|
|
The increasingly inaccurately-named blog of journalist and futurist Chris Taylor. Either the most sporadically brilliant amateur blog, the most brilliantly amateur sporadic blog, or the most amateur sporadic brilliance on the Web since 2001.
Oh My God, the RSS Feed Actually Works!
Daily Blah FAQ
Who are you?
I'm the newly-appointed Future editor at Business 2.0 and the former San Francisco correspondent for Time Magazine.
Wow, so does this mean everything you write reflects Time Inc's opinion? Or do you perhaps have some sort of standard disclaimer to the effect that it doesn't?
Naturally, the opinions contained in this blog are not those of my employers. In fact, some opinions may be the polar opposite of my employers. Some may be the same, for all I know. Hey, it's not like I ask my employers their opinions about everything in the news, okay? Let's just say that if this were a Venn diagram with one circle marked "my opinions" and the other one marked "my employers' opinions", there would doubtless be some overlap. But neither I nor my employers are able to pinpoint exactly where that overlap is.
What is this Daily Blah thing?
An experiment for a column I wrote about blogging back in December 2001. All these years later, I haven't been able to kick the habit.
Do you write any other blogs, by chance? Could that have something to do with the fact that Daily Blah isn't always Daily?
Yes -- the Future Boy blog for Business 2.0. And yes. If you want true, editorially-mandated daily coverage from me, that's probably the best place to look.
Mister, you talk funny. Are you one of them furrners?
Why yes I am, as it happens. I was born, raised and educated in Great Britain. I've been living in the U.S. since 1996 and identify as British.
I say, old chap, you forgot the "u" in "colour."
No I didn't. I may identify as British, but I am also an American journalist writing for an American audience about mostly American issues. These two different sides of me are a constant source of tension. Nevertheless, Daily Blah will adhere to American English grammar and spelling.
Praise for Daily Blah:
"It is fun to watch the author's navel-gazing joy." - Sunday Times (UK)
"It's really funny and informative." - Dave Eggers, author
"The Blah is becoming a daily destination for me." - Richard Marsh, Playwright
"I like it, and I don't." - Fiona Hogg, Teacher
"Better than Xanax." - Lessley Andersen, journalist
"Dude, lay off the crack pipe." - Souris Hong-Porretta, gamesmith
Friends, Bloggers, Countrymen ... lend your ears to these people. I come not to bury them, but praise them.
Arik
Bill
Dan
Cole
Emily B
Emily G
Helena
Jee
Jewelz
Kaila
Kathryn
Mac
Robin
Slim
Souris
Mr. West
My TIME articles
All magazine articles (subscription required for older stories)
Online column index
|
|
|
|
|
Daily Blah for... Monday, July 17, 2006
Gnarls, I Hardly Knew Ye
Never underestimate the power of a quick google. Twenty minutes ago I knew nothing about Gnarls Barkley other than that he was the creator of the excellent St. Elsewhere album, which, along with about half the planet, I've been letting seep into my consciousness for the last couple of months. I'd been putting off the act of actually learning more about the creator of this fresh new sound, partly because it was a procrastination -- a promisingly rich, deep procrastination that I wanted to save for a day when no ordinary procrastination would do. But it was mostly because I enjoyed watching the imaginary Gnarls Barkley grow as a character in my head. The music conjured up images of a psychedelic, soul-soaked, deeply self-examining hip-hop hippie. The name, likewise, suggested a gnarly, blinged-out, overly-thoughtful dude from Berkeley. As the character grew, layer by layer, every time I heard the album -- which was a lot -- I feared the destruction of this myth by disappointing reality.
And indeed it was initially disappointing to discover that Gnarls didn't exist, that the album was a collaboration between Grey Album impressario Danger Mouse and Atlanta rapper Cee-lo. But I was also pleasantly surprised that Danger Mouse had outshone his early hype -- the Grey Album, despite its infamy, is actually pretty pedestrian as far as mashups go. I saw him DJ once at a Wired party a couple of years ago. No one was listening; they were far more interested in waiting for the Polyphonic Spree to perform. I wonder how many of those Wired scenesters will be lining up to see him and Cee-lo perform at the Filmore tonight and tomorrow (something else I discovered in my synchronistic Googling). If not for this damn leg, I'd be one of them.
|
|
|
|
