Year-End Media Extravaganza

As the year draws to a close, I find myself with a few leftover opinions on some recently consumed media but too much packing to do to churn out a full essay about each of them, so instead I present them together as a hastily assembled media round-up.

Books: After almost a year, I have finally finished the Simone Weil. I had a hard time sticking with it because she covers a wide range of topics with very little focus, which makes sense once you realize that the book is basically a collection of writings from her personal notebooks, perhaps not intended for release in this form. It was a worthwhile read though and I'm especially proud of myself for finishing it. She writes from London in the midst of World War II, after France had fallen and was occupied by the Germans. She tries to find a solution for the alienation/uprootedness of men as workers and citizens but ends up covering everything from the inaccuracy of the annals of history to religious and political hypocrisy. It was poignant to hear her rail against irrational patriotism as the pro-U.S.A. machine was fired up for the war in Iraq. The book never reaches much of a conclusion though and I have a feeling there's better Simone Weil out there (perhaps Waiting for God?).

I'm going to try to sneak in my first William Barrett next, Death of the Soul, in which he wonders "why questions of the soul figure so faintly in the minds of today's technocratic intellectuals" and brings together the whole of modern philosophy to find out. That will be quickly followed by Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol; I asked for something Russian and I got it. The fact that both books contain the word "soul" is purely coincidental.

Tele: I know I'm a latecomer to this but The Office is absolutely brilliant. If you have not yet seen it, do everything you can to buy, rent or borrow it (the first series/season is just out on DVD); if all else fails, ask me and I will do what I can to help you out. Every character is painfully accurate, most of all the constantly cringe-inducing boss, David Brent. It is dark, mean and probably the most hilarious modern office satire ever done. I am making arrangements as we speak to see the second series whilst in Europe (where it is available on DVD). If it is even half as good as Dean says, we are in for three hours of laughing through the delicious emotional pain.

Music: I've seen Speakerboxxx/The Love Below on too many best-of lists to not say anything: it is not that good of an album. I have been an Outkast fan for a minute (not since Southernplayalistic... but it is in the collection) and I like the fact that they're constantly trying new things, but contrary to much of what has been written about them this year, they are not the only innovators in hip hop, nor are they the best. In fact, this may even be one of the weaker Outkast albums ever released. Each side has its strengths but both are too inconsistent and incomplete to warrant all the praise that has been heaped upon them. As far as lyrical substance is concerned, they are both moving in the right direction but still have a ways to go. Now if they had spent another six months in the studio and chopped it down to one tight full-length album (look through the tracks, it's not so hard to imagine), we might be having a different conversation right now. I also find it strange that most of the hip hop heads I know liked the album less than the rest of the world. With the amount of excellent work being done in hip hop right now, there is no reason for the critics to latch onto Outkast like they have.