[RANTS] My brother is not a fan of Lady Gaga.

One of the main reasons I love music as much I do is because I used to steal my older brother Stuart's CDs and Mini-discs (remember them?) and listen to them on his amazing sound system when I was 11. He likes Grandaddy, Eels, R.E.M and is the sole reason I love The Band as much as I do. He sent me this electronic letter (or 'e-mail' in technical terms) about ten minutes ago, it made me laugh so much. The gospel according to Dr Stu;



All human endeavour is pointless..

I mean really.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2010/mar/25/lady-gaga-video

What the fuck? 1 billion views. This is the pinnacle of popular culture, apparently. All those billions of years of coincidences and explosions, atoms splitting and re-combining, galaxies forming and dying and spinning endlessly across the unknowable void, all the DNA mutations and binary fission, the first life forming and evolving and crawling from the primordial void. The Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Aztec and Olmec and the ancient Chinese. The Dark Ages, the Renaissance, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Strauss. Penicillin, television, nuclear fission, moon mission.

All so the kids can get down and enjoy Lady fucking GaGa. A being so devoid of talent and charisma and even well-groomed eyebrows that she makes Jordan look like a valued member of society. A "performer" who has been quoted as saying she writes songs with a view to what crrrraaaazy outfit she'll wear whilst singing it. This is apparently the new Thriller. I have to say I was more sexually aroused by Zombie Jacko than I was by this harridan and her "masterpiece". Is the bar so low? What have we done? I'm beginning to think David Icke has a point, only a race of all-powerful sentient lizards could come up with this shit and get away with it. Who is inspired by this dross? Are we to have a whole generation of girls who fondly remember this shit? Global warming can't come soon enough.

At the other end of the scale, I was pottering about on That Internet when I heard this:

http://www.box.net/shared/6u5qhdyr48

Listen to the last minute or so, that Clint Mansell (he of the Moon and Requiem for a Dream soundtracks that basically form the musical bed of every trailer and programme on Sky at the mo) is a good lad. He's made in one minute what U2 have been trying to do for 30 years, then he fades it out just when it's getting climactic. Me likey.

I shouldn't read the Guardian. It riles me up so.