Seem to be quite busy in the run up to Christmas, so no solid content right now.
For all the wrong reasons, I was introduced, earlier this week, to the writings of William Grim, specifically ‘Aesthetics of Hate’, an article he wrote in response to the death of Dimebag Darrell, guitarist with Pantera.
To say I disagree (not just this article, but just about everything in the Grim archive) would be an understatement. It’s mean-spirited and smug, based entirely on his horribly misinformed prejudices. It also seems to masquerade as some sort of oh-so-cutting-edge writing (I mean… “Iconoclast”… my arse!) when the quality of argument and presentation is hovering somewhere around the over-enthusiastic teenage fanzine level. I’ll say no more, though. Whether or not you make it to the end of Grim’s article, your next port of call should be Tom’s LiveJournal response.
On a lighter note, a useful obstacle to Yuletide over-eating may be gained by browsing the menu for fastfood chain Meatshake. Yes, really. Extra points to anyone who can go to a branch of Meatshake and, keeping a straight face, ask for “one Pork Shake, please”.
Finally, I’m quite intrigued by Radio 3′s plans to play the complete works of Beethoven in one continuous marathon session. I have plenty of Beethoven recordings I love, so I’ll probably use the broadcast as a chance to hear works I’ve never heard before (yay for DVD recorders and digital radio over Freeview!). I do wonder, though, how it’s going to go down with the listening public… Beethoven newbies will most likely be put off by the sheer volume of music, while hardcore fans and scholars will be complaining about the choice of performances (presuming they’ll only be playing one performance of each work).