Ani DiFranco/Bhi Bhiman
Two Albums That Begin With Excellent Songs About Homelessness, and There Will Be More
By Xgau Jan 24, 2012 5:58AM
Ani DiFranco: ¿Which Side Are You On? (Righteous Babe)
After a decade of futzing around, of music so overthought that even her best-of couldn't make a case for it, this one's like re-encountering a friend who drifted away after she took a bad job or married a jerk. Both of which might have happened‑-nobody she signed to Righteous Babe did much for her bottom line, and the nuptials that ruffled her feminist faithful in 1998 ended badly in 2003. Now, finally, her first album since she married her five-year-old's father is as fresh as Lisa Lee at the top of the key. With Uncle Pete signing on via banjogram, the title song announces a political renewal so focused on the three-syllable F-word that it includes an E.R.A. anthem. But for DiFranco the political has always been personal, which doesn't mean private and can mean intellectualized, as in "Promiscuity." The singing on the homelessness tale that opens is as emotionally accomplished as its assumed first-person is formally atypical. The one that reads "If yr not getting happier as you get older/then yr fucking up" is her true credo. A MINUS
Bhi Bhiman: Bhiman (Redeye)
In an unruffled show of assimilative will, this Sri Lankan American 29-year-old channels John Hurt and the Staple Singers into sweet, firm folksongs about injustice's cruelty and love's confusions‑-and is funnier about both than, as a random instance, Van Morrison. The stolid beats define the limits of his Americanization. But from the first strums of "The Guttersnipe," the melodies are universal language at its most outgoing. A MINUS
223Comments
Jan 25, 2012 11:22PM
Jan 26, 2012 1:02AM
Jan 26, 2012 1:50PM
but your snide comments about female musicians definitely belie some sort of...issue.
Rihanna and Lana Del Rey are puppets - not musicians. Snide is all I can be towards them and their hollow, insipid music. Tune-Yards, on the other hand, has all the respect I can give - which is plenty enough. And as far as my comparison between the Gatsby "women-should-remain-fools" quote and Miss Del Rey, I was merely making note of how big a regression she represents in pop music. Amy Winehouse (to come up with an example off the top of my head) had perspective, depth and a personality to her music - even if all three of those elements had some limitations to them. While Winehouse is (er.. was?) out and about in the world getting miserable and dirty and learning a thing or two about living, Del Rey stays in her room and writes in her diary about nothing more than fluff - which isn't a bad thing in particular. I love fluff when fluff is fluffy. But what's fluff without a personality or point of view? Really bad fluff. It's made even worse when a stupid facial expression (ie: pouting) is supposed to embody substance or dramatic depth.Lucky for you I give remedial lessons in woman-loving. Hahahaha as if you'd ever wanna be within 10 feet of me...or I you
I'd more than happily come within 10 feet of you, or anyone on this blog. Hell, I'd even buy you (or anyone else) a drink should we ever have a chance meeting in person - it's called Hoosier Hospitality. Maybe I'd ask the bartedner if there is such a cocktail as a Chauvinist's Delight? Bet it tastes like repression. I certainly wouldn't know.Jan 26, 2012 9:39AM
Well we'll cross that off the list of potential reasons you hate women. Back to the drawing board....
Oh, and I've given Lana Del Rey a sixth chance. Nope. Still nothing there.
::waits for the thumb bombs to commence::
Jan 26, 2012 10:45AM
I don't hate women
I think you need to really examine your views a bit more, Jon. Just saying you don't hate something doesn't make it true. It also doesn't make me believe you when there is so much evidence to the contrary. And why does facial or body hair on women make you apprehensive about their music? My guess is misogyny.
Jan 26, 2012 2:20PM
Good job, Jon. I think you've made lots of progress today. You must be taking Irene's remedial woman loving lessons. You were able to say a woman is untalented without adding that she has "below average looks" or a "fem-stache," and you didn't even need to talk about how icky pussy is when you mentioned Rihanna. These are large strides for just one day of lessons.
I really don't follow you in your idea that Miss Dumbpoutyface is a big regression in pop music. Is it because she has big lips? You don't like sexy music performed by women, so surely you don't think Madonna, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Janet Jackson, etc. had much to offer. I'm wondering, Miss Dumbpoutyface is a regression from what? From pop music created by men? Or is it that pop music before her was represented entirely by Amy Winehouse for you? And she talks about drugs more than sex, so it's all good.
I really don't follow you in your idea that Miss Dumbpoutyface is a big regression in pop music. Is it because she has big lips? You don't like sexy music performed by women, so surely you don't think Madonna, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Janet Jackson, etc. had much to offer. I'm wondering, Miss Dumbpoutyface is a regression from what? From pop music created by men? Or is it that pop music before her was represented entirely by Amy Winehouse for you? And she talks about drugs more than sex, so it's all good.
