Not to sidetrack the thread (I'd post about something, but I guess I'm one of those morons who likes what he likes, and that's about it. Not really concerned with what other people are into or why it sucks, I dunno.) but if you haven't seen Shameless you're missing out. Seriously great show. Most of the episodes can be found online.
Seconding a lot of the literary "classics". Has anyone ever read Paradise Lost all the way through and enjoyed it? JK Rowling may be an incredible writer who has hooked millions of kids with her ability to write fiction. However, I could really give two shits how well it's written if the subject is boy wizards. M Knight Shyamalan/JJ Abrams - The two biggest hacks in Hollywood. Twists and generic hype/solar flares only get you so far. Eventually you've got to provide content of some sort.
Austen and McCarthy? I think you meant to say "terribly frustrating" as compared to the other two. In general, I've been pretty amused reading the people who complain about writers being difficult to read. Authors (other than Dickens and other pay-by-the-word guys) have different reasons for doing different things. McCarthy in "Blood Meridian" relentlessly lists abuses by a band of militia throughout the Southwest and Mexico until its impossible to slog through. And the point of it is to destroy the myth of the cowboy, using a partially true story. And for Milton? Paradise Lost is technically brilliant, and I did enjoy every last line of it. It's hard enough to say, "I'm going to make an epic out of the fall of man," but it's funny in spots and has amazing imagery in others. Even if you don't like the piece, it's easy to enjoy it from the linguistic perspective of "Hey, how do all these pieces manage to fit into each other." Tl;dr: Some authors don't WANT it to be easy to read their works. That you complain is proof that they did their jobs.
This is because they teach Shakespeare at an age when you're entirely too young to really appreciate literature. Shakespeare really does make sense when you get down to it. Hitchens does it better than anyone, if you ask me. <a class="postlink" href="http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/11/hitchens200711" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/feat ... hens200711</a> I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of the greatest poet of the English language tearing your heart out.
I got into a fairly intense debate with a buddy last night about whether Hunter S. Thompson was a genius or a druggie hack. I fucking LOVE Hunter's work, Gonzo Journalism is genius. It blows my mind that anyone would not appreciate him. To be fair, my buddy has Spongebob tattoos on him. Maybe he can't appreciate Hunter...
Thompson was a genius, a hell of a writer, and at times a brilliant social commenter on how absurd we are. I would never call him a hack. I would call him a druggie. There comes a point when you can't excuse that kind of constant drug intake. He was unrelenting all the way up until his suicide. That's not experimentation, it's not being young and wild and carefree, it's numbing yourself and trying to cope with inner demons or an insane world or whatever drove him over the edge. My two cents. It's a shame because an entire generation of young people don't see any of that dark side, they see mescaline acid ether driving fast crazy fun times yAh!l Drug use is only romantic until you start feeling the consequences.
Additionally, I don't really love Nirvana Unplugged. People lose their shit over it, but I honestly don't get the epicness of it. They stripped down songs that are simplistic to begin with. I had a friend in college who would probably watch it on his computer every other week, if not every week. I've always been of the mind that Dave Grohl had alot more to do with Nirvana's music than people give him credit for. Cobain was the lyricist and had the passion/angst/turmoil/whatever, but Grohl is a musical genius. The fact that he went on to found and front one of the biggest bands of the next 15 years, the Foo Fighters, speaks to that. You don't go from simple drummer to performing every instrument and writing lyrics on well received records without having experience doing it before hand. FOCUS: LOST. I watched a season and a half before I was like meh, and let it go. Meanwhile my friends would have watch parties and were close to tears when the series finally ended. The geeking out they would do between episodes was shameful.
I'd really like to give modern art a little more hate. It's like they created an entire art genre dedicated to egotistical puffery and 'you don't understand' pretentiousness. I'm a little open to the idea, but most of the stuff reeks of 'well I could probably get someone to pay for it and convince them it's novel' and it seems and looks like the lazy way to art. Despite how ugly some art is, there is at least appreciation for the work and time involved. Modern art can floss it's teeth with my wiry ball hairs.
I will second Nirvana. I don't get why people fucking love this band. I can barely listen to any of their songs without sticking something in my ear. Focus: Not using your signal lights. I don't know if people are seriously too fucking lazy to use their signal lights or if they think they are too fucking cool for driving like they're a part fo NASCAR but they fucking piss me off. It honestly takes no effort and it makes me want to stab people.
I always thought Nirvana were more about changing the landscape away from hair metal and glam and such than actually being outstanding in their own right. That said, I wouldn't say I love Nirvana but I'd take them over, say, Pearl Jam any day.
Isn't that like having a hotdog eating competition with an anorexic? I wouldn't go so far as to call HST a genius, but he certainly was no hack. Inserting himself into the stories provided a view of things through a lens calibrated by alcohol and drugs in a sardonic style that was at times, both amusing and poignant, and at other times, just loud and obnoxious. While I enjoyed "F&LiLV," I enjoyed "F&L on the Campaign Trail, '72" even more.