You Got Yr Linkbomb: The Effete Putdown, Linkbait, and McCain Wins??
You Got Yr Link Bomb is meant as a cross between the Will Cordero Memorial Linkpunch and the Week in Review post of the Gawker Media blog of your choice. Hence: links featuring commentary with heavily regulated snark. These links did not get the full Tynan's Anger treatment, through no fault of their own.
- In the wake of all that Roger Ebert mess about walking out a movie in last week's You Got Yr. Linkomb, another prominent journalists stops watching a work and proceeds to write about why. Cultural journalist extraodinaire Ron Rosenbaum writes on Slate about how he couldn't stand Dr. Atomic, John Adams' experimental opera at the Met (he happens to be writing a book about the bomb at the moment). Unlike Ebert, Rosenbaum wasn't claiming to review it, nor does he claim to be an opera expert. Unlike Ebert's target Tru Loved, however, Dr. Atomic carries with it much more cultural clout. On that note, Rosenbaum makes his observation: "Virtually all of the other faces in the audience had this somber, awed, this-is-important-art-we-are-witnessing look." The main reason why he walked out was Peter Sellars' painfully awkward libretto that mixed poetry with unpoetic casual speaking. That may be, but Rosenbaum's point about the audience will be the line that sticks in my mind: how much do works that have an aura of importance get away with their mistakes because of that aura?
- Gawker's best post of the week concerns the diction of the highbrow putdown, revealing a list that should be read entirely in a British accent. Perhaps the best execution of this style I have ever heard was in Tom Stoppard's Rock and Roll: "And Lenka, don't try to shag my husband till I'm dead, or I'll stick the art of motorcycle maintenence up your rancid cunt, there's a dear." Of course, when in doubt on the matter, I turn to Vidal and Buckley:
- Jennifer Leggio at ZDNet makes an ethical point that gets too often ignored in online media: linkbaiting can be pretty damn journalistically irresponsible. In the obsessive drive for traffic, Leggio responds to controversial headlines such as Wired's "Twitter, Flickr, Facebook Make Blogs Look So 2004," a linkbaiting article by Valleywag's Paul Boutin, who should know better. If online media has a weakness as compared to mainstream media, it's integrity. Linkbaiting poses a particular conundrum: if fishing for traffic is essential to online media, where do ethical considerations go? This wouldn't merit a response in a smaller blog, but this was Grade A prime linkbait posted on no less Wired.com. It's pretty much everywhere on the web at this point.
- Kevin Smith deservedly complains about Judd Apatow hogging all the accolades for inventing the modern guy-talk comedy. Funny thing is, Apatow and the rest of the Frat Pack are perhaps the most willing to give that credit to Smith, even if it's not their responsibility to do so. I remember a time in high school when I liked Clerks, but found it vastly overrated. Now I feel it's vastly underrated. Maybe Apatow gets all the credit because, well, he didn't make Mallrats, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Jersey Girl...
- Nate Silver writes for the worst publication in the world on what its readership wants to hear: how McCain could possibly, conceivably, even think about winning the election next week. While at the New York Post, he tried talking to the baseball writers. Discussions ended after Mike Lupica attempted to beat Silver to death with a typewriter after a single reference to OPS+.
- Lastly, Tina Fey needs a vacation, but won't be getting one anytime soon. Let's hope for the sake of the poor woman's sanity that McCain loses next week. A loose comedy format could leave Ms. Fey, a relatively inexperienced comedian, at a disadvantage and largely on the defensive. By the way, 30 Rockis (finally) back. Watch it. I order you to watch it.
Labels: 30 rock, dr. atomic, gawker, john adams, john mccain, judd apatow, kevin smith, linkbait, nate silver, new york post, putdowns, ron rosenbaum, tina fey, wired
posted by Ethan Stanislawski @ 10/26/2008 08:02:00 AM
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