do with surface cool -- like a set designer did her homework -- than it does a rogue employee who can't get enough of that UK DIY stuff and wants to share it with the world.

Scott's got a point, too.  Not everything far-out and weird is as subterranean as we'd like to think.  Especially on the coasts.  

[tina]

Anyway, for curiosity sake: What Suicide song/record were they playing? First or second? I can see the second played in any store. And was this in a mix? If so it was probably cable radio or some service. Really. Stores subscribe to that stuff so they dont have to pay the ASCAP/BMI fees. 

It was this entire record.  Pretty sure it was a personal cd, not a service.

So much for this thread being a string of hilarious jokes about Williamsburg and the many ridiculous fuckfaces who live here.

That's what I was hoping for!  (please see my second post in the thread)

[erickelric]

 I have to believe that when the Homosexuals are overheard at Top Shop (easy joke here), it has way more to do with surface cool -- like a set designer did her homework -- than it does a rogue employee who can't get enough of that UK DIY stuff and wants to share it with the world.

I know a girl who DJs at Top Shop. She's got decent taste. They actually have DJs for the mid-afternoon on weekdays. Tre' cool.

[chrizow]

Hearing Eat Skull ANYWHERE in WI would be weird,

i heard eat skull, sic alps,  little claw, and psychedelic horseshit a couple of weeks ago at a wine shop in kansas city.  likely an internet feed or podcast.  still pretty sweet, though. 

[Vince Clortho Keymaster of Gozac]

OK sorry in advance for the rant but its not like anyone here has a monopoly on this sort of music. Who do you think works at most of these places? It's young people who are more than likely trying to pursue a career in some creative field and holding down some shit job somewhere to pay the bills. It's not like everyone out there except the handful of people you know have shit taste and have never heard of the Homosexuals or Suicide who were fucking honored at Lincoln Center a few years back or Can who are name checked in every review in every music magazine ever even if the band sounds nothing like Can (the same can be applied to Gang of Four).

[Erin S]

When I lived in San Francisco I stopped in at a little mini mart on Leavenworth to buy some wine and the Indian store clerk was listening to the Ghostbusters theme song at full blast on his stereo.