One of my newest, favorite obsessions is succumbing to HIPSTER RUNOFF, a unmerciful blog that destroys the indie/alt/hipster scene.  Posting of their "Keut AZN (cute asian) of the Day," or photos of drunk alt-chicks out on the Lower West Side, or the roasting of alt-fashion, always satisfy my sick schaudenfraude gene.   Any institution that satirizes the idiocracy of the hipster movement will become my new synogogue.

But, the RUNOFF has been shooting fish in a barrell with the Big Utensil's interview with Pedro Winter, former manager of Daft Punk, and founder of Ed Banger Records, a label that has put out records that are so fucking kewl that by the time you hear them, they will already be last year's records.  Even if you hear them the day after they are released.  They are that kewl. 

Here are some of Winter's self aggrandizing quotes.  Yes, he is serious:

Pitchfork: You started working in the club scene as a party promoter.

PW: The great thing about the electronic music scene is that everybody can be part of it either by dancing, DJing, or organizing a party. I started putting together small but well-organized parties in 1995. This French superstar DJ, David Guetta, used to run this club called Palais, and he proposed [that I] run the second floor at his club. It was for 300 people, and I did a club night there every Friday for one year. My aim was to have only local DJs play. I still have the fliers from back then, and once in a while I look at them and am still amazed. In March 95, for example, it was DJ Gregory on the first Friday, DJ Dimitri from Paris on the second, third week Daft Punk, fourth week Motorbass. Nowadays, this lineup would be crazy.

Of course!  The lad had the providence to book today's hottest acts. . . 13 years ago!

Pitchfork: Did Justice's success surprise you?

PW: Of course! We sold 250,000 albums worldwide, almost 100,000 in France alone. There's no other electronic dance act selling like that at the moment. It's crazy. It's incredible. We sold more copies of the Justice album in France than of the last Daft Punk album. This is just crazy. And I just met them at a raclette dinner that [Ed Banger's graphic designer] So-Me invited me to. I was the oldest one at the dinner, and they later told me that they were a bit impressed that I was there. At the end of the evening they asked me if they could play me a track, which was "We Are Your Friends". I took the track, told them to come to my office the next day, and signed a contract with them. That night I had a party at the Le Pulp club in Paris. I played the track, and the club went crazy. I knew I had something special. For me this record is a generational anthem, and I think it will be something that the kids of today will still like to remember when they are 30 years old.

Right, because 15 years from now, all the hipsters will remember that one school night where they did coke and listened to Justice.

But, this one is my absolute fave:

Pitchfork: You're a DJ, producer, and manager in addition to running a successful record label. Do you always know what to do first when you get in the office in the morning?

Pedro Winter: One the one hand, I have a pretty normal office day. I get to work at 10 in the morning and leave at eight or nine. I first check emails and communicate with our artists by iChat. Then I go for meetings at Because Music, which is a licensing partner for Justice.

On the other hand, my job at the moment is a bit similar to that of a taxi driver because I don't know what will happen-- there are always surprises. The other day Rick Rubin calls to say that he likes our music. Then I had to explain to Madonna why Justice doesn't want to support her on tour. It's crazy.

So this explains why Madonna had to settle with a video message from Britney.  Poor Madonna.  First, she slums it with A-Rod, now Justice is not answering her texts. 

What a dousche.  (He's french, right?  So I can still call him that, right?)