<$BlogRSDUrl$>

Lyndon Hood - Will be top bloke after death, Wellington

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Only just saw this from the Chaser in '07



You might want to see Spare Room [link fixed] for context first, including more evidence of Aussie politicians' alarming tendency to weigh in on matters of taste. And the answer to Ana's question is, of course: bad taste AND good satire. Which are both good things.

If I wanted to take a lesson: when going down some paths, it's less offensive if you attack your friends as well as your enemies.

Labels: , , , , , ,


Lyndon Hood - more stubbly than mustace'd

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Laughing At The Devil: An Account Of Burma’s Moustache Brothers

Milan Kundera, the great Czech writer who saw his own work and personal health subject to the whims of maniacal and depraved regime, once wrote that ‘No great movement designed to change the world can bear to be laughed at or belittled. ‘Mockery’ he insisted ‘is a rust that corrodes all it touches.’

A world away, three brothers have proved Kundera’s veracity by staring directly into the eyes of one of the world’s most brutal regimes – and laughing at what they saw.

More >>

Labels: , , , , , ,


Scoop Review: Bananarama - I Heard A Rumour

Saturday, April 18, 2009

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0904/S00179.htm

bainimarama, bananarama

For the Fijian media: If you're suffering from a sudden lack of material, perhaps you might fill the space with retro music reviews…


Friends! Fijians! Countrymen! Lend Bananarama your ears!

If you thought Rough Justice was a coup, Bananarama's latest will really get your attention.

Coming hard on the heels of A Cruel Summer, I Heard A Rumour is a song about someone who, unable to learn about something officially, hears about it anyway, but from a less reliable source.

So if you're a fan of people telling other people about stuff that's happened, it could be the beats for you!

Just between us, I'm not sure about this one. I admit, Bananarama's releases sound good – but I look in vain for signs of sincerity.

The people worldwide who've been following Bananarama's recent tracks may not recieve this one well. For example, don't expect any support for the sweet, sugary production. And Bananarama doesn't seem to have the constitution for anything else.

I'm aware Bananarama have built up a lot of goodwill with their previous efforts and I'm told their recent work still has some popularity. Yet if I'm any judge – obviously, I'm not – they've lost all the appeal they previously had.

Even for fans, you'd think Bananarama's latest would be one too many. The rest of the world will stay away in droves.

So let's not declare a Bananarama republic just yet.

Since their sudden rise to prominence, Bananarama have claimed to be planning great things. In the end they will be judged by their record, if and when they produce one. All I'm saying is, I've seen nothing from them to inspire confidence. All they've done so far is remaster everything, and make entirely the wrong noises.

To be frank, Bananarama have failed to deliver on their initial promise.

I could be wrong. The great thing is, the people will decide, when they vote with their wallets (and I notice it's already on sale for half price overseas). That's how we test if something is good or not, at least in the music business.

Let's be clear: I can't say anything bad about Bananarama's latest effort.

At the same time — I wouldn't buy it.

********


Fiji Daily Post:
Paint Dry
Man Goes Out
Clean Teeth
Breakfast As Usual
Man Gets On Bus

Labels: , , , , ,


Lyndon Hood - banninated, Wellington

Monday, July 02, 2007

New Hood: Open Letter To Closed Parliament

Readers may not be surprised to learn I took the banning satirical use of Parliament coverage business rather personally. I also have lots of opinions about the issue in wider terms, many about why it's a bad, bad idea. But aside for the above you'll have to wait and see if I write them down. I may even go to the trouble of working out what it actually means for media of the 'some guy with a laptop and YouTube' variety.

I will mention that person/s unknown have messed with my plan to deface the speaker's image Web 2.0 styles* by removing her photo from the depicto project twice. If it goes again, feel free to load it back up from here. KTHX.


* While this plan does have an intellectual point, if you think about it, in terms of how easy it is to make fun of people in the information age, as well as being a normal reaction to anyone who explicitly demands that they be taken seriously, I also must confess to a certain amount of malicious enjoyment.

Labels: , , ,