Why did I read this? Why did I just do that to myself? Aaagh. Damn you Sully.
Let me sum it up, to save you the agony: The Atlantic's Josh Green claims to have been an indie music critic, and a teenage fan of Rush (even describing himself as "worshipping" Neil Peart), yet somehow failed to recognize the heavy Ayn Rand influence in Peart's lyrics until he 'inadvertently' started a feud between Rush and Rand Paul via Twitter over Paul's use of Rush songs.
First, I call bullshit. No teenage Rush fan -- especially one who grows up to be a political journalist -- can possibly be ignorant of the Ayn Rand influence on Peart's lyrics. It's like saying you were a big Springsteen fan, but didn't realize his songs were about America.
I also call bullshit on Green claiming that he didn't realize Tweeting about Paul using Rush songs might result in Rush telling Paul to fuck off and stop. You got the controversy you wanted, pal. Don't be a tool and pretend it was all an accident.
Second, the anecdote Green leads off his article with -- one in which he gets dissed by the lead singer of Son Volt -- displays a horrific lack of self-awareness. Basically, Green did an interview with Jay Farrar (said lead singer), then went to the show and wanted one of the other members of the band to get Farrar's attention so Green could say hi to him while they stood around and watched the opening act. God forbid Green should have to talk to a lowly bassist or something, huh? And to this day he remains baffled as to why they all treated him like a dick. Gosh, Josh, maybe it's because you were acting like a dick? Just a thought.
Remember, the Atlantic is hiring. You too can work right alongside great minds like this.
Crikey.
What's Wrong With the Media, Explained In One Sentence
The Gulf spill, Israeli/Palestinian/Turkish tensions on the rise, eight bazillion other things to worry about... and our intrepid fourth estate gives us this:
The modern press corps: Leaving no completely vacuous, fucking irrelevant stone unturned since... I dunno, 1983? Has Somerby pinned down the exact date journalism died yet?
The White House was forced to respond Wednesday to a conspiracy theory too silly for even the birthers: Did Barack Obama appear in the video for Tag Team's 1993 one-hit wonder "Whoomp! (There it is)"?
The modern press corps: Leaving no completely vacuous, fucking irrelevant stone unturned since... I dunno, 1983? Has Somerby pinned down the exact date journalism died yet?
Appeasing the Masses
That Overthinking It post has me questioning my standards as well. Every once in a while, maybe it's OK to pander to the crowd and sing stuff they wanna hear and can sing along with.
I may just hit up the Gladstone tonight, just to test myself and see whether I'm even capable of pandering. Will I sing New Orleans Is Sinking and Sunglasses At Night? Or will I torment them with Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman), or whatever obscure equivalent I can find in the book?
I may just hit up the Gladstone tonight, just to test myself and see whether I'm even capable of pandering. Will I sing New Orleans Is Sinking and Sunglasses At Night? Or will I torment them with Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman), or whatever obscure equivalent I can find in the book?
14 Months And Counting
I've re-assembled my database of karaoke songs. Over the last 14 months, I have sung 344 individual songs and 470 performances, which gives you a solid idea of how often I (don't) repeat myself.
Most sung song is, unsurprisingly, Everlong, which I've sung in seven different months.
Most sung artists? Bowie's at 15 (spread among nine different songs), Radiohead's at 12 (spread among eight different songs), Prince is at 11 (spread among six different songs) and the Stones clock in at 10 (spread among six different songs). Nobody else is in double digits.
Most glaring omission? I don't seem to have sung any Tragically Hip in over a year. That can't be right.
Most sung song is, unsurprisingly, Everlong, which I've sung in seven different months.
Most sung artists? Bowie's at 15 (spread among nine different songs), Radiohead's at 12 (spread among eight different songs), Prince is at 11 (spread among six different songs) and the Stones clock in at 10 (spread among six different songs). Nobody else is in double digits.
Most glaring omission? I don't seem to have sung any Tragically Hip in over a year. That can't be right.
Sigh
The Rachel Corrie gets diverted to Ashdod without incident.
Note the important part of the story:
Lesson learned, I guess? Funny how they didn't use that tactic -- the one used by every other naval blockade in history -- on the ship flying under Turkish colors.
Note the important part of the story:
Israel says its soldiers boarded the Irish-owned Rachel Corrie from the sea
Lesson learned, I guess? Funny how they didn't use that tactic -- the one used by every other naval blockade in history -- on the ship flying under Turkish colors.
Towards a Unified Karaoke Theory
Overthinking It's Karaoke Quotient formula isn't bad... for typical karaoke venues like the Gladstone.
I'd want a variable with a little more flexibility than their binary doable/not doable 'Difficulty' rating though, but that's just me.
I'd want a variable with a little more flexibility than their binary doable/not doable 'Difficulty' rating though, but that's just me.
