Splicetoday

Music
Jul 25, 2008, 06:39AM

Who Out-Authenticizes Who?

At this point so many musicians have wandered through Paris and put in their time for a Take Away Show that Hipster Runoff is ready to put them through a little compare and contrast. Apparently the new Man Man video was just that inspiring. Are their moustaches and ruminations on the income disparity involved in lost hipster loves enough to displace the more mature approach of Animal Collective? Answers follow.

WTF is a TAKE AWAY SHOW?

Every week, we invite an artist or a band to play in the streets, in a bar, a park, or even in a flat or in an elevator, and we film the whole session. Of course, what makes the beauty of it is all the little incidents, hesitations, and crazy stuff happening unexpectingly. Besides, we do not edit the videos so they look perfectly flawless, instead we keep the raw sound of the surroundings. Our goal is to try and capture instants, film the music just like it happens, without preparation, without tricks. Spontaneity is the keyword.

That description was so meaningful/authentic, that it added a layer of depth and/or oneness with the modern world to my self-concept + the way that people perceive me. I wish my life was more like a Take-Away-Show and less like 'The Office.'


#95.5 Man Man - A day at the races and A night at the opera
by lablogotheque

HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Authentic-Alt lead singer opening the video talking about how 'the girl of his dreams left him' for some1 with a moustache and a reliable stream of income.
  • Miscellaneous drumming on non-traditional drummed objects.
  • Recruitment of lil Black kids into their band.
  • Fun shouting and shrieking!
  • Passionate quirkiness/willingness to dedicate to their art.
  • "OMG who r these alties! do they get paid for this??!" looks by mainstreamer onlookers
  • Recruitment of more black kids into an 'alternative army'
  • Unknown application of facepaint
  • NOTE: SKIP MOST OF THE LIVE PERFORMANCE
  • leading an army of alts outside of the venue
  • inspiring the alts to sing and clap along, making every1's understanding of 'the arts'/life more meaningful with each passing beat


I always think it's funny whenever there is a live concert setting, and the lead singers try to do something 'interactive' with the audience/the band's dedicated followers. So the front-row alts are the ones looking around like 'CMON! This is frickin awesome yall! I'm gonna clap extra hard, because the harder & more in-rhythm I clap, the more meaningful my life is because I am proving that I am more than just a fan.'

I feel like Man Man stole Animal Collective's over-conceptual-yet-acceptable-to-widely-acclaim gimmick without having a strong enough brand to be widely acclaimed. Man Man is 'weird'/they are still too young to be taken seriously, while the members of Animal Collective are okay because they are more of the 'conceptual cool Dad', which people don't mind being too artsy.

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