Hey guys. Long time reader (since around virtual 1990), first time commenter here. I figured this is as good a time as any to start because we are now officially entering the 2010s. I’m two as we enter 2010 (I was born during Soldia Boy’s run at number one), and as such this is the first decade where I will remember hearing these songs at the time.

So do I remember this one? Kinda-sorta-not really. The melody sounds familiar in a way that makes me think I heard it as a small child, but the song didn’t really stick with me. It wouldn’t have made sense anyway — I don’t think four-year-old me knew what it meant to brush one’s teeth with a bottle of Jack.

The song itself is fine. It can get annoying at times, but the verses aren’t so long that they start to get really grating. They don’t distract from the hook, which is the song’s main asset. It’s just great, too—the half-nonsense lyrics, the of-their-time synth swirls, the oh-oh-oh-ohs. Some great pop gibberish there. Kesha would do better, but she’d do worse, too.

Overall? It’s a 6. Maybe a 7 or an 8 if I’ve had a few sodas or juices or whatever it is us youngsters drink.

If he simply said that he interviewed these particular dudes because their viewpoints are ones he most resonated with, I think that would be fine. His book doesn’t have to included women or black artists, even though there are plenty of brilliant women and black artists who would make for fascinating interview subjects. But it’s his book and he can include whoever he wants. Still the way he’s trying to explain the choice makes him sound like an idiot at best, and a total shit bag at worst.

I don’t see any problem with depicting “salacious” or “graphic and disturbing sexual content” and it’s odd to me that suddenly there are a lot of people so vocally opposed to this sort of thing existing. I understand someone not wanting to watch that sort of thing but I keep seeing people talk about this kind of stuff that seems to equate depicting something with endorsing it. Artwork should be challenging and shouldn’t have to explicitly state what moral, political, ideological, etc stances it’s taking and should allow people to draw their own conclusions. I often find that art that starts from a expressly political point of view ends up being rather flat and boring. It’s much better to allow these larger ideas to emerge from the stories we tell. I’m also a firm believer that art can act as a container for some of the uglier aspects of humanity. I think it’s rather important to allow these dark feelings, impulses, observations, and fantasies to play out in artistic works so they can be explored and worked through. The tensions that arise from these kinds of art and fact that many people find some pretty ugly and dark things to be entertaining are definitely worth exploring. Of course fiction and reality sometime bleed into each other and that is also an interesting space to explore. I just hope we aren’t moving towards a place of actively trying to get rid of anything that is troubling or challenging in some way. Will this show be any good? Will there be anything worthwhile that emerges from this work of art and the stories and images within it? I have no idea. This just seemed like a decent place to express some of my thoughts on this.

me and a bunch of stupid assholes are going to start a community in the middle of the desert to either die or prove a very important point

— wint (@dril) February 17, 2014

I don’t know the truth of this story but this statement from the Piapot first nations makes an important point:

“No one, including Canada and its governments, the Indian Act, institutions, media or any person anywhere can deny our family’s inherent right to determine who is a member of our family and community,” the statement signed by Debra and Ntawnis Piapot said. “Buffy is our family. We chose her and she chose us. We claim her as a member of our family and all of our family members are from the Piapot First Nation. To us, that holds far more weight than any paper documentation or colonial record keeping ever could.”

“Walkin’ on the Sun” and “All Star” are all-timer tracks that anyone should be proud of having created. Rest in peace Steve.

Now n Then absolutely incredible biblical celestial heartbreaking and heartwarming all at the same time long live The Beatles LG x

— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) November 2, 2023

Please. If you catch me saying shit like “philosopher of rock and roll”, shove me into the nearest locker.

Good thing nothing is happening with the other stars of my favorite movie, Get Him To the Greek.

I do give him some credit for torpedoing what could be a very profitable long-term career of pandering to the Fox News crowd.

Maybe we should wait for the uncut version of the video before we come to any hasty conclusions…

You’ll be dressed like this?

This is like Jeff Bezos saying “I’m loving where e-commerce has gone”.

maybe they just realized that they were being managed by an adult man with the name Scooter

The sloppy steak diet!

I love Avondale Brewing, and I’m not surprised by the Birmingham public’s stiff negative reaction to the event. I am surprised by Avondale booking him in the first place though. Remember yall to not write off whole states because of the majority politics, there are lots of good people in Alabama who are acutely feeling the regressive politics of the state at large.

Also, Fuck Ted Nugent

Messianic figure plans to uproot followers to Texas compound: What could go wrong?

UPDATES:

Met Chris and Scott at SXSW, they are even more delightful than you’d think. Thanks for the drink tickets Scott! Also got coffee and interviewed Nuria Graham. Also, also HIRED BY NPR YALL. I’ll be the Morning Edition Producer at KUT in Austin!

It truly saddens me to see Bob stand on the wrong side of history like this. Covering Billy Joel? Jesus bob

Came for the juice, stayed for the 71 year old man’s expertise on telecom stuff.

I would just say “free food”

This gatekeeping attitude is way cornier than any sonic pivot could hope to be. Let artists make whatever the fuck they want.

Try as I have (and lord, have I tried), I always find Taylor Swift’s music to be an utter emotional void. A blank space, if you will.

But this was an absolutely lovely piece. So glad you got to share that experience with your daughter! ❤️

p.s. Crying at shows is, like, the best.

Gross. This sums up Beyoncé to me. Her new album sounds like expensive cosplaying to me that the best production can buy. And everything is about her ego, ego, ego, and unlimited money to buy access to anything she wants.

Forget it, Jake. It’s Crazy Town.

