A Bunch of Fives (New Challenge Thread)

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Dr. Medulla
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Re: A Bunch of Fives (New Challenge Thread)

Post by Dr. Medulla »

gkbill wrote:
17 Nov 2020, 7:46pm
Sufjan Stevens - It's pretty meh. I would challenge your assessment of Harding (I was in Oregon so I know some other stuff about her). If she has that kind of background and continued to work and improve to overcome figure skating's infrastructure, I'd love her story. Seeking unethical shortcuts doesn't work for me. Okay after that...I'm not big on songs such as this. Are your shoelaces untied? No, they're not. I never played a match without checking my shoelaces. 2/10.
I think you're not cottoning to what SS is saying about her. He's not denying anything about her human flaws or sins; rather, he's emphasizing that she's a human being, not a media caricature, who was an easy target because of her background. She's not a noble figure, but she is nevertheless a victim of how the media monster chews up people who fuck up in public if they fit a profile. She's very much the anti-hero. We don't have to celebrate her to recognize how she was dehumanized, and in that she should be someone we nevertheless feel compassion. Her punishment far exceeded her crime.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: A Bunch of Fives (New Challenge Thread)

Post by gkbill »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
17 Nov 2020, 8:40pm
gkbill wrote:
17 Nov 2020, 7:46pm
Sufjan Stevens - It's pretty meh. I would challenge your assessment of Harding (I was in Oregon so I know some other stuff about her). If she has that kind of background and continued to work and improve to overcome figure skating's infrastructure, I'd love her story. Seeking unethical shortcuts doesn't work for me. Okay after that...I'm not big on songs such as this. Are your shoelaces untied? No, they're not. I never played a match without checking my shoelaces. 2/10.
I think you're not cottoning to what SS is saying about her. He's not denying anything about her human flaws or sins; rather, he's emphasizing that she's a human being, not a media caricature, who was an easy target because of her background. She's not a noble figure, but she is nevertheless a victim of how the media monster chews up people who fuck up in public if they fit a profile. She's very much the anti-hero. We don't have to celebrate her to recognize how she was dehumanized, and in that she should be someone we nevertheless feel compassion. Her punishment far exceeded her crime.
Hello,

My perspective is different than yours may be. My background includes competing for a professional athletic opportunity - a career although not a lifetime career but a culmination of a young man's dream. To cheat to obtain this in the manner she did is more impactful to me than however media portrayed her. She made a decision, she is responsible for the consequences. I understand we may disagree. You mentioned she was dehumanized. I would agree but I would suggest she dehumanized herself - beating a competitor's knee with a baseball bat (if I remember circumstances correctly) is pretty dehuman (or unhuman or inhuman - not sure about the correct term). Do you feel the media has dehumanized organized crime figures? Do you feel the media has dehumanized Trump?

Dr. Medulla
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Re: A Bunch of Fives (New Challenge Thread)

Post by Dr. Medulla »

gkbill wrote:
18 Nov 2020, 12:12am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
17 Nov 2020, 8:40pm
gkbill wrote:
17 Nov 2020, 7:46pm
Sufjan Stevens - It's pretty meh. I would challenge your assessment of Harding (I was in Oregon so I know some other stuff about her). If she has that kind of background and continued to work and improve to overcome figure skating's infrastructure, I'd love her story. Seeking unethical shortcuts doesn't work for me. Okay after that...I'm not big on songs such as this. Are your shoelaces untied? No, they're not. I never played a match without checking my shoelaces. 2/10.
I think you're not cottoning to what SS is saying about her. He's not denying anything about her human flaws or sins; rather, he's emphasizing that she's a human being, not a media caricature, who was an easy target because of her background. She's not a noble figure, but she is nevertheless a victim of how the media monster chews up people who fuck up in public if they fit a profile. She's very much the anti-hero. We don't have to celebrate her to recognize how she was dehumanized, and in that she should be someone we nevertheless feel compassion. Her punishment far exceeded her crime.
Hello,

My perspective is different than yours may be. My background includes competing for a professional athletic opportunity - a career although not a lifetime career but a culmination of a young man's dream. To cheat to obtain this in the manner she did is more impactful to me than however media portrayed her. She made a decision, she is responsible for the consequences. I understand we may disagree. You mentioned she was dehumanized. I would agree but I would suggest she dehumanized herself - beating a competitor's knee with a baseball bat (if I remember circumstances correctly) is pretty dehuman (or unhuman or inhuman - not sure about the correct term). Do you feel the media has dehumanized organized crime figures? Do you feel the media has dehumanized Trump?
That's a false equivalency given the nature of the crimes. Nobody is denying her crime or character flaws. She ruined herself. That's a very human failing, even tragic from a literary point of view. But that was lost in the media spectacle that ripped apart her life and subjected her to jeers related to her background. That's what dehumanized her—she was made into a white trash cartoon because that's what the scandal media does. That's why we should have compassion. Not because of her crimes, but because she was a persecuted for being born on the wrong side of the tracks yet playing at a game of success, one that she'd have to cheat at because that's what "those people" do. Again, it's in the tradition of folk songs to celebrate flawed human beings who get denied their humanity. None of it is to deny the guilt, but to condemn the malicious persecution.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: A Bunch of Fives (New Challenge Thread)

Post by Olaf »

Inder wrote:
17 Nov 2020, 2:13pm
I have only popped into this thread occasionally, but my lasting impression is that it is some kind of perverse DMV roleplay situation.
What's DMV?
Who pfaffed the pfaff? Who got pfaffed tonight?

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Re: A Bunch of Fives (New Challenge Thread)

Post by revbob »

Olaf wrote:
18 Nov 2020, 9:36am
Inder wrote:
17 Nov 2020, 2:13pm
I have only popped into this thread occasionally, but my lasting impression is that it is some kind of perverse DMV roleplay situation.
What's DMV?
Department of Motor Vehicles

Where you go for driver's license and vehicle registration .

Known for long lines and employees who dont give a shit.

Dr. Medulla
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Re: A Bunch of Fives (New Challenge Thread)

Post by Dr. Medulla »

revbob wrote:
18 Nov 2020, 9:39am
Olaf wrote:
18 Nov 2020, 9:36am
Inder wrote:
17 Nov 2020, 2:13pm
I have only popped into this thread occasionally, but my lasting impression is that it is some kind of perverse DMV roleplay situation.
What's DMV?
Department of Motor Vehicles

Where you go for driver's license and vehicle registration .

Known for long lines and employees who dont give a shit.
Flex wrote:Doesn't it mean Dave Matthews' van? :huh:
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: A Bunch of Fives (New Challenge Thread)

Post by revbob »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
18 Nov 2020, 9:47am
revbob wrote:
18 Nov 2020, 9:39am
Olaf wrote:
18 Nov 2020, 9:36am
Inder wrote:
17 Nov 2020, 2:13pm
I have only popped into this thread occasionally, but my lasting impression is that it is some kind of perverse DMV roleplay situation.
What's DMV?
Department of Motor Vehicles

Where you go for driver's license and vehicle registration .

Known for long lines and employees who dont give a shit.
Flex wrote:Doesn't it mean Dave Matthews' van? :huh:
Damnit Flex!!!

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Re: A Bunch of Fives (New Challenge Thread)

Post by Olaf »

Blankenberge, “We”
Not a big fan of the vocals. Otherwise I thought the song was ok, enjoyed the kind of ebb and flow structure. Probably a 6/10

***

Girls in Synthesis, “We Might Not Make Tomorrow”
Didn't like that one at first, but it did grow on me a bit. Really enjoyed the chorus after the second listen. Better without the video though IMO, which just gave me nausea. 7/10

***

Sufjan Stevens, “Tonya Harding”:
Thought the vocal delivery was a bit too Simon-and-Garfunkelish. But did get grabbed by the melancholy mood. 6.5/10
***

Future Silence, “Aliens”
Great fun overall, though that slow middle part felt a bit out of place. 7/10

***

Godspeed You! Black Emperor, “Mladic”
Not what I would usually listen to, but like that 40 min. Swans song, I did enjoy the experience. When the song got going after six or seven minutes, it reminded me a bit of Plastic Surgery Disasters-era DK, which is a good thing I guess. Didn't need the three or four false endings though. 5/10
Who pfaffed the pfaff? Who got pfaffed tonight?

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Re: A Bunch of Fives (New Challenge Thread)

Post by tepista »

Olaf wrote:
19 Nov 2020, 5:17pm

Girls in Synthesis
I wonder if they took their name from Bowie lyrics (Ashes to Ashes)
We reach the parts other combos cannot reach
We beach the beachheads other armies cannot beach
We speak the tongues other mouths cannot speak

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Re: A Bunch of Fives (New Challenge Thread)

Post by Dr. Medulla »

tepista wrote:
19 Nov 2020, 5:21pm
Olaf wrote:
19 Nov 2020, 5:17pm

Girls in Synthesis
I wonder if they took their name from Bowie lyrics (Ashes to Ashes)
Too much of a coincidence not to.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: A Bunch of Fives (New Challenge Thread)

Post by tepista »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
19 Nov 2020, 5:27pm
tepista wrote:
19 Nov 2020, 5:21pm
Olaf wrote:
19 Nov 2020, 5:17pm

Girls in Synthesis
I wonder if they took their name from Bowie lyrics (Ashes to Ashes)
Too much of a coincidence not to.
Well I know Sufjan Stevens did. "don't lean on me, man...I'm back from Sufijan Stevens"
We reach the parts other combos cannot reach
We beach the beachheads other armies cannot beach
We speak the tongues other mouths cannot speak

Dr. Medulla
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Re: A Bunch of Fives (New Challenge Thread)

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Olaf wrote:
19 Nov 2020, 5:17pm
Godspeed You! Black Emperor, “Mladic”
Not what I would usually listen to, but like that 40 min. Swans song, I did enjoy the experience. When the song got going after six or seven minutes, it reminded me a bit of Plastic Surgery Disasters-era DK, which is a good thing I guess. Didn't need the three or four false endings though. 5/10
Huh. I never would have thought that. It seems like 70s hard rock to me, with a more orchestral spin. I've long thought that they sound like descendents of the Velvet Underground.
Last edited by Dr. Medulla on 19 Nov 2020, 5:34pm, edited 1 time in total.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Dr. Medulla
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Re: A Bunch of Fives (New Challenge Thread)

Post by Dr. Medulla »

tepista wrote:
19 Nov 2020, 5:29pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
19 Nov 2020, 5:27pm
tepista wrote:
19 Nov 2020, 5:21pm
Olaf wrote:
19 Nov 2020, 5:17pm

Girls in Synthesis
I wonder if they took their name from Bowie lyrics (Ashes to Ashes)
Too much of a coincidence not to.
Well I know Sufjan Stevens did. "don't lean on me, man...I'm back from Sufijan Stevens"
Boo!
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: A Bunch of Fives (New Challenge Thread)

Post by tepista »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
19 Nov 2020, 5:31pm
tepista wrote:
19 Nov 2020, 5:29pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
19 Nov 2020, 5:27pm
tepista wrote:
19 Nov 2020, 5:21pm
Olaf wrote:
19 Nov 2020, 5:17pm

Girls in Synthesis
I wonder if they took their name from Bowie lyrics (Ashes to Ashes)
Too much of a coincidence not to.
Well I know Sufjan Stevens did. "don't lean on me, man...I'm back from Sufijan Stevens"
Boo!
I never quit when I'm ahead.
We reach the parts other combos cannot reach
We beach the beachheads other armies cannot beach
We speak the tongues other mouths cannot speak

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Re: A Bunch of Fives (New Challenge Thread)

Post by Marky Dread »

tepista wrote:
19 Nov 2020, 5:33pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
19 Nov 2020, 5:31pm
tepista wrote:
19 Nov 2020, 5:29pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
19 Nov 2020, 5:27pm
tepista wrote:
19 Nov 2020, 5:21pm


I wonder if they took their name from Bowie lyrics (Ashes to Ashes)
Too much of a coincidence not to.
Well I know Sufjan Stevens did. "don't lean on me, man...I'm back from Sufijan Stevens"
Boo!
I never quit when I'm ahead.
Not even when you're ahead of the dame. ;)
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My humanity
Curfews have been curbing
The end of liberty


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No fuchsias for you.

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