Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

Infrastructure week. at last.

Republicans in disarray!

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

T R E 4 5 O N

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

You are here: Home / Politics / Religion / If You’re Looking for Signs of the Apocalypse

Reader Interactions

212Comments

  1. 1.

    liberal

    Reminds me of one of my favorite election slogans: “Bush/Cheney ’04: Don’t Change Horsemen mid-Apocolypse.”

  3. 3.

    flukebucket

    I attribute it to my age but that show last night was unwatchable. I ache for young people today. What a disaster modern music is. A complete and total disaster.

  4. 4.

    Betty Cracker

    @flukebucket: I bet your parents said the same thing! :)

    I didn’t see AMA and find Bieber absolutely unlistenable, but I have a teenage daughter and am thus forced to hear a lot of contemporary music, and honestly, some of it is pretty good!

    I was that age in the late 70s / early 80s, and when I think back on it, if people had judged then-current music solely by the crap that got a lot of radio play, they would have concluded it was all junk too. But there was a lot of good stuff they would have missed, KWIM?

  5. 5.

    Zifnab25

    American Music Awards Crown Justin Bieber Artist of the Year Continue to Fulfill Their Role as 4-hour Long Infomercial For Modern Music Industry

    FTFY!

    Seriously, how do people think awards shows work?

  6. 6.

    Linda Featheringill

    How old is Justin? Why does he still look like a girl who’s trying to pass as a guy? Hasn’t he heard of puberty?

    I guess I don’t really care, though. And it’s probably none of my business.

  9. 9.

    Cassidy

    So is this whole comments section gonn abe a bunch of “get off my lawn” and “I’m too cool to listen to mainstream music” type stuff? Just want to know if I should come back to this one at all.

  11. 11.

    Monkeyfister

    Niiice pearl necklace! I bet it’s nothing compared to the one he got later that night from the fanboys in his entourage.

  12. 12.

    PeakVT

    @flukebucket: I don’t know if today’s music is all that much worse. I think we tend to forget all the bad stuff that wins and just remember what’s in our own collections. Look at this list from 1992, for instance.

  14. 14.

    Culture of Truth

    woot

    I didn’t watch, but only because there is much good tv on Sundays, plus Virtually Speaking, of course.

  17. 17.

    Violet

    Apparently Justin Bieber said something like, “This is for the haters. I think this is proof I’m gonna be around a long time.”

    So that probably means his 15 minutes are up and his next several albums will not do much and he’ll end up one of those people who shows up at awards shows in ten years and people say, “Oh yeah. Remember Bieber fever? Ha ha ha ha ha ha.”

  19. 19.

    Ash Can

    Meh. It’s just like the Eurovision Song Contest — it’s the award for Most Highly Marketable Fluff. Always was, always will be.

  20. 20.

    Violet

    @PeakVT: Wow. I looked at the list. This group won Favorite Pop/Rock Band, Duo, or Group: C&C Music Factory. I don’t even know who that is. So I clicked over to their wiki page and I still don’t know anything they did.

  23. 23.

    SatanicPanic

    @flukebucket: I’m still technically young, but I would say that right now Rock is on its last legs, Rap is better than ever and pop is no worse or better than it has always been.

  24. 24.

    Culture of Truth

    Nirvana? Pheh

    That must have been quite an evening. Reba McEntire sang “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia”, Celine Dion & Peabo Bryson did “Beauty And The Beast”, Guns N’ Roses, Whitney Houston, James Brown and of course, Hammer, “2 Legit 2 Quit” and “Pump It Up”

  25. 25.

    FlipYrWhig

    Why is that hat so big? With the mini pyramid awards statue cocked as if to throw it, the whole effect is like a throwback video game character. Mario Biebers or something.

  27. 27.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    The best part about ‘pop stars’ like Bieber is when the teen girls who like him grow up.

    That’s when his short career is over.

  28. 28.

    J.

    I watched the AMAs with my teenage daughter and we were both shocked — SHOCKED! — when Justin Bieber’s name was announced as male artist of the year (or whatever the award was). WTF?! (We were sure it would be Pitbull.) And Carly Rae Jepsen wins New Artist over One Direction?

    People, forget Mexico. It is time we took a stance on these Canadians swooping in and taking our awards. They’re called the AMERICAN Music Awards for a reason.

    John McCain, get on it.

  29. 29.

    FlipYrWhig

    “Stuff sucks these days, not like when I was younger.” I think it was Ogg the Neanderthal who first said that.

  30. 30.

    joeyess

    I can proudly say that I’ve never even listened to one song by this asshat.

    And speaking of hats……… Nice fucking hat. Does he keep toy breed of pitbull under that thing?

  33. 33.

    Palli

    Producers and promoters who keep discovering the newest thing are another aspect of our warped capitalism that undermined our culture. Superficial definitions of artistic “talent” that are not built on the foundations of learning and practice are eroding the idea of excellence just like the artificial definition of the “bottom line” has eroded the quality of business.

  36. 36.

    Sly

    @PeakVT:

    I don’t know if today’s music is all that much worse. I think we tend to forget all the bad stuff that wins and just remember what’s in our own collections. Look at this list from 1992, for instance.

    Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist: MC Hammer

    What’s old is new again.

