A Stitch in Time Saves Nine...But Haste Makes Waste
A collection of real-world libertarian, individualist and laissez-faire rants on law, economics, politics, culture and other current events
by an average, everyday lawyer & investment banker and part-time pop scholar.
"You want to have an intelligent conversation? Do what I do: Talk to yourself. Trust me, it's the only way."
--Torch Song Trilogy
KipEsquire
New York, New York
United States
KipEsquire is a lawyer who doesn't practice, an investment banker who does no deals, an academic who doesn't teach, and a policy wonk who belongs to no think tank. He's 41 and lives in NYC.
Inside the Vault: "You're Smarter Than iTunes" Poll of the Day
Inside the Vault = An intermittent string of weekend posts detailing aspects of my personal life.
I recently bought the following albums in one fell swoop from the iTunes Music Store:
Asia: The Definitive Collection
Carbon Leaf: Indian Summer
Daniel Powter: Daniel Powter
Eurythmics: Ultimate Collection
Five for Fighting: Two Lights
Pilot Speed: Into the West
Quietdrive: When All That's Left is You
Zack Hexum: The Story So Far...
iTunes made some "Recommendations Based on My Cart," none of which are familiar to me. So I'll leave it up to you. Whichever one wins the poll, I'll buy — no questions asked.
You can also cast a write-in vote in the comments.
Inside the Vault = An intermittent string of weekend posts detailing aspects of my personal life.
To review: I had invited readers to select one album from among five that the iTunes Music Store had suggested I might like based on recent purchases.
The results were decisive: Ta-Dah, by Scissor Sisters, garnered a clear majority of the votes cast.
That gave me some pause, to be sure. I had barely heard of Scissor Sisters, really just from a Saturday Night Live episode that I slept through. And any group whose members have names like "Ana Matronic" (get it?) and "BabyDaddy" (any relation to Puff?) would, ceteris paribus, not rank high on my "need to check out" list.
On the other hand, becoming a Scissor Sisters fan might score me some serious points with the cool kids, such as Dustin, Jeremiah, Billy, brief boy and mak.
So, true to my word, I downloaded the album and listened to every song twice. And I am now ready to offer my review:
What the heck were you people thinking?!?
As the first song, "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'," began to play, my first thought was that I had ordered a Bee Gees album by mistake. The falsetto of lead singer Jake Shears is headache-inducing. Elton John played piano in the song — apparently with his feet. The track sounds like Ben Folds sucking helium (or played on 78 rather than 45). Even the video looks like a deleted scene from Saturday Night Fever, complete with cheesy video game sound effects.
Most of the album is more of the same. I liked two songs: "Land of a Thousand Words" and "Paul McCartney" — both get Four Stars (a track must earn three or more stars to survive my Smart Playlists). No Five Stars; "Intermission" earned One Star (an accomplishment in and of itself; I rarely give One Star); "She's My Man," "I Can't Decide," "Kiss You Off" and "Ooh" all scratched out Two Stars; the remaining songs all earned a (Gentleman's) Three Stars.
Damn my subjective tastes and preferences, which seem destined to condemn me to outcast status when it comes to the "gay subculture." Oh well, at least I tried...
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To go off on a tangent: I never feel like dancin'. Never. I simply don't dance. You can fill me full of beer and spike the last one with a hit of ecstacy and still not get me on the dance floor. And there's a reason. But that's another blogpost.