Jack White buy Bandcamp challenge

Hold on, we’re throwing phone

Credit where it’s due, that’s a certified zinger

Ladies and gentlemen, we got him!

I read a book last year about Jann Wenner that makes him look like a total boomer blowhard that knows nothing about music past the year 1976.

That book, incidentally, was his autobiography.

Jumping into this mess of a comment section with a UK trans person perspective. I’ve been on a Gender Identity Clinic waiting list for 5 years now. 5 years, without even speaking to someone about what I’m going through. I’m an adult. I did what people like Roisin would want me to, in that I waited until I was in my early twenties, hoping that these feelings would go away. They never did. But I still can’t get any support from our healthcare system, because this debate has blown up in such a heated way, specifically because of conspiracy theories like ‘big pharma trying to trans your kids’. That’s not happening. The waiting times are far too long for that to be the case. The reason so many queer people get so angry so quickly when a public figure jumps in on trans issues, to talk about something they admit not to know a lot about, is that it makes things even harder for trans people. And ironically, now that I’m transitioning at an older age, I get aggression in the street for how I look, for not looking feminine enough, which is a direct result of me not having control and access to healthcare when I probably should have. It’s a lose lose for trans people, and if it seems like ‘the nuance has gone’ from this discussion, it’s because we’re pretty sick of having our lives dictated by people without any real skin in the game. If you really wanted kids going through gender dysphoria to be supported, you’d campaign for better healthcare systems, not try to take away what little already exists.

Just an aside here to highlight the brilliance of ‘Keep my ex-husband’s ex-wife’s name out your fucking mouth’

I haven’t had much time it listen to new music. I got married yesterday! We eloped with my siblings and some of our friends as witnesses. Listen to the Stop Making Sense version of “This Must Be the Place” for me and the Mrs.

will check these guys out

The first time the police show up when a black man gets robbed.

Maybe the crowd just weren’t ready to rock yet – most professional acts politely enquire if the crowd is ready to rock, and only then proceed if there’s a mutual understanding. Sometimes you gotta ask a couple of times if you’re not sure if they can hear you, cupping one hand to your ear tend to work a charm. Surprised they’re that far up the bill if they don’t know the basics.

Oh, for fuck’s sake.

It is so incredibly easy for cis people to shut the fuck up about trans issues and just let us live our fucking lives. Beyond easy, in fact. And, as a good rule of thumb: if you find yourself agreeing with Graham Linehan about something, you’re probably on the wrong side of that conversation.

What’s a “10/10?”

Is it a good melody, or meaningful lyrics? Maybe it’s a certain riff or hook. Perhaps it’s great production? Or maybe it’s just all in your head: you’re hearing a recording and having an illogical, yet undeniable emotion.

I’d never felt so alone and discouraged as I did in the early summer of 2008. And it was rapidly spiraling. Everything was going wrong, and although I was proactively seeking help for my depression, nothing was helping. I couldn’t sleep and would spend hours doing the precursor to what we now call “doomscrolling:” stepping up and down purposelessly on the remote through 80 channels. The equivalent of eating terrible fast-food, even when you aren’t hungry, and you know it’s doing more harm than good.

But one night, I fortuitously landed at the exact moment when a TV commercial was starting. Some guys from a band that I knew existed but didn’t follow were on screen, belting out a song that I’d never heard before. It jolted me to attention like a cold bucket of water to the face. And after only 30 seconds, it was over.  

Later during the dead quiet hours of the early morning, it replayed over and over in my head. And when I finally drifted off, it was right there again, and for the rest of the day. And the next.  

I could chalk the whole thing all up to a phase, I suppose. But that was around the time when things began to look a little more hopeful. I felt better, and a little more motivated every day. And “Viva La Vida” kept me company all summer, and through the fall, and the winter as well. The oddest of battle cries; I am aware.

And logically: this all means nothing. I was down and began to come out of it. Simple stuff. It’s Occam’s Razor in play. Random, inadvertent intervention from Steve Jobs and some guys from London happened one night, and I’ve managed to convince myself that there is an association.

I don’t care. This record inspires and cheers me up every time I hear it. To this very day. I’m grateful that it exists. It’s a 10/10 for me. I guess I just don’t know exactly why it came to me when it did.

For some reason, I can’t explain, indeed.

It can never be overstated just how right Sinead was that night on Saturday Night Live in 1992, and how naive the world was in that moment.

He’s really been playing DeLonge game on this alien thing and it’s finally paid off

classical gasm

I grew up in a small town, and the thing I’ll always treasure about my upbringing are all those times when I joined my fellow community members in viciously beating anyone who violated the unspoken moral code that we all lived by.

While this allegation carries a lot of weight, that is in no way suggesting that it is in any way unhealthy or unattractive.

Phoebe hmu: It’s an indispensable, bespoke media hub – Substack meets MasterClass meets The Economist meets The New Yorker.

[Reads the headline]

“Hmm, that sounds bad. Maybe it was slightly better with context?”

[Reads the post.]

“Ah no, context actually makes it worse.”

The radical we needed at the right time but didn’t deserve. She did not deserve the punchline status she was given for speaking truth to power, and it has been devastating to follow her recent years of turmoil and tragedy. I hope she found peace; one of the great voices of her time.

By the way, this Saturday will mark the fifth anniversary of when Tom started writing this column. Going from 1958 to the start of 2006 in music in 60 months is pretty impressive to me. Let’s give him a hearty salute for what he’s done and has left to accomplish here.

Expressing positive sentiments about diversity? TRY THAT IN A SMALL TOWN!

I Get Wed