Millennials For Bernie and Other News From The Modern Gutter

Wow 2016 has certainly been a year, between celebrity deaths, political chicanery, imminent race war with shooting-a-day news, terrorists wilding out everywhere, a surprise coup in Turkey, and the grand return of Pokemon combined with augmented reality, the Age of Indifference seems poised at the cusp of its Golden Age. It's almost possible to forget the insanity of the first four months of the year based on the last three months of the year. It's almost possible, even tempting, to think that we are at an all time high of crazy happenings


But things have been shitty for a very long time, haven't they? And it's probably our fault. In fact it is certainly our fault. We've done this. Some of us try to do better, some of us try to fuck things up, and the majority don't care. I like to think I fall outside of all these groups. I don't care; but I do. I want to do better; but I don't. I never really considered the option of making things worse... it seems there are plenty people on each side of every confrontation who can do that better than I could ever hope to.

So I was trying to come up with a good overview of the past ten months or so but there are so many squawking heads yakking about it that it doesn't matter. Plus, I'm a piece of shit idiot with nothing new to add or a redeeming perspective. Suffice it to say I get it: everything looks pretty grim. Things looked bad in 2003, and they look roughly as bad now, except there is more bad stuff? (I'll look into this after I kill myself, because fuck making that graph.) But there's also good stuff: like consumerism! So I'm going to recommend some pretty good stuff that'll help you get through July without killing yourself or fantasizing about killing every last human in an insane laser drug apocalypse in a doomed attempt to fix Earth and right all the wrongs.

4 Media Products Recommended by the Sloppy Blogger in Lieu of Depressing Screed About Modern World



1. Stranger Things (Television Series, Netflix)

This show is so good. It's a lead-lined shelter from modernity, not stuffy at all, and filled with all of the 80's tinged science fiction mystery thriller canned goods you would ever want. Right down to the scrappy loser kids, the scrappy loser teens, and the scrappy loser adults! If you haven't heard about this show yet, let me hype it up for you. It's brilliant, the music is impeccable, the casting is remarkable, the acting is on point, the setting is generically genius, and it will blow your socks off unless you are a philistine.

This show will single-handedly erase two recent tragedies from your memory and you will love it and then join with rabble who are all bursting with enthusiasm and respect for what will likely be the most highly regarded television drama of the season. And I hate television, and drama! Don't miss out.


2. The Knick (Television Series, Cinemax)

Somehow this one's been unlawfully overlooked by everybody. Maybe people are just stupid and would rather watch the predictable, meandering bombast of Game of Thrones instead of something substantial. This show is substantial, and is fantastic at twisting your stomach and bringing you right into the turn-of-the-century medical world of unbridled optimism and extreme quackery. The lead character is Dr. Thackery, which rhymes with quackery. Did the creator mean this?

Who knows? The important thing is that this show is incredibly good, incredibly poignant, incredibly honest, with snappy direction, effective cinematography, and a soundtrack nearly as intriguingly good as Stranger Things. Remember Vikings? Yeah fuck the smirking viking, watch something that isn't garbage for once. This show will make you uncomfortable, it will bring up issues that will make you more uncomfortable, and then just for fun it will make you feel really squeamish.


3. Fish Food (Band, Bandcamp)

I've started casting about for more 'unsigned/unknown' artists lately because a lot of established groups and artists I used to love have turned into ponderous media entities or retreated from the scene. Disappointment city (yeah, I am ignoring the good from this year, and there was enough, just let me do this). From the new Kanye album with maybe 2 good songs on it, to the Chance mixtape which was entirely disappointing, to the new James Ferraro which is the aural equivalent of being nausea drunk, I've been forced to find new stuff. Some of that unknown talent is shitty, and will remain unknown forever, some of it is so good it will no doubt be discovered, and a bit of it is charming stuff that will probably linger in the shadows.

Fish Food is such a group. It sounds a lot like Modest Mouse thrown through a black hole where it is condensed into something much snappier and less of a flaming wreck. The two most recent albums are tight, short, and something like masterpieces. One of the tracks even has trap beats, which you've probably never heard in folk-tinged indie rock before. It's just mellow rock with yawlped lyrics and it feels vaguely like the 'who gives a shit' summers of youth, which is a perfect low-key addition to your late afternoon.


4. Hush Pup (Band, Bandcamp)

It would be wrong of me to not plug this band, which is one of the most amazing shoegazey groups I've heard in a long time, especially to come out of the blue. I unreservedly love all their tracks and they deserve the support of anyone who gives a damn about gluey, trippy pop rock. If you put Cocteau Twins in a particle accelerator/time machine and fired them into Beach House, Hush Pup would show up at the lab to destroy the result because you're a monster.



5. Conclusion

Dear Gentle Reader,

I hope this crappy blog post finds you well. I know I've been rather absent of late. Neglectful, even. I won't make excuses. I will actually make one: I haven't known what to write about, and it seems like public interest in this blog has dried up. It seems I have written every screed I could think of. Maybe I'm getting stupid or old or dumb. I don't hold this against you. It's my fault, for being shitty, and lazy, and for being far too negative for far too long. You've probably thought I abandoned this project in favor of some kind of 'personal brand' social media complex (I am tempted... but I hate the idea of being a public figure) but I haven't. I've started setting one up because I need to find a way to become a functional human adult, but I haven't forgot my shitty, dispiriting roots.

Just remember that we live in a galaxy of distractions, so if you're not doing anything positive to improve the world, you can at least plug your head into the white noise desert of media products and art.

Be blessed, stay safe,

Anonynimous Bosch