Hate
Hate is an interesting thing. In America’s current socio-political climate, hatred has simultaneously become the most despicable and acceptable decision-making factor in existence. There are lots of things that I’m supposed to hate, as well as many things that I’m not allowed to hate. It doesn’t make any sense to me, so in an effort to reach some kind of clarity, and to make it as easy on myself as possible, I’ve decided to narrow my “hate list” down to one and only one group.
I don’t hate black people. I don’t hate homosexuals. I don’t hate democrats or republicans. I don’t hate Barack Obama. I don’t hate religious fanatics.
I just hate everyone. I hate people. They are disgusting creatures, worthy of absolutely zero goodwill and respect.
What made me decide on this stance? I’m pretty sure it’s this whole Proposition 8 thing that did it, became the proverbial “straw that broke the camel’s back.” People’s hate and stupidy, on both sides, made it virtually impossible for me to align myself with either side of the issue. Personal beliefs aside, it would take a moron not to see that there are good, altruistic and honorable people who are both for and against same-sex marriage. Then again, there are those who now plan to boycott Utah for California’s decision to support the proposition. There are also those who use their religion to reinforce their own feelings of intolerance and ignorance. Standing up for what you believe in is never a bad thing to do. Making decisions and forming attitudes based on ignorance is ridiculous. Both sides are clearly guilty of this.
And then there’s the whole Presidential election thing. I couldn’t really add anything to that debate that hasn’t already been said many times over, but is anyone else extremely fatigued by the divisive and irrational attitudes displayed by the two major parties in this country? If you live in this country, you’re an American first. Everything else is secondary, and that goes for party, race, gender, and even sexual orientation. We all have every reason imaginable to work together and do the best we can as a whole, but our stupid pride and fear will always stand in the way. We’ll never be truly united, and that’s a damn shame.
And then there’s racism, religion, the war in iraq and so many other issues. No point in detailing everything I’m fed up with about all these issues, because I think you get the general point of what I’m trying to say here.
I don’t hate people because they disagree. I don’t hate people who have different perspectives and values. I quite like that fact, to be perfectly honest. I hate people because they use their differences as excuses for violence, hate, prejudice, and every other negative impact possibly wrought by humanity. We’ve effectively arrested our own development, so let’s not surprised when things continue to NOT GET BETTER.
It’s a downward spiral, and we’ve thrown ourselves into it. And before you call me a hypocrite, I’d like to admit that yes, that’s exactly what I am. I’m part of the problem.
But you assholes started it.
K
Blind People HATE This Movie…
Maybe it’s because they can’t see it. But then again, that’d be way too much protesting, because they can’t see anything. I would’ve sworn this article was from the Onion if it didn’t say AP all over it. My thoughts in bold…
Blind activists plan protest of movie ‘Blindness’September 30th, 2008 @ 5:28pmBy BEN NUCKOLS
Associated Press WriterBALTIMORE (AP) – Blind people quarantined in a mental asylum, attacking each other, soiling themselves, trading sex for food. For Marc Maurer, who’s blind, such a scenario _ as shown in the movie “Blindness” _ is not a clever allegory for a breakdown in society.
Instead, it’s an offensive and chilling depiction that Maurer fears could undermine efforts to integrate blind people into the mainstream.
I never realized until now that blindness integration was an issue. Really, I didn’t.
“The movie portrays blind people as monsters, and I believe it to be a lie,” said Maurer, president of the Baltimore-based National Federation of the Blind. “Blindness doesn’t turn decent people into monsters.”
Come on, now. Has anyone EVER made that claim? Adolf Hitler himself wouldn’t have even gone that far, for fear of sounding silly.
The organization plans to protest the movie, released by Miramax Films, at 75 theaters around the country when it’s released Friday. Blind people and their allies will hand out fliers and carry signs. Among the slogans: “I’m not an actor. But I play a blind person in real life.”
That slogan must sound a hell of a lot better than it reads.
The movie reinforces inaccurate stereotypes, including that the blind cannot care for themselves and are perpetually disoriented, according to the NFB.