  38. 38.

    flukebucket

    @SatanicPanic: Well I guess that helps explain it. Rock is on it’s last leg and so am I. But that is okay I guess. Every dog has it’s day. Maybe it is the fact that young people today smoke Sweet Tarts and incense but when Taylor Swift beat out Dave Matthews a few years ago for artist of the year I knew that my taste in music was not well represented in the award shows.

  39. 39.

    Laura

    @FlipYrWhig:

    “Stuff sucks these days, not like when I was younger.” I think it was Ogg the Neanderthal who first said that.

    I think the first to say that was actually Helium, one of the elements involved in the Big Bang that created our universe (noble gases can talk don’t you know!).

  43. 43.

    Alex S.

    There’s a rumor that Bieber’s management knows that his teen star career is more or less over so they try to get him into an action movie.

    These awards go to him simply because the industry hopes that they make Bieber appear more ‘serious’.

    @PeakVT:
    Good example! These award shows usually miss the really important acts and focus on what’s popular at the moment. In 1992, maybe Nirvana or Aphex Twin should have received some awards.

  44. 44.

    Davo

    Look. To preface: Im an older guy who thinks Beatles/Stones/Hendrix/Zeppelin is the apex of modern music as I imagine alot of you do as well.

    But! I say lay off the Biebs. You ever heard this kid play drums on You Tube when he was like 12? Because he sounds like John Bonham. I’ve seen that kid play basketball and soccer and I’m pretty sure he’s got college level game at both. He knew enough at age 17 to laugh at Republicans and our healthcare system which is more than I can say for myself. And I’ve never heard a single song he does… (I’m sure its aweful) but the kid can really sing and dance, can he not? More than we could say for Britney in her prime.. This is a supremely talented kid and its no accident he’s a multimillion dollar superstar.

    All this is to say, I respect this kid. Sure he’s a 17 year old pop star so he’s a very easy target for ridicule. But mainstream music died well, well before the coming of Bieber. It really is the Apocalypse of the Music Industry and Pop music.. But that’s been going on for 20 years and it ain’t the kid’s fault at all.

    /rant

  46. 46.

    Violet

    @Odie Hugh Manatee: There are always more teenage girls and thus always another pop boy to take his place.

    @FlipYrWhig: I love One Direction. They look like excited puppies, they’re so cute. Their songs sound like they’re straight out of the film “That Thing You Do”, but they’re catchy and easy to sing along to. That probably makes me shallow and lame, but that’s okay. I’m not going to buy any of their music, but it’s harmless fluff and fun.

  47. 47.

    joeyess

    Does this mean I’ll be forced to look at pictures of this kid getting out of a limo without wearing his underwear?

  48. 48.

    Don K

    Hey c’mon, there’s always been plenty of absolute crap in the pop music world. Remember the Archies?

  49. 49.

    Feudalism Now!

    Why are people so offended by Bieber? Is his music any worse than any of the other pablum on radio ever? I mean Frankie Valley is annoying as all heck and he is still touring the AARP and casino circuit. Plus, bonus homophobia and Bieber has feminine traits therefore he is lessor is fun too. Good job folks!

  50. 50.

    kindness

    Wow, I am not saddened to have missed that awards program.

    Justin Bieber? Really? I guess I should be happy it wasn’t One Direction. While we aren’t going to hell, the Media has been wallowing in it for some time now.

  51. 51.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Violet: I like pop and dance music and mindless froth, but I thought they were just atrocious, like they had come in 5th place in a local lip-synch contest.

  52. 52.

    Cassidy

    OH NOES! ROCK IS DYING….said every generation since the 1950’s. There is a lot of really great rock music out right now.

  53. 53.

    Violet

    @FlipYrWhig: Oh, yeah, they’re not great, but they’re adorable to watch on stage. Their recorded songs–the ones I’m hearing on TV commercials on on the radio–seem fine enough. Probably lots of help in the studio with that.

  58. 58.

    MattF

    Well, note that the hipster motto is “Your favorite band sucks,” so the reaction to Bieber (who I have never listened to and do not plan to listen to) seems to be mostly acted-out angst on the part of the Formerly Cute.

  59. 59.

    Redshift

    It’s the way of things. Oppressive governments, like Reagan and Thatcher, produce great music. More crappy pop music is the price we pay for Obama’s re-election. And I’m okay with that.

  62. 62.

    burnspbesq

    @SatanicPanic:

    I would say that right now Rock is on its last legs,

    All forms of music are always on their last legs. You should see some of the shit that was written about Bach in the 1730s.

  65. 65.

    Cacti

    @Davo:

    But! I say lay off the Biebs. You ever heard this kid play drums on You Tube when he was like 12? Because he sounds like John Bonham. I’ve seen that kid play basketball and soccer and I’m pretty sure he’s got college level game at both

    When did Mr. Bieber’s agent start posting here?

  68. 68.

    handsmile

    Seems the Apocalypse is always lurking. From the Encyclopedia Wikipedia, the roster of previous winners of AMA’s “Artist of the Year”:

    Artist of the Year

    1996 Garth Brooks
    2001 N’Sync
    2002 U2
    2003 Madonna
    2004 Kenny Chesney
    2005 no award
    2006 no award
    2007 Carrie Underwood
    2008 Chris Brown
    2009 Taylor Swift
    2010 Justin Bieber
    2011 Taylor Swift
    2012 Justin Bieber

    U2 must have really sucked goats’ testicles in 2002 to be part of this rogues’ gallery.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Music_Award

  69. 69.

