The Vulture is following up on the Silver Jews vs. Radiohead brouhaha in true "let's you and him fight" style:
Anyway as far as the Hold Steady and the Silver Jews are really concerned, there's just something weirdly conservative and reactionary in their pro-rock 'n roll, tell me something pretty, take on things. It's all verse chorus verse chorus linear thinking. Art and music come from the non-linear, holistic side of the brain. It's the antithesis of simple and straightforward.
Linear thinking leads to things like the Iraq war, the mortgage crisis, off-shore drilling, and McCain running neck and neck in the polls. Linear thinking is our natural response to the shock doctrine. We could use a lot less of it right about now.
The list of things Radiohead have nothing to say about evidently includes the Hold Steady and Silver Jews, as neither Thom Yorke nor any of the various Greenwoods have responded to either attack. There's currently no mention of any beef on the band's official blog and a search on Hype Machine indicates that no dis tracks have yet been recorded. Are they simply too big for this? Or are they holed up in Oxford right now putting the finishing on a Nigel Godrich–produced ironic cover of "Chips Ahoy!"? God, we hope so. Come on, guys, it's the slowest news week of the year!Radiohead are too smart to care, and they're the better for it. Since OK Computer they've pretty much been out there sailing the postmodern seas all on their own, sending back reports from the future. To say that they've lost the plot, or that they have nothing to say is an irony so large it won't even fit on your t-shirt, bro. Losing the plot is when you're known primarily as a drunk-ass Bruce Springsteen cover band, yo.
Anyway as far as the Hold Steady and the Silver Jews are really concerned, there's just something weirdly conservative and reactionary in their pro-rock 'n roll, tell me something pretty, take on things. It's all verse chorus verse chorus linear thinking. Art and music come from the non-linear, holistic side of the brain. It's the antithesis of simple and straightforward.
Linear thinking leads to things like the Iraq war, the mortgage crisis, off-shore drilling, and McCain running neck and neck in the polls. Linear thinking is our natural response to the shock doctrine. We could use a lot less of it right about now.