Those are the blind stereotypes? And here I was thinking that all blind people had crazy-good senses of smell and hearing. Next you’re going to tell me… Ah, nevermind. I was just about to say something offensive.
“We face a 70 percent unemployment rate and other social problems because people don’t think we can do anything, and this movie is not going to help _ at all,” said Christopher Danielsen, a spokesman for the organization.
“Blindness” director Fernando Meirelles, an Academy Award nominee for “City of God,” was shooting on location Thursday and unavailable for comment, according to Miramax. The studio released a statement that read, in part, “We are saddened to learn that the National Federation of the Blind plans to protest the film `Blindness.'”
The statement went on to read, “But we think it’s totally retarded.”
The NFB began planning the protests after seven staffers, including Danielsen, attended a screening of the movie in Baltimore last week. The group included three sighted employees.
Really? REALLY?
“Everybody was offended,” Danielsen said.
Especially those dudes who got their ass dragged to a MOVIE that they couldn’t see. You know, on account of the blindness.
Based on the 1995 novel by Nobel Prize winner Jose Saramago, “Blindness” imagines a mysterious epidemic that causes people to see nothing but fuzzy white light _ resulting in a collapse of the social order in an unnamed city. Julianne Moore stars as the wife of an eye doctor (Mark Ruffalo) who loses his sight; she feigns blindness to stay with her husband and eventually leads a revolt of the quarantined patients.
The book was praised for its use of blindness as a metaphor for the lack of clear communication and respect for human dignity in modern society.
Actually sounds like a pretty cool story to me. It also sounded that way to those morons who run that dog-and-pony show they call the Nobel Prize committee.
Miramax said in its statement that Meirelles had “worked diligently to preserve the intent and resonance of the acclaimed book,” which it described as “a courageous parable about the triumph of the human spirit when civilization breaks down.”
Maurer will have none of it.
“I think that failing to understand each other is a significant problem,” he said. “I think that portraying it as associated with blindness is just incorrect.”
Dude, I totally don’t understand what the hell you’re talking about.
The protest will include pickets at theaters in at least 21 states, some with dozens of participants, timed to coincide with evening showtimes. Maurer said it would be the largest protest in the 68-year history of the NFB, which has 50,000 members and works to improve blind people’s lives through advocacy, education and other ways.
Clearly a publicity stunt for a 68-year old organization that nobody has heard about until this movie came out.
The film was the opening-night entry at the Cannes Film Festival, where many critics were unimpressed.
After Cannes, Meirelles retooled the film, removing a voice-over that some critics felt spelled out its themes too explicitly.
Meirelles told The Associated Press at Cannes that the film draws parallels to such disasters as Hurricane Katrina, the global food shortage and the cyclone in Myanmar.
“There are different kinds of blindness. There’s 2 billion people that are starving in the world,” Meirelles said. “This is happening. It doesn’t need a catastrophe. It’s happening, and because there isn’t an event like Katrina, we don’t see.”
Okay, huh? I mean, I’m on your side, Meirelles, but it sounds like you and Sarah Palin have the same speechwriter.
___
Ok, I realize that I couldn’t possibly be any more offensive than I just was about blind people. Come on, though, isn’t that the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever read? I’m just trying to balance out the equation. Feel free to tell me what an awful person I am.
krr.
(Oh, and here’s a link to the article itself.)
R.I.P. – Tony Snow
I just wanted to briefly send out my condolences to the friends and family of Tony Snow. He was an amazing man, and I had a profound respect for him.
His intelligence and his dignity went a long way towards calming the otherwise stormy political seas. He will be missed.
Feel free to observe his masterful handling of the press in the following video. He was a much needed voice of the White House during a time when communication was arguably the administration’s biggest weakness.
Review: Modern Guilt
Ladies and gentlemen, I’m pleased to inform you that our favorite eccentric/hipster/scientologist/crazy genius/musician, the man we all know and love as Beck, is back. When I say that it’s been a long time, I’m not referring to the 2-year period between MG (Modern Guilt) and 2006’s The Information. What I’m saying is that this is Beck’s best album, his first truly great album, since 2001’s Sea Change.
