So we can't even be anti-capitalist now without name calling?

http://entertainment.time.com/2013/10/09/royals-singer-lorde-caught-in-racism-row/

When I heard this song, it imbued me with a sense of hope, for several reasons:

Perhaps millennials are rejecting the conspicuous consumption Gordon Gekko zero sum game bullshit that so many of us are trapped in.

Maybe there's a movement in music brewing to become less commercially sponsored. (Like shouting out brand names in songs to sell product and make teenagers want it.) Lorde is satirizing that trend for good reason. It's become both ubiquitous and obnoxious.

Maybe there's an overall change coming like the grunge movement, i.e. Now that most music on the radio sounds the same, maybe it's time for a movement to change it all. I swear every song now goes verse, chorus, verse, chorus, random rap that may be totally irrelevant, and final chorus. ENOUGH!!! I am a hip-hop and rap fan. But for God's sakes it seems like people aren't been trying anymore. You can listen to some bullcrap like "Blurred Lines" and then plug in "Fight the Power" by Public Enemy and it's like chalk and cheese. There's quite a difference between "most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps" and "You the hottest bitch in this place." Just sayin.


I never, ever thought of the song as being racist. I mean, what?!? To me, it's anti-capitalist and/or anti conspicuous consumption. And thank God for someone who is willing to say, "I am happy with what I have and I do not need to break my back to obtain fancy cars, champagne, etc." I go back to Salman Rushdie's thesis that we live in a time of outrage for its own sake. (http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2012-10-08/salman-rushdie/transcript) People want to invent shit to be mad about. Meanwhile, there is no need to invent stuff! It's a bit like Air Canada losing the dog and then popping off about the US media wasting time on a petty story. While being an asshole response, there's some truth there: our government is shut down, we're in an astounding amount of debt, and both major political parties are full of shit. I feel like Tony Stark lecturing Loki: there's no throne, there's no possible scenario where you come out on top. Sadly, we the people are the Loki in this situation-- there is no "win" and there is no possible way that the debt we carry and the condition we're in as a nation will magically turn into sunshine and roses. Now is the winter of our discontent but it won't be made glorious summer by a son of York. Unless it's a York peppermint patty that people are stuffing their faces with to drown the pain. Hell. I hate to sound like Bill Hicks but it's true: caffeine at work and then alcohol on the weekends to make you forget the hamster wheel you're on.

So yeah. I give praise to any kid who, at 16, has already stepped back, evaluated the Gekko mentality, and decided, "Fuck that."