[MP3]
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Round And Round

[More information]
http://gorillavsbear.blogspot.com/2010/03/mp3-new-ariel-pinks-haunted-graffiti.html

Is This #1 the Song of 2k10?
Is This The Relevant MP3 We Have Been Waiting 4?

2k10 has led us on a 'wild goose chase' for relevant mp3s. We aren't even looking for life-changing mp3s any more, like in the pre-Garden State/pre-Postal Service era. We are searching for MP3s that make us feel like we are at the pinnacle of human and artistic development. Searching 4 something more in the mainstream indie internet world.

Watching our favourite bands from 2k5-2k8 end up at the top of the charts. There is no longer an inverse relationship between a 'critical acclaim' and 'commercial success.' Vampire Weekend, MGMT, LCD Soundsystem, M.I.A., Arcade Fire. 2k10 is all about 'harvesting our megacrop' and ensuring that these artists get paid. In 2k10, these mainstream indie bands will 'set sail' and move into new markets, and we must rally around new bands and artists that can garner massive critical acclaim.

Ariel Pink represents the mp3 criticism sphere's chance to get back to their roots of 'loving' something that is in the 99th percentile of cultural authenticity, as opposed to functioning as tastemakers for the late majority of alternative music consumers.

Ariel Pink was once signed to Animal Collective's initial collective, their label Paw Tracks. He handed them a demo after one of their shows, and they could instantly hear his 'pop genius.' Realistically, Ariel Pink is the only other modern musician who has the conceptual skills / unintentionally authentic brand to 'compete' with Animal Collective.  Guess we'll find out if his upcoming album 'has it' or if it is an mediocre effort that inspires resentment + a bitter taste in ur mouth after having high hopes.

Photo: Ariel Pink's weird single cover art

Ariel Pink was once branded as a permafried lo-fi genius who incidentally made 'brilliant' lofi music in his Los Angeles apartment. But now he has been harvested by the record label 4AD [website] who has been in charge of converting mainstream indie bands like The National, Atlas Sound, St. Vincent, TV on the Radio & Gang Gang Dance into marketable/coverable/bands that sell records.  It seems like they 'trust' Ariel Pink can get mad coverage, sell some records, and build a strong brand.

While it is easy to write a blurb saying that a sound or an mp3 is 'nostalgic' or reference a decade that is 'sounds like', it is most important to note that the majority of relevant music today is about enabling us to reminisce about the past. No longer do we have something to look forward to. The temporary escape of a pop song from the 60s-90s is all we need to remember the days when we had hope that 'things were going to get better.'

In the past, many authentic indie music critics have gone on record as feeling 'lukewarm' about Ariel Pink albums, possibly saying that they weren't complete, or that they were just too weird, probably.

And that's the trouble with The Doldrums, and the reasoning behind this conflicted rating. The album is not so much Ariel Pink's creation as it is Ariel Pink himself, a real-time observation of his brain synapses at work. His nerves are either firing at Einstein levels or misfiring like harlequin babies, and in fairness, I'm hardly the staff brain surgeon.

In the post-chill wave / ternative era, we are in a position to finally 'embrace' Ariel Pink. Maybe we have grown up, and learned more about what we want 'good music' to be.  It also helps that Ariel Pink is now 'part of the machine' with a record label that will send crazy email blasts to hypemachine mp3 bloggers/find a way to get his face on some magazine covers. He is playing 'by the rules' so that makes it safer to rally behind him.

Based on my assumed knowledge of his personality type, I am not sure if Arel Pink can 'play the game' like the sort of relevant indie musician who knows how to schmooze at relevant music festivals, but I think this will be a refreshing quality in the modern indiesphere. The artist with minimal personal and cultural connections can focus on his art, and not have to excessively check the internet and worry about the impact of their work based on an undefined/evolving context.

Ariel Pink. This is his time to shine. His time to transform into the artist every1 thought he deserved to be. It might be a rare second chance in an internet indiesphere where you usually only get 1 shot. His chance to be more than just another pointlessly acclaimed (yet forgotten) lo-fi artist.

He has gone on record about 'trying to shed the lo-fi tag', but it seems like maybe he should focus on that discussion as he builds up towards his album release:

Previously known mostly for his work as a lo-fi artist, Pink is trying hard to break away from that stigma. "Our records are lo-fi because there's not a lot of money behind them," he explained. "Lo-fi actually isn't an artistic decision for me. Every recording we've made uses a lot of attention to detail, and I do the best I can with what I have. I'm better now at producing," Pink continued. "But I'm trying to get the lo-fi tag off of me. I think the reason I've never been offered a major record deal is because [A&R reps] can't hear the songs; they don't take it seriously." And though he's growing squirmish in his independent label status, Pink still recognizes - and appreciates - the many benefits of working at that level. "The records come out exactly as I make them, as I assemble them, without any changes. [They're] just the way I imagined them, and that is really special. But the lo-fi presentation makes it something difficult for the money people to invest in," he concluded.

One thing we learned from the chill wave era is that you need a lot of people asking you what genre you fit into in order to be successful. In depth 'journalists' will ask you if your genre even exists, then 'connect' with you by laughing about how silly 'genres' are.  A band's  product is just as important as how compelling they are to cover. When you are bloggable/buzzable/tweetable, the money people will come to your house with a truck full of money.

When Ariel Pink comes to my city to play at a relevant venue, I will stand at the front of the show, already familiarized with his extensive discography, ready to smile with a shit eating grin that says, "Yes, I get it." (Side Theory: One of the underestimated factors that made Animal Collective so critically successful in what seemed like such a short time was their extensive catalog of music that allowed people to 'go back and listen' to their albums in the bulk, then pretend they had been into them for 2 years longer than they actually had been.)

Rallying around Ariel Pink might be our last chance to turn our backs on the mainstreamication of indie.
The Great Lo-Fi Hope will save us from what we have become.

Do u trust this man?

Ariel Pink

Alternative Celebrity, Buzzband

Ariel Pink is a 'lofi genius/wizard/mastermind' who has transitioned his brand to 'relevant indie buzzband status' in 2k10.

Lists: Producers, drug users, lofi, indie hunks, Californians

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