Soft Focus: Will Oldham

[extramedium1]

"Capitalism is god?" You're an amazing force to be reckoned with! How could anyone ever argue with such a brilliant mind. I'm sure community college (if that) taught you all about the world. Shut your mouth until you've had an education. The adults are talking; have some respect.

[xSmashHeaven]

ian is a G. just chillin, drinking water, being all intellectual. the kind of guy you can sit down with have good conversations.

[ScottMasson]

Ever smell Ian's breath?  It's like Satan's open ass, rotting in your face.

[jacksonthomson]

douche bag

[horsedoctorman]

@mattdavgra You're talking about the growth stage of a business. What happens to the business when it becomes so large in its capital requirements that it goes public i.e. becomes a corporation? The business owners then become the shareholders, who quite possibly contribute no labour and have no interest in the company besides a return on their investment. Ian's statement is admittedly very simplistic but it's far from "dumb"

[picofarad2]

@mattdavgra Starting a capitalist venture maybe takes work, yes. but the point is that owners, the real, ultimate owners of the capitalist system as a whole, are not simply the people who start a business, but the investors who purchase shares of ownership. and this type of ownership does indeed produce surplus value without them having to do any productive labor whatsoever. but maybe you believe that value comes from something other than labor, like "marginal utility"or something...

[PollenAndromeda]

hell yes

[BunionMann]

Worst interview I've ever seen. fucking terrible

[EthanKolasinski]

Wow. Just landed here randomly because I like Palace Music. What a pompous pissing contest.

[Csaw85]

when does his in the woods movie come out?

[TheTimeSavers]

soft focus = hard dump

[HolyMolyRollyPolly]

Capitalism's not the problem, friend. People being selfish asses in the midst of Capitalism is the problem. Capitalism gives them the ability to do so, it doesn't make 'em that way.

[sydbarrett5]

@HolyMolyRollyPolly Well said.

[picofarad2]

@HolyMolyRollyPolly capitalism doesn't create selfishness in an of itself, true. but wouldn't you say that it's the systematic shaping of the entire cultural and material life of the planet around such selfishness as humanity's primary value. it's organized, institutionalized valorization of profit margins above any other set of priorities. can't we do better than that?

[BarkinPeach]

@picofarad2 yer thinkin with yer pussy

[picofarad2]

@BarkinPeach that's ayn rand you're thinking of...

[extramedium1]

Does it make anyone else sad that Will Oldham is a Capitalist swine? I adore his music and I'll never buy another record. It's so weird that he'd star in a very pro labor movie in his youth and than say that he likes Capitalism. G...ross.

[oliverohaver]

@extramedium1 You sound so fucking lame. Capitalism is good.

[mrpianofingers]

@oliverohaver

*palmface*

[extramedium1]

@oliverohaver Good conversation. I agree. So, Oliver, Douchebag, I don't know what to call you... do you agree capitalism is so great with all of the Occupy Wall Street movement going on? I'd imagine you do. You seem that much of an idiot. Grow up. Go to college. Learn something. Shut the fuck up in the mean time. Seriously, you're ridiculous. Eat a bowl of fuck!

[oliverohaver]

@extramedium1 Oh my bad. I meant to write "Capitalism is god"

[ignoranttwat]

Will looks like he's wearing eyeliner.

[donnygong1]

Svenonius doesn't belong in the same room as Oldham. The only good thing about him, is that he knows it. Too bad he has to put on his arrogant, little act to make up up for his artistic short-comings. I know he's a tongue-in-cheek sort of fella...but he just comes off as a snarky punk, who, really should be embarrassed for acting like such an ass. What a douche...

[cimattikaiman]

I think oldham says "i am into capitalism" only to challenge and annoy Ian, coz he was still pissed of for what happened at 2:20...

[cimattikaiman]

will looks sooo annoyed at 2:22

Ian is kind of an asshole...but the two of them are great musicians...with a little preference for oldham

[StevenKellyBelly]

Hats made stone, like especially granite work much better to deflect thoughts.

[patrickj25]

why is will wearing eye liner

[picofarad2]

@patrickj25 he looks like some 70's cop show actor who woke up out of a time capsule in the 90's, saw a prodigy video, and thinks he has to change his look up a little with eyeliner to relate to kids who go to raves.

[Chuckjagermeister]

Oh god. Throw away the foil hat already, Ian. We can still hear your thoughts. Try farting once in a while too. It relieves the pressure.

[hatsoff2thezebras]

Ian does great interviews!

[hatsoff2thezebras]

What family heritage does Ian have?? I'm just a little curious. I'm not being racist btw!!

[cameronmetz]

I believe the name is Swedish

[MatthewPA1972]

LOL I think the host meant to say "his influence cannot be OVERestimated."

[watkinscopicat]

"i'm a big fan of Fidel Castro"... hmm the tyranical, murdering Fidel Castro?? such a fashionable tyrant these days.

[TheyLiveBMW]

Oh, fashionable tyrants. Why can't you all be American heroes?

[budddees]

this interview is so awkward. i like that both of these guys might not like each other at all.

[wernerslostblues]

your video quality sucks because it's choppy. and your a dick haha

[rarndaraki]

wow this is truly some weird shit.

[Chipg06]

yea did that dude just say he was a communist?

[FarYEAR]

no.

[wegotmarriedinafever]

i like how the audience gasps when oldham says he supports capitalism.

