Bring On The Backlash
'The Backlash.' The hipster's revenge. The method by which The Cooler Than Thou re-establish their credentials as
real down cats who know where it's at. The art of Being Bored. You think
liking stuff is important? Fergeddit, grandad. If you really wanna get with it, you gotta
not like stuff. Specifically, you gotta not like stuff two weeks before everybody stops liking it. Every cultural phenonemon has a sell-by-date. But it ain't like The Arctic Monkeys have got it stamped on their asses, no sir. You gotta figure it out for yourself. You gotta get that Backlash sense tingling.
I'm all for a good backlash. Pre-empting a backlash is a sweet feeling. "Aw, yeah, I dug some of that first Arctic Monkeys LP, some of the lyrics are pretty good, but, I mean, the music ain't all that special, couple of good tunes I guess, but I'm really
just sorta bored of the whole thing now." Liking something first has
nothing on
not liking something first.
BUT!!!
Not everything needs a backlash.I've been disturbed recently by a number of people, often people younger than myself but occasionally peers, who when the subject of The Simpsons has come up have adopted the classic hipster sneer & asked 'aw, yeah,
but have you seen 'Family Guy?' I'm sorry:
HUH??!! HAVE I 'SEEN' 'FAMILY GUY?' WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? WHY ARE YOU EVEN SUGGESTING AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE SIMPSONS? Are you suggesting some sort of...SIMPSONS BACKLASH?? I mean, seriously. This is backlash madness. Not everything demands a backlash. Dig this: SOME THINGS
ARE JUST GOOD. The world does not want a Simpsons backlash. The Simpsons does in NO WAY deserve a backlash. These people are so crazed by their desperate, insatiable lust for Backlash Cool that they'll slander anything. I'm not a reverent guy, and I'm pretty happy to hear constructive criticism of even those icons I consider personal holy cows, but this "I'm So Cool I Don't Even Like The Simpsons" attitude...jeez. Who needs it? What sort of cred obsessed, mean-spritited, wrong-headed fool would think they're impressing me with with this foolishness?
Anyway, everybody knows the real US comedy hangin' for a backlash is 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'. THE
NOT AS GOOD AS 'SEINFELD' SNEER,
anyone?