My pal Fritz over at the Manhattan Project posted this video a bit ago, and now that I've let the song thoroughly infect my psyche, I had to go buy the whole Santogold album.
The video's kind of dark, even if ironically so, but the album mostly features upbeat, shoulder-pumpin' music that I hope will set the tone for my week to come. I don't need another week like the last one, you hear me, Universe?
Holy hell. I just had a chance to watch the Bush-endorsing-McCain press conference. Some thoughts:
• McCain looks embarrassed, like he's had to bring his father to Show and Tell and dad's been slamming wine coolers and won't shut up and keeps talking over him and saying what a great kid he is now that he doesn't wet the bed or eat his boogers anymore.
• Watch at 8:49 and see if you hear him talking about dealing "with the North Korean, dealing with the Iranian." Mph?
• Is it just me, or do these two have some kind of Beavis and Butthead thing happening? Especially with their sniveling laughter? I guess then the question is who's Beavis, who's Butthead?
Just in time for Valentine's Day, an apocalyptic, poetic love song with a Kubrick reference and a double entendre in the title — "The Temptation of Adam." Awesome. Too bad the video's dark and you can barely see anything. Doesn't matter. Just close your eyes and listen.
I just watched the replay of the Republican YouTube debate from last night.
As usual, I have some poorly thought out and superficial observations, based on my incomplete viewing because freaking Headline News Local Edition kept cutting in to tell me about Hannah Montana and the cold front that's coming.
• WTF is Mitt Romney's hair made of? Cellophane? Robot cellophane?
• I have always had a soft spot for John McCain, even though he can be an ass and even though I completely disagree with his take on the war (and his contention that "they'll follow us home" — what, they can't find their way now?) and the way he is sometimes so friggin' smarmy. So it hurts me to see him saddened by his colleagues' ridiculous hedging re: torture. You know he is the one person on that stage to whom the concept of torture is more than a concept. It also hurts to hear him talk about how he used to use guns, but doesn't have one anymore (but I know that's probably a carefully focus-grouped answer to appeal to mushy liberal types spying on these debates).
• Duncan Hunter clocked roughly eight words during the whole thing.
• Creepiest moment of the debate? There were several, but possibly topping them all was Romney's "I have two guns in my home; they are owned by my son Josh, hnyah hnyah hnyah." See for yourself (it's near the end of the clip):
• Second creepiest moment? Tancredo watching his campaign video. It's like watching him watching a video of himself masturbating. I am so sorry I just put that image in your head.
• I like Fred Thompson's sense of humor. Too bad he stands for everything I hate. Dude, Roe v. Wade is the No. 1 thing the country needs to tackle? Are you fucking serious, Rich Old White Man?
• I like Ron Paul's take on a lot of issues, but his skirting the issue on whether a woman should be charged with a crime if she got an abortion (if abortion was to be made illegal) was seriously cowardly. Note to pro-lifers — if you're going to outlaw something, you HAVE to come up with punishments for those who break the law. Otherwise, STFU. And Mitt Romney saying that Roe v. Wade should be overturned and the abortion decision returned to the states, but that he'd be happy to sign a federal abortion ban nearly made my head asplode.
• Mike Huckabee is kinda hokey when he gets to talkin' 'bout Jesus, but he had a classic one-liner and was just rhetorically on-point for the most part. I still think he's being a dumbass about his take on homosexuality and same-sex marriage, but I get that that goes with the Jesus schtick.
• I want to marry Nick Anderson.
• Kudos to the kid who asked the Confederate flag question. I love to watch politicians squirm at this question. It's essentially a no-win: Say the flag isn't racist and you will be pilloried as racist. Say it is and you risk losing that tantalizing bloc of hyperdefensive, working-class Southern white dudes that has become convinced that the Left is being run by gays and women who are on the rag. Squirm away, sirs!
Oh, and I think the bit about the two Americas and Romney wanting to throw something at his TV is fucking priceless. Get angry, Mitt! Throw some shit around when you're reminded than not everyone is as rich and privileged as you are! We're all in this boat together, except for the schleps who are stuck swimming. (For more on Mitt's totally clueless perception of the class war, see his response to the question about black-on-black violence.)
• I swear, the Republican take on gay people is damn near cavemanesque. They're going to boo a man who served for forty-plus years (and is openly gay) because he reminded them that every day, two people are discharged from the service not for misconduct, but for being gay? FUCK THAT. (I can only hope they're booing the deplorable actions the officer is describing, not the officer himself.)
I've decided that Feist is kind of the lovechild of Cat Power and Charlotte Gainsbourg. I approve of moody brunettes (shocking, isn't it?) caterwauling and panting lyrics about trees. It's perfect music for a transition into fall.
