Sartle knows that effortlessly keeping up with all the cool bands is hard work. Inspired by Janet Cardiff’s The Forty Part Motet installation at Gallery 308, we realized that art is a great way to feign a certain appreciation for more sophisticated music. So forget about endlessly scouring Pitchfork for the next band to mention in casual conversation or to play at your next small get-together. We’ve got a few suggestions on how you can use your knowledge of art history as a way to trick your friends into thinking you’re just an intellectual with quirky taste in music, and all you need is the power of social media.
This music video by Hold Your Horses! is a great way for you to spread your knowledge of art history while showing off your appreciation of obscure, foreign bands. Simply post it on your Facebook wall and pair it with a simple comment like Love this, and watch your likes grow.
Feeling romantic? Perhaps you’ll want to post this ballad by The Weepies on your crush’s wall. Maybe you can say something cheesy like You’re the Bella to my Marc. This way, she’ll be forced to do some research and in addition to thinking you’re really romantic, she’ll also think you’re well-read, when all you read well was this blog post.
You know that Train songs are always so damn catchy, and you can’t help but sing along to them. But still, you should post this one ironically and maybe accompany it with quotation marks to really bring out the irony. Add a hint of disapproval in there. “Picasso” Pfff.
For something more old school but still socially relevant, you’ll want to venture into the land of hip-hop. Of course, you don’t really know too much about Jay Z, except that he’s married to Beyoncé. And even then, you can only name one Beyoncé song.
But posting this music video will score you major points. It’s got Marina Abramović and Fred Wilson, plus that lady from “Empire,” making you appear really avant-garde and edgy.
In order to really shine, you can pretend to be opinionated and say something like Is Jay Z really comparing himself to all these influential artists? No one will know that it was, in fact, a serious question. Just sit back, relax, and watch your friends partake in a pseudo-intellectual debate on the history of rap music. Disclaimer: Tupac will be mentioned at least once.
On the other hand, to impress those old souls, you can post this song on a Thursday with just the caption: #tbt.
You can also throw this bit of trivia around: Bowie played Andy Warhol in the 1996 film Basquiat. This way, your friends know that you know who David Bowie, Andy Warhol, and Jean-Michel Basquiat are.
As cringe-worthy as Bowie’s performance in this film was, we think he makes a better Warhol than someone else we know…
On a different note, we have a feeling Kanye found himself his own Medici family.
Thank you for joining me on this painfully autobiographical post. Now go out there and spread art historical knowledge to your musically-deprived peers.
By Kyla
Contributor
I agree with your opinion, in music, singers often get their emotions from what they feel or borrow other people's emotions.