Yp, Yp, Hooray
We’re thrilled to be one of the choices for “Honorary Ypsilantian” in Seat of the Revolution’s Coolest of Ypsilanti poll - who wouldn’t be honored to be on a list with Ron Jeremy and Todd Leopold? In return, we offer the people of Ypsi a dreadful coinage that we can’t have been the first to think of but we’ve never heard before: ypster. Use it in style.
Do Ypsters listen to Yndie rock?
posted by Icy Hot Stunta on February 25th, 2004 at 2:10 am/got nothin’
Yhe people of Ypsilanti thank you. Last time I checked, you were doing quite well in the poll (you got my vote for honorary Ypsilantian).
posted by Laura on February 25th, 2004 at 6:49 amYpster sounds like yins gun all Pittsburgh on me.
posted by Anna on February 25th, 2004 at 8:37 amAhh too close to Yippie!
I voted for AAi0 as well, Ypsilanti loves every goddamn one of you.
posted by Steven B. Cherry on February 25th, 2004 at 11:15 amOk, my father just happens to be in town, and I showed him the Coolest of Ypsi site.
His obvious question: who is Ron Jeremy? We just explained it to him, and he can’t stop laughing.
My Mom will be so proud to know that I was mentioned in the same breath as Ron. She will be even prouder when she learns that Ron beat the pants off of me in the poll….
posted by todd on February 25th, 2004 at 1:12 pmFor the record, I voted for you, Todd (actually, I voted twice; once for you and once for AAIO — shhhhhhhh).
posted by Anna on February 25th, 2004 at 2:14 pmShame on you Anna.
I know you’re a rockstar and everythign but I never expected you to be on the abuse list! I’m afriad there’s a good chance that both of your votes were disqualified. Send me an email if you wish to have a vote count.
Not cool to brag about it either, this makes my job much harder.
posted by Steven B. Cherry on February 25th, 2004 at 2:57 pmI was kidding; I only voted for one (but I’m not saying which). Sorry to have used your survey in jest!
posted by Anna on February 25th, 2004 at 3:29 pmoh shit. i shamed on you for nothing. argh.
abuse has been lower-than-expected actually. the ‘coolest band’ category has been most abused.
sorry for the beating.
if people start claiming to have voted twice it really puts my results in question. that’s my explaintion of my reaction.
posted by Steven B. Cherry on February 25th, 2004 at 3:34 pmNo prob, I wouldn’t have joked if I hadn’t figured you could tell via IPs if people voted twice. My bad.
posted by Anna on February 25th, 2004 at 3:41 pmI’m tracking every move voters make, but I’m not revealing my trade-secrets.
Let’s just say someone in a satellite small-town voted fifteen times for one band before he relized the results weren’t changing.
posted by Steven B. Cherry on February 25th, 2004 at 3:55 pmI know which one Anna voted for and I don’t even have to ping her.
Glad to see John Norman Collins is still remembered by some. Most of you would have to go Google. A girl who later became my wife had a class with him.
But that was before AAWO.
Ilya
posted by ilya on February 25th, 2004 at 6:11 pmSo, Ilya, is the wrong guy in prison?
posted by Anna on February 25th, 2004 at 6:45 pmIlya will never in his life be voted Honorary Ypsilantian. Ah, the sting of it. Reach beyond the bitterness, Ilya. That’s no way to live. I know it’s hard, but it’s time to take steps to a healthier you.
posted by Laura on February 25th, 2004 at 8:13 pmGot my vote: Value World, Michigan BBQ, Jim Roll.
I’ve had two jim roll cds on my desk for two-weeks and haven’t listned to them. I guess today’s the day….
posted by Steven B. Cherry on February 26th, 2004 at 8:28 amWhich two? Lunette’s really good, but Inhabiting the Ball is better (in my humble). Ready To Hang is so-so. He’s getting better.
posted by js on February 26th, 2004 at 9:29 amjs
Spouses did swap votes, we’ll admit right now.
I like the more evenly split decisions. BBQ can be cutthroat. The band thing is embarrasing. If that attempted ballot stuffer is from Texas and a Chapstik fan I’ll tear him / her a new one. If both of my bands were on that list splitting the vote I swear we’d not be #1. B v S and Rome are probably cannibalizing their base.
