Last weekend, I was attending a Grizzly Bear concert on the coast of Brooklyn. It was a normally meaningful indie event…but then something happened… I heard the people behind me say that Jay-Z was in attendance. I thought to myself ‘Jesus Christ. Jay-Z has the same taste in music as me? Who would have thunk it?’ I did what any other regular person would have done–I shuffled around the crowd in an attempt to spot Jay-Z. After accidentally gravitating towards 3 normal black males, I finally found the real Jay-Z.
I took out my cammy phone, took a pic, and uploaded it to the twitterpicture forums–this is what I do whenever I see something ‘kewl’ happen.
Eventually, I moved behind Jay-Z and Beyonce, and decided to take a video of them. It seemed like if I didn’t ‘take out my cell phone’ and get some pix/videos, then it would be impossible for my non-NYC based friends to believe that I had seen this famous couple.
It was great. I got to see Jay-Z and Beyonce dancing and singing all of the words. It made me feel like I was sort of ‘justified’ 2 like what I like. I might start listening to Jay-Z and Beyonce a little bit differently now–as if their music is influenced by the same music that influences my life.
Was pumped abt how Beyonce and her lil sis were s000 into it. I really like the same parts of the song that she ‘jammed’ to. My bros and I agree with her–those parts are the most ‘rocking’ and the most ‘meaningful.’
Eventually, I got home, and uploaded my video to youtube. I didn’t expect it to happen–but a lot of music bloggers and webzines covered my video. It seemed like it was worth it. It seemed like I had finally become a part of the scene, and contributed something. Maybe I would never write a hit album or contribute something transcendent to the scene, but today, I captured a lil bit of life that no1 else lived. I’m glad other people can enjoy it (that’s why i linked 2 my personal myspace on the video). Even though I wasn’t really able to ‘focus on the concert’ because I was waiting for the famous couple 2 turn around so I could get some better pictures, I still feel like my day was special. I feel good about my life. I honestly feel like I am personally responsible for constructing a bridge between the ‘indie scene’ and the ‘hip hop scene.’
Do u get more excited when u see a ‘real celebrity’ or an ‘alternative celebrity’?
Do u ‘feel bad’ for celebs when u see them ‘trying to be normal bros’ but then there are a bunch of ‘normal bros’ taking pix of them with their cellphones?
Are ‘celebrities’ the same as ‘normal ppl’?
Do u feel ’special’ when ur close to a celebrity, and get a ’shit eating grin’ on ur face?
Do u hope 1 day that you will be ‘relevant’ enough to become a human meme who gets ‘blog coverage’ when u attend an indie concert?
Do u think ‘real black people’ are capable of liking Grizzly Bear?
Just need 2 make sure I capture the most meaningful moments of my life, particularly those times where I see a ‘famous person.’ Just want ‘the rest of the internet’ 2 believe that I was actually in the presence of ‘fame.’
Wish u could see the world the way I see it [via youtube/twitpic/flickr/faycebook].
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IAmCarles.com
39 Comments
“After accidentally gravitating towards 3 normal black males, I finally found the real Jay-Z.” extremely lol’d at this.
It’s interesting how we get mad at alt culture being absorbed (devoured) by the mainstream, but when two huge celebrities show up to a concert, we get all “omg I can’t believe they’re here!” just like everyone else.
Looks like even altbros have bought in to the ‘celebrity’ concept.
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//////////Reply by lol
//////////Posted September 1st, 2009 at 2:51 pm
@Apreludes,
i dont
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//////////Reply by jonnypure
//////////Posted September 1st, 2009 at 3:22 pm
@Apreludes, xtreemly lold……….rreallyy?????/????
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//////////Reply by Apreludes
//////////Posted September 1st, 2009 at 10:20 pm
@jonnypure, No, just lold. I exaggerate.
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sig post carlesbad
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i am a designer, s0 r u.
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//////////Reply by benmanship
//////////Posted September 2nd, 2009 at 8:39 pm
@iamcarles.com, and a rip-off artist. what did you use to take that video? oh wait…..you didn’t actually take that video….you just embedded it from my youtube video.
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//////////Reply by andrew R. Carbone
//////////Posted September 2nd, 2009 at 10:04 pm
@benmanship, haha do you think you’re unique/original/creative/a good example to people? Jay-z makes music that sets a bad example for the ghetto.
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this sucks
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Me and Beyonce really love GrizBear/HRO. Thinking about having an ‘I am Carles’ shirt delivered personally by The Carles himself. I am writing this comment on my blkberry/iphone/_______ from the studio.
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//////////Reply by ne pas
//////////Posted September 1st, 2009 at 3:26 pm
@Jay-Z, can’t wait 4 blueprint 3.5
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this blog the blipster garabe i’ve ever read
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i have something in common with a rapper, my penis hurts
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if i were a millionaire i’d dress way better than these mnstrmer ‘artists’
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//////////Reply by sarahrightnow
//////////Posted September 1st, 2009 at 4:22 pm
@†®åπP, they just hire people to hang around and tell them how great they look, even when they’re wearing stupid clothes. which is almost always.
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yo is that chromeobro at the end on the top video?
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//////////Reply by benmanship
//////////Posted September 2nd, 2009 at 9:35 pm
@aefhauef, yep.
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//////////Reply by srs
//////////Posted September 3rd, 2009 at 7:14 am
@aefhauef, chromeBRO
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TAO LIN TAO LIN TAO LIN
TAO LIN
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//////////Reply by Matt Damon
//////////Posted September 1st, 2009 at 7:04 pm
@TAO LIN,
MATT DAMON
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//////////Reply by jvac
//////////Posted September 2nd, 2009 at 10:57 am
@Matt Damon, lol
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almost turned into mass hysteria as jay-z was escorted in by the park rangers. saw lots of skinny white dudes galloping along with the entourage trying to take pictures with their iPhones. very embarrassing for them i’d say.
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//////////Reply by benmanship
//////////Posted September 2nd, 2009 at 8:41 pm
@glenn tilbrook, sounds more like you were embarrassed for them.
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can someone pls tell beyonce to lose the afro thighs/butt when they see her in public next… who does she think she is? a black person? she’s milk chocolate at best…
k thnx
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ps. id stab a famous person if i saw them in public… and steal their wallet or something…
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//////////Reply by gestALT
//////////Posted September 1st, 2009 at 5:57 pm
@alec, i think thats why they look so uncomfortable + there’s bodyguard tailing them.
i saw taz arnold in a gas station at 3am once. we got locked out, and before i realized who he was, i made a joke about it, and he stared straight ahead. so i laughed (cuz it was a ‘krappy’ joke). then i looked over at him and his friend and i was ‘like whoa’.
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//////////Reply by c
//////////Posted September 1st, 2009 at 10:34 pm
@gestALT, cool story bro
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//////////Reply by al x
//////////Posted September 2nd, 2009 at 2:43 pm
@gestALT, chilled with Dr. Dre at Knotts Berry Farm once… my story is better.
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Grizzly Bear has sold out (via collaborating with Michael McDonalds and having irredeemably non-alt individuals such as Jay-Z, Beyonce, and Ryan Gosling attending their shows). Feel Ed Droste is no longer an alt-bro – feel I can’t go and chill out with my alt-brethren at a Grizzly Bear concert n e more.
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//////////Reply by d996er
//////////Posted September 2nd, 2009 at 11:32 am
@Funky Rutabaga,
Maybe if you up’d you musical skills they would play with you.
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//////////Reply by ruzz
//////////Posted September 7th, 2009 at 9:28 am
@Funky Rutabaga, you are joking right? I mean, all of it, the way you wrote your post and the idea behind it? If you were serious you are one of the biggest tools alive.
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“indie music is really relevant yall… holla” – hov
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I’ve never heard a single Grizzly Bear song. Is it that guy that went into the woods and made friends with a bear?
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jigga and the blipster glasses versus lil wayne in skinny jeans and a purple lumberjack shirt.
who’s the bigger ‘bag?
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//////////Reply by Alter-ego
//////////Posted September 3rd, 2009 at 12:45 am
@gentleman, wow this is a tough one…is this rhetorical? as much as i hate both of them I’am going to go with answer C: which is Kanye…or better yet D: all of the above
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Jay-Z = New Kanye
Kanye was out since that one shitty song he made about being a class clown and love knocking you down.
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for all the perks of celebrity lifestyle, relieved that lack of rhythm never dies…or was that grizzly bear
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solange looks retarded trying to play air drums. jigga was only there to get hipster cred. beyonce wants to style bite for ‘House of Dereon’ .
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//////////Reply by snags
//////////Posted September 2nd, 2009 at 1:37 am
@snags, damn. that was kinda mean. celebrities are people too!
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Not about race. It’s about class. Really poor people can’t appreciate indie rock, just like really rich people can’t appreciate rap unless they grew up poor [via working class parents].
