I wasn't specifically targeting anyone with my question fwiw.
― pomenitul, Friday, 30 November 2018 15:36 (five years ago) link
*takes his ball and goes home*
― Number None, Friday, 30 November 2018 15:42 (five years ago) link
Let’s all be cool and not ruin this thread’s reputation for chill times
― Trϵϵship, Friday, 30 November 2018 15:43 (five years ago) link
lol — this thread is just bonkers.
― very legal & very cool (morrisp), Friday, 30 November 2018 15:45 (five years ago) link
fascists don't just come out and say "we appreciate power." it's fascist like starship troopers is fascist. in fact the whole formulation is pretty hilarious we "appreciate" power - who talks like that? ppl hunger for power, fight for it, but they rarely appreciate it. in this case it's bc it's an acquiescence, an attempt to get along with those who want power. don't mind me i also appreciate power. or if it is sincere it is stating the lust for power in a superficial casual way. "appreciation" is not a fascist word. it's making a mockery of the desire to accumulate power. either way the song has a relationship to fascism but it's obviously not a fascist song. no fascist is going to listen to it and feel represented or moved.
― Mordy, Friday, 30 November 2018 15:46 (five years ago) link
i wouldnt say nin were ever lyrically techno-fascist or anything like that?
grimes is just a nerd who thinks roko's basilisk is a cool concept or whatever instead of a ridiculously silly thing just like her recent tweets about how cool it will be when everyone has chips in their brain to control their behaviour etc which is bad vibes even if shes just a nerd messing around with sci-fi tropes. i don't get the feeling shes sincerely i much prefer her in any other lyrical mode, even kill v maim which was supposed to be from the perspective of a time-travelling vampire mobster? idk
― ufo, Friday, 30 November 2018 15:48 (five years ago) link
anyway i hope the album is on its way soon so theres something better to discuss in this thread
― ufo, Friday, 30 November 2018 15:49 (five years ago) link
fascists don't just come out and say "we appreciate power." <--- honestly not sure this is true anymore
― resident hack (Simon H.), Friday, 30 November 2018 15:49 (five years ago) link
What if it's a concept album?
xp
― pomenitul, Friday, 30 November 2018 15:50 (five years ago) link
xp they definitely don't say "we appreciate power." maybe "we love power." but appreciate it such a weird word to apply to power.
― Mordy, Friday, 30 November 2018 15:50 (five years ago) link
I assumed the "we appreciate power" part was where grimes was trying to emulate moranbong -- their songs translate to stuff like "we call him father"
― aloha darkness my old friend (katherine), Friday, 30 November 2018 15:50 (five years ago) link
(wouldn't be surprised if it turns out to be an actual repurposed lyric but I'm not going to google this at work)
― aloha darkness my old friend (katherine), Friday, 30 November 2018 15:51 (five years ago) link
Nah, I think Mordy's right, 'appreciate' is too soft-hued for today's alt-right. If anything, they've made a point of 'rehabilitating' more obvious fascist signifiers. 'Appreciation' doesn't even make the dog-whistle cut.
― pomenitul, Friday, 30 November 2018 15:51 (five years ago) link
the "no fascist is going to listen to it and feel represented" part at least is true -- they have their own musical taste and artists, the year in kanye didn't get them to listen to kanye
― aloha darkness my old friend (katherine), Friday, 30 November 2018 15:52 (five years ago) link
soft hues are helpful when you're cloaking your sentiment, though? (not accusing grimes of anything here, just pondering alt-right language patterns)
― resident hack (Simon H.), Friday, 30 November 2018 16:07 (five years ago) link
Apparently the 4ÆM demo has leaked and it sounds good and has a drastically different style from “we appreciate power”, is this the first time she uses a drum n bass beat?... the production sounds really good so wouldn’t be surprised if the album version is practically the same as this demo.
http://grimeslife.tumblr.com/post/180622337146/grimes-4æm-demo
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Friday, 30 November 2018 16:07 (five years ago) link
I think this song fails insofar as it relies upon its audience being familiar with the concept of Roko's Basilisk for the joke to land
"We Appreciate Power" is the same joke as "I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords"
― fgti is for (flamboyant goon tie included), Friday, 30 November 2018 16:09 (five years ago) link
maybe, maybe not -- being familiar with the concept probably has an equal chance of making the lyrics seem "oh god, this again" (source: me)
― aloha darkness my old friend (katherine), Friday, 30 November 2018 16:14 (five years ago) link
lol
― resident hack (Simon H.), Friday, 30 November 2018 16:16 (five years ago) link
yeah that was my reaction too katherine
― ufo, Friday, 30 November 2018 16:17 (five years ago) link
Sure, but it seems to me that even in their most underhanded uses of language, they tend to steer clear of potentially 'feminine' words such as this one, unless they need a) neutral filler for purposes of diplomacy or b) to demean the object of 'appreciation' (Trump 'appreciated' McCain, for instance).
― pomenitul, Friday, 30 November 2018 16:25 (five years ago) link
I agree that Roko's basilisk is boring af, as is the trolley problem and the thankfully mostly defunct brain-in-a-vat thought experiment.
