(photo by Eve Prime)

Here we go again. The New York Times’ David Carr weighes in on the continuing debate over just what’s in Stephin Merrit’s record collection. (thanks to Brian Turner for the former link)

The broader contextual argument seems to be that Mr. Merritt is a “rockist,” a term highlighted by Kelefa Sanneh in The New York Times in October 2004. Mr. Sanneh summed up the mind-set in part by saying, “Rockism means idolizing the authentic old legend (or underground hero) while mocking the latest pop star.”

As opposed to the terms “rockist” or “rockism” that Ian Penman and Paul Morely not-so-casually dropped in the NME a couple of decades ago.

Carr describes Abba as “perhaps the whitest band in the history of pop music,” which is fair enough. We can’t all be as multicultural as The Hold Steady.