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Is JoCo a Snuggie?

jtvhjtvh
edited May 2011 in Everything Else
The Planet Money podcast called Jonathan Coulton a Snuggie. He has written what he calls a "peevish and whiney response," and points out that the Snuggie is in fact a derivative of the Slanket. I for one had always thought it was the other way around.

If I ever make it onto the JoCo cruise, I shall lounge by the pool in a Snuggie to show my support for his business model. (And I can't wait to use his blog post as reference fodder next time I have to write a paper on e-commerce.)

Comments

  • AprecheApreche
    JoCo is right.
  • CremlianCremlian
    Nice, Anytime Planet Money get some news is awesome! Planet Money, This American Life, It's all Politics and On the Media are always the first things I listen to when a new one comes out.
  • TheWhaleSharkTheWhaleShark
    JoCo is right.
    About this, yes:
    Now is a better time to be a musician, or a fan of music, than any other time in all of human history. Discuss…
    Totally.

    But JoCo is a Snuggie in the sense that he's simply taken a thing that already existed, reconfigured it slightly, and packaged it in a new way.

    A Snuggie is a robe that you put on backwards. JoCo is a mish-mash of various artists that you could have heard on Dr. Demento way back when.

    Not that there's anything necessarily wrong with that; I'm sure Snuggies are quite comfortable. And good on him for making shitloads of bank doing what he does. Let that be a lesson to aspiring musicians; just go put your shit on the web and market yourself. You can actually make money on it.
  • jtvhjtvh


    But JoCo is a Snuggie in the sense that he's simply taken a thing that already existed, reconfigured it slightly, and packaged it in a new way.
    "Plagiarism is necessary. Progress implies it."

    If music couldn't be derivative, we'd have run out of ideas shortly after the first set of Gregorian chants. (Or probably earlier, really.)
  • AprecheApreche
    But JoCo is a Snuggie in the sense that he's simply taken a thing that already existed, reconfigured it slightly, and packaged it in a new way.
    What is not this?
  • TheWhaleSharkTheWhaleShark
    edited May 2011
    What is not this?
    Sometimes, people do this in a way that is particularly remarkable or really stands out. Most people who do this are pretty much indistinguishable from one another. There are 10,000 hardcore metal bands, and 9,998 of them sound pretty much identical. Between the Buried and Me are just a mashup of Dream Theater, King Crimson, Pantera, and Earth Crisis. They're also way more innovative than almost any other band out there today.

    Sure, music has to be derivative. So does everything. I know that.

    My point is that JoCo's music is not in the camp of "repackaged in a way that stands out." His music is entirely unremarkable. There's no reason to listen to him over, say, Weird Al, or other comedy music acts. In fact, I can think of better novelty musicians who get less attention than JoCo.

    JoCo is remarkable because of the success of his distribution and marketing model. He is living proof that the record industry has absolutely no purpose in the modern world. If everyone did derivative and boring music like JoCo, and then turned to the Internet for distribution, you'd annihilate the RIAA in record time.
    Post edited by TheWhaleShark on
  • jtvhjtvh
    My point is that JoCo's music is not in the camp of "repackaged in a way that stands out." His music is entirely unremarkable. There's no reason to listen to him over, say, Weird Al, or other comedy music acts. In fact, I can think of better novelty musicians who get less attention than JoCo.
    I agree with your last point. But as for the Weird Al comparison? I find them quite different artists. Both are geeky, both spend a certain amount of time in satire and parody, but some of JoCo's songs have an emotional depth I just don't find in Weird Al. Some of my favorites for this emotional depth: Shopvac, Mr. Fancypants, Mandelbrot Set.)
  • TheWhaleSharkTheWhaleShark
    edited May 2011
    I find them quite different artists.
    This could come down to a taste difference. I consider them to be too similar for my liking.

