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Bitter Literature

@bitterature.bsky.social

49 followers 627 following 563 posts

What. Who. Where. When. Why. How. Not journalistically, just incredulously.

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Oh, awesome! There's not much accordion in US pop music - Dennis DeYoung and Weird Al are the two examples at the front of my mind.

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The Billboard charts mix three of my favorite things: music, data, and narrative. The music and data are obvious. As for narrative - each song is like a plotline, each artist a character. Sometimes the one-offs are more memorable than the main story arc. 😁

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Daaaaang. Reggae beats and butt-rock solos. Sounds pretty good!

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I was inspired by Tom Breihan's US number ones column at Stereogum, and he in turn was inspired by this British number ones column!

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Heh. Probably, although I doubt they're still playing quinceañeras.

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It does! It's just that the sparse production reminded me, unfavorably, of late-90s country.

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But then, during a primary debate, Delaney said, "You've gotta put stuff on the table that Republicans will vote for." After 8 years of McConnell's power-first obstructionism, and 4 years of Trumpist demonization of Democrats, he thought this was a sensible perspective. The rot goes deep! 2/2

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This is really it. It's not a policy thing! In 2020 I picked a random moderate candidate - Delaney - and read his policy platform. Don't remember specifics, but I walked away thinking - if even ten percent of this happens, given our legislative roadblocks, I'd be ecstatic. 1/

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I certainly *hope* they were going for irony!

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Deep club tracks are definitely not my thing, but this was a cool surprise.

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There's actually a database for it!

www.whosampled.com/Freak-Nasty/...

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I love the percussion just before the vocal comes in.

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It did kind of go on! There wasn't a lot of variation to the beat, so it started to drag.

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Ditto. This is the "when he's bad, he's bad in exactly the way I feared" problem, which is the *opposite* of a change.

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Also, in the US, baked beans guy is the QAnon Shaman and he just tried to overthrow the government.

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That debate spooked me, but finding myself in the unwelcome company of NYT et al. on a week-long contagious shooting spree has put my head back on straight. Ridin' with Biden.

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True, unfortunately.

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If you have access, maybe battle ropes? I can tolerate about thirty seconds and then that's enough cardio for the day.

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So much of this just feels like Ezra Klein's victory lap.

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This Barefoot Millionaires/Ziel Muze version is nothing special, but the uncomfortable video features a series of amateur dancers, including three white senior citizens in Michael Jackson’s Motown 25 costume. 16/16

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The 2010s keyboard group The Jellyrox has an Alanis-does-“My Humps” version with vocals that split the difference between OneRepublic whining and Creed yarling. 15/

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Robin Masters turned it into hilarious Eurodisco. 14/

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More remixes than covers, typical for a rap song. I’m not sure DJ Lonz Luv’s version is one – it shares no elements with the original other than a title – but it’s the best. Deep house that’s so abrasive it’s almost glitch. 13/

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In 2006 Nasty himself repackaged “Da’ Dip” as “Da’ Dip 2 (Da Next Generation),” delivering the same lyrics over a different beat. Smacks of Vanilla Ice’s remaking “Ice Ice Baby” as nu metal. 12/

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(I hadn’t realized this on first listen, but – Cardi B gets shockingly out of breath on the “Bodak Yellow” chorus, especially considering how undemanding the beat is.) 11/

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Cardi B pulls off a neat trick by borrowing Freak Nasty's flow and rhyme scheme for the preceding line, “And I just checked my accounts / Turns out I’m rich, I’m rich, I’m rich,” which primes the quote. 10/

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Lyrical interpolations abound. The most famous is probably the one-line quote in Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow.” 9/

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His most recent album is 2018’s Smoke It Up. Leadoff track “Cali Coolin’” is a worthy song-of-summer contender. 8/

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Greatest Instagram post. 7/

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His most recent work, from this month, is Bobbi Lo Ve’’s (sic) “I Feel Your Vibe.” There’s a pretty direct line from “Da’ Dip” to this, including the gratuitous apostrophes. 6/

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Freak Nasty (born in New Orleans; real name variously listed as Eriq/Eric Timmons/James) is pretty much a one-hit wonder. He currently runs the production company Hard Hood Entertainment. 5/

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Surprised to see this chart pattern before the 2000s: dual plateaus two months apart. Although it looks like the industry retained the power of eliminating declining songs from rotation. 4/

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Lyrical gems, both from the last verse: “This is my world, I’m just a squirrel / Tryin’ to get a nut, so what’s up?” “My juice is sweet like Georgia peaches / Women suck it up like leeches.” 3/

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A rap version of the dance-craze song, by way of Miami bass (probably New Orleans bounce) and Sir Mix-a-Lot. The recording is pretty lo-fi, and the song is too long, given that there’s not much to it. 2/

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Random Billboard single: Freak Nasty, “Da’ Dip” [Controversee, 1996] Rating: 1.5 Written by Eriq Timmons Produced by Freak Nasty Debut: #84 January 4, 1997 Peak: #15 May 17, 1997 33 weeks on chart 1/

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Later on - Edith discreetly covering 100% of Woodrow's responsibilities. Oh, wait...

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And for Trump, of those 14 hours of "high-stress meetings," he actually devoted more than 8 to "executive time" (i.e., Fox News).

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Agreed - and *I'm* biting my nails re: the debate and I *still* think this is nuts. Priorities.

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Halfway through my Pennsylvania GOTV postcards - then just gotta tackle the Michigan ones. Thanks, long weekend! Looking for a way to help defeat Trump? See link below.

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I donate to deep-red-state Democratic parties. I intentionally picked a "low ROI" task that I still think needs to be done. One vice chair sent a lovely note saying they appreciated it because it was tough for the party to get traction there. I have all the anxiety :) , but that felt good.

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It's kind of like - he thinks the rules don't apply to him, and this is another indication of that? (I am also not looking for the photo.)

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This entire thread. It's also why I'm hesitant about the notion of ROI in political action? It's downstream of this entire "we'll just do everything the right way" professional-class mindset that has utterly failed people (and I'm saying this as a professional!).

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@whstancil.bsky.social I saved this (gah) X thread of yours back in 2020 (so post-Biden win but pre-January 6) as a compendium of the possible consequences of Republican power. Terrifyingly correct, both in many particulars and in the general picture.

x.com/whstancil/st...

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I would like to believe that - I really would - but Michael Flynn was a lieutenant general.

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Do you recommend seats or orgs? I've been donating to red state Democratic parties because it seems like we need a broader institutional shoring-up than just "No, really, Amy McGrath will defeat Mitch McConnell" or whatever.

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Shit - yes. Trump would love his own Khashoggi.

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Seriously. Like, provide some freakin' air support! What am I voting for you *for*? So you can tell me to do it again? It's like an ouroboros of uselessness!

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