[thelandsalmon]

haha i love the leg switch at 2:45. it reminds me of the weird ass shit will oldham was doing at the Amoeba in-store with his freakin leg while wearing short shorts. he was definitely showing off leg, and moving like a flamingo

[bragladish]

wow I love the audio preview on that one lol

[bragladish]

where's the fucking second half to this fucking piece of shit interview and why can't these fucking videos come up together!

[ManuelHung]

@bragladish Gotta go to Vice's trainwreck of a website and watch them there... good luck navigating that nightmare.

[koehoen]

@bragladish babelgum.com/clips/134191

[relaxinator]

You like Will Oldham, but you don't know who Ian Svenonius is? Why bother?

[07504201963]

he's david candy,that's who he is.

[JANXDPDX]

this host makes me want to SCREEEEEEM! HORRIBLE! YOU LIVE IN NEW YORK CITY AND YOU ARE WEARING THAT???!!! TOO NERVOUS AND ANNOYING!!! GAWD BLESS WILL OLDHAM!

[iceaxe56]

whats with oldhams eye makeup

[JANXDPDX]

what's with this horrible host? Ive seen better stuff at a high school level!

[thelandsalmon]

fucking relax

[kc7fys]

I ran into Mr. Oldham in customs at Chicago-O'Hare. I really love his work, and took the chance to shake his hand and tell him so. It's nice to be able to personally thank a musical hero, warmly, quickly--then move on. C'mon, I've read Garrison Keillor.

[softfocus012]

...and the response he illicits. check trent reznor, david bowie, marylin manson, alice cooper, lydia lucnh, nick cave, tom waits...all performance artists, multimedia gourmandizers, and subscribers to a form of post-modern wagnerian 'total art'.

[softfocus012]

romulan revolution? we called 'em spock rockers. the new wave hipsters. that started with the mods in the brit invasion. look at the make-up videos. they purposely shoot them like they were done in the 60's, with the same video quality and camera technique. ian was mocking brit invasionism with the make-up, as well as 60's avant-garage-soul. but it was a sincere sort of irony. ideas can become swamped by external appearances. ian is an artist aware of the image he projects...

[softfocus012]

oh man this is funny :D

[CosmicDean]

The Romulan Revolution began with Ian. Thank you, Ian. I love the way you pronounce "Gugg-EN-heim." it's sexy, alien, and altogether stooopid. Come back to DC! The new LP section at Crooked Beat needs to be reorganized.

[MankindCartoons]

The suit is a little small.

[AAKcheezitgirlz]

ohhhhhhhhh...

[AAKcheezitgirlz]

u talkin about MY ass?

[stankmasher]

no no i was talking to i0dizedsalt. Look on page 2 of comments.

[AAKcheezitgirlz]

Dunno stankmasher..... i think he might be going on tour... He still doesnt have a youtube account

[AAKcheezitgirlz]

cool! U know Will oldhams mi uncle no lie!!!! SERIOUSLY!!!!!

[stankmasher]

will you ask your uncle to come to my house.

[TeenageWildlife]

"avant-garde roots music" LULZ. oldham is excellent.

[narrowarrows]

this is really good.

[tykemeawaywyou]

ahahaha how he pronounces guggenheim; i lost it!

[nothingrevolutionary]

it got better at the end.

[PTS74]

Anyone know how long the entire interview went on for? I wish there was more!

[jakobbattick]

ian svenonius is not a hipster or an ignoramus, fucktard. Get your history right.

[bricitybrac]

Come on, he is too a hipster. To say otherwise is to deny the obvious.

[i0dizedsalt]

what?! as a hipster myself, this guy is striving more for an interview with jarmusch so that dennis hopper and willem dafoe adopt him to a david lynch soundtrack to make up for the fact that his dick isn't as big or diseased as gavin mcinnes's, because chloe sevigny brushed his advances off in favor of telling noseblown skanks about vincent gallo's need to insult partners.

[mencken]

You're not a hipster. The first rule of Hipster is you never admit to being a hipster.

[decade03]

@mencken Hipsters ruin everything. 

[oliverohaver]

@mencken This is true.

[stankmasher]

It doesn't take a hipster to throw names into a paragraph. So my non-friend with that said I should add, get off your computer and shove your ingnorant words straight up your non-hipster ass.

[chusv]

hilarious

[samueldefrancia]

a test of wills: hail the two most affected rock personas of the 90s!

[racheldetroitt]

TRUE THAT!!

[whalleybanger]

i seem to recall seeing some fairly right wing opinions from oldham in print. i can't remember, he might've supported the war at first or something. yeah, he was on "horse apples," but there's a difference between social and fiscal conservatism. i don't know, i might be totally wrong. anyways, svenonius is an interesting match-up.

i liked when he talked about how people had to talk about castro in code, and ian was just like "yeah, that's great." hah.

[mangojimmy]

our hipper than hip interviewer is so nervous he confuses dead pan with dead beat...what a wasted opportunity...A potentially intersting conversation killed dead (by the hosts self consiousness inferiority complex I'd say!).

[minotek]

It's all a joke dude! Don't take it so seriously.

[newranchchewties]

seriously, if you were familiar with who that interviewer is and his history, you'd realize it's just a joke

[haveapancake]

Don't insult Ian Svenonius ever again.

[slchamberlain]

where are the other parts, eh?

[cesareo12]

We want the next part!