    It's actually that I really really really don't like Weird Al, and JoCo is so close to that thing that my dislike of Weird Al bleeds over. On top of the individual dislike of JoCo, that is.
    Shopvac, Mr. Fancypants, Mandelbrot Set
    Yeah, I've listened to those, and I just don't feel it. Still sounds forced to me.
    Post edited by TheWhaleShark on
  • jtvhjtvh
    It's actually that I really really really don't like Weird Al, and JoCo is so close to that thing that my dislike of Weird Al bleeds over.
    I hear you. I feel the same way about Rush and Kansas. Can hardly tell the difference between them, despite theoretically understanding that they're quite different. And somehow Jethro Tull ends up in that same mix of dislike.
  • CremlianCremlian
    It's actually that I really really really don't like Weird Al, and JoCo is so close to that thing that my dislike of Weird Al bleeds over. On top of the individual dislike of JoCo, that is.
    I hear you. I feel the same way about Rush and Kansas. Can hardly tell the difference between them, despite theoretically understanding that they're quite different. And somehow Jethro Tull ends up in that same mix of dislike.
    Jesus Christ. I'm left speechless.

    (Rush and Weird Al are some of my fav's and Kansas and JoCo are pretty good as well.) The Weird Al concert I went to was one of the most enjoyable I've ever been too, that man can perform.
  • TheWhaleSharkTheWhaleShark
    edited May 2011
    In a world where everything is derivative, Weird Al manages to be more derivative than everyone else.

    EDIT: And I somewhat agree about Rush and Kansas. I dig Rush, but other bands around that same time were better.
    Post edited by TheWhaleShark on
  • trogdor9trogdor9
    I feel the same way about Rush and Kansas.
    image
    Spageddy Lee is unamused.
  • CremlianCremlian
    In a world where everything is derivative, Weird Al manages to be more derivative than everyone else.
    So you don't like Song Parodies...
  • AprecheApreche
    Weird Al is amazing.
  • TheWhaleSharkTheWhaleShark
    So you don't like Song Parodies...
    I like good parodies. Weird Al is not good parody. He is direct and obvious parody. He lacks tact, subtlety, and artistry.

    Also, Led Zeppelin sucks.
  • CremlianCremlian
    edited May 2011
    image
    God, I forgot there is a reason I don't pay attention to your musical tastes, Pete.

    /Big fan of 60-80's rock. Pete likes to crap all over it.

    //Must not RESPOND... must not...

    /// YOU are going to love the Music selection at my wedding Pete..
    Post edited by Cremlian on
  • jtvhjtvh


    Jesus Christ. I'm left speechless.

    (Rush and Weird Al are some of my fav's and Kansas and JoCo are pretty good as well.) The Weird Al concert I went to was one of the most enjoyable I've ever been too, that man can perform.
    I understand in theory that Rush and Kansas (and even Jethro Tull) are not bad music. I just think there's something about growing up in the 1970s in Northern California that left me highly allergic. All three make me feel like somebody's gonna make me sit in the back of the VW bus and go farm-stand-hopping in Napa Valley.

    I like Weird Al too. Enjoyed both of his shows that I've been to (unfortunately both were from the same tour, Straight Outta Linwood in two consecutive years). And I loved Dr Demento when I could catch him on the radio, but his current business model (unlike JoCo's) discourages me from listening to him.
  • TheWhaleSharkTheWhaleShark
    edited May 2011
    Big fan of 60-80's rock. Pete likes to crap all over it.
    I also like 60's - 80's rock. But it's not the best music that was ever made, and it's primitive in comparison to a lot of what's out there right now.

    I primarily rail against the worship of older rock and the corresponding denigration of modern music. Again, like JoCo said, music fans today have it better than music fans have ever had it. We have access to a greater diversity and variety of music than has ever been had before, and this directly contributes to the intense innovation that exists across nearly every genre of music.

    It also means we'll be getting more Rebecca Blacks, but hey, you take the bad with the good.
    Post edited by TheWhaleShark on
  • TheWhaleSharkTheWhaleShark
    YOU are going to love the Music selection at my wedding Pete..
    If you don't have Jukebox Hero, I'ma kick you in the nuts, FYI.
  • Kate MonsterKate Monster
    YOU are going to love the Music selection at my wedding Pete..
    If you don't have Jukebox Hero, I'ma kick you in the nuts, FYI.
    But then he'll have stars in his eyes.
  • SchnevetsSchnevets
    I didn't realize business analysis was synonymous with music critique...
  • Li_AkahiLi_Akahi
    Short answer: no.
    Long answer: hell no.
    It's actually that I really really really don't like Weird Al
    image
    YOU are going to love the Music selection at my wedding Pete..
    If you don't have Jukebox Hero, I'ma kick you in the nuts, FYI.
    But then he'll have stars in his eyes.
    My rage has been replaced by love.
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