Photo by Chris La Putt
Yall might recognize this bro as the bro from the popular 2k9 indie blogpitchfork buzz band ‘The XX.’ He seems chill, like he is just a bro playing ambient minimalist spacey earnest dark guitar rock. I couldn’t help but notice his soda can tab earring. I went to the store to buy a 6 pack of sodas so that I could make my own [via weekend arts+crafts session].
It seems like it would be easy to pierce my own ear at home, then find a way to create an earring out of an aluminum can tab. Really feel like aluminum can designers are ‘fucking geniuses’ for designing recyclable mixed-use products.
While I was creating my personal dangly earring, I started to ‘put together the pieces’ and made a huge realization…. I had always thought that you pronounced the name of the band “the ex-ex.” But then I started 2 think…maybe u say it ‘The Dos Equis’, named after the popular adult alcoholic beverage.
I feel confused, like the DosEquis band is some sort of ‘marketing project.’ Like they created an indie buzz band to appeal 2 alternative ppl. It seems like this band might have been constructed by ‘marketing wizards’ to establish their brand within alternative circles. I have read that alcoholic beverage companies are trying to ‘break thru’ on alt-websites, so it makes sense that Dos Equis is attempting to ‘get referenced’ every time some1 says/tweets the band name ‘The XX.’
While part of me is ‘resentful’ and ‘hurt’, the other part of me is kinda in awe that Dos Equis was able to harvest this band/meme so well. Overall, I’d give the Dos Equis marketing department an A+ for this summer/fall ad campaign. Not sure if they will ‘retire’ the band, or if they will continue on forever as brand ambassadors.
Do yall still support The Dos Equis?
Will u still call them ‘the XX’/the ‘ex-ex’?
Do u feel like a victim in our modern world since everything is ‘potentially marketing’?
Are u going to start drinking Dos Equis instead of PBR?
Do yall know if The XX became ’so successful’ this year because of
a) ‘blog love’
b) ‘p4k love’
c) ‘british magazine buzz love’
d) the band’s ‘look’
e) taking advantage of an indie recession
f) a ‘huge marketing budget’ from Dos Equis
g) choose.ur.own.response
Previous XX Coverage
http://www.hipsterrunoff.com/2009/05/the-xx-seems-chill.html
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IAmCarles.com
57 Comments
furst
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//////////Reply by dudre
//////////Posted October 23rd, 2009 at 3:13 pm
@levo,
Is The XX a ‘marketing gimmick’ for Dos Equis?
answer: yes.
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//////////Reply by Tom's Mom's COKEline
//////////Posted October 23rd, 2009 at 3:44 pm
@dudre, fuck this trend of altbrands to mainstream media. every car or alcohol commercial seems to be playing pheonix or matt&kim(not that great aanyway)…now its xx who have been one of my favorite buzz bands this year….my equation:
this shit + twilight 2 soundtrack + spike jonze = end of the world
btw did u guys know that the military is using armed “drones” aka evil robots, to patrol and kill now?
Reply
//////////Reply by paul
//////////Posted October 24th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
@Tom’s Mom’s COKEline,
kind of entry level 2 current events
wouldn’t make that known 2 others myself
//////////Reply by Tom's Mom's COKEline
//////////Posted October 25th, 2009 at 12:31 am
@paul, well then please speak your wisdom
//////////Reply by yessum
//////////Posted October 25th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
@Tom’s Mom’s COKEline,
didn’t I?
drones have been in use since bosnia
//////////Reply by Tom's Mom's COKEline
//////////Posted October 26th, 2009 at 10:08 am
@Tom’s Mom’s COKEline, see there ya go paul…diminish that ego a bit…
//////////Reply by Tom's Mom's COKEline
//////////Posted October 26th, 2009 at 10:14 am
@yessum, altho im opposed to label usage, or at least i try to minimize the linguistic necessity, i would like to ask for ur assistance in growing in current event knowledge. any advice/links?
//////////Reply by paul
//////////Posted October 26th, 2009 at 10:37 am
@Tom’s Mom’s COKEline,
huffingtonpost is still ‘alt’ enuf, rite???
also, google.com
“I have read that alcoholic beverage companies are trying to ‘break thru’ on alt-websites”
it seems
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//////////Reply by Lunar Sea
//////////Posted October 23rd, 2009 at 3:36 pm
@flowers4alger-anon, Just like hornitos? I wonder…
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//////////Reply by maggaroni
//////////Posted October 23rd, 2009 at 5:16 pm
@flowers4alger-anon, @Lunar Sea,
i’m not like a ‘troll’, but are you thinking this is astute commentary?
