And I Really Don't Need Another Fiction Writer Telling Me He's Only Making This up

Kottke stand-in editor Ainsley Drew links to a blog called 1001 rules for my unborn child. Here's a screenshot to give you an idea:

(Clicking on the pluses doesn't take you to any additional content.)

I think it's a neat idea. I also think I am not going to read through the whole thing. The idea of the blog is interesting, the blog itself is not.

And that is what I dislike about some art. As an illustration, two videos to (pr?) two very good songs. First, Nishant Thakur's video to Weezer's "This Is Such a Pity", which you can see here. The idea is obvious: The song sounds stereotypically 1980s. And what's the most stereotypical 1980s bit of audiovisual art? The Alf series. Hey, what a great idea to have some Alfs perform the song!

The enjoyment I get from understanding that connection lasts for about three seconds. And then I'm left with a video that looks crap and conveys nothing of the song's intense emotion. Even worse, it's in the way.

Compare and contrast with the video to Air's "All I Need", directed by Mike Mills:


(Or go here.)

Perfectly captures, and therefore intensifies, the song's atmosphere. As it should be.

Of course, coming up with art that conveys strong emotions in an aesthetically pleasing way is much harder than coming up with neat ideas.