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Love,

Dave

Interview with Roisin Murphy

It's pronunced "Ro-Sheen."

She's fucking fabulous.

She's playing NYC tomorrow night and I am dying inside that I won't be there.

I talked to her for Slant. You can go read the whole interview - this is my favorite bit, though:

Slant: Any sense of what's playing on your tour bus, as it were?

RM: No, because I've been listening to lectures on my iPod.

Slant: Oh? Lectures by whom?

RM: I download economics lectures, and philosophy lectures, and sociology lectures and such. There's an American site called the Teaching Company, they have the best professors in the world making lectures for them. Y'know, downloadable audio lectures. I haven't been listening to much music honestly.

Slant: Since you're listening to a lot of philosophy, then, I'm curious what place you think pop music has in a world like ours that's so full of bad news.

RM: Well, "pop music"? I don't really separate music out into those kind of…I mean, obviously people say what I've made is pop, but I would kind of disagree. I would say that I'm more fascinated with-on this record, more with disco, house, with emotional dance music, really, than just "pop." I don't think I've ever aspired to make pop music. That doesn't interest me in any way. If it becomes popular by default that's fine. So what can pop music do? I think, very little. I think that music is a great escape for people. And my music is obsessed with night culture, which is in turn a great escape for people. I love the notion of being in a nightclub dancing beside a plumber and an electrician who knows every word of some old soul record. And they're the best person they could possibly be in that moment. They have that belief in a nightclub, you know? I find that very romantic.

A letter to family and friends in California

Hi Friends and Family in California,

I'm sorry that in some cases I haven't been in touch with you in some time - I hope all is well in your lives.

I'm writing to you today to urge you to vote No on Proposition 8 on November 4th. Though most of you know that I am very opinionated about politics, I rarely make personal entreaties to friends about the causes I support. This time is different because Proposition 8 is extremely personal to me. I hope you'll hear me out, and encourage you to let me know if I can answer any questions on this subject for you.

I have lived a very lucky life. One of the most profound ways in which I am lucky is that I have two wonderful, supportive parents who are in a loving and strong marriage. And while I have not always been the most traditional person, it is certainly true that I hope one day to follow in their footsteps - to be married to the person I love.

Moreover, I hope that the young gay people of California (and elsewhere, but for our purposes, California) will soon live in a place where their love is admired and supported - where their lives and loves are equal in the eyes of the government. I believe that kids who grow up and come out in such a legal environment will be better-adjusted and more productive members of their society. And I believe that those kids will be more likely to grow up and create the sorts of stable, loving families that are the building blocks of a healthy state.

Proponents of Proposition 8 are running ads talking about how gay marriage will be taught to school children, and flaunting the fact that San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom is kind of a jerk. I hope that you and your friends will not be distracted by these tactics - and they are distractions - and will remember the fact that the question before Californians on November 4th is a matter of civil rights, and of equality under the law. Defeating Proposition 8 will not result in churches being required to conduct gay marriage. It will not change what is taught in California's schools. It will result in your neighbors and coworkers and friends, like me, being treated as equals - for the very first time - under California law.

Another way in which I am lucky is that I have been blessed to be surrounded by intelligent and passionate people - like you. I hope that on November 4th you will think of me and vote No on Proposition 8.

Thanks and love,
Dave

PS - Also, please consider donating to Equality for All's No on 8 campaign. Or consider volunteering with the same organization. Time and money are of the essence - the campaign against Proposition 8 is critically underfunded and outmanned. Your support will make a difference.

Lions and Tigers and Corporate Liberals, OH MY

When Michael Barone, in his charmingly titled "The Coming Obama Thugocracy," writes:

Corporate liberals have done their share in shutting down anti-liberal speech, too. Saturday Night Live ran a spoof of the financial crisis that skewered Democrats like House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank and liberal contributors Herbert and Marion Sandler, who sold toxic-waste-filled Golden West to Wachovia Bank for $24 billion. Kind of surprising, but not for long. The tape of the broadcast disappeared from NBC’s Website and was replaced with another that omitted the references to Frank and the Sandlers. Evidently NBC and its parent, General Electric, don't want people to hear speech that attacks liberals.

He calls the rest of his argument into question, because as New York reports:

pparently, as we initially suspected, NBC's lawyers took issue with an onscreen caption that ran under the names of real-life billionaires Herbert and Marion Sandler (portrayed on SNL by Darrell Hammond and Casey Wilson): "People who should be shot." As it turns out, you're allowed to sue any late-night comedy show that advocates your murder on live television. Lesson learned!

.

Oh, National Review. You little scamps.

Thoughts on Aquemini, after 10 years

It's unclear why rappers never make a big deal about living up to OutKast's legacy. Granted, Andre 3000 and Big Boi are blessedly still with us, unlike the legends most often name-checked as anxious influences. Maybe up-and-comers feel illegitimate trying to lay claim to a throne that's still ostensibly occupied. Then again, maybe the band's most defining aspect, its winning teamwork, rightly strikes young turks as essentially impossible to replicate. Nevertheless, you'd think that a few more people would mention Aquemini, released 10 years ago today, while slobbering all over Ready to Die and Illmatic. Living legends deserve some saliva too.

More on a Slant.

Live every day like it's Shark Week

boyfriend: I think your debut onto the DC social scene may be [CATO Institute's] Salmonfest
me: uh.
me: will it be a faux pas to arrive dressed as a shark?
boyfriend: actually it's required, if you're not a libertarian. it represents the predation of coercive government.
me: http://www.costume-shop.com/images/products/cs107b.jpg
boy: if you buy that suit, you may wear it wherever you like
me: LIVE EVERY DAY LIKE IT'S SHARK WEEK
boy: hehe
me: wow, it is only $750
sorry baby
i want travertine coffee table more
boy: yeah, or two medium-quality actual suits
me: well i could wear the shark suit to [New Job] right? i mean, you could probably dress it down with a graphic tee or some jeans. it's really versatile. the concern would be,
what if i wear my shark suit on the same day that [New Boss] wears his shark suit?
would I be fired?
boy: hahahaha
me: Would I have to humiliatingly change out of my shark suit in the bathroom?
Alternatively, would he praise my initiative?

The world's best wedding band

This is the National playing "Apartment Story," probably my favorite song on Boxer.

I saw them last Monday night and they were pretty solid. The context and stagecraft (given that they were playing Summerstage in front of an enormous photosensitive painting) was more notable than the music, generally. This song was, as might be expected, a big highlight of the set. The way it gradually rolls towards its big melodic crest and then subsides played very nicely in a crowd full of people singing discreetly along. The kids behind me thought the band could easily have stretched the song-ending breakdown out a few more minutes, which I think was correct.

I was supposed to see the concert with a good friend, but her fancy-pants consulting job called her away at the last minute and since the passes were in her name I went by myself. It wasn't the greatest move. I like seeing movies by myself, but concerts are for me much more social experiences, and I really missed the companionship. I kind of thought I might run into some people I knew but apparently I've lost track of the scene. Overall the experience made me feel like some sort of corporate ghost. Certainly the weight of leaving New York - the sense that I'm disinvesting from the social life here in preparation for moving on - weighed heavily. I did see one person, a guy I used to chat with and cadge smokes off of back when I was the youngest kid at the Dugout, but he didn't recognize me and I didn't approach.

"You get mistaken for strangers/
by your own friends/
when you pass 'em at night/
under the silvery, silvery citibank lights."

Indeed.