I love fluff when fluff is fluffy.
Here are some ladies you might actually like. http://goo.gl/Mj1wD
Jan 24, 2012 6:05PM
Jan 25, 2012 11:59PM
Jan 26, 2012 2:33PM
Madonna, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Janet Jackson
Each and everyone of those artists certainly has their moments. I was on a big "Like a Prayer" kick a few weeks back.But I find LDR a regression from pop with soul, meaning, and purpose. I realize not all pop stars or pop songs have those ingredients, but for someone who enjoys pop with a side of personality, LDR's eye-batting-and-lip-pouting-as-substance is insulting to me. Just buy a vibrator and leave me alone. I like girls with confidence and brains, not neediness and a lackluster voice.
Oh, and pussy certainly isn't icky - like Rihanna's music is. Now Beyonce? Her music is just as awesome as her pussy must be. Wait... did I just step on a few more toes? Sorry I'm not sorry.
Jan 24, 2012 1:12PM
Jan 26, 2012 11:19PM
I think it says a great deal for him that he's hung in there. I'm flattered. You should be impressed. He is not in the majority here. That's hard.
That is true. I'm sorry for being so rude, Jon. You're a brave little toaster. I meant most of what I said, but I shouldn't have rallied a huge ganging-up. And you're not an -ist, at least probably not one of the awful kinds. I hope you stick around. Maybe someday you'll be a part of the majority! And we'll all have me to thank!!!! And even if not, it'll be entertaining! Next time I will be more judicious with the scorn.
How's that for a horrible apology? Sorry about that, too.
P.S. When I say "rallied," I don't mean I did it on purpose...though I have to admit it was a pleasant surprise of sorts.
Jan 24, 2012 4:17PM
Thank you, Xgau, for putting pompous Ryan in his place. You're right - Chuck Klosterman is not an idiot. I mean, I'm no fan, but the man is a fine writer. And I'd rather read Klosterman than Ryan's (a barely post-teen wannabe) "writing". Has anyone else read his meandering, lumbering diatribes against Adele, Gags etc. in his latest 5Records blog post? Ugh, that was an endurance test I never want to suffer through again.
See, I was able to do that without calling him an idiot.
See, I was able to do that without calling him an idiot.
Jan 26, 2012 12:22AM
OK, who broke your heart? Get it out. We can help you through this.
It has nothing to do with broken hearts. It has everything to do with her appeal being nothing more than how "cute" she is. Her songs don't stick and her voice is monotone and dull. I honestly don't know what justifies her musical existence other than the fact that Interscope pumped all the money they had left over from the Born This Way budget and groomed themselves another pop-star with below average talent and below average looks.
What did Daisy say in The Great Gatsby? Something about how a girl should remain dumb in life? Welp, seems to work out just fine for Miss Del Rey.
Jan 26, 2012 5:52PM
I don't think much of "Video Games", and here are the red flags that contributed to that conclusion:
2) more-or-less absent drums, save for that ****ing military beat toward the end
3) voice mostly devoid of humanity or emotional dynamic, i.e. soul, which helps to support unironic emphasis on stuff like 1) and 2) in most music
4) lyrics composed top-to-bottom out of unremarkably delivered clichés (see for yourself: http://goo.gl/YL1TV), plus an apparent reference to this review, which itself may or may not be relevant to our current sexism discussion: http://goo.gl/ZKb2s
5) no smiles & no laffs
I don't know if people are into her for how she looks, or why they hate her, or who she reminds them of, or what she means for mankind or its respective genders. Really, vagina or no vagina and duck lips or no duck lips, I don't know how people in here or elsewhere came to regard her as all that big a deal in the first place. No "old money misogyny" in that diagnosis.
Jan 26, 2012 9:20PM
I have no idea what this means.
The kind of people to whom I'm referring grow up in hyper-rich New York or Connecticut, and attend the same boarding school as their parents--usually in rural Massachusetts or New Hampshire where they pretend they're roughing it for four years, but only to the extent that they have to go into the woods to snort a line of blow. They naturally ascend to the Ivy League or to Stanford--like all their classmates--unless they're ****ups (LDR, apparently), in which case they're shipped to Trinity or Fordham, where they can continue for an additional four years the lifestyle they cultivated in the woods. These people affect an air of total disinterest yet somehow also boast a manic vocabulary (that's the blow talking, no punctuation) at every social gathering. They are never without a lit cigarette. In time, they rush Kappa or Theta Delt--or whichever the most expensive and therefore socially vogue Greek house is on campus. The men major in Economics or Government, like their investment banking fathers; the girls major in Art History or English, like their mothers. Most of them care about Derrida. In between semesters, they invariably travel abroad where they find and purchase the latest fashions. These kids comprise about 30% of my school's student population.
