Friday, August 29, 2003

Ghetto-Fabulous



Hooray for me! I get to beat Whatever-Dude to the punch on the VMA's. Of course, I can't hope to match earlier efforts such as this and this because I didn't actually watch them. I've reached a point in my life where I no longer need to watch award shows to know what's going to happen. The predictable winners, the predictably unorthodox costumes, the funnyman struggling to keep up the impression that this is all so hip and fresh, I've seen it, and I need see it no more. Still, judging strictly by this Washington Post write-up, there were some interesting conclusions to be garnered from the evening's show.


1. Lesbian chic is so five years ago. And behold, Her Anglophilic Majesty, Madonna, descended from the heavens to accept tribute from two Whores, thus rendering a long-standing pyschological complex in spandex and glitter. Spearguilera (Christina may have actual pipes and a rougher image, but beyond that it's pointless bothering to tell them apart) performed "Like a Virgin," no doubt covered in see-through lace and clangingly obvious irony. And then she kissed them both, with tongue. And...

...yeah. I'm bored even trying to comment. Let's press on.


2. Anyone can be a Rap Star if he can manages to not look completely laughable in leopard skin. Can 50 Cent actually rap? Has anyone heard him? Does he ever perform, even in a video, without Snoop Dogg and a whole "posse" (We're still using this term? I thought it had been appropriated by white people long ago, and therefore anathema to the hip-hop community) with him? Has he said anything that other acts haven't said before?

I thought not.


3. Michael Jackson is the new Vanilla Ice. Jack Black did a Jacko impression last night; Eminem mocked him last week. It's open season, not just among the commonfolk, but among the Olympian stars. How the mighty are fallen.


4. Johnny Cash is almost good enough to win a VMA. He lost to Justin Timberlake. I think that says it all.

Monday, August 18, 2003

RIAA, Part ?‡



Senator Coleman's issues with the record boys have apparently borne fruit, according to this article. The RIAA execs have assure Coleman that they are not targeting "small" downloaders, just the kingpins. Naturally they won't say what the bar is between being a "small" downloader and one who downloads "as substantial amount."

They're either backpedalling, or they never were planning on going after everybody, or they're testing the waters. Either way, I'm not backing off the boycott.

Monday, August 04, 2003

New Reviews



Two of my new reviews just got loaded up at PunkFix, one for Television and one for the MC5. The links will tell you all you need to know.

Happy Monday.

Friday, August 01, 2003

GOPRIAA?



I've mentioned it before, and I don't get it. Why on earth would GOP lawmakers give the Recording Industry Association of America the time of day? They don't fund Republican electoral campaigns; they don't reflect the kind of values that the GOP says it believes in. On the face of it, sure, it looks like a cut-and-dry property-rights situation. But there's piracy and there's piracy, and I have yet to be convinced that file-swapping violates fair-use. So, it's a bit depressing that a former GOP staffer will be taking over as RIAA's chief executive.

But perhaps all is not lost. Senator Norm Coleman (R-Mn) just sent a critical letter to the punters, suggesting that their scattershot litigation might be off the mark. Interesting...