Fresh Cherries from Yakima

so, if you’ve been keeping up with my incessant writing about music and life and life in music over the past couple of years, you probably already know that i’ve already written two other essays on being a black indie rocker [or a “blipster,” if you will].

i was recently interviewed for the new york times, and the article came out this past weekend, instantly becoming the most controversial topic of the year so far. i want to make a few things clear before i go into my third [and hopefully last] tirade about what it means to me to be a black indie-folk singer. since being interviewed, i’ve kept a brief yet cordial correspondence with the nice young lady who wrote the article, and i was informed that the article in question was run through with a fine-tooth comb by nine different editors [which is exactly why i decided against going into print journalism– if there’s anything my long-winded ass hates, it’s being edited], and she told me that she literally cringed when she read the final version of the article. although i have a few gripes with the article itself, i’m more than likely sure my gripes are with the horrendous editing staff and not the interviewer.

my gripes are as follows:

a. the sentence after my mention in the interview was an unintentionally hilarious segue into the article, making my experience of exposure to nirvana seem like the plot of an after-school special [which actually might not even be a bad idea, if you think about it].

b. my band name wasn’t mentioned, making me look more of a fan than an artist. not that i’m greedy for press, but it would have been nice to portray me in an accurate way.

c. the editors probably chose the least intriguing quote of mine as part of their article. for a person who takes great pride in being marginally insightful, they could have really taken what i said from any black nirvana fan from the past fifteen years.

d. i’d hardly call what i do “folk rock.” i define “rock” music as a genre with actual drums in their music. i have drums in two songs; one of which i wouldn’t even consider “folk,” but perhaps i’m being too knitpicky right now.

i mean, i’m not trying to complain as if i’m not grateful that my name was mentioned [as well as my age; whether you’re 16 or 60, everyone loves a 23-year-old], but by the time the story got passed through the nine editors [nine fucking editors? it’s not like ms. pressler wrote an article on the weapons policy of lithuania or something], what could have been a great article about an oft-overlooked subgenre of people got diluted into “black indie rockers for dummies.”

one of the most poignant things i said in my interview [which was actually very lengthy– i’m sure i could get a transcript from ms. pressler if you want] was what i think could sum up every african-american indie rocker’s thoughts about themselves: “by no means do i think i’m ‘fighting the good fight’ by being into indie-rock, nor do i feel that my existence is defined by it. i’m black, sure, but i happen to like indie rock. it’s just what i like.”

it’s not like i’m running around all day screaming, “LOOK AT ME! I’M BLACK AND I CAN PLAY A MEAN ACOUSTIC GUITAR!” it’s not like i’m bragging that i know how to play nearly every song on in the aeroplane over the sea by heart. i know that you don’t see black guys in skinny jeans and jenny lewis and the watson twins t-shirts every day, but to me, it’s only important because i like the way my butt looks in those jeans. i mean, i’m sure people are genuinely shocked when they look at my personal myspace profile and look at my music list. i think john darnielle is the greatest lyricist to have ever lived. so what? it’s unique, but it’s not special. for every mountain goats song i sing along with, there’s a jay-z song in which i rap all the lyrics to. it’s just the way i was brought up. noone told me that i should branch out my musical/style tastes; i just took the black and white television, put the channel onto mtv with one of those shitty cable dial things that they give to people who didn’t have remotes, and saw the video for “smells like teen spirit” one day. it’s not even my favorite nirvana song.

and i suppose you could bring up the whole “liberal guilt” thing that i might have skimmed over by a couple of the people interviewed in the story [or maybe i’m just making it up; i only read the article all the way through once], but i don’t even see it that way. there are white people that genuinely don’t care what color your skin is. i mean, sure, when i went to the joanna newsom show last month, i did get more than one awkward look, but on the same coin, i went to a bloc party show last year and a white guy shared his pop-tart with me in line. and there were literally less black people in the bloc party show than the joanna newsom show. being a black indie rocker is unique [and that’s what i think ms. pressler was trying to convey in her article, before the pack of wolves the new york times call editors got their bloodthirsty paws on them– my words, not hers], but it’s not SPECIAL. it’s no different from white kids who love hip-hop. no different at all.

i’m not going to say that people shouldn’t be rightfully offended by the term “blipster,” but a lot of the hoopla about it is only because it’s race-related. race is probably the only topic in america that is still completely taboo, so i could definitely see why people are getting up in arms over this. a label is a label. blipster. indie-yuppie. scene kid. freak-folk. they’re all terms used to describe people [and in the latter instance, a genre of music], and i’m not by any means saying that you shouldn’t be offended by being labeled, but everyone uses a label. this is not saying i wouldn’t slap the shit out of someone if they called me a blipster; slapping the teeth out of someone’s mouth comes on a strictly provisional, case-by-case basis.

i’m an african-american. i hope that’s glaringly obvious. and if you’ve found this website, you also know that i’m a post-modern folk-singer. radiohead is my favorite band. tv on the radio is my favorite american band [and even if every last one of them were white, this would still be the case]. with the exception of the billy liar ep, i have everything the decemberists have ever released. i would risk my life to see a pavement reunion show. the mountain goats had a great deal to do with the fact that i’m actively pursuing a career in music. in the aeroplane over the sea is my favorite album of all-time. i wear skinny jeans and t-shirts sized at youth large and extra small. i wear black-framed glasses and rags around my neck. i have more band buttons than i know what to do with.

and i’m an african-american. i hope that’s glaringly obvious.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 30th, 2007 at 2:19 am and is filed under indie black america, "meaningful" essayism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.