Sincerity Vs. Irony: The War Wages On
I know I said i wouldn’t write about music here, but…
It’s in people’s nature to follow whatever supposedly represents their sub-culture in any given week, but sometimes you just need to clear the decks of posturing insular irony (Artic Foxes’ "I Know You Look Good On the Dance Floor" sounds like it was written at a Bloc Party show where the band formed 4 months ago) and meta indie rock topics and splash your face with sincerity. Now in our age of hyper-awareness, earnestness can be pretty awkward and conspicuous. We’re so used to some sort of pose, cheeky stance or form of aloofness that keeps a comfortable distance from feeling anything real, which makes my co-worker Benjamin Wagner pretty brave. I dig when anyone swims against the current of the trends and he does so via an acoustic, hopeful sound maybe somewhere between U2 and Ryan Adams. Beyond his artistic motivations of communicating something honest, I’m hoping a bit of his intentions are to convert the skeptical and make them feel the discomfort of guilelessness. This might make him and his new record, Heartland, a little out of step with the LES – where he played a driving and heartfelt set late last night to a devoted crowd – but better to be a face in the crowd than livestock in need of gruel and a clue, no? I should probably take this opportunity to link to Arye’s blog, bringbacksincerity.com since, it’s so appropos (oh the irony, he wrote about the Anarctic Polar Bears).
