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July 07, 2007
Due to increasing accusations of dorky negativity, I’ve decided to dedicate this post to FIVE PEOPLE/THINGS I UNEQUIVOCALLY LOVE. So there won’t be any back handed compliments about how J.J. Abrams has created the best show in the history of network television but can’t get over his tendency for melodramatic indulgence. Also, nothing about writers I like who are writing bad books, or singers making bad CDs, or complaints about chain stores that are poorly managed, or critics who I occasionally agree with, or fat pundits who make one-sided documentaries. This is unequivocal manlove, plain and simple.
HERMAN MELVILLE
From THE CONFIDENCE MAN:
. . . in Arkansas once, a man proved guilty, by law, of murder, but whose condemnation was deemed unjust by the people, so that they rescued him to try him themselves; whereupon, they, as it turned out, found him even guiltier than the court had done, and forthwith proceeded to execution; so that the gallows presented the truly warning spectacle of a man hanged by his friends.
Melville, by no means conventionally religious, has just given the most vivid allegory for man’s need for grace that I’ve ever seen. This book, which is described as an “incisive scrutiny of American confidence that the theological concept of ‘total depravity’ may safely be abandoned,” is freaking awesome – Melville displays his skepticism for man’s confidence in himself on every page, and it’s a convincing argument because it doesn’t just theological proofs at its core. Melville might be the most well-read American novelist ever, and he picks at so many different sources for his chameleon of a confidence man that each new chapter is a story in itself. Awesome book; awesome writer.
JOSH RITTER
“I became a thin blue stream The smoke between asleep and dreams And in that clear blue undertow I saw Royal City far below Borders soft with refugees Streets a¹swimming with amputees It¹s a Bible or a bullet they put over your heart It¹s getting harder and harder to tell them apart Days are nights and the nights are long Beating hearts blossom into walking bombs And those still looking in the clear blue sky for a sign Get missiles from so high they might as well be divine Now the wolves are howling at our door Singing bout vengeance like it¹s the joy of the Lord Bringing justice to the enemies not the other way round They¹re guilty when killed and they¹re killed where they¹re found If what¹s loosed on earth will be loosed up on high It¹s a Hell of a Heaven we must go to when we die Where even Laurel begs Hardy for vengeance please The fat man is crying on his hands and his knees Back in the peacetime he caught roses on the stage Now he twists indecision takes bourbon for rage Lead pellets peppering aluminum Halcyon, laudanum and Opium Sings kiss thee hardy this poisoned cup His winding sheet is busy winding up In darkness he looks for the light that has died But you need faith for the same reasons that it¹s so hard to find And this whole thing is headed for a terrible wreck And like good tragedy that¹s what we expect” – THE THIN BLUE LINE (off THE ANIMAL YEARS)
I had never really listened to the lyrics of this long, curiously epic song. It’s a tour-de-force of stream-of-consciousness, an unironic attempt at poetry complete with allusion, personification, and alliteration. Some of the strangest symbols I’ve ever seen. In the same verse where he mentions Oliver Hardy’s demise, he can deliver unforced profundity like “you need faith for the same reasons it’s so hard to find.”
Without question, Josh Ritter is my favorite singer/songwriter. I will be following his career until one of us dies. He is Moscow, Idaho’s version of Bruce Springsteen, and unlike Springsteen (whom I love) he doesn’t come with a lot of homespun mythology, which means we can watch him grow organically; we’ll probably never see his BORN IN THE U.S.A. but we’ll also never have to deal with him dealing with his public persona. I predict great things.
MICHAEL CERA
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again – the kid who played George Michael Bluth on ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT is the best teen actor since Michael J. Fox (who wasn’t, technically, a teen). Cera is 18 years old and his comic timing, his reactions to his funked up family, was one of the secret joys of rewatching ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT. Cera is the reason I will watch SUPERBAD even though it’s part of a genre I don’t enjoy. Currently, I’m enjoying his really funny webisode. The other dude is funny too.
PROTEIN SHAKES
All I eat for lunch now are Protein shakes. I use a cup of fat-free milk, an egg, a scoop of Whey (Banana flavor) and fruit. They fill me up without fattening me up. Hey, there’s a slogan!
MY NEIGHBORHOOD
Shoutout for the Cowden area! Holla! The hidden jewel of East Memphis! Lord I was born to be a tweener! And give it up for Wilcox Avenue, the shadiest street on the block, and to my little green shoebox of a house at the end of the cove and its overgrown lawn.
Seriously, I love this neighborhood.
| By Andytown | 02:36 PM
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Comments
fantastic. what a nice list. this is by far my favorite andytown post ever. and despite the lack of feedback, don't let it discourage you. the world has enough cynical and critical blogs. it is so uncool to love anything, and i think that's bullshit. i would so much rather hear about things people love than things people hate on. i mean, that can be funny too. but there are enough cynics. i'm not a fighter my friend. i just want the love.
Posted by: bethan at July 11, 2007 09:37 PM
I agree - edifying and entertaining.
Posted by: Sean at July 12, 2007 10:11 PM