Dirrty Laundree

Better than Burial?

NOTE: IT IS OFFICIALLY MAD AS HELL DIATRIBE WEEK. SEE POINT 3.

1. New Stylus column ran today, Downgrade U, about my fanciful categories of "mini-bling" and "meta-bling." This was a difficult piece to balance, because I'm not totally serious in making these distinctions, but I do think some of the ideas are important: my general idea here is that conscious moderation in pop in the face of excess is actually kind of exciting, or at the very least interesting. Relates to a question I asked a few months ago about songs discussing guilt of privilege, jumping off from P!nk's "I Got Money Now."

My fear, though, is that moderation may become a rule instead of exception to a general rule (a form of base-covering that results from decreasing popular clamor for, er, glamor -- which may not be the case, in fact I'm sure it's not the case at the level of everyday consumerism, but it seems like there's this sort of uneasiness "in the culture" at the moment, where no one wants to be the one with a finger pointed at them [at the celeb level]).

This could be unfounded and a little paranoid, but Disney's an excellent glimpse into the world of more pervasive self-restriction in terms of normally common fodder for pop music -- sexuality and wealth and spite and any other extreme or "controversial" subject/feeling isn't so much outlawed altogether but very much frowned upon. Aly and AJ are pretty huge exceptions here, but even their second album (minus bonus tracks) feels safe(r than usual) (though I regret how flip I was in discussing their most recent one -- especially since the B-sides, in the end, aren't necessarily B-sides! But this track shuffling might be a form of diffusing any responsibility for a controversial track, at least in the case of "Blush").

2. Top twenty has changed a bit with some new releases: Aly and AJ made the top ten with the inclusion of "Blush" in the regular tracklist and my insistence that the two bonus tracks count toward the total; Ashley Monroe easily ingratiates her way into the top ten; a better copy of the Carter 3 confirms that it's a lot better than Da Drought 3; Tegan and Sara win me over the way I wish Meg & Dia could've last year; M.I.A. demolishes all competition without question -- best album of the year, and I really can't imagine anything else touching it at this point, but who knows. I'm at listen 8-10 and I still get excited listening to the thing, even as I start learn all the weird crevices in the beats and decipher some of the (endearingly) cryptic clunkers. Even sort of dig the ultra-retardo Afrikan Boy verse! (More songs about tax evasion, plz.) "Paper Planes" and "$20" and "World Town" and and and...I mean, seriously. The Timbaland bonus track actually seems AWFUL in comparison, and it's pretty good! "Baby girl, you and me need to go to your teepee" = THIS MAN SHOULD BE SHOT. Except I'm starting to like that he absolutely refuses to shut the hell up on his tracks, no matter how severely damaged the track comes out as a result! Fits in with the rest of the brazenness of the M.I.A. album, but not endearing enough.

Not to mention other growers that won't make the 20 but still kinda kick ass in the light of day/repeat listens: the Clientele, Tracey Thorn, Arctic Monkeys, Paramore, Maximo Park, Amerie. All low-key pleasures, but damn, lots of good albums. And I'm not counting my Mostly Wanted Miley Cyrus distillation (13 golden tunes plus four Skye Sweetnam bonus traxx in an hour of bliss) because it would probably take a spot in the top ten otherwise. Debating whether or not to include "Hyphy Hitz," but I like what it does to the countdown.

In case you were wonnerin'...

01. M.I.A. - Kala
02. Miranda Lambert - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
03. Hilary Duff - Dignity
04. Kelly Clarkson - My December
05. Ashley Monroe - Satisfied
06. Tegan and Sara - The Con
07. Lil' Wayne - The Carter 3 mixtape
08. Various - Hyphy Hitz
09. Gogol Bordello - Super Taranta
10. Aly and AJ - Insomniatic (+ bonus tracks)
11. R. Kelly - Double Up
12. Lucky Soul - The Great Unwanted
13. The Fratellis - Costello Music
14. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
15. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
16. Digitalism - Idealism
17. Pantha Du Prince - This Bliss
18. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
19. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
20. Rihanna - Good Girl Gone Bad

3. On vacation starting tonight and probably won't have a chance to write any more or respond to anything, so in the interim I am leaving in my place a MAD AS HELL DIATRIBE ROCK, upon which you should all stand and air your grievances.

WHY AM I MAD AS HELL?

No one's getting mad as hell and commenting here and it's been kind of a dead zone lately. The Aly and AJ hatemail is building up!

So GET IT OUTTA YOUR SYSTEM and then come back and think about it s'more and rephrase etc. Especially if you were directed here from Bedbug Buddy and #2 clickthru (after Google Image searches for NIP SLIP, ALY AND AJ CHRISTIAN, and [UNDERAGE TEENPOP STARLET ENGAGING IN OBSCENE SEXUAL ACTIVITY]) Blissblog and DON'T LIKE WHAT U C! Hit me witcher best shot, I won't even be here to hit back (for a bit)!