September 2007
Quick Notes on Hotel Chevalier
Women in Wes Anderson movies are typically soft spoken, unforgiving and unattainable, whereas men can be uncomfortably straight-forward and crude. This dynamic is pretty consistent: Ms. Cross and Mr. Blume/Max Fisher in Rushmore, Etheline and Royal in the Royal Tenenbaums, or Steve and Eleanor Zissou in The Life Aquatic. (I’m not counting Bottle Rocket since that was more of a prototype, but even Inez fits the role to a certain extent.)
Wes Anderson’s Hotel Chevalier
Wes Anderson’s short Hotel Chevalier is available on iTunes… for free! Apparently it’s a short shot as a prequel to the Darjeeling Limited, which is due out this fall.
The Utopia of the Commodity: Revolution by Proxy
Dr. Sinthome:
It would seem that what we are consuming when we consume the commodity, is not so much the commodity itself, it’s “use-value”, but rather its symbolic-value. Part of this symbolic-value is … the prestige that it confers. But another part of this symbolic-value is … rather the commodity as a proxy for utopia…
In consuming the product we also give voice to our utopian yearnings by proxy, in absentia, as a supplement or remainder… But in such a way as to not change this present, this world, but in the fullest sense of a supplement: as something that intervenes in this world to render it tolerable without risking the disappointed [sic] of failed attempts to change this world….
Perhaps when Zizek or Jodi Dean evokes the values of sacrifice to revolutionary politics, this sacrifice should not be thought as a necessary sacrifice to throw a wrench into the mechanisms of capitalist production, but rather the sacrifice of a desire based on supplementarity, where the future is always deferred, and desire desires through the surrogate.
I recommend reading the main article, if just for the remarks on the iPhone.
Errol Morris on Susan Sontag
Errol Morris writing for The New York Times:
“You mean to tell me that you went all the way to the Crimea because of one sentence written by Susan Sontag?” My friend Ron Rosenbaum seemed incredulous. I told him, “No, it was actually two sentences.”
The sentences are from Sontag’s “On Regarding the Pain of Others,” her last published book.
A really interesting “deconstruction” of Roger Fenton’s two “Valley of the Shadow of Death” photographs, taken during the Crimean War.
Tetuzi Akiyama: Exciting?
I have mixed feelings about Tetuzi Akiyama, the japanese minimalist guitar player. Part of me finds his variations and repetition exciting, and I’ve enjoyed listening to two of his albums, but on the other hand, is he boring? Granted the idea of just a guitar and a simple riff to move around is exciting, but my attention is tattered after years of television. After a minute or so I find my mind wandering. Which makes it great background music, but not something I could just lay back and enjoy like Exile On Main St. or Stravinsky. I need help, my mind parts aren’t willing to contribute a decision to my conscious– what do you think?
My SAT analogy breakdown:
Rock : Experimental Jazz :: Fiction : Philosophy
UPDATE
Akiyama:
My focus is much more on their tone they make, the sound of the beautifully distorted electric guitar. So some time, maybe twenty years ago, I came to an idea to make solo rock guitar work, to focus on the tone and wildness of the instrument. Also, I wanted to make a new genre, because no rock guitar players have not made this kind of totally solo guitar album which is more common in jazz, classic, avant-garde scene. I wanted to prove there can be “solo rock guitar” on very much bluesy manner. It is based on my ego, so for me, it is comfortable to do it.
(Via Austinist .)
Ugly Pants
New J. Crew clothes made their debut online today. These are the ugliest pants in the world.
They look like the floor of a casino.
Indian Outsourcing Comes Full Circle
The New York Times:
India is outsourcing outsourcing.
…
In a poetic reflection of outsourcing’s new face, Wipro’s chairman, Azim Premji, told Wall Street analysts this year that he was considering hubs in Idaho and Virginia, in addition to Georgia, to take advantage of American “states which are less developed.” (India’s per capita income is less than $1,000 a year.)
…
Such is the new outsourcing: A company in the United States pays an Indian vendor 7,000 miles away to supply it with Mexican engineers working 150 miles south of the United States border.
Ahmadenijad Speaks At Columbia
This is an interesting live blog (or at least it was live during the event) of Ahmadenijad’s speech at Columbia. I’ll leave the opinions to the comment section, since I haven’t had time to form any yet.
