BIG TROUBLES “MODERN INTIMACY” from OLDE ENGLISH SPELLING BEE on Vimeo.
Last time Big Troubles dropped a promotional video for Worry, their debut LP, I got into a slightly ugly debate with Elliott Sharp of the blog Biomusicophy when he accused the band of glamorizing the over-consumption of fast-food, and thereby endorsing the capitalist values of consumerism, excess, and animal murder. Elliott announced yesterday that he will be deleting his blogspot in two weeks time, relocating to wordpress, and reducing his web presence to the occasional republication of features and reviews published elsewhere. Now that Elliott has defected from the world of memes to concentrate his energies on traditional, long-form criticism — where he will surely be happier, and probably really excel — Big Troubles is free to promote reactionary bourgeois values to their heart’s content. If the hidden agenda of their “Bite Yr. Tongue” video was to make throwing up look cool, then this new video for “Modern Intimacy” must be trying to foster the false illusion that dropping money on leisure class trifles like sky-diving will bring us a heightened sense of intimacy and communion with our fellow man. The gorgeous texturedness of the production, and the vertigo-inducing guitar lines, and the catchiness of the songwriting can surely be no accident; the more beautiful its vehicle, the more effective propaganda becomes.
Words: Emilie Friedlander
Pre-order Worry from Olde English Spelling Bee here. Albums ship September 3rd. In the meantime, you can stream the album in full via bandcamp.
If I’ve inspired just one untraditional, short-form criticism critic to stand up to the threat of bourgeois absorption and nihilism, then I will have achieved my goal!! Haha. I still don’t see the appeal of this band on ANY level.
Good luck in your career.