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Feel like it is now socially acceptable to ‘blast’ ‘Two Weeks’ from my Bose headphones on the bus, now that two ‘leaders of the black community’ attended the GrizzBear concert [via rocking out]
Thanx Jiggaman for helping the blipster cause
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Jay-Z is an artist. I wouldn’t make fun of this guy. He is head and shoulders above most of the popular rappers of the day. If you disagree, I challenge anyone here to walk into a recording studio, and just make rhymes off the top of your head and have it go straight to master… and be considered the best rapper alive. That’s what he does. He makes it up, on the spot, as it’s being recorded.
If you think it’s a joke, then YOU do the same. Good luck.
If you’re going to say Jay-Z is a dork because he is “mainstream”… then you aren’t getting the point. Art is art. Discerning people can tell the hype from the quality.
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//////////Reply by vdieselfor20
//////////Posted September 2nd, 2009 at 1:28 am
@RJC, thnx RJC
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//////////Reply by snags
//////////Posted September 2nd, 2009 at 1:30 am
@RJC, i knew this was coming
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//////////Reply by RJC
//////////Posted September 2nd, 2009 at 11:34 am
@snags, you are very prescient.
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//////////Reply by snags
//////////Posted September 2nd, 2009 at 7:47 pm
@RJC, i know, it sucks.
//////////Reply by Alter-ego
//////////Posted September 3rd, 2009 at 12:51 am
@RJC, I dont know who is a bigger joke: jz or you, since you take him(and rap)seriously I’am going to say you.
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//////////Reply by RJC
//////////Posted September 3rd, 2009 at 4:13 pm
@Alter-ego, actually you’re the joke because you can’t recognize that “creating rhymes” is art. Art is art. And like all art, there are different levels of art. Most rap, I don’t care for. Jay-Z, in my estimation, is extremely talented.
I’m not sure if you have listened to his albums or are just having a knee-jerk “rap is mainstream” reaction. If that’s the case, educate yourself and you’ll see there’s a bigger world out there once you get your nose out of the air.
Good luck.
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just stmbldupn this [viatwtter]
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1620444/20090831/jay_z.jhtml
braceyallselves
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i bought 2 of my black friends to check out grizzly bear and yes i do think its capable for “real black people” to like grizzly bear because they genuinly enjoyed them selves .. =]
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@ MATT DAMON
TAO LIN
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//////////Reply by abdul
//////////Posted September 2nd, 2009 at 3:37 am
@TAO LIN, pls no
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Looking forward to see you gys on the next … gig :D
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I think the Postal Service has had a huge influence on American black music over the last few years.
And when is Lil John’s new record coming out? I heard one song on the radio while driving, and it was really cool. It had blastbeats and Snoop Dogg rapped on one part.
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//////////Reply by dawson
//////////Posted September 12th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
@andrew,
Probably not anytime soon. He has to be careful with this one, crunk being dead and all. Oh, and his name is spelled sans the “h” dummy.
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And does anyone think it’s weird that Grizzly Bear is on Warp? I was scratching my head over that when they first got signed. Diversification can dilute your brand, but it can also rake in dollars/pounds/euros.
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beyonce is carles
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saw Rza at vivian girls…
suspect some kind of infiltration. probably related to upcoming Making the Band type tv shows or ryan cabrera-esque fake alt artists.
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RZA “invented Serato Scratch.”
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Fuck that Doobie Bro Michael Mcdonald, i want to see a ‘While You Wait For The Others’ B-side featuring the Jigga!
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Face it, life is in a constant change and evolution. If you can’t handle it move to the Southern States.
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man, Solange is so beautiful.
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doood you are a GIANT tool!!!!!!! That is my video footage you d-bag. Seriously, get a fucking life. Don’t take credit for something you did not make. you are a sad little man.
piss off.
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you worthless piece of shi#, that’s not even your video. I hope you drown in a toilet of diarreah you cock knocker.
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yea a toilet of diarrhea! drown in it!
whatever….shitty video anyways. it’s all yours….
what was actually great was the town hall shows….so intimate and acoustically excellent.
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//////////Reply by coolbro
//////////Posted September 2nd, 2009 at 10:13 pm
@benmanship, benbro how do u not undrstnd tht evry1 nos ths vid is yurs, ur getin moar viewsbro, u shuld b happy, mybe u cn becum an authentic youtuber now an get thsnds of subz and have thsnds of myspce frnds now all thnks 2 carles
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thought about going,kinda happy as a black person that i did’nt.it seems like the show was the ultimate bah mitzvah where the grizzly bros grow up and assimilate into mainstream bandhood.feel like Jay-Z & B were the Rabbis patting Grizzly bros on the back while asking if they were circumcised.kinda sad,hope grizzly bros don’t appeal to teen pop stars like how that jonas likes MGMT.feel like nothing good comes out of going mainstream except making money. wish more indie music stayed indie.
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