Vulfpeck - Are we just gonna pretend this is not a thing?

SPlDEY

SPlDEY said:

klezmer electro-thug beats said:

I do wonder if vulfpeck's strangely obsessive fans use their music as a gateway to the stuff that vulf are often pastiching or if there's some superfan mindgardens where this is all happening for the first time. That sounds more critical of the band than it is, though, I really like their stuff, the musicianship is pretty unfuckwithable and they wear their influences on their sleeve and are not secretive or quiet about them to said fans. They try to get the (living) musicians they are into on to stage or tracking sessions with them, which is cool.

The dudes practically worship Bernard Purdie and nerd out about drum recording techniques and minimalist arrangement so the only question is why I hadn't listened to them before recently since they are apparently 5th dimensional versions of me with far better chops and multi-instrumental skill.

Begs the question why havn't we talked about them on the strut before?

- spidey

Duderonomy

Fock. Never seen or heard nothing of this before. That is music. Beautiful.

klezmer electro-thug beats

klezmer electro-thug beats

klezmer electro-thug beats

You know what's weird is I came across a pre-vulfpeck video by the main dude (posted in the other vulf thread) like a year or two before he formed vulfpeck, then ignored them for like six years from their inception until like last month. They came up in my youtube recommendations etc. but the sight of a sleeveless shirt wearing white dude with "rapist glasses" and a headband grimacing into a mic with the title "boogie on reggae woman vulfpeck cover" sounded like hell on earth to me, like some krautrock or cheese metal band destroying a stevie wonder perfection.

To be frank I still can't get down with the stevie-covering but the above tracks are getting a lot of play with me now. Great attention to musicianship and production while still bedroom-tracking (and live-videoing) everything. It's pretty much what I'd be trying to do if I had a band again...

ppadilha

these dudes go all out even on the color treatment of their videos

Junior

I haven't actually checked out the music yet but am a bit unnerved that someone mentioned them to me in passing last week.

Online and RW colliding. Matrix glitching.

I like the anecdote about the silent spotify album funding their free tour.

klezmer electro-thug beats

Only christmas music I'd wanna listen to in May:

Jimster

On a side note there is not much chatter of Snarky puppy who I am finger crucifixing for all the above preconceptions.

But yo, I know they ain't topping the Nth Power (with Nigel Hall).

klezmer electro-thug beats

Tried an failed to get through a snarky puppy track... I love watching videos of Cory Henry noodling on new synth-organs at NAB conferences and shit though

SPlDEY

Colbert show? Dude I haven't watched TV in forever. Where have I been?



- spidey

Duderonomy

Damn that was good. The sound is so “right”.

klezmer electro-thug beats

alright I said I couldn't get with the stevie-covering, well I'm eating my words with this new one

Hairy Moody

I feel like this is music for enthusiasts at the two extremes: Musicians who know and care a great deal about music, and cargo-shorted casuals who just want something to bob to until the next Record Store Day.

As someone who falls between those two poles--I think and care a great deal about music, but have never been compelled to roll my own--allow me to offer the minority opinion: Every lick of this shit needs to be put in a giant sack labelled "CHOPS!," taken out behind Guitar Center, and fed into a fucking wood-chipper, New-Balances-first.

The sheer uterus-withering sterility of this whole strain of talent-rich, idea-poor, and fiber-free YouTube nu-funk makes my lips pucker, and not in the good way. It has nothing to say to the contemporary culture that surrounds it, it doesn't hold a candle to the bygone culture that inspired it, and it doesn't express anything about its makers or ask anything of its listeners beyond "Hey, wanna see my record collection?" 

In the approximate words of fellow hater Miles Davis, I would always rather listen to inferior music that is of its own time than listen to superior music that belongs to another time. That so many of my beautifully intolerant record-nerd brethren have found room in their heart for such Berklee College jam-session runoff is, to me, a real sadness.    

Wherever Philippe Lehman is, I hope he's getting his liver eaten out daily for his role in all this.

SPlDEY

Hairy Moody said:

Every lick of this shit needs to be put in a giant sack labelled "CHOPS!," taken out behind Guitar Center, and fed into a fucking wood-chipper, New-Balances-first.

Bruh, do you even party?

- spidey

klezmer electro-thug beats

  

Totally sympathetic to that feeling. I hold it myself with regards to a LOT of other cultural pastiches, film, even with other genres of music. Like I first said when I brought them up, it's definitely a guilty pleasure. As a drummer, seeing a dude with Nate Smith's or Michael Bland's abilities in these tracks is inspiring. They have all the white-funk jam-band risk factors but for whatever reason fall on the right side of acceptable to me.

