And we are being told that the "Big 'Mo" is for folks like these & these. Or this guy, still using that old Reagan chestnut, Welfare Queen.
Pretty frickin' sad.
Showing posts with label Merriam-Webster dictionary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Merriam-Webster dictionary. Show all posts
Sep 29, 2010
Aug 26, 2010
A couple of (non-rhetorical) questions,
Though I'll be providing some possible answers, and pre-buttals.
Why do hard-core Radiohead fans disown the song Creep (& their first record as a whole, generally?) Sure, Creep is naive, juvenile even. But it was their first single. It definitely has a 'punk-ish' attitude about it. It created a fair amount of controversy with its' bad language but turned a Sex Pistols absent #1 trick by being played all the time on 'altrock' stations. Personally, I think Creep is far better, more fun, funnier, more trenchant, richer than any track on The Bends (which is a truly naif, reaching sort-of album that always makes me roll my eyes. The Bends is way more posturing than Creep [& Creep is pretty frickin' posturing.]) What I suspect is what Renee (a big Radiohead fan, herself- and she loves The Bends) told me: That Radiohead fans don't like Creep cause it was on the radio, and popular. If that is the case, that is sad. There is nothing wrong with being popular. I cannot tell you how excited I was to see R.E.M start to play stadiums back in the 80s. I felt vindicated, at last. (I think, perhaps, it is the fans' juvenile nature coming to bear here, yes?)
and:
What is Stephen Frears secret? How does he make the most brilliant films ever, of any genre, without seeming to have any distinctive style of his own? Is it a laser-sensitive intuition about scripts? Is he helping to write the scripts without credit? Does he have some amazing rapport with actors that generates those sterling performances? Or is it a rapport with the DP? Or the design folks? Perhaps he knows how to hire the right collaborators in general?
You know, I have always had my own secret definition of the word panache (one of my fave words, ever.) I gleaned it from Carr & Tyler's most excellent book, The Beatles, An Illustrated Record, even though they might not agree with my definition. It was, as I recall, in re to their review of the Can't Buy Me Love/You Can't Do That single. Carr & Tyler say, "Panache ruled the day." The word panache means to me: Effortless (artless) style.
That is what Stephen Frears has in bucketloads: Effortless, artless style. He is a treasure.
Here is the Merriam-Webster definition. Mine is much better.
Why do hard-core Radiohead fans disown the song Creep (& their first record as a whole, generally?) Sure, Creep is naive, juvenile even. But it was their first single. It definitely has a 'punk-ish' attitude about it. It created a fair amount of controversy with its' bad language but turned a Sex Pistols absent #1 trick by being played all the time on 'altrock' stations. Personally, I think Creep is far better, more fun, funnier, more trenchant, richer than any track on The Bends (which is a truly naif, reaching sort-of album that always makes me roll my eyes. The Bends is way more posturing than Creep [& Creep is pretty frickin' posturing.]) What I suspect is what Renee (a big Radiohead fan, herself- and she loves The Bends) told me: That Radiohead fans don't like Creep cause it was on the radio, and popular. If that is the case, that is sad. There is nothing wrong with being popular. I cannot tell you how excited I was to see R.E.M start to play stadiums back in the 80s. I felt vindicated, at last. (I think, perhaps, it is the fans' juvenile nature coming to bear here, yes?)
and:
What is Stephen Frears secret? How does he make the most brilliant films ever, of any genre, without seeming to have any distinctive style of his own? Is it a laser-sensitive intuition about scripts? Is he helping to write the scripts without credit? Does he have some amazing rapport with actors that generates those sterling performances? Or is it a rapport with the DP? Or the design folks? Perhaps he knows how to hire the right collaborators in general?
You know, I have always had my own secret definition of the word panache (one of my fave words, ever.) I gleaned it from Carr & Tyler's most excellent book, The Beatles, An Illustrated Record, even though they might not agree with my definition. It was, as I recall, in re to their review of the Can't Buy Me Love/You Can't Do That single. Carr & Tyler say, "Panache ruled the day." The word panache means to me: Effortless (artless) style.
That is what Stephen Frears has in bucketloads: Effortless, artless style. He is a treasure.
Here is the Merriam-Webster definition. Mine is much better.
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