Music plus
Yes, Giant Robot is based on Asian and Asian-American popular culture, but it was founded upon punk-rock energy and aesthetics. That's one reason why we run so many music reviews--most of which have nothing Asian about them. I'm convinced that music is the gateway to almost everything else that we cover the mag. Listening to indie, underground, or even imported music when you're young can lead to watching non-mainstream movies, checking out new artists, and maybe even meeting more unusual friends. It can affect your politics and your attitude. Do you have the PMA? Or are you working for the clampdown?
Black and white and not quite yellow all over.
So, we're more likely to feature non-Asian subjects when it comes to featuring musicians or bands. Rocket From The Crypt were just plain awesome. I've listened to The Vandals since I was in junior high. Sarah Shannon made the cut because we liked her old band, Velocity Girl, and we wanted to give her some press. I just couldn't pass up Pinback. Same for Lee "Scratch" Perry. The Fucking Champs got in when we had an empty two-thirds page in the layout and they happened to be playing Spaceland the night before we went to press. The (International) Noise Conspiracy actually wound up talking about their tour of China. Brujeria? They approached us with machetes.
Juan Brujo and Fantasma are not emo. Not Asian, either.
There are too many bands to list, and there are way more that have been on the bubble. I seriously wondered if Ted Leo had some Chinese blood in him. (Couldn't his last name be an Ellis Island transliteration of Liu or Lew or something?) I could have sworn that Mary Timony looked part Asian in her press photo.
It turns out this is the only photo that makes MT look part Asian.
Black and white and not quite yellow all over.So, we're more likely to feature non-Asian subjects when it comes to featuring musicians or bands. Rocket From The Crypt were just plain awesome. I've listened to The Vandals since I was in junior high. Sarah Shannon made the cut because we liked her old band, Velocity Girl, and we wanted to give her some press. I just couldn't pass up Pinback. Same for Lee "Scratch" Perry. The Fucking Champs got in when we had an empty two-thirds page in the layout and they happened to be playing Spaceland the night before we went to press. The (International) Noise Conspiracy actually wound up talking about their tour of China. Brujeria? They approached us with machetes.
Juan Brujo and Fantasma are not emo. Not Asian, either.There are too many bands to list, and there are way more that have been on the bubble. I seriously wondered if Ted Leo had some Chinese blood in him. (Couldn't his last name be an Ellis Island transliteration of Liu or Lew or something?) I could have sworn that Mary Timony looked part Asian in her press photo.
It turns out this is the only photo that makes MT look part Asian.Issue 48 has interviews with some pretty big musicians from Europe and Asia. If you only read GR for the articles on art and cinema, give them a chance and give them a listen. Music isn't meant to be read about. It's not meant to be heard on the laptop while you work or played on shuffle at the gym, either. Given a chance, it might inspire more than than toe tapping or head nodding.
posted by gr at
3:48 PM
How could I forget GWAR reviewing Asian hot sauces or Bill Stevenson and Karl Alvarez of ALL taste-testing canned coffee drinks from Asia? The latter is possible one of the best GR pieces of all time..
-mw
And who could forget that totally unexpected pic of Martin in a buzz cut with the GWAR posse all around him accidentally (?) shown on a huge screen during the Harvard talk!
Speaking of PMA, was Bad Brains ever featured? That would be quite an "ultimate" issue.
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