    Redshift

    I’m lucky, in a way. My high school era was the late 70’s, so I’ve never gotten stuck on the whole “music was really great in my day” thing.

  70. 70.

    Bobby Thomson

    I just want to know why Billie Joe Armstrong had to go to rehab for correctly stating that he is not Justin fucking Bieber.

  72. 72.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Don K:

    The Archies were created by Don Kirshner because The Monkees wanted to be a real rock band, not a vehicle for Don Kirshner’s bank account. So, get rid of the live humans, make them cartoons, and then you can dispose of annoying musicians with annoying ambitions of their own at will.

  73. 73.

    Cacti

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    People have been saying rock is on its last legs since before Buddy Holly died. It seems to keep resurrecting itself.

    Didn’t Don McClean write the first ode to the death of rock back in 1971?

  74. 74.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Cassidy: Oh my God. IMHO Tom Waits sucks way worse than any Svengali-confected popsters like Justin Bieber or One Direction. I might as well put out a cigarette in one ear and rub the other with sandpaper.

  75. 75.

    redshirt

    Hold on, let me tie this onion to my belt….

    Music was much better in my day – we’d bang stones together and Thog would blow through his special hollow stick and we’d dance around the fire and that was the way we liked it!

  76. 76.

    Cassidy

    @Villago Delenda Est: Well, you gotta do some diggin’. I find it ironically amusing though that people who eschew “mainstream music” will also say things like “rock is dying”, yet great rock music is being made….just not mainstream, yet.

    That being said, and mild trolling aside, there has been some really good rock bands on the radio lately.

  79. 79.

    FlipYrWhig

    I’m looking forward to the Justin Bieber revival in about 2040. Like when people about a decade ago decided they were now willing to admit that they liked ABBA.

  83. 83.

    gbear

    @flukebucket:

    I ache for young people today. What a disaster modern music is. A complete and total disaster.

    I can still remember my dad’s reaction when we were watching The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show. I thought it was the coolest thing I’d ever seen in my life and was practially jumping up and down (I was nine y.o. at the time) He thought the same thing as you, thought their hair length was sick and a scandal, and said that they were probably laughing all the way to the bank. He hated them, probably more so because my sisters and I were going ape.

    That said, Breiber’s hat in that picture is one of my least favorite things about hip-hop fashion. I really hate oversized baseball hats.

  84. 84.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Cassidy: I’ve tried a few things in that vein. Like Lou Reed. It just doesn’t take with me. I’m a philistine. When it comes to music, I need both melody and structure.

  86. 86.

    burnspbesq

    @FlipYrWhig:

    I’m looking forward to the Justin Bieber revival in about 2040. Like when people about a decade ago decided they were now willing to admit that they liked ABBA.

    We all have our guilty pleasures. The world is full of closet REO Speedwagon and Dan Fogelberg fans.

  87. 87.

    Cacti

    @FlipYrWhig:

    I’m looking forward to the Justin Bieber revival in about 2040. Like when people about a decade ago decided they were now willing to admit that they liked ABBA.

    Provided he doesn’t sink into despair and die from an overdose during the intervening decade where he becomes a punch line.

  88. 88.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Cacti:

    Yeah, and he slammed The Beatles and The Rolling Stones in his lyrics.

    That’s well beyond the “burn the heretic!” stage if you ask me.

  89. 89.

    FlipYrWhig

    @gbear: People sure were weird about hair back then. Was it because it was closer in time to World War II, so everyone was habituated to the idea that man = crew cut?

  90. 90.

    WarMunchkin

    What is that thing on his head?

    I kid. That guy doesn’t have a terrible voice. With a little more vocal training and an actual focus on music, he could sound pretty good. Just not digging the thug image, it’s completely useless. The thing inviting his mom on stage was pretty cute.

  92. 92.

    Bobby Thomson

    I don’t like that surfin’ shit. Rock and roll’s been going downhill ever since Buddy Holly died.

  93. 93.

    Davo

    @Cacti: lol I hear you. But before you say that, check out the youtube videos. He really is amazingly talented. Believe me, noone wants to hate on this kid more than I do…

  96. 96.

    CW in LA

    Surely y’all realize that an essential function of any generation’s music is to annoy preceding generations.

    So congratulations are clearly in order.

  97. 97.

    Zifnab25

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    That’s well beyond the “burn the heretic!” stage if you ask me.

    At least he had the good grace not to claim he was bigger than Jesus. You get totally crucified for that sort of thing.

  98. 98.

    Cacti

    @WarMunchkin:

    Just not digging the thug image, it’s completely useless

    He’s just following in the time honored tradition of Pat Boone.

    Cuddly caucasian cribs the style of dangerous negroes for consumption by suburban audiences.

  99. 99.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Cacti:

    Provided he doesn’t sink into despair and die from an overdose during the intervening decade where he becomes a punch line.

    Sadly, a lot like Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley, although I’ll go to Hell for including Bieber in their ranks.

  100. 100.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Zifnab25:

    Yeah, and Lennon was snarking when he said that, too.

    Not that the tin ears of the holy rollers were tuned to pick it up.

  103. 103.

    SatanicPanic

    @Cassidy: But that’s really the point. Rock’n’roll is on the Jazz track now- niche music that people reference, but few people actually listen to. It’s dying as a cultural force. Hip Hop isn’t far behind, either.

  104. 104.

    redshirt

    I assume much like Gozer….

