Spellsplaining

I like it too actually but I’m glad they’ve changed course, because going too much further in that direction would have really pushed them into some weird and not great adult contemporary space.

Can we just retire the term “mansplaining”? Whatever point/impact/significance it originally had has been lost in a sea of jump-to-conclusion thinkpieces/facebook statuses.

you are that guy and you are 100% correct.

“no, this is silly, the song is literally called “on fraternity”, it’s about being frustrated with being a man and being expected to participate in/being unable to fully extricate myself from the power systems that create the “certain physical discomforts” of being a woman in public

it’s not a rewrite of “oblivion”, it’s a song about what it feels like to listen to that song knowing what it’s about and that it was written by someone close to me, about not wanting to be complicit in the power systems and codes of silence that enable the sexual assault and dehumanization of oppressed minorities including women, it is not a female perspective on sexual assault, it is a male perspective on it, it’s mine”

His response to this article – posted on his tumblr.

At first, Soma and Mayonaise.

But after 15 years of listening, I must admit that Hummer is a masterpiece, other artists could have done 1 entire album with all the stuff packed inside those 5 minutes of music.

My hope when I write a song with feminist themes is not to explain anything to anyone so much as to highlight something I care about. I am a little confused about the argument this article is making; I’m assuming you are not making the argument that all songs dealing with gender and feminist issues written by men are an attempt to usurp the voices of women. I’m sorry if I come off as ignorant, but I am asking for a little more clarity from the author.

I never thought “On Fraternity” was intended to tell women about their experience. Just based on the name, and the later jabs at the punk community, it felt like he was crafting a narrative directed at whatever male fans he might have to help them understand, especially those who might be part of insular communities that claim to be sympathetic to feminist causes and then overlook sexual assault when it happens in their ranks (punk, for example).

Additionally, I’m curious because you refer to it a bit in the last paragraph, but can a man ever truly transcend the label of ally and become a full feminist? You mention gender privilege as a limiting factor in his understanding of this issue. Wouldn’t that also preclude him from being a feminist by its very nature?

So let me get this straight…

“Put my fist in her like a civil rights sign” = an unfiltered glimpse into the abyss of the id, a staggeringly honest and complex exploration of a tortured genius’s mind, etc. etc. etc.

“The way they act like/ even bringing it up/ means you’re the one with the problem/ Well, that’s why” = mansplaining “at its MOST egregious”

Uh, ok.

I hate to be this guy but…This Modern Love. Come on.

Is it still shit? I bet it’s still shit.

Springsteen best record is BUSA. Every song charted and seven made the top 25. Greetings and Wild are hard to listen too and any song on those albums are covered in better form on LIVE75-85. All of the records in the Nebraska mode are at the bottom of list along with everything released since 2000.

Springsteen’s best albums are backed by the full E Street Band, which is only eight records. Even the 1992 HT/LT fare better because they are rock albums and Bruce Springsteen is at his best with a full band supporting him. River, LIVE, Darkness, and Tracks round out the top five. I do not listen to anything prior to 1975, the solo records, and anything since 2000, except Essential, which is basically from the 1980s.

Calm down.

It was a joke bro (although I did admittedly watch Degrassi in order to make fun of it). I don’t respect him because I don’t respect him. I don’t like this stuff or anything he’s put out ever. Sue me.

This is like Dick Litman writing a song about sobriety

It appears you were attempting to make some kind of point, but you accidentally left your last sentence unfinished, and you also accidentally closed your incomplete sentence with a period. I’m curious what was on your mind because apparently it was profound enough to receive two upvotes. Just imagine how many you could achieve with fully realized thoughts! So please, what don’t you even?

This is the best article I’ve seen on Stereogum in months; thank you for the excellent piece, Charlotte. I’m not sure there’s any venue I’ve been to as many times as Maxwell’s, and it was always a joy to walk into that tiny room, not knowing if the entire band could even fit on the stage, but definitely knowing that something exciting was about to happen. (Hell, it was even a joy to show up 60 minutes before a show was supposed to start, get some fries, sit around, watch people walk by on Washington, and predict what the band was going to play.) Now that Maxwell’s is gone, I don’t know what my go-to venue will be; I’m not sure there will be a go-to anymore.