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August 26, 2008
re: american "psycho" prayer
I can't stop thinking about that terrible "American Prayer" video. It is so mind numbingly awful that it's scorched into my retina. It's like a free lasik surgery. The song was written by Dave Stewart (from the Eurythmics) and Bono of course. There's nothing like two non-Americans writing a song about America. It's even better when that song is turned into a sprawling visual masterpiece.
Eliot Van Buskirk at Wired's Listening Post says "certain shots are so deeply embarrassing that we had to hit pause a few times just to make it all the way through." I still haven't been able to watch it all they way through. In the comment section there's a defense of the video. I have to post the full thing, it's too classic.
what's wrong with it? artists impassioned with the belief that america can live up to its promise? i look forward to the day when amateur music critics (don't tell me you make a living doing this blog) appreciate performers coming out to support a political/social cause. that's the way it was in the 60s. hunter s. thompson was right. you can almost look back and see the high water mark. you might feign being holier than thou, but this is earnest faith is something better. and if that is what you lack, find it. don't trash others who have. they haven't done this video for their own benefit. they've done it for a cause. a cause much larger than this video. but by denegrating this video so smugly, you denegrate the cause. and come across as a shallow, cheap, hipster who hopes to one day be a legitimate critic, but will ultimately fail because you think if music/videos aren't cool in a post-modern ironic sense than they aren't cool at all. this video has reached a lot of hearts. let it be. and recant if your ego will allow."A cause much larger than the video." This type of rhetorical nonsense is sad, but not uncommon. The fascination with the 60's is a common trait among Leftists. Leftists like Bernadine Dohrn.
Dohrn is Bill Ayers wife and the co-host of Obama's career-launching fundraiser. Dohrn is quoted as saying "at the end of the day, I feel like we were lucky to be in that history. We were lucky to be in that history. We were lucky to be in that moment where there was hope and a sense of libratory possibility." Terrorism never felt so good.
When she [Dohrn] was in the Weather Underground she was one of those members typically fascinated with Charles Manson (I discuss this briefly in my book). Speaking of Manson's famous murders she exclaimed, "Dig It! First they killed those pigs, then they ate dinner in the same room with them, they even shoved a fork into a victim's stomach! Wild!" In appreciation, her Weather Underground cell made a threefingered "fork" gesture its official salute.
Senator Obama's ability to run as the "common man" is hampered by celebrities and his association with Ayers. That's why McCain's house fiasco last week was supposedly such a big deal for Obama. Unfortunately for Obama he can't just wish away his connection to New Left radicals. When you run for President on a paper thin resume this is what happens. Obama is being defined by the radicals he hung out with in Illinois.
Videos like American Prayer, speeches in Berlin, and the acceptance speech at Mile High only reinforce the perception that he's aloof and out of touch. It doesn't even matter if it's true or not, it's the perception. The race isn't about change anymore, it's about who Americans feel more comfortable with as their President. Obviously George Costanza has picked sides.
Posted by nemov at August 26, 2008 6:31 PM
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