    (Gozer) will come in one of the pre-chosen forms. During the rectification of the Vuldronaii, the traveler came as a large and moving Torb! Then, during the third reconciliation of the last of the Meketrex Supplicants, they chose a new form for him: that of a giant Sloar! Many Shubs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Sloar that day, I can tell you!

    There is one God of Teen Pop Music and It takes different forms in every generation, and so while the Form may change, the pure pop evil distilled in crystal in It’s stony heart remains the same.

  106. 106.

    Cassidy

    @SatanicPanic: I don’t agree with that. I think people have settled on a narrow definition of rock, based on one thing or another, and anything that doesn’t match that doesn’t count. To me the Black Keys is rock and Awolnation is Rock and My Chemical Romance is rock, etc. They all have different influences that mold a particular sound, but it’s still rock n roll to me. ;)

  107. 107.

    Judas Escargot, Bringer of Loaves and Fish Sandwiches

    @SatanicPanic:

    I’m still technically young, but I would say that right now Rock is on its last legs, Rap is better than ever and pop is no worse or better than it has always been.

    I sometimes joke that Radiohead is The Last Rock Band, because that’s about as far as an act can deviate from traditional four-bar rock and still be recognized as “ROCK!” by the audience. (The same thing killed prog-rock all those years ago).

    It’s not so much that ‘Rock is Dead’. It’s that you can only change it so much before the audiences stop recognizing it. So now it’s just another established form, like Ragtime, Blues, or Jazz.

    Which is fine (that’s how music has historically worked), but please stop trying to sell me variations of the same shit I heard seven (or twenty-seven) years ago and telling me how new and fresh and rebellious it is. Because I know for a fact that it’s not.

    I literally haven’t heard a new guitar sound since 1993. Most of the interesting music is electronic now.

  108. 108.

    gbear

    @FlipYrWhig: back then it was either buzz cuts or flat tops. If your hair was long, you combed it into a greasy pompador (see: Elvis). No one wore their long hair in a more natural configuration like the Beatles did, and they picked up that haircut from bohemian college kids in Germany. It really was a brand new thing and as such it causeed an uproar. I was trying my best to adopt it by the time I was in sixth grade, but my pictures from back then look like a buzz cut with bangs.

  110. 110.

    Amir Khalid

    I’m in my early fifties now (I’m two weeks older than Obama!) and I can remember a new batch of teen idols coming down the pike just about every year since the mid-to-late sixties. Most of them disappeared and were forgotten. There are people on these threads who remember when the Beatles were teen idols and no one in say, 1964 took seriously the idea that four Scousers in a bar band would become titans of music. For all anyone knows right now, Justin Bieber might someday stand with such titans, although he has yet to show signs of lasting artistic significance. Not likely on the evidence so far, but still possibloe.

  111. 111.

    forked tongue

    I’m 58. I think Titus Andronicus and Fucked Up are as good as all but a few of the bands I have ever loved, and yet strangely, they didn’t win any American Music Awards! What the hell is going on out there??!?

  113. 113.

    SatanicPanic

    @Cassidy: Did I catch a Billy Joel reference?

    In the last 10 years what rock music has been big? Post-grunge (post-grunge! BARF!) and revivalists like the Black Keys, the White Stripes or Fun. I’m mean, I’m just not seeing a ton to go forward with. I’m in a punk band, so I’m not dancing on rock’s grave by any means, just calling it like I see it.

  116. 116.

    patrick

    @flukebucket:

    I attribute it to my age but that show last night was unwatchable. I ache for young people today. What a disaster modern music is. A complete and total disaster.

    my wife was watching it….I had to leave the room after about 5 minutes, it was just that bad….the scriptwriting was embarrassingly bad, and the drek on the stage made nickleback look like a real band….

    shoot, compared to the few acts I did stick around for, I’d prefer watching “The Wiggles” with my kids for entertainment and musicianship.

  118. 118.

    NonyNony

    I’m a bit confused – what exactly is supposed to be outrageous about this? It’s a poll of people who buy music that ends up closely matching the performers who have sold the most music. Shocking! When the fans vote for artists that they like it suspiciously mirrors the artists that they purchase.

    I just looked up the previous winners of this prestigious award. Bieber joins the ranks of such luminaries as Carrie Underwood, Chris Brown, Taylor Swift (twice!) and … Justin Bieber.

    I’m not really sure that this counts as a sign of the Apocalypse.

  119. 119.

    one of the jasons

    @Just Some Fuckhead: He really does seem to be turning into Grace Jones just a bit. I think this is good! Maybe he’ll get weird

    I don’t know about his singing prowess. I heard one of his Christmastime novelty songs this morning, and it was autotuned all to bejesus and back. So, (a) it turns out you can make Christmas music more annoying, and (b) what am I doing why am I even here.

  121. 121.

    Rathskeller

    I’m just glad we’re mostly old farts muttering about this whippersnapper, and not gnashing our teeth over the Romney presidency and its many failings.

  122. 122.

    Cassidy

    @SatanicPanic: Yes. Yes you did.

