for those about to rock

smash hits

- i go away on an extended absence, then i come back and spend more time writing about what i was doing and what my intentions are for future blogging than i do actually writing. none of that here.

- you should see these new mike's hard lemonade ads that are plastered all over the boston subways. they've got a guy decked out in threads with retro sensibilities (70's-style, natch; he looks like an extra from those bacardi and diet coke commercials) with an eyebrow cocked slickly and a big, insincere smile (essential: he's a fool and he's in on the joke all at once) holding up and displaying, almost asserting, a bottle of the stuff (and if this were actually a television commercial, the next shot would be a close-up of the bottle with a burst of sparkle and a magical twinkle noise -- maybe could i get work in hollywood?).

at this point, this shit is beyond rote; it feels like obvious, winking subversion -- subverted subversion, really -- was the last thing to have been written into our culture's genetic code. can someone/something please, please, PLEASE come along with something universal and undeniably revelatory, something without a hint of irony, to induce the birth of a new cultural moment?

- on a related note, do you think maybe that an unctuous twit who almost always tweaks the tone of his voice so that what he says smacks of smarm and condescension, and who otherwise carries himself like an embittered ivory tower scholar who's been assigned to do field work among the plebeians -- do you think maybe that that same guy who loudly goes out of his way to let everyone know that he's above this and as such doesn't care what anyone thinks of him is actually the very same guy who cares the most out of anyone about what other people think of him?

- on another related note, i like jack white. i read a snippet of a recent interview with him somewhere in which he basically called insincerity an act of cowardice. i'm glad that the white stripes are critically and commercially successful.

- large iced coffee with cream and no sugar from boston beanstock. it tastes like coffee ice cream, but it's not.

- in fact, any pastry item i've ever had at BB is also tops.

- i've been lucky enough to have been introduced by a neighbor to the masterful guitar playing of danny gatton. to lean on an old cliche, he's the greatest player no one's ever heard. if you're interested, you can find footage of his playing on youtube.

- f. scott fitzgerald wrote 'the great gatsby' at the age of 27. at the time, he claimed in a letter to his publisher that he was at the height of his abilities as a writer.

neil young debuted 'heart of gold' in concert at 26. that line: 'and i'm getting old'.

sometimes i feel like i want to make a mark on this world. sometimes, though, it feels like the world isn't worth it, knowing that it can be such a lonely place that it's actually tempting sometimes to wonder whether it's somehow possible to be nowhere at all.

that's not a cry for help. i guess all i'm saying is that some time out of mind would be nice.

posted by jomilkman @ 9:29 AM