Of course, new bands in a literally fifty year old genre are never going to compare to the originals - hence my curiosity about their fans, are they like... jam band nerds who's only concept of funk music is through this? I don't know. It'd put a foul taste in my ears if so. I'd like to think I've listened to enough "inferior music that is of its own time" to offset the very occasional competent retro pastiche.

My ass is not brunt. But I tolerate no Philippe Lehman impugning! What French record vulture will this board talk shit on next, Simon Soussan? Oh wait...

Jimster

klezmer electro-thug beats said:

seeing a dude with Nate Smith's or Michael Bland's abilities in these tracks is inspiring

This is the positive take-home for me.  Nice to see them getting some shine.

Mandem said:

this whole strain of talent-rich, idea-poor...

This is also very accurate. It's like a computer is doing it. But I can't hatt the musicianship. I mean, they sure make less mistakes than me.

Wow, life is sure full of non black-and-white issues, isn't it?

Jimster

The bigger question then, is what IS acceptable?

Does a band have to pay its dues on the Chitlin Circuit or in prison to be legit?

Are those roads to "Authentic City" still open?

Or should they abandon the necrophilia of real instruments and concentrate on zeitgeist-apex EDM to be more Of-Their-Time-Than-Thou?  Because I fucking hate them twats who think they just climbed off a UFO from Planet-fucking-NOW!

Bonus Every-cloud...-moment: I think we can all agree that sunglasses can't make a white musician black, regardless of how many times you've seen "The Blues Brothers".

Duderonomy

My one beef with the excellent live thing on Colbert (above) is that for all the musicianship and the really great sound, the song seemed to be a commercial for buying a Ford Taurus or something equally soulless.

.………

I’d be happy for them to use their skill and sound for something a bit different than just covers too, but what is the band of-it’s-time music now? Everything rock has been done, nothing new there that won’t be compared to bands/sounds past... live reggaeton?

Duderonomy

Maybe they should be the touring band for, uhh, Drake or whoever.

Jimster

Drake wouldn't venture that far off course for fear of "Diluting the Product" - such is the magnitude of his tryst with "The Business". I'll allow Drake some kudos as he does collab with non-mainstream acts, like Hiatus Kaiyote.  They have Nai Palm as a focal point though, not just some Berklee skinny whiteboys.   Maybe if the Vulfies had a Sharon Jones, or like the Snarkies used Lalah Hathaway, they might get more props.

It worked for Winehouse using the Daptones, but Winehouse's canon (and there were some very strong songs therein, regardless of style) did lend itself to a full band.

Personally that gritty tambourine-soul retro sound does nothing for me other than remind me of too many Northern Soul nights where I wasn't old enough to get it (the music, and anything that came with it I guess).  Maybe I never will as I wasn't there "First time 'round" and that's what's missing from what the Vulfies are (perfectly) doing.  "You had to be there to fully appreciate it" etc.  Like they say about Hendrix and Jaco and Bird, doing shit that no-one had done before, but everyone does now.

Duderonomy

Jimster said:

Mandem said:

this whole strain of talent-rich, idea-poor...

This is also very accurate. It's like a computer is doing it. But I can't hatt the musicianship. I mean, they sure make less mistakes than me.

I’m not gonna argue with James on that, but while I’m never going to buy any of their recorded output, I think I’d lose my shit to this after a few tequilas in a hot, sweaty club. Live music is always great, and these guys have obviously got “the sound” right IMO.

ppadilha

thank you for summing up succinctly the way I feel about Quentin Tarantino's work

Hairy Moody said:

I feel like this is music for enthusiasts at the two extremes: Musicians who know and care a great deal about music, and cargo-shorted casuals who just want something to bob to until the next Record Store Day.

As someone who falls between those two poles--I think and care a great deal about music, but have never been compelled to roll my own--allow me to offer the minority opinion: Every lick of this shit needs to be put in a giant sack labelled "CHOPS!," taken out behind Guitar Center, and fed into a fucking wood-chipper, New-Balances-first.

The sheer uterus-withering sterility of this whole strain of talent-rich, idea-poor, and fiber-free YouTube nu-funk makes my lips pucker, and not in the good way. It has nothing to say to the contemporary culture that surrounds it, it doesn't hold a candle to the bygone culture that inspired it, and it doesn't express anything about its makers or ask anything of its listeners beyond "Hey, wanna see my record collection?" 

In the approximate words of fellow hater Miles Davis, I would always rather listen to inferior music that is of its own time than listen to superior music that belongs to another time. That so many of my beautifully intolerant record-nerd brethren have found room in their heart for such Berklee College jam-session runoff is, to me, a real sadness.    