    To me it’s just evolution. I’m sure you remember the conversations in the 90’s that “punk was dead” and so on and so forth. I prefer older punk myself (New York Dolls, Misfits, etc.) but I love the stuff that came out later. My favorite “punk” show is still Flogging Molly. For me, it’s not so much about teh sound of the music anymore, but what’s being said. You know as well as I do that punk is pretty niche these days, but that hasn’t stopped some amazing bands from making music (Flatfoot 56). I feel the same way about rock. I don’t consider them revivalists, just very talented people with a lot fo different influences. You can hear the punk influence in the Arctic Monkeys or MCR. Are they punk? No, not really, but I appreciate that at some point they spent some time listening to it and it made an impression.

    Everything is starting to blur a little bit and I like it. I think the combination of 90’s alternative rock and hip hop on the Judgement Night soundtrack was genius. I love the recent wave of rock and roll with powerful female singers; if you haven’t heard Halestorm’s cover of Slave to the Grind, you’re missing out. While I will always fall back on my preferred era of punk, I can spend weeks listening to all kinds of new stuff that is out there.

  123. 123.

    flukebucket

    @patrick:

    My wife turned to it just to see what was going on in the music world. Not much as far as I could tell. I guess judging by the last 5 years we are in some kind of Taylor Swift / Justin Bieber time warp. I will usually call him Dustin Beaver and pretend not to know better just to piss off the youngsters in the family. And it is true that most music is sold in this country to folks ranging in age from 12 to 14 so hell, it is what it is. This world is not my home. I am only passing through.

  124. 124.

    Hypatia's Momma

    @Redshift:

    My high school era was the late 70’s, so I’ve never gotten stuck on the whole “music was really great in my day” thing.

    Well, there were Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd, Kiss, Ted Nugent (yeah, I know), Judas Priest, The Clash… lots of great rock music. And, of course, the beginnings of Bauhaus, etc.

  126. 126.

    srv

    Back in the day, the greats had vices that killed them. Today, these kids don’t have anything to put them out of our misery.

  130. 130.

    SatanicPanic

    @Cassidy: There’s good rock’n’roll out there, but I agree with Judas Escargot upthread- at some point you have to draw a line at where rock’n’roll ends, otherwise you end up like Country, which I define as: whatever music people are listening to today, played by southern bands with fiddles. It’s not really useful to me as a musician if I go to play music with someone and they say “let’s play some rock’n’roll” and I have no idea what they’re talking about.

  131. 131.

    Hypatia's Momma

    @Villago Delenda Est:
    I had the delight of seeing them as Soft White Underbelly at the Kabuki Theatre. AND got to go backstage! (My then-boyfriend was an excellent amateur photographer and frequently managed to get us backstage at concerts to present poster-size photos to the bands. Also, of course, having an extra to be autographed.) (‘Buck Dharma’: hella short and way cute.)

  134. 134.

    jayackroyd

    Aren’t all pearls cultured these days? I remember touring a black pearl grower in Tahiti. (Yes, you should go to Tahiti.)

  135. 135.

    The Other Chuck

    @Violet:

    C&C Music Factory. I don’t even know who that is. So I clicked over to their wiki page and I still don’t know anything they did.

    Was there a decade where you never turned on a radio and heard Gonna Make You Sweat, better known by Martha Wash’s opening lyrical contribution of “Everybody dance now”?

  136. 136.

    Cassidy

    @SatanicPanic: Yeah, but when you start drawing lines you end up with “alternative rock” because the grunge sound of the 90’s bore little resemblance to GNR and other glam rock bands of the late 80’s. That’s why I mentioned the Judgement Night soundtrack. To my knowledge, outside of Biohazard and the Run DMC/ Aerosmith classic, rock and hip hop stuck to themselves. For my gnereation, at least, that was the first time where some major genres combined for something better. Today, we have Gangstagrass. Whether you like it or not is immaterial, it’s a pretty damn creative mash up. But this always goes on: Nu Metal wasn’t metal, glam metal wasn’t metal, 90’s punk and pop punk weren’t punk (enough), Post-punks got nothing, Emo/ screamo were just imitating rock bands, etc. Sometimes you just gotta enjoy the music.

    Except Simple Plan. That shit can DIAF as far as I’m concerned. ;)

  138. 138.

    Cacti

    @NonyNony:

    I’m a bit confused – what exactly is supposed to be outrageous about this? It’s a poll of people who buy music that ends up closely matching the performers who have sold the most music. Shocking! When the fans vote for artists that they like it suspiciously mirrors the artists that they purchase.

    On the other side of the coin, when it comes to the industry pros of NARAS, the Grammy Awards have a long history of ignoring or shaking their cane at new and interesting music.

    Artists who never won Grammys include:

    Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, The Beach Boys, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, The Doors, The Kinks, The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, Parliament, Sly & The Family Stone, Bob Marley, Public Enemy, Run DMC, Eric B & Rakim, Tupac etc.

    Michael Bolton, on the other hand, has multiple awards.

  139. 139.

    Cassidy

    @burnspbesq: Kids these days…living somewhat helathy, playing sports, not doing drugs. Where the fuck do they get off thinking they can play rock n roll?

  141. 141.

    Cassidy

    @SatanicPanic: That was a good line, though. I’m gonna steal it. I’m still amused that the biggest “country” act right is playing nothing but pop music. Oh well, she’s pretty and blond.

  142. 142.

    Hypatia's Momma

    @jayackroyd:
    I think the implication was more that he seems to be wearing A Girl’s Necklace and that’s A Bad Thing. Because girls are gross and no True Man would ever do anything to look like one.

