The Gaslight Anthem is damn good. I just found out about them because of some comment on a Stereogum post about Against Me!’s new video. I got ahold of their two albums and after just a few songs I can definitely say that I like these guys a lot. I feel like it’s in the vein of Against Me!’s more recent stuff, but with a lot more bounce to it, kind of like punk rock Springsteen or something close (doesn’t hurt that they’re from Jersey). They do a good job with the “whoa-oh”s, too, which is really important to the success of any punk band.
As of right now I’m working on a entry for the Existentialism blog about Nietzsche’s conception of the ubermensch, a concept I find endlessly intriguing. Now I just have to make myself write it.
Lately I’ve been reading more comics at night because I realized I’ve got a bunch of torrented scans (I know, bad Mark) that I haven’t read yet. I finished off the second volume of Brian K. Vaughan’s Runaways, the last five or six issues of which is an arc written by Joss Whedon (!). Next I’m going to finish All-Star Superman, which is Grant Morrison’s take on the Superman character with art by Frank Quitely, whom I love.
Personal Brand Rankings: Our Favorite Bands [from Hipster Runoff]
Maybe it’s just because I grew up when ‘boy bands’ were big, but I can’t help but look at bands as a product that is being sold to me. Whether or not band members have ‘genuine personalities’ is not always relevant to me. How I perceive a member of a band is up 2 me.
Kind of like how in NSYNC, there was like the ‘kute one’, the ‘fat one with spikey hair’, and ‘the gay one’ and probz a few more—don’t remember. It’s just funnie how as bands become products, we can’t help but evaluate each member as a brand. Consumers subliminally pick their ‘favourite one’ who they would pretend they would be if they were in the band.
Busy, busy week. I’m trying to get ready for Cate to be here this weekend, which means finishing all my crap ahead of time. I am so bad at doing things ahead of time.
