Ethnic sympathy – you know you’ve fallen victim to it on more occasions than not.
The high school valedictorian may have been a pompous wad of discharge – but she was Ethiopian, and you had to give it up.
You weren’t planning on seeing Harold and Kumar, but it’s motherjunking John Cho and he’s the Seoul (cheap, I know, suck my back) of Korean Ams in every area code.
One fateful afternoon, you took them to the back room of their family’s restaurant and made them stink, for the motherland, for La Raza.
I’m sure Bilo and I would never be friends, if it weren’t for our mutual appreciation of the female figure (hello ladies).
Every year, indie artists step out of their local co-op boutiques, their respective divorced parent’s house, to vie (these days) for the proverbial spotlight: the ears, eyes and pockets of Pitchfork Media editors and hipsters.
I am, unabashedly, a mutt-of-a-hipster, Spank Rock you very much.
In true mutt-of-a-hipster form, I have been subscribing to various podcasts – This American Life, Fresh Air with Terry Gross, Grammar Girl (my favorites) – to keep in touch with the land of the free. By happenstance, on a particular Studio 360 podcast, I am ensnared into attention with the announcement of one Thao Nguyen. In ethnic sympathy, anytime I hear a remotely Vietnamese name, I get sucked in like a woman at H&M. She has her rather typical Vietnamese American story (working with her divorced mom in her laundromat), but that can’t truly get my neck nodding, but of course. It always comes down to the music.
I braille it (suck my back).
I imagine when Thao and the Get Down Stay Down finalized the title, We Brave Bee Stings and All, they meant to convey the sprawl of a day spent in the sun. More appropriately, the CD is the quintessential soundtrack for a BBQ in a forest. Beat (Health, Life and Fire) blares out the alarm clock, takes you by the hand and tosses you into the shower. Bag of Hammers all takes place in your friend’s hatchback, everything from the cooler being hauled in – to the windows rolled down – your hand cupping the wind force. The food coma, the emptied bottles of Pyramid Ale (Apricot!), and there it goes – your eyes catching the glint of your longtime friend’s undervalued smile – there it goes – your mouth shooting off drunk Violet confessions, and there they go – your Feet Asleep, heads on chests, arms lapped around hips, Yes, So On and On…stars, joints and water bottles, slagging back into the hatchback, Yes, So On and On…home, We Go, nhe!
You can preview Geography on my muxtape (2nd track from the top) or preview the whole album on Amazon or iTunes. I recommended buying it off of Amazon because it’s a buck cheaper, and you get higher quality MP3s.
2 Comments
May 18, 2008 at 6:53 am
I interviewed Thao last year for a magazine! Not only is her music great, but she’s great in person, too.
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June 17, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Hey just came across your new blog. Good to see you posting stuff again. I redesigned my site and just put up a story about da ganja. check it out.
M