I came across the blog "My Husband Stupid Record Collection" via Jesabel's Tracy Moore observation/diatribe (depending on your point of view) that, among other things, she, Tracy, finds it sexist? perhaps? that a woman outsider writing about music... I tell you what, why don't I just copy and paste what she is saying and let you figure out if she makes a good point or not.
A woman named Sarah O'Holla has a tumblr devoted to going through her husband's record collection, reviewing every single album to get to know more about it (and him). She's not a music critic; she's a librarian who waxes earnest/sarcastic about the records while her dude, husband Alex Goldman, who owns 1,500 LPs, offers context. I am not shocked that she's reviewing 1,500 records; I'm in awe that dudes aren't giving her a bunch of terrible shit for it. In fact, many are actually into it.Here, I'm skipping over the part where Tracy cites some of the glowing? praise "My Husband Stupid Record Collection" is getting. NPR & Slate. (question mark after glowing because I'm guessing is glowing, I'm not reading it) Back to Tracy...
For the record (har), I, a woman, am way into it, premise-wise. It's cool to show an interest in things the person you love loves, and also, because records...
But as someone who also wrote about music professionally while female, I can't help but notice the jaw-dropping difference in response to a woman who sits down to riff on music as an admitted outsider being greeted with an enthusiastic thumbs-up by dudes, VERSUS being a woman who sits down to riff on music as an insider and being greeted with a shit-fuck-ton of vitriol by dudes. The latter experience would be mine...
... but nobody loves to tell you all the fuck about music like a dude with a bunch of records, trust. So O'Holla may not have gotten direct shit, but in a way, she got shit for not getting shit if that makes sense. Because what O'Holla is doing fits really perfectly into a very traditional notion about how men impart knowledge to women, especially music. That is, we are cool with dudes teaching women things and we love when they are eager students. We are less cool when women are doing the knowledge-dropping with anything like authority. This is not her individual fault or anything for wanting to review some records, but the response is useful and emblematic.Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that "how-men-impart-knowledge-to-women" what Althouse calls "mansplaining"? I haven't checked, hence, the cover of this post.
Jesabel
38 comments:
She's gonna be surprised when he suddenly moves out. "But I only called you stupid every day."
I think it possibly could be an example of stupid "mansplanation" reverse-sexism, but bashing record collections is pretty benign. Of course, anyone could take anything too far, and some people justifiably put a lot of stock into their musical tastes and obscure vinyls. But I get too much of a picture of the sort of know-it-all record store db played by Cusack in High Fidelity in my head to feel too sympathetic.
BTW, if you're looking to avoid reverse-sexist feminist whining generally you're best advised to skip over the abused orphans of patriarchy at Jezebel. Just some advice.
I don't think I ever came across anything worthwhile by one of the "writers" at their site or their affiliated sites. It's just unadulterated whining, really. Nothing positive at all… Unless you get off on that.
I don't.
... abused orphans of patriarchy at Jezebel...
Occasionally, you do coin a useful phrase, Ritmo.
The name, "Jezebel," sort of told me everything I need to know about that site.
The whining is nothing compared to the demand created by web mechanics to generate a daily outrage. Daily outrage wears me out.
I think people, regardless of sex, are charmed when someone takes an interest in one of their passions.
They are commonly less charmed with professional critics.
No one likes to be told they're doing it wrong.
So there is a world of difference between "this is what I think of this and I'm interested in what you think of it" and trashing some guy's favorite band.
I dare say that men who write about music from authority as insiders, also get a lot of hostility when they tell other guys what they aren't supposed to like. It might be couched in non-sexist language (as "sexist" would be anything that focused on the writer being female and if she's not female then different insults are used) but it's still not going to magically turn into "Dude, you are so right, my taste in music is just wrong and I'm going to change the way I listen right now." just so long as it was a guy writing it.
Because Dudes always bow to being told what to like when it's other Dudes doing it.
Just some advice.
First he stinks up the joint with a torrent of bile and then, natch, he's proffering advice. Schmendrik is as Schmendrik does.
Life isn't fair.
"abused orphans of patriarchy at Jezebel"
I see osmosis in action. Good work, ST.
The name, "Jezebel," sort of told me everything I need to know about that site.
The thing is, don't you feel it's a bit enticing, the prospect of someone proclaiming herself to be a Jezebel, but without all the political and social obsessions?
To my mind, the idea of a hell-raiser can still be sexy. But then I looked up the origin of the word and figured, it's probably not meant to be used in that pure a sense - i.e. a pure hell-raiser simply for hell-raising's sake.
I had at one time thought you could call a gal a Jezebel just because she wears leather and has head-to-toe tattoos.
But now I see I'm wrong.
Live and learn.
They ain't that kind of Jezebels, Ritmo.
If you're looking for hell raisers, look elsewhere.
The real hell raisers among women love men.
The real hell raisers..
Exactly. That's what I want.
A man-lover. A man-loving woman.
How's that for a useful phrase?
I got one now but I'm not sure how much hell she'd raise. I think she sort of looks to me for that.
