Andrew Breitbart, who founded the far-right website Breitbart and who died in 2012, coined an aphorism: “Politics is downstream from culture.” In other words, cultural commitments come first, political ones second.
If this is a useful maxim, it’s high time we asked: Why do we keep drinking the dirty downstream water? American politics in 2020 has been a filthy swill, suffused with corruption, madness and soulless cruelty. For the new year, let’s resolve to savor culture as beauty and intelligence, and call an end to “culture war” follies.
But first we have to understand Breitbart’s maxim. However odious the man was, the line resonates.
FAIRFIELD-SUISUN, CALIFORNIA
Heffernan: It’s the end time for Trumptimes, and never a better time to trade culture for politics [Los Angeles Times]
Andrew Breitbart, who founded the far-right website Breitbart and who died in 2012, coined an aphorism: “Politics is downstream from culture.” In other words, cultural commitments come first, political ones second.
If this is a useful maxim, it’s high time we asked: Why do we keep drinking the dirty downstream water? American politics in 2020 has been a filthy swill, suffused with corruption, madness and soulless cruelty. For the new year, let’s resolve to savor culture as beauty and intelligence, and call an end to “culture war” follies.
The Best Albums Of 2020 Dec. 29, 2020 8:49 a.m.
Before we get to the best albums of 2020, I want to highlight the most unexpectedly delightful song of the year, “I Wonder What’s Inside Your Butthole.” Lisa Rieffel dropped her daughter Jolee s inspired, inquisitive song about the mysteries of the human digestive system in May 2020, at a time when many people had just started to process the fact that the pandemic was going to disrupt life for much more than a few months. It was a welcome bit of surreal levity, and a spark of connection for many, spawning a seriesofcovers (I m partial to this one). Jolee ended up recording her own rock version, as well as a hip-hop remix which almost sounds like a long-lost M.I.A. demo. There s a lot of 2020 ephemera and memes which have already been lost to the miasma of this strange year, but this was one of the few that continues to bring a smile to my face.
Dec 16, 2020
Each year Rolling Stone magazine ranks the top songs of the year. Their rankings aren t based on chart position or streaming numbers but more of a critically acclaimed look. Here s the full list
1. Wap- Cardi B f/ Megan thee Stallion
2. Bob Dylan- Key West (Philosopher Pirate)
3. Christine and the Queens- People I ve Been Sad
4. Blinding Lights- The Weeknd
5. August- Taylor Swift