The Power of Anthony Fantano Flannels

Words By Matthew Spence-

1 Melon + 4 Flannels = Cultural Collision. In the midst of reviewing damn near every album to exist, interviewing heavy hitter musicians in the industry [Damon Albarn to Japanese Breakfast to Julian Casablancas with his lower-than-piss poor camera quality], leaving Drake on read, and pissing off so many fanbases and artists with an album score that Ye himself is probably taking notes from Fantano on how to piss people off even more. Anthony Fantano has become a lego brick that helped build the 2010s Music Culture set. He’s the reviewer we love, hate, or love to hate.

The Illest Villain fittingly. Inconspicuously, while focusing on the music side of things, he’s also been subtly impacting fashion.  Yes, we all know Fantano is a Drip God sent from Planet Drip to show us the way of Drip …. Drip, but his incorporation of Flannels has reshaped the way we view them.

Lumberjacks to Grunge aesthetics to Mr. Melon, flannels have jumped from scene to scene more than turncoats. But Fantano over the decade has repurposed them for his reviews and internet culture would never be the same. Here’s a mini guide. Take a seat and take out your notebook:

theneedledrop Course #106

• Red Flannel: He wears them for more negative reviews. Score usually 4 or below
• Orange Flannel: Usually worn for 6s or 7s reviews
• Black & White: Usually worn for more average reviews
• Yellow Flannel: The One and Only. Used for positive reviews for more since 2017. 8s and Ups

There are other flannels in the shop but we mainly need to focus on these 4. Here’s an extended guide if you wanna know more about all of them.

You may be living your day or pissing it away, but no matter what you’re doing, checking your phone and seeing a notification from theneedledrop can either result in musical heartache that even your record player might shed a tear or a child-like giddy hysteria if you see him wear a Red or Yellow flannel in the thumbnail for an album you love. You may wanna jump in the comments to call him a “Bitch” or you sit back with relief as if you caught a vase from shattering into pieces, you’re gonna marinate in one of these. Even if it’s an album or artist you’re not familiar with, you’ll still think “Oh boy…. Yikes my dude” if you see the red flannel.

Anthony and Flannels go together like Dilla & Akai MPC, Slash & Les Pauls, Wes Anderson & Bill Murray, Coke & 80s Rockstars. A perfect meshing. Transcending outside of his reviews to becoming its own identity. Now, Fantano is a Halloween costume for music nerds out there. Fairly simple but effective, wear a flannel (preferably Yellow or Red) and a ritzy pair of glasses. Wear a flannel today, you know damn well you’re gonna run into at least one Anthony Fantano joke from one or two people.

DOOM found the mask at the end of the Rhinestone Cowboy video, Fantano found the flannel next to a Death Grips record and the rest is history.