Last week was a big one for commenting on Heard Mentality. There were violent reactions to everything from rumors about Daft Punk playing at Disney to why local bands move to LA. Read on:
DAFT PUNK AT DISNEY?
Last week, dance-record label OM Records posted that Daft Punk were going to perform live at Disney’s California Adventure theme park’s elecTRONica opening on Oct. 8, seeing as the French electronica dancemeisters hand-penned the soundtrack for Tron: Legacy. To confirm the rumor, we called Disney’s PR people, who said there was “nothing to announce at this time. We’ll certainly let you know if there is. Thanks for your interest.” It seemed a vague, ambiguous answer—especially when Disneyland Resort’s PR later replied that “Daft Punk is not currently scheduled to perform at Disneyland Oct. 8.” That did not do anything to dispell the rumors—if they’re not currently scheduled, will Daft Punk confirm an appearance later on? One thing’s for sure: Daft Punk’s soundtrack to the Tron sequel will be out Nov. 22 via Disney. You can pre-order it on the soundtrack’s official site, tronsoundtrack.com.
The Response: VFN said, “What kind of a journalist are you? That’s simply laughable. The very same story was given about Daft Punk playing at Petco Park during Comic Con. It’s just mad hype.” From a Sept. 24 Heard Mentality blog post.
DIRTY PROJECTORS’ FRONTMAN INCITES PHISH MAYHEM
Dirty Projectors mastermind Dave Longstreth made more than a few Phish phans mad with his response to being compared to the jam band. “I don’t see that. I think Phish is . . . I don’t think that music is very good. . . . The problem is jam-band music ostensibly tries to use [improvisation and spontaneity],” he said, “but almost across the board, that shit is just terrible.”
The Response: As many as 88 commenters dissed Longstreth for his statements. Most responses were the typical ad hominem arguments, but fan Matt said, “You guys are making me embarrassed to be a Phish fan. Quit going after this guy. It was a fair interview, and what he said was respectful. Way to get your panties in a bunch over one dude’s opinion. He’s allowed to think what he wants. Most jam bands are terrible. He’s absolutely right about that. The fact that he doesn’t hear the value in Phish’s music is his problem, not yours. Get a life, people. His record is probably really great, and you’re completely rejecting him because he hasn’t been inspired by the same thing you have. Grow up.” From a Sept. 23 post.
IF AN OC MUSIC SCENE EXISTED, WHY’D YOU LEAVE?
Young the Giant lead singer Sameer Gadhia said the OC music scene was a “close-knit family, and it’s very, very far-reaching; it’s a huge diaspora with different acts, personas, styles. It seems like when we always go back to Orange County, there’s that feeling of togetherness, that everyone’s contributing to the general welfare and culture for the place.” Gadhia added that bands move to LA as a personal choice: “We solidified a lot of our writing when we moved to LA, but that was all drawing from experience in Orange County.”
The Response: Joe said, “The reason bands go to LA is that it’s better exposure, because, like it or not, there is no music scene in Orange County. No one cares about the bands here because there aren’t that many good bands. Just because there are a lot of bands doesn’t mean they are good.” From a Sept. 23 post by Spencer Kornhaber.
This column appeared in print as “Blog Commenters Call Us Out.”
