Music and Self Loathing: They Go Hand in Hand

I just heard "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" by Smashing Pumpkins, and I stand by what I said when it first came out -- the first line is good but it goes downhill extremely fast, so that by the time you get to the chorus of "Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage", it's unlistenable. Some dude on VH1 was talking about that song on one of their "100 Best" shows, about how it's great because of that chorus. I've always thought, "Maybe instead of despite it should be because of, like they put you in jail because you couldn't play well with others, and kept rubbing your bald head on them, Billy." And that doesn't make you a rat, just a weirdo.

The naked truth is I'm attacking the song simply because I hate the dude's voice.

One thing I've noticed about myself, at least in the myself I get reflected back to me from other people, is that I have no musical taste. It's a conclusion I've come to after years of trying to tell people that, for example, Lipps, Inc. is better than Springsteen. Now, I know Springsteen probably has more talent, but he's so boring. And he can't sing, not even a bit. And while I intellectually understand that Funkytown is less a song than a computer program with a girl singing over it, somehow it moves me more than that snoozer blowhard talking about how he and some girl were Born to Run. I'd rather move to Funkytown than Nebraska any day.

Now, the Springsteen fan reads that and thinks what -- this guy has no musical taste...Springsteen's the Boss, even if he can't sing...What's he talking about? Funkytown? I thought that was Pseudo Echo. See what I mean? Reflected back to me is all this vitriol, from practically everyone. Now you know why I don't review music. I mean, who would think that Lipps, Inc. better than Bruce Springsteen? Is there anybody else out there like me? C'mon people, let me hear from you.

By the way, the best line ever about Springsteen comes from one of my high school friends either Steve or Brad, I don't remember which):

Tunnel of Love? How about Tunnel of Crap!

Moving on, from Netflix I received Pink Floyd: Live in Pompeii and it's good only because of the music and the barely concealed hostility displayed between band members*. Even in 1971, it's evident that they didn't like each other. Great music, though. Echoes (the song) is a bit much, but it was great to see them play "One of these Days".

Interspersed between the "concert" footage (really not a concert -- there are no fans, it's just the band and their equipment among the ruins) are interviews with the various band members, at which point it's difficult not to think of Spinal Tap or The Office, because they're in close-up in a documentary and they're British. But its not as funny, unless you think a CGI Pompeii being destroyed by CGI lava while the Pink Floyd play in the background is unintentionally funny. Which it definitely is. But if you like pre-Dark Side Floyd, check it out.

*During filming the band was doing mixing for Dark Side of the Moon, which Waters and Gilmour had a famous dispute about. Waters thought it should be mixed less "liquidy" and more tight, for lack of a better word. If you've ever heard Dark Side, you know who won that battle. It's liquid as hell. That's one of the things that makes it great. The album went on to be one of the biggest selling albums in history, but if you ask Waters about it he still thinks he was right. He still thinks it should have been mixed his way -- he can't let it go! Think he may have been a difficult guy to deal with?