Wherever Philippe Lehman is, I hope he's getting his liver eaten out daily for his role in all this.

klezmer electro-thug beats

In my experience as someone who studied film and has spent my whole adult life around film nerds in jobs etc., the people who "know and care a great deal" about movies do not at all consider Tarantino's stuff to be for them. It's like that brief moment in the mid 2000s when 4 in 10 people said Donnie Darko was their favorite movie. It's for those people. If you seriously appreciate movies you watch the old ones, just like with music. There are certainly people who go and see a Tarantino film and get the references and enjoy it but there are many more who'd get the references and be like "what the fuck is this guy doing, this has no passion or meaning, I'm gonna go watch Cleo from 5 to 7 again" or whatever. Tarantino is definitely for the RSD cargo shorted casual of film watchers. He is taken very seriously by them, though, because the only other stuff they watch regularly is Disney/Marvel's output.

So yeah as I said I totally get that revulsion. I have it with QT movies.  

The real thing, coming from the real time and place, with genuine zeitgeist mixed in, is always going to be stronger in an ineffable way. "Realness" or authenticity. That said, just as I can enjoy music that samples stuff I'd also enjoy listening to in its original form, I can enjoy barely-modified twists on the music if it's got Something - musicianship, a deep understanding of the genres it's drawing from, etc. It's true most White Funk doesn't cut the mustard, but I continue to enjoy a portion of the funk recorded after '82, including this decade.

Not a fan of the Beck-esque non sequitur lyrics though.

Hairy Moody

Sorry for the delayed response. I was unexpectedly called away to Rubber City, which I realize sounds like a euphemism for something, but is not.

But yeah, fuck Quentin Tarantino for his obvious hatred of women, which he has managed to brylcreem into a greasy appreciation-shaped non-appreciation that has somehow buffaloed all kinds of folks that should really know better. One might say that in this slickness and in his unwillingness or inability to engage with the heart and complexity of his source material and subsequent over-reliance on technicality, repertoire, and tonal facsimile, he's like the film-world Vulfpeck. 

I kid/exaggerate (or part-way, anyway--fuck QT, for real). The questions about what then is acceptable and what "of its time" means in 2018 are fair ones. I'm gonna keep thinking about that.  

(Confidential to His Fretlessness, La Jimster: One, the free-book box nearest my home has had moldering within it for like two months now a moisture-swollen copy of the memoir My Boy, by one Philomena Lynott. I went to maybe put it out of its misery today, but poof, it was gone. Two, I accidentally heard some of that Hiatus Kaiyote on honest-to-goodness terrestrial radio the other day--credit/blame to Vocalo FM--and man, no disrespect to riders including but undoubtedly not limited to yourself and Theo Parrish, but that kind of post-Esthero time-signature-salad stuff is not my type of hype. Signed, Man Who Paid Retail For A FOLEY Record Back In The Nineteen Nineties) 

Jimster

Perhaps, while you ponder the Zeitgeist, the answer was staring you right in the ears?  The Hiatuses are a complete one-off and for my 2p, the world is a better place for them and their ilk*. You might process the noise better if you break it down thusly:

She (Nai Palm) is truly mad-as-a-wasp.  I gained this understanding over time.  And following her on Instagram.

Given this axiom as a starting point, applying the Butterfly effect to the ensuing curveballs (from a truly wild pitcher), to any additional travel along the creative process, and mixed with the inputs of the other bandmates, means:  Wonky time-signatures are often a given, and perhaps the least of your worries when you factor the lyrics in.  I fully understand that.

And yet, for all that, she is truly adorable.  I gained this understanding listening to her sing "Fingerprints", mourning her mum.  And by listening to her more intimate, rhythmically less-wonky solo set, "Needlepaw".

And more following her on Instagram.

Or you might just finger-crucifix the whole lot, I dunno.  I mean, I can't ride for all of it.  Finding gold always involves processing a lot of shit.

[Q.T. sidenote - Is this is a good time to recant the tale of when my wife told him to STFU, and he did?  Well, that, basically.  It's the way I tell 'em.]

My Boys:

*I need to ponder who their ilk are.  So many false dawns.

SPlDEY

Jimster said:

The Hiatuses are a complete one-off and for my 2p, the world is a better place for them and their ilk*.

Homey, if he can't hear what's good about Vulfpeck or Hiatus Kaiyote. His ears may be broke g. 

- D

klezmer electro-thug beats

Dipped back into this barrel recently, here's a new track


If I can get clinical about this:
I hate the bass solo, but the part's fine
I really don't like the straight/whiteness of the rhythm guitar clang, there's no south in it
Both key parts are perfect
Drums are good

So that combination of factors lands this song out of jam band guys with "fonk" in the band name territory and into "I kinda really like this, but feel a bit dirty because I'm not listening to rufus thomas wattstax performance again instead" territory.

SPlDEY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpYHp-W51H4

I keep listening they keep get funkier!

- spidey

ppadilha

they need that girl that nailed the Mac Miller/Thundercat cover