and, it was escapist, which is very un-punk. we were in the middle of a serious political moment, after 9/11 and with the onset of a corporatist global trade regime. and, all these pampered children of the bourgeoisie wanted to talk about was their failed romances. what an aimless distraction.
i probably could have tolerated some of the worst genre characteristics (such as the pointless yelling) if it had some kind of artistic purpose, but essentially all of it was just this exercise in nihilism, in escapism, in the worst kinds of hedonistic excess.
and, that's why it struck me as hair metal, and not as punk.
you won't get that from me, so you're wasting your time, if you're looking for it. i haven't talked to sean in many years, but he was always very interested in my music collection, and became a fan of seminal and more artistically valid bands like swans under my influence, although i couldn't get him into a lot of it, either - he never liked sonic youth, for example. but, he was the hipster - he was the one into alexisonfire and silverstein and at the drive-in and glassjaw and animal collective and whatever else pitchfork liked this month.
i do believe he produced some post-rabit demos. what i remember hearing indicated a big post-thief thom yorke fetish (something i don't share. i think radiohead lost it after ok computer), and a strong animal collective influence. it also had a vague early no-wave sound, in the sense that he was completely tone deaf. he had picked up a cheap guitar along with a few boss effects and was frequently using his mom's old organ, which was in his basement. as would be expected, he seemed to be getting into the delay effects thing, as was popular at the time. i would broadly expect anything he's created since to follow existing trends, rather than attempt to evade or transcend them.
but, he might have a deep body of work now, for all i know - and i don't know. i really don't.
what i know is that if you're looking for an emo kid here, you're not going to find it. sean was much more that than i ever was; there may be some confusion about identity, despite a very clear attempt to carefully label everything, by myself. i've tried to make it very clear who did what, but people don't read anything, anymore, including liner notes, it would seem.
i'll be continuing the asimov readings this week.