The Pirate Bay Attacks
Following the huge news that nearly 700MBs of MediaDefender’s internal emails were leaked to the public, The Pirate Bay is planning on using the media giant’s own tactics against them: by taking them to court.
Dr Feelgood’s Roxette
I love the guitar, very chunky R&B sound.
Fright Night 2007
A little bit more than a month early for Halloween, but I’ve come across two things that are horrifying in different ways, and now YOU will decide which is worse.
Scary-Item #1
Jack White Takes Bob Dylan Further Into Uncharted Territory
What special hold does Jack White have over Bob Dylan? The other night the White Stripes frontman got Dylan to play his Blood on the Tracks gem “Meet Me In The Morning” for the first time ever live, at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. And last night, White joined Dylan onstage for the big man’s first ever live performance of “Outlaw Blues,” from Bringing it All Back Home; White also got Dylan to play “One More Cup of Coffee” (one our personal faves, from Desire) for the first time since 1993.
Excellent, everything is going according to plan. Now the real question is: Will Jack accompany Bob to Pittsburgh? Seeing Elvis Costello, Bob Dylan, and Jack White all in one night– now that would be something!
Also, I think there’s some torch passing going on here from Woody Guthrie to Bob Dylan to Mr. White. Jack White has taken roots music to new heights without being confined by expectations or genre, not unlike Bob Dylan or Woody. Maybe Jack will make his way onto a new Traveling Wilburys album? Maybe someone will drop a million dollars off on my doorstep too…
EDIT: A YouTube video is available, but be warned: the quality is not great.
David Bowie: Harbinger of Racial Justice
As many of you may already know, there’s a big uproar in the media about a rather heinous case of racial injustice in Jena, La.. The time line of events is somewhat complicated, but suffice it to say that some white high school students hung nooses on their “whites-only” tree and only got off with a suspension, so some black students beat them up and are charged with attempted murder. Another happy day living in modernity.
But I think what makes the incident really interesting is that David Bowie has intervened:
The rock star David Bowie has gotten into the act, too, by saying he would donate $10,000 to a legal defense fund for the accused black teenagers, who have inevitably come to be called the Jena Six.
‘’There is clearly a separate and unequal judicial process going on in the town of Jena,’’ Mr. Bowie wrote Tuesday in an e-mail statement to The Associated Press. ‘’A donation to the Jena Six Legal Defense Fund is my small gesture indicating my belief that a wrongful charge and sentence should be prevented.’’
So, only one truly important question remains: Advanced or Overt?
Jack White and Bob Dylan
White shocked the crowd at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium last night when he joined Dylan for the first ever live performance of the Blood On The Tracks gem “Meet Me In The Morning.”
So Jack White has nothing scheduled for the next few months and I have tickets to the Bob Dylan show in October. Here’s to hoping for a continued collaboration…
Kanye vs. 50 Cent
If you’re as tightly integrated into today’s pop culture-fabric as I am, then you’ve no doubt heard of the clash of the rap titans, Kanye West and 50 Cent, both of whom debuted their latest albums on September 11th, 2007—about a week ago. However, what magazines like Rolling Stone won’t tell you is that, underneath the grit and glamor of epic battles such as this, there’s a fairly obvious vulgar Marxist explanation. It should be immediately apparent to any decent journalist (which probably rules out all of today’s journalists) that the entire “battle” was engineered by the corporate thugs over at the RIAA and Universal. With declining album sales, how else do you reinvigorate consumers to buy overpriced products (most of the profits, of which, go to the record companies rather than the artists)? You propose a ridiculous stunt such as this one.
Bring the Funk: Hot Chocolate’s Emma
Not strictly a funk band, but their funky so I guess that makes them a funk band. Genres are so limiting. In any case, check out Hot Chocolates’ Emma. Hot Chocolate is known for their huge hit You Sexy Thing and were Princess Di’s favorite band. I’m surprised she wasn’t into Prince Charles and the City Beat Band. Well, not that surprised…
The Rolling Stones’ Under My Thumb
This is just a great clip, the Rolling Stones at one of their crests. It’s good to see Brian Jones not looking dead and actually kind of hot, in a heterosexual appreciative way of course. As Dr. Colbert says, “Men know what men like.”
