Entertainment For Lively Minds
I get a chill sometimes...
"Life imitates art far more than art imitates life."
Sometimes when I read some posts I get the feeling that Oscar Wilde was onto something here.
Here is an example donated by the Wonderful/Terrible Brett Easton Ellis from his disturbing yet brilliant American Psycho.
PATRICK BATEMAN "Do you like Phil Collins? I've been a big Genesis fan ever since the release of their 1980 album, Duke. Before that, I really didn't understand any of their work. Too artsy, too intellectual. It was on Duke where Phil Collins' presence became more apparent. I think Invisible Touch was the group's undisputed masterpiece. It's an epic meditation on intangibility. At the same time, it deepens and enriches the meaning of the preceding three albums..... Listen to the brilliant ensemble playing of Banks, Collins and Rutherford. You can practically hear every nuance of every instrument.... In terms of lyrical craftsmanship, the sheer songwriting, this album hits a new peak of professionalism.... Take the lyrics to Land of Confusion. In this song, Phil Collins addresses the problems of abusive political authority. In Too Deep is the most moving pop song of the 1980s, about monogamy and commitment. The song is extremely uplifting. Their lyrics are as positive and affirmative as anything I've heard in rock... Phil Collins' solo career seems to be more commercial and therefore more satisfying, in a narrower way. Especially songs like In the Air Tonight and Against All Odds... But I also think Phil Collins works best within the confines of the group, than as a solo artist, and I stress the word artist. This is Sussudio, a great, great song, a personal favorite. "
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Patrick Bateman: Do you like Huey Lewis and the news?
Paul Allen: They're OK.
Patrick Bateman: Their early work was a little too new wave for my tastes, but when Sports came out in '83, I think they really came into their own, commercial and artistically. The whole album has a clear, crisp sound, and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that really gives the songs a big boost. He's been compared to Elvis Costello, but I think Huey has a far much more bitter, cynical sense of humour.
Paul Allen: Hey Halberstram.
Patrick Bateman: Yes, Allen?
Paul Allen: Why are their copies of the style section all over the place, d-do you have a dog? A little chow or something?
Patrick Bateman: No, Allen.
Paul Allen: Is that a rain coat?
Patrick Bateman: Yes it is! In '87, Huey released this, Fore, their most accomplished album. I think their undisputed masterpiece is "Hip to be Square", a song so catchy, most people probably don't listen to the lyrics. But they should, because it's not just about the pleasures of conformity, and the importance of trends, it's also a personal statement about the band itself.
[raises axe above head]
Patrick Bateman: Hey Paul!
[he bashes Allen in the head with the axe, and blood splatters over him]
Patrick Bateman: TRY GETTING A RESERVATION AT DORSIA NOW YOU FUCKING STUPID BASTARD! YOU, FUCKING BASTARD!
Now tell me if any of that seems familiar.
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I certainly never listen to Huey Lewis
when I'm comitting acts of bloody murder, if that's what you mean?
And your point?
I suspect I may guess your point but I suggest misjudged, even if you are a scion of a gaelic poet. Bateman is exhibiting the antithesis of received wisdom, clearly. Are, so, we?
I think the violence is a Red Herring ...so that's my fault...
After all in the book he didn't actually commit any of the atrocities [my perception]... It's all merely the pressure release valve imaginings af a man trapped in a narcissistic, obsessive/compulsive driven existence...
Music is clearly this guys happy place but he seems to be unable to just enjoy it for what it is ... the way he talks about it[almost like a powerpoint presentation] betrays the life he lives ... having to continually be perfect and precise. It exposes his insecurities...and his need for status and approval inevitably denies him the ability to merely enjoy what he truly likes.
We all have some of that in us. I certainly do....
Although not directed at anyone there have been a couple of posts that triggered off these ponderings...
Nah, nah, nah
that was the film that made it all seem a dream. I prefer the sense of real derangement that may have led to all to real mayhem. I like this repellant book and charcter very much.
Talking of which, was Diary of the Dead not absolute bollox. Sad to say, but George A Romero should have resisted the lure of fame and some cash to revive the series after Day. City was equivalently risible, uncertain if more so or less so.
I must admit although having read the book
it wasn't until I watched the film that I changed my perception... I concede that it is a more palatable ending [as usual for mainstream American Movies] but it is suggested in the book.
Ellis is a true master of portraying the banal .. I remember reading Less than zero when I was about 18 and being disturbed by the characters... He rarely offers on a plate any case for sympathy but there are usually clues here and there.
Donna Tart's "A Secret History" moves within the same vein.
I always try and find some glimmer of redemption for people [Even monsters like Goering or Pol Pot ] otherwise it all seems too horrible. Don't get me wrong I'm no bleeding heart but I'll always look for mitigation when exuses are extant.
I fortunately missed Diary of the Dead ... but I did see the Zombie Big Brother 'Dead Set'. That was a great piece of satire with truly excellent gore.
It's a bit like Rhinehart's 'Dice Man',
where you have to get past his casual decision to go downstairs and rape the next door neighbour before you can get to the point where you find his progress fascinating. I found that difficult.