Simon Critchley recently began a philosophy column for the New York Times, and his inaugural post poses the question “What is a Philosopher?”. Here’s the post: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/what-is-a-philosopher/?hp Below, I argue that Critchley’s philosopher practices the logic of hipness. As I…
Beyonce recently released a new video for her funkspolitation-style track “Why Don’t You Love Me?”. While everyone seems to be focusing on her continued use of the pinup aesthetic, I’m going to argue that this is, like “Single Ladies” a…
Recently, Mark Dery published a piece in “True/Slant” arguing against Lady Gaga’s intellect, artistry, and cultural value: http://trueslant.com/markdery/2010/04/20/aladdin-sane-called-he-wants-his-lightning-bolt-back-on-lady-gaga/ First, I’ll put my cards on the table (and some of you may already be quite familiar with these cards): I’m adamantly…
So, I’ll probably have more to say about this track/video later, but, because this song is so awesome, here are some initial thoughts: 1. The totally minimal nature of the track, the super-clean production, the “restrained” or even “tasteful” vibe…
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/archives/2010/04/watch_liquid_li.php Liquid Liquid, with the Roots, play “Cavern” (i.e., the sample in Gradmaster Flash’s “White Lines”) on Jimmy Fallon’s show. Adding to the general awesomeness of mutant disco on national TV is the fact that LL’s lead singer has a…
I’m going to argue that Hot Chip’s “Over and Over” (mainly the song, but also somewhat the video) evinces/endorses what Lee Edelman calls “sinthmosexuality.” Queer theorist Lee Edelman argues that, in the West, “queerness” has come to represent the “death…
…remember I mentioned Simon Reynolds saying that Cabaret Voltaire sounded like Daleks? Gary Glitter + Dr. Who + The Justified Ancients of MuMu = win
So, I’ve been working on a reading of Gaga’s Telephone video, but that’s become more of a project than I originally anticipated. So, while I’m still working on that, some initial thoughts regarding the video’s interpretive context. Here’s Gaga’s video:…
Synth Britania is available in full on YouTube, and it’s an interesting and informative enough documentary filled with a lot of good music. Some of the info is going to be redundant for a lot of serious fans of this…
“I would not know what the spirit of a philosopher might wish more than to be a good dancer. For the dance is his ideal, also his art, and finally also his only piety” (Nietzsche, The Gay Science, section 381,…
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