It's been one week since Pitchfork launched their dubiously named, super high quality video site, Pitchfork.Tv. So while we were busy working, we had intern Hunter (we still love the way that sounds). whose spending the last semester of his college career running a hot dog stand, a chance to review the totally bad ass video website. Here's what the youngster had to say
Music television, for all it's age old glory, is, (ahem), not what it once was. As soon as MTV decided once and for all to resign itself to reality tv, game shows, and spring break (woo!), those of us who actually enjoy watching music videos, concerts, interviews, and the like, were forced to the underground (otherwise known as Youtube). No longer! The ratings-obsessed, indie music behemoth known as Pitchfork, who in reviews past has given OK Computer a perfect 10.0 (spot on), as well as The Boy With the Arab Strap a 0.8 (wtf!?), is throwing it's trendy hat into the music television world. Here's a quick rundown:
It seems P4kTV is broken into five different sections:
1. Featured - basically a highlights section, pulled from the other four.
2. Shows - the place for Pitchfork original content that so far contains programs called:
• "Don't Look Down" (a band playing some songs on an NYC rooftop, for now, The Thermals)
• old favorite "Juan's Basement" (now fully produced under the Pitchfork name, featuring performances and interviews, starting with personal fav Liars)
• "Daytripping" (ostensibly a place for Pitchfork produced mini-documentaries, currently following the exploits of those crazies from Man Man)
• "Special Presentation" (whatever else Pitchfork is cooking up; this week poking fun at themselves before anyone else can, by making fools out of unwitting VJ wannabe’s. Someone haul Jessie back out of the dumpster from whence he came...)
3. Pitchfork Live – where you’ll find complete live concert footage, right now featuring Jay Reatard’s Live at Cake Shop performance in NYC from October ’07. (see video below)
4. One Week Only – as this section currently features the (full length!) Pixies documentary “loudQUIETloud”, this might be the most groundbreaking section of PitchforkTV. Presumably, it’s where they’ll be airing content that is too expensive for them to keep up permanently, otherwise known as stuff that’s professionally produced. Maybe next week they’ll be showing the Mark Wahlberg classic “Rock Star”?
5. Music Video – music videos, as well as one song live performances, from indie bands near and far
THE GOOD:
Damn near all of it. While some of the features (Music Videos, a site-specific search engine) were no brainers, many of the others are downright clever, most notably the One Week Only section. Also, everything that is more than just a music video is broken up into DVD-style chapters, so you can skip to your favorite Jay Reatard song in the middle of his set, or watch the Pixies try to contain their hatred for their David Blaine-wannabe drummer near the end of loudQUIETloud. In addition, it seems as though one "chapter" per Pitchfork produced show will be available for download for your itunes/ipod(!), like set closer "Ocean" from the just added A Place To Bury Strangers set, found in Pitchfork Live.
THE BAD:
Ummmmmmmm, not much. I'm a little disappointed that there isn't more available for download; at first glance, I thought that everything besides the One Week Only and Music Videos could be had for free, and I almost wet myself, but like I said, it seems to be just one chapter per segment. I’ll get back to you when they start production on Real World: Athens.
Jay Reatard at Cake Shop 10/10/07
No comments:
Post a Comment