More Things That Are Wrong, just plain wrong

[myboyblue]

Go on…

[Horsebox]

Says the bearded Liverpool olive eating plastic paddy. Christ, I despise you since you moved to Cork.

[Bandage]

I always despised him.

[flattythehurdler]

Even worse, it’s a 996.

[Horsebox]

I begged him not to move to Cork for the sake of our e-friendship but the pigheaded cunt went and did it anyway.

For a woman!

[Sidney]

On August 31st, 1997, Diana died, and pathetic, mawkish, self centred, vain, public grief became a lifestyle choice for vast swathes of people in the British Isles.

Tony Blair was the perfect, vacuous Prime Minister to express that touchy feely, vacuous, empty feeling of grief. Bono was on hand to sing Candle In The Wind that night. Within a few days the whole thing had become a full blown phenomenon of mawk, in association with Sky News, 24 hours, every hour. The people were tearful, angry and outraged about something, about what, they didn’t know, but the one thing they knew was that they had to express it publicly, because it felt right. In Britain people said the spirit of that week was like the war, as people came together, strangers spontaneously embracing in the street. Strangers didn’t spontaneously embrace in the street during the war. They got the fook on with things. Diana’s death, on the other hand, was a public grief competition, a bandwagon embodying the values of self, self-pity and vanity which came to dominate the next two decades. Every bland tweet and publicly aceptable “show of solidarity” on Facebook with victims of worthy tragedies that don’t involve you in any way is linked back to that moment.

Other events that happened in 1997 summed up the changing mood of the times. Blair and Bertie Ahern were the perfect, value-free politicians of the emerging “me” generation and house prices became inextricably linked with people’s sense of self.

Endless banalities rushed to fill the gap of celebrity brought about by Diana’s death, because the media needed new celebrities. This brought about reality TV. Reality TV branched into music and the genie, as the great Christina Aguilera did not sing, was out of the bottle.

Then it was a short hop to the INTERNET and social media, where the me, me, me, culture, however worthless and boring one’s (lack of) talents, views, search for conformist individuality or bland expressions of publicly acceptable fake solidarity grief are, has found full expression. That culture of mindlessness had its coming out party on August 31st, 1997.

[myboyblue]

@Sidney

On August 31st, 1997, Diana died, and pathetic, mawkish, self centred, vain, public grief became a lifestyle choice for vast swathes of people in the British Isles.

Tony Blair was the perfect, vacuous Prime Minister to express that touchy feely, vacuous, empty feeling of grief. Bono was on hand to sing Candle In The Wind that night. Within a few days the whole thing had become a full blown phenomenon of mawk, in association with Sky News, 24 hours, every hour. The people were grief-stricken and angry and outraged about something, but about what, they didn’t know. In Britain people said the spirit of that week was like the war, as people came together, strangers spontaneously embracing in the street. Strangers didn’t spontaneously embrace in the street during the war. They got the fook on with things. Diana’s death, on the other hand, was a public grief competition, a bandwagon embodying the values of self, self-pity and vanity which came to dominate the next two decades. Every bland tweet and publicly aceptable “show of solidarity” on Facebook with victims of worthy tragedies that don’t involve you in any way is linked back to that moment.

Other events that happened in 1997 summedup the changing mood of the times. Blair and Bertie Ahern were the perfect, value-free politicians of the emerging “me” generation and house prices became inextricably linked with people’s sense of self.

Endless banalities rushed to fill the gap of celebrity brought about by Diana’s death, because the media needed new celebrities. This brought about reality TV. Reality TV branched into music and the genie, as the great Christina Aguilera did not sing, was out of the bottle.

Then it was a short hop to the INTERNET and social media, where the me, me, me, culture, however worthless and boring one’s (lack of) talents, views, search for conformist individuality or bland expressions of publicly acceptable fake solidarity grief are, has found full expression. That culture of mindlessness had its coming out party on August 31st, 1997.

Outstanding post. Truly outstanding.

[Julio_Geordio]

@Sidney

On August 31st, 1997, Diana died, and pathetic, mawkish, self centred, vain, public grief became a lifestyle choice for vast swathes of people in the British Isles.

Tony Blair was the perfect, vacuous Prime Minister to express that touchy feely, vacuous, empty feeling of grief. Bono was on hand to sing Candle In The Wind that night. Within a few days the whole thing had become a full blown phenomenon of mawk, in association with Sky News, 24 hours, every hour. The people were tearful, angry and outraged about something, about what, they didn’t know, but they knew they had to express it publicly. In Britain people said the spirit of that week was like the war, as people came together, strangers spontaneously embracing in the street. Strangers didn’t spontaneously embrace in the street during the war. They got the fook on with things. Diana’s death, on the other hand, was a public grief competition, a bandwagon embodying the values of self, self-pity and vanity which came to dominate the next two decades. Every bland tweet and publicly aceptable “show of solidarity” on Facebook with victims of worthy tragedies that don’t involve you in any way is linked back to that moment.

Other events that happened in 1997 summedup the changing mood of the times. Blair and Bertie Ahern were the perfect, value-free politicians of the emerging “me” generation and house prices became inextricably linked with people’s sense of self.

Endless banalities rushed to fill the gap of celebrity brought about by Diana’s death, because the media needed new celebrities. This brought about reality TV. Reality TV branched into music and the genie, as the great Christina Aguilera did not sing, was out of the bottle.

Then it was a short hop to the INTERNET and social media, where the me, me, me, culture, however worthless and boring one’s (lack of) talents, views, search for conformist individuality or bland expressions of publicly acceptable fake solidarity grief are, has found full expression. That culture of mindlessness had its coming out party on August 31st, 1997.

The internet finished us off.

[tallback]

That’s a belter of a post.

[Elvis_Brandenberg_Kr]

Sid attacking the citizens of the former empire!

Whatever next - an online rendition of “We shot 'em in pairs coming down the stairs”?

[Fagan_ODowd]

@Sidney, I’d bring it back another ten days to 21 August 1997 and the release of the album Be Here Now, by Oasis, which killed hope, rebellion and rock music for younger people and led to the inexorable rise of boy bands.

[Sidney]

@Fagan_ODowd

@Sidney, I’d bring it back another ten days to 21 August 1997 and the release of the album Be Here Now, by Oasis, which killed hope, rebellion and rock music for younger people and led to the inexorable rise of boy bands.

Great British rock ‘n’ roll music was traditionally either the product of tribal working class communities, or at least the idea of those communities in the minds of upper class dropouts. Thatcher killed the idea of working class solidarity in Britain and Oasis were the last great musical products of that working class solidarity. Individualism and consumerism was the mantra and music would be no different.

The war was beginning to be lost by the mid 90s when boy bands were already in the ascendancy. The late 90s finished it.

The difference in popular music culture between 1995 and 2001 was frightening. In 1995 things were still reasonably healthy. By 2001 the corporates and PR people had taken over and the era of good music gaining a mainstream audience was finished.

[anon61956325]

I’m not in Cork. I don’t sell olives. I’ve shaved my beard. I’m far from plastic.

In short, Go fuck yourself.

[KinvarasPassion]

Never heard anyone suggest they were going bust?

I would imagine they should be nicely positioned at this stage but expansion to the next stage looks like a big risk. If you stay still you cant win either… so may as well go for it. Fair play to him.

[farmerinthecity]

Definitely Maybe did that much earlier mate.

[flattythehurdler]

There was nothing vacuous about Blair. A ruthless power mad, amoral, greedy psychopath who would in context have given any A-list despot a run for their money.

[artfoley]

http://www.arrestblair.org

[fistoffury]

Ah ffs sake I know some of these cunts. Just to be clear here none of those cunts are from clare mostly donegal.

[myboyblue]

Can you tell them that they’re cunts? Just in case they aren’t aware of it.

[fistoffury]

They drink in my local I think I will go elsewhere in protest.