But at least she gets closer than some to looking the part. And hey, that's not half-bad.
not skeeping - I meant skipping
btw if I don't catch something, and you do, please go ahead and mention it. I don't get upset over spelling corrections. except when I do. at some point I may, I cant project or anticipate with regards to the future. I do want to be as spelling error free as possible.
I have nothing but contempt for anyone who can spell a word only one way.
—Thomas Jefferson
@Ritmo
Always let a woman come to you. Let it be her idea.
It's always a mistake to hang your tongue out and let a woman see how much you want her... or whatever it is you want from her.
In the immortal words of B.B. King:
Never Make Your Move Too Soon!
I thought you were putting on an amusing cartoon Mexican accent.
Oh that is the truth, ST. I admit you're pretty wise after all.
The most advanced move you can make is to find a way of getting her to believe that she came up with the idea of what it is you wanted her to do in the first place.
I'm probably at, I'd say, about a "4" in the master class on that. Maybe a 5 or a 5 and a 1/2 on a good day or depending on the female.
If they wanted you already you've got it made, but I was disabused of how much less likely that would become post-adolescence relatively early. But if she's one you wanted then party on.
Men aren't supposed to be indecisive but I think the way you can get bored with the ones who already wanted/had you can be its own purgatory.
If there could be one exception to not making a move too soon, it would probably be the "figure of eight".
Second rule with women is...
Never believe their leftist/feminist spiel when they are single.
Most of them dump that shit the minute they are married and have children.
The political spiel is, to a very large extent, what Heartiste calls a "shit test."
Don't oppose the political/feminist spiel. Just let it pass.
And, that video was dead wrong.
At some point, every woman wants to be pimped out in some way... either in fact or in play.
Succeed at that in the least harmful way possible, and you won't be able to get rid of them.
What's the deal with vinyl? If not all scratched up does it give superior sound because it's not compressed into mp3 form?
What's the deal with vinyl? If not all scratched up does it give superior sound because it's not compressed into mp3 form?
Many people seem to think so. They say it gives an organic sensation closer to what you'd hear if the band, complete with all the living breathing people comprising it, was playing in the room with you, rather than filtered through a soundboard to sound mechanically best.
I thought you were putting on an amusing cartoon Mexican accent.
nah.
Thx, Rit, do you, or anyone here, think this is true?
I thought they added white noise and background fuzziness to audio recordings these days.
It's sort of like HD TV isn't it? I'd really rather not see the pores in Spock's nose and acne scars on Kirk's face when I watch the Star Trek reboot movie. The old way fuzzed stuff out really nicely.
I've recently come to appreciate that I too can hear on vinyl a "warmer" and more detail rich sound, much like tube amps have compared to solid state engineered amplifiers. But I don't think that's going to change anything. I've got thousands of tracks in my personal iTunes collection, and my favorite "coming-of-age" album was Appetite for Destruction, produced much later than when it was in vogue for sound engineers to capture the types of vinyl-enriched warm, detailed sounds that reigned through the 1970s.
So it's a fun material/technological nostalgia to appreciate, but one that is way out of reach or too useless for most people. If I had the funds or the interest I'd probably love to buy one of these - authentic. But I don't and I won't and the same goes for music.
This line in one of the excerpts caught my attention
But as someone who also wrote about music professionally while female..
Was there a re-purposing of the author's genitalia at some point?
Was there a re-purposing of the author's genitalia at some point?
I think she's appropriating the "driving while-black" trope.
Exchanging it for something similar to that.
"Was there a re-purposing of the author's genitalia at some point?'
Are you saying that there's something fishy about her genitalia? If so, that's rude. It could well be a medical problem.
You can't tell anything from a record collection. A lot of it is just happenstance. What really counts is what's on the playlist. That's the true measure of a man's depth and breadth.
Why on earth would anyone want to torture themselves and waste so much time?
Certainly I'm interested in my sig other/or BF's music tastes - but I would never take the time to listen to 1500 record albums. I still love you, I'll flip through them for fun, but that distant time tunnel will remain less traveled. Plus - some of the 70's and 80's can be embarrassing.
CCR, Blue Oyster Cult, Buckingham Nicks, The Bee Gees, M pop Muzic... What? oh I don't wanna know.
I'm never letting anyone riff through my vinyl albums.
Not everyone can fully appreciate the Partridge Family and the Cowsills. And Debbie Boone, well that's something we can't discuss here.
...and your treasured Stevie Nicks collection. :)
You have an excellent memory, April.
Your treadmill story was hilarious and endearing.
Certainly I'm interested in my sig other/or BF's music tastes - but I would never take the time to listen to 1500 record albums. I still love you, I'll flip through them for fun, but that distant time tunnel will remain less traveled. Plus - some of the 70's and 80's can be embarrassing.
CCR, Blue Oyster Cult, Buckingham Nicks, The Bee Gees, M pop Muzic... What? oh I don't wanna know.
No kidding. I couldn't stand to listen to all 1500 of my own albums.
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