December 9th, 2008
Whatever happened to Primus? If the grunge movement of the ’90s was ultimately bad for pop-rock–and I think it was–there’s something kind of glorious about Primus in their distillation of the the grunge ethos. (Even if, strictly speaking, they’re less true grunge than bands like Pearl Jam.) If grunge was about a wholesale rejection of ’80s pop-rock, I’d submit that a track such as “Tommy the Cat” is about as pure a rejection as you’ll find.
Plus, it’s kind of awesome and Les Claypool was a mad genius.
Anyway, I was just wondering what had become of Primus on the cultural landscape. The wikimachine says they were touring as recently as 2006, but I’m wondering more about whether or not they still register in the culture. You’d think that, at the very least, some enterprising rappers would have made hay by sampling some of their bass lines.
P.S.: Is there a defense to be mounted on behalf of Counting Crows? A few weeks ago I confessed my severe weakness for them to the Pig. He was horrified. Is it possible to count the Crows as anything more than a guilty pleasure?
0 commentsSoccer
December 8th, 2008
Everyone has a friend who’s a kind of soccer scold. They lecture us about how amazing the beautiful game is. How exciting nil-nil ties are. How soccer players are the greatest athletes in the world. How soccer is the most popular sport on the globe. And, when all else fails, how really, tough soccer players are. Hey, they don’t wear pads like your wussy “football” guys do.
Yeah, so here’s some video of Vinnie Jones, who I’m pretty sure was supposed to be the baddest dude in the history of soccer, getting dropped by some guy in a bar in South Dakota.
Awesome.
0 commentsYou don't like Family Guy much, do you?
December 8th, 2008
0 comments
Do you really want to hurt me?
December 5th, 2008
I’m sure someone already used the headline, but so it goes for Boy George, who, according to the London Times, “is facing jail after being convicted today of handcuffing a male escort to his bed and beating him with a metal chain as he tried to flee after a naked photo shoot.” Which sort of reminds me of Culture Club’s other hit, “Karma Chameleon”:
I’m a man without conviction
I’m a man who doesn’t know
How to sell a contradiction
You come and go
You come and go…
Did I just go too far?
0 commentsWar Child News
December 5th, 2008
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The Lamest Superheroes of All Time
December 4th, 2008
But where's T.C.?
December 4th, 2008
I wanted to directly post this video here but my computer won’t do it. So click on the link and enjoy. It is an ad for Monk and a homage to Magnum P.I., right down to the Higgins karate pose.
0 commentsBrief Political Aside
December 4th, 2008
My friend Mike Goldfarb dresses down Marc Ambinder and the Atlantic, which is kind of great. But in the course of it, Goldfarb says that Ambinder is “well respected by Republicans and Democrats.”
Is that really true? Maybe it is. Heck, it probably is. I don’t know Ambinder and am not overly familiar with his work, but I do have a distinct memory of being in Nevada the week before the Nevada caucus and reading this post from him:
Why, precisely, do we, the media, not believe that John Edwards could win Nevada?
Because I think he could win Nevada…
Incidentally: my guess, based on what I’ve seen, heard and read, is that the results will bebunchedtogether and that no one will be able to declare victory.
The final results in Nevada were Clinton +5 with Edwards at 3 percent.
3 percent.
Having been around the state all that week, it was pretty obvious that there was no enthusiasm for Edwards anywhere, from anyone.
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