― pomenitul, Friday, 30 November 2018 16:27 (five years ago) link
WTF is Roko basilisk
― flappy bird, Friday, 30 November 2018 16:28 (five years ago) link
Courtesy of the somewhat insufferable Rational Wiki: https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Roko%27s_basilisk
Roko's basilisk is a thought experiment about the potential risks involved in developing artificial intelligence. The premise is that an all-powerful artificial intelligence from the future could retroactively punish those who did not help bring about its existence, including those who merely knew about the possible development of such a being. It resembles a futurist version of Pascal's wager, in that it suggests people should weigh possible punishment versus reward and as a result accept particular singularitarian ideas or financially support their development. It is named after the member of the rationalist community LessWrong who first publicly described it, though he did not originate it or the underlying ideas.
― pomenitul, Friday, 30 November 2018 16:31 (five years ago) link
ooh good this shitty song comes with homework to boot
― The Poppy Bush AutoZone (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 30 November 2018 16:37 (five years ago) link
Rokos basilisk is a thought trap for aspie programming bros and it’s hilarious
― Mordy, Friday, 30 November 2018 16:53 (five years ago) link
Think about it tho.
― pomenitul, Friday, 30 November 2018 16:55 (five years ago) link
such b.s.
― very legal & very cool (morrisp), Friday, 30 November 2018 17:04 (five years ago) link
Roko's basilisk-isk-isk-isk-isk-iskRoko's basilisk-isk-isk-isk-isk-iskRoko's basilisk-isk-isk-isk-isk-iskRoko's basilisk!
― emil.y, Friday, 30 November 2018 17:04 (five years ago) link
I think the kindest thing I can say about this song is it sounds like something they'd use to introduce a new villain on the powerpuff girls
― rob, Friday, 30 November 2018 17:11 (five years ago) link
song needs a larry david drop with "do you appreciate power?"
― Death comes sweeping through the hallway. Thank you, Death. (Sufjan Grafton), Friday, 30 November 2018 17:13 (five years ago) link
i...do not like this
― gbx, Friday, 30 November 2018 17:25 (five years ago) link
actually, my references upthread were off; what this really reminds me is the lucy nation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM_hkAKujXU
― aloha darkness my old friend (katherine), Friday, 30 November 2018 17:30 (five years ago) link
thanks gbx, we appreciate pooh-poohers
― my name is leee john, for we are many (NickB), Friday, 30 November 2018 17:30 (five years ago) link
i'm just a little disappointed! really like a lot of her other stuff, this ticks a lot stylistic references (late-90s stuff mentioned upthread) that i didn't like then and am not thrilled to see return. that's ok!
― gbx, Friday, 30 November 2018 17:32 (five years ago) link
p4k: We Appreciate Power May Be Grimes' Most Divisive Song Yet
def not, that's still "Go"
― flappy bird, Friday, 30 November 2018 18:12 (five years ago) link
Did people like "Go"?
― MarkoP, Friday, 30 November 2018 18:16 (five years ago) link
i'm loving this song, it's a good earworm. also being a fan of POP-era U2, it gives me "Mofo" vibes. ymmv considerably as to whether or not you find that a compliment.
― omar little, Friday, 30 November 2018 18:23 (five years ago) link
I took "appreciate" to be used in the sense of appreciating a fine wine -- Grimes is saying "We appreciate power (in a way you stupid masses never could)." It's about the fascist mindset where power is desired as an end in itself, something to be savored, something that the fascist deserves because only the fascist can appreciate it and properly wield it. Kind of an Italian Futurist style of fascism (and this song does fit with their lust for technological development too).
Given that Grimes recently went through a lot of public scrutiny for dating a technofascist billionaire, I don't think the song is satire. I think she's making a conscious heel turn to embrace the darkness.
― OneSecondBefore, Friday, 30 November 2018 18:25 (five years ago) link
yea it's def a heelturn, and tbh? i'm here for it
― flappy bird, Friday, 30 November 2018 18:29 (five years ago) link
While a technofascist weirdo pop-star singing about AI is about the most 2018 thing I can think of, I find it pretty repulsive myself.
― OneSecondBefore, Friday, 30 November 2018 18:32 (five years ago) link
if it IS a genuine heelturn then I...don't like that? I'm only marginally more OK with fashy tech fetishists than I am with NSBM types
― resident hack (Simon H.), Friday, 30 November 2018 18:33 (five years ago) link
Come on, you're not even aliveIf you're not backed up, backed up on a drive
it's super twisted that she really sincerely believes this but there it is, in her own words
― omar little, Friday, 30 November 2018 18:36 (five years ago) link
haha
― ( ͡☉ ͜ʖ ͡☉) (jim in vancouver), Friday, 30 November 2018 18:36 (five years ago) link
sincerity really is scary
― jolene club remix (BradNelson), Friday, 30 November 2018 18:39 (five years ago) link
this doesn't sound enough like fear factory
― ( ͡☉ ͜ʖ ͡☉) (jim in vancouver), Friday, 30 November 2018 18:40 (five years ago) link
doesn’t doomsday science fiction about AI predate the online rationalist community by like a century?
― flopson, Friday, 30 November 2018 18:45 (five years ago) link
sad that grimes has succumbed to irony poisoning
― ogmor, Friday, 30 November 2018 18:46 (five years ago) link
I'd prefer irony poisoning to sincerity in this case
― resident hack (Simon H.), Friday, 30 November 2018 18:47 (five years ago) link
there's only one band in the world for whom this is not the case, tbf
― crispy fun in a bun (bizarro gazzara), Friday, 30 November 2018 18:52 (five years ago) link