Friends Don't Let Friends Be Ironic

While most things are crumbling to shit, I did, on the plus side, discover why I've been on this folk music binge as of late.

It is totally free of pretension. Or, at the very least, that god-awful Irony that seems to creep up in everything indie made in the past 15 years.

When Scott Avett sings about...well when Scott Avett sings about just about anything, it's totally bare. As someone who was a much better writer than I once put it, "If the Avett Brothers are sex, they are sex with the lights on. With your wife." And it's TOTALLY TRUE.

When Langhorne Slim squeaks to holy hell on 'Lord', it works! There's no layer of autotune or overproduced nonsense to coat everything with a slick of butter. You are dragged across that vocal canyon, face down on the rocks.

Even on I and Love and You, that much-lauded Rick Rubin behemoth, the slick layer of producing and maturing the Avetts and Rubin provided could not stifle the honesty of four guys with instruments.

In essence, I have grown so tired of this ironic thing, that hearing somebody's bare voice with simple lyrics that come from a good place in their heart makes me want to sob and hug them hard.

Wavves are shitty for shittiness' sake. At this point the damn kid could really afford a halfway decent guitar and a halfway decent recording studio. He just chooses not to. It's part of his thing.

There's sort of a cute parallel between Wavves being shitty for shittiness' sake and kids buying clothing at Urban Outfitters that looks like its been torn, destroyed, aged, weathered and worn for decades. Faded shirts. Ripped jeans. Worn-in flannel. It's an added layer of character without the work or dirty thriftstores. Bloody disgusting.

Not that I'm exclusively insulting Wavves here. Or even the genre of crappy music (take note, Times New Viking et al). Vampire Weekend citing soukous or the existence of Aesop Rock are all in this same category of gross, sticky irony.

Not that I'm exclusively insulting Jewish rappers here.

With someone like Matisyahu, yes, there is a kitsch value. He's a Hasidic rapper. There's a risk of becoming a novelty, sure, but at the same time, there's an honesty behind Matisyahu's work. He makes rap music because he loves it and has always loved it. Aesop Rock isn't that kind of kid. Aesop Rock is the kind of kid that started listening to it when he calculated that his parents wouldn't approve, and that kids in school would do a doubletake when he started blasting Wu-Tang or NWA. He did it for attention, and the little bitch is still doing it for attention.

So, for all the Aesop Rocks of the world, who do it because it'll draw attention as a commodity, and for the Wavves of the world, who do it because there will always be kids wanting someone else to rip their jeans for them: grow the holy hell up.

And, for all the Matisyahus and Avett Brothers and Langhorne Slims of the world who do it because they love it and they don't mind being a little honest with total strangers every time they sing and will bare their scars in public: thank you.

Next concert is Islands w/ Jemina Pearl @ the Middle East Downstairs November 4

Until then,
Stay True
WF
Honesty = Best Policy

The Avett Brothers - Distraction #74
The Avett Brothers - Slight Figure of Speech
Langhorne Slim - Lord
Matisyahu - So Hi So Lo