Teaming up with producer Brian Joseph Burton (aka Danger Mouse), Beck has made something special and unique, even for him, of his eighth studio album. Modern Guilt (which strangely shares initials with Beck’s very first album, Mellow Gold) is a rich, dense, and extremely cool album. Musically, the album takes absolutely no shortcuts, and the reward is a deeply ambitious and full sounding recording that demands repeated listens, preferably through a good set of headphones. Lyrically, Mr. Hanson is just as esoterically accessible as ever. I’ll refrain from going into further detail, for reasons I’ll explain in a minute.
Some might argue that there are no standout radio hits to be found in Modern Guilt‘s 10 tracks, and they’re not necessarily wrong. I’d counter, however, that this is a better album than that. It doesn’t pander to the lazy or those of a lesser attention span. It rewards those who are willing to listen carefully and repeatedly. It may not set radio stations ablaze, but perhaps that’s because it’s a little better than 90% of what you’ll find on modern “alternative” radio.
Basically, lovers of Fall Out Boy need not apply. Also, they should grow up and stop listening to such lame, pandering, corporate crap. But I digress.
I won’t go into a track-by-track breakdown here, partially because I’m lazy, but mostly because a lot of the fun of a Beck album is the discovery of it. There’s an element of exploration involved here. There’s no accounting for taste, and it’s difficult to say whether or not most people will enjoy Beck’s newest collection of songs as much as I did. I hope you’ll give it a chance, by which I mean 2, 3 or even 4 listens, before you make up your mind.
And don’t forget the headphones.
8/10
K
Things That Are Ruining America: Bad Movies
We love movies. The dark theater (minus the jackass texting 3 rows in front of you). The box of Milk Duds. The drink that’s way too big, but you’re going to finish the damn thing anyways, because you paid $5.00 for it. The previews… ahh, the previews. Allowing yourself to leave the world behind and be swept away for 2 hours by the vision of a truly great filmmaker. Trying to figure out the ending long before you should even be worried about that. Analyzing the plots and subplots. Reaching sometimes further than we should to try to find the applicability to our own lives.
For us, film is truly one of the greatest art forms. As you should all know by now, art is kind of a big deal to us. And, there’s nothing better than the first time you see a great film, except for maybe the second or third time. Losing yourself in the art of film is an experience like none other. These experiences often leave such an impression that we’re left remembering the exact days or specific events that are connected to the watching of them. Kyle first saw the movie Fight Club on 7/25/99. He remembers clearly the ecstasy he met as the last scene unfolded, and the musical genius of the Pixies merged with the cinematic genius of David Fincher. Ben can relive the fear he felt the night he saw The Exorcist. The darkness of the night. The pouring Texas rain. How not 10 minutes after the film ended, the power was cut in his apartment, and he was left to sit on the floor in the dark for the next 3 hours. It was one of the only times in his life where he genuinely felt the effects of a scary movie. Of course, the thunderstorm and the lack of electricity helped out quite a bit.
Have we made our point? We really love movies.
As fantastic and wonderful as these great movies, nay films, can be, there is a darker side. As it says in the Bible (or maybe it’s Star Wars), you can’t have good without evil. You can’t have light without darkness. You can’t have great without terrible. We desperately wish this wasn’t the case with cinema.
Bad movies are ruining America. They’re lowering people’s expectations, tastes and IQ’s. They’re bastardizing a wonderful art form. They’re making us question the future of the human race. (Yes, we know we can be a little dramatic, but we wait until we’re tired and angry to write these posts. Somehow, it just feels right.)
And now, for your enjoyment, awareness, and education we’ll list our most hated movies. We’ll tell you why we hate them. We might even spoil the endings so that you’re not even tempted to see them. Just don’t ask us to tell you which one is worse than the others. They all suck.
