Eyes and Ears I - consumerism I can support...

Greetings,

As the snow falls and I realize I've got no eggs, nor toast (starve or face the arctic tundra?) I'd like to share a a few recommendations for consumption, that is, if you decide to spend money in the near future - I'm going to call these entries "eyes and ears" as my top picks for dropping dollars are almost always for your reading or listening pleasure:

1. Pick up the Adbusters March/April 2008, "The Collapse of Cool"

I wrote a piece last fall to the effect of consumerism is killing culture and popular culture is often no culture at all, just some contrived manifest of market imperatives... this issue of adbusters is along the same lines, but tracks the historical evolution of cool and its recent demise.. as always there's some brilliant commentary on economics not to be missed, as well as as gripping excerpt from Henrig Allen's book (banned in France upon release) The Question, recounting his torture.

I love adbusters because it is the anti-magazine; the general convention around magazine publication is not to create profound message to attract readers, but to attract readers in order to "rent eyes to advertisers" a direct quote from my business of magazine production teacher (everytime he repeats that line my heart falls just a little.) You'll find flipping through the pages of every single issue of adbusters that something is missing, can't quite put your finger on it, but as you move from poignant commentary to issue-driven articles, you realize that the unusual absence is surprisingly fulfilling, pleasing even, freeing almost, allowing you to contemplate each new idea - all this content, never obscured/blurred by ads, your thoughts uninterrupted by false messaging... can you imagine? Sidenote: Sarkozy in France is proposing the elimination of ads in public television and Chavez in Venezuala has banned ads in public spaces, no billboards, no looming logos, no nothing... can you imagine?

2. Check out Corneille and all four albums at corneille.ca

This music, this sexy, black, french soul is KILLA - well worth the purchase, the newest album is entitled The Birth of Corneille. Bonus: he's Canadian, yessir! Yesterday I caught the video for 'Viens' on Bravo (which speaks volumes). You can listen to this track at http://corneille.ca/les_marchands_de_reves_audio.php, scroll down to the last track. The chorus translates roughly "Come, let's tire each other out a little"... whew. no words.

If you're a man and you gotta a fine lady passing through your place this evening, go to the link and you've got some very sly ambient sound that will work in your favor... or at least would most definitely work if I was that lady... I think that's the safest claim I can make publicly. Besides lovemaking music, the album is political and poetic, touching and pleasing to the ear and even if you don't speak french, the melodies are lovely, familiar, yet original.

So you don't literally have to buy either of these, listen to Corneille online or blow into a Chapters and leaf through the adbusters, but if you did purchase both, I assure you, you won't feel dirty afterwards ('cept maybe if that cd works in you favor later tonight!).

I think the snow is taking a brief pause - I'm going to "profit" by rushing out for my eggs and toast!

If you're under the snow, courage. If you're on the roads, drive safe. If you're somewhere warm, come get me!!! please!

lovelovelove jams