0 [ARTICLE] An Attempt at Explaining Advancement Theory

Article by Ben Allen

I dig guest contributions from time to time, and this one has an interesting premise that I have often wondered about. Guest contributor Ben Allen writes about music for nadamucho.com and as well as a variety of topics on his own blog-- Biological Disclosure. Enjoy!
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Previously I wrote briefly about Advancement Theory as a way to understand Bob Dylan’s “Christmas In The Heart” record. I’ve become an avid follower of The Theory, mostly because it helps me understand why well respected artists make creative decisions that seem completely idiotic. I want to understand why a band like Sonic Youth would perform live on a television show like Gossip Girl, without feeling contempt and hatred for their decision.

Who invented Advancement?

Now you may be asking yourself, who came up with this theory, and are they serious? It is widely assumed that well respected journalist Chuck Klosterman invented the theory as he wrote a great article on the subject in Esquire Magazine back in 2004. The truth is the Theory was created during a conversation at a Pizza Hut by Jason Hartley and Britt Bergman in 1990. Hartley was seeking a “more optimistic way to enjoy rock n’ roll. Advancement is the appreciation of music that seems illogical on purpose.”

Hartley now works as an “editorial director for Delia's,” a store that sells clothing to teenage girls. This, according to Klosterman is a, “highly Advanced career choice for a heterosexual academic.”

What is Advancement?

According to Klosterman’s article, “Advancement is a cultural condition in which an Advanced individual--i.e., a true genius--creates a piece of art that 99 percent of the population perceives to be bad.”This means that the advanced individual is creating works of art that the general population regards as flawed or just plain terrible. When, in fact it is not the art that is flawed it is the consumer who has not advanced to the level of the artist, and therefore cannot enjoy the perceived “flawed” artistic creation.

It is important to note that this does not mean that all “bad” art is good and vice versa. In order for an artist to create an Advanced piece of work, it must not be what is expected of them, but also cannot be the exact opposite of what is expected of them. If the artist creates something that is expected of them, that is predictable. If the artist creates something completely unexpected of them, it is considered overt, and is therefore not Advanced. However, if the artist’s creation is either widely misunderstood, or completely unexpected, there’s a good chance they have Advanced beyond the general public’s comprehension.

Who Advanced in 2009?

There were many moments of Advancement in 2009, here are some of my favorites:

1. Pixies having "Weird" Al Yankovic sing live on the Doolittle track "I Bleed.”
This was an unexpected move by the influential early 90’s group. They also played a set this year where they performed songs that received the most “tweets” by fans. If they keep this up, they risk becoming overt.

2. Cursive naming their album, “Mama, I’m Swollen

There’s a classic clip of the band performing on David Letterman (insert link), where the legendary host reads the album title which receives a hearty laugh from the audience. The title is advanced as Tim Kasher and co. were intending to make a serious artistic statement.

3. Sonic Youth performing live on Gossip Girl

So, one of the most influential noise-rock bands of all time perform an acoustic version of “Star Power” off their critically acclaimed 1986 release “EVOL.” Why would such a band decide to play on the “Upper East Side bitchfest-melodrama” that is Gossip Girl? You can’t comprehend it either? Consider it Advanced.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxAMl5tkeEk

4. Weezer collaborating with Lil’ Wayne on the “Raditude” track “"Can’t Stop Partying.”

The one-time relevant band continues their journey into Advancement by having “Weezy,” rap on a party track produced by Jermaine Dupri (Janet Jackson, Da Brat, Lil’ Bow Wow). If they continue with this trend of their last couple of albums, a move like this will be considered predictable.

5. Bob Dylan’s “Christmas in The Heart”

I already wrote an entire article about this record here, but this is indisputably the most advanced release of 2009. See his video for “Must Be Santa” (insert link) to witness Advancement firsthand. Note: The Advanced seem to love wearing wigs.

Critics of Advancement

There are definitely those who feel Advancement Theory is flawed, if not completely ridiculous. While trying to explain why I find Weezer collaborating with Lil’ Wayne Advanced, a friend told me, “try to explain it however you want, they just suck! End of story.” I explained to him that he was not Advanced and could therefore would never be able to understand their motives. This comment was met with further hostility.

Advancement does eliminate debate regarding art. One a creation is deemed Advanced, there is no arguing whether or not the product is “good,” or “bad,” as those terms no longer apply.

Others feel that The Theory is just a way for Advancement proponents to “appreciate shitty music by people they consider to be non-shitty.”
Conclusion

I still want to love Bob Dylan. For this reason, I find myself using Advancement Theory as a crutch. I do not pretend to fully grasp The Theory, but it does make understanding the choices of “geniuses” easier.