Reply
//////////Reply by Lunar Sea
//////////Posted October 23rd, 2009 at 8:33 pm
@maggaroni, lol no
//////////Reply by flowers4alger-anon
//////////Posted October 24th, 2009 at 9:39 am
@maggaroni, what made me lol is that carles says he has ‘read’ about this ‘phenomenon’ [via john travolty {sub via vincent vega}]
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE ALT BUZZ BAND
‘The Hornitos Bros’
h8 u hornys.. i think i got the adware virus from your tequily
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//////////Reply by flowers4alger-anon
//////////Posted October 23rd, 2009 at 2:26 pm
@1000freeipods, think my compy got ‘mad fucking drunk’ from those hornitbros ads cuz it just projectile vomited vegan tacos + tofutti out of its dvd burner…
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//////////Reply by maggaroni
//////////Posted October 23rd, 2009 at 5:18 pm
@flowers4alger-anon,
haha ok you are funny–disregard my previous rudism
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//////////Reply by quoi?
//////////Posted October 25th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
@1000freeipods,
crls, in the top righthand corner of the site,
it seems i can ‘peel back’ the webpage.
to a hornitos ad.
that’s the worst gimmick everrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
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This morning I dreamt that Helvetica tried to kill me. She was a slick talker, beautiful, manipulative, well-liked. Helvetica was a sociopath who craved my dismemberment. Times New Roman, Verdana and Comic Sans were in on it too, but Comic Sans got killed off early. Fucking murderous fonts.
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//////////Reply by Tom's Mom's COKEline
//////////Posted October 23rd, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Time New Roman seems like a loyal faithful/always there for u font, like something that u left behind but will always be ready for ur return. but i prefer to put my wang in helvetica.
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//////////Reply by Bruce
//////////Posted October 23rd, 2009 at 9:44 pm
@Molly,
I can tell that you are real talented and successful graphic designers, cause you know so much about fonts.
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//////////Reply by Molly
//////////Posted October 23rd, 2009 at 10:54 pm
@Bruce, o Bruce, not even close. I am ‘real talented and successful strippers’.
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//////////Reply by Tom's Mom's COKEline
//////////Posted October 24th, 2009 at 11:00 am
@Molly, wonder if there are any alt babe strip clubs?….maybe i will open up a “house of jealous lovers”
Fourth or 5th, maybe sixth.
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feel like that bro’s hair is ‘mad short’ on the sides. like he should tell his barber 2 try a #2 or #3 clipper next time. idk.
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//////////Reply by 1000freeipods
//////////Posted October 23rd, 2009 at 2:25 pm
@flowers4alger-anon, my fav name on this website.
feelin’ like stealing it, using it as my Quake live/Tribes/Second Lyfe handle.
Reply
//////////Reply by flowers4alger-anon
//////////Posted October 23rd, 2009 at 2:28 pm
@1000freeipods, ideas are free/communal/interchangeable. go forth, my son, like johnny appleseed [via john chapman].
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//////////Reply by moanster
//////////Posted October 25th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
@flowers4alger-anon, hey
is HRO a marketing gimmick for Hornitos?
Reply
//////////Reply by yessum
//////////Posted October 23rd, 2009 at 2:29 pm
@yvynyl,
its a grassroots campaign for the lobbyist group Putting Cans in the Freezer Then Forgetting About Them Until After They Explode (PCFT-FATUATE)
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//////////Reply by boards
//////////Posted October 25th, 2009 at 12:23 am
@yessum, you mean NAMBLA?
Reply
//////////Reply by flowers4alger-anon
//////////Posted October 26th, 2009 at 7:33 am
@boards, nambla, ‘we’re not killers’
//////////Reply by Panda
//////////Posted October 23rd, 2009 at 4:21 pm
@yvynyl,
HoRnitOs=HRO
I think this blog might be “advertising.”
felling pretty ‘Dazed and Confused’ [via: LezZeppy]
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I’m not giving up PBR
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//////////Reply by flowers4alger-anon
//////////Posted October 23rd, 2009 at 2:34 pm
@kbiz, what abt a drink that combines pbr + dos equis, somewhat along the lines of a ‘black and tan’. may b call it a ‘dirty mexican’ but that ’seems too obvious’ or something.
lager? but i barely knower.
oh shit.
