A Hip-Hop-Tinged Balkan Dirge

"Lovely Lovely Love" can best be described as a hip-hop-tinged Balkan dirge. Or, you know, indie rock.

I don't know when "indie rock" became the catch-all term for so many disparate genres of music, but the semantic shift probably marked a seismic change in how consumers had come to converse with music. Now, like a degree from ECU or crabs (pubic lice, not the markedly more delicious shellfish) from said university, the designation is granted generously and reflexively. Previously, genre descriptions aimed for greater specificity. There was rock, but there was also Krautrock, Shoegaze and Freak Folk. There was Hip-Hop, but there was also Miami Bass, Gangsta Rap and Horrorcore. And that does not even include the hundreds of offshoots of electronic music. Indie Rock itself was once a term designed for a specific set of DIY bands with punk sensibilities (though, not always punk sounds), but its now devolved into a meaningless buzzword. Animal Collective: indie rock; Gym Class Heroes: indie rock. It doesn't matter that Gym Class Heroes almost certainly has no conception of how to begin to play Animal Collective's brand of music (and vice versa). The only discernible similarity among the newly-dubbed indie rockers is the perception that these artists are not conventionally mainstream (although, many are). And that kind of loose affiliation is enough for new media consumers.

With so much music whizzing at us from both directions (past and future), we struggle to contextualize this mountain of information and this deluge of media leaves us grasping to comprehend. So instead of taking the time to deconstruct the sounds, consumers grab onto anything that helps to build an understanding. Not so long ago, you'd have to work to get the oeuvre of Curtis Mayfield. You'd stalk it and hunt it and digest it carefully - appreciating not only his symphonic effort, but your own physical one. But in our microwave culture, you can stumble onto all those same records while searching for the new 50 Cent album, Curtis. Then, scarf em down one Saturday and, if nothing sticks, shit it out later that day.

I'm sure that this shift in consumers' relationships with music is part of the reason that the indie rock title is now catholic. And I'm sure my complaint is probably familiar; it's a common annoyance. It's as annoying as the guy who always curses unneccessarily - and for the same reasons. It removes the weight from the words, it's lazy, it may something about his character, and it displays a lack of creativity.


Alaska in Winter: Lovely Lovely Love
from the totally awesome Dance Party in the Balkans*

* All titles should be so descriptive. For example, the new Roots album should be renamed Ultimately Dissapointing. My Morning Jacket can borrow that title for their new album too, if they want.