Lou Pickney's Online Commentary
Bring On The Night
Tuesday
January 15, 2008
"I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me"
-Cao Cao, Chinese warlord, 155-220 AD
"I feel a coming age now
I feel a dawn in me"
-Smashing Pumpkins "That's The Way (My Love Is)"
Perhaps the biggest surprise in music for me last year was that the Smashing Pumpkins released a new album. The first single from it, "Tarantula", is a good song that would be perfect for Guitar Hero or Rock Band, with its strong guitar chords.
But it's the song that's received airplay on Sirius lately that has really caught my attention. "That's The Way (My Love Is)" is a great track, one that I think could be a multi-format hit for them. We'll see how it works out.
Another song that's received a great deal of airplay in my music mix is "You Don't Know What Love Is" by the White Stripes. Perhaps one of the more underappreciated mainstream acts of this decade, the White Stripes bring a chaotic combination of music and lyrics together with most of their tracks, this one included. Good stuff, for sure.
I haven't been writing much on here lately, but that's probably because 90% of what I write is angry, bitter, jaded, and borderline malicious. You have no idea how many paragraphs I've written and cut and written again another way and deleted again.
If you think I'm a generally happy person, you have no clue. There is an inexplicable anger and rage that roars within me, simmering at times perhaps, but coming back again and again with a vengeance. If it doesn't seem that way, it's because I've been able to bullshit you or wear a mask of happiness or do whatever to get by.
See, that's the sort of thing I've written in ten different forms and erased ten times. This one I'm leaving up. If you don't like it, piss off.
If you have a few minutes, check out this excerpt from Tim Harford's new book, The Logic of Life. It's well worth reading.
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