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Ceremony held for mainstream rock critics to burn whatever’s left of their credibility
Though I had no idea a six-part documentary on Woodstock '99 was in production, this is exactly why I wrote Don't Call It Nothing and started my podcast. A filmmaking team has the opportunity to discuss anything in '90s music and they choose to focus on a musically inconsequential event -- OK, I'll give you DMX -- that is only relevant as a debacle. The talking heads are going to exploit the fact there were multiple rapes and violence to retroactively wag their finger at the bro rock fans. It’s infuriating because even if they were (or are) terrible people, they’re still giving Fred fucking Durst and Kid Rock a platform. Don’t get suckered in by HBO’s grift. This is exploitation and lazy, convenient, after-the-fact fingerwagging disguised as music journalism. You want the luxury of critiquing shit rock culture, but yet you’re giving it a SIX PART PLATFORM. Mainstream music criticism is terrible for the same reason mainstream rock culture is terrible. It doesn’t seem like anyone in a position of authority is actually interested in music.
“Don’t get suckered in by HBO’s grift. This is exploitation and lazy, convenient, after-the-fact fingerwagging disguised as music journalism. You want the luxury of critiquing shit rock culture, but yet you’re giving it a SIX PART PLATFORM. Mainstream music criticism is terrible for the same reason mainstream rock culture is terrible. It doesn’t seem like anyone in a position of authority is actually interested in music.”
This is why you WANT to support a badass independent musicologist who revisits the '90s without nostalgia or exploitation. Instead, I enjoy the simple pleasure of paying tribute to talented, underserved musicians who've been ignored by normies for years. Why discuss food court rock when I can discuss the songs of Fugazi, Scream, Bedlam Rovers, and The Muffs? Coming up soon: Sister Double Happiness, R.L. Burnside, and Mudhoney. Demand better.