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//////////Reply by monster
//////////Posted October 23rd, 2009 at 4:23 pm
@flowers4alger-anon, That is the best comment of the month. Bravo.
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//////////Reply by eyepatch
//////////Posted October 24th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
@kbiz, real alt/alchys drink 211
and bums
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CRLS = the most interesting blggr in the world, yall
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six dollar pbrs at Ibar wtf was i thinking?
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//////////Reply by carolina
//////////Posted October 24th, 2009 at 4:49 am
@Gainesvillain,
damn, heard pbr costs ‘like 15 cents’ to make. imagine teh profit theyre makin
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Is that the Bloodhound Gangbro’s lil bro?
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interesting post, and surprisingly, i never even made the connection. but if Hipster Appeal was the Hidden Agenda, these marketing wiZarDs shouldve called the band ”the pbrs”–los pey bey eres
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//////////Reply by brittany
//////////Posted October 23rd, 2009 at 6:00 pm
@ændromədə, lol, los peh beh eres
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umm.. first of all i didn’t bother to read the whole post. but i would say the “XX” and the DOS EQUIS (XX) are both advocating lesbians.. because girls chromosomes are XX and guys are XY therefore the “XX” and the XX beer both mean “GIRL”
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//////////Reply by xy
//////////Posted October 24th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
@paul, that means all ‘females’ take part in product placement for dos equis based on their gender. popular 2k9 buzzband ‘the girls’ is also marketing dos equis. feeling confused, yall. where is my xy drink?
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//////////Reply by terrar
//////////Posted October 26th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
@paul,
lezbianz luv dos equis – didnt u watch the popular queer drama ‘the l words’?
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this blog is getting bored.
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this was a great post carles, brilliant.
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//////////Reply by DICKZ
//////////Posted October 23rd, 2009 at 6:31 pm
@brwnse,
*brillient
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i think hipster runoff is a marketing gimmmick of hornitos
carles, make a post about the girl in the “I Am Carles” t shirt ads being naked. might boost ur hits
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//////////Reply by paul
//////////Posted October 23rd, 2009 at 7:03 pm
@GAMMAZORD, totes
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the bro with the soda pop earring looks like eminem yo
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//////////Reply by hafez
//////////Posted October 23rd, 2009 at 9:48 pm
@Ria, am glad I was not the only one who thought this
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//////////Reply by ross
//////////Posted October 26th, 2009 at 5:40 am
totally thought it was eminem.
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carls….stay thristy my freind
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bout to see this band at cmj and hopefully score some dos equis swag
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Fuck you Carles. The xx are not a gimmick. Hyped to death, but they are legit.
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THIS IS A PRETTY ORIGINAL OBSERVATION, CARLES.
YOU ARE PROLLY THE FIRST TO NOTICE THIS.
GOOD JOB.
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//////////Reply by yayayay
//////////Posted October 24th, 2009 at 4:11 am
@HOMER SIMPSON, holy caps lock
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i see now that i gotta stop wearin my soda tab earring. Pretty soon every1 will b wearin them. Have a few ideas rollin aroun about possible cooler earrings to wear while all the posers wear the soda tab ones. Guitar pics, plastic rings from 25 cent machines, age verified drinking bracelets from the night b4 at “tha club”.
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wtf am i on? I was transported back to May 7th… so confused right now.
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//////////Reply by jjj
//////////Posted October 23rd, 2009 at 7:16 pm
@jjj, oh weird, looks like there are things called ‘hyperlinks’ that travel to different time periods.
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any1 know any sick alty parties going on for halloween in victoria bc?
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brix shat
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This site has become one huge fucking ad that distracts from the few decent posts.
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//////////Reply by cobones
//////////Posted October 23rd, 2009 at 10:52 pm
@Lando Roman, quote
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//////////Reply by b4hc
//////////Posted October 24th, 2009 at 11:56 pm
@cobones, sad
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Seriously, wtf? The last few post on this blog have been about pure shit. I don’t even know what the fuck it’s talking about anymore.
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And seriously, wtf is the XX? And get rid of that Mexican Horinitos bullshit, you fggt. It’s distracting, and Carles you are seriously fucking up my Internet fun, you damn fggt. What happened to the good fucking post of the past few years, I don’t want this lame shit.
