For the past couple of weeks, Courtney Barnett has struggled to keep her name out of the headlines.
She absolutely smashed it at Golden Plains festival, won over millions when she performed on the Ellen show, dropped her debut record Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit which we proudly crowned an instant Aussie classic, however the latest news reel to guest Barnett’s name seems a little off to us.
Music fan’s ultimate online source of information, Billboard, have recently published an article on our slack rock Queen, writing the following as the headline: “Meet Courtney Barnett, Music’s Lena Dunham.”
[include_post id=”441168″]
The piece, albeit a positive one, attempts to explain this headline further, “Music fans and critics are heralding Aussie alt-rocker Courtney Barnett as a kind of songwriting Lena Dunham — an unapologetically visceral, totally riveting, precocious over-sharer.” This seems a little more than off to us, what on earth makes Courtney Barnett music’s Lena Dunham?
Just because she’s different from many other (US) musicians courtesy of her Aussie drawl, deadpan lyrics and unique sound doesn’t instantly make her akin to Dunham, the champion behind the hit television program, Girls.
Credit where it’s due, both are leading ladies of their fields, however it feels a little demeaning and lazy to simply pigeon-hole Barnett as a musical counterpart of Lena Dunham just because she is young, and has brought something entirely fresh to the table and is female.
[include_post id=”438437″]
Is it really right to simply right to say these two women are so alike simply because they are talented? Why not compare Barnett to another musician like Kurt Vile? They both produce slack rock, both give very little away and appear rather shy in interviews. Would it be so wrong to liken Barnett to a male within the industry?
It’s great that Barnett is receiving warranted praise from such a popular publication, however it appears to be just another example of the US not really having a grasp on what she is all about – who could forget when other major music blogs completely misinterpreted her lyrics.
[include_post id=”440252″]
Courtney Barnett is of course killing it right now, and was even awarded the “ultimate prestige” with tastemakers Pitchfork.com slapping her debut record with an 8.6 – Best New Music score this week, even though she’s still a little misunderstood, people are certainly digging her vibe.
