Worst book evar

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My roomate is reading this book for a paper he's writing.
It is entitled "Hole in our Soul: The Loss of Beauty and Meaning in American Popular Music."

Yes, stupid people CAN go to ivy league schools.

Here's a wonderful link to its introduction.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0226039595/ref=sib_rdr_ex/104-6532148-0481543?%5Fencoding=UTF8&p=S004#reader-link

― djdee2005, Wednesday, 5 May 2004 02:58 (twenty-one years ago)

I like how it's been marked down from the list price of $20.00 to the bargain of only $20.00

― Sasha (sgh), Wednesday, 5 May 2004 03:01 (twenty-one years ago)

The excerpts from that book make my skin crawl.

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Wednesday, 5 May 2004 03:06 (twenty-one years ago)

The most depressing thing is the shout-out from Sonny Rollins on the back cover. And I'm so shocked she was a critic for the Wall Street Journal.

― spittle (spittle), Wednesday, 5 May 2004 03:17 (twenty-one years ago)

Definitely a maddening book.

― Tim Ellison, Wednesday, 5 May 2004 03:20 (twenty-one years ago)

TONI MORRISON IS REFERENCED THE THE INDEX. QED. WORST BOOK EVAR!! SONIC YOUTH HAS ONLY ONE MENTION.

― GET TO THA' (PRICE) CHOPPA!!!!!!!! ROFFLE!!!!!!!! (ex machina), Wednesday, 5 May 2004 03:23 (twenty-one years ago)

I despise that cultural conservative approach to music: if it isn't obviously "positive", "life-affirming", "soulful", "meaningful", or "beautiful", it's harmful or worthless. Give me a fucking break.

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Wednesday, 5 May 2004 03:26 (twenty-one years ago)

And these are the kind of people who bitch about "liberal elites."

― spittle (spittle), Wednesday, 5 May 2004 03:30 (twenty-one years ago)

One big thing in the book is the old argument against modernism and abstraction in art. She is incredibly hardline about it, and refers to a lot of modern art as "perverse," "anti-social," "nihilistic," and "fundamentally antagonistic toward life as it is actually lived."

― Tim Ellison, Wednesday, 5 May 2004 03:34 (twenty-one years ago)

Tim, I think you could say the same about her fucking book!

― GET TO THA' (PRICE) CHOPPA!!!!!!!! ROFFLE!!!!!!!! (ex machina), Wednesday, 5 May 2004 03:36 (twenty-one years ago)

They let anyone write books these days, and then they publish them. When I hear someone's written a book I'm as breathtaken as if they'd told me they were on a stucco crew last summer.

― LC, Wednesday, 5 May 2004 03:47 (twenty-one years ago)

"They let anyone write books these days, and then they publish them."

Um, that's called "Freedom of Speech". But her book's argument is still crap, of course.

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Wednesday, 5 May 2004 03:54 (twenty-one years ago)

SOrry I'm not thinking - I just meant the publishing part. The excerpt on amazon didn't even look like it could stand up to even the hokiest focus group.

― LC, Wednesday, 5 May 2004 03:57 (twenty-one years ago)

No fuck that, I think a lot of people should be discouraged from writing books.

― LC, Wednesday, 5 May 2004 03:57 (twenty-one years ago)

"One big thing in the book is the old argument against modernism and abstraction in art."

Yeah, exactly. The Nazis burned Picasso and other modern artist's work using that argument.

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Wednesday, 5 May 2004 03:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Only fit to be handed out as a pamphlet outside Slayer gigs.

― the music mole (colin s barrow), Wednesday, 5 May 2004 04:00 (twenty-one years ago)

x-post

Not that I'm insinuating that the author of the book is a Nazi. But she's using that same type of logic, that art that doesn't promote (perceived) positive social values are dangerous or artisically bankrupt.

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Wednesday, 5 May 2004 04:02 (twenty-one years ago)

how does stuff like that get published? The overuse of the word swill brings images to mind of a disheartened classical buff posting at 2am on an alt news group. I'm not even sure why a publisher would touch it.

― James Slone (Freon Trotsky), Wednesday, 5 May 2004 04:04 (twenty-one years ago)

Because the publishers hate pop music too, and it reassures them when someone "smart" tells them they're right and discerning and tasteful rather than old and sad and stupid.

― spittle (spittle), Wednesday, 5 May 2004 04:18 (twenty-one years ago)

It says on the product information page that it was published by the University of Chicago Press.

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Wednesday, 5 May 2004 04:22 (twenty-one years ago)

it does sound like it has a bit of an entarte kunst vibe to it

― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 5 May 2004 04:58 (twenty-one years ago)

I also like the way the intro page includes 'MTV' in its list of genres

― DJ Mencap (DJ Mencap), Wednesday, 5 May 2004 08:20 (twenty-one years ago)

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