UFO over easy
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i'm still happy with the dictionary definition of the word really, i don't feel it needs to go any further than that
thesaurus throws up some nice alternatives - 'askew, awry, cockeyed, skew-whiff, lopsided'
thesaurus throws up some nice alternatives - 'askew, awry, cockeyed, skew-whiff, lopsided'
UFO over easy
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haha, I like cockeyed! 
I would definitely be on board if anyone wanted to make a scene out of that
but yeah i was just reiterating what you said really
'It's a good enjoyable colourful funky slightly fucked up tendency on the whole though I think.'
innit. and as a word it's totally context dependent.
I would definitely be on board if anyone wanted to make a scene out of thatbut yeah i was just reiterating what you said really
'It's a good enjoyable colourful funky slightly fucked up tendency on the whole though I think.'
innit. and as a word it's totally context dependent.
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psherburne
Well-known member
It'd be nice if there were a better word for this stuff, but I've come to believe that once a term's in use (the dreaded "mnml") there's little you can do to halt the juggernaut...
Anyway, I'm just getting up to speed on this stuff, but wow. "This stuff" mainly means a few Zomby and Rustie tracks, and their own styles are different enough to suggest that "this stuff" isn't anywhere near the point of cohering into a recognizable subgenre -- which is just what I like about it. It's errant, erratic music that seems, for the moment, ready to flip just about any rule it's presented with. I hope it stays like that.
Anyway, I'm just getting up to speed on this stuff, but wow. "This stuff" mainly means a few Zomby and Rustie tracks, and their own styles are different enough to suggest that "this stuff" isn't anywhere near the point of cohering into a recognizable subgenre -- which is just what I like about it. It's errant, erratic music that seems, for the moment, ready to flip just about any rule it's presented with. I hope it stays like that.
shiels
_
Oh what a grey cloud you are.. what, exactly will be chewed up and spit out within months? considering that this thread is actually a struggle to determine what the fuck we're all talking about when we say "wonky".
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i dont know anyone making, playing (or releasing) music which has been termed wonky who likes the phrase being used as a genre... weird things will and can catch on i suppose.
there definitely is a theme of synthy, lopsided, tracks coming from producers of late... and it's all getting bundled together, which is probably about right as it is a theme... but not really a genre (for me at least).
so basically like mms says:
YES
Haha. Way too many chips on shoulders and inaccuracies in there to even get started.
there definitely is a theme of synthy, lopsided, tracks coming from producers of late... and it's all getting bundled together, which is probably about right as it is a theme... but not really a genre (for me at least).
so basically like mms says:
YES
Haha. Way too many chips on shoulders and inaccuracies in there to even get started.
UFO over easy
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psherbourne said:
it's not exactly a juggernaut yet! it's only appeared recently in a few articles, sparking a bit of discussion - mostly people asking for clarification.
even 'aquacrunk''s been written about in the guardian.
Grievous Angel
Beast of Burden
wonky = sounds like classic grime but is a bit more fucked, usually not as good, but still good
mos dan
fact music
i'm sticking with aquacrunk because it's a very very funny word - best genre name to be invented in many moons. until the wonky juggernaut overtakes... though surely a wonky juggernaut would veer of the road? ho ho ho.
(btw it wasn't me wot used aquacrunk in the guardian fwiw, was probably prancehall?)
Sasha Frere Jones also came with Lazer Bass in this article:
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/sashafrerejones/2008/03/lazer-guided-1.html
But he tends to use it as a new genre or a hip hop subgenre.
Not sure to be really at ease using the word wonky but i like the conscious non-genre perspective it brings that aquacrunk or lazer bass don't seem to imply to the same extend.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/sashafrerejones/2008/03/lazer-guided-1.html
But he tends to use it as a new genre or a hip hop subgenre.
Not sure to be really at ease using the word wonky but i like the conscious non-genre perspective it brings that aquacrunk or lazer bass don't seem to imply to the same extend.
psherburne
Well-known member
Here's a thought exercise: can all the writers on here actively refrain from using "wonky," from using any tag whatsoever, and simply describe the music on its own terms?
(Of course, I've already failed, mentioning the term in passing in a Wire review I'm doing right now; the problem, of course, is that as a journalist you want to be able to sketch out the context for the reader in a few words, and the fact that a term exists and is being bandied about is thus already a part of that context.... And with 150-word reviews, it doesn't give the writer much room to complicate matters...)
(Of course, I've already failed, mentioning the term in passing in a Wire review I'm doing right now; the problem, of course, is that as a journalist you want to be able to sketch out the context for the reader in a few words, and the fact that a term exists and is being bandied about is thus already a part of that context.... And with 150-word reviews, it doesn't give the writer much room to complicate matters...)
would also say it's a scene that encourages mixing speed and styles rather than one style and speed in a set. Tracks old and new as well, so for me there is a bit of a renaissance to that time just before house/techno/hip hop became separate and there were enough good records out there to do whole nights of genres .
mos dan
fact music
not guilty your honour
well, i've used it as an adjective to describe zomby, but i think that's allowed.i love how worked up a lot of fans (always non-writers) get about genre names on forums, e.g. dsf and its panic-y response to dubstep sub-divisions... it's always STOP PUTTING MUSIC IN BOXES MAAAAAAAAN, IT'S ALL JUST MUSIC, END OF.
to which i say, calm th' sen - if it's music that you think is strong enough to stand up on its own, then it can handle being talked about behind its back.
UFO over easy
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yeah man i like aquacrunk and lazerbass way more as well. here's that article
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2008/oct/20/aquacrunk-scene-and-heard
not heard of the writer.. article is kind of silly though.
dan - on your point about reactionary forum types, i think it's kind of different with this. i feel uncomfortable seeing this stuff in its own charts, people talking about 'wonky' nights etc, because to me this stuff feels valuable as an aspect of a lot of different scenes which already exist (and blackdowns column this month, just to cover all my bases, makes this very clear). to me anyway, not putting words in anyone elses mouth, the problem is that what makes this music exciting is at least partly the context in which the different artists have developed, and removing 'wonky' music from that context devalues both the music and the term - wonky in comparison to what? it's a different thing to prescribing a word to cover a group of artists and nights that are already working together. 'it's all music' is a pet peeve of mine too but i don't think that's the issue in this case.
optimum
Poochie
Yes I agree. My primary reluctance to the word is also aesthetic, it just looks horrible when written down as well as in conversation
UFO over easy
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lol yes there is that too
mos dan
fact music
hmm how odd, that's prancehall's column and it's the only one not written by him http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog+series/sceneandheard.
i was amused to see blackdown (hai!) choose a wonky producer of the year on pitchfork, but i didn't see it as problematic that he did so.
again, it's just the trivial fact that i like the aesthetics of the word 'aquacrunk' - it's the kind of word you'd make up if you were taking the piss
like when the nme invented 'new grave' to describe radiohead, the manics, mansun and some other band who occasionally wore eyeliner but clearly weren't goths.. that 'scene' lasted about a week lolUFO over easy
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im just of a nervous disposition i suppose