True Faith/She Drives Me Crazy
So, last night I was watching VH1 Classic, and the video for Fine Young Cannibals’ “She Drives Me Crazy” was on. With the paired dancers, bright colors, and sort of carnie/Geek Love aesthetic, it totally reminded me of the video…
Taking women seriously as artists
So, it is often the case that women’s accomplishments (in art, research, business, politics, whatever) are often overlooked for, read in terms of, seen as dependent on, or otherwise secondary to their appearance. Adrian Piper has commented on the tendency…
The Last Angel of History
Here’s a clip from the beginning of “The Last Angel of History,” an awesome and seminal 1998 film about Afrofuturist music. The film is REALLY hard to find (I haven’t been able to get my hands on a complete copy),…
The Beautiful People: Gaga as Post-Goth
So, the Gaga-Madonna connection is a totally overworn topic. Gaga encourages some of the comparisons, but I think that Madge is NOT the artist we need to see as Gaga’s immediate aesthetic ancestor and interlocutor. It’s Marilyn Manson. Yep, Gaga…
Whatever Philosophy Is, It’s Most Certainly Not About Girls: Or, why people hate Nancy Bauer’s NYTimes column on Beauvoir and Gaga
Readers of this blog have probably safely assumed that I totally endorse Nancy Bauer’s recent contribution to the New York Times philosophy blog, “The Stone”. Her reading of Lady Gaga through Beauvoir (mainly through The Ethics of Ambiguity’s first few…
Pac, Perry, and Jacques: California (Love/Gurls) and a bit of Ranciere
Apart from their titular references to California, Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg’s “California Gurls” and Dre and TuPac’s “California Love” might appear to have little at all in common. However, the compositional genius of the Perry/Snoop track is that it…
“What is a philosopher?” — Apparently a “hip” white dude
Simon Critchley recently began a philosophy column for the New York Times, and his inaugural post poses the question “What is a Philosopher?”. Here’s the post: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/what-is-a-philosopher/?hp Below, I argue that Critchley’s philosopher practices the logic of hipness. As I…
Some Initial Thoughts on Beyonce’s New “Why Don’t You Love Me?” Video
Beyonce recently released a new video for her funkspolitation-style track “Why Don’t You Love Me?”. While everyone seems to be focusing on her continued use of the pinup aesthetic, I’m going to argue that this is, like “Single Ladies” a…
On Gender and Misogyny in Mark Dery’s Anti-Gaga Argument
Recently, Mark Dery published a piece in “True/Slant” arguing against Lady Gaga’s intellect, artistry, and cultural value: http://trueslant.com/markdery/2010/04/20/aladdin-sane-called-he-wants-his-lightning-bolt-back-on-lady-gaga/ First, I’ll put my cards on the table (and some of you may already be quite familiar with these cards): I’m adamantly…
Kelis does some posthumanist feminism
So, I’ll probably have more to say about this track/video later, but, because this song is so awesome, here are some initial thoughts: 1. The totally minimal nature of the track, the super-clean production, the “restrained” or even “tasteful” vibe…
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