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Film is not the art of scholars, but of illiterates.


Henry, Ezra, Myself and Werner Herzog (the source of today's title) are all men not afraid of making the odd controversial and inflammatory assertion. As evidenced by the Itsy Bitsy furore, I'm happy to throw the cat amongst the pigeons and lock the gate for my own amusement.

I thought that it might be fun to throw out to the crowd ten more outlandish beliefs that have got me into trouble over the past few years. You might even agree with me, or indeed have your own sacred cow to slay in the comments. Feel free to share.

  1. After the Beatles split up, Paul McCartney's solo work stacks up more favourably than John Lennon's.
  2. Dr Suess's books are tremendously ordinary.
  3. I don't think that Barack Obama is entirely sincere.
  4. Ian Curtis probably did the world of music a favour.
  5. The Dalai Lama is annoying.
  6. Robert De Niro equals "one trick pony".
  7. New gaming systems (Wii; Xbox, PS3) are infinitely better than the old ones (Atari 2600; Sega Master System; Super Nintendo etc).
  8. I like Carry On films more than I do Ingmar Bergman's.
  9. Radiohead haven't done anything interesting since 1998.
  10. Organisationally, McDonalds represents one of humankind's greatest achievements.

Comments

Miles McClagan said…
Powderfinger are as tepid, inoffensive and bland as the much derided Little River Band, they just wear trendier clothes...

And since I also hate U2 and Silverchair, my discussions in Tasmania on music tend to be, er, heated...
USelaine said…
I agree with #6.
smudgeon said…
I'll go along with 2, 3, 5, 9.

Oh, and Miles' comment about Powderfinger also deserves commendation.
I think he sounds just like any other politician....and I just never thought the Beatles were that great. THAT'S a statement that can get me in TROUBLE!
USelaine said…
I should point out that I have no experience of #4,7, or 9, so can neither agree or disagree.
blackie said…
much to my annoyance and dissapointment i agree with those assertions wholeheartedly, apart from number 7 and that's only due to having absolutely zero knowledge of any gaming system whatsoever. damn.
yamini said…
cute photograph, as usual!!!!
Rachel E. Adams said…
Re: Dalai Lama
It's amazing how he makes people think insipid comments are deep. I wish I could pull that off.
I agree to the phrase number 3. I think Obama is not going to fulfill any of its promises. Or simply the system is not going to allow him.
Kris McCracken said…
Miles, I think that Powderfinger are a decent little MoR act (like LRB). When I learned that people were claiming that they were anything more, I had to sit down. I like some of U2’s early stuff, Achtung Baby, but do wish that Bono would just shut up.

However, I would wear a t-shirt that says “Kris McCracken: detesting Silverchair since 1994”.

USelaine, I have to laugh when De Niro cries. He’s just so crap at it!

Me, 4 out of 10 ain’t bad.
Kris McCracken said…
Boise Diva, I think that – for whatever reason – the cultural impact of the Beatles does tend to cloud their work.

USelaine, no gaming? That’s depressing.

Blackie, another misanthrope? Great to hear!
Kris McCracken said…
Yamani, they are indeed lookers!

Rachel, they are trite aren’t they? Whoever does his PR does deserve an award of some kind, particularly when you (rationally), consider the reality of the rigid hierarchical nature of feudal life in Tibet. That doesn’t excuse any actions of the PRC, but to have the world’s press endorse a pseudo-intellectual religo-ethnic regime built on serfdom is some achievement!

MurciaDailyPhoto, the US political system is designed – for better or worse – to prevent rapid and radical “change” of the nature that Obama has alluded to (but not really explicitly outlined). He knows it to. I do fear the damage that might be done when people who expect miracles find out that it won’t happen soon. It’s a great thing that he’s drawn them out to vote (many for the first time), but I worry that if they feel cheated, they won’t come back.
Coach said…
I would add this one. Bob Dylan is, always has been and probably always will be a commercial entity. Any pretense to art - in the sense that he just happens to have recorded albums and sold them, toured them and promoted them with yes, I accept some brilliant artistic devices - is just another commercial stratagem.

I must agree that Band on the Run is a better album than Double Fantasy - yes I know you were talking about the whole body but I choose two examples. Some of the songs on the latter acquired more poignancy though (if that can be done) when Chapman intervened. An interesting exercise is to compare the New Musical Express Reviews of Double Fantasy pre and post shooting.

I recently listened to the whole Beatles catalogue and have to agree that "they have a lot of filler songs" - quote from son Will.

Whenever I'm asked though, who is my favourite Beatle I insist it is Yoko and that she really kept the band together longer than ncessary. This upsets some.



I have even got myself into "trouble" with te following statement

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