Starbucks Sells Out
 

http://men.style.com/news/the_rant/081007

Why Sonic Youth and Frappuccinos don't mix

August 10, 2007—When I walk into Starbucks, there are a couple things I've come to expect: One, I'll screw up the verbiage of my Mega-Grande-Retardo- Frappalicious Mochamajig™, and two, I'll be offered the chance to purchase the latest CD from Norah Jones or Sting or some other Adult Contemporary mainstay. And I like it that way—the second part, at least. Knowing that my taste in music is still hipper than Starbucks' legion of Alanis Morissette fans has always been comforting to me.

Which is why I'm saddened—no, outraged—by the recent news that the chain has enlisted art-rock demigods Sonic Youth to do a compilation. Predictably, indie ideologues are screaming "sellout!" over the band's "betrayal" of their former anticorporate code, but they're missing the point. Sonic Youth is just trying to make a buck. It's Starbucks who's betraying us.

How am I supposed to react if the next time I order a coffee they're blasting the latest Pitchfork-approved noise rock through their formerly safe and soothing speakers? Howard Schultz, you're shaking my sense of cultural superiority to the core. What's next? Will Staples begin publishing McSweeney's? Will Red Lobster produce the next Wes Anderson film, giving away free DVDs with every popcorn shrimp basket? To paraphrase Judd Nelson, If Starbucks gets hip... they'll all get hip... it'll be anarchy.

Adding insult to injury, the compilation has a nifty ironic title, Hits Are for Squares. And alterna icons like Dave Eggers and Chloë Sevigny are apparently involved in the conspiracy: They'll be selecting the tracks to be included on the disc. Et tu, Sevigny?

I'll tolerate having 35 Starbucks on my block. I'll put up with the ludicrous drink prices. I'll even suffer the angst of the blue-haired barista. But I can't go to Starbucks and hear Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon. Starbucks are for squares, Mr. Schultz, and for the love of God let's keep it that way.


— Robert Lanham

HAHA.

I still don't get why people got so hung up on this issue. Like it is stated, they are trying to make a buck, get over it.

Buck, shmuck, it's still fucking lame.

ive heard Thurston wants to buy an 'Enzo Ferrari' from that money.
what a fucking wanker.

I've heard Kim wants to do botox.

yeah i heard that too!
what a bunch of tossers.

Yeah, I also heard Lee, wants all the dressing rooms he is in, to be all painted black with candles all over, and a big star in the center of the room. What a diva.

I heard Steve Shelley wants to help judge the next American Idol.

Yes he would be a better Simon Cowell.

Does this signify that the CD is now available in all good coffee shops? Or is it just a journalist trying to be "cool" by dissing the idea.

The guy's quite right, of course. Sonic Youth did their "selling out" 15+ years ago when they signed to Geffen. It's Starbucks that are doing the selling out now, by selling their souls to Sonic Youth in return, they hope, for an appeal to the anti-corporate alternative rock fan who would never usually be seen dead crossing their threshold.

but really how is "Starbucks selling out" anymore than they already have been doing since their incpetion as a player in the "coffee business"?
do you think as one of the biggest coffee chains in the world that they really care about "gaining some sort of indie-cred"? that is partially why i don't exactly understand the motives (or really care to) of what starbucks is trying to offer in this particular cd, are they really going to catch the ear and tastebuds of the indie-hip cool rock kid who is likely a non or occassional Starbucks drinker? a strange marketing strategy in my view for Starbucks i can't really view it any more than just a promotion of goodwill to sonic youth and of those more celebrated pop icons who are offering up their fav. SY tracks... and for SY they really have nothing to lose and alot to gain in this offering at this point in their musical career i don't see the problem with what they are doing... but eh whatever.

I heard Thurston and Kim want to build Coco a house made of honey grahams and dollar bills where her rock band can practice all day and make s'mores all night.

you people are ridiculous . Moshe, crap post.Sorry.

This is a band that signed to Geffen. We're not talking about a bunch of bedroom bound tape-traders here. Sonic Youth's tragedy is the recent decline in the quality of their records, not the labels that release them.

this dude has the lamest concept of cool ever...in fact, the more i read (and laugh at) this, the more i'm convinced he has never listened to sy and just copied maxim magazine's idea of indie cool for this piece.

still, this is funnier than all your posts against or in favor of sy doing the comp for startbucks.

hey, no dissin' mcsweeney's

actually, i have no idea what mcsweeney's is, so i deleted it.

but, cd will be avaliable only in starbucks?

they've just opened one in my area (malahide), never seen one around. what a coincidence, or (seriously), I wouldn't even noticed such a coffeshop exist unless this cd, hehe. sooo here you go.

i cant believe people are still talking about this shit yawn

I didn't write this article. Just thought that some of you might find it interesting/funny.