  143. 143.

    burnspbesq

    There’s still plenty of good rock being made these days, by artists as diverse as Fountains of Wayne, The Decemberists, Wilco, Dawes, Best Coast, Jason Isbell, Panic! at the Disco, Death Cab for Cutie, TV on the Radio, Jenny Scheinman’s Mischief and Mayhem (a rock band made up of jazz musicians), and (gasp!) old fogies like John Hiatt and Neil Young.

  145. 145.

    burnspbesq

    @Cassidy:

    Oh well, she’s pretty and blond.

    My biggest beef with She Who Will Not Be Named is that she’s sucking all the air out of the room, so that there is no way for enormously talented young artists like Sierra Hull or Sarah Jarosz to get any mainstream run.

    Sierra Hull is pretty and blonde – and she has a degree from Berklee and Thile/Bush level chops on mandolin. How many of y’all can name one of her songs?

  146. 146.

    SatanicPanic

    @Cassidy: Well yeah, the genres can combine, but at some point it becomes something new and people still working in the old styles stop being innovators. That’s where rock is at right now. Rap is going through what I think is its last new iteration- the end of authenticity as a defining factor. After this, I don’t think there is much left to explore. So people take that and move on to something else. They already are- pairing pop singers + rappers. Or pairing rap + dance music. But when that happens it becomes tougher to put out a straightforward rap album. Just like right now if you put out a rock’n’roll album made by 5 white dudes with just guitars and drums, all doing blues-scale riffs and singing about going to bars and riding motorcyles you wouldn’t get played on the radio to the same degree you would have 30 years ago.

  147. 147.

    Paul in KY

    @J.: Who was the blonde who gyrated around with the male dancers all with their faces painted up like skulls (early in the show)?

    Ke$ha? Brittany?

  149. 149.

    Comrade Jake

    This kid is arguably one of the biggest tools walking the Earth, and his music is pretty lousy. The only consolation is that I really don’t see how he’s even around a couple of years from now.

  151. 151.

    Violet

    @The Other Chuck: Oh, is that that song? I didn’t know what it was called. Yeah, I’ve heard it. You couldn’t have avoided it unless you’d been living off the grid. And even then…

  152. 152.

    Cassidy

    @burnspbesq: Honestly, I’m not that bothered by her. It’s safe, poppy music my kids can hear on the radio. I own her first two albums because my kids went through that phase where they wanted to hear her…all. the. time. I don’t know how much of her material she writes or if she still writes her lyrics, but I think she’s mostly harmless. I’d rather listen to her than Shania Twain or Faith Hill or Carrie Underwood, if I was being made to listen to country music.

    There are plenty of good, indie female pop musicians, but some of it is truly annoying. There’s one girl, can’t remember her name, but she showed up on Pandora in heavy rotation who’s lyrics are incomrehensible. They made no fucking sense whatsoever. I’m sure they did to her and she had a beautiful voice, but I couldn’t connect at all.

    @SatanicPanic: Just sayin’ music evolves is all.

  154. 154.

    Cassidy

    @Comrade Jake: By all accounts, he seems like a pretty nice kid. I get the impression he grew up fairly well off and has some of the entitlement that goes with it, but isn’t nearly a big a douchenozzle as some of his contemporaries.

  155. 155.

    maurinsky

    @FlipYrWhig:

    He’s not pretty to look at, and he’s not a pretty singer, but the man is a fucking maestro songwriter. You have to give him props for that.

    There is lots of great music being made, you just won’t hear any of it on the radio.

  156. 156.

    Paul in KY

    @Cassidy: Saw Flogging Molly at Bonnaroo this year. Right after the Bad Brains set. Was pretty crazy in there for awhile. I had to move back to the old fogey viewing area :-)

  157. 157.

    gttim

    @jeffreyw:

    You know jeffreyw, that little girl Orianthi toured with Alice Cooper for two world tours, shredded her little glitter guitar and stood toe-to-toe with the great Steve Hunter. I was on the 11th row for one of those shows. I was impressed!

    That being said, that is a pretty insipid song you linked to.

  158. 158.

    Cassidy

    @maurinsky: Dead Sara is on the radio. Halestorm is on the radio. Icon for Hire is on the radio. Paramore, MCR, Fountains of Wayne, Gym Class Heroes, Jason Mraz, Jack Johnson, The Racontuers, The White Stripes, The Black Keys, Panic! at the Disco, The White Tie Affair, the Arctic Monkeys, The Fratellis, Franz Ferdinand, The Cure,…all music I’ve heard on the radio within the past year or so.

  159. 159.

    Interrobang

    @Cassidy: I guess you haven’t heard some of the racist shit that’s come out of his mouth, or his “opinion” on abortion, or all that stuff. He’s a typical southwestern Ontario funnymentalist Christian teenager, and I mean that with as much derision as I can pack into the phrase. I grew up about 30 minutes down the road from Der Biebs, and I can tell you, kids like him are incredibly big douchenozzles. They’re racist as fuck (Biebs probably never met a black person until he left Stratford, and I’m guessing grew up around casual white supremacists like my mother), right-wing from birth, annoyingly religious, and self-righteous about it all.

    Dude needs to go away; he’s making us look bad. Not that his demographic isn’t bad, just that we’re not all like that.

    If you want to hear some actually good Canadian music, look up “No Heaven” by DJ Champion. If you like electronica, Deadmau5 is your guy. (ETA: Dragonette is also kind of poppy but really damn good.)

  160. 160.

