Speaking in Tongues
(logo from cadet @ deviantart)
Just heard (half of) the new Bruce song as I entered the parking lot—“we take care of our own/wherever our flag is flown,” or something like that anyway. Huh? Mr. Question Authority? Now sounds as reflexively patriotic as the most predictable country songwriter. Have you heard it?
[Me: Yes, equal parts boring and vaguely jingoistic. But I dunno—hasn’t that been his thing for a while? He is deep in his mindless heartland phase…]
Well, I thought he just had a passing fancy thing with all those “heroic” police and firefighters on 9/11. And they were brave … . I wonder if Bruce is burning his bridges with the boomer generation that made him famous. We can be sentimental for bravery, but we (I) have mixed feelings about chest-thumping and flag-flying. We protest wars, don’t celebrate them. Who will buy these songs?
My mother is (still) a better music critic than I am. (via zachbaron)
Closer to folk, in the old-fashioned Woody Guthrie populist sense, than country, to my ears. I totally hear the song as being about the same idea of freedom as in Fleet Foxes’ “Helplessness Blues,” as in Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom, as in Obama’s speeches: “We believe that in order to preserve our own freedoms and pursue our own happiness, we can’t just think about ourselves.” Yes, it might appeal to the construction workers as well as to the war protesters, but that’s sort of the point. Bruce is being a uniter, not a divider.
(via desnoise)
This was initially my reaction too, but the “wherever our flag is flown” part strikes me as kind of imperial. Would you say that if you were just referring to America? This makes it come off more like “support your troops overseas” than “support your neighbors.”
(via desnoise)
John Heartfield, Dust Jackets for Upton Sinclair’s Oil! (Petroleum), 1927
Cover Design for Upton Sinclair’s Der Sumpf (The Jungle) — John Heartfield, 1928
“One of Heartfield’s longest engagements entailed designing book covers for Malik Verlag. This press, run by his brother Wieland Herzfelde, aimed to make leftist books on social issues inexpensively available to the German public. Since many of the authors were little known or foreign, the dust cover was important in attracting attention.
This book is a German translation of California author Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle (Der Sumpf in German). The jacket for Der Sumpf was noted for the extended scale of its image, covering the front, back, and spine of the book.”
Cleveland Cavaliers’ Jeff Cook, “with his invention,” 1984
WHAT HAPPENED TO VISTOSO BOSSES?? I’m kind of bummed that the aesthetic on display here never really caught on, though I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out that they were just about 5 years too early with it.
Is this seapunk?
(via foundfiles)
If your takeaway from Mumford and Sons was “decent, but needs more yelling by packs of drunk-sounding bros,” you’re gonna love Wu Lyf.
this is what i like about them though: everything about WU LYF is hyper-masculine to the point of camp. from the lit-up logo they position behind themselves on stage, to their propensity for shirtlessness, to the near incomprehensible grunting vocals, they elevate so many things about anthemic arena rock to absurd levels without actually coming off as a joke. maybe they’re deadly serious about it all, or maybe it really is at least a bit tongue in cheek, but whether it’s intentional or not is really beside the point.
also, i wish people would go beyond the knee-jerk U2 comparison for bands like this. maybe it’s not completely inaccurate, but are they really the ONLY reference point?
2011: Favorite 50 Albums of 2011 | Staff Feature | Tiny Mix Tapes | Page 4
Isn’t this kind of what “You Yes You” is about?
A question of political philosophy?
