Let’s get this out of the way:
I write negative reviews about
music because I hate music, and
you should hate it too.
After all, what is music if
it isn’t something to dump
on? Taking what people love,
analyzing it piece by piece
and ripping it to shreds to
invalidate their enjoyment is
what I thrive on. I just want to
take your favorite album and
show you why it’s so terrible
until you hate it yourself. What,
you thought I listened to music
because I like it?
Just kidding! I love music.
A lot of people know me
for my notorious dislikes. I
could aggravate K-pop fans in
an instant with my sweeping
criticisms of the genre. My
friends would put J. Cole on
the aux at my own party just
to mess with me. If I want to
turn a whole room against me,
all I have to do is say “I think
Lana Del Rey is kind of boring”
— that’s always been a very
unpopular take.
Talking
about
my
dislikes
was
pretty exciting
for
me
early
in my music-
appreciating
career.
As
soon
as
I
crossed
some
threshold
of
having listened
to enough hip
hop, I felt like
I was qualified
to
make
assessments
on big releases
in
the
genre.
At some point
I found myself
questioning:
Why am I full
of
dislikes?
Do I think so
highly
of
my
own
opinion
that I assume
everyone
else
is wrong and
I’m
on
some
sort of mission
to correct them? Can’t I just let
people who like J. Cole live in
peace?
Well, turns out there is joy to
be had in saying: “Your favorite
album
sucks.”
Last
year
I
attended a few meetings for
Hip Hop Congress, a rap music
production
and
appreciation
club
at
the
University.
If
those meetings
were
any
indicator,
sharing
hot
takes
and
strong negative
opinions
is
really prevalent
in the hip-hop
community.
I
was definitely
partaking
in
the smack talk
myself.
But
that experience
helped
me
realize
something:
The
joy
isn’t
in
changing
other people’s
opinions
or
ruining
their
favorites
for
them.
The
fun is in the
debate and the
argument.
Maybe that’s
why
I
like
doing what I do
so much. I can’t help but think
critically about why I like and
don’t like music — I’ll be doing
that in my head whether I’m
writing it down or not — but
putting that opinion into words
is a springboard for debate.
Debate might be one of the most
fulfilling ways to appreciate art.
Arguing is all fun and good.
The hip-hop head in me is
always ready to defend an
unconventional Kanye album
ranking. However, I want to be
known for the music I love, not
the music I hate. I don’t get joy
out of making
people dislike
an album they
previously
liked. On the
other
hand,
nothing
matches
the
excitement
of
getting
someone
to
take a chance
on an album
they
never
would
have
considered before.
A real passion has started
to emerge for me in finding
music that means something to
other people. In 2019, I fell in
love with slowthai, SOPHIE,
JPEGMAFIA
and
so
many
more game-changing acts in
music. The only joy greater
than listening to those artists is
introducing them to my friends.
The other night, I picked
up my brother and his friends
from the bar. The day before,
I had introduced him to the
unconventional music of 100
gecs. I don’t know how to
articulate the surrealness of
four drunk frat bros rolling into
my car at one in the morning
demanding
I
play
“money
machine.”
That’s the kind of domino
effect I want to start as a
devoted appreciator of music.
So I’ve started to focus on
talking more about music I love.
Nowadays, when I
run into friends at a
party, they’ll ask my
thoughts on the new
BROCKHAMPTON
album,
the
new
Kero
Kero
Bonito
EP or the new Rina
Sawayama
single.
One pal of mine texts
me artists I should
try
all
the
time.
Many of my fellow
music writers also
love
Rex
Orange
County, so when Pony came
out, I didn’t want to call dibs
on reviewing it — but it was my
team on the Music beat that said
I had to write about it.
At some point, three out
of five songs on my Spotify
top-five-most-listened
being
by Kero Kero Bonito became
funnier
than
my
mocking
impression of J. Cole’s “Wet
Dreamz.” That’s something I’m
pretty okay with. Bad albums
will still get no mercy from me.
But my 2020 will be all about
artists that are pushing music
forward, not holding it back.
6A — Wednesday, Janurary 8, 2020
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
By Robin Stears
©2019 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
01/08/20
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
01/08/20
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
Release Date: Wednesday, January 8, 2020
ACROSS
1 Clemson’s NCAA
div.
4 Thom of shoes
8 Preposterous
14 Mexican Mrs.
15 “__ that the
truth!”