Vampire Weekend is a decent example of what I'm talking about. A lot of Contra sounds like it's about the last two years of an expensive high school with socially advanced students, or, naturally, Columbia. But whereas Vampire Weekend's songs and lyrics tend towards breeziness, this LDR sounds miserable or disaffected or something equally troublesome for a listener to hear--I haven't quite decided what. So, I stand by my comparison: she's the dark, unfun Vampire Weekend. I think (for whatever it's worth) that means she's potentially a lot more interesting.
Jan 24, 2012 2:15PM
Two things:
1) I can't for the life of me get into Ani DiFranco's record. Her political leanings are too obvious and I find the title track too opportunistic to take seriously. You think she'd make such an anthem if Occupy Wall Street never showed up with a song idea neatly gift wrapped for her? (and this coming from an Obama voter)
2) Klosertman brings up good points in his article, especially how WHOKILL is something a listener can dance to, but has probably never (but in all reality, rarely) been danced too. It's too smart, too busy and not organized enough to be danced too. This in no way makes the album a bad or album or even a mediocre album. But it is interesting to note a feature to an album that has seldom, if ever, been executed on the part of the listener. Also, I almost tossed off WHOKILL by the way "tUnE-yArDs" was spelled. Oh and the Fem-Stache. So what? I gave in. It's excellent.
Jan 26, 2012 11:43AM
Irene, I'm curious, were you being facetious?
Hmmm, yes, maybe 50%. I believe the word is hyperbolical. Thanks for the polite question, Marcus.
Ahem. Allow me to pull up a chair, Jon. We can have a little chat. My wild accusation was sparked by the initial question: "does Jon LaFollette hate women?" You might be surprised to know that it was ventured by an independent male poster--not me, not another member of the Tulsa contingent. Shall not name names; not everyone is as intrepid as I am when it comes to internet imputation (truly a strength, amirite??). You might be pleased to know that out of some of the ideas thrown around, I settled on "hates women" rather than "is stupid."
Now, you may not "hate women" literally. That's kind of feminist shorthand for "treating women like second-class citizens unworthy of the reverence of men." Or something like that. Whatever. It doesn't matter if you "hate women," but your snide comments about female musicians definitely belie some sort of...issue. And let's not forget that lots of people who think they luuuuv women and are acting in their best interest do things like date rape and criminalize reproductive rights! (Went there. Not calling you an anti-choice rapist, just giving you fair warning.)
In sum, keep your idiotic and/or misogynist comments to yourself unless you want me to rain scorn on you again and again. Lucky for you I give remedial lessons in woman-loving. Hahahaha as if you'd ever wanna be within 10 feet of me...or I you. Peace out. Jeff Melnick roolz!
Jan 24, 2012 4:44PM
'Thank you, Xgau, for putting pompous Ryan in his place. You're right—Chuck Klosterman is not an idiot. I mean, I'm no fan, but the man is a fine writer. And I'd rather read Klosterman than Ryan's (a barely post-teen wannabe) "writing." Has anyone else read his meandering, lumbering diatribes against Adele, Gags, etc. in his latest 5Records blog post? Ugh, that was an endurance test I never want to suffer through again. See, I was able, to do that without calling him an idiot.'
rocker rocker, you forgot about me—you clustercunt! Why are you posting here? We are all, obviously, too smart and mature for you, so why don't you go back to the play pen?
Jan 24, 2012 9:45PM
Why does there seem to be so much nit picking and nay saying here the last few blogs? Who cares if Ryan may be long winded? I, for one, often times find much of his posts enjoyable to read, even if at times I don't agree with his opinions. Same rule applies for anyone here on this blog. We're discussing rock n' roll folks. Why get bent out of shape over a subject matter where there is no wrong or right answer, and why waste time getting flustered over something you read online? Makes no sense to me.
But whatever... Ryan's a douche and blah blah blah blah blah
Jan 24, 2012 2:40PM
Jon, considering that DiFranco first performed the song with Pete Seeger at his Madison Square Garden 90th birthday celebration back in May 2009, that she's performed the song in her live shows ever since, and that this album was recorded between 2010 and mid-2011 - yeah, I do think she'd make such an anthem regardless of who gift-wrapped it for her (and this coming from a DiFranco agnostic).
Good point sir. I translated your paragraph to essentially saying that DiFranco is a Seeger ****-kisser, and that I was wrong.
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about the blogger
Starting in 1967, Robert Christgau has covered popular music for The Village Voice, Esquire, Blender, Playboy, Rolling Stone, and many other publications. He teaches in New York University's Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music, maintains a comprehensive website at robertchristgau.com, and has published five books based on his journalism. He has written for MSN Music since 2006.
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