ATG sizes it all up.
As Kanye West stormed onstage, I was watching live; rigged two TVs in the living room for an all out immersion in media. Said power play was for simultaneously taking in telecasts of the NFL's opening weekend. The FOX game. The CBS game.
Anyway, saw the Video Music Awards incident unfold in real time as the Packers battled the Bears; an absolute feast and delight of a game, by the way. For background, NBC usually picks a random pairing of big name teams for its initial prime time Sunday presentation.
This results in a big bill (last year it was Chicago at Indianapolis) but unfamiliarity and as usual, the traditional coaching double-down that nets lots of running, field goals and flat performances.
But these teams have been playing since the 1930s; Chicago versus Green Bay is the league's oldest rivalry and America got lots of aggressive calls and explosive moments. When historic rivals collide under present, intriguing, high stakes circumstances, there's nothing better.
The controversially-acquired Jay Cutler spent an entire preseason exploiting what the defense fed him - mainly dump down passes to running back Matt Forte that burst for chunks of key yards. Under the lights, he forced throws to receivers overwhelmed by the moment. There were tons of casualties to rabid injuries including perennial iron man, Brian Urlacher. In the end, Greg Jennings torched former Texas Longhorn, Nathan Vasher, who foolishly tried playing bump and run against one of the fastest receivers around with no safety help over the top, for a game-winning bomb.
Alright, so the Kanye moment occured during a crucial third down. In the thirty or so seconds during which his shine theft unfolded, I immediately thought, "Kanye West didn't like the finality of the pointless award and drunkenly said something. Who gives a shit?"
The answer is most people on Twitter. Also douchebags that comment on irrelevant Yahoo entertainment columns.
Reggie and I are consummate apologists for a man we sincerely believe is far and away the most important voice in music today, but the Henny-drenched incident was embarrassing to hip-hop fans because of its pointlessness.
ATG endorses stirring static at a bullshit, predatory awards show that itself feeds and thrives on static stirrers. I see you, Fiona. Kanye West getting drunk and calling out bullshit is itself a good thing we hope he continues to do.
Circumstantially, ATG laments the fact that Taylor Swift is an inconsequential artist and remains baffled as to why a teenager winning an arbitrary music video award on a channel that's abandoned the medium and morphed into a manifestation of all things negative about youth culture (idol worship, teen pregnancy, alpha dog infighting, gluttony, greed, atrocious sounds, that ethnic-looking VJ with the English accent) evoked the ire of Kanye.
As my good friend John Meller put it, "Kanye should have ranted about how unfunny Russell Brand was."
First and foremost, dude should really focus on giving Jay-Z beats that don't suck.
Far as the rest of the night, as previously alluded to, I took in the entire ceremony with the mute button in full effect. Some furthering thoughts in the signature Tweet-style consumed by all my short-attention spanning, "SMH"-typing, constantly connected people:
- Madonna sux.
- Muse sux.
- Wale's stint leading the commercial house band did him no favors.
- Wale's varsity jacket sux.
- Green Day sux lol.
- Britney sux lol.
- Janets fine.
- Beyonces fine.
- Alicias fine.
- J. Los fine.
- Lady Gaga sux.
- Jay-Z's denim getup sux.
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Is Janet still fine? She's older than my parents.
Wonderful to read!
I can't acknowledge its already been a year since he left us, I feel that in several ways im still in shock, he was the most important pop star that ever walked the planet.
cool website, I'm very happy I stumbled here through my friend's blog, going to definitely need to add another one to the old bookmark list.