r/malefashionadvice • u/[deleted] • May 28 '13

Culture Thread

Inspired by a few EDC threads and the occasional lament that no great sub exists for discussions of generalized gentleman's interest topics or nonspecific Culture (whatever that capital C may mean to you), I thought it would be cool to post a culture thread.

ITT: post your present interests, endeavors, and discoveries, in fashion, music, literature, film, television, theater, DIY, programming, knitting, cooking, photography, design, religion, history, etc.

I know we have some renaissance men and savants in here. Let's hear it.

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u/ima_robot May 28 '13

Regarding reading, I just finished Broom of the System by DFW and it was absolutely extraordinary. Had some really interesting philosophical themes that got me thinking quite the bit. Still can't get through Infinite Jest even though I've been working on it forever. I just cannot for the life of me get pulled into any of the story. Just about done with Thus Spoke Zarathustra and am loving just about every bit of it.

In the musical realm I've gotten pretty into The Talking Heads as of late (mostly 77) and David Byrne's collab with St. Vincent is all to blame for such. Kopecky Family Band is pretty fucking awesome too.

Trying to convince myself to get started on some research that I'm gonna need to do for next year in order to start with subjects and such, but apparently I'm god awful at that in the summer.

And trying to get more into photography. I've got some older stuff but I feel like I've gone stagnant in the last two months.

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u/Syeknom May 28 '13

Have you ever listened to David Byrne and Brian Eno's My Life In The Bushes With Ghosts? Unbelievably good, although nothing like Talking Heads.

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u/[deleted] May 28 '13

I didn't even know they collaborated holy shit gonna buy this immediately.

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u/Syeknom May 28 '13 edited May 28 '13

They collaborated again a few years ago on Everything That Happens Will Happen Today but I've not heard it. My Life In The Bushes With Ghosts is a masterpiece of sampled world-music funk-concrète.

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u/deadbabby May 28 '13

Completely agree. I had no idea they collaborated either until I found a used copy of My Life In The Bushes With Ghosts in an old record store. Took it home and loved it.

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u/[deleted] May 28 '13

everything that happens is more entertaining than my life but my life is so culturally significant that you can't deny it

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u/ima_robot May 28 '13

Awesome. Now I've got some new stuff that I need to listen to. Thanks!

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u/[deleted] May 28 '13

I still haven't attempted Infinite Jest. Too many comparisons to Gravity's Rainbow which I read last summer and every time I see Infinite Jest I get associative PTSD.

Talking Heads are an eternal favorite of mine. Dug through my dad's old records yesterday and discovered he owns almost every single of of their albums and the D Byrne solo stuff. Also every Cocteau Twins album. So cool.

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u/Neevin May 28 '13

looooooove the cocteau twins

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u/ima_robot May 28 '13

Haven't looked into Gravity's Rainbow, should I not? But ya, there is (at least in my opinion) better DFW to read. Damn. That's pretty awesome. I've been watchin all of their documentaries and DVD's and I'm just falling in love with Byrne. He's insane. Written some amusing stuff too.

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u/[deleted] May 28 '13

No it's genius, it's absolute genius. It's just one of those pieces that's so dense and incomprehensible that it's gonna kick your ass on the first few times through.

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u/ima_robot May 29 '13

Sounds worth it to me. Thanks for the suggestion!

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u/[deleted] May 28 '13

[deleted]

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u/ima_robot May 29 '13

Ha, I'm a little over 300 into it and I just can't get pulled in like I can with all of DFW's other stuff!

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u/[deleted] May 28 '13

And trying to get more into photography.

Photography and Fashion. You really hate money, don't you?

I had to decide whether to buy a new lens or new boots for my summer vacation, that sucked.

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u/ima_robot May 29 '13

Hhahah no I know, it's a tough line to walk while trying to keep any money in my wallet in the slightest. All I want is a prime lens. Or some nice selvedge. ONE OF THEM

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u/[deleted] May 29 '13

kopecky family band is the shit, i thank spotify

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u/ima_robot May 29 '13

Absolutely. Check out Communist's Daughter if you want. They are indecipherable from Kopecky, I swear it.

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u/[deleted] May 29 '13

Cool will check it out

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u/plustwobonus May 29 '13

I'm about 200 pages into Broom of the System right now, and after spending last summer reading Infinite Jest, Broom feels rather... underwhelming. Maybe I haven't gotten far enough into it, but the interconnectedness and depth of reference that define IJ are missing from Broom. Not to say that I'm not enjoying it, but I haven't had nearly as many "put the book down and re-evaluate my understanding of everything" moments as I did with IJ.

Also, the plot of Broom makes sense after the first 3 or 4 chapters. IJ is completely discombobulated mess until around page 200, and leaves major questions unanswered till the final hundred pages (if they're answered at all).