Bring the Funk: Prince Charles & The City Beat Band’s Cash (Money)
Prince Charles was an East Coast funk musician who took funk to a new level, utilizing structures that rap would be quick to adopt. I like his outfit and the lovely Princess Di who makes a cameo. This is his big single:
Glam Rock: David Bowie’s Oh, You Pretty Things
One of my favorite Bowie performances. Someone had been watching the Hey Jude video.
Thematically, the song has been seen as reflecting the influence of occultist Aleister Crowley and philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, and heralding “the impending obsolescence of the human race in favor of an alliance between arriving aliens and the youth of the present society”. (via Wikipedia.)
Bring the Funk: Bootsy Collins’ Stretchin’ Out
Listen to that bass!
You see Bootsy is one of the most naturally funky people in the world. He could pick up a stick and hit it on the ground and it’s gonna be funky. - Fred Wesley (James Brown Band)
Edit: I originally posted a link to another video which is also interesting, so take your pick.
Queen as Marxist-Leninists
One Vision:
One flesh one bone,
One true religion,
One voice one hope,
One real decision,
Wowowowo gimme one vision
This is probably why Laibach does a cover of the song on Opus Dei.
Global Destruction Goes Green
Been longing for that Cold War of ours to heat up? Not content to just play World in Conflict? Then boy, do I and scotsman.com have good news for you!
RUSSIA has tested the world’s most powerful “vacuum bomb”, which unleashes a destructive shockwave with the power of a nuclear blast, the military said, dubbing it the “father of all bombs”.
Meg White Suffering From Anxiety
The White Stripes announced today that they are canceling their forthcoming tour due to health issues. Meg White is suffering from acute anxiety and is unable to travel at this time. The White Stripes sincerely apologize to their fans. ‘We hate to let people down and are very sorry.’
Get well soon Meg, you’re an American treasure.
Glam Rock: Queen’s Stone Cold Crazy
Videoglam? Glam-de-lam? Glam Glam Glammy Glams? Shoot the Glams? As an english major you’d think I’d be better at coming up with titles, but I do not have a catchy name for this feature. Much like “Bring the Funk” I’ll be serving up youtube performances, but this time of Glam Rock stars. I hope you enjoy this…
Anti-Piracy PSA
This is hilarious. (Via John Gruber.)
America’s Mayor Goes to America
The New York Times:
The argument over terrorism, however, seems to be moving in precisely the opposite direction. In the months and years immediately following Sept. 11, there was very little open dissent in Washington over the conceit of the war or its importance; politicians of both parties spent most of their time trying to sound tougher on terrorists than the next guy. But now, six years after the attacks, a philosophical divide between the two parties is rapidly widening.
The Armies of Iraq
Al Jazerra posted an interesting recap of all the politics associated with the militia groups and security forces in Iraq. The videos are particularly interesting, so check out the one below and then go to the link for the rest. (Yes, it’s Al Jazeera, but you’re smart enough to cut out the fat, right?)
Bring the Funk: Rick James’ Give It To Me Baby
Chapelle’s Show aside, Rick James was one of the coolest guys around. Check out this video and try to tell yourself Keith Richards is the greatest rock-star of all time. Just remember what Zosima said in the Brothers Karamazov: “Lying to oneself causes loss of respect for oneself, which leads to coarse passions. Lying to oneself makes you easily offended, even to the point of taking pleasure at the offense.”
Colorado Police Link Rise in Violence to Music
In my opinion the title should be “Colorado Police Claim Rise in Violence Linked to Music”, but the article is still intriguing. From my experiences with Colorado it’s an interesting mix of suburbanites, college students and mountain men (not a Brokeback Mountain reference), but that could just be Boulder. Apparently there’s also a growing Latino population which you wouldn’t expect when you think of Colorado. The Police should look to the sheer increase in population as the reason for the rise in the number of murders (also interesting is that they’re not looking at murder rates, but the total number of murders). But, to claim an increase in crime is a side-effect of growth doesn’t sit as well with the public as a simple scapegoat like Hip-hop. B. Serious pretty much summed up my opinion on the matter:
“When two cowboys got into an argument at a saloon, went outside and had a draw, nobody blamed the music that was playing at the saloon,” said a local rapper known as B. Serious, who performed at the event.
EDIT: Check out the MySpace page of B. Serious.