Blogga please

Laura Posted excerpts from Nick Zinner's tour blog documenting the first two Yeah Yeah Yeah shows of this mini tour (the two I reviewed for Gothamist yesterday.) There was that one line that stood out from the rest: 

"The Bloggers in the front row keep their arms crossed for the whole show even though we are playing our bleeding hearts out, and sweating gallons."

They may give you a hard time about dropping a comma before 'and', but it's not the bloggers who have the bad attitudes. Never. None that I know of. I mean, seriously...these are the people who love the music so much that they devote hours of their personal time writing about it for free. It's no shocker that the greatest most excited music fans I know are bloggers. I honestly can't think of a one who would stand in the front of a show, arms crossed pretending not to enjoy themselves. Those that don't feel the need to go nuts at every show politely and quietly stand in the back. The rest are dancing and smiling and cheering with the best of them. To each his own. Calling out the bloggers for this just doesn't make any sense.

Perhaps he's really upset at the culture he thinks blogs have created. Not to piss in the well too much, but I think its more likely the blog readers than the bloggers themselves. There. I said it.

And no, I don't mean YOU...but there are lots and lots of them out there. These are the same people who leave anonymous comments about how your favorite bands suck. Who read sites everyday written by people they claim to hate. Who go to shows for no reason other than that's where they've read they are supposed to be. Doesn't that seem like a much more likely guilty party? It does to me.

So seriously...who among us would act like that? Bloggers don't hate the game. That's just silly.

(Pic via Brooklyn Vegan. Sidenote...Anyone know what kind of camera Nick uses? I like it. Is it digital?)

Comments

[Matthew]

Right on, Jeff!

[mapleTits]

That is what the scene is. It's so sad. I remember getting yelled at for trying to dance and enjoy the Rapture. Do you think it's 'cause those kids are afraid of having fun? I never see them smile!

[jayloose]

hey jeff, i want to get all lovely on you real quick. just want to say that the last few posts have been great reads. keep it up. i'm going to sydicate your blog.

ps. nick zinner needs a culkin and a shot of tequila.

[matty]

you can say bloggers, pitchfork readers, or hipsters, or use other label everyone will hate, but he's got a point about these crowds that sit on the web to make sure they get tickets the very instant they come on sale, buy out the show, and then stand around pretending that they don't even notice the band. i thought the mando diao guy put it well in the middle of a blistering set, when b/w songs he told the crowd "its ok to move. you bastards are even worse than the germans."

[Jeff]

Label the crowds as whatever you'd like, but I'm saying the one group that is most certainly not part of the problem are the bloggers. Unlike hipsters or pitchfork readers, this is a specific limited subset referring to only a small handful in the crowd. He blamed them individually when they were likely some of the most excited to be there.

I'm not saying he doesn't have a point, he's just got the wrong guy...

[EAR FARM]

word UP, and well said. the people (in my opinion) who are the 'problem' are scenesters. the Saturday night show was full of 'em - people going to "hot" shows just to be there, be part of something, but not necessarily to listen to the music and it shows in their reaction to the music.

[J]

Nick Zimmer complained about bloggers? On his BLOG? Awesome! I have a new least favorite musician.

[sam]

It's not really fair to get angry at people for not dancing around. Yes, I like it when everybody's moving around and jumping up and down and whatnot, but, let's be honest, not everyone reacts the same way to music. Some people don't feel comfortable jumping around. Yes, that is sad for them, but they may very well be enjoying the music and just don't show it outwardly as much. If you feel like dancing, then most certainly dance, but don't let the non-dancers get you down.

[carla]

having quit the blogosphere, or at least having jumped ship to "reader-only" status, I still have to say I agree with Jeff that the bloggers themselves are SOOOO not the problem. nick is a cool guy who says what he thinks, and I would be pissed too if I rocked like they did and had to look out on the crowd at bowery. I was hopping around and dancing like an idiot and someone pointed to me and said "I think she's on something." um, yeah- I was high on the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

[matty]

i'd say "indie snobs" rather than "bloggers", myself. i agree that singling out "bloggers" is dumb.

and as to dancing / standing still / using a yyy show as an opportunity for transcendental meditation, to each their own. one can sit in a sensory deprivation chamber w/ headphones and love music more than anyone. but while some bands could care less, crowd reaction often makes a big difference in a band's energy. and its a bit offputting when the people who make such a concerted effort to get to the front then stand still.

mayhap i'm a little bitter b/c i was stuck near the back, fine in and of itself, but i spent the last half hour afeared of the massive wasted meatheads screaming at each other, shoving, and spilling everyone else's beer. that was especially endearing during the encore, when the band brought The Mellow.

[Lea]

I agree with "matty" - it is the indie snobs. The thing that gets to me most is that if you show you're having a good time, which a large majority are, by singing along, dancing, cheering, then they look on you with disgust.
Then these indie snobs that happen to have blogs talk about the "young" "stupid" "inconsiderate" "fans" (always in quotations, because if you don't stand still and listen to every single note, every single utterance, then you CAN'T be a real fan) with such disregard that if you do in fact cheer for your favourite band, then you feel a kind of rejection. And the moment where you're alone in the room while the musicians play to you, and you show them just how much you love their music, has lost it's magic - because you were too loud/noisy/boisterous.

[for free]

Just curious. Do you pay for all the concerts you go to?

[Jeff]

Not all, but a good chunk of them.

[Funkie]

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[adriana]

I would b pissed off 2 if I was rocking out and these people would be all dead about it. if u go see the yeah yeah yeahs then u know it's going 2 b a hell of a concert. P.s.NICK ZINNER IS FUCKING AWESOME

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