Ben’s Most Hated Movies:
Titanic
At one point the highest grossing movie ever. Is it still? Don’t know. Don’t care. All I know is that whenever I would hear that ungodly Celine Dion song I wanted to down a bottle of cyanide. This, to my recollection, was the first moment in my life that I refused to take part in something that the main-stream was thoroughly enjoying. I refused to go see the film. I’m sorry to say now that I eventually caved and ended up watching the movie on a date. Stupid girls. I’ve always regretted it. How much I would enjoy being able to say today that “I’ve never seen Titanic.” I won’t make that mistake again. (See Harry Potter) Titanic = bad dialogue, pointless nudity, some of the worst one-liners of our generation (you’re not the effing king of the world), Leonardo DiCaprio’s worst acting gig ever (and yet, the one that catapulted him to a certain level of super stardom), a great example of a film that’s only “great” because enough money was thrown at it, and ammunition for all guys, everywhere, against women… She let go!
Not to mention… you did know, going into this movie, that everyone was going to die, right? It’s the freaking Titanic.
Cross Dressing Comedies
Big Momma’s House (1&2), Nutty Professor (1&2), White Chicks, The Hot Chick, Mrs. Doubtfire, Norbit, Madea’s Family Reunion
Have I forgotten any? I’m sure I have. It’s pretty satisfying to be able to kill 9 horrible movies with one stone, though. Since when did a man in a dress become instant comedy? The worst of it, in my eyes, is the volume of black comedians subjected to these rolls. If I were Al Sharpton, I would spend a little less time worrying about the “racism” of people like Don Imus and a little more time worrying about the degradation that occurs in the black community when thousands of people gather around a screen and laugh at black men in dresses.
I don’t even know where to start here. Isn’t it universally accepted that this is the bottom of the barrel? These aren’t movies. They certainly aren’t comedy. These are bad Laffy Taffy jokes, at best. Putting on a dress, and frequently a fat suit, doesn’t equal funny. Funny equals funny. Can you have comedy with cross dressing? Sure. There are truly comedic moments in the history of film and television that involve cross dressing – namely, Monty Python and Arrested Development. But these moments are funny because of the great writing, great acting, great comedy, not because some dude is wearing a dress. Putting a guy in a dress, filming him, and then expecting laughter is not only insulting to my intelligence, it’s ruining America.
And, if you’re laughing at them, then so are you.
“Scary” Movies
Blair Witch Project, The Ring 2, The Grudge (1&2), Boogeyman, Dark Water, Saw 1-25, Hostel, Captivity, and on and on and on…
I do kind of feel like I’m cheating by including two genres on my list, but it is really hard to narrow this down. You’ll also notice that I didn’t include the first Ring. That’s because I actually enjoyed that one. But, then again, that was before the cinematic saturation of young Asian girl “horror”.
To be fair, the Saw franchise could probably carry this thing alone, but the tragedy is how eager we are to shell out our money to sit through these so called “scary movies”. I think The Grudge is literally the same 10 minute scene shot at different angles and replayed 10 times. I can remember sitting in the theater during Blair Witch… laughing. It really was an amusing film to me. Some would probably credit it with opening new doors for film makers, or something idiotic like that, but the only thing that I give this movie credit for was conning millions of dollars out of our pockets. I do believe the first Saw had some of the worst acting I’ve ever seen in my life delivered by none other than the Dread Pirate Roberts (Cary Elwes) “You BASTARD!” Again… quite laughable. Captivity was actually nominated for 3 Razzies: Worst Actress, Worst Director, and Worst Excuse for a Horror Movie. It was then nominated for a Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress: Horror/Thriller. See what these films are doing to the rising generation?
I see the same principle here as the comedies. Show us something stupid, expect us to laugh. Show us something gruesome, expect us to be scared. No plot necessary, don’t worry about good dialogue, just be sure to kill a lot of people and make it as bloody as possible. If there’s a young girl with a lot of dark hair covering her face… all the better.