    Xecky Gilchrist

    @Cassidy: So is this whole comments section gonn abe a bunch of “get off my lawn” and “I’m too cool to listen to mainstream music” type stuff?

    Hell, this whole BLOG is like that sometimes.

  161. 161.

    SatanicPanic

    @Cassidy: That is does. I’m not dissing music today, lots of quality music out there. That being said, I don’t really like quality music- I like punk and rap. I think Lil Wayne is in the running for Greatest Of All Time so that’s where I’m coming from. :)

  163. 163.

    Cassidy

    @Interrobang: No, I didn’t/ don’t know any of that. I don’t keep up with the guy. Occassionally, I’ll come across stories on CNN that talk about him and interest me in the same way the National Enquirer does. He could be a complete and utter prick or a decent kid, for all I know. The things I have read show him in a decent light. That is all.

    Yeah, you sent us Celine Dion and Shania Tain. I know longer trust your judgement Canada!

    The only bands I listen to that I know are Canadian are Sum 41 and Billy Talent. I’m sure there’s more, but I never went out of my way to look.

  164. 164.

    Cassidy

    @SatanicPanic: I’m more of B.o.B. fan. I just can’t get over Lil’ Wayne’s voice. Something about it bugs me. B.o.B. just sounds like he’s having more fun. I mentioned it early, Gangstagrass. It sounds odd at first, but it’s amazing at how well they mash up.

  165. 165.

    burnspbesq

    @Interrobang:

    I’ve been a Bruce Cockburn fan for almost 40 years, and I have a pathetic crush on Kathleen Edwards, but y’all still have to answer for Bachman Turner Overdrive.

  166. 166.

    SatanicPanic

    @Cassidy: BoB is great, loved that Airplanes song. I just like that Lil Wayne seems to do whatever he feels like. He doesn’t really do them well, but that’s not really a big deal for me. He’s like a punk-rock rapper. Or Ke$ha, she’s like a punk rock pop singer. Listening to Gangstagrass right now on your recommendation- woah. This is nuts. Can’t believe they’re making a bluegrass + rap mashup work.

  168. 168.

    dr. luba

    Was over my brother’s house last night, and had to watch a bit of this. Horrible. But then it always was. I’ve never watched any of these award shows becasue none of my bands have ever participated (punk in the 70s, other weird/alt stuff since). It’s industry-produced pabulum that usually wins and performs.

    My 15 year old niece is my window on this world. She is not impresed by the Bieber (although her cousins are HUGE fans), but loves herself some One Direction. Has sworn off Taylor Swift, a former favorite, becasue she cheated on her BF after writing all those songs about being cheated upon.

    And yes, Neil Young is still rockin in the free world.

  169. 169.

    Paul in KY

    Probably most of you have heard of these acts, if you haven’t, try:

    Grace Potter & Nocturnals
    Manchester Orchestra
    River City Extension
    Orgone
    The Kooks
    Moon Taxi
    Airborne Toxic Event
    The Gaslight Anthem
    The Devil makes Three
    Lights

    All great, great bands.

  170. 170.

    West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.)

    I just wonder how much actual artistry there is in this young man. Does he write his own lyrics? Does he play an instrument? Or is he just a wind-up toy who is taught the new dance moves and who goes onstage to sing? I genuinely don’t know. I can’t name a single song by Bieber. And he certainly would be just one in a long line of wind-up toys. But to call such a performer the “artist” of the year does sound like quite a stretch. Say what you will about Taylor Swift (and the tenets of National Socialism), at least she is genuinely creative.

  173. 173.

    Cassidy

    @SatanicPanic: I hear ya. That context makes sense. I might have to go back and give it a try. I really like Ke$ha as well. It’s not amazing, but it has a good groove to it and it’s so much better than that bubblegum stuff from the cute country/pop blonde. I’m sorry, but you don’t get to be tall and attractive and lament being the girl next door.

  175. 175.

    Ruckus

    I haven’t seen anyone mention disco.

    Now that was some cool…
    I’m torn between finishing that and cutting off my typing hand. Hmmm

  176. 176.

    SatanicPanic

    @Cassidy: Yeah, I can’t stand Taylor Swift. No one who has dated John Mayer should be allowed to run the “I’m a good country girl” scam.

  177. 177.

    maurinsky

    @Cassidy: Dead Sara is on the radio. Halestorm is on the radio. Icon for Hire is on the radio. Paramore, MCR, Fountains of Wayne, Gym Class Heroes, Jason Mraz, Jack Johnson, The Racontuers, The White Stripes, The Black Keys, Panic! at the Disco, The White Tie Affair, the Arctic Monkeys, The Fratellis, Franz Ferdinand, The Cure,…all music I’ve heard on the radio within the past year or so.

    Reply
    I don’t know who Dead Sara, Halestorm, Icon for Hire are. I don’t really like Paramore or Gym Class Heroes. Mraz and Johnson sound like easy listening to my ears. The rest of the them I either own a bunch of their music already or don’t really care for them, but I didn’t learn about any of them from the radio. I’d given up on the radio after the last time I forgot my iPod at home – after scanning the dial and hearing pop, country pop, oldies, rap, classic rock and more than anything else, commercials, I just can’t take it. It’s good that there are radio stations that are playing good stuff, but my personal experience differs.

    And my 15 year old never listens to the radio, but always is introducing me to new music.

  178. 178.