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I excluesiefly drink r-bor mist. it tastes like fruity brests. not rly sure what XX gaiz are bout. maybe they not trying to be ironic.
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diversify yr interests bro
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meh
life just keeps getting more boring
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“the Natty Ice Bros”
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mstrkrft 2nite?
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This blog reeks of conspiracy theorist fallacious hogwash. No offense, but to believe in sly strategic flaming lips songs, to government-mandated progressively lethal vaccinations to The XX and their marketing schemes, this blog has promoted the most unnecessary crock of shit I’ve heard in a while.
Re-cock-ulous.
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//////////Reply by flowers4alger-anon
//////////Posted October 24th, 2009 at 9:49 am
@johnnyb, u sound upset bro. lmk if u need 2 talk / some 1 to cry with. will b ‘there for you’.
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//////////Reply by johnnyb
//////////Posted October 24th, 2009 at 10:50 am
@flowers4alger-anon, :)
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Carles, can’t you just enjoy hypefork music for 1nce? You keep ’shitting’ on all the ‘chill’ ‘internet-hypey’ tunes. Can’t u pretend to like something???
ps. we know you’re in on the HoRnitOs gimmick you crafty prankster you. all the ‘relevant’ ‘alternative’ ppl r in on it, obv. ‘MISCHIEVE’ by being a controversial anony blogger. oOooo.
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Look, I’m not going to say this shit again! GET RID OF THAT FUCKING HORINTOS ADD, YOU FUCKING RETARDED MORON!
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//////////Reply by HJ
//////////Posted October 24th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
@Xsox420, go to firefox and download ad blocker duuuuhhhh
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So I was wondering what the Hornitos ad ppl were complaining, about. After I turned off my adblockplus app I could finally see it, and let me just tell you that is one of the most tacky, classless ads on the internet. The song alone made my ears cringe. Carlos and Tao I know your paying the bills like everybody else but damn, dont let ads and boring post become of HRO.
Adblockplus for mozilla stops remedial advertisement. Just a heads up.
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Think I might start a band called Pabst Blue Ribbon Bros…
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//////////Reply by HJ
//////////Posted October 26th, 2009 at 11:16 am
@Funky Rutabaga, can i join? i play the keytar
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‘hornitos’ is (hella) ‘meaningful’ to my ‘demo’.
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It seems like this blog might have been constructed by ‘marketing wizards’ to establish their brand within alternative circles
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Lulz @ ‘consumerism’ eating the memesphere/blogosphere/indiemusicuniversesphere.
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ily crls
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im fresh off drinking sum 24oz dos equis in the park. had 2 do it cuz they were out of pabst br 40oz n i was further convinced that pbr is the kewlest drink 4 the money
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Read a review of ‘Hornys Tequila’; heard it was ‘fucking garbage.’
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HI. I live in London. I am what you would call a “hipster-observer”. In London if we were to use this term “hipster” they would think i was quoting something from “Bill and Teds excellent Adventure”, sounds kind of “knarly” or “sick”, or “awesome”…anyway enough of the U.S lingual bubble…….Im here to say that the XX had to swet for 2 years playing the shittest places in England to get signed to XL records…….They are four friends from school, they are essentially music lovers, geeks, and absolutely lovely people…they had it hard at school, not going into detail…(does gets the authenticity check)…..They are kids for fuck sake, of course they are going to dress like they belong to a gay street gang or something, thats what kids do…do you think the label could afford to pay a designer for them to wear all black…..I have also seen them play in alot of shows and they seem to wear the same outfits day after day, sounds smelly but thats what they do……They live in their own world that they have created, abosrbing all types of music beyonce,Jay-Z,cocteau twins, tracy and the plastics,celine dione,The Cure,Trailer Trash Tracys…..etc………….sure their music is slow, or “chilled”……and Pitchfork usually have fucking really shit marking….i mean, Health and the Fuck Buttons, Big Pink et al..these bands are awful and they get “best new music”…my arse. The pitchfork formula is simple (and carles i hope you can comment back on this one)……basically if your a black hip hop artist, you will get at least a tokenistic “8/10″….because pitchfork journalists will probably be a 30 something white boy, who secretly wants to give a lo-fi shoegaze band the “8/10″, but can’t because he wants to be “down” with the kids….pitchfork will always give some “dance” orientated track a “8/10″, because again for the same reason….a mainstream act will probably get a 5/10 or q 6/10 at best…..think “burial” (who is just copying music 15 years ago , when dubstep was “jungle”…….anyway, sorry if this is alienating your American audience…..Pitchfork get it right with the XX…..carles, sometimes your interesting, but you have alot of hate there, and these kids dont deserve it……if you met them you will get it……..They are doing something totally new…..
