Thursday, April 07, 2005

Do I love these guys? Do I hate these guys?


Ask somebody who is hip to indie music about the coolest thing to ever come out of Louisville, Ky. Chances are, they won't mention the Kentucky Derby. Instead, if they are hip to indie music, they will probably talk about Slint (unless they are waaaay hip to indie music, and then they might rant and rave about Squirrel Bait).
Slint are one of those love-them-or-hate-them bands. Their music can seem so extreme to ears accustomed to pop.
Their two albums, Tweez from 1988 and Spiderland from 1991, contained mostly instrumental songs that were beautiful and hideous, delicate and ponderous -- sometimes all at once.
Those two albums helped spawn a sub-genre of indie rock called "post-rock," featuring bands such as Tortoise.
I recently swapped a Jamaican music mix CD with a guy in Ottawa, Ont. He in turn sent me a mix he made featuring Slint and some of their off-shoots and side projects. I have been listening to the mix the past couple days and honestly, I have not yet decided whether I am in the "love-them" camp or the "hate-them" camp.
That is one of the greatest things about music: There is plenty of room for discovery and plenty of room for disagreement.
Speaking of plenty of room for discovery -- tomorrow we will discover some of the dirty little secrets lurking in our friends' music collections! You won't want to miss the latest installment of the Friday Question!
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