Was hoping you'd jump in. I genuinely enjoy your commentary here. :)
I agree there are enough intolerant, ridiculous people on both sides to throw out the "aww, u sensitive?" argument completely. But the way to have that discussion is:
Conservative: "Man, can you believe these crazy liberals?"
Liberal: "Yeah, those people are ridiculous."
Conservative: "You *never* see conservatives act like that."
Liberal: "LOLOLOL"
...not:
Conservative: "Man, can you believe these crazy liberals?"
Liberal: "What about all those crazy conservatives?"
Conservative: "Eff you!"
Liberal: "Eff you, too!"
If each side refuses to call bullshit on itself before the other side does it first, we're in big trouble.
Right, but no one here said liberals alone do that. So when you respond to someone who says there are intolerant liberals by saying there are also intolerant conservatives without acknowledging whether the former statement is accurate, you're dodging instead of rebutting.
Not calling out bullshit happening on your side when the topic of discussion is bullshit happening on your side weakens your argument.
Correct: I know what she said. And it would be ridiculous to deny there are bigoted Trump supporters out there.
But the bumper sticker doesn't say, "Yes, I'm a racist." It says "Proudly Deplorable" ironically to call out Hillary for her weak attempt to discredit them as bigots. Hillary supporters are using "Nasty Woman" to protest Trump in exactly the same way.
Lastly, you can't accurately call Trump a racist, sexist, or [group-]ophobe without the facts to back it up. It would be way easier and more productive for liberals to explain why they think the wall is a terrible idea, why economic protectionism is the wrong response to globalization, how his impulsivity and overreliance on insults could easily damage or destroy our alliances, etc.
But the moment you go ad hominem and call him - or, collectively, his supporters - racist without proof, you've (1) devalued the term, (2) lost the argument, and (3) reaffirmed that person's viewpoint - whether it's valid or actually deplorable.
Certainly isn't doing them any favors.
The real crime is how Hillary thinks she can just make a noun out of any adjective she feels like. #NotMyDictionary
It's a clear reference to Hillary's comment calling half of all Trump supporters as "deplorables," which she later admitted was an unfair generalization.
The bumper sticker is your average, non-racist Trump supporter's way of saying, "That's not true, and name-calling won't change my mind or prove your point."
The best possible ways for liberals to respond to Trump supporters are to:
(1) debate the validity of their arguments using facts and logic - not ad hominem, strawman, or tu quoque,
(2) acknowledge when people on your own side are incorrect or unreasonable, and
(3) have a sense of humor.
NB: These are also the best ways for Trump supporters to respond to liberals.
That there are conservatives who overreact to flag-burning doesn't mean there aren't liberals who overreact to opposing viewpoints.
They're both facts. The hypocrisy of one doesn't negate the validity of the other.
A self-important, narcissistic young person who feels entitled to special treatment. Derives from the "no two snowflakes are alike" mantra taught to young children to help increase their self-esteem.
It appears to be undergoing a change in meaning, though. Conservatives love it - I hear Sean Hannity say it regularly - but more often use it in the sense of "delicate."
"RAM is a testament to mediocrity."
Anyone criticizing RAM on the 'Gum back in May 2013 was dismissed as a contrarian or buzzkill, but history has absolved us.
I agree comparing Coexist to Room on Fire is an insult to Room on Fire.
Also, your comment gave me PTSD flashbacks to the Great Hype Bubble of September 2012, when the big names failed to deliver:
The xx - Coexist = The zzz
Grizzly Bear - Shields = Fine, but it ain't no Veckatimest.
Animal Collective - Centipede Hz = "We need to accept the possibility of an album so [career-derailing] we don't understand it means yet."
Was worried someone would beat me to the punch with Nirvana's "Serve the Servants", history's ballsiest eff-what-u-know opening salvo.
click-click-click-PPPRRRRRRAAAAAANNNGGG
It is with great sadness that I announce my retirement from Stereogum for personal reasons. (Everything's fine!) Just wanted to thank blochead, raptor jesus, dansolo, Max, LeMonjello, son_of_cheap_suit, meat, deadofknight, scruffy, cbishop, and the rest of you for being such great people. <3
Thank you,
el goodo
I always wonder if band members fight over who gets to do what with his hands in these photos. I see the bassist went with the ol' thumb-hook, which may be the most cliché, unnatural pose there is. No one does that unless they're being photographed.
blochead, blochead...I'm insulted you'd think I'm unfamiliar with Linda Perry's mile-long crap sheet. Whenever I hear an awful song, my first order of business is to ask: "Who wrote this garbage?"
I pride myself on knowing more about music I hate than most people know about music they love.
Linda Perry's induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame tells me everything I need to know about the Songwriters Hall of Fame. "What's Up" is truly one of the worst songs ever written.
Can confirm that Boom 107.9 is KILLING it in Philly. Best thing to happen to the radio in my lifetime.
Could do without all the DMX and Ja Rule though.
Thanks!
You're right that it's tough to pin down. I've been in a happy long-term relationship for almost 4 years, and the lyrics to this song make more sense to me with every passing year: the metaphor of the mountain (beautiful, but isolated), taking a step back from the other person to better appreciate them, imagining your own death...everything. To this day, any time I wake up before her to read a book, stay up late to watch a movie I know she wouldn't like, or picture myself with someone else as a way to remember how happy I am with her, I think, "III goooooo through all thiiiiiis..."
You're also right about the power of hearing it sung by someone else, especially since it's a topic you almost never hear addressed in a love song. It's the same reason I love "Hood" by Perfume Genius: Not many love songs start off with a lyric like, "You would never call me 'baby' if you knew me truly," but anyone who's ever loved someone has felt that way at some point.
One of two pivotal albums - the other being OK Computer - given to me by my older sister in 1998. A front-to-back classic that hasn't aged a day.
No song before or since "Hyperballad" has better conveyed the need to hang on to your sense of self in a relationship, even (or especially) one in which you're both perfectly happy. Will remain one my top 10 favorite songs of all time.
Also, I was surprised and delighted to see colored-vinyl reissues of Post, Homogenic, and Vespertine in my local record store the other weekend. If you haven't already, go out and buy them.
And I thought for sure your comment would be: "You guys HAVE to check out my new band, Horrific Spikes in the Forehead!"
I find your lack of band name jokes disturbing.
"Cut out all these exclamation points. An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke." ~F. Scott Fitzgerald
I think of this quotation every time I use one. Every single time.
Found it:
"The entitlement of consumers is not the problem, and in many countries including my own, downloading remains legal. A lot of very high-up music professionals still think downloading is akin to stealing, even though those stealing pay 60-100 dollars a month for access to the internet. It is far more akin to a large group of people paying a subscription fee to enter a farmer's market and feeling entitled to take all the fruit they please. Or entering an amusement park and feeling entitled to ride on all the rides for free. The problem is that the rides are run independently and the fruit is sold by individual farmers who are paid zero dollars by the park/market. The park/market is also not regulated. They don't care at all who takes fruit or who rides on rides. They are focused on running a market or park for chrissakes. Sincerely, Analogy of the Year"
For you and anyone else in this thread trying to analogize music piracy, save it. dj freshie already made the best analogy ever in a previous thread.
Something about a farmers' market...can anyone find that? rj?
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