Kyle’s Most Hated Movies:
Pearl Harbor
I’ve only walked out of the theater during one movie in my entire life. Those of you who know me know I’m not a prude, so it wasn’t due to excessive violence, language, coolness, cigarette smoking, etc. I didn’t walk out because it was merely boring, as I enjoy a good nap as much as the next guy. I walked out because this movie was so lame, so offensively sappy, so inappropriately far away from what it should have been that I just couldn’t stand it any longer. I’ll give you a hint, there’s an entire song in the Trey Parker/Matt Stone film Team America devoted to this movie’s awfulness.
That’s right, it’s Pearl Harbor. Ugh.
My hatred for Michael Bay began with this absolute abortion of a film. First of all, Ben Affleck sucks. He’s not good to watch in any role, let alone a romantic hero role. That was my first hint, before I’d even seen the movie, that it was going to be terrible.
Second of all, in a three-hour movie, how can only half an hour be devoted to the actual events of Pearl Harbor? Is the story of that fateful day so boring and lame that it just begs for a drawn out, painfully dull love story? And to make it a love triangle? Gag me with a freaking spoon. The real story of Pearl Harbor and its lasting impact is so interesting and powerful that it’s a shame we saw so little of it. It’s as if someone wrote a terribly boring love story/period piece, and then realized that people would pay to see it if the story was set around the Japanese attack on the Oahu harbor. The actual Pearl Harbor elements feel tacked on and superfluous, and they should be anything but.
Finally, I just really, really hate Ben Affleck. I feel justified in making that my first and last argument. He sometimes redeems himself in his buddy Kevin Smith’s flicks, but he doesn’t do it enough.
Holy crap, I really hate that movie. To this day, I’ve only seen the first and last half hour bits. That’s more than enough.
Epic/Date/Scary/Superhero/Disaster Movie (Also, Meet the Spartans)
There’s nothing inherently wrong with spoof movies. I’m a huge fan Monty Python, Mel Brooks and even David Zucker’s earlier stuff. Flicks like the Life of Brian, Young Frankenstein and Airplane! are silly, full of references and extreme performances. But the thing is, they’re also riotously funny, and they’ve become modern cinematic classics.
Today’s spoof movies are a different animal altogether. Lazy, unfunny and uninspired, this newest wave of Naked Gun-wannabes can be seen as only aiming for one goal: striving for the lowest common denominator in taste, intelligence, and unfortunately, humor. I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve seen more than one of these terrible, awful films. I’ve spoken with my local clergy, and I feel that I’ve been absolved of these sins, but the painful memory remains.
I don’t even want to talk about these anymore. I’ll only advise you that, if you see any movie, regardless of specific title, that reminds you of one of these, run for the hills. That is, unless it came out before 1980, of course. (I know a previous post argued against such a mentality, but in this case, it’s warranted!)
RENT
Here’s the description I found on imdb.com:
Based on Puccini’s ‘La Boheme’, ‘Rent’ tells the story of one year in the life of friends living the Bohemian life in modern day East Village, New York City, 1989-1990. Among the group are our narrator, nerdy love-struck filmmaker Mark Cohen; the object of Mark’s affection, his former girlfriend, Maureen Johnson; Maureen’s Harvard-educated public interest lawyer and lesbian lover Joanne Jefferson; Mark’s roommate, HIV-positive musician and former junkie, Roger Davis; Roger’s new girlfriend, the HIV-positive drug addicted S&M dancer, Mimi Marquez; their former roommate, HIV-positive computer genius Tom Collins; Collins’ HIV-positive drag queen street musician/lover Angel; and Benjamin Coffin III, a former member of the group who married for money and has since become their landlord and the opposite of everything they stand for. Shows how much changes or doesn’t change in the 525,600 minutes that make up a year.
I don’t want to talk about that movie anymore. Couldn’t hate it more.
And that’s our (relatively) brief and very incomplete list. We’d like to thank all the good movies out there to give us something against which to compare these terrible, terrible pieces of garbage. We’ll be back soon with yet another tirade against Things That Are Ruining America.
