Q: Are We Not Men?

[Part 1 in which The Truth goes back on his word and delivers more content than promised]

Devo answered this question in the title of their first album - "We Are Devo" was the reply - a wry satire, the robotic voice a token of the detached, lifeless hipster persona, constantly defining itself 'in opposition to' whatever mainstream cultural values were at the moment, and therefore as baseless and arbitrary as mainstream culture itself. It also charts the 'devolution' of civilization back into a state of tribes, niches, fashions, away from the promise of technicolor pluralism offered by mass communication/the TVs/the Internets. Of course, ironically, the Internet has finally exposed hipsterism for the fraud that it always was (even though at one point, it did serve a valuable purpose as underground information exchange). Devo was probably responding to pressures from the Cleveland art scene it had started from (along with groups like Pere Ubu, who never 'sold out' and remain hipster bedfellows to this day) to 'conform' to a strict set of aesthetic values. Anyone who's ever been part of a scene, even your local church bingo scene, knows this pressure, and what a pernicious bitch it can be, esp. when you're trying to do something creative.

(and you thought David Byrnie had cool dances)

[Psuedo-social-psychology preamble over, getting to the point]

I was reminded of this when I was reflecting on one of the more recent hipster fads, Italo Disco. "WTF is Italo Disco", I asked myself somewhat rhetorically back in 2k7, when the term first 'sprouted' like a head of cabbage. I kind of knew what it was - after all, who hasn't heard the ultimate Italo Disco track - 'Rhythm of the Night'? I was a little bit concerned, though, too, because there was something 'trending' right beneath my feet that I was woefully ignorant of (honestly I felt a lil bit insecure about this). I should have remembered then one of the Principles of Rock: HIPSTERS NEVER DO THEIR OWN RESEARCH. Trends do not happen because a bunch of white tweens take a break from messing up their Chuck T's to go dig up an obscure (foreign) subgenre from the past. That's too much work, too risky. No, there's ALWAYS an intrepid and tastemaking label behind these 'flash' trends. (Let's call them White Squalls, in homage to White History Month):

(P4K-endorsed trends + Music Festivals = giant wave.)

I just stumbled across the label responsible for the Italo Disco trend a couple months ago by accident, called, unsubtly, Italians Do It Better. A quick review shows that they launched in 2k6. This is such a classic example of trendy labels it should be a case study. Flashy, evocative graphics, high quality vinyls, limited everything, MODERN MODERN MODERN bands. Notice they don't reissue too much real Italo Disco from back in the day (which would actually be valuable, since that stuff is hard to find). Instead they have modern, easy-going tweens making psuedo-Italo Disco, and referencing it all over the place. This is a key element to the equation. Remember in the late 60s, when bands all wanted to look like Civil War generals? Do you think they dug up Civil War era sheet music and played it on accordion? Nope, they just listened to Big Pink. Hell, it's what made the Rolling Stones cooler than the Beatles; you could say you 'listened to blues music' when all you listened to were the Stones! "Close enough is always good enough (usually better)" - the hipster motto.

Anywayz, there's a reason the trend gained traction so fast - a lot of stuff on IDIB is pretty damn immediate and good.

(Drew is downloading this) DISCLAIMER: I take no credit for 'discovering' Glass Candy. This is simply their latest single.

Glass Candy is one of those me-too poseur bands with talent. Needless to say, they're the backbone of labels like IBID. Back in 2002, they rode the 'post-punk' train until it derailed, took a few years off, heard about the Italo Disco trend, and relaunched. Whatevs, it's good music ya'll.

Anywayz again, Italo Disco is pretty much 'over' now. Chillwave (which also might be 'ovr' - jesus how behind am I??) superseded it - who knows what will come next... my guess if someone can figure out how to make R&B sound white enough (and sknny enough - the 'heavy lover' concept doesn't jibe with health-conscious whites heavily invested in slim fit wardrobes), then it'll be that.

Duty Now For The Future,

The Truth