WASHINGTON--Days after President Bush showed members of the media his new iPod, Vice President Cheney proudly showed off his own mp3 player to assembled reporters on the steps of the Capitol Thursday afternoon.
“A lot of this is just filled with bootlegs from some of my favorite bands,” Cheney explained, holding up his 40 gig iPod. “I try to get as many albums as I can on vinyl. But I’ve got a lot of Built to Spill shows on here, some great Superchunk shows, and a bunch of Archers of Loaf.” The Vice President expressed particular pride in a recording of a Guided by Voices show “where you can totally here me yelling for ‘Motor Away’ right before they play it.”
The Vice President says that though the iPod is mostly reserved for live recordings, he also stores a few albums and boasted an extensive collection of back catalogues of some of his favorite artists. “I’ve got Big Black songs you’ve never even heard,” he chuckled. “Plus I’ve got pretty much everything Beat Happening ever recorded, most of Pavement’s other shit, and some stuff you wouldn’t believe.” When asked to elaborate, Cheney said “You’d think there wouldn’t be much cut off [1984 Minutemen album] ‘Double Nickels on the Dime’ worth hearing, but some of the stuff is just mind-blowing.”
The press conference grew tense after Cheney, playing an alternate version of Liz Phair’s “Stratford-on-Guy,” was asked by one reporter what he thought of Liz Phair’s latest release. When the reporter admitted to liking the single “Why Can’t I?” Cheney grew visibly upset. “What do I think? I think she sold her artistic integrity to bilk some cash out of pathetic yuppie suburbanites like yourself.” After no one said anything, Cheney angrily demanded to know if “anyone here has so much as heard of ‘Exile in Guyville.’” When no one responded, Cheney scoffed “Listen to ‘Fuck and Run.’ Then you can come talk to me about Liz Phair.” The Vice President could only be calmed by listening to some Mercury Rev and Shudder to Think.
Though Cheney said that most of his collection came from the ‘80s and ‘90s, he did have an appreciation for some modern acts. “I think [Clem Snide’s] ‘End of Love’ was almost as good as ‘The Ghost of Fashion.’ I loved [The Go! Team’s] ‘Thunder Lightning Strike’ and I can’t wait to see what The Walkmen do next.” The Vice President also said that though he was lukewarm about 2004’s “Antics,” he felt “Interpol are one of those special bands out there with a lot of potential.” He said that his favorite live show of recent years was “The Arcade Fire by a mile. I like ‘Funeral’ all right, but the songs are just unbelievable live.”
The press conference had to be cut short when Cheney got into an argument with Vice Presidential Chief of Staff I. (Scooter) Libby about whether the superior Lou Barlow project was Sebadoh or Dinosaur Jr.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment