Pitchfork approval

[dean]

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/155 ... ourselves/

8.4

[dean]

hahah! Mausspace is the URL when you hover over his name.

OFFICIAL

[liam]

While earlier records have been riddled by experiments gone awry (see: "Rights for Gays" and "Tenebrae", from 2007's Love Is Real)

The less said about "Rights for Gays"-- a faux-disco prank where Maus sings the lyrics "Tie them to a fence post/ Pow, pow, pow, pow, pow/ Rights for gays and medical care for every one!"-- the better.

If you don't like Rights For Gays you should stop listening to John Maus immediately and forever

[AppTrans]

why wait a week and a half after the official release?
a positive review from Pitchfork has its pros and cons I suppose...putting him next to Bon Iver seems

[liam]

I certainly don't begrudge him any success, I hope it does really well!

It's just a shame that if he does become better known that it'll inevitably bring a load of douchey fans/haters along with it

[liam]

Not like us cool guys

[dean]

I'm all for more fans. I want to talk to people about music, and have them know what I'm talking about. BUT - the knock on effect is what has been happening at the last few Ariel Pink shows I've been to. A who bunch of hip kids dancing to "the hits", and talking through anything not on the last album.

[AppTrans]

It was apparent that he was going to get a good rating from P4K since they Best New Music'ed Believer. I am glad for him (his album deserves well over 9.5 )
There are pros in that there's more exposure and possibly more sales with his albums and concert tickets, but the cons could result in purists discounting him for having casual followers, haters hating even more, so on, so on, and so forth. I'm not a forecaster by any means, so who's to say.
I personally feel that there's really no way to casually "follow" John Maus...I think you either "get" it (not being told to "get" it) or you don't. Perhaps there's an "in-between"? What do you think folks?
I see the other acts on Pitchfork and they just don't compare...you know? (I also think the review itself is pretty one-dimensional, dropping "Joy Division" twice...surely denotes the types they rely on)

In any case, we all know he makes the finest music and that's ultimately what matters! All the best to him and his success with the new album

[pinkspoons]

i called this a while back. i knew they would embrace it for fear of looking "not cool".

[Anthony]

[bonsai_human]

I feel weird about all the new support, mainly because I know of some bandwagon jumpers who are suddenly running out to buy the new album despite me trying unsuccessfully to introduce them to his music in the past. It's annoying, because it's so bloody obvious they are doing it for "cred" - the music is not a radical departure. On top of that, I think it's natural to want to hold onto the "we're-in-a-special-little-club" feeling. Though I can hardly claim to only like obscure acts - second to JM in my LastFM most played list? Lady Gaga. Ha!

Basically, if we really care about him as an artist we should want him to get as much support as possible. And if it's from hipster kids it's okay, really it is. REALLY. You can tell I'm trying to convince myself!

As for anyone who thinks Tenebrae and Rights for Gays are anything but genius: revolution->first against wall.

[batmania]

edit: jealous rant

[bonsai_human]

i think i'm right in saying that lady gaga is a pretty safe bet for guilty-pleasure hipster music. people are fascinated by her, and gen-y indie kids (i think this is synonymous with "hipster" and "young person a-happenin'") are probably more reluctant to trash her than to admit enjoying her music, for fear of being seen as not "getting it" due to an irrational prejudice against anything seen as mainstream.

Oh dear god the rules are so confusing! And if I say I'm not a hipster it means I definitely am, doesn't it?

Does it help that: 1) I like U2 2) I like Neil Diamond 3) I'm in my thirties and remember tapes the first time round so laugh at youngsters and their "tape only" releases? And though I suspect my Philosophy degree may count against me, it may help that I graduated in the nineties.

[dean]

Dudes. We're not having the 'hipster' convo here. We've been here since 2006...

[owligarchy]

Dudes. We're not having the 'hipster' convo here. We've been here since 2006...

LOL dean