1. The best feel-good symphony in Classical music is:
Beethoven's 7th. I used to blast this out of my car windows in areas where "fuck the system" conformists hang out. In Maryland, at Barnes and Noble -- not that the converse is true of course -- and here in the Mountains, just about anywhere, since skateboard dudes abound. What a perverse world, where Classical music has become against-the-grain!
2. The best scary movie in scientific dystopias is:
Alien. It's one of the few that doesn't involve some phoney-baloney about creeping totalitarianism. All those predictions were wrong: only the Third World saw totalitarianism, and First World never really came close, considering how many opportunities there were. The message of Alien -- that there are places where we'll be eaten up if we venture too far, especially if we try to colonize -- turned out to be right in just about every case where it was put to the test during the 20th century. Score another one for the "let's mind our own business" worldview.
3. The best cult novel in American fiction is:
Catcher in the Rye. Bear in mind, the comparison class here is "cult novels in American fiction," few of which I've read.
4. The best sexy song in pop is:
"I Got a Man" by Positive K. I generally don't like songs that try to be sexy. In this one, though, the guy doesn't end up getting the girl; it's more about the excitement of flirtation. Tension and repartee are sexier than confession and praise. As a big-time flirt (when I'm not focused on work, and assuming I know the girl), I miss rap songs like this. Plus, when was the last time rappers bothered writing rhymes like these? --
I wanna turn you on and excite ya.
Let me know the spot on your body and I'll bite ya.
So when your man don't treat you like he used ta,
I kick in like a turbo-boosta.
You want lovin', you don't have to ask when.
Your man's a headache? I'll be your aspirin.
All confusions, you know I'll solve 'em.
"I got a man." -- You got a what?
How long you had that problem?
I don't tag anyone in particular. Guess I'm letting down The Race that way.
"I Got a Man" by Positive K.
ReplyDeleteHa, stereotype accuracy. "Having studied White People for 27 years, my authority on the topic is absolute; this list is damn near bullet proof."
Heh, I never knew that "I Got a Man" specifically would be on such a list, although most of the others aren't surprising.
ReplyDeleteBasically, the non-degenerate genres of rap, whose songs are at least half-way danceable, is what White people like. They showcase the good side of Af-Am pop talent: the polygynous, peacocky show-off, as opposed to the polygynous, gorilla-like thug of gangsta rap.
Kids these days mostly grew up not hearing Digital Underground or Young MC, etc., but when they do, they typically like what they hear. I was hoping that "Hey Ya" was the death knell for gangsta rap, but unfortunately it's still going and going and going and going...