Aggroculture
Track #8
In the 80’s and early 90’s I ran a magazine. The contact address was my home address (AKA my parent’s home address). At times readers must have called directory assistance for my phone number because I would get quite interesting/borderline bizarre phone calls. This led me to get my own private phone number. One voicemail message remains forever engrained in my head: “Hello, Amy. This is Sam from Reno. I read your interview with Fury in the Slaughterhouse and then bought their music. It sounds like I put knives in my garbage disposal. Fuck you.”
I did do that *69 trick to get his number. I never gathered the nerve to call him. He never called back (I’m thinking this is a good thing). I found his message funny as hell – I kept it for years. I thought frequently about how this guy took time out of his (maybe busy) day to call and complain. It wasn’t music that I created. But my review/interview did sell him on it. I was pretty satisfied with that. But bummed out a wee bit that he was driven to call and say what he did. The music wasn’t that bad. It wasn’t groundbreaking either….
I never got phone calls thanking me for leading someone to music that they appreciated or fell in love with. Negativity sure drives people to act.
I’ve seen this behavior countless times at art museums or galleries. When moved positively by a piece, one generally is in awe, quiet, breathing it in. Maybe an exhaled “whoooah” or “beautiful”. Then there’s the nut that won’t compliment the piece, but simply attempts to deconstruct the style and form. Just get all shit job snobby about it. I usually give the look – you know this one – arms folded, my lips jut out and form a little frown and nod my head a little bit. That “this could mean that I’m agreeing with you or that you are completely full of shit” look. This usually deters them from trying to engage in further conversation with me. Then there’s the outspoken negativity. “How dumb, I just don’t understand it!” That one gets me. Who’s the dumb one here? If you don’t understand it, why’s it dumb? Or “It looks like something my kid made in kindergarden!” “Jackson Pollock! He sucks! I could do that!” Well, he did it first, jackass.
Sure, people pay compliments and write rave reviews, but the negative ones seem to get into graphic detail: stir, sting and stay. I’m not saying we all must mill around with brown noses, but we don’t have to be throwing knives in the garbage disposal either. Wait…… Didn’t Einstürzende Neubauten do that? It must be art! Take that, Sam from Reno!
Vowel Pellet
Track #8
In the 80’s and early 90’s I ran a magazine. The contact address was my home address (AKA my parent’s home address). At times readers must have called directory assistance for my phone number because I would get quite interesting/borderline bizarre phone calls. This led me to get my own private phone number. One voicemail message remains forever engrained in my head: “Hello, Amy. This is Sam from Reno. I read your interview with Fury in the Slaughterhouse and then bought their music. It sounds like I put knives in my garbage disposal. Fuck you.”
I did do that *69 trick to get his number. I never gathered the nerve to call him. He never called back (I’m thinking this is a good thing). I found his message funny as hell – I kept it for years. I thought frequently about how this guy took time out of his (maybe busy) day to call and complain. It wasn’t music that I created. But my review/interview did sell him on it. I was pretty satisfied with that. But bummed out a wee bit that he was driven to call and say what he did. The music wasn’t that bad. It wasn’t groundbreaking either….
I never got phone calls thanking me for leading someone to music that they appreciated or fell in love with. Negativity sure drives people to act.
I’ve seen this behavior countless times at art museums or galleries. When moved positively by a piece, one generally is in awe, quiet, breathing it in. Maybe an exhaled “whoooah” or “beautiful”. Then there’s the nut that won’t compliment the piece, but simply attempts to deconstruct the style and form. Just get all shit job snobby about it. I usually give the look – you know this one – arms folded, my lips jut out and form a little frown and nod my head a little bit. That “this could mean that I’m agreeing with you or that you are completely full of shit” look. This usually deters them from trying to engage in further conversation with me. Then there’s the outspoken negativity. “How dumb, I just don’t understand it!” That one gets me. Who’s the dumb one here? If you don’t understand it, why’s it dumb? Or “It looks like something my kid made in kindergarden!” “Jackson Pollock! He sucks! I could do that!” Well, he did it first, jackass.
Sure, people pay compliments and write rave reviews, but the negative ones seem to get into graphic detail: stir, sting and stay. I’m not saying we all must mill around with brown noses, but we don’t have to be throwing knives in the garbage disposal either. Wait…… Didn’t Einstürzende Neubauten do that? It must be art! Take that, Sam from Reno!
Vowel Pellet
