While Your Blogoverlords Consolidate Their Power, Why Is Fleet Foxes on My Radio?

I've been eating KEXP's Rube Chow, streaming the station since at least 2002, happily eating the Rube Chow, never once stopping in mid-chew to think what the hell am I eating, but yesterday, December 1, at 6:34 AM Seattle time, this set:

Fleet Foxes/DeVotchKa/Okkervil River

drove me to counterstream all day, the first time I've grumpily thought, what the fuck is this shit I'm being asked to eat.

Fleet Foxes - gimmick band. DeVotchKa - extreme gimmick band. Okkervil River - gimmick band. Holyfuck do they suck. Assuming - I assume - KEXP is as honorable now as it's been for years, Fleet Foxes, DeVotchKa, and Okkervil River are cutting edge in 2008. Holyfuck. I blame fucking Arcade Fire.

I'll take my share of the blame too - it's been an aarghful year, and I'm old and crotchedy - but 2008 has been a shitty year for new music. There are no new ideas. As I type this KEXP is playing the new Byrne/Eno. Sounds like the old Byrne/Eno.

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OBAMYFUCKINGGOD! he named who Secretary of State?

Jeebusfuck, which will grind your teeth more the next four years, the howling from the right or the shrieking from the left or the Mwahaharishas who told you so even when you were agreeing with them?

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• Smart-provoking. 
• Maryland spying, condensed edition. 
• Fucking  Hayek.
  
• Catalog of failures, UK-Edition.
• Black Reagan.
• Atrios on public-funded soccer stadiums. More dissent.
• Savid Dampselle, rated.
• Purple Line article with no mention of Columbia Country Club opposition? Adding, similarities to Georgetown's resistance are accurate, but no mention is made of how the majority of Georgetown businesses and residents regret that resistance. It's STUPID there is no Metro stop in Georgetown.
• Paleo Bastard plays poker online.
• Holyjeebus, Joan Armatrading. One of the best nights of my life, 1980 maybe, Joan Armatrading at Wolftrap, the Me, Myself, I tour, pouring down rain, dancing on the lawn in the pouring down rain with Blondie and Phavid Dillips and Annie - what was her name, Elric? - Hawk? I hadn't thought about Joan Armatrading in years.
• Best headline of the day (for many reasons).
• Holyba'al, look at these. (h/t fellowjeff)
• 2666 reviewed again. I'm guessing it's positive, judging from the title, I don't want to read it. I'm done with the first three parts. Boxing, the softening up of the opponent, the beating, like all Bolano's tropes, are intentional. I won't read the review because I don't want to know how I'm going to die.
• I need to read Blood Meridian again. I suppose I should read Underworld and Beloved again too.

Updates later. Or not.

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