-b&k
Ben’s Bookshelf: Slapstick
Love is where you find it. I think it is foolish to go looking for it, and I think it can often be poisonous.
I wish that people who are conventionally supposed to love each other would say to each other, when they fight, ‘Please–a little less love, and a little more common decency.'”
Kurt Vonnegut
Slapstick
Gather ’round children. Enough ranting about what I refuse to read. Let’s actually discuss some literature that’s worth my time, shall we? Coincidentally, if it’s worth my time… it’s well worth yours too. That’s how this works.
I just finished reading Slapstick, by Kurt Vonnegut. It qualifies, very easily, as a ‘good read’.
In the prologue, Vonnegut says that this is as close to an autobiography as he’s ever written. Much of that has to do with Kurt’s relationship with his brother, and some apparent similarities between that and the relationship between the protagonist and his twin sister. Though, the nature of the bizarre relationship between the two siblings laid out in the novel left me to wonder what, exactly, were those similarities?
The story is told by Dr. Wilbur Daffodil-11 Swain. How he came to possess such a strange middle name is one of the anecdotes unfolded in the book. I will say that it stemmed from one of his “brilliant” plans to unite the country as President of the United States, and I’ll leave it at that.
Sure, there are some things being said here. The book is a commentary on our society (circa 1976), war, loneliness and love. And, I think there are some good points made. But, what I come away with most after the read is how odd it is to me that I enjoy reading something so strange. Really. Vonnegut is nuts (may he rest in peace). But, in a good way. Let me explain…
Wilbur is 7 feet tall. He’s a twin, and each sibling is described as “monster-like”. They don’t look normal. Wilbur claims to be the less intelligent of the two, though nobody will believe this since his sister Eliza can neither read nor write. When they are together, they supposedly share 1 complete brain that is the most intelligent brain since Einstein. Although, to explore the full depth of their intelligence, they tend to engage in some rather disturbing physical activity with each other. For this reason, as children, they are separated and forced to learn how to live with “half a brain”, if you will.
He (Wilbur) is writing the story from his home – the empire state building – after the island of Manhattan (a.k.a. the Isle of Death), has been ravaged by disease. He is one of the few surviving inhabitants. He is a former President of the United States, but the nation’s government has completely collapsed and is now being ruled and fought over by people with titles such as The King of Michigan (to whom Wilbur sold a portion of the country to for $1).
It’s described as an “apocalyptic tale”, and there is much of death, destruction, and the end of the world. Strangely enough though, I don’t believe there’s a depressing moment in the book. The story is written in such a humorous way, it’s almost as if Wilbur is not disturbed in the least by these horrible things, rather he’s fascinated and slightly amused by them.
As I said before, there are, of course, some bigger things that Vonnegut is trying to say to us. But, as far as a message that I take away, I think it’s this:
Much of love is a choice.
Much of happiness is a decision.
Wilbur, though profoundly lonely, seems to be content enough with his life. Despite some horrible things coming to pass, he chooses to find happiness in little things, like candlesticks. I think that’s a lesson we could all learn. Life sucks sometimes. But.. really… so what? That shouldn’t change our common decency, or our respect for those around us. It shouldn’t change the way we act towards and care for those we claim to love. We would be wise to remember that sometimes, life sucks for everyone. We’re not unique in loneliness, depression, or hard times. That is mortality. That is life.
I know that everything Vonnegut was trying to say here didn’t sink in, and I’d like to say that I’ll reread this book, but I have no idea if I ever will or not. I will say that I enjoyed it. It was well worth the read.
And, I will say that reading Vonnegut is truly addicting, in a weird way. I’ll be exploring more of his other works before returning to Slapstick, if I ever do.
Secure Immaturity
We just wanted to throw a quick thank you out to our friends at Secure Immaturity. They’ve deemed us readable enough to post a link to Vinyl Draft on their site.
Thank you.
Unfortunately, here at VD, when we get a new fan… it’s still a big deal.
