DEATH TO ALL PRICKS

I've probably titled a blog this before. I'm too lazy to check.

So, I ordered Kitchen Confidential with an Amazon gift card Anna got me for Christmas. Anthony Bourdain is somewhat of a celebrity now, which is cool. I think he's kind of bummed on all the attention he's garnered, which I enjoy. The book is the "extended edition" which means he got super popular and people wanted to hear what he had to say about his new-found celebrity. In the little introduction, he makes it pretty obvious he resents the fact that he has a show. Not only that, but a wildly popular show and is surrounded by the people he dislikes. This being the celebrity chef.

Like a lot of people my age, I saw No Reservations and decided that he was America's Biggest Badass. He drinks. A lot. I like that. He smokes Reds. He justifies and condones his smoking. I like that too. He is a great ambassador for this country because, while he looks American as shit, he is always incredibly reverent of the cultures he visits. He cusses. There is a disclaimer before the show starts that the content is questionable. I often wonder why, especially with VH1's Celebreality and an entire horde of other "questionable" programs that have no disclaimer. My guess is that they don't want kids seeing this total hardass and thinking that's how they should be. And trust me, that's how they should be. But maybe moms wouldn't be into that.

I don't know where I'm going with this, but the dude is legit.

On an unrelated note, good ol' Matt Erler of Ball State's own Daily News wrote an editorial today about everybody's favorite band.

Peep it here... http://media.www.bsudailynews.com/media/storage/paper849/news/2009/01/20/Forum/Hipster.Is.The.New.Hippie.AvantGarde.Band.Shifts.Style.To.Mainstream-3589316.shtml

I'm not going to say a lot except I no longer give a shit about Animal Collective. I've been a fan since Feels, which ain't saying much about my "since the beginning" cred, but I've undoubtedly enjoyed their albums. I've given a few listens to the new one, Merriweather Post Pavillion for the un-hip, and have decided that I don't care about them anymore. Matt Erler was not the ultimate deciding factor, but he was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak.

If you don't feel like reading the article, he criticized the band's previous albums for being too "avant-garde" and pretentious while praising the new one for "melodic vibrancy", which oddly enough has been a huge part of the what the band was about from the beginning. Whatevz.

I'm going to go listen to Latterman.