16 Bullpen ace
17 “Killing Eve” star
19 Remote
20 Cockpit figure
21 Award-winning “A
Raisin in the Sun”
actress
22 Yin partner
23 It’s a long story
25 Legal
postponement
26 Terrific bargain
28 West with 21
Grammys
31 Sugar suffix
32 Open __ night
34 Bathtub buildup
35 Spot for pillow
talk
36 “Full Frontal” host
39 23-campus West
Coast ed. system
41 General Bradley
42 Ariz. neighbor
43 Part of MYOB
and BYOB
44 Justice
Sotomayor
46 Big name in
whisky
50 Wine quality
52 Long-running
Mark Harmon
military drama
54 Congregation
area
55 First chief justice
58 Made a
comeback
60 Synchronicity
61 “Take Good Care
of My Baby”
singer
62 Fame
63 Luminous glow
64 KC-to-NYC dir.
65 English Channel
swimmer
66 Walk of Fame
figure
67 CD-__
DOWN
1 Analyzes for
purity
2 Decorative
neckwear
3 Bloodhound, e.g.
4 Gas station store
5 They’re often
exchanged in
Venice
6 Hooded Arctic
jacket
7 Unspecified
degree
8 Org. with a
“Speak Freely”
blog
9 Gooey mass
10 Some HDTVs
11 Was
12 Turn loose
13 Unmoved
18 Portuguese
explorer Vasco
21 Italian alternative
24 Stomach-related
27 Bridal party rides
29 Chinese currency
30 Insert into an
email, as a video
33 Commando garb,
for short
36 Pleasant forecast
word
37 Live-in helper,
perhaps
38 In equal shares
39 Cast a spell, say
40 Passed out
45 Freshen
by opening
windows
47 Written
relinquishing of
rights
48 “Skin Mind
Balance” brand
49 Cash in
51 Former CNN
journalist David
53 Hummus brand
56 Lower jaw
57 Pulitzer poet
Sexton
59 Letter-shaped
brace
61 English lit
degrees
At some point
I found myself
questioning:
Why am I full
of dislikes? Do I
think so highly
of my own
opinion that I
assume everyone
else is wrong
and I’m on some
sort of mission
to correct them?
Can’t I just let
Your favorite album sucks
and other musical insights
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
MUSIC NOTEBOOK
MUSIC NOTEBOOK
DYLAN YONO
Daily Arts Writer
I want to be
known for the
music I love, not
the music I hate.
Three singles enter. One
couple leaves. Yes, this is
exactly how dystopian “Flirty
Dancing” feels on a first
viewing.
The American version of
the popular UK reality series,
“Flirty Dancing” follows two
single people who are looking
for love in the most traditional
way:
pre-choreographed,
partnered
dance
routines.
Each contestant learns two
dances — one for each of their
possible matches — and must
perform the routines when
they first meet their partner.
After both dances are finished,
the main contestant decides
which of the two partners they
want to go on a first date with.
The series premiere featured
Octavius (a choir teacher)
and Erin (a hairdresser) as
the main single contestants.
Their
professions,
along
with a few simple adjectives
like “playful” or “cute,” are
offered to introduce the two,
as the show opts for likability
over nuance or complexity.
Their prospective suitors are
described only briefly and
have little say in choosing the
specifics of the dance, even
in one case where a female
contestant expressed strong
opposition
to
the
amount
of
intimate
touching
the
choreography required. This
matter was quickly resolved,
as “Flirty Dancing” does not
dwell on the negative. There’s
no crying in choreographed
dance routines.
Hosted
by
celebrity
dancer Jenna Dewan, “Flirty
Dancing” seems sweet enough
and even wholesome in its
wildly optimistic premise. Can
two people fall in love without
knowing anything about each
other? Can you know a person
just from physical chemistry
and prolonged eye contact?
Where reality dating shows
like “The Bachelor” or “Love
Island” assume that people can
find true love through short
interactions in a group setting,
“Flirty Dancing” emphasizes
that one-on-one connections
can bring couples together.
Though the intentions of the
show are good in theory, the
actual end product seems more
akin to weirdly staged dance
propaganda
than
anything
even
slightly
resembling
genuine
emotion.
Each
interview with the contestants
feels highly scripted, footage
of the dances is heavily edited
and clearly shot in more than
one take, and the sheer amount
of eye contact is unnerving, no
matter how “playful” or “cute”
the contestants are.