We’re not much for comic books, space oriented t.v. shows, or video game soundtracks, but if you are – please give them a read.
Things That Are Saving America: A New Series
The internet, aside from being a complex series of tubes, has come to be an amazingly effective way for every idiot to share their inane opinions with the entire planet. What exactly, you ask, are the masses saying? What’s the most important thing people can think of to share with the world?
Everything sucks. Yes, everything new is lame, everything old is great, nothing good ever happens anymore. The planet is going to spontaneously combust at any moment. The President of our dear country clubs infants on a regular basis. The new Indiana Jones movie was the worst thing anyone has ever seen, and nothing Metallica could possibly release would stand a chance of comparing to the music they wrote in the 80’s. We’ve heard it all before, seen it all before, and it was all better then than it is now.
Everything “sucks.” Everything is “gay.”
We’re not excusing ourselves in the least from this behavior. In fact, we’ve recently started a series of posts that consists of nothing but bitching and moaning about all the things that are ruining America, the place we call home. We don’t plan on stopping that series anytime soon, so to ease our conscience, we’re starting a brand new series today; this shiny new series will be about everything that’s positive, awesome, rad, or just generally contributing to the progress of our species as a whole.
THINGS THAT ARE SAVING AMERICA: A NEW SERIES
TRENT REZNOR and RADIOHEAD: LEADERS of the NEW MUSIC REVOLUTION
In October of 2007, Radiohead posted a simple bulletin on their website, saying simply,
Hello everyone.
Well, the new album is finished, and it’s coming out in 10 days;
We’ve called it In Rainbows.
Love from us all.
Jonny”
A mere ten days later, Radiohead began pioneering a revolutionary way of releasing new music, on their own terms and outside of the traditional model of the record labels. They allowed fans to download their entire album for a price of their choosing; the price could be as little or as much as the fan wanted to pay, or perhaps what they felt it was worth. In other words, they were giving their music away to any number of people who simply didn’t feel like paying for it.
Months later, Trent Reznor, the musical genius behind Nine Inch Nails, released a full album of instrumental music in much the same way. Reznor added to the Radiohead model by offering different audio qualities and packages at different prices, including downloads, cd’s and vinyl packages, ranging from $0 to $300. He even went further by releasing a more traditional album completely gratis less than three months later, not even allowing his fans to pay for it, and offering it at a quality that even exceeds what is capable on a compact disc. In Trent’s own words to his fans:
Thank you for your continued and loyal support over the years – this one’s on me.”
God bless you, Trent.
______________________________________
Recently, Gene Simmons (aka that guy who got paid for wearing a lot of makeup and having a long tongue) has been quoted as saying that Radiohead’s “decision is contributing to the demise of the record industry and insists his band would never follow suit.” (Article)
Well, to Gene Simmons, we say: You suck…. and also, you’re gay.
In all seriousness, the model that Radiohead and NIN have used to release their newest works has struck a blow to the music “industry” that will never be repaired. Nor, in our humblest of opinions, should it be. This blow was struck by a group of artists, led by frontmen Thom Yorke and Trent Reznor, to an industry that has made its existence out of exploiting not only the artists, but the fans.
So, why would Gene Simmons be so upset by this? We say it’s because Gene Simmons is not an artist, but a long-tounged, playmate toting, reality tv has-been. Through his own words, he has done nothing more than confirm that to him… it’s not about the music. It’s not about the art. It’s about the money.
O.K. Fine. It’s about the money. So, why… you ask… does THAT upset US?
It’s all about art. Art is one of the most beautiful, sacred acts of creation that we mere mortals are capable of. It’s a manifestation of all that separates us from everything that’s soulless and despicable, ignorant and incapable. Beautiful works of art are often all that’s left of civilizations that perished millenia ago. Simply put, art is good. Art saves. It inspires and moves us, it reminds us of what’s important.
To strip art of it’s soul, to take away that which makes it so profound and remarkable, and to do so for something so fleeting and unimportant as money, is to knowingly take that which is sacred and turn it into profanity. That’s all there is to it. And that’s why it’s so disgusting that someone like Gene Simmons would have that attitude.
