Peachtree Keen

Uh, NO.

Just in time for the Summer Shade Festival!

Take Law and Order, for example. They decided they would do a new Law and Order in a new city, so where did they go? Los Angeles. Yawn. It’s been done. We’ve all seen a hundred cop shows in Los Angeles. Do you know what I want to see? Law and Order Atlanta. That’s a city with an interesting history, an interesting cultural mix, and distinct neighborhoods. Buckhead is different from College Park, which is different from the suburbs up around I-285. There are a lot of storytelling possibilities there.

National Terrorism Strike Force: Atlanta: Sport Utility Vehicle

So the new Cee-Lo song has already inspired a backlash, which just proves that it’s a phenomenon*. But all the hoo-ha about whether it should be the song of the summer kind of misses the point: people are going bananas over what is basically just a pretty good song.

“Fuck You” is a catchy song…

Yes! I agree with this! Including the Modern Family stuff! And I also agree with this:

It is very catchy, and wisely throwback in a way that capitalizes (literally, $$$$!) on contemporary society’s nearly frantic addiction to the pleasures of nostalgia. Seriously, we are all getting so hell-bent on recreating the emotional states of the past* that we might miss the kick and never come back to the present. Personally, it’s not my favorite song. I think it trades too hard on shock value, and as much as this is going to make me sound like a very old man (which I am), I think it is too coarse! I believe that words are ciphers and that intent and meaning are much more important than empty signifiers, and I’ve used the word “cunt” in casual conversation, and yet, a pop song with a sing-song anthem chorus of “Fuck You”?

Here’s the thing. Fuck You has been stuck in my head, playing on repeat since I first heard it. But so did that mash-up of California Gurls and Tik-Tok, two songs that are complete steaming piles of shit that merged to create a giant super-turd that my frontal lobe stepped in and couldn’t wipe off its foot. Don’t get me wrong; I’m in no way calling FU a piece of shit. But catchy does not a brilliant song make.

I do, however, appreciate that Cee-Lo took slam-dunk radio fodder like a throwback 50s bubblegum melody and layered on decidedly radio-unfriendly lyrics. So there.

The man, whose identity will be released once it is confirmed by the Gwinnett medical examiner’s office, may have fallen into the water from a boat while trying to give a female companion a hug, officials said.

Please remember this, random person I went to high school with who I happen to run into at Papouli’s or somewhere else while down in Macon visiting my folks. I can’t really remember your name - I’m just trying to get me a veggie gyro over here and you’re kind of taking me by surprise - but I think you were a friend of a friend, and I kind of hated everyone in high school except for, like, two people, so sorry?

But, anyway, before you reach out for that awkward embrace, please remember: hugs kill. JUST SAY NO TO HUGS.