Please Nader,…don’t form a band and run!
posted by Leighton on February 26th, 2004 at 12:33 pmI harbor no bitterness.
John Norman Colling is where he belongs.
And, AAIO belongs in Ypsitucky.
Simple enough.
Ilya
posted by Anonymous on February 26th, 2004 at 1:32 pmFYI, Jim Roll is headlining an alt.country/roots-rock/whatever show at the Blind Pig on Saturday, Steve. I agree with with JS’ opinions on the albums, but I have yet to hear Ready to Hang. Yeah, he got my vote, you guessed it.
posted by Brandon on February 26th, 2004 at 3:37 pmI had Lunette and the one before it and I have to admit that this is a difficult genre for me. I couldn’t get through any of the songs but I think he has a really great voice.
posted by Steven B. Cherry on February 26th, 2004 at 8:08 pmLunette was all right but I was totally blown away by “Inhabiting the Ball”–that first, title cut just entranced me; I put it on repeat play on my stereo–brilliant. It’s like a weird collage–really beautiful and mesmerizing and unsettling and weird and beyond-original. Then he follows it up with a revved-up “Bonnie and Clyde” rock number which is wonderful too–I love this CD.
posted by Laura on February 26th, 2004 at 10:49 pmThat was the other one, Inhabiting the ball.
posted by Steven B. Cherry on February 26th, 2004 at 11:34 pmInhabiting the Ball is the newest one, with lyrics written by people like Neil Pollack and the guy who wrote Jesus’ Son (that heroin book).
posted by js on February 27th, 2004 at 9:42 amRoots rock is a hard genre for a lot of people, mostly because of that country stigma that still persists (despite folks like Johnny Cash making it hip again). We just had a reviewer who totally missed the point of P.W. Long’s “Remembered”, and I’m trying to decide whether or not we should run the review. It’s obvious that the guy doesn’t like anything in the genre, and just wants to rip on the album without saying anything useful to a reader. Ah well, too bad I don’t have people who know from country.
js
PW is amazing…even when drunk.
Was Roll at the Elbow last night? I had to bag…
posted by Leighton on February 27th, 2004 at 10:32 amCongratulations to AAIO on the nomination - being on a ballot with Ron Jeremy surely brings you ever closer to “Bigger than Jesus” territory. Although Jeremy is actually a cool guy - I used to run into him a lot at the Rainbow in Hollywood.
posted by Nick on February 27th, 2004 at 3:09 pmPeople are really afraid of anything with even a remote hint of twang, sadly. They are missing out, in my opinion. The crowd is always decidedly older at any roots-rock/alt.country show I go to. I’d have thought that over a decade after Uncle Tupelo and Whiskeytown that hipsters would commonly accept the genre, but it doesn’t seem to be the case. Or maybe it used to be hip for a while, but has fallen out of fashion once again.
Then again, I’ve been overdoing it on that genre for years and as of late I’ve been getting into a poppier mood. It goes in cycles.
posted by Brandon on February 27th, 2004 at 4:09 pmSpeaking of the devil, the results from No Depression’s (the alt.country/whatever bimonthly) reader survey:
average age: 41.6 years
posted by Brandon on February 27th, 2004 at 4:18 pmgender: 86% male
top 5 desert island artists (in order): Bob Dylan, Steve Earle, Johnny Cash, Lucinda Williams, Wilco
most popular beer: Budweiser & Sierra Nevada (tie)… I guess that about sums up the highbrow/lowbrow tension inherent in the genre.
I think it’s funny that the No Depression mag sprang from an AOL message board.
posted by js on February 28th, 2004 at 10:03 pmjs
Maybe we can make AAiO into a bimonthly magazine…
posted by Brandon on February 29th, 2004 at 3:13 amDo honorary Ypsilantians have to boil their water too?
posted by Sam on March 2nd, 2004 at 9:50 amTerminology has come full circle. From 1969 through 1971 Ypsilanti had a chapter of the Youth International Party.(YIPPIE) They published a newspaper and lived in communal houses at two different locations on Cross Street. I know because I breifly lived in one of those houses with them. They were occasionally referred to as Yipsters by local peple.
Ypsilanti also had a sizable southern white population. They were sometimes refered to as Ypsituckians.
Don
posted by Don on June 30th, 2004 at 9:31 pm