    Cassidy

    @maurinsky: Well, why didn’t you just say the you had never heard them on the radio. :D

    Where I’m at we have a pretty good rock station that runs the gamut of straight rock, indie, alternative, punk, etc. I don’t listen to the radio a lot, preferring my Ipod, but when I do, I’m guaranteed to hear something decent.

  179. 179.

    blingee

    With the end of the high school semester upon us where do you find time to blog and watch AMA mistermix? Surely you must have lots of homework and exams to study for no?

  182. 182.

    blingee

    @ImJohnGalt: Nickleback is the #2 best selling international musical group of all time in the US behind the Beatles. So deal with it. Facts and all.

  184. 184.

    Cassidy

    @Comrade Mary: I thought I remember reading she also tried out for Glee. I get the impression she’s a lot more talented than the industry has “allowed” her to be, but is perfectly happy to roll with it. I’d be pretty content being rich as well.

  185. 185.

    wasabi gasp

    Most of the bands mentioned in this thread suck. There’s no accounting for taste…but there is for money. Bieber wins.

  186. 186.

    Cassidy

    @Comrade Mary: The other interesting thing, since Nickleback was brought into this, they had a hit song that satrts with him ruminating on how much he loves a good blowjob from his girlfriend. Somehow Ke$ha is a whore, though?

  187. 187.

    Montysano

    @flukebucket:

    I ache for young people today. What a disaster modern music is. A complete and total disaster.

    Bullshit. The music biz is exactly as it’s always been, and as always, you have to search outside the mainstream to find the good stuff.

    I’ve been actively going to concerts since 1969, and in the last 24 months I’ve seen some of the best shows I’ve ever seen: Avett Bros, Black Keys, Civil Wars, Gillian Welch, Carolina Chocolate Drops, etc.

  191. 191.

    wasabi gasp

    @Montysano:

    Bullshit.

    I often agree with that sentiment. (I so wanted to stop there.) Although, it seems to me, that cream no longer rises to the top of pop music as much (or at all) since the way it did in the 60s-70s.

    you have to search outside the mainstream to find the good stuff.

    That is no small feat. I doubt most people have the time to do that.

  192. 192.

    Cassidy

    @wasabi gasp: It’s actually really easy. Go to Youtube and plug in a song you like. Then proceed to follow the links to other videos on the sidebar. More often than not, you’ll find something.

    @ImJohnGalt: I read the article and I’m surprised at how much of a machine they are. I always assumed they were guys making music, somewhat unaware of anything beyond drinking, screwing, and playing gutiar. I’ve said before, I don’t care how much you hate on Nickelback, when they come on the radio everyone sings along.

  193. 193.

    Jason

    Relax, guys. Bieber = Paul Anka in the sixties or Cory Haim in the eighties. There’s always a niche for a non-threatening man-boy to ease the tween set gently into sexuality, and right now, that’s Bieber.

  194. 194.

    The Other Chuck

    @FlipYrWhig:

    I might as well put out a cigarette in one ear and rub the other with sandpaper.

    Then rinse them with cheap scotch and dry with a hooker’s skirt and you’ve pretty much got the idea.

  196. 196.

    wasabi gasp

    @Cassidy:

    It’s actually really easy.

    I must disagree.

    More often than not, you’ll find something.

    I’m not interested in finding something, I’m interested in finding something really good. Something I want to listen to over and over again.

    I do enjoy the search…and I enjoy listening to new stuff even though I know I have little or no interest in ever listening to it again. But ultimately, my goal in a music search is to find stuff that is so good that, while it’s playing, I can barely do anything else but listen.

    There’s a lot of “I” in this comment. I am aware that the biggest variable is me. Bieber wins.

  201. 201.

    Laura

    @burnspbesq: Did you really just say Fountains of Wayne and Death Cab for Cutie counted as “good rock music”………..?????????

    But I have no leg to stand on, I can’t even stand to listen to most “popular” stuff from before the 80s, I only like maybe 3 or 4 Stones songs, everything else is just blah to me.

    @Cassidy: FYI Bieber is the son of a single teenage mom and grew up in low income housing (yes I watched the “documentary” on him it was entertaining so sue me)

  202. 202.

    rea

    In my youth, there was this really cute boy band that all the young girls loved, although some of us guys did not approve, preferring harder-rocking alternatives. Older people definitely did not approve, and were saying (much like several commentors above) that those no-talent jerks would be forgotten in a couple of years time. What was the name of that band? Something cute . . . oh, I remember! The Beatles . . .

  203. 203.

    wasabi gasp

    @rea:

    oh, I remember! The Beatles…

    Bingo! I couldn’t place it before. Aside from the cap, Bieber looks like he’s dressed as Eleanor Rigby.

  211. 211.

    momforthebieber

    @Davo: Thanks, Davo. As a 56 year old Mom, I have to constantly tell friends my age to lay off Justin. He has most likely given away more philanthropy funds than all the people on this blog, and he does fantastic things from his heart. He came from nothing and hasn’t become an arrogant brat like other stars have. Anybody remember those complex lyrics from the 60’s? I Wanna Hold Your Hand? Those 4 guys developed into very deep thoughtful musicians….Imagine that. Justin will most likely follow suit and he does it with class, not trash.

  212. 212.

    Hypatia's Momma

    @PurpleGirl:
    Eh, not so much for women. Quite a few of them had short hair; that style became popular in the ’20s and never really went away.

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