mishmash post! (mishM*A*S*H?)
Unhurt thinks that I should post my ideas on MASH's Radar callously seducing Father Mulcahy, but that seems to be the kind of thing I need a test audience for first - er, one that isn't unhurt.
Instead I'm going to post what everyone in bandom's already listened to 1000 times:
Gabe Saporta singing over Katy Whatever's 'I Kissed a Girl in a socially acceptable way.'
"I Kissed a Boy... and now I'm stealing your girl too. She wants a secure dude and that's just not you."
And then I'll link you guys to the last couple of Carrie Brownstein's (formerly of Sleater-Kinney, if you're wondering why you know that name) columns over at NPR's Monitor Mix.
Firstly, "The 1980s, Was It Really That Bad?"
The whole thing started when the All Songs Considered blog conducted a poll asking people to choose the best year for music. It turns out that hardly anyone chose a single year from the '80s. Sure, when compared to the musical juggernauts of 1969, 1977 or 1991, the '80s might not fare so well. But were they really that bad?
So Carrie collected a bunch of youtube videos of good 80s music so we didn't have to: part 1 | part 2
And secondly, the column I wanted to link to when I first read it, but was eaten by work instead: "Juvenilia."
It's about music fandom in specific, but really addresses the idea of fannishness in general.
My initial reaction is that there's an inherent immaturity to the notion of fandom. Being a fan, sometimes an obsessive one, entails anticipation. And hardly anything is more apt to make you feel like a kid than awaiting the arrival of something -- a show, an album release, the ability to start sharing new songs and your opinion of them with your friends. Anticipation is for the youthful; it's the antithesis of cynicism and apathy, because it implies a world sprawled out ahead of you. [....] Let's face it: To the outside world, fandom might look like it's keeping us locked in, or even stuck, as opposed to being the one thing that keeps us feeling sane, free, inspired and alive.
Instead I'm going to post what everyone in bandom's already listened to 1000 times:
Gabe Saporta singing over Katy Whatever's 'I Kissed a Girl in a socially acceptable way.'
"I Kissed a Boy... and now I'm stealing your girl too. She wants a secure dude and that's just not you."
And then I'll link you guys to the last couple of Carrie Brownstein's (formerly of Sleater-Kinney, if you're wondering why you know that name) columns over at NPR's Monitor Mix.
Firstly, "The 1980s, Was It Really That Bad?"
The whole thing started when the All Songs Considered blog conducted a poll asking people to choose the best year for music. It turns out that hardly anyone chose a single year from the '80s. Sure, when compared to the musical juggernauts of 1969, 1977 or 1991, the '80s might not fare so well. But were they really that bad?
So Carrie collected a bunch of youtube videos of good 80s music so we didn't have to: part 1 | part 2
And secondly, the column I wanted to link to when I first read it, but was eaten by work instead: "Juvenilia."
It's about music fandom in specific, but really addresses the idea of fannishness in general.
My initial reaction is that there's an inherent immaturity to the notion of fandom. Being a fan, sometimes an obsessive one, entails anticipation. And hardly anything is more apt to make you feel like a kid than awaiting the arrival of something -- a show, an album release, the ability to start sharing new songs and your opinion of them with your friends. Anticipation is for the youthful; it's the antithesis of cynicism and apathy, because it implies a world sprawled out ahead of you. [....] Let's face it: To the outside world, fandom might look like it's keeping us locked in, or even stuck, as opposed to being the one thing that keeps us feeling sane, free, inspired and alive.