Should've been Allen Iverson to make an album that Record Club covers. Good thing that this Iverson moment featured above is the only moment from the 2001 NBA Finals. Shaq who? That's a good question. I think he's some rapper. Or a genie or something.
Anyways, how were the reviews this week? Everyone sad that summer is ending, and so too the emails that I blast everyone with, begging them to participate in Record Club? Yeah, me too. Me too.
13 comments:
Everyone either stated this outright or implied it: this would've been more fun if it was bad, right? Actual opinions varied, but I dunno, I thought it was pretty good. Not the type of album you'd remember if it wasn't an all-time basketball legend, and not the type of album you'd remember if you're favorite album-of-the-week club didn't cover it, but still!!
I liked the imagery of Shaq yelling about feminism while someone is brought back to life from an OD. Also liked Brianna's point about celebrities being bored.
I liked Zach continuing to keep the Record Club Atlas updated.
I liked how Epimemeology creeps into everything that Pat writes, and I definitely like the point about tall people being cool (since I am tall).
I liked Gloria stating how no one would ever pay attention to a math teacher rap album, not knowing that Record Club paid attention to a math teacher rap album.
I liked the Emmy Rossum shoutout, and also the legitimate question that I didn't even think about: is this a fucking joke?!
Ranking the non-Shaq music that Nate shared:
6. Texas 3000
5. Haggus
4. Westside Cowboy
3. Alien Boy*
2. Cheap City
1. Winona Fighter
*the only one I was familiar with prior to today
**Joyce Manor unranked because I'm excited for that album and I'm not gonna listen to any songs in advance
Nate on picking Record Club albums:
"I could probably ask PoYB EiC more privately, but I'll just do it here: When you put an album like this on a list for people to listen to, what are you hoping for? You must know this is bad. Are you looking for people to redeem a piece of garbage? Are you looking for someone to find a pearl and bring a new perspective to something that is agreed to be waste? Are you being a merry prankster and just showing us all a dog turd? Like, what's the angle here? And don't play coy with me, don't lay some 'I have no expectations! I just want people to listen to music!' shit on me, because even if that's true, there's still a level of editorial authorship involved... What's the bit here, Joe K?"
Okay, I'll bite. You're talking more about long-term ideas here. I like the idea of a wide range of albums being covered by this club, and that's something I've always been proud of. There is a version of this club that only covers the hot zeitgeisty critics-approved albums of the current week, and we'd listen to a lot of good music in that version... but I would also get bored. Maybe that's just me. But I think it's fun to listen to a wide range of artists and genres and qualities of sound. I think it's fun to mix it up with bad artists, or non-artists even. It would ALSO be boring if we listened to a Shaq type every week, but how often is it honestly happening? Or are you asking these questions because of confirmation bias?
Also, consider that Record Club is a music club, but I also consider it a writing club. I personally don't have the capacity to write about Regular Good albums every week. It's easier and more fun to write about Shaq. I get the sense that you do not feel this way (especially in light of your review this week, which sought to actively avoid writing about the subject), which is cool too. I don't mind torturing people with having to write about mediocre-to-bad albums if that's how they feel. I kinda like approaching a bad album from a writing perspective, like figuring out how to have fun or feel good about writing about something bad.
So "yes" to all of your questions. It might be a chance at redemption, it might be a chance at a new perspective, it might be a jokey dog turd, it might be a gag. Shaq could be all of the above. And next week will be none of the above. And then on and on until one of us is dead.
What's good this weekend? I'm headed to Sesame Place in a couple minutes, our neighbor works there and gave us tickets. Niece's birthday party tomorrow. Eventually, maybe by Record Club Week 543, I will start putting actually exciting weekend plans in this space.
I'd like to address Pat's contention that "we trust tall people." I've been working on a personal theory around this very idea. The research isn't quite ready for publication, but the general thrust is that there is a parabola of "evilness" that correlates directly to height. The shorter the adult is, the more evil they are. This means as you gain in height, you lose wickedness. This works until you hit about 6'5, then the evilness creeps back up, before bottoming out again in the 7'4 range.
Basically, if you are freak short, you are much more likely to be evil, and if you are freak tall, you are much more likely to be goodhearted. If you, however, are in the high sixes or low sevens, you are as evil as someone tiny.
This important work was paused, but now that we're Making America Eugenics Again, I feel good about my chances to move this important scholarship forward.
I will concede one point to you: They don't come up that often. This is a "me" problem. I find picks like these - picks that I categorize as "let's laugh at the bad thing" - personally loathsome, so much so that I feel as if a joke is being played on me at my expense, so they stand out more in my mind. That said, I can only really remember a few examples of this in practice.
I always self-promote because its supporting someone I love.
The only one that was actually frustratingly bad (that I picked) was McGruff. But that was for charity. It all evens out.
Feels like the tallest blogger, Gilson, should be weighing in here.
I'm loving this new bit of Tall lore/analysis from my favorite blog
I personally feel like my height correlates with my inherent goodness, haha
Wait till you see what I have in mind for our Halloween album, Nate. It's gonna make Shaq Diesel feel like Pet Sounds.
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