May's Travesties
See? It wasn't just blog posts I wasn't having much time for in May... I only sang 20 songs at karaoke too:
#1 Crush - Garbage
19th Nervous Breakdown - Rolling Stones
Down By the River - Neil Young
Elderly Woman Behind the Counter In a Small Town - Pearl Jam
Head Like a Hole - Nine Inch Nails
Heartbreaker - Pat Benatar
In the Meantime - Spacehog
Instant Karma - John Lennon
Jump - Van Halen
Just - Radiohead
Let's Stay Together - Al Green
Little Green Bag - George Baker Selection
My Iron Lung - Radiohead
Night Moves - Bob Seger
Sexual Healing - Marvin Gaye
Starlight - Muse
Tainted Love - Soft Cell
This Boy's In Love - Presets
True - Spandau Ballet
Under the Bridge - Red Hot Chili Peppers
#1 Crush - Garbage
19th Nervous Breakdown - Rolling Stones
Down By the River - Neil Young
Elderly Woman Behind the Counter In a Small Town - Pearl Jam
Head Like a Hole - Nine Inch Nails
Heartbreaker - Pat Benatar
In the Meantime - Spacehog
Instant Karma - John Lennon
Jump - Van Halen
Just - Radiohead
Let's Stay Together - Al Green
Little Green Bag - George Baker Selection
My Iron Lung - Radiohead
Night Moves - Bob Seger
Sexual Healing - Marvin Gaye
Starlight - Muse
Tainted Love - Soft Cell
This Boy's In Love - Presets
True - Spandau Ballet
Under the Bridge - Red Hot Chili Peppers
It's Now Or Never, CNN
I slag the state of modern "journalism" with abandon most of the time, but I'll give a bit of credit to the AP for stepping up its game recently.
The take-away from this, though, has to be Ron Fournier's comment that the AP's new emphasis on fact-checking (what used to be known in media circles as "doing your god-damned job") has brought about an increase in traffic.
Campbell Brown is also leaving her CNN prime time show, and the network entirely, because she doesn't feel she can complete with her hyper-partisan competitors Bill O'Reilly and Keith Olbermann. As she said:
Hmm. Think CNN will take the hint, ditch their pathetic attempt to claim a middle ground by appeasing both parties equally, and just try being journalists for a change?
Or will they just revive some bastard clone of Crossfire and continue perfecting their ability to parrot Dem and Pub talking points?
The take-away from this, though, has to be Ron Fournier's comment that the AP's new emphasis on fact-checking (what used to be known in media circles as "doing your god-damned job") has brought about an increase in traffic.
Campbell Brown is also leaving her CNN prime time show, and the network entirely, because she doesn't feel she can complete with her hyper-partisan competitors Bill O'Reilly and Keith Olbermann. As she said:
I owe it to myself to get out of the way, so that CNN can try something else. CNN will have to figure out what that is.
Hmm. Think CNN will take the hint, ditch their pathetic attempt to claim a middle ground by appeasing both parties equally, and just try being journalists for a change?
Or will they just revive some bastard clone of Crossfire and continue perfecting their ability to parrot Dem and Pub talking points?
One of the Classic Blunders
You don't get involved in a land war in Asia, you don't go against a Sicilian when death is on the line, you don't put The Doctor in a trap, and you never underestimate a McMahon.
If Linda McMahon beats Blumenthal in the Connecticut GOP primary, she will win that Senate seat. Book it.
If Linda McMahon beats Blumenthal in the Connecticut GOP primary, she will win that Senate seat. Book it.
Throw 'Em In the Gulf
I'm serious. Every banker, hedge fund manager, and financial services whiz in the country needs to be rounded up, flown over the Gulf of Mexico and asked to justify their existence in one minute or less. Those who can't, should be dropped into the oily mess.
What prompted today's ire? Oh, just the systematic defrauding of municipal governments:
What prompted today's ire? Oh, just the systematic defrauding of municipal governments:
They rigged bids on auctions for so-called guaranteed investment contracts, known as GICs, according to a Justice Department list that was filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on March 24 and then put under seal. Those contracts hold tens of billions of taxpayer money.
The workings of the conspiracy -- which stretched from California to Pennsylvania and included more than 200 deals involving about 160 state agencies, local governments and non- profits -- can be pieced together from the Justice Department’s indictment of CDR, civil lawsuits by governments around the country, e-mails obtained by Bloomberg News and interviews with current and former bankers and public officials.
“The whole investment process was rigged across the board,” said Charlie Anderson, who retired in 2007 as head of field operations for the Internal Revenue Service’s tax-exempt bond division. “It was so commonplace that people talked about it on the phones of their employers and ignored the fact that they were being recorded.”
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