Conversely, that’s why the members of Radiohead, along with Trent Reznor, are saving America. They’re saving the art of music by destroying the music industry itself. And, coincidentally, they’re making a lot of money while they’re at it.
Even though the industry will continue on as it has, it will never be the same. It will grow weaker and weaker until it can no longer function. One day, the artist will be able to create what he or she will, without paying tribute to men in suits, being compensated in a more fair way, free from the constraints and pressures of those who don’t understand what it’s really all about.
Forgive us for rambling, but this is really something worth getting excited about. And we are.
-b&k
Things That Are Ruining America: Energy Drinks
Step right up here, ladies and gentlemen, step right up. Tell us, are your legs bouncing right now, as you sit in your tiny cubicle? Are you having trouble focusing while reading this blog? Do you find that your attention span fluctuates between 2 and 10 seconds? Do you feel that you have “Restless Leg Syndrome,” “Adult-Onset ADD,” or even the dreaded “Computer-Related Eye Strain?”
Here at Vinyl Draft, we’re suspicious of whether or not your bouncing legs are really due to a “syndrome” you’ve been diagnosed with, by either a doctor or your own hyper and overactive imagination. Could it be, perhaps, due to the liquid defibrillator you’ve been sucking down on a daily basis? Maybe? Does that explanation at least exist somewhere in the realm of possibility? It could be somewhere near the plains of hypochondria, hiding in the tall grass. Maybe you didn’t look there.
Strange geographic/existential metaphors aside, we’ve chosen today to be the day that we discuss yet another thing that’s ruining America:
ENERGY DRINKS
We call it “energy”, an often fruity mix of acids and chemicals contained in 16 oz. can of aluminum, but why don’t we just call it what it is? These guys have the right idea:
Are we saying that energy drinks are comparable to hardcore, powdery stimulants? Perhaps not, but they’re not exactly diametric opposites. They both give a burst of energy – an immediate rush, some might even call it a “high.” There’s also a definite fall afterward, quite often to a place that is lower than where one began. You could certainly refer to many energy drink consumers as addicts. It’s become as standard as the morning cup of coffee around the office. And let’s not forget a most common side effect of both: the insatiable urge to commit hate crimes. At least, that’s what it says on Wikipedia.
Are we innocent? Free from the grip of these icy-cold, refreshing cans of caffeine-induced, demonic alertness? Of course not. If you haven’t noticed by now, we here at VD are a self-hating lot. We’ve got the same issues as the rest of America; there are some days at the office that simply require a small burst, just to make it through the day in the waking world. Of course, there are other days when our zombie dopplegangers are able to accomplish our jobs just as well. Seriously, a small team of squirrels could do our jobs.
What we’re saying is this: We now live in a world where we require a solution to every problem, and we demand it immediately. We don’t want a solution tomorrow, we want it now. Basically, we want it now, now, now, now, now – yesterday, if we can have it our way. Thank you, McDonald’s (or was it Burger King? We can never remember whose slogan that was). On top of this total lack of patience, the solution must be something that doesn’t require us to actually “do” anything. Heaven forbid we actually have to change our daily habits or activities.
Patient: “Doctor, I’ve been really tired lately”
Doctor: “Are you eating right?”
Patient: “Of course not.”
Doctor: “Are you getting healthy amounts of sleep?”
Patient: “Nope. I surf the internet until about 3 a.m.”
Don’t expect us to change our terrible habits. Just give us a RockStar. Actually, give us 2 so we can drink the second one when we start to crash in about 3 hours. Sure, the presence of not 1, but 2 energy drinks in our system will probably keep us up til 3 a.m. again, but we’ll just drink another one in the morning… and so, as they say, the vicious cycle goes. In our search for solutions, we’ve only perpetuated the problem.
And that, friends, is why energy drinks are ruining America. Peace out.
-b & k
b3njamin
krr
Vinyl Draft 