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//////////Reply by andrew
//////////Posted October 24th, 2009 at 11:57 pm
@Gretch,
Burial is deserving of his praise because of his “sonic aesthetic” and “evocations of the ghosts of rave.” I don’t think he is really over hyped – some of his tracks give me goosebumps, and have real heart. Anyways, I’ll have to check out the XX. I haven’t heard any of there stuff, but have seen them on the blogs for the past year. I agree with what you say about Pitchfork. The staff there wants to keep up, and in the electronic music selections they are about three months to a year behind in what’s going on (except for the columns of Blackdown and Philip Sherburne [sp?], those ones are really good). Also, they totally affirmative action black rappers that are edgy or whatever, like Lil Wayne, the Clipse, etc. They are oftentimes sort of consumeristic in their views, and not real critics/theorists/evaluators of culture and music. They don’t come up with any deeper meaning or significance to what they are reviewing. Sometimes they have reviewers that are completely retarded in their reviews of music from a genre they don’t really understand.
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buying shit is a fact of life
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Carles = Carlos Perez, college grad from Texas who is now in his mid to late 20’s. The website is more of a Adbuster-esque social experiment, perhaps mixed with a bit of hate towards cool kids. He often pretends to be around 15, always writes like a teen txt msging, and hates on “hipster” culture in a reversed manner (pretending to be a young hipster, taking stabs at hip bands, brands, websites like Pitchfork). The funny thing is I don’t think many of the followers get it, and think he is some ultra-hipster, and often try to agree with his nonsense and write like him, so if that was his goal, it’s working well. There have been many anti-hipster websites (”don’t you hate these cool kids with their cool clothes, expensive haircuts, and funny glasses??? god they suck”), but this one is clever. I’m not entirely certain his motivations are so subversive though. It could just be hipster envy, and/or a desire to be web-famous with a unique (largely fictional) blog.
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//////////Reply by b4hc
//////////Posted October 24th, 2009 at 11:51 pm
@bob, gj
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//////////Reply by Bemonster
//////////Posted October 25th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
@b4hc, sup bro
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//////////Reply by andrew
//////////Posted October 25th, 2009 at 12:04 am
@bob,
I thought Carles = Tao Lin. I just think the blog is somewhat insightful/mundane fun that gives “cultural commentary” with the voice of an aspirational 15 yr old, mixed with marketing/graphic design analysis of the indie/internet economy, and some other stuff.
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yeah this blog was actually worthwhile in like… early 2k8
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Next time I get a drink at a bar I will remember how fcking annoying the Hornitos ads are and avoid it.
Hornitos Sucks!!!! Taste like shit too.
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xx is kind of boring and junior high-school-ish. Don’t think Ian Curtis would approve people still ripping him off.
Don’t want to rain on their parade or Carles’ but
this is a low point of HRO
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ps, the answer is “e) taking advantage of an indie recession”
where has all the music gone?
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//////////Reply by t
//////////Posted October 25th, 2009 at 10:10 pm
@anonyt, carles exposed at
www ditchdork com
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//////////Reply by andrew
//////////Posted October 25th, 2009 at 10:55 pm
@t,
how do we know that this is true? Could this be a plot twist for HRO by Tao Lin to deflect attention from his own person/make the blog more interesting/gain blog buzz blogability? How do we know that this is really true, that this Carlos fellow is Carles?
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//////////Reply by ella
//////////Posted October 26th, 2009 at 5:02 am
@andrew, its true because carlos is trying to delete the URL everywhere on his blog
should have taken acid with u bro
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i always thought they were called the X-es.
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//////////Reply by flowers4alger-anon
//////////Posted October 26th, 2009 at 7:43 am
@xoxo, always thought u were called the xo’s
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last night i saw back 2 back commercials for dos equis and chilis.
thought of you.
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THE INDIE RECESSION WILL END IN JAN. 2K10
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Dos Equis lager is seriously one of the best beers on earth
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Is this bloke the Marshall Mathers? or do all white people just look the same?
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