by Peter Margasak on September 21st 2006 - 4:45 p.m.
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Tags: Devendra Banhart, Beck
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I noticed the photo to the left in the music section of this week’s Reader; it’s a promo shot of Beck, but that hirsute guy just behind him is who grabbed by attention. Will Devendra Banhart please go away? The guy’s becoming music’s version of Where’s Waldo? A little while ago I called him king of the cameo whores—he’s recently turned up on new or forthcoming albums by Antony & the Johnsons, Vashti Bunyan, Cibelle, and Bert Jansch—and at the Pitchfork Music Festival this summer he barged onto the stage to sing with Os Mutantes. He’s not on the new Beck album, but he appears in the video for the single “Cell Phone’s Dead.” Is it just me, or is this guy intent on crashing everyone’s party?
(1) If you asked Vashti Bunyan why she made her return "Devendra Banhart" would be one of, if not, the first names out of her mouth.
(2) Dev was on the first Antony & the Johnsons album and, if you "study" the current "freak folk" movement a bit more carefully you would notice that it isn't about pretention but frienship and collaboration (note, for instance, all the members of his backing bands for instance who had gone on to good solo careers).
(3) Devendra uses his "fame" for good. For instance, if it wasn't for Dev's Golden Apples compilation maybe some of those artists never get such wide exposure with their future releases. He has a label that puts out amazing acts that virtually no one had heard of until him and Andy Cabic (Vetiver) put out their record. While Banhart may be an ubiquitous figure to some, he uses this status to do a lot of good by promoting other bands, etc. I don't see anything wrong with collaboration, inspiration, or what have you whether it comes in the form of pictures or, more importantly, music.
The bottom line is he has helped a hell of a lot of friends of mine, inspired a whole slew of artists (and revived interest in past artists), always used his "fame" to help his friends and couldn't be a nicer or more genuine person in real life. He was in a picture with Beck: stop the presses! Everyone and their mother has written about this photo and Beck and Dev are sitting back and laughing at the whole lot because it is purely innocent and fun and he is always invited to the party.
Finally, if we are going to waste/spend time hating on these kinds of people who are in the music business (i.e. the good, fun and positive kind) then, well, what's the point of music criticism?