katy perry’s ‘i kissed a girl’: the worst song of the year — yet the most appropriate, i guess, given that its OMG I MIGHT BE BISEXUAL girls-gone-wild-for-male-approval message and atonal stomp is perfectly matched with tila tequila’s ‘will make out with chicks for nebulous bits of fame’ successes of the past 12 months.
the ‘1000 true fans’ model only works if said 1000 ‘true’ fans are also well-off enough to spend $100/year on an artist’s creative output; thus it rewards that same sort of creative output that appeals to the well-off on a larger scale, because the $100 x $100 x $100 ad infinitum becomes too much for the majority of people to handle on their own. (what’s the average income of the world’s populace again?)
and this is but one reason why ‘blog success,’ which appeals to the 1000-true-fan model and which is is overrated for anyone but those who already appeal to/exist within that dominant paradigm, doesn’t really have a lot of meaning to me. it’s kind of like college radio playlisting but on a slightly more sinister scale because the reinforcement loop is much quicker than it was than it was in the days of scanning cmj playlists and people are really into the idea that money can be made off the internet. (and the stuff that rises to the top is way more boring to me personally than, say, the estelle album, but that’s more of an aesthetic gripe than anything else.) it’s not really sustainable (for all the talk about people supporting the band ‘on the road,’ how many bloggers get on guest lists in every city?) and it consistently rewards the safe (unless they’re cornerstone-marketed).
more on this after i finish cleaning the bathroom. (also, if anyone knows about people who have raised this point before, feel free to drop a line.) (and haha, i know i’m one of those people.)
The Law & Order episode “Matrimony” is on right now. It’s one of my top five episodes of the show ever easily, thanks to the character of Velma Darcy, who introduced me to the phrase “dumb as a box of hair.”
Q: What’s the worst reality show idea you’ve ever heard?
Darnell: I was pitched “‘Big Brother’ with puppets” — so that half the “Big Brother” people are human and they’re competing against puppets. Week after week, the audience either votes a human out or a puppet.Mind you, this is the guy who brought you “Temptation Island” and “The Swan.” Clearly he’s wired differently than, uh, everyone else I know.
OMG. JOSH. I SPENT ALL WEEKEND TRYING TO REMEMBER WHAT TRAILER WAS THE FIRST IN THE PRE-IRON MAN REEL. You have seriously made my day. And yeah, fuck this guy, although I wish I lived near a drive-in so I could go see whatever movie this is there. (His movies are really good at drive-ins.)
1. Consider gain and loss, but never be greedy and everything will be all right.
2. Patience is the best remedy for every trouble.
3. Among the lucky, you are the chosen one.
the number 10 shows up on two of them; the other one has the number 20 on it, which i’m going to take as a match what with the adding and all. never let it be said that i don’t strain for themes!
In the April issue of Spin, which arrived at the apartment unbidden and which I was reading on the train yesterday because I didn’t want anything that would tax my brain too heavily, there is an interview with Kim Deal. It is a good interview, with plenty of Kim-isms and a nice photo retrospective collage on the facing page.
This is the lede, in 24-point font:
After 20 years, Kim Deal has made her peace with the fact that the rock lifestyle and stable relationships might not go together. “Maybe it’s because I look like a guy,” she deadpans. “I’m just like, whatever, friend zone is cool.”
The Spin editor could have saved space and/or had room for a larger font by expressing this more succinctly:
KIM DEAL IS AN OLD SPINSTER.
And look, R.E.M. is also featured in this issue. I still think Murmur and Reckoning are great albums. Bassist Mike Mills is 49 and has never gotten married. What does Spin have to say about that?
Perpetual bachelor Mike Mills is the band’s resident bon vivant.
This is because he has no ball and chain to keep him from having fun, you see! Now let’s do a little experiment:
After 20 years, Mike Mills has made his peace with the fact that the rock lifestyle and stable relationships might not go together. “Maybe it’s because I’m ugly,” he deadpans. “I’m just like, whatever, friend zone is cool.”
iron man: completely absorbing. rbt downey jr possibly my favorite human hero in a while (nb have not seen bale take on batman yet). didn’t realize the stan lee cameo was stan lee until the credits rolled. also, the new ghostface song sounds pretty decent.
mike myers movie in which he basically plays austin powers with an indian accent (trailer): mostly i’m impressed that he managed to work a subplot about the leafs into a movie about an eastern mystic. eh?
you don’t mess with the zohan (trailer): mostly notable for the use of m.i.a.’s “jimmy” and adam sandler using his feet as a weapon (ewww).
the dark knight (trailer): it’s kind of hard not to flash back to january when watching heath ledger onscreen, if only because he’s so fucking creepy and good.
indiana jones and the crystal skull (trailer): i really, really want to be karen allen when i grow up.
hershey’s kissables: the candy coating/hershey’s milk chocolate combination made the prospect of eating the entire box a little too cloying at first, but i managed to power through by the time the page 90 moment of darkness rolled around.
leaving my coat at the theater: ugh, what kind of idiot am i? an overly sugar-rushed one, for starters.