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grigorss - 2007-09-26 01:30:23
"Argh" indeed.
If I had a nickel for every time I missed doing some fun thing because I had to work late...
well, it would probably cover the cost of doing at least a third of all those fun things.
More realistically, one quarter of the total fun-osity.

At least you got to research some interesting personalities there -- certainly P-Orridge has gone through some interesting transitions of late.

a t-shirt emblazoned with "OBSESSIVE"
Uhh, yes -- handy! I mean, who wouldn't find it handy?
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The Decline of Western Greg - 2007-09-26 09:39:13
The three most surreal moments in rock journalism, print, film, or TV: The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band (The Motley Crue bio). Motley Crue: Behind the Music (The Nikki Sixx interviews were priceless). The Decline of Western Civilization: The Metal Years (about the scene that spawned 'the Crue').
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bad meow - 2007-09-26 09:42:36
In my world we call it "paperback with flaps." Kind of uninspired, I know.
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Philip - 2007-09-26 10:45:05
That Rob Sheffield book is wonderful on every level. My copy is suitably tear-stained, but it's also an inspiring reminder of the preservative, transformative and restorative powers of music. (And by the way, Pinker is currently #1 with a bullet on my jackass list. I don't know if it would be a drink or a punch in the face if I were to run into him at the proverbial cocktail party. Evil, narrow, smug, insufferable. Bleh!)
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Paula - 2007-09-26 11:04:43
Pinker, really? You're not thinking of Dawkins, or one of the other popular god-hatahs?
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Jens Carstensen - 2007-09-26 15:38:17
I love the 2nd Peter Gabriel record. That and the 3rd are equal in my mind. This in spite of - or perhaps because of - the fact that it's probably one of the most poorly-produced records by a major artist in that decade. Thank you again, Robert Fripp. It was basically an awkward attempt to sound like modern Who, and of course, i dug it. Plus, "On the Air" is one of my favorite songs of his, alongside "Mother of Violence" which you mentioned. Everyone should try rocking at least once in their career.
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Paula - 2007-09-26 16:04:25
Although I still prefer 1 and 3, I was delighted anew by the rockers on 2. I figure it was his nod to punk rock ("DIY"!).

Robert Fripp can be forgiven based on the beautiful job he did with the first Roches album--they should never have recorded with any other producer.
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Philip - 2007-09-26 18:18:08
Well, yes of course, I detest them both, and Dawkins may in fact be the more evil of the two. BUT -- 1.) Pinker's got that new book, so he's all over the radar at the moment -- in sight, in mind. AND, 2.) Dawkins at least has that imperious, thundering Oxbridge Donnishness which I find straightforward. While Pinker has that phony, "Hey man, I'm a regular, eminently reasonable guy, and I'm sure you are too! And I bet if I explain my theories to you using neat pop culture metaphors you'll see just how reasonable it all is!" I always read him hearing the voice of Beavis and Butthead's teacher. But they are both materialist/reductionists, and as such they are actively demeaning the human condition. Neither of them could account for the transcendent amalgam of music, memory and love in Rob's book if you gave them a billion dollars, the rest of their lives, and put infinite typing monkeys at their disposal!
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Paula - 2007-09-26 22:31:22
Wow. Point taken--I probably will not be able to get through much of the Pinker book.

Mebbe you'd like this other pop science book about why we love music. I think it may not be as dour.
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