Culture Greyhound

Perhaps it’s my jaded cynical old age catching up with me, but lately I have been exposed to some things in the pop culture world that really irk me. And as a form of self-therapy, I’d like to share them with you today.

Jersey Shore

I managed to avoid the first season of this high-ratings abomination, but unfortunately a visit from a few out-of-town friends (you know who you are) led to the end of my streak. I sat helplessly as I was force-fed the season premiere of the second season of what I believe I described as “quite possibly the worst thing I’ve ever seen ever.” Can someone explain the appeal in watching this barbaric, stupid, egocentric, “reality” guido-fest?

The iTunes Logo Makeover

I’m sure you remember the old logo:

Well now it’s this oversimplified thing:

It just seems like I’ve seen this logo somewhere before. There’s nothing creative or interesting about it. Steve Jobs claimed the usage of CDs in the old logo was becoming dated, which makes sense, but this new makeover is just so….plain.

Lady Gaga

I’m not going to spend a lot of time of this – usually when you state your opinion on this polarizing pop figure, you’re likely to ruffle feathers. All I’m going to say is, basically, the shock-fashion approach, while admirable, is completely over-the-top (not in a good way), and the music and stage presence is derivative of styles from the 80’s and 90’s. Particularly Madonna. And I liked “Alejandro” better when Ace of Base sang it and it was called “Don’t Turn Around.”

Cool New Bands in 2010

As far as 2010 and new buzz bands go, it’s been a disappointing year. The best albums have been released by already-established artists (Big Boi, The National, Wavves) while new breakthrough from up-and-comers are few and far between. Post your favorite new band of 2K10 in the comments and let’s see if we can get a substantial list going. I mean, sure, there’s been plenty of “new” bands cruising the scene, but how many this year are worth talking about, especially compared to the new-band onslaught that was 2009? Thoughts?

The Pitchfork Top 200 Tracks of the 1990’s

There’s a post (maybe a series of posts?) that will delve into this with more detail, so basically all I’m going to say now is Pitchfork, in an attempt to be hipper-than-thou, listed the most pretentious list they have ever put together. The worst thing, I think, is ranking the obscure tracks from influential artists, then putting the tracks that were actually popular/influential/relevant from those bands in the completely unnecessary “See Also” section. I could go on forever, so like I said, more to come….