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  • D 2:39 pm on November 25, 2008 Permalink | Reply
    Tags:   

    Really need a spotter 

    The humanity of this video is deep.

     
    • A 5:49 pm on November 25, 2008 Permalink

      Oh, the humanity!

  • A 1:47 pm on November 25, 2008 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , consistency, existentialism, , , , , transgressive   

    The Real Killers Suck Argument 

    Exhibit A: Artifice. This is the main argument against the Killers, and I may need your help fleshing it out.

    It may seem like I have no problem with artifice. I certainly have a higher-than-normal tolerance for theantinomian, the transgressive, and even the nihilistic in popular music. We may also talk about the futility of the pursuit of “authenticity” in rock music, and how refreshing it is that the Killers are not concerned at all with that chase. But the old pursuit of “authenticity” is the secret hypocrisy that makes rock tolerable. It isn’t really completely antinomian, nihilistic or transgressive. It’s secretly embodied, concerned, sensitive.

    The Killers are obsessed with a new type of authenticity, a consistent application of the essentials of pop. This is what makes them so successful, but also so detestable. They’re really slick and really gross at the same time (use Google image search to see what I mean). They are entirely nihilistic, they completely separate lyrics and reality, they are ultimately transgressive. This may be consistent, but like most consistency it scares the heck out of me.

    I may seem fickle, but Frank can actually attest to my constancy in this regard… I was just telling him yesterday how much I disliked Britney’s song “Blur” off her new album. Lyrics: Who are you? What’d we do last night? / Can’t remember what I did last night / Maybe I shouldn’t have given in but I just couldn’t fight / Hope I didn’t, but I think I might’ve / Everything, everything is still a blur.

    Pop music has rebellion at the core, but sneaking out of the house and dancing into the night is a far cry away from drunken blackouts, agonizing over whether to sleep with your ex-girlfriend’s current lover, or obsessively stalking your ex-girlfriend and murdering her. I like noir, I like existentialism, I dislike nihilism.

     
    • D 2:31 pm on November 25, 2008 Permalink

      I’m told this needs to be said:

      Austin is more Pitchfork than Pitchfork.

    • F 2:54 pm on November 25, 2008 Permalink

      Dear Austin,

      You’ve obviously never really listened to Sam’s Town.

      Love,
      Frank.

    • A 2:59 pm on November 25, 2008 Permalink

      How am I supposed to get past Hot Fuss?

    • D 3:00 pm on November 25, 2008 Permalink

      Frank, you really ought to write a post in defense of The Killers Aesthetic (TKA, no apostrophe). I really can’t imagine any non-ironic defense of TKA in this or any alternative world.

      Tell me I’m wrong.

    • Shoe 11:18 am on December 6, 2008 Permalink

      Existens et Nihil est,
      Bastard twins
      Sucking at the same breast.

  • A 1:37 pm on November 25, 2008 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Anthony Miccio, , , , , , Stylus,   

    The Killers suck. I present for you selections from exhibits A-Z: (More …)

     
    • D 2:22 pm on November 25, 2008 Permalink

      Wow. I never thought I’d share a mutual hatred of a pop band with Austin.

    • F 2:42 pm on November 25, 2008 Permalink

      Dear Austin,

      All of your exhibits are nothing more than personal bias. I never said you had to like them. I just said they didn’t suck. If I really wanted to, I could detail how your favorite bands and artists make those same six transgressions (if part, if not in whole). But that’s way too much work.

      You are not dancer.

      - Frank.

    • A 3:04 pm on November 25, 2008 Permalink

      Being that adored by Rolling Stone is a bad, bad sign.

  • F 12:29 pm on November 25, 2008 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , dancer or denser, day and age,   

    Brandon Flowers Stands Behind ‘Human’ Chorus, Feathery Jacket – News Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV News 

    Austin, you owe me a beer. To quote MTV:

    “It’s taken from a quote by [author Hunter S.] Thompson. … ‘We’re raising a generation of dancers,’ and I took it and ran. I guess it bothers people that it’s not grammatically correct, but I think I’m allowed to do whatever I want,” he laughed. ” ‘Denser’? I hadn’t heard that one. I don’t like ‘denser.’”

    Dancer it is. I win.

     
    • A 12:32 pm on November 25, 2008 Permalink

      Sorry dude, I always thought it was dancer. I didn’t understand the first time someone told me they thought it was ‘denser’. Dancer made more Killers-sense. I have also always held that it sucks.

    • F 12:38 pm on November 25, 2008 Permalink

      And you have always been wrong. The National Post review I read today said that the song makes much more sense in the scheme of the album, and I’m going to anxiously await it on that expectation.

      I’d rather be Brandon Flowers than Sam Bean any day of the week.

    • D 2:47 pm on November 25, 2008 Permalink

      Who’s Sam Bean? And why would Austin care?

    • F 2:55 pm on November 25, 2008 Permalink

      *too embarrassed to fix my mistake*

    • A 3:11 pm on November 25, 2008 Permalink

      LOL, I get it now. I actually googled it to figure out if I was missing something.

  • A 9:51 am on November 25, 2008 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Amazon, e-book, Kindle   

    Kindle 2 was supposed to come out in October, but apparently it’s been delayed. We have pictures, though!

     
  • A 9:40 am on November 25, 2008 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , Dr. Leithart, Peter Leithart, the Leithart   

    Dr. Leithart talks about blogging.

     
  • D 9:15 am on November 25, 2008 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: ,   

    Obama team sweeps news media into Cubs-Sox rivalry 

    After a series of old-school inside-the-beltway cabinet picks, Obama finally delivers on his promise for “change we can believe in.”

    There’s always a media pecking order at a presidential news conference, but on Monday, aides to President-elect Barack Obama introduced a new twist to the seating chart.

    Reporters were assigned seats in one of two sections, one to Obama’s left, designated the “Cubs” section, and the other to his right, designated ” White Sox.” Team assignments appeared to be arbitrary.

    Obama is a die-hard White Sox fan, but when it came time to take questions, he didn’t favor reporters on that side. Instead, his seemingly random selections were pre-determined by aides.

     
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