In a move that is both sadistic
and a bit hilarious, the show
stages the main contestant’s
final choice of which partner
they’d like to date by having
both dancers show up at a
restaurant. While this creates
a sweet moment for the reveal
of their choice, it implies the
unchosen dancer is stood up
and never given an explanation
for why. Despite this, everyone
featured on “Flirty Dancing”
constantly praises the show
and
assures
the
audience
that
their
experience
was
overwhelmingly
positive.
Their
confessionals,
which
are
usually
opportunities
for reality shows to directly
connect with audiences and
deliver genuine commentary,
are so robotic and saccharine
that you begin to wonder
whether they’re hostages in
this dance-fueled utopia they
claim to love so much.
“Flirty Dancing” fundamentally
assumes it has already won the
viewers over. By hitting all
the baseline requirements of a
dating show with little effort
or nuance, “Flirty Dancing”
figures the appearance of utter
perfection translates to quality
television. Unfortunately for
the new FOX series, this is
simply not true. In pretending
everyone
and
everything
is picture-perfect from the
start, “Flirty Dancing” fails
to deliver the reality of reality
TV.
‘Flirty Dancing’ guilty of
missteps in its premiere
“Flirty
Dancing”
Series Premiere
Fox Searchlight
Pictures
Wednesdays at
8 p.m. EST
TV REVIEW
TV REVIEW
ANDERS KRUSBERG / PEABODY AWARD
Over the years, returning
home for break has seemed
to feel more and more like
returning to a state of limbo. At
first, my homecoming felt like
a return to form, or something
familiar. I was only out of
high school for a few months,
and home still felt the way it
should. But, after spending
most of my time in Ann Arbor
for
the
past
three
years,
something about going back
to my hometown feels slightly
off. Either way, after a long fall
semester, having two weeks
to do nothing in particular
sounded pretty nice.
So, for the first few days of
winter break, I did just that.
But then came the inevitable
stress that comes with being
around your family during the
holiday season. I started to
become dissatisfied with doing
nothing for so many days in a
row (something that’s all too
common among people my age,
unfortunately),
and
needed
to do something to clear my
headspace. I needed a creative
outlet.
But all of my instruments
were back in Ann Arbor — how
was I supposed to manifest
these
creative
desires?
I
journaled regularly, but I felt a
need for something else. Then
I recalled just a few months
prior, when my housemates and
I tried something that I had
never done before: painting.
I reached out to a few of my
remaining hometown friends
and asked them if they wanted
to paint. With some cheap
supplies leftover from our arts
and crafts days, some snacks,
and music, we were ready
to search for our muse. This
proved to be quite hard for
a few indecisive people that
don’t regularly paint. So I went
to the place I usually went to
for inspiration: the internet.
On that particular day, I saw
that dictionary.com’s word of
the day was “splore - a frolic;
revel; carousel;.” With that, we
were off — painting whatever
came to our minds and showing
off our progress along the way.
This was easily one of the
most refreshing things I did
over this past winter break.
It can often be uncomfortable
to try to express your ideas
in a medium that you’re not
technically
proficient
in
because
of
the
underlying
desire
to
make
something
perfect.
This
perfectionism
is something that stops many
from creating or sharing their
work, and something that I
struggled with for a while.
However, DIY has helped me
shrug off that feeling that
my art needs to be perfect.
Creating
art
for
the
sole
purpose of creating is one of
the most liberating you can do
not only as an artist, but as a
person. Surrounding myself
with supportive peers in an
environment
that
supports
even the most unfinished art
has completely changed my
originally unhealthy thoughts
on artistry.
Bringing an idea into this
world can be an incredibly
therapeutic
experience.
It
helps me clear my head, even
when it’s been exceptionally
cloudy.
Thinking
back
to
my break freshman year, I
don’t think I would have ever
gone outside and painted my
interpretation of the word
“splore.” After being shown
the
beauty
of
abandoning
perfectionism, here we are.
Cox’s Corner: On
perfectionism
DAILY DIY COLUMN
ANYA SOLLER
Daily Arts Writer
Three singles
enter. One
couple leaves.
Yes, this is
exactly how
dystopian
“Flirty Dancing”
feels on a first
viewing.
RYAN COX
Daily DIY Columnist