This article could not have been written without referencing the following:

Numerous articles found on Pitchfork http://pitchfork.com/
“Real Genius” by Chuck Klosterman originally printed in Esquire Magazine July 1, 2004
“Advanced Theory Blog” by Jason Hartley http://advancedtheory.blogspot.com/

0 The Filth and the Fury: A Sex Pistols Film

Review by Jerry Howard

** Jerry is a guerilla filmmaker and he and his crew Taco Cart Productions are currently hard at work on a new project entitled "Mysophobia". Look for a proper introduction for Seattle Rock Guy's newest contributor very soon but for now read this and check out his film blog here. Cheers! - SRG

I love punk rock. There is something about it that just speaks to me. Give me some Dead Kennedys, some Spits, a little dose of the Bad Brains, and the intensity of Fugazi anytime, anywhere. However, one thing I cannot stand are gutter punks who claim to be rebelling against an oppressive society by being obnoxious and slamming smack. What are you rebelling against? How are you trying to make change? Can you read?

I must admit, I have never been much of a Sex Pistols fan. I dig the tunes "Vacant" and, of course, "Anarchy in the UK" but they never did much for me. They just seemed like a bunch of lucky pricks who couldn't muster the brain power to control their lives. It's one thing to rebel, but these tools were as arrogant as they come. To be quite frank, they seemed like assholes.

Case in point. Back in the day, I worked on a music video for the super group: the Neurotic Outsiders.

Who are the Neurotic Outsiders? This band consisted of Matt Sorum on drums (The Cult, G N R, and Velvet Revolver), Duff McKagen (G N R, the Fartz, Velvet Revolver), John Taylor (Duran Duran, Power Station), and Steve Jones (The Sex Pistols). They sucked ass that's why you have never heard of them.

To be fair, not all the guys were dick heads. Matt Sorum was a cool dude. He ate with the crew and shot the shit with us. He seemed down the Earth and genuine. Duff seemed ok too, but I had a weird interaction that went a little something like this:

(NOTE: My job on the set was general peon who performed a variety of tasks from picking up equipment, getting fools beverages, working the video monitor, etc., you get the picture)

Duff McKagen points at me and asks me to come over to him.

I go over to him and he politely asks me to go buy him some cigarettes. No worries. I ask, "What kind?"

Oblivious, to what I just asked, he replies, "Um, yeah, yeah, that would be great. Cool, man."

What the hell? Did he hear me? I repeat the question.

"Um, yeah, yeah, that would be great, man." Duff has no idea what the hell is going on. I look to see if he is drinking? Homie's slammin' O'Douls and seems out of it.

Weird.

At this point, I decide to get specific and start naming off several brands of cigarettes.

"Yeah, yeah, man, cool. That would be great. Thanks."

Now, I conclude, that Duff's brain has been obliterated by his time in Guns N Roses. Dude's spent.

Finally, I suggest Malboro Lights.

"Cool, man, um, yeah, thanks guy."

I return with a box of Marlboro Lights and hand it over to Duff who hands it over to his girlfriend. She's not happy. She doesn't like Marlboro Lights. I overhear Duff tell her that he told me to get a different brand.

Duff, you're a lyin', semantically challenged prick.

Steve Jones seemed like a dick too. He just glared at me during this interaction. What an asshole.

John Taylor was the epitome of a jerk off. You should have seen the way this guy treated people. Unbelievable.

Ok, back to the film review - remember that?

The Filth and the Fury: A Sex Pistols film is a tragic story. It's difficult to watch morons make mistake after mistake. Having said that, it is cool to listen to the surviving members reflect upon the experience. Obviously, the guys learned a great deal. Steve Jones touched upon his regrets. When Johnny Rotten goes into depth about Sid Vicious, we are reminded that these were kids with no business background and, to be quite honest and fair, limited life experience. Rotten seems to have difficulty reminiscing about his late friend. Their time in the Sex Pistols came with an enormous price tag and left scars.

Overall, The Filth and the Fury: A Sex Pistols film, despite the fact that Steve Jones is an asshole, is a brilliant documentary. It was one of the more thoughtful documentaries I have seen about a band whose importance to music cannot be argued. Love them or hate them, the Sex Pistols endured many hard ships including censorship at the hands of a conservative government, greedy/exploitative industry types, and drug addiction. Their story is unique and important.

I highly recommend The Filth and the Fury: A Sex Pistols film for any fan of music.

But Steve Jones is still an asshole.

Check out the video Jerk that I worked on. If you stop it at the right moment during the food fight, you can see me on the video monitor. I was very young. Oh, the kid with the baseball mitt and ball, that scene took us forever due to the fact that he couldn't throw. He kept chucking the ball over the fence. He